Male Anxiety and Sacrificial Masculinity: The Case of Echeverria

This article analyzes the problematic performance of masculinity in the writings of Esteban Echeverría. The author compares Echeverría to his Argentine counterparts in the Generación de 1837; to North American writers similarly struggling with a crisis of masculinity and national identity; and, briefly, to the Romantics. The author also offers insightful readings of Echeverría's nonfictional writings, both his autobiographical texts and political treatises; and of "La cautiva" and "El matadero."