I, the Supreme (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Augusto Roa Bastos
- First Published: 1974
- Type of Plot: Historical
- Time of Work: 1800-1840
- Setting: Asunción, Paraguay
- Principal Characters: José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (Dr. Francia), Policarpo Patiño, Juan Parish Robertson, Pilar the Black, General Manuel Belgrano, Antonio Manuel Correia da Camara, Bernardo Velazco, Sultan
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction
- Subjects: Dictators, Self-discovery, Nineteenth century, Historians, South America or South Americans, Latin America or Latin Americans, Historiography, Secretaries
- Locales: Paraguay
The Novel
I, the Supreme offers a fictionalized account of the key events and motives behind the nineteenth century dictatorship of Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia (also known as Dr. Francia), who governed in Paraguay from 1814 until his death in 1840. In the novel, Augusto Roa Bastos presents a revision of the accepted interpretations of this period in history, analyzing not only the lingering effects on Paraguay but also the traditional notions of historical writing as the repository of objective truth.
Although I, the Supreme is considered a novel, it...
[The entire page is 2956 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
