• Main Authors: Tatiana Calderón Le Joliff, Juan Manuel Fierro Bustos
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad de Chile 2013-05-01
• Series: Revista Chilena de Literatura
• Online Access: https://revistaliteratura.uchile.cl/index.php/RCL/article/view/26975

This article seeks to expose the bonds between the mythical and fictional character Robinson Crusoe, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and the utopian educator Simón Rodríguezin the historical novel La Isla de Robinson (1981) de Arturo Uslar Pietri. The story exploresthe process of Latin American independence in the 19th century through the character of Simon Rodríguez, Simón Bolívar's private tutor, transformed in Samuel Robinson for 26 years. First, we'll approach, from a mytho critical perspective, the emergence of Robinson's figure inthe tale of the Latin American writer and its impact on the "Latin American identity" issue. Then, we'll study the characteristics of the education project of Rodríguez in the historical novel. Finally, we'll focus on the subversion of the mythical figure of Robinson Crusoe in this Latin American utopian discourse.