The Kingdom of this World (1949)

The Kingdom of This World (Spanish: El reino de este mundo) is a novel by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier, published in 1949 in his native Spanish and first translated into English in 1957. A work of historical fiction, it tells the story of Haiti before, during, and after the Haitian Revolution led by Toussaint Louverture, as seen by its central character, Ti Noel, who serves as the novel's connecting thread. Carpentier's work has been influenced by his multi-cultural experience and his passion for the arts, as well as by authors such as Miguel de Cervantes. The novel stems from the author's desire to retrace the roots and history of the New World, and is embedded with what Carpentier calls "lo real maravilloso" or "the marvelous real"—a concept he introduced to the world of literature (not to be confused with magical realism).

Throughout the novel, varying perceptions of reality that arise due to cultural differences between its characters are emphasized and contrasted. Carpentier explores hybridization, nature, voodoo, ethnicity, history and destiny, confusion, violence, and sexuality in a style that blends history with fiction and uses repetition to emphasize the cyclical nature of events. The novel was largely well-received with much attention paid to Carpentier's inclusion of magic realism and The Kingdom of This World has been described as an important work in the development of this genre in Caribbean and Latin American literature. However, some technical aspects of his style have been ignored by the academic community, and the novel's narrative organization has been criticized.

Background

Author

Alejo Carpentier was born on December 26, 1904, in Lausanne, Switzerland and grew up in Havana, Cuba. He subsequently moved to France in 1933 (at the age of 29) and returned to Cuba six years later, in 1939. Once in Cuba, Carpentier joined a group of young writers whose goal was to establish a literature faithful to the New World, by recovering origins, history, and tradition. In 1943, he travelled to Haiti, where he was made aware of Dominique Hyppolyte's play, Le Torrent, about the Haitian Revolution, which features a character named Ti Noel. As The Kingdom of This World coincides with Carpentier's return to Cuba, it is very much influenced by the author's re-encounter with himself and his origins.

Setting

The Kingdom of This World takes place prior to, during, and after the Haitian Revolution which began in 1791 and led to the declaration of Haitian independence in 1804. This revolution was a turning point in global history because it was unthinkable that such a massive anti-slavery revolt would not only take place, but also be successful; therefore, it challenged the prejudices of its time and ultimately influenced abolitionist movements throughout the Americas. Haitians became the second nation to break from their European colonizer (following the US). The Haitian revolution differed from the American Revolution however, as it involved the formation of a new national identity. Unlike in the US, the entire social and economic order that had been put in place through the practice of plantation slavery in Haiti was transformed.

In contrast to the intense single character focus of his first novel, ¡Ecue-Yamba-O! (Praised Be the Lord!), Carpentier offers a diversified understanding of black society and its beliefs in The Kingdom of This World. There exists remarkable respect for accuracy on all sides including historical facts, character names, place names, and even street names. This adds to the key blend of marvellous fantasy and historical accuracy.

Influences

Other authors

Carpentier was influenced by a number of authors. Jean Price Mars's Ainsi parla l'oncle (So Spoke the Uncle) presents two arguments that Carpentier applied to his historical approach: firstly, from the perspective of a Haitian peasant, the Revolution did nothing more than replace leaders, since the exploitation continued; secondly, Price Mars assumes the authenticity of the belief in African gods, in contrast with a shallow Catholicism. William Seabrook's The Magic Island made connections between religion and history and was considered a beautiful book by Carpentier.

Carpentier was a great admirer of Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, having cited him in a number of different texts throughout his career. The Prologue begins with a quote from Cervantes' Los trabajos de Persiles y Sigismunda (Persiles and Sigismunda), which is subsequently mentioned, with a focus on the character of Rutilio. The mention of Rutilio is noteworthy, as the episode has been of interest to critics due to its magical subject matter, concerning lycanthropy. Both works feature a distant and exotic land where the marvellous is present by means of metamorphoses, and viewed from the characters' perspective.

Theatre

Theatre also greatly influenced Alejo Carpentier's work. In all his work, Carpentier uses the characters he creates to explore the notions of subjectivity and identity, analyzing the way in which individuals see themselves and others within cultural settings. In order to achieve such an analysis, Carpentier makes use of spectatorship: his characters perceive a spectacle in alterable ways which parallel their alterable ways of experiencing the world. Spectacle situations are also sometimes used by Carpentier as a tool for the characters to reframe and rethink the world, as well as to establish individual and group identity.