Amalia (original 1851; edition 1851)

I have finally finished reading Amalia By José Mármol. This novel was published in two parts in 1844 and 1855. It shows the strong influence of Scott and also Victor Hugo. It is similar to Scott in that there is a great emphasis on national history, which in this case is the Rosas dictatorship in Argentina during 1840, combined with a love story. The love story, like so much of Scott, seems at time to be a minor part of the story. This novel, though, seems much different from any I have ever read. It is not tightly written; it has long lyrical passages of homages to nature, descriptions of dress, furnishings and life in Argentina, political diatribes against Rosas, historical renderings much like Scott, hymns of praise of love, and much comic relief. The main characters seem not to be Amalia and her lover, but the people involved in the tumultuous events that occurred in the Argentine winter and spring of 1840. There is a revised translation published by Oxford University Press. I have not read the translation, but the introduction is quite interesting, although I disagree with much of it. ( )