Refinadas seducciones: La función extractiva de la ternura en Doña Bárbara (1929), de Rómulo Gallegos

Abstract: This text analyses the relationship between allegory, gender/sex system and extractivism in the novel Doña Bárbara (1929), by Rómulo Gallegos. The focus of this article is to prioritize the comparison between the character of Marisela and a precious stone. In contrast with the masculine aspect and manners of Doña Bárbara, Marisela represents an idealization of women as a malleable matter. The possibility and process of her refinement makes her a convenient subject for the patriarchal civilization that Santos Luzardo wants to establish in the Arauca. Therefore, Doña Bárbara, the masculine, independent, autonomous, murderous, and impossible-to-refine woman, portrays economic and social backwardness in the region. Considering the structural opposition between civilization and barbarism in the novel, this article proposes a reading of how Gallegos conceptualizes civilization as a heteronormative and extractive society.