Modernismo y la Muerte de la Emperatriz de la China

Modernism in Latin American literature was a poetic literary movement developed between the 19th and 20th centuries (1880-1920). The movement was characterized by creative rebellion as well as a cosmopolitan culturalism. It was a milestone in Hispanic literature as it brought the embracement and acceptance of one’s culture and roots influencing and even setting the tone for European literature. The concept and discourse at this time is important, as modernism professes a powerful disagreement with the bourgeois culture prevailing at the time and tries to deviate the reader's attention from the outside world completely to immerse it into the story it tells. La Muerte de la Emperatriz de la China by Rubén Darío belongs to Modernismo and is one of the first texts It tells the story of a deeply in love couple living happily until one day, the man receives a gift, beautiful oriental statue, the empress of China. From this moment on, the veneration and love that the artist once felt for his beloved, now goes to the beautiful statue. The woman turns jealous but through out the story this attitude is described in a way as endearing, this could be traced to latin american culture and the way some social interactions are perceived
When reguiding his attention to the statue, the concept of “art for art” is manifested in the story, because the story contrasts the love for the real woman with the artist's love for the formal perfection of art. In fact, an unreal world is described, in which everything seems to be perfect and wonderful and true beauty is achieved only through art. At the same time in the story we can find a strong influence of the oriental and the escapism, emblematic feature of modernism, the protagonist when placed in front of the statue wants to escape and thus loses the grip on reality.