El redescubrirniento del yo y del otro: viajes, estructuras míticas, mitos y rituales de paso en Los pasos perdidos, de Alejo Carpentier

Abstract

This paper is proposing the study of various themes related to Alejo Carpentier's Los pasos perdidos. Even though these themes have been studied before, it is proposing a new revision from a different perspective. First, it will consider the trip made by the main character, whose sole motive is self-discovery. The viaje a la semilla o la raíz will be studied from a mythical point of view. The conceptualization of the trip as a seminal starting point can give an idea on how to explain the main character's transformation from hero-narrator-main character. Second, it will study three classical myths in this novel: Sisyphus, Prometheus and Ulysses-Odysseus. It will confront these myths to the ritual of the jungle. It will contrast the presence of these myths as a way to describe and explain the difference between the two opposing worlds in this narration: "the civilized world" versus "the world of the jungle". It's trying to contrast these two worlds through the narrator-main character's voice. This could be accomplished by applying two kinds of myths: the classics, which are used to explain the conflicting world of the protagonist; and the native myths who serve to demonstrate the world of the jungle. Third, structurally, the main elements of this novel are designed following triptych constructions of the triple mythic scheme: the three stages trip, the classic primordial myths (which are three), as three are the important women in the main character's life. For this reason, it will analyze the function of this construction in the novel which in turn seems to correspond to the purpose of its meaning.