Sustaining the other or return life: «Masa» by César Vallejo Sustaining the other or return life: «Masa» by César Vallejo

Main Article Content

Fernando Rivera

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59885/archivoVallejo.2023.v6n11.03

Abstract

The poem «Masa» by César Vallejo presents a scene where the love of all humans has the power to bring a human being back to life. Love is addressed to the corpse insofar as the body is a place of existence and makes it rise as a human being. The poem confronts death, which implies a radical reification or objectification, through this love whose logic is dependent on Andean rationality. Considering the poem as a poetic reflection on the constitution of human existence, this article analyses Vallejo’s inscription of the life-death relationship as subjectificationobjectification. This allows us to understand the construction of subjectivity as the work of others that sustains the subject through the offer of love. Also, it allows us to approach from a different perspective to contemporary debates that discuss the constitution of human beings as subjects or objects. It implies to reinscribe or dismiss them; for example, the debates of euthanasia or pro-life vs pro-choice.

Article level metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Article Details

  • Altmetric mentions
    Dimensions citations
  • Cite recommend (APA)
    Rivera, F. (2023). Sustaining the other or return life: «Masa» by César Vallejo. Archivo Vallejo, 6(11), 69–83. https://doi.org/10.59885/archivoVallejo.2023.v6n11.03
    References bibliography

    Butler, J. (2010). Marcos de guerra. Las vidas lloradas. Paidós. (Obra original publicada en el 2009).

    Butler, J. (2006). Vida precaria: el poder del duelo y la violencia. Paidós. (Obra original publicada en el 2004).

    Cavarero, A. (2022). Tu che mi guardi, tu che mi racconti. Filosofia della narrazione. Castelvecchi. (Obra original publicada en 1997).

    Derrida, J. (1998). Aporías. Morir-esperarse (en) los «límites de la verdad». Paidós. (Obra original publicada en 1996).

    Gálvez, H. (director). (2014). NN: sin identidad [Película]. Piedra Alada Producciones.

    Heidegger, M. (2006). Ser y tiempo. Trotta. (Obra original publicada en 1927).

    Nancy, J.-L. (2003). Corpus. Arena Libros. (Obra original publicada en el 2000).

    Rivera, F. (2011). Dar la palabra: ética, política y poética de la escritura en Arguedas. Iberoamericana-Vervuert.

    Vallejo, C. (1995). España, aparta de mí este cáliz. Obra poética completa. Alianza Editorial.