Blonde, beautiful, with mesmerizing green eyes. She was born poor, and was married, while just in her teens, to an 80-year-old rich man who died three years later for trying hard to consummate the union (the novel does not say this, but that is what I imagined him doing every day prior to his death, ha, ha). The main story starts at this time when Pepita Ximenez is already a widow at a juicy age of twenty. Now a woman of independent means, suitors come to her like flies, proposing marriage. One of them is Don Pedro, a wealthy man with a son, Don Luis, who is to become a priest. Pepita Ximenez is friendly to all of them and welcomes them like a Queen receiving lesser potentates, although with a humble mien. But she accepts no proposal. Don Pedro thinks he could be the lucky one. So does everybody, including his son. Pepita is more open to him(Don Pedro), they have almost regular family dinners with Don Pedro's son tagging along. But as any veteran reader would easily predict, there'd be no good story with a beautiful girl falling in love with an old man. Ask Nicholas Sparks. So it comes to pass that Pepita Ximenez and the handsome son, Don Luis, fall in love with each other. Secretly. First just a kiss, in a rare moment when they became alone. But from there, what else to do? What a problem! The very pious Don Luis, already a saint in the eyes of many, just a step away from priesthood, stealing his own father's girl!This novel was written, and the story is set, at the time when Spain was still the holy Catholic country engaged in worldwide barbaric conquests of peoples, territories and colonies. The dialogues are typical of the literature during that time period, exchanges of long soliloquys, like the characters are engaged in a declamation contest. But I was enjoying it! I know that despite these seemingly endless talks about God, honor, love and all the big themes of life, the principal protagonists will leave their lofty pedestals, get down, finally do it, and pant like dogs.It happened in this scene. By this time Don Luis had made a firm decision to finally leave Pepita Ximenez and devote his entire self to the service of the Lord. Her faithful servant Antonona, however, prevailed upon him to at least make a final visit to Pepita and say goodbye. Alone by themselves in Pepita's house, Don Luis, justifying his decision to sacrifice their love, makes a long discourse about duty, holiness and God. Pepita fires back with the most potent weapon which no god has--a woman's tears. She, crying, tells the would-be saint that for her, God, heaven and happiness is him:" '...My rebellious will refuses what you propose. I can not even conceive of you but as yourself. For me you are your mouth, your eyes, your dark locks that I desire to caress with my hands, your sweet voice, the pleasing sound of your words that fall upon my ears, and charm them through the senses; your whole body form, in a word that charms and seduces me, and through which, and only through which, I perceive the invisible spirit, vague and full of mystery. My soul, stubborn, and incapable of these mysterious raptures, will never be able to follow you to those regions whither you would take it. If you soar up to them, I shall remain alone, abandoned, plunged in the deepest affliction. I prefer to die; I deserve death; I desire it. It may be that after death my soul, loosening or breaking the vile bonds that chain it here, will be able to understand the love with which you desire we should be united. Kill me, then, in order that we may thus love each other; kill me, and then my spirit, set free, will follow you whithersoever you may go, and will journey invisible by your side, watching over your steps, contemplating you with ravishment, penetrating your most secret thoughts, beholding your soul as it is, without the intervention of the senses. But in this life it can not be. I love in you, not only the soul, but the body, and the shadow cast by the body, and the reflection of the body in the mirror and in the water, and the Christian name, and the surname, and the blood, and all that goes to make you such as you are, Don Luis de Vargas; the sound of your voice, your gesture, your gait, and I know not what else besides. I repeat that you must kill me. Kill me without compassion....'"Here Pepita made a long pause. Don Luis knew not what to say, and was silent. Tears bathed the cheeks of Pepita, who continued, sobbing:"'I know it; you despise me, and you are right to despise me. With this just contempt you will kill me more surely than with a dagger, and without staining either your hands or your conscience with blood. Farewell! I am about to free you from my odious presence. Farewell forever!'"Having said this, Pepita rose from her seat, and, without looking at Don Luis, her face bathed with tears, beside herself, rushed toward the door that led to the inner apartment. An unconquerable tenderness, a fatal pity, took possession of Don Luis. He feared Pepita would die. He started forward to detain her, but it was too late. Pepita had crossed the threshold. Her form disappeared in the obscurity within. Don Luis, impelled by a superhuman power, drawn as by an invisible hand, followed her into the darkened chamber."He went inside her darkened chamber and stabbed her repeatedly with his love dagger. That is how Haruki Murakami would have written the sex scene here, but alas this was at that time when sexually suggestive materials like that could get you excommunicated and exiled to the Philippines, so Juan Valera had to make do with this:"The library(where Luis and Pepita had talked) remained deserted."The servants' dance must have already terminated, for the only sound to be heard was the murmur of the fountain in the garden below."Not even a breath of wind troubled the stillness of the night and the serenity of the air."The perfume of the flowers and the light of the moon entered softly through the open window. After a long interval, Don Luis made his appearance, emerging from the darkness...."How their dialogue went, after they've had sex, would be a good reason for you to read this and find out for yourself.
Hacía muchos años que tenía este libro entre mis pendientes, y aproveché una oferta en la feria del libro para completar esta tarea. Esta novela se divide en dos partes; la primera, narrada con estilo epistolar, llega a parecer por momentos algo lenta, ya que las descripciones de don Luis de Vargas son extensas y en su mayoría religiosas...claro, hasta que conoce a Pepita Jiménez. No diré más para no arruinar a los que tengan intención de leer este clásico.La segunda parte es narrada por un aparente testigo de la situación, así que ya no solo sabemos el punto de vista de don Luis, sino del resto de los personajes, lo cual enriquece aún más el relato.Como todos los clásicos, y comparándolo con la literatura contemporánea, el estilo de redacción es un tanto rebuscado, pero una vez que te acostumbras es difícil dejarlo. La historia es romántica meramente, aunque el primer pasaje nos introduce en el dilema existencial de una persona que creía tener vocación religiosa, y de repente se ve enfrentado a sus deseos mundanos y carnales por una mujer hermosa,contra las que él se había prevenido a sí mismo, además de que dicha mujer es pretendida a matrimonio por su propio padre. Lectura recomendable, uno de esos clásicos que uno no debe perderse.
Do You like book Pepita Jiménez (2004)?
He leído este libro para la universidad y, personalmente, no se lo recomendaría a nadie que no estudie letras hispánicas o no esté interesado en la literatura del XIX.El principal motivo es que su argumento atrapa poco porque está un poco pasado de moda, y eso en un autor que cree en el "arte por el arte" es un problema. La trama principal no impresiona mucho, y se me ha hecho extraño leer una historia de amor casi beato escrita por un hombre cuya biografía demuestra que de amante devoto y fiel tenía poco.Lo ameno hay que buscarlo en la forma en que está escrito. Ahí sí que hay que reconocer el talento de Valera, porque hay descripciones muy bien trazadas (de paisajes, de situaciones; pero en especial las psicológicas, que ponen en relieve una enorme inteligencia emocional).No obstante, en algunas partes el autor se zambulle demasiado en su verborrea y dice con 1000 palabras lo que podría decir con 5, además de dar rodeos innecesarios sobre unos pocos temas importantes. Esto le resta muchísimo interés a la lectura y distrae de forma cansina de las ideas principales.Además de la belleza en la descripción, lo que más me ha gustado es lo bien que estructura Juan Valera la narración: ahí es donde se ve claramente que sirvió de inspiración a novelistas modernistas. La parte de las cartas nos deja entrever un boceto borroso, que los Paralipómenos y las cartas últimas esclarecen y colorean poco a poco, de una manera muy sutil e inteligente. Como reflexión personal terminaría añadiendo que para mí el personaje de Pepita, a pesar de estar perfectamente perfilado y de representar a la perfección un ideal femenino puro, no me parece más que una excusa para ahondar en la evolución del joven protagonista hacia la madurez y la emancipación mental. Aún así, encuentro justo que el título haga referencia a ella, porque como se lee bajo la estatua de Venus descrita en la última página, sin el amor —sin la mujer— no es posible el nacimiento de una vida nueva.
—Victoruve
Este es el tipo de literatura que me emociona, soy cursi lo sé, pero el amor que ellos sentían y el drama que se formó fue el que me hacía ser curioso de ver el final, hizo que lo leyera así de rápido.Sólo no me gustó que fuera de tipo tan católico, pero esto ayudó a que se formara el drama entre Pepita y Luis. Nunca me imaginé que el papá de Luis actuara de esa forma y Antoñona aunque brusca y vulgar ayudó mucho a que todo se diera.Una muy buena novela, clásica, romántica. De las que me gustan y disfruto.
—Daniel Rios
A peculiarly old-fashioned format for the 1870's as it tries to pretend to be a collection of letters and narrative put together by a third party. However what makes it for me is the plot which I very much identify with. The main character Don Luis is training to be a priest but then falls in love with Pepita. This causes him, and her, a great dilemma. The whole nature of love, and the idea of a vocation are debated. I loved the nuances as both Pepita and Don Luis doubt themselves and each other.
—Philip Lane
