Cohesion and Contradiction: The Narrative Excesses of Todas las Sangres

Abstract

This article discusses the manner in which José María Arguedas’ Todas las sangres relies upon several literary conventions common to melodramatic narration in order to delineate the terms of social strife in the text. At the same time, this study examines how Arguedas’ novel challenges the rigid parameters of melodramatic narrative in depicting the heterogeneity of the represented world. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how melodramatic aesthetics are modified in Todas las sangres so as to more clearly represent the complexity of the Andean social experience.