Carlos de Sigüenza y Gongora, one of seventeenth-century Mexico's best-known intellectuals, was a writer of fascinating and complex narratives that exemplify the heterogeneous nature of colonial Spanish American prose. This book, first published in 1993, was the first critical study to place both the writer and his narrative within the phenomenon of the barroco de Indias, or the Spanish American baroque. Approaching Sigüenza as criollo historian preoccupied with the placement of the New World within a universal context, Professor Ross develops a theoretical framework within which his texts can be read and understood in the modern era. Professor Ross incorporates into her examination of the author methods of critical analysis in the study of colonial Spanish American literature, such as the use of narrative theory, the historiography, and feminist criticism.
Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Culture of the Spanish American baroque; 2. A New World paradise; 3. The discourse of paternity; 4. The discourse of paternalism; 5. Reading the vidas; Epilogue; Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
"...is certain to be the standard reference on this work for years to come. Scholars dedicating themselves to the large corpus of baroque poetry written in America will also find this book essential." Calíope