Nature-Endorsing Discourse in Elena Poniatowska's Hasta no verte Jesús mío

Abstract

Abstract: When addressing nature and the natural world, various discourses arise, which are often fraught with political and ideological motivations. While some paint nature as a thing to overcome and correct, others emphasize the need for humanity to connect more closely with it. The latter underlies the testimony of the semifictional narrator of Elena Poniatowska's Hasta no verte Jesús mío (1969), Jesusa Palancares. Her epic journey through the tumultuous events of 20th-century Mexico contains significant comments on nature and her (dis)connectedness from it, depending on the political scene of the time and her geographic location. This discourse demonstrates what Kate Soper calls a "nature-endorsing" perspective. Jesusa's story represents a lifelong struggle to negate signifying notions of gender, as well as the hegemonic nationalist impulse to embrace Mexicanness, thereby critiquing the shortcomings of Mexican society's norms for women and, more specifically, those of the revolutionary government in a disillusioned post-Tlatelolco nation.