Emotions and late 19th Century Argentinian society in Martin Fierro and his writer

Abstract

Over the years, there have been many analyses of the poem Martín Fierro, in large part thanks to it being such an important work for Argentinian cultural identity and the common depiction of the gaucho. However, despite the notable interest in the sentimentality displayed by its characters, the ideas of the History of Emotions have never been utilized to study this poem. As such, the objective of this study is to apply conceptual tools like emotional refuge, emotional community, and emotive to learn more about this representation of the rural bonaerense society and what its author, Jose Hernandez, was looking to achieve through his interpretation. By contextualizing late 19th century Argentina, the lived experiences of the author and by discussing the origins and contributions of emotion historiography, it becomes possible to explore the emotional dimension of verses and phrases from both parts of the poem in great detail. This work allows to understand how the display of the gaucho’s tears and songs featured in Martin Fierro seek to display pain over the absence of refuges as the world of the pampa increases its hostility, as well as showing Hernandez’s wish to save the gaucho, representing him with innovative sympathy.