La literatura alemana en la obra de Ignacio Manuel Altamirano: Un cuento de E. Th. A. Hoffmann como hipotexto de Clemencia

The present article questions the role of German literature, especially romanticism, in the work of Mexican writer and liberal politician Ignacio Manuel Altamirano. It traces the origins of his short story "Las tresflores" that could be found in some elements of popular German culture. In this context, I argument against the thesis that states that "Las tresflores" is a direct translation of an unknown German tale.

In the second part of the article, I aim to establish one of E. Th. A. Hoffmann´s tales as the hipotext of Altamirano's novel Clemencia. It was possible to trace the origins of Altamirano's acquaintance with the romantic story: a French translation published in 1861. It is now clear that the Mexican writer did not read the original text.

Finally, I try to show how literary reception works in different ways in El Renacimiento, the review founded and directed by Altamirano that tried to organize the new Mexican literature, and in his own fictional work: aesthetic interests dominate over ideological and pedagogical ones, but at the end of the process, generate and serve ideological and pedagogical aims.