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Abstract
In this work I analyze the model of society—that is, how people are grouped together as consequences of social hierarchy—proposed in early novels that appeared in Spanish America in the early nineteenth century. My research is founded/based on the insights offered by socio-historical works addressing the nature of the society established by the Spanish empire in the Americas and, more specifically, in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. I highlight the situation of the Creoles within the colonial establishment. These members of society are represented by the protagonists in the novels Vida y hechos del famoso caballero Don Catrín de la Fachenda (1820) and el Periquillo Sarniento (1816) who openly challenges the status quo of colonial society. They are born into a world where hierarchy prevents social mobility, as a result they devise a way to circumvent this obstacle, "passing" or pretending to be somebody with illustrious ancestry whose rightful place is among the dominant class. Within this framework, I explore the continuities and contrasts between the model of society proposed in the previous novels and social patterns inherited from the colonial era.
