Mariano Azuela (English spelling)

Mexican novelist. He began his creative writing career while enrolled at the University of Guadalajara School of Medicine, but early works such as "The Poisonous Plant" (1909) show the influence of French naturalism. When the revolution broke out in 1910, he supported the revolutionary army and eventually served as a military doctor, but after his own army was defeated, he went to the United States. In 1915, he serialized "The Oppressed" (1916) in the magazine "Paso" in El Paso. This novel, which frankly depicts the people who participated in the revolution and their sense of frustration in concise prose, established the genre of Mexican revolutionary novels along with "The Bosses" (1917) and "The Flies" (1918). He moved to Mexico City in 1917 and worked at a free clinic, while describing the state of slums in "Misfortune" (1923) and "Fireflies" (1932), and in his later years he taught at a university.

[Tetsuyuki Ando]

"The Oppressed" translated by Eiichi Takami (included in "Discoveries of Contemporary World Literature 9" Complete Works, 1970, Gakugei Shorin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

メキシコの小説家。グアダラハラ大学医学部在籍中から創作活動を始めるが、『毒草』（1909）などの初期の作品にはフランス自然主義の影響がみられる。1910年に革命が勃発(ぼっぱつ)すると革命軍側を支持し、やがて軍医として従軍するが、自軍の敗北により渡米。1915年、エル・パソで『虐げられし人々』（1916）を『パソ』誌に連載。革命に参加した人々の姿と、彼らの挫折(ざせつ)感を簡潔な文章で赤裸々に描いたこの小説は、『ボスたち』（1917）、『蠅(はえ)』（1918）とともにメキシコ革命小説というジャンルを確立する。1917年にメキシコ・シティに移り、無料診療所で働きながら、貧民街のありさまを『不運』（1923）、『蛍』（1932）などに描き、晩年は大学で教鞭(きょうべん)をとった。

［安藤哲行］

『高見英一訳『虐げられし人々』（『全集・現代世界文学の発見9』所収・1970・学芸書林）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例