Ontological and Political Search for 'El Hombre Nuevo': Julio Cortázar's Rayuela and Libro de Manuel

• Main Author: Brenes Reyes, Jaime
• Other Authors: Yovanovich, Gordana
• Language: en
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Cortazar; Hombre nuevo; Rayuela; Libro de Manuel; Latin America
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10214/3116

Despite the wide range of publications about Julio Cortázar, there is no study that specifically addresses the question: what does Cortázar mean by 'el hombre nuevo'? Based on a careful reading of two of his novels, Rayuela / Hopscotch and Libro de Manuel / A Manual for Manuel, my thesis defines 'el hombre nuevo' as Cortázar's attempt to establish a dialogue with the reader in order to invent together a new understanding of the human being. 'El hombre nuevo' involves an extended ontological search which is continued outside of the text, and the relationship author-reader goes beyond a dyadic model into the construction of a new community of new men and new women.