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The Lessons of San Manuel Bueno, martir
- MLN
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 121, Number 2, March 2006 (Hispanic Issue)
- pp. 343-366
- 10.1353/mln.2006.0053
- Article
- Additional Information
- Purchase/rental options available:
Many readers of San Manuel Bueno, màrtir, the story of a priest who does not believe in the religion he preaches, have equated the character Manuel Bueno with the author Miguel de Unamuno, a serious conceptual error. After a review of criticism and some theoretical considerations, I propose an understanding of the work as an indictment of conservative ideologies that would keep the masses in believing ignorance. Important to my understanding is the role of the narrator: àngela. The discursive control assumed by this female narrator provides a positive alternative to the negative lesson of the unbelieving priest.