Message in a Bottle: Tricks of Time in "Las batallas en el desierto", by Jose Emilio Pacheco

Author(s): Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

Source: Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 53, No. 1 (1999), pp. 11-28
Published by: Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1347956
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 Messagein a Bottle:Tricksof Time in
Las batallasen eldesierto,by Jose Emilio Pacheco

FLORENCE MOORHEAD-ROSENBERG

BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY

That is to say,we throw

a bottle into the sea, which is alreadyreplete
with trashand bottles with messages.
We will never know
to whom or where the tides will toss it.
Most likely
it will succumb in the tempest and the abyss,
in the deep bottom sand which is death.
(Pacheco, "In Defense of Anonymity")1

G eorgLukacs,in TheTheory
oftheNovel,states:"Thenovelis the epicof an
age in which the extensive totality of life is no longer directly given, in
which the immanence of meaning in life has become a problem, yet which still
thinks in terms of totality"(56). This definition implicitly poses for the genre the
overcomingof no small number of obstacles,among which may be found: a per-
ceived lack of "heroic"primarymaterial;a generalizedbelief that there no longer
exists a coherent, homogeneous set of socioculturalstandardsby which we may
judge actions as meritoriousor not, thus renderingthe isolation of"heroic"activ-
ity almost impossible;and, the diminution of the sanctity of the public persona.
This last may at least be partiallyattributedto rampantmedia encroachmentinto
the previouslyoff-limits domain of "private"life, making the simultaneousutter-
ance of the terms "publicfigure"and "heroic"presentlyall but impossible.This,
togetherwith the public'sapparentdesirefor a consistent and spirituallyunifying
cosmovision,would seem to sound the death-knellof the novel-as-epic,or at least
for the novel which assumesfor its content both historicaland mythic "heroic"

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Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

events of either the present or the past. Furthermore,it seems to do so unlesswe

look for a realignment both along the content (paradigmatic)and perspective
(syntagmatic)axes of the genre.
This realignmentmay be fueled by a varietyof changesin perspective- some
subtle and some not - relativeto the subject matter of the novel and to its dis-
cursiveform. Primaryamong them are:a reevaluationof the referentialmeanings
we may (wantto) attachto the signifier"heroic";increasedattention to situational
ethics; and, a closer examinationof the emotional longing for "epic"and how it
may be molded or transformedby a society in which the need for magic and myth
seems to have been replacedby an insatiablehunger for informationpresentedin
quickly and easilydigestiblesound bites. These changes,and others, point to the
demythologizing(la desmitificacion)of both the classicalconcept of hero and that
of epic. This does not mean, however,that in contemporarypraxisneither cat-
egory is possible, only that, as literaryconstructs,their paradigmaticcomponents
- the ashes out of which they will rise- will necessarilybe quitLdifferentand
distinct (but not less valid) than those of their more "traditional"models.
MarianoAzuela'sLos de abajo (1925), Agustin Yainez'Alfilo del agua (1947)
and Carlos Fuentes'La muertede ArtemioCruz (1962) are all good examplesof
this new approachto the epic. In each - though from very differing angles
the "mythic,""heroic"subject matter of "revolution"and its seminal causes (the
classic armed struggle pitting "right"against "might,"the "will of the people"
against the "tyrannyof dictatorship")is dealt with in epic style (the scene is set,
the charactersare typecast, the journeys are undertaken),but the outcome (no
happy ending, no hero overcomingall odds to achieveimmortalitythrough glo-
rious deeds, in fact, very few gloriousdeeds to speakof) is twisted, maimed.This
is not at all what we expected. Instead,we are forced, by both the form and the
content of each of these works, into a position of having to adopt new perspec-
tives relativeto "armedstruggle,"its causesand consequences.An additionalcor-
ollary to this process is that the concept of hero itself comes into question: are
Greco-Roman notions of heroism at all applicable to Mexican (or other)
culture(s)?
There arisesa need for questioning notions of classically"heroic"action, be-
cause in each of these three works, as well as in many others, epic forms and ar-
chetypesare used as a backdropin orderto highlight deficienciesinherent in the
socioculturalbelief system from which they have been drawn.That is, the use of
the epic formattraditionallyleadsus to expect an epic hero in epic circumstances.
When we find neither,and I would saythat in theseworkswe do not, we areforced
to reexamineour conceptualizationof both. WolfgangIserformulatesthis idea as

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 Message in a Bottle

follows: "the familiar facilitates our comprehension of the unfamiliar,but the

unfamiliarin turn restructuresour comprehensionof the familiar"(94). Hence,
in this new type of epic novel, the backdropof the classicliteraryform allows the
text to defamiliarizeits subject matter, thereby stimulating a closer analysis of
events and their meanings. Las batallas en el desierto(1981), by Jose Emilio
Pacheco, couples this epic device with the process of remembrancein order to
defamiliarizeand then bring a greaterclarityof focus to a number of social issues
and characteristicsof post-WWII and contemporaryMexico.
In the novel, the adult narratorCarlos, in the act of rememberinghis "infatu-
ation"(enamoramiento) with Mariana,undertakesa journeyinto his past, though
he actuallytravelsno furtherthan the reachesof his mind. At first glance, neither
Carlos nor his journey seems of epic proportions.However,upon furtherexami-
nation, his couragein confrontingwhat was for him an extremelyuncomfortable
episode at the age of nine, and then reconstructingit as a forty-somethingadult,
affordus a glimpse of one of the few forms of "heroic"behaviorleft to the mod-
ern world: the undertakingand simultaneousnarrationof a scorchinglytruthful
confrontation with a bleak and better forgotten past in order to understandthe
natureof one's position in the present.2
One key to understandinghis journey lies in its complex time frame. Gerard
Genette, in NarrativeDiscourse:An Essayin Method,outlines four temporal cat-
egories for all fictional narrating.They are:"subsequent(the classicalposition of
the past-tensenarrative,undoubtedlyfarand awaythe most frequent);prior (pre-
dictive narrative,generally in the future tense, but not prohibited from being
conjugatedin the present ... ); simultaneous(narrativein the presentcontempo-
raneous with the action); and interpolated (between moments of the action)"
(217). Becauseof the specialnatureof Carlos'journey into the past, and because
of the doubling of his narrativevoice between the child he was and the adult he is,
the discursivestructureof Las batallasincorporatesat least three of these tempo-
ral perspectives,a strategythat stimulatesthe readerto construct a more totaliz-
ing view not only of the events narrated,but of the presentfrom which they are
recounted.The entirejourney,in fact, constitutesan elaboraterite of passage,one
which, at its conclusion, leads Carlos to a more profound understandingof not
only his society, but his place within that society.3
The story begins with a conscious effort on the part of the narratorto remem-
ber:"I remember,I don'tremember.What yearwas it?"(Battlesin theDesert8 1).4
This initial evocation is followed by a litany of film and song titles, as well as of
social characteristics,all of which serve to embed the episode in a very specific
time period and social realityfor both narratorand narratee.5This form of invo-

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Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

cation and subsequentenumerationof social characteristicsservesa twofold pur-

pose. First, the narratormay need to locate his memory in a concretelycircum-
scribedpast to separateit from his presentand also to rescueit from the depths of
oblivion.6Secondly,as the very first words of the narrativedemonstrate,this is a
conscious process. Carlos is actively remembering,and he is doing so for some-
one, though at the textuallevel that someone may be himself or a passivenarratee/
addresseewho remains anonymous and undramatizedthroughout. It may very
well be likely that as he begins his narrative,Carlos,the forty-somethingnarrator
- as opposed to Carlitos, the nine-year-oldnarrativevoice - is truly trying to
dig into his past and is unawareof the exact year of the events. As he proceeds,
with data that are more and more specific, he sketchesa more and more explicit
epoch for both himself and his addressee,and, of course, for the reader.
The mannerin which this epoch comes to light forcesthe readerto make con-
nections between textualperspectivesand paradigmatic"reality"in orderto com-
plete the text. For example, the exact year of the events remainssomewhatvague
- referencesto "theyear of polio" (81) aside - until Carlosstates that afterhis
declarationof love to Mariana,"Mymother had momentarilyforgottenall about
Hector.Hector boastedabout being the studof the university.It was rumoredthat
he was one of the right-wing militants who forced Zubiran, the rector,to resign
and erased the sign that read 'God does not exist' on the mural Diego Rivera
painted in the Prado Hotel" (106).7 As Cynthia Steele has noted, this is a very
specificincident in the annalsof Mexico City'shistory:it datesthe yearof Carlitos'
infatuationconcretelyas 1948.8 Hence, for the narrateeas well as for the narrator,
it indicatesa very specificknowledgeof exactlywhen the events of the story tran-
spire.
The dates themselves,however,areless importantthan how they areused, and
than how the readermust distill, combine, and recombinethem to createa vision
of the society and culturefrom which they aredrawn.This is so becausein much
of his fiction Jose Emilio Pachecoregularlyuses the strategyof employing seem-
ingly trivial, anecdotal materialin order to force the readerto construct an ex-
tremely complex social vision. The story (la historia)may be just a pretext, as is
that of eme and Alguien, the protagonistsofMorirdslejos,or it may apparentlybe
the point, as in "Elprincipio del placer."In Las batallas,the story "is more of an
excuse, a pretext,for the ongoing act of tracingthe preciseand certaincharacter-
istics of the surroundingreality:the landscape, the situations, the 'golems'of a
society on the vergeof becoming 'capitalized"'(Montero22).9 It is the story,then,
that stimulatesthe readerto a perceptionof a widersocialrealityor message.Thus,
as we take a trip down memory lane with Carloswe discoverthat behind Carlitos'

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 Message in a Bottle

apparentlytrivialcircumstanceslie a host of broaderand more problematicsocial

ills.
It is important to note that this is, essentially,a personaljourney undertaken
from a privatespace. Carlos,for all intents and purposes,is speakingor writing to
himself. The reader-listenermay assume the role of privilegedaddressee,but our
presenceis nowhereindicatedat the purelytextuallevel. Furthermore,since Carlos
is relivingthe episode for himself, in so doing, he comes face to face with himself
and his childhood emotions in a completely unmitigated (at times) form.
Throughout the story, "The child who lived through the recounted events and
the narratorwho speaks of himself representtwo distinct agents (actantes).The
voice of the child reliveshis own past and the voice of the protagonist-narrator
skillfullyslips in a biting socialcriticism"(Verani234).10Thus, the pure, untainted
emotions and feelings of Carlitosarenarratedin the presenttense, and constitute
simultaneousnarration.They areinterspersedthroughout the work without spe-
cial introduction, and provide direct access to the events at a highly emotionally
chargedlevel. In stark contrast, the emotions of the adult Carlos, less innocent
and certainlymore tainted, at least by irony, are primarilyin the preteriteor im-
perfect tenses, and as such provide the tenuous safety of the emotional distance
characteristicof subsequent narration. Carlos' statements are - at times - a
blend of nostalgic longing for an irrevocablylost past, as the initial invocation
might indicate, and a bittersweetrelief that his same past is over.
A closer examination of two episodes in particularshould serve to provide a
clearerview of how these temporal and narrativelevels subtly blend to form a
cohesiveand complex image of Carlos'social and emotional context as both child
and adult. The first is Carlitos'dinner at HarryAtherton'shouse. After remem-
beringa fight with the "trash""Indian,"Rosales,an incident used by his fatherto
teach Carlitos"not to scorn others"(90), Carlosbegins an analysisof his family's
wealth relativeto that of his schoolmates.He concludes, "Comparedto RosalesI
was a millionaire,but next to HarryAtherton, I was a beggar"(90). Carlitos is
invited to dinner. Carlos remembers:
We atedinner.His parentsdid not saya wordto me andspokeEnglishthrough-
out the entire meal. Honey, how do you like the little spic? He's a midget, don't
you think? Oh Jack, please. Maybe the poor kid is catching on. Don't worry, dear,
he won't understand a thing. The next day, Harry said to me: I'm going to give
you some advice. Learn how to use your silverware. Last night you ate your filet
with your fish fork. And don't make so much noise with your soup, don't talk
with your mouth full, chew slowly, and take small bites. (90-91)12

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The obvious irony of Carlos'English-languageversion of the Athertons'conver-

sation is a double-edgednarrativesword.Although narratedsimultaneouslyin the
presenttense as "whatactuallytakesplace,"the conversationcan only be a recon-
struction availableto Carlosaftergoing to school in Virginia (two yearsafterthe
incident) wherehe becomes,we assume,comfortablewith the nuancesof English
(116). What was reallybeing saidat the tablewas patentlyout of reachto the child,
and so the adult constructshis own version of the conversation,one basedon his
currentknowledge of social practicesof the rich or well-to-do. The adult knows,
for example, that, "Harryhad been sent to Mexico High School instead of the
American one so that he could be totally immersed in a Spanish-speakingenvi-
ronment and thus familiarizehimself with those people who would be his help-
ers, his eternalapprentices,his servants"(90).13Carlitos, on the other hand, can
only feel uncomfortablethe day after,when Harrygives him a lesson in the culi-
nary etiquette of the rich. This subtle doubling of Carlos'perspectiveplaces the
entire episode in the tenuous realm of the past-predictive;possible only as in-
formed hindsight, but felt as if it were being lived in the present.It is subsequent
narrative,but with a twist, for through it we see that the past we have accessto is
not separateunto itself, but instead is a version of events irrevocablyintertwined
with and inextricablefrom the present,and to a greatextent informedby the point
of view from which it is recalled.l4
This intertwining of perspectiveis furtherillustratedin the first meeting be-
tween Carlitosand Mariana.Here, past and presentare fused;the child protago-
nist meets his adult counterpartface to face, even if only in his mind:
Come havea bite to eat, Marianasaid.And we sat down. I sat down in frontof
her, looking at her. I did not know which to do: eat nothing or gobble every-
thing down to makeher feel good. If I eat, she'llthink I'm a starvingchild;if I
don'teat, she'llthinkI don'tlike hercooking.Chew slowly.Don'ttalkwith your
mouth full.What canwe talkabout?Fortunately,Marianabreaksthe silence....
She didn'ttouch a thing. She talked,she talkedto me the whole time. Jim re-
mainedsilent while he ate one FlyingSaucerafteranother.Marianaaskedme:
What does your fatherdo? I was ashamedto answer:He owns a factorythat
makesbath and laundrysoap.The new detergentsareputtinghim out of busi-
ness. Oh, no. I'd neverthoughtabout it in that way. (92-93)15
The past tense, subsequentnarrationis broken up by simultaneouspresentation
of the action. The lessons of dinner with HarryAtherton have become incorpo-
rated into the child'srepertoireas he tries to impressMariana.His thoughts are
simple, directand somewhat uncomfortable(one can almost see him squirming).
The adult voice steps in when the conversationmoves beyond the ingredientsof
the "flyingsaucer"sandwichesthey are eating and confronts the socio-economic

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 Message in a Bottle

status of his family.The irony is that his fatheris being ruined by North Ameri-
can products newly introduced into the Mexican marketplacewhile Carlitos is
falling in love with Mariana (herself not unaffected by "gringo"influence) and
eatingsandwichesthat can be made only on a specialtoasteravailablein the United
States (93). Thus, in this scene, as in most of the novel, the emotive content is
communicated directly by the child'svoice: the wider social implications, how-
ever, are left entirely to the adult narrator,Carlos, and to the reader'sinterpreta-
tion.
As such, it is the readerwho ultimatelymust ask:did Carlitosreallyfall in love
with Mariana?Or, is the story of his infatuationjust a pretext, an excuse for the
communication of events on a more expansivesocial scale?Were his emotions
genuine?Or, are they so firmly embedded in and tainted by his present as to be
spurious?There is no concrete, black-and-whiteanswerto these questions. Each
readerwill arriveat a personalinterpretation.What is important is that Carlitos
believedso at the time and neitherhe nor his adult counterpartis repentant.The
child-adult concludes, afterleavingJim'shouse, that "The only thing a person of
my age can do is fall in love secretly,silently,like I had done with Mariana.Fallin
love knowing that all is lost and thereis no hope" (94).16He may have been forced
by family,culture, and religion to put on a penitent face, but Carlos admits that
as a child (and as he remembersit); "I did not regretanything, and I did not feel
guilty:to love someone is not a sin. Love is good; only hatredis demonic"(102).17
There are no textual clues as to why he refused to confront the memory for so
many years (116): no given reasonsfor rememberingit now. But, this conscious
act of memory constitutes a journey for him, an overcomingof no few obstacles
in orderto face himself- and, by direct implication, his family and his country
- in the past. Though not heroic on a grand scale, the conclusion he arrivesat
about the episode (although not about the Mexico of those years) is a positive,
almost triumphant one: "I did what I had to do, and even now, so many years
later,I cannot deny that I had fallen in love with Mariana"(110).18 His personal
integritywas and is intact. Whatever stimulated Carlos into actively remember-
ing the incident,whateverhis goalson a strictlypersonallevel, by the end he seems
to have achievedsome sort of equilibriumwith himself. The implications for his
social context, however,are another story.
This is so, because, if Carlos'narrationof his journey back to himself consti-
tutes one type of epic voyage, along the way, and not by chance, he also narrates
the upwardmobility of his family, its passagefrom the middle to upper middle
class. It is a paralleljourney in that the cues for its communication arecontained
within the discourse of Carlos' more personalhistory. However, at the levels of

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Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

content and significance,its itineraryleads awayfrom confrontationwith sincere

personalsentiment and towardsthe muddied domain of culturalcontamination.
At a purely structurallevel the text forces the readerto reconstructthe story by
filling in the gaps which occur as a result of the shifting temporal and narrative
perspectives(the continualfluctuationbetweenthe voices of Carlosand Carlitos),
and through the insistent inclusion within the discourseof informationfrom the
repertoireof social norms and values of post-WWII Mexico.
Although not analyzedextensively here, the political realitiesof the Miguel
Aleman regime are communicatedwith remarkabledetail, and form an integral
part of the paradigmaticcontent of the work. For example, through intertextual
references and description of the endless paradeswhich required attendance,
Carlos opens a window to the political situation during his youth. He recounts
how on an almostweeklybasisclassesweresuspendedso the schoolchildrencould
witness the monumental grandeurof the regime.Through the narrativefilter of
his adult self, Carlitos narratesthe dedication ceremonies with a wry cynicism
unavailableto his youthful counterpart:

As a rule, they were nothing more than a pile of rocks.The presidentinaugu-

ratedenormousunfinishedmonumentsto himself.Hoursand hoursunderthe
sun withoutso muchas a sip of water- hey,Rosales,bringsomelemons,they're
greatto quenchyourthirst,passone overhere- waitingfor MiguelAlemainto
arrive.Young,smiling,simpatico,shining,wavingfromaboarda cattletrucksur-
roundedby his retinue.Applause,confetti,paperstreamers,flowers... the eter-
nal littleold ladywho breaksthroughthe militarybarricadeandis photographed
with El SefiorPresidenteas she handshim a bouquetof roses.(85)19

The referenceto the ending of PedroPdramo,whose limp body "wasfalling to

pieces as if it were a pile of rocks"(129), recalls(among other things) the gilded
expectationsof Mexico'srevolutionarypast and the grim realityof its present.20
Moreover,the sarcasticcomments about the public worksprojectsundertakenby
the Aleman regime at the expense of programsof realhumanitarianvalue to the
people referto well-documentedfacts and reflectone of the primarycriticismsof
Aleman'stenure as president (1946-1952).21 The quaint little old lady who pre-
sents a convenient photo-op is the icing of the cake of this descriptionof political
superficiality.
The sheerquantityof this type of informationis overwhelming.Fromthe very
first page the readeris bombardedwith referencesfrom film, music, radio, and
politics. We see that even in "The Ancient World"evidence of culturalcolonial-
ism is everywhere.As he begins his process of remembering,Carlos transports

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 Message in a Bottle

himself into a not-so-distant past by invoking a backdropfor the era, shot full of
referencesto imported socio-culturalphenomenon:
CarlosAlbertcoveredsoccergames:Mago Septienwas the baseballannouncer.
The first postwar cars had begun to circulate:Packards,Cadillacs, Buicks,
Chryslers,Mercurys,Hudsons,Pontiacs,Dodges,Plymouths,De Sotos.Wewent
to see ErrolFlynnandTyronePowermovies,to matineesfeaturingan entirefilm
from beginningto end. My favoritewasThe Mongo Invasion.(81)22

Although it is not stated directly until much later in the narrative,Carlitos'al-

most innocent, and certainlyunthinking reverencefor all productsNorth Ameri-
can indicates a pervasivedevaluation, both economic and cultural, of Mexican
goods.23(The notableexception to this in the text is music.) His heroesareTyrone
Power,ErrolFlynn, ClarkGable, FlashGordon and Walt Disney. His languageis
slowlybeing encroachedupon by "termsthat had sounded like Chicanoismswhen
we had first heard them in the Tin Tan movies and then slowly, imperceptibly,
had become Mexicanized:tenquiu,oquei,uasamara,sherap,sorry"(82-83).24Fur-
thermore, as an adult looking back on the epoch, Carlos realizesthat this phe-
nomenon is specificallyrelatedto social class:"Only the very poor continued to
drink tepache.Our parentssoon got used to drinkingjaibol,even though at firstit
had tasted to them like medicine"(83).25 Those with the means and the resources
slowly allow themselvesand their culturaltastes (although they might not like it
at first, as thejaibol comment would indicate) to be transformedby the pervasive
influence of imported capitalistgringo culture. Thus, the financial, social, and
culturaldivisions between the havesand have-notswiden, with the formergradu-
ally losing all interest in the welfare of the latter as they become almost totally
self-absorbed in climbing a social ladder constructed for them out of foreign
materials.Carlitos'family is no exception to this phenomenon. Firmlyensconced
in the middle class at the outset of the narration, by its conclusion his family
members - including himself- are entirely dominated by trademarkUnited
Statesculturalcolonialism.Their economic journeycan be mapped along various
routes, all suggestedby and containedwithin Carlitos'narrationof his encounter
with Mariana,and his family'sreactionto it.
The episode central to the description of their upwardmobility is contained
within the chaptertitled "AMiddle Ground,"which preciselydescribesthe socio-
economic status of Carlitos'family at the time of his infatuationwith Mariana.
This middle ground is furtherhighlightedwithin the chapteras Carlitosdescribes
first his dinner invitation to HarryAtherton'sand then his visit to Rosales'home
to copy some civic notes. Uncomfortable at Harry's,Carlitos is repulsedby the
scene at Rosales'.He may adopt social customs which allow him entree into the

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Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

world of the upper class, but he has no desirewhatsoeverto journey to the lower
regionswhere "shitfloated in the greenishwater"(91).26This makesperfectsense
for him, as Mexico'skeen sensibility to class division is expertlyunderscoredin
the person of his mother,who "detestedeveryonewho was not fromJalisco[and]
thought that all other Mexicans were foreignersand particularlyloathed those
from the capital"(89).27Thus, even though his fatherwould have Carlitosbelieve
that "in Mexico we areall Indianseven if we do not know it or want to be" (90),
the subtext suggestedby the more informed adult narrativevoice points strongly
in the opposite direction.28There are great perceived differences between the
classes,and Carlitos'family aspiresto the more refined upper atmosphere.
An initial glimpse into this rarefiedworld is providedas CarlitosbefriendsJim
and meets Mariana.Jim'smuch discussed parental background, and Mariana's
position as paramourof"Miguel Aleman'somnipotent close friend and banking
partner"(86), both highlight the precariousand perfidiousnatureof culturaland
political influence and power.As an extended metaphor,Jim'sand Mariana'sin-
volvement in Carlitos'life also representsthe first "foreign"disruption he faces.
His infatuation with Mariana, and with all things gringo, presageshis family's
flight from the Mexican middle classinto the armsof the multinationals.In fact,
Carlos prefigureshis own cultural conversion when he recounts the following
episode: "By the time Christmasvacation came around, everythinghad totally
changed for us. My fatherhad sold his soap factoryand had just been appointed
managerof the North Americancompany that had bought him out. Hector was
studyingat the Universityof Chicago, and my older sisterswere in Texas"(1 10).29
His family'ssocio-economic climb is complete. His mother now escapesher hated
Colonia Roma and has her hair done in Polanco salon (110).30Furthermore,not
only have they escapedtheir middle-classconfines, but the childrenhave, for the
most part, physicallytraveledto the motherlandof culturalcolonization, where
they can be further socialized to complete acceptanceof the dominant cultural
code.
The transformation,however,is questionablefor Carlitos at a personallevel
until we see him in his final encounterwith Rosalesas he desperatelyrespondsto
the factsof Mariana'ssuddenand unexpecteddeath.The division betweenthe two
classes- personified in this instance by Rosalesand Carlitos- is apparentin
Carlitos'almostcomic questioningof Rosales'knowledgeof the Plazain New York
(112).31He offers to buy him an ice cream but Rosales'hunger requiresmore
substantialfood. The familiarcontact between them has been obliterated.There
is no common, middle groundanymore.Now entirelyrepelledby the sight of true
hunger,Carlitoswatcheswith disgustas "Rosalesswallowedsaliva,sandwich,and

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 Message in a Bottle

soda"(112).32Rosalesis now a means to an end for Carlitos,but nothing more.33

As Rosales describeshis mother'sproblems in trying to establish a union at her
hospital, Carlitos respondswith casualindifference:"Rosales,really,I'm sorryto
hear that, but it's none of my business and I have no reasonto get involved. Eat
whateveryou want and howevermuch you want - I'm paying- but tell me the
worst part"(112).34Carlitoshas money to throw around- an extended analogy
for the Aleman government,perhaps- but he no longer has any realconcern or
feelings for his Mexican brothers.Why should he? He will travelto Virginia and
be educated in the United States (116). He is now as far away from Rosalesand
the problemsof the poor of his country as possible. His family'sjourney into the
realm of social colonization is complete, as is his own. The social, cultural, and
emotional cost of both journeys, however,is left relativelyundeterminedwithin
the text.35
Carlos'narrationof his past, though not autobiographicalin the strictestsense
of the word, conforms fairlypreciselyto the frameworkof self-writingoutlined
by Sylvia Molloy, who, in her introduction to At Face Value:Autobiographical
Writingin SpanishAmerica,characterizesthe form as "thatattempt, everrenewed
and ever failing, to give voice to that which does not speak, to bring what is dead
to life by endowing it with a (textual) mask"(1).36For a brief moment, and for
reasonsunknown to all but himself, Carlos does in fact "bringwhat is dead to
life"by means of his resuscitationof bittersweetmemoriesof his infatuationwith
Mariana.However,with the closing words of his story he finally lays these same
memoriesto rest (las remata)as he admits (to himself) that his somewhat ingenu-
ous yearningfor a long lost past, as well as the utopian future predictedby previ-
ous social and political regimes,is reallynothing more than empty discourse.His
past is now truly foreignto him, as arethe vast majorityof his Mexican compatri-
ots. His culturalconversionand his rite of passagecomplete, he banisheshis nos-
talgiawith the invocation "who could feel nostalgic for that horror?"(117).37 At
the end of his tale he is finally "reborn"into a corruptpresent- a presentwhich
he must face alone, armed only with the memory of an incorruptiblelove that
could neverbe, and with the knowledge that therewill be no heroes to save him,
not even from himself. Thus, and with no small degreeof unresolvedambiguity,
he relegateshimself to the scrapheap of the futureby confrontinghis presentwith
the memory not of what could have been, but what is.38By so doing, Carlos as-
sumes his rightfulplace among Pacheco'smany voices, all of which carrythe same
essentialmessage:"I don't hurl accusations/ from any height for I also / am part
and product of the sewers"("Imitationof Juvenal,"Lostrabajosdel mar).394

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Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

Notes

"Esdecir, lanzamos / una botella al mar, que esta repleto / de basuray botellas con
mensajes.I Nunca sabremos/ a quien ni ad6nde la arrojaranlas mareas.I Lo mais
probable/ es que sucumba en la tempestady el abismo, / en la arenadel fondo que es la
muerte"(Pacheco, "Una defensa del anonimato";English translationmine).
2
Georg Lukacscharacterizesthe epic environment as follows: "The world of the
epic answersthe question: how can life become essential?"(35). One very plausible
readingof Las batallasen el desiertocharacterizesCarlos'narrationas "supugna por ser
autentico"(Steele 290). This fight for authenticity is, at its very core, a searchfor the
essential nature (naturaleza)of life, and is thus intricatelyintertwinedwith Lukacs'
construct of epic.
3 See
Joseph Campbell, TheHero Witha ThousandFaces,for a detailed description of
the implications of "ritesof passage"in modern life (3-25).
4 All
quotations in English are from Jose Emilio Pacheco, Battlesin the Desert&e
OtherStories(trans. KatherineSilver.New York:New Directions, 1987). All quotations
and referencesin Spanish are contained in endnotes, and are from Jose Emilio Pacheco,
Las batallasen el desierto(Mexico: Ediciones Era, 1981). "Me acuerdo, no me acuerdo:
,que afio era aquel?(Las batallasen el desierto9).
5 The reader
may have a vague sense at this point that the story events are situated in
the late '40s: "Yahabia supermercadospero no televisi6n"(9). For the informed reader,
however,this fact automaticallyprecludesthe possibility of any time after September 1,
1950, the date on which television was first introduced into Mexico (Beezley 34).
6
For example, the smooth, repetitiouslitany with which Dickens begins A Taleof
TwoCitiesachievesmuch the same end by evoking a number of highly charged
emotional characteristics(although Dickens goes on to mention a very specific date).
The same may be said for the very first lines of La muertede Artemio Cruz:"Yo
despierto ... Me despiertael contacto de ese objeto frio con el miembro ... Pero los
parpadosme pesan: dos plomos, cobres en la lengua, martillos en el oido, una ... una
como plata oxidada en la respiraci6n"(9) - which invoke a physical (and psychic)
realityforeign to most readers.In both cases, as well as in Las batallas,this strategyfor
- and
beginning the tale carriesthe readerawaywith reverie- it is almost hypnotic
then throws him directly into either the past, or a highly disagreeablepresent, while
being fully conscious that there is a markeddivision between the two periods.
7
"Momentaneamentemi madre se habia olvidado de Hector. Hector se
vanagloriabade ser conejode la Universidad.Decia que el fue uno de los militantes
derechistasque expulsaronal rector Zubirany borraronel letrero 'Dios no existe' en el
mural que Diego Riverapint6 en el hotel del Prado"(50).

Cynthia Steele'sfootnotes to Las batallasen el desierto,in Steele and Rojo'sRitosde

8

iniciacionprovide ample and specific information regardingsociohistoricalreferencesin

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 Message in a Bottle

the novel. Jose Durand, in "Afiosde transici6n:Las batallasen el desierto,de Jose Emilio
Pacheco,"also dates the initial story events as occurring in 1948.
9 "[Lahistoria] ... juega mas bien el papel de excusa, de pretexto, para ir perfilando
en rasgosprecisosy certerosla realidadcircundante:los paisajes,las situaciones, los
'golems' de una sociedad que apenas se comienza a 'capitalizar"'(Montero 22; all
translationsof secondarysource quotations are mine).
10"El nifio
que vivi6 la historia contada y el narradorque habla de si mismo
representan dos actantes distintos. La voz del niiio protagonistarevivesu propio pasado
y la voz del protagonista-narradordesliza, con sutileza, una mordaz critica social"
(Verani234).
11"a no
despreciar"(24). "Millonariofrente a Rosales, frente a HarryAtherton yo
era un mendigo" (24). This point will be discussed in some detail later,but it is worth
noting that Carlitos'family at this juncture in the narrativetruly occupies the Mexican
"Middle Ground" (Lugarde enmedio)which happens to be the title of the chapter in
which these events are narrated.Thus, the chapterheading carriestwofold significance
as the turning point in both the story-line (Carlos becomes Jim'sbest friend and will
thus meet Mariana),and the social subtext (Carlitos'family as "la esencialclasemedia
mexicana"before his father'ssale of the soap factory and subsequent employment in a
multinational firm).
12
"Cenamos. Sus padresno me dirigieronla palabray hablarontodo el tiempo en
ingles. Honey, how do you like the little Spic?He's a midget, isn'the. Oh Jack, please.
Maybe the poor kid is catching on. Don't worry,dear,he wouldn't understanda thing.
Al dia siguiente Harry me dijo: Voy a darte un consejo: aprendea usar los cubiertos.
Anoche comiste filete con el tenedor del pescado. Y trozos pequefios"(25).
13 "A
Harry no lo habian puesto en el Americano sino en el Mexico paraque ...
desde temprano se familiarizaracon quienes iban a ser sus ayudantes,sus
prestanombres,sus eternos aprendices,sus criados"(25).
14
For the readerunfamiliarwith English, the recounting of the scene will have the
exact same effect as the original episode did on Carlitos;the meaning will be out of
reach, the individual words will not make sense, but the nuances will be clear.It is in all
respectsa little piece of narrativegenius, apparentlysimplistic but in actualityvery
complex.
15 "Pasena merendar,dijo Mariana.Y nos sentamos. Yo frente a ella, mirandola. No
sabfaque hacer:no probarbocado o devorarlotodo parahalagarla.Si como, pensara
que estoy hambriento;si no como, creeraque no me gusta lo que hizo. Mastico
despacio, no hables con la boca llena. iDe que podemos conversar?Por fortuna
Marianarompe el silencio.... Ella no toc6 nada. Hablo, me hablo todo el tiempo. Jim
callado, comiendo uno tras otro platos voladores.Marianame pregunt6: iA que se
dedica tu papa'?Que pena contestarle:es dueiio de una fabrica,hace jabones de tocador

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Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

y de lavadero.Lo estanarruinando
los detergentes.
iAh si?Nuncalo habiapensado"
(29).
16
"Lounicoquepuedees enamorarseen secreto,en silencio,comoyo de Mariana.
Enamorarsesabiendoquetodo estaperdidoy no hayningunaesperanza" (31).
17 "Perono estaba ni me sentiaculpable:querera alquienno es pecado,
arrenpentido
el amorestabien,lo ulnicodemoniacoes el odio"(44).
18"hicelo
quedebiay ni siquieraahora,tantosafnosdespues,voya negarqueme
enamorede Mariana" (57). Lukacsstates,"Theindestructible bondwith realityas it is,
the crucialdifferencebetweenthe epicandthe drama,is a necessaryconsequenceof the
objectof the epicbeinglife itself"(47). Carlos'refusalto painthis pastwith the colors
of abjectcynicismand/ordenialaddsto the epicdimensionof hisjourney.
"9"Porreglageneralerannadamasun mont6nde piedras.El presidenteinauguraba
enormesmonumentosinconclusosa si mismo.Horasy horasbajoel sol sin movernos
ni tomaragua- Rosalestraelimones;son muybuenosparala sed;pasateuno-
esperandola llegadade MiguelAleman.Joven,sonriente,simpatico,brillante,
saludandoa bordode un cami6nde redilascon su comitiva.Aplausos,confeti,
serpentinas,flores,... la eternaviejecitaquerompela vallamilitary es fotografiada
cuandoentregaal Sefiorpresidente un ramode rosas"(16-17).
20
"sefue desmoronando
comosi fueraun mont6nde piedras"(PedroPdramo129).
21
SeeBasilioRojas,in Lasucesion deMexico,who comments,"Con
presidencial
afanesplausibles,Aleminse dedic6a realizarunaseriede obrasmaterialesa cualmas
(885);or CharlesCumberland,
costosay espectacular" Mexico:TheStrugglefor
Modernity, who notesthatin 1950Aleman'sgovernmentspentfully"18percentof its
budget for educationpurposes,with a heavyproportionof it beingdevotedto the
constructionof newschools"(292).
22
el beisbol.
"CarlosAlberterael cronistade fiitbol,el MagoSeptientrasmitIa
Circulaban los primeroscochesproducidosdespuesde la guerra:Packard, Cadillac,
Buick,Chrysler,Mercury,Hudson,Pontiac,Dodge,Plymouth,De Soto.Ibamosa ver
peliculasde ErrolFlynny TyronePower,a matinescon unade episodioscompleta:La
invasidndeMongoerami predilecta" (9).
Perhapsthe mosttellingexampleof this is Isabel'srelationship
23 with Esteban,the
child-actorof the Mexicanfamilyindustry.ForIsabel,"Estebanrepresentaba su unica
posibilidadde besara un artistade cine.Aunquefuerade cine mexicano,tema
predilectode lasburlasfamliares,casitansocorridopornosotroscomoel regimende
MiguelAleman"(53-54).Esteban's desireto moveto Hollywood,"aunqueno sabiauna
palabrade ingles"(53) andhis subsequentsuicide(54), as a metaphorsketchout a dim
placeindeedforMexicanculturein a colonizedenvironment; the extensionbeingthat
whenit wantsto growup (asEstebaninevitablydid) Mexicanculturemustcompeteon
the playingfieldwith a competitorpossessingunfairadvantage by having- through

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 Message in a Bottle

trickeryor not - alreadywon the hearts and minds of the spectators,and endowed
with much greaterwealth.
24
"terminosque primero habian sonado como pochismos en las peliculas de Tin Tan
y luego insensiblementese mexicanizaban:tenquiu, oquei, uasamara,sherap,sorry"
(11). Although it may be argued to the contrary,there are critics who believe that
Mexican culture'sability to absorband integrateforeign influence is one of its strongest
characteristics.William H. Beezley,in "PopularCulture,"states: "Nationalistsquite
rightly work against the increasedpenetration of foreign influence in the language, the
mass media, and other facets of culture. Nevertheless, their major fear that a sombrero
version of United States culture will emerge seems unfounded. Mexico'smass culture
revealsa nationalistic resiliencythat absorbsforeign influence, reshapesit, and gives it a
Mexican stamp"(43).
25"Unicamentelos pobres seguian tomando tepache. Nuestros padresse habituaban
al jaibol que en principio les supo a medicina"(12).
26
"En el agua verdosaflotaba mierda"(26).
27
"detestabaa quienes no eran de Jalisco.Juzgabaextranjerosal resto de los
mexicanos y aborreciaen especial a los capitalinos"(22).
28
"en Mexico todos eramos indios aun sin saberloni quererlo"(24).
29
"Alllegarlas vacacionesde fin de ainotodo era muy distinto para nosotros: mi
padre habia vendido la fabricay acababande nombrarlogerente al servicio de la
empresanorteamericanaque absorbi6 sus marcasde jabones. Hector estudiabaen la
Universidadde Chicago y mis hermanasmayoresen Texas"(58).
30
But notably, not in Las Lomas, which would have indicated a climb to the highest
altitudes.

31 Likewise, this change is signaled purely on the level of physical appearancesas

Carlitos mentally beratesRosales for "teasing"him about Mariana'sdeath: "Quiso

vengarsede que lo encontre muertodehambrecon su cajitade chicles y yo con mi
raquetade tenis, mi trajeblanco, mi PerryMason en ingles, mis reservacionesen el
Plaza"(64-64). Carlitos is awareof his status change, and aware,as an adult looking
back (the voice of Carlos), that he alienated himself from his surroundingsby means of
it.

32
"Rosalestrag6 saliva, torta, sidral"(61).
33
Although it can be argued that he, and by extension his class, alwayshas been
nothing more than an expedient means to an end since Carlitos'visit to his home was
predicatedon the fact that "Eraun excelente alumno, el de mejor letra y ortografia,y
todos lo utilizabamospara estos favores"(25). Carlitoswas never truly friends with
Rosales, and his contact with him outside school - where it was enforced and
controlled - was limited to instances of expediency on the part of Carlitos. Hence the

SPRING 1999 + ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW + 25

Florence Moorhead-Rosenberg

social norm: the poor are rememberedwhen they can be of some use; otherwise they
are forgotten and left to solve their own problems in isolation.
34 "Rosales,de verdadlo siento;
pero eso no es asunto mio y no tengo por que
meterme. Come lo que quierasy cuanto quieras- yo pago - pero dime que es lo
peor" (61).
35 As
Cynthia Steele notes: "Porlo tanto, el fin de la novela es ambiguo; si por una
parte sugiereque Carlos no ha renunciadoa su pugna por ser autentico, por alcanzar
un ideal ut6pico, tambien nos deja ver que, a pesarde la autocriticair6nica que permea
su narraci6n,los valoresde Carlos permanecendistorsionadospor las fuerzas
ideologicas que moldearon a su generaci6n"("Cosificaci6n"290).
36
Molloy furtherelaborateson the form as follows: "SpanishAmerican self-writing
is an exercisein memory doubled by a ritual of commemoration, in which individual
relics (in Benjamin'ssense of the term) are secularizedand re-presentedas shared
events"(9). Also of interest and pertinence to the present argument is the chaptertitled
"Autobiographyas History: A Statue for Posterity"(139-158).
37 "deese horrorquien puede tener nostalgia"(68).

Carlos reaffirmshis allegianceto life, though with a high degree of

38 Thus,

skepticism, and thus, his journey fulfills its epic mandate. For, as Lukacsnotes: "The
'should be' kills life, and an epic hero constructed out of what 'should be' will alwaysbe
but a shadow of the living epic man of historicalreality"(48).

"No lanzo cargos / desde ninguna alturapues yo tambien / soy parte de y soy
39

producto de la cloaca"("Imitaci6nde Juvenal,"Los trabajosdel mar, English translation

mine).

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Barrett,Michele. Women'sOppressionToday:TheMarxist/FeministEncounter.London:
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Campbell, Joseph. TheHero Witha ThousandFaces.Bollingen SeriesXVII. New York:

Princeton University Press, 1973.

Castai6on,Adolfo. "Lasbatallasen el desierto,de Jose Emilio Pacheco."Vuelta57

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Dickens, Charles.A Taleof TwoCities.Greenwich Unabridged LibraryClassics. New

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