1 - Context: Family, Political Turbulence, Liberalism and Religion (to 1880)

Summary

Rodó's aim to inspire young people to create a more idealistic world permeates his writing. Central to Ariel in particular, as its dedication to the youth of America makes explicit, but present in all his work in one way or another, there is a recurring preoccupation with the young as the embodiment of energy, potential and cultural renewal. The theme is ubiquitous: he uses the terms “juventud/joven/juvenil” (youth/young/youthful) 38 times in his most famous essay, placing the lexeme at a significant point in the range of words we can expect to find there. It shares a place with “cultura” (culture) and sits comfortably above “cristiano/cristianismo/Jesús” (Christian/Christianity/Jesus) (16), “Grecia/ griego/heleno/ateniense” (Greece/Greek/Hellenic/Athenian) (20), “educar/ educación” (educate/education) (25), and “bello/belleza” (beautiful/beauty) (27). Counting on upwards, youth terms lie below but not so far from other related lexical items such as “América/americano” (America/American) (42), “superior” (superior) (48), “moral” (moral) and “civilización” (civilization) (both 53). And while it cannot quite compete with two of the most abstract and central references in the book, namely “ideal” (ideal) (65) and “espíritu/espiritual” (spirit/spiritual) (121), these are often explicitly associated by Próspero with the young mentees he addresses in his valedictory speech. Two instances of this are: “el espíritu de la juventud es un terreno generoso donde la simiente de una palabra oportuna suele rendir, en corto tiempo, los frutos de una inmortal vegetación” (a young mind is hospitable soil in which the seed of a single timely word will quickly yield immortal fruit); and, having told the parable of the hospitable king, the master's advice is as follows “¡la vida de que son parte la meditación desinteresada, la contemplación ideal, el ocio antiguo, la impenetrable estancia de mi cuento!” (Selfless meditation, ideal contemplation, the otium of ancient times, and the impregnable chamber of my tale are necessary components of this inner life!) (OC 207; 217; UTP 32; 48).

This partiality for youth is consistent with Rodó's Peter-Pan-like attitude towards his own age: he took as many as three years off when he had the chance. He was born José Enrique Camilo Rodó Piñeyro in Montevideo on 15 July 1871.