Lot 111: Pedro Alejandro Paterno (1857 - 1911)

Description

Pedro Alejandro Paterno (1857 - 1911)
Nínay (Costumbres Filipinas)
published in Madrid, Impenta de Fontanet Calle de la Libertad, Num. 20 1885 first edition
bound in leather with marbled end-papers signed and dedicated as follows "Al célebre crítico, al popular novelista, inimitable y fecundo escritor Don José Fernández Bremón. Su admirador y sincero amigo PA Paterno" "To the famous literary critic, to the popular novelist, inimitable and prolific writer Don José Fernández Bremón. Your admirer and sincere friend, PA Paterno"







THE FIRST FILIPINO NOVEL Paterno’s Nínay Foretells Rizal’s Noli by DR. JORGE MOJARRO It is necessary to remember once again that Noli me Tangere (1887) did not burst onto the literary and cultural scene of the Philippine archipelago by spontaneous combustion. In other words, it was not exclusively a product of the extraordinary genius of José Rizal. It had a clear novelistic precedent that inspired it and that saw the light, not by chance, just two years before: Nínay (1885). The merits of this great work were not recognized for a long time for reasons that have nothing to do with its artistic quality, but with the controversial personality of its author: Pedro Alejandro Paterno (1857-1911). To understand the genesis of this novel, it is necessary to know the context in which it was published. The young Paterno, as is well known, came from one of the most illustrious families in Manila. Having brilliantly completed his university studies in Spain — he obtained a doctorate in civil and canon law in 1880 — he decided to settle in a sumptuous apartment in Madrid that became famous for its unique collection of Philippine art. His means would have allowed him to dedicate himself simply to live and have fun, as the children of some rich Filipinos families did in Madrid —something that, by the way, Antonio Luna criticized in his caustic Impresiones (1891). Quite the contrary, Paterno turned his Madrid home into a meeting point for lively literary and artistic gatherings where he was visited, thanks to his generosity, by the most select Spanish intelligentsia of the late 19th century. Among these intellectuals was the journalist and playwright José Fernández Bremón (1839-1910), to whom this copy of Nínay is affectionately dedicated and signed by Paterno himself. Fernández Bremón wrote for the most important newspapers in Madrid: El Liberal, La España, La Época and La Ilustración Española y Americana, among others. He was well known in his time for his poignant sense of humor, for being the greatest enemy of the famous literary critic and novelist Leopoldo Alas "Clarín" and, above all, for the quality and imagination of his short stories: he is considered one of the initiators of sciencefiction literature in Spain. Paterno, like so many young men from the European elite, sought glory and recognition in the practice of literature, an activity towards which he channeled his first intellectual efforts. He was the first Filipino to conceive a literary series of Filipino authors — the Biblioteca Filipina or Filipino Library — an imprint he devised and for which he published his first books of poetry, both of a romantic nature and which enjoyed several editions: Poesías Líricas y Dramáticas and Sampaguitas, both from 1880, saw the light of day. Next, he tried his hand at the present novel, Nínay, aptly subtitled “Costumbres Filipinas” (Philippine Customs), which may be considered the first modern novel ever written by a Filipino. The novel, divided into nine chapters, narrates the unfortunate love affair between the young Nínay and her beloved Carlos, a promising love story that is deliberately boycotted by the jealous domestic worker –- who is in love with Carlos -– and Nínay's rich and evil suitor, Federico, who does not accept to be defeated by a man with less power, but who is endowed with impeccable moral virtues. Beyond the plot development of the novel — a costumbrista romance with misunderstandings and occasional adventures — that shows the preferences and tastes of European readers at the end of the 19th century, it is impossible not to perceive, as León María Guerrero pointed out first , the obvious parallels between Nínay and Noli Me Tangere: the chaste, sweet and demure personality of Nínay is a clear precedent for María Clara; Carlos possesses all the traits of Crisóstomo Ibarra: intelligence, passion, courage, kindness, loyalty and determination; the unfortunate Berto, a friend of Carlos, is a transcript of the enigmatic Elías. However, what in Rizal is criticism in Paterno is complacency: Nínay was a novel “de costumbres”; that is, a novel that tried to teach the reader the reality, customs and rituals of the Philippines to Spanish readers generally ignorant of the affairs of the archipelago. The reality of the Philippines appears highly idealized and there are no more conflicts than those that are the product of lack of love and unsatisfied passions. A completely unusual and original aspect of the novel is the inclusion of numerous footnotes with explanations about the fauna and flora of the Philippines, or about some Tagalog terms. Likewise, fragments of some Philippine treatises and chronicles are included. Why? Because the novel was not just a work of fiction, but also a scholarly work through which Pedro Paterno tried to present himself to the Spanish intellectual elite as an expert on his own country. This line of social investigation of the novel ended up obsessing Pedro Paterno, who immediately abandoned creative literature to dedicate himself to ethnohistorical studies. In fact, for a few years the studious Paterno hid his fiction-creator side, to which he only returned in the last years of his life. In any other national literature, a work like Nínay would have immediately entered the literary canon — those pieces of literature that are mandatory rewading at the school- were it not for the unfounded accusations of treason that have been made by a series of nationalist historians. This, despite the undeniable fact that the Philippines and the Filipino people were the only theme of his books. Resil Mojares, in his acclaimed Brains of the Nation (2006), finally placed Paterno in the position he fairly deserves: that of a pioneer of literature and historical research who carried out his work without models or precedents in his own country. Paterno is, without a doubt, the first Filipino intellectual and also the first creator who considered himself to belong to a new and nascent cultural system: that of Philippine Literature. With Nínay the literature of the Philippines is inaugurated, with dignity, accomplishment, and in Spanish. _____ Dr. Jorge Mojarro is a professor of literature at the University of Santo Tomás.