6/4/2014 Notes on Point of View in Carpentier' s El reino de este mundo; or, a Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"

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Notes on Point of View in Carpentier's El reino de este mundo; or, a
Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"
Derek Frost
University of Connecticut

When Ti Noel returns to inhabit the old plantation of Lenormand de Mezy in Alejo Carpentier's El
reino de este mundo, creating his personal kingdom among the weeds and ruins, fragments of the
estate's former life occasionally surface and take shape: the blue tiles of the dining room floor, pieces
of the foundation, a windowsill, and even part of a wall materialize from the oblivion of overgrowth
and rubble. The emergence of these forms replicates, on a small scale, the phenomenon of
becoming that recurs throughout the narrative.
In a broad sense, of course, "lo real" becomes "lo maravilloso" as human beings become animals,
slaves become masters, and a monarch becomes part of his fortress. The process of becoming also
occurs at a structural level, however, as the narrative itself gradually unfolds to reveal the truth of
phenomena that first appear vague and puzzling. This emergence of events and images from initial
formlessness, which parallels the evolving shape of history tracked by the novel and described by
Alegra as possessing the attributes of "un frenes de pesadillesco movimiento" (50), is most
dramatically evident in the following episodes, as will be explored in detail below: (1) the slaves'
campaign of poison and Mackandal's subsequent execution; (2) "el pacto mayor" and the uprising of
the slaves; and (3) Ti Noel's return to Haiti and the events surrounding the murder of Cornejo
Breille.
From Mackandal's sudden obsession with herbs to his appearance in the cavern, it is apparent that
something is gathering momentum, but explanations are withheld by the selectively omniscient
narrator. Only select portions of Mackandal's point of view are revealed: his "raro inters" in certain
plants, his surprise at the "vida secreta de especies singulares," his particular interest in mushrooms
(28). The reasons for his fascination with the flora, however, are concealed.
When the point of view shifts to that of Ti Noel, the reader can only share the latter's
uncomprehending "asombro" at Mamn Loi's resistance to the boiling oil (29); the additional shift in
6/4/2014 Notes on Point of View in Carpentier' s El reino de este mundo; or, a Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"
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perspective to that of the slave owners as they react to Mackandal's escape further distances the
reader from the conspiracy that is being hatched. Finally, Ti Noel's meeting with Mackandal in the
cavern, although narrated in third person from Ti Noel's perspective, sheds little light on what is
afoot. In spite of the fact that "Ti Noel se enter ese da de lo que el manco esperaba de l," no
explanation is given to the reader (33).
Although the origin of the spreading poison might be inferred from the sequence of events, the
narrative in Chapter 5 obscures it in an atmosphere of mystery and alarm as the point of view shifts
to that of the slave owners:
No se saba cmo avanzaba entre las gramas y alfalfas, cmo se introduca en las pacas de
forraje, cmo se suba a los pesebres. . . . Los ms expertos herbolarios del Cabo buscaban
en vano la hoja, la resina, la savia, posibles portadoras del azote. . . .
Pronto se supo, con espanto, que el veneno haba entrado en las casas. (33)
Now it is the colonists who must make sense of the unfolding phenomenon, attempting to decipher it
as it materializes in their midst.
One of the slaves finally informs the authorities that Mackandal is responsible; after four years of
metamorphosing into animal forms, he is captured. As at the start of the campaign of poison, the
narrator withholds information when the day of Mackandal's execution arrives. Although the reader
can guess at what is being prepared, there is initially no direct explanation for the gathering in the
Plaza Mayor of la Ciudad del Cabo; the description focuses instead on the atmosphere of spectacle:
Como de palco a palco de un vasto teatro conversaban a gritos las damas de abanicos y
mitones, con las voces deliciosamente alteradas por la emocin. Aquellos cuyas ventanas
daban sobre la plaza, haban hecho preparar refrescos de limn y de horchata para sus
invitados. Abajo, cada vez ms apretados y sudorosos, los negros esperaban un espectculo
que haba sido organizado para ellos; una funcin de gala para negros, a cuya pompa se
haban sacrificado todos los crditos necesarios. (41)
The true nature of the event becomes apparent, however, with Mackandal's entrance, and the
festive air described above grows sinister:
De pronto, todos los abanicos se cerraron a un tiempo. . . . Con la cintura ceida por un
6/4/2014 Notes on Point of View in Carpentier' s El reino de este mundo; or, a Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"
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calzn rayado, cubierto de cuerdas y de nudos, lustroso de lastimaduras frescas, Mackandal
avanzaba hacia el centro de la plaza. (41)
His burning at the stake is described in vivid detail, all the more horrifying for the innocuousness of
the scene with which the chapter opens.
The uprising of the slaves also materializes gradually from the narrative. The purpose of the meeting
that seals "el pacto mayor," for example, is revealed in increments that slowly come into focus
through the forest rain. It is even unclear at first whether the "dotaciones de la Llanura del Norte"
(50) are slaves or slave owners, for Ti Noel's presence is not established until the third sentence.
The subsequent reference to precautions against spies hints at the reason for the gathering, which is
eventually revealed:
Bouckman dej caer la lluvia sobre los rboles durante algunos segundos, como para
esperar un rayo que se abri sobre el mar. Entonces, cuando hubo pasado el retumbo,
declar que un Pacto se haba sellado entre los iniciados de ac y los grandes Loas del
frica, para que la guerra se iniciara bajo los signos propicios. (51)
Echoing the delay of the narrative itself, Bouckman pauses before disclosing the final aim of the
meeting, which is appropriately heralded by a bolt of lightning.
The start of the uprising is also presented in such a way that the reader at first cannot be sure of
what is happening. The "llamada de los caracoles" that signals the beginning of the rebellion is
presented from the perspective of Lenormand de Mezy, who initially does not understand its
significance:
Muy lejos, haba sonado una trompa de caracol. Lo que resultaba sorprendente, ahora, era
que al lento mugido de esa concha respondan otros en los montes y en las selvas. . . . Era
como si todas las porcelanas de la costa, todos los lambes indios, todos los abrojines que
servan para sujetar las puertas, todos los caracoles que yacan, solitarios y petrificados, en el
tope de los Moles, se hubieran puesto a cantar en coro. . . . Monsieur Lenormand de Mezy,
alarmado, se ocult detrs de un macizo de bugambilias. (54)
Shifting to an omniscient point of view, the narrative then follows the opening minutes of the uprising
as the slaves burst from their quarters and attack the main house.
6/4/2014 Notes on Point of View in Carpentier' s El reino de este mundo; or, a Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"
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Since Ti Noel's return home in Part III is narrated from his point of view (although in third person),
the full picture of what Haiti has become during his absence only gradually emerges as he makes
sense of it. He appears unable, however, to correctly interpret a number of ominous signs which, in
retrospect, seem to allude to the horror of the Christophe regime. Instead, "Ti Noel cay de rodillas
y dio gracias al cielo por haberle concedido el jbilo de regresar a la tierra de los Grandes Pactos"
(76).
Later, perplexed and fascinated by a group of black cavalrymen dressed in Napoleonic uniforms, he
follows them, failing to see any danger. This prodigal son's perception of Haiti is as dazzled as his
view of Sans-Souci, "el espectculo ms inesperado, ms imponente que hubiera visto en su larga
existencia" (78-79). The beauty of Christophe's pink palace is revealed to the reader with the
approach of Ti Noel, who absorbs all the details and is most affected by "el descubrimiento de que
ese mundo prodigioso . . . era un mundo de negros" (79).
Like Ti Noel, the reader must construct a partial picture of post-independence Haiti from the limited
information that trickles forth from the narrative. When the protagonist is greeted with the "tremendo
palo en el lomo," it is apparent that he has misread the signs of change in his native land (80). Only
after being conscripted to work on la Ciudadela La Ferrire does he understand the full nature of
Christophe's tyranny:
Pronto supo Ti Noel que esto duraba ya desde haca ms de doce aos y que toda la
poblacin del Norte haba sido movilizada por la fuerza para trabajar en aquella obra
inverosmil. Todos los intentos de protesta haban sido acallados en sangre. (83)
The complete picture of events has again emerged from the narrative only gradually. The information
is administered in doses, culminating finally in a broad perspective that shows Christophe surveying
his dominion from the summit of La Ferrire, "sin nada que pudiera hacer sombra ni pesar sobre l,
ms arriba de todo, erguido sobre su propia sombra" (84).
The murder and reappearance of Cornejo Breille are perhaps the most vivid examples of the
tendency for images and events to emerge from the narrative like figures from a mist. The limited-
omniscient narration allows the reader to share Ti Noel's slowly dawning awareness of Breille's fate.
First, an atmosphere of foreboding is created as the faades of buildings twist like faces in the
direction of the Archbishop's residence. Suddenly, cries are audible from a hole in the corner of the
residence: "De aquel agujero, negro como una boca desdentada, brotaban de sbito unos alaridos
6/4/2014 Notes on Point of View in Carpentier' s El reino de este mundo; or, a Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ciberletras/v01n02/Frost.htm 5/6
tan terribles que estremecan toda la poblacin, haciendo sollozar los nios en las casas" (87). The
course of the howling lamentations is described in great detail without any explicit reference to the
cause until it is finally revealed that:
aquel capuchino que estaba emparedado en el edificio del Arzobispado, sepultado en vida
dentro de su oratorio, era Cornejo Breille, duque del Anse, confesor de Henri Christophe.
Haba sido condenado a morir ah, al pie de una pared recin repellada, por el delito de
quererse marchar a Francia. . . . (87)
Additional background information, including the attitude of Christophe's wife and the arrival of "un
nuevo favorito: un capelln espaol," is provided by a shift to an omniscient point of view (88). The
narrative has progressed from intimations of the atrocity to a full account of how it came to pass.
The emergence of Breille's ghost from the shadows of the church is one of the most literal images of
"becoming"; the narrative presentation is gradual, focusing first on the reactions of the characters and
then on the vision itself:
De pronto, Juan de Dios Gonzlez comenz a retroceder hacia las butacas reales,
resbalando torpemente sobre los tres peldaos de mrmol. La reina dej caer el rosario. El
rey llev la mano a la empuadura de la espada. Frente al altar, de cara a los fieles, otro
sacerdote se haba erguido, como nacido del aire, con pedazos de hombros y de brazos
an mal corporizados. Mientras el semblante iba adquiriendo firmeza y expresin, de su
boca sin labios, sin dientes, negra como agujero de gatera , surga una voz tremebunda. . . .
(90, emphasis added)
After the specter takes shape, literally out of thin air, its identity is revealed: "[E]ra el arzobispo
emparedado, de cuya muerte y podredumbre saban todos, quien estaba ah" (90).
In the manner of the other episodes described above, it is at first unclear exactly what is happening.
As the image crystallizes, the narrative enacts the process of becoming, of unfolding, of taking
shape, as if to underscore the point that the history and myth which lie at the center of the novel are
a continual coming into being. One epoch begets another, while "hechos histricos . . . se tornan
leyendas en la imaginacin del pueblo y actan, luego, como mitos desde una subconsciencia
colectiva" (Alegra 48).
One of the novel's most striking images is the juxtaposition noted by Ti Noel of the wig-adorned
6/4/2014 Notes on Point of View in Carpentier' s El reino de este mundo; or, a Meditation on Narrative "Becoming"
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ciberletras/v01n02/Frost.htm 6/6
wax heads with the heads of calves in the shop window. There is a charged quality to this image, a
dynamic relationship between the two sets of heads, which seems to suggest, in spatial terms, the
phenomenon of becoming that is so essential to the narrative.

Works Cited
Alegra, Fernando. "Alejo Carpentier: Realismo Mgico." Homenaje a Alejo Carpentier:
Variaciones interpretativas en torno a su obra. Ed. Helmy F. Giacoman. New York: Las Amricas
Publishing Company, 1970. 33-69.
Carpentier, Alejo. El reino de este mundo. 1949. Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno, 1989. Vol 2 of
Obras completas de Alejo Carpentier. 12 vols.