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Aleixandre’s Shadow of Paradise, Water, and the Kiss

2024; Philosophy Documentation Center; Volume: 22; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5840/jh20242211

1524-2269

Stephen Hatton,

Literature, Magical Realism, García Márquez

Scholars commonly interpret Vicente Aleixandre’s Shadow of Paradise as being about the losses of paradise and love’s innocence. They view Aleixandre’s treatment of kisses in relation to erotic love. In contrast, this article demonstrates that this book of poetry is about the traditional four elements, earth, air, fire, and water, with special emphasis given to water. Earth, air, and fire are viewed from the perspective of water as Aleixandre dwells on the boundary between water and earth and the border between water and air. With this hermeneutic, a kiss is a metaphor for the elemental meeting of water and earth. Kissing occurs not only between people, but between humans and non-humans, and among nonhumans. This interpretation frames Aleixandre’s thinking about the paradise of things. Things become manifest as they emerge from the elemental background. The elements are that out of which and from which things come to appearance to form paradise. The poet recaptures the elemental by recognizing it as a pre-condition for the appearance of things.