Mármol, José

▪ Argentine writer

born Dec. 2, 1817, Buenos Aires, Arg.

died Aug. 9, 1871, Buenos Aires

      Argentine poet and novelist whose outspoken denunciation in verse and prose of the Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas (Rosas, Juan Manuel de) earned him the title of “verdugo poético de Rosas” (“poetic hangman of Rosas”), and whose best-known work, Amalia (1851–55; Amalia: A Romance of the Argentine, 1919), is considered by many critics to be the first Argentine novel. He was highly influential on the development of the realistic novel in Latin America.

      Mármol, outspoken from his youth in his opposition to Rosas and to tyranny in any form, was imprisoned in 1839 for his political views and eventually was forced to flee the country. He wrote most of his works during his years of exile in Montevideo and in Rio de Janeiro. Amalia dramatically depicts the horrors of the Rosas regime with a highly romantic plot of love set against a background of contemporary events. In poetry such as Rosas: El 25 de mayo de 1850 (1850) Mármol also spoke out against the dictator with a forcefulness that made him the hero of liberals throughout Latin America.

      In 1852, after the overthrow of Rosas, Mármol returned home to Argentina as a national hero. An important public figure, he served as a senator and as director of the National Library, a post he held from 1858 until his death.

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