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This dissertation examines the presence of the Spanish Inquisition as a literary subject of historical fiction in Latin America in the XIX century and it focuses on the first Chilean historical novel entitled El Inquisidor Mayor (Lima 1852, 1859 and Buenos Aires, 1872) and its author Manuel Bilbao (Santiago 1827 - Buenos Aires 1895).
The result is a contemporary annotated edition based on the fourth and latest edition of the novel with footnotes to account for textual differences and historical and geographical notes; a biography of its author and a preliminary in-depth study of El Inquisidor Mayor. Although the novel has continuously been cited in surveys of Latin American literature, there is neither a contemporary edition nor a comprehensive study of the novel.
Chapter I provides an ideological context for the novel by reconstructing an extensive biography of Manuel Bilbao and an ample bibliographic catalogue of works by this prolific and versatile writer, journalist and historian. The literary value of the novel is enhanced by the connection of its subject matter with the nation-building project of liberalism.
In Chapter II, we ascertain El Inquisidor Mayor as a historical novel of inquisitorial theme, a literary subject shaped after European historical fiction. Then we examine the interaction between history and fiction in the narrative by identifying the historical sources, particularly, the inquisitorial process of Francisco Moyen, main historical character in the novel.
Chapter III is devoted to a literary examination of the text that draws on different notions of literary criticism. Through textual criticism we have reconstructed the writing process of the novel; classic literary analysis has been useful to identify structural patterns of nineteenth century novels, and sections of theories of masculinities and feminism have yielded insight on the contradictions between the authorial voice and the pervasive message of emancipation of subaltern characters like women and slaves.