Male Anxiety and Sacrificial Masculinity: The Case of Echeverria

Abstract

This article analyzes the problematic performance of masculinity in the writings of Esteban Echeverr�a. The author compares Echeverr�a to his Argentine counterparts in the Generaci�n de 1837; to North American writers similarly struggling with a crisis of masculinity and national identity; and, briefly, to the Romantics. The author also offers insightful readings of Echeverr�a's nonfictional writings, both his autobiographical texts and political treatises; and of "La cautiva" and "El matadero."