Juan Ruflo’s first and only novel, Pedro Páramo, was published in 1955. He is one of the most important Latin American writers and is said to have been a source of inspiration for Gabriel García Marquez’s Cien años de soledad. The novel tells the story of Juan Preciado as he begins the journey back to his late mother’s hometown Comala, to find his father, Pedro Páramo. When Preciado arrives, he finds a ghost town and discovers his father had died some years earlier. The novel is difficult to follow as there are many narrative changes and half way through the book, Juan Preciado, the protagonist dies; subsequently the story is inferred by events surrounding his father’s life. The novel is published 35 years after the end of the Mexican Revolution which lasted from 1910 until 1920. The revolution was one of the bloodiest events in Mexican history and its principal goal was to end the corrupt. Caciquismo regime and Profirio Diaz’s dictatorship; yet it developed into an economic and social disaster. Caciquismo is the rule of caciques, who dominated the political structure of the country, yet often abused their power. In the case of the Revolution, they were wealthy landowners who controlled complete regions. The Mexican Revolution and caciquismo dramatically changed the Mexican way of thinking and their culture. Pedro Páramo is a criticism of the cacique and the Mexican Revolution as Ruflo’s family was destroyed as a result of events that occurred during this period of Mexican history. His depiction, although negative, is subtle due to the complex nature of the novel, the author’s inference is often overlooked, making it easy to forget the historical context. The complexity of the novel allows him to truly portray what happened during the Revolution. Ruflo uses the theme of death and violence as his narrative structure within the novel. His depiction of caciquismo, the Mexican Revolution and resistance can be analysed through the character of Pedro Páramo, the antagonist of the novel.
Pedro Páramo is one of the three main protagonists within the novel, yet he plays the most important role within its historical depiction as he is the cacique of Comala. Throughout the novel, he is constantly seen abusing his power which eventually results in the collapse of himself; Comala, even that of his own son, Juan Preciado, and subsequently, the novel. The beginning of the novel deals with Pedro Preciado’s childhood years and reveals he has come from a rather, poor, rural family. At a young age, his father is violently murdered which triggers his rise to power. The decisions he makes and the events that happen in his life are a result of his father’s death, and therefore haunt him until the day he dies:
hasta que la había borrado del recuerdo cuando ya no hubo nadie que se la recordara
He blames himself for his father’s murder and therefore devotes his life attempting to forget this memory. The role of a father figure, attributed to his father’s death, becomes increasingly important within the novel. Pedro Páramo’s role as cacique means he is the symbolised father of the town and its population, which he controls; yet he is also the biological father to Juan Preciado. Despite his metaphorical role as father figure, he has an egotistical personality and does not seem to care about the consequences of his abuse of power. The novel portrays his ability to turn his back on Comala and the people in order to fulfil his own desire. He is the controller of the fate of the people and he can eliminate them when and as he deems acceptable. His sole purpose in life appears to be to seek vengeance on Comala for his father’s death, and he will not stop until his entire town is destroyed:
Me cruzaré los brazos y Comala se morirá de hambre. Y así lo hizo
Following the death of his life-long love, Susana San Juan, Pedro Páramo organizes a wake for her and expects all the villagers to mourn her death. However, they do not fulfil his expectation. He, as a result, destroys the entirety of Comala. The death of Susana is shocking within the novel. Pedro Páramo narrates, every fragment is a poetic endorsement of her and his love for her. Her death ultimately leads to his downfall. His choice to destroy the village occurs as the Revolution reached Comala. Páramo managed to avoid the demolition of his village or losing any territory and yet he, as the cacique, exercises his power and manages to destroy it himself. This is a depiction of the abuse of power exerted during this period of Mexican history that Rulfo wanted to demonstrate throughout his novel. The destruction of Comala signifies the demise of Paramo. His decision to destroy Comala as a result of his townspeople refusing to mourn Susana is an example of his personality. Many of his decisions throughout are based on his desire for Susana, regardless of the consequences. He constantly fails to achieve the idealistic relationship he has always dreamt of having with her. His determination for her love results in the death of her father and ultimately, the death of herself. Pedro Páramo offers her father, Bartolomé San Juan, money for them to return to Comala, despite the Mexican Revolution having reached the town upon their arrival. There is an obvious link between money and death. The money equates to Pedro Páramo being able to have Bartolomé’s daughter yet is in fact the father selling his daughter and his life to Pedro Páramo. The only time the reader is shown a sense of weakness in the protagonist is through his love for Susana. He spends his entire life attempting to make her fall in love with him and dies having failed to do so. He can control almost everything but fails to gain Susana San Juan. He, in attempting to get her to love him, kills her father, her and himself. She epitomizes how despite his total power; his life remains unfulfilled. Pedro Páramo is the cacique of Comala and epitomises the damaging effects one single man had on a region in Mexico during this period of history. Rulfo attempts to convey how the economic and political responsibility of an area ruled by a dictator resulted in a tyrannical abuse of power, causing the demise of the area and its people .
The Mexican Revolution and the Civil War was the most violent and deadly event in the history of Mexico which led to the death of thousands of people. Death is perhaps the most important theme within the novel and historically has an important role within the depiction of the Mexican Revolution. Rulfo has a highly critical view of these events as they resulted in the destruction of his family. Even today, death is significant within Mexican culture due to their traditions. El Día de los Muertos is their most famous association with death which links their Catholic religion with the Aztecs. It, however, is not a solemn day of mourning but rather a celebration of the life of the dead. Death is normalized in Mexico given the role it plays within its history. As Octavia Paz states, “Morir es natural y hasta deseable; cuanto más pronto, mejor.” The novel, in a way, portrays death as desirable. From the beginning of the novel, until the end, death is present. Juan Preciado, following the death of his mother, travels to a ghost town where he lives and dies amongst ghosts. As it is a ghost town, there is often confusion in distinguishing those who are dead and those who are alive. The element of his death is ambiguously inferred, rather than told; when Juan Preciado dies, he is unsure how he died and tells the story in two different ways. He first states:
El calor me perseguía no se despegaba de mí […] Y es que no había aire.
It was the heat that killed and suffocated him. However, he later contradicts himself stating next:
“no sentía calor, como te dijo antes; antes por el contrario; sentía frio.”
He, himself is unsure about his death, emphasising the distorted reality within the novel. The initial description of his death symbolises hell, while the second symbolises heaven . He narrates the novel as a dead person, and in turn narrates his own death. However, as he is dead, he is seen to not be a reliable narrator as he contradicts throughout his narration.
Wealthy landowners and industrialists were favoured during the Mexican Revolution, thus highlighting the role money played during this period in history. Money is significant within the novel, not only as it mirrors Mexican society, but also as it has a clear relationship with death. Miguel Páramo, Pedro Páramo’s unlawful son, is a malicious and sinful character within the novel, he has raped Padre Rentería’s daughter and murdered Bartolomé San Juan. Upon dying, he begs Padre Rentería to forgive him for the sins he committed, Padre Rentería agrees, on the condition that Pedro Páramo gives him, “puño de monedas de oro” . However, when Eduviges commits suicide which is classified as a sin in the Catholic church and asks Padre Rentería for forgiveness; *he refuses, as she was not able to pay to go to church. The irony created within this shows the corrupt nature of the society and Rulfo’s critical depiction of the Mexican Revolution and the power of cacique is clearly seen. After having forgiven Miguel Páramo for his sins, the priest was no longer able to pardon those who committed sins if they could not pay. The impact money has within the novel and its relationship to death echoes that of caciquismo in Mexican history.
Although Rulfo has made clear that he did not want his novel to be a novel of Mexican political history, he does present a negative depiction of it. His novel could be a way of protesting the history of resistance which is present within the novel. Susana San Juan is the embodiment of resistance within the novel as she is unwilling to acquiesce to the dictates of the Cacique. The Revolution reaches Comala in the same fragment that Susana San Juan remembers returning to Comala. Rulfo hints to the Revolution through the narration, “había gente levantada en armas.” He does not clarify that this is the Revolution, yet the reader can infer that this is the case. It is interesting that Ruflo chooses only this fragment to Pedro Páramo in reference to the Revolution, Susana is the only form of resistance. She is the person who refuses to obey his power nor follow his instructions. She depicts the resistance to caciquismo. She refuses to fall in love with him despite him poetising her in every fragment. She resists the spell of his love, like those who resisted the caciquismo and the Revolution. She is a successful depiction of the Resistance; especially when contrasted with Padre Rentaria, who, despite his religious power and position in society cannot resist the demands of Pedro Páramo. Rentaria is self-doubting, riddled by guilt and fails to represent the church. He lives his life thanks to Pedro Páramo’s money and as a result does not want to insult him. Therefore, he goes against his own beliefs and permits evil. This is shown when he pardons Miguel Páramo and not Eduviges, in fear of upsetting the cacique of Comala. Miguel Páramo, the cacique’s son is brought and paid to be pardoned by the priest himself. As a consequence, Padre Rentería believes in the evil he has permitted, ‘estamos condenados a eso’. He implies, that he like many others, will never go to Heaven. He defends his Church and Pedro Páramo by participating in La Guerra de los Cristeros. However, by doing so, this becomes a way for Rulfo to portray the negative impact the highly respected Church had on the death of his family. Through Susana San Juan and Padre Rentería, Rulfo is able to portray those who resisted and those who conformed to the Mexican Revolution, and the power of the caciques.
In conclusion, Pedro Páramo is a clever depiction of caciquismo and the Mexican Revolution. His portrayal of the protagonist, Pedro Páramo, is a fictional example of the power the caciques had in Mexico. While hinting to Mexican culture and traditions, he discusses death, while alluding to the Mexican Revolution. Through Susana San Juan and Padre Rentería, Rulfo conveyed the conforming and resisting that occurred during the Mexican Revolution. However, as a reader it is often necessary to read between the lines to fully understand his thoughts within the novel. Rulfo deliberately portrayed the historical events this way, as despite the Revolution ruining his family, he did not want his novel to be a political novel. He told his story to create his unique critique of the Mexican Revolution, and the consequences it had on his family.