Being of water, being of the island: on the motif of water in Oppiano Licario by José Lezama Lima

Abstract

This essay aims to analyze the meanings of the water motif in the novel as an expression of Cuban cultural identity. José Lezama Lima's work still allows scholars to discover new paths. His output is abundant and diverse, encompassing poetry, essays, short stories, novels, and newspaper articles. Regarding his novelistic side, which encompasses only two texts, Oppiano Licario, a posthumously published work and his second novel, it has not had the same critical success as Paradiso, his first. This second installment witnesses a crystallization of his poetics. From the interpretative gap that allowed the recurrence of the water motif, it was possible to analyze the novel from this perspective, considering its relationship with Lezamian poetics, since this made it possible to reflect on Caribbean cultural identity in general and Cuban in particular. The analytical method employed was semiologically based textual analysis. It was found that analyzing Lezam's text based on the motif of water allows for new reflections on Cuban cultural identity, as the novel's characters are configured as water subjects in constant integration with the aquarium, which in turn determines the spaces of the fiction. The analysis of the water motif allowed for an interpretative opening that addresses not only the author's poetic praxis but also his vision of identity and culture.

Keywords:

Cultural Identity, Water, Oppiano Licario, Lezama Lima