Survivors in Mexico

by Rebecca West; Edited and Introduced by Bernard Schweizer

• ISBN13: 9780300105216
• ISBN10: 0300105215
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2004-09-10
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

The publication of Rebecca West's Survivors in Mexico marks an important literary event: the rescue from oblivion of a daring and provocative work by a major twentieth-century writer. This book is West's exhilarating exploration of Mexican history, religion, and culture -- a work the author clearly conceived as a companion and sequel to her masterpiece about the Balkans, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941). Although West never brought Survivors to completion, she left behind a series of extensive drafts and revisions that Bernard Schweizer has meticulously assembled and edited. The result is a welcome addition to the Rebecca West canon -- a compelling travel memoir/history comparable to her best work, and one certain to gain readers and critical acclaim. West's narrative takes on Mexican history -- the conquest by Spain, the Mexican Revolution, and the muralist movement -- and explores the inner lives of such figures as Cortes, Montezuma, the Reclus brothers, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Dr. Atl, and Leon Trotsky. The author's concern is to distill meaning from the complex and often incoherent mass of data that characterizes the process of history. She draws fascinating connections between consciousness and material life, between subjective desire and social agency, and between art and politics. She sheds light on the revolutionary impulse and outlines a philosophy of history that acknowledges darkness yet documents the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Rebecca West (1892-1983) wrote prolifically through most of the twentieth century. She is best known for her travel memoir/historical meditation on Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. Bernard Schweizer is assistant professor of English at Long Island University (Brooklyn). He is the author of Rebecca West: Heroism, Rebellion and the Female Epic and Radicals on the Road: The Politics of English Travel Writing in the 1930s.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Mexico City	p. 3
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo	p. 8
Leon Trotsky	p. 20
Mexico City II	p. 40
Race Relations I	p. 43
Chapultepec	p. 52
Anthropological Museum	p. 54
Aztec Society	p. 58
Anthropological Museum II	p. 75
Chapultepec II	p. 78
Juan de Zummaraga	p. 85
Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain	p. 92
Minerals and Mines	p. 99
Hernan Cortes	p. 112
Dona Marina	p. 116
Religion and Sorcery	p. 129
Quetzalcoatl	p. 142
Montezuma	p. 146
Tenochtitlan	p. 154
Race Relations II	p. 166
Cuauhtemoc	p. 169
Dr. Atl I	p. 172
Elie and Elisee Reclus	p. 175
Dr. Atl II	p. 185
Revolution	p. 194
Dr. Atl III	p. 199
Benito Mussolini	p. 203
Dr. Atl IV	p. 207
Three Book Reviews	p. 209
Notes	p. 219
Index	p. 255
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