Baldomero Lillo and Modernism

Abstract

No history of Chilean literature could omit the name of Baldomero Lillo, a short story writer who without being prolific left literary works of the first magnitude. His importance cannot be denied. He was the first writer in Chile to show understanding in his short stories of the social problems of the coal miners and at the same time to fit his plot into the proper national background. di6 al cuento una dimensi6n humana desconocida en Chile. Lo amas6 con los pingajos humanos, amontonados en una zona de la vida chilena, en la que nadie habia penetrado y a la que, por supuesto, no se habia asomado, ni una sola vez, la pupila compasiva de un escritor.' His stories dealing with the miners are not mere idealized descriptions of the romantic type, but human and realistic accounts of the miserable life of those obscure and forgotten men of his time. Yet, in these stories, in spite of their crudeness, one does not find bitterness or political propaganda, but understanding and hope for a better future. Lillo lived a sad life. He was born on January 6, 1867, in Lota, a southern port and the center of the coal mining region of Chile. At an early age he suffered from whooping-cough and later tuberculosis, which he fought until the end of his life. Because of his health, he was unable to play like other boys and during the winter he had to remain in bed. He used to read as an escape for his fertile mind. For the most part he lived in a world of his own, but when he grew up not even his imagination could keep him from reacting to the suffering of the workers with whom he associated when he was a clerk in one of the mines. In 1898 he went to Santiago where he obtained a clerical position at the University of Chile. While in the capital he attended the literary gatherings organized by his brother Samuel, a poet. On one occasion he read to the group one of his own short stories based on first hand information he had obtained while working at the mine. His realistic description of the miners' living and workg conditions offended some of the members, but several socially-conscious friends encouraged him to continue writing. In 1904, Sub-Terra, his first collection of short stories about the lives of the coal miners, was published. En estos los obreros no luchan contra sus opresores, no toman en sus manos el problema de su propia liberaci6n, sino que se limita a describir la inhumana miseria y explotaci6n a la que estaban sometidos.2 The popularity of this book was immediate. In 1907, Sub-Sole, his second book, containing stories about the sea and life in the country, appeared. Among these stories are four: Irredencidn, El Oro, Las Nieves Eternas, and El Rapto del sol, which are also known as cuentos imaginistas. In them Lillo, whose prose had been generally characterized as being colorless, for the first time showed the marked influence of the techniques of Modernism. In 1888 the publication of Rub6n Dario's Azul started a movement of reaction against the abuses of the romantic school and aimed at renovating the literary quality and techniques used, especially in poetry. This movement, known as Modernism, quickly expanded through all the Spanish-speaking countries. The most important innovations brought about by Modernism were the use of the sensations of smell, color,