Cronotopos, valores y acto ético en The Way We Live Now de Anthony Trollope

Abstract

Con base en la nocion bajtiniana de cronotopos (Bajtin, 1986) y su atencion a las relaciones autor-protagonista-destinatario (Ponzio, 1998) este ejercicio de analisis aborda dos personajes de la novela The Way We Live Now (1875) del autor ingles Anthony Trollope (1815-1882). Con el analisis del discurso como herramienta metodologica, se aborda, por una parte, la presentacion de estos dos personajes, Roger y Felix Carbury, al igual que la actitud del autor en torno a cada uno de ellos. Por otra parte, esta metodologia es igualmente util para acercarnos a una configuracion cronotopica de la novela, la cual sirve como punto de referencia para los lectores de la epoca entre la novela y su propia realidad. El ejercicio sugiere: (i) que Trollope utiliza a los Carbury para contraponer dos visiones de mundo que antagonizan en una Gran Bretana cada vez mas adentrada al mundo moderno; (ii) la combinacion espacio-tiempo en la novela, al ofrecer la sensacion de inmediatez y familiaridad, permitio a los lectores de la epoca identificarse con el mundo ficcionalizado en esta. En este sentido, (i) y (ii) habrian permitido un aspecto de critica social a traves de la novela de parte del autor. Palabras clave: cronotopos, acto etico, Anthony Trollope, literatura inglesa Abstract Based on Bakhtin‘s concept of chronotope and his conception of the author-character-reader relationship (Bajtin, 1986; Ponzio, 1998), this exercise approaches two characters from The Way We Live Now (1875, by Anthony Trollope). Using discourse analysis as a method, the objective of this article is two-fold. On the one hand, we get to see how these two characters (Roger and Felix Carbury) are presented to the reader and the attitude the author shows toward each one of them. On the other hand, discourse analysis proves equally useful to reach a chronotopic configuration in the novel, which serves as a reference point for readers back in the day between the fictional reality presented in the novel and their own factual reality. The exercise suggests: (i) that Trollope uses the Carburys to contrast two world views that struggle in a country which is more and more industrialised and modern; (ii) that the time-place combination in the novel allowed 19th century readers identify with the fictional world the novel presented. Hence, (i) and (ii) would have allowed the author of The Way We Live Now to criticise his own society through the novel. Key word: chronotope, ethical act, Anthony Trollope, English literature