Criticism and José María Vargas Vila: The Construction of a Great Bad Novelist

Abstract

José María Vargas Vila (1860 - 1933) was one of the most widely read Colombian writers in the Spanish speaking world at the beginning of the 20th century. His commercial success, his critical position against several national governments and Catholic morality and his combative style against the traditions of good taste provoked strong reactions among the literary critics. This article collects and analyzes some of the readings that have been done about Vargas Vila for more than a century, evidencing the discursive mechanisms that have been used to stigmatize him, but also the contradictions and confrontation that his figure still produces.