Between hatred and consternation: emotional traces in the early writings of José Martí

Abstract

This work examines José Martí’s early texts where the genesis of his selfless political commitment to the Cuban anti-colonial cause can be found. Herein, it is suggested that his textual manifestations of 1869 initially resulted through eager emotional expressions highlighting irony and hatred as symbolic acts that sought to respond to the social and historical reality in which they were immersed. However, after a forced process of maturation in 1871, his criticism of colonial rule was projected more elaborately, based on the acceptance of the social order where his hatred was transformed into feelings of consternation.