Saint Rose of Lima, Folk Tradition and Imaginary Prisons in Alejo Carpentier’s Los pasos perdidos

Abstract: The unreliable narrator-protagonist of Carpentier’s Los pasos perdidos undergoes a re-examination as a divided-self torn between two perspectives: the first is the disenchantment ushered in by modernity through the secularization of all realms of existence and, the second, the numinous in the Catholic tradition that bespeaks of a redeemer, and by extension a transcendent self. The narrator-protagonist is deeply knowledgeable of both worldviews, yet is unable to perceive, or perhaps accept, the continued influence of the latter in his thoughts and actions. The conflict of vision prevents him from embracing his own complex identity. This lack of self-awareness is shown through a novel reading of certain episodes involving Mouche and Rosario that engages the rich lore surrounding the Catholic Saint Rose of Lima that is subsequently tied into the narrator-protagonist’s alleged misreading of his own nightmarish dream.