Summary
Conclusion
Questions
Bibliography
Money in The Seven Madmen by Roberto Arlt
"El dinero-demuestra Arlt- es el poder universal, el que transforma
las ilusiones en realidad y la realidad en meras ilusiones." (Goldar, p89)
For the characters in Roberto Arlt’s novel The Seven Madmen money
represents the power to resolve all problems and satisfy all their wildest
desires. Ernesto Goldar argues that in the work of Arlt money is "universal
power", and Ricardo Piglia asserts that Arlt’s characters are not only
in search of money but the power of money. Money gives them the power to
imagine and to realize their fantasies. For example Erdosain dreams of
being a millionaire, doing extravagant things and being with beautiful
women that desire him for his money; the Astrologer dreams of ruling the
world. For Arlt and his seven crazy people, money, being a tool for the
imagination, is thus a tool for producing fiction: "...para Arlt el dinero
es una máquina de producir ficción, o mejor, es la ficción
misma..." (Piglia p 23) Piglia argues that for Arlt money is fiction itself
because in order to have fiction one must invent, falsify, swindle and
ultimately "make fiction" (Piglia, p 22).
The money in The Seven Madmen is not earned money, rather it is attained
through crime, ie: theft, extortion, exploitation, or through some absurd
idea, i.e.: impractical inventions such as the mass production of a metalized
flower. The characters do not want to work to make their money, rather
they would like for it to appear out of nowhere. There is a distinction
made between earned money and "free" money, Arlt prefers to write about
the latter. The reason for this, according to Piglia, is that it is more
interesting to write about than work, ". . . para Arlt es imposible escribir
sobre el trabajo, porque el trabajo solo produce miseria..." (Piglia, p
24). Work is boring, in crime there is always an adventure. The inventions
reveal a fascination with the mystery of capitalism: the "magic" of making
money from nothing. Furthermore, the crimes and the inventions are the
only means of getting rich, it is obvious that the characters will never
earn their wealth through work therefore they turn to crime.
Erdosain and Money
The Seven Madmen begins when Erdosain is caught for stealing 600 pesos
from his employer the Sugar Company, he needs to get the money quickly
to pay back his debt. Erdosain steals the money because he earns a very
low wage and feels humiliated. He is a failed inventor and unable to support
his wife as she wishes. Whenever he begins to feel ashamed of his actions
he thinks of the "zone of anguish" that surrounds him, which he associates
with his misfortune and humiliation. Instead of using the stolen money
to satisfy his or his wife’s basic needs, he spends it in a frenzy on luxuries
that he could not normally afford.
With the money he enjoyed luxuries such as expensive meals at fancy
restaurants, while he still lacked basic necessities like decent clothing.
In addition to this impractical manner of spending the money, he gives
200 pesos (one-third of the total) to the Espila family to fund the construction
of a laboratory to produce his metal flower.
The Astrologer and Money
The Astrologer plans to instigate a social revolution and create his own Secret Society . The success of his plans depends on money. The Astrologer believes in the power of money. He believes that it is the ultimate power, like divine power: "El dinero convierte al hombre en un dios." (Arlt, p 209) He says for example that John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford are like gods because they have the power to destroy the moon or suppress a social revolution. (..."Morgan, Rockefeller y Ford eran por el poder que les confería el dinero algo así como dioses" -el Astrólogo (Arlt, p210)). These powerful men, he says, had the power to save the world from a modern crisis of nihilism, and return the "lost paradise" to humanity (Arlt, p 211).
The Gold Prospector and Money
". . . Arlt no asocia el poder del diner con la verdad, sino con la
mentira y la
falsificación." (Piglia, p 26)
The Gold prospector says that the astrologer tells lies, the stories
that the Gold Prospector tells are also lies. He invents stories of a lake
of gold water, and claims to know where to find it. He admits that his
stories are merely lies, but argues that people are only motivated by "extraordinary
lies" (Arlt, p232). "El oro no es también una hermosa ilusión?",
the Gold Prospector identifies gold, universal symbol for money, with lies
and falsifications.
Berenice Plazas
Theft: the act of stealing, larceny. (The American heritage Dictionary,
p703)
Larceny: theft of personal goods. (Oxford American dictionary, p
499)
In The Seven Madmen we can see that theft is one of the main
themes because
of the way Arlt brings it to life. Using the character Erdosain as
a
pathetic guy who stealls money from his company to be able to feel
for a moment
that he is in high society. "Erdosain’s object in stealing the money
was
not to raise his standard of living, but simply to experience a few
of the
city’s costly delights that are so inaccessible to the vast majority-a
good
meal, a good cigar, a good liqueur, a good movie, etc." (Foster, p
28).
For Erdosain, stealing is a way of taking advantage of what others
have and coping with the pitiful life that he has.
Theft takes many forms in The Seven Madmen, one of them
it is exploitation. To exploit is to: "make use of meanly or unjustly for
one's own advantage"(Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary). Exploitation is the
act of taking advantage of somebody else unfairly, like enjoying the money
that others make. Exploitation can be seen as a form of theft. For example,
the character Haffner (The Melencholy Thug) exploits prostitutes. "The
melancholy thug is the kind of guy who when he sees a woman, the first
thing he thinks is: ‘on the street, this filly would bring in five, ten
or twenty pesos’. And nothing else." (Arlt, p38). Haffner does not see
women as people; he sees them as money and the amount he could make from
them.
Also we can see theft and exploitation in the character of the Astrologer.
He wants to become a dictator and create a Secret Society funded by brothels.
He also steals other peoples ideas, making them his own, and the rights
and freedom of the others: "seremos como dioses. Donaremos a los hombres
milagros, delisiosas bellezas,divinas
mentiras."(Arlt PAGE #). The Astrologer displays theft and exploitation
by creating the business of the brothel to make money for the Secret Society.
This writer argues "el vertigo del robo es utilizado para sorprenderse,
para
tensionar la sordidez de la vida hacia mas alla de lo verdadero y también
para consumir aquello que la sociedad poseedora les prohibe, y en consecuencia,
reproducir el acto capital de poseer en la sociedad de propiatorios." (
AUTHOR’S NAME p9). The acts of stealing and exploiting are justified, because
this is what the society is built on. In the capitalist society the proletariats
are exploited by the bourgeoisie, and the bourgeoisie needs the proletariats:
"... Our present-day society is based on the exploitation of men, women
and children. If you want to see what capitalist exploitation is really
like go take a look at the steelworks in Avellaneda, the meat-packing plants,
the glassworks, or the match or tobacco factories." (Arlt, p 40.) Arlt
reflects Argentina’s political issues of the times in The Seven Madmen.
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Seminar discussion. The Seven Madmen
Why does Erdosain not spend the money practically? How does he distinguish between earned money and "free money"?
Why does the Astrologer say: "Man’s happiness is dependant on a "metaphysical lie"?
In what way is theft a part of the economic system. (Capitalism)?
Theft is is a justified in a capitalistic society. " To govern a nation requires no more skills than those of a ranch foreman. What he said is true to all Latin America." (Arlt, p 138). To contradict the political barriers of our political system. That capitalism is a cycle that for now is not going to go anywhere because people are only interested in making money and having power, exploitation would also will never go away. Theft is part of the economic system because it is a way gaining access to a better place without asking only by taking.
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Conclusion (Ann Richardson)
Erdosain is troubled by guilt and humiliation. His anguish and feeling
of alienation stem from his own loss, a sense that his life has lost its
meaning and direction. He continually asks himself: "Que he hecho de mi
vida?" (Arlt, p 125), and seems to feel that everything has gone to madness.
Wallowing in his own misfortune he begins to steal money from the Sugar
Company. Erdosain’s initial crisis is his debt which becomes a vicious
cycle in which his guilt and humiliation get the best of him. Instead of
earning the money that he needs to repay his debt he takes 600 pesos from
his friend who exploits prostitutes for money, and gets involved in crime.
Erdosain differentiates between earned money and stolen money. He is
unable to spend the money on practical things, rather he spends it on impractical
and temporary pleasures. When Haffner asks him why he did not buy himself
new boots because his old ones had holes, Erdosain responds that it had
not occurred to him to spend the money on such a thing.
What is the "metaphysical lie"?
The "metaphysical lie" is the belief that there is a purpose for existence.
The Astrologer says that humanity has lost all religion. He says that science
has threatened all faith and predicts that people will soon ask if there
is meaning in life, and what has happened to god: "Qué han hecho
de nuestro dios?" (Arlt, p 210) Astrologer believes that with power he
can form a new illusion, a new "metaphysical lie". His power is to come
from money, and he believes that with the money he will be like a god.
Conclusion (Berenice Plaza):
Basically Arlt brings to life issues in a way that one can expect.
By
creating a secret society and using characters from many different
perspectives, and ideas into one room to change a nation and control
their
own and others’ destiny.
Conclusion (Shanica McClintock)
In the presentation of Roberto Arlt’s The Seven Madmen, I discussed
the various themes that pertained to this book. First, I stated the themes,
these included: sex, humiliation, occultism, fascism, ambiguity, theft,
imitation and divinity. Second, I broke them into two categories, which
were: the "Secret Society" and "identity". Once finished I took each theme,
defined it and related them to relevant parts of the text. Then I took
the themes and related them to characters in which they were displayed.
For example: I defined sex as: "sexual activity or intercourse", then
I related sex to the text: the astrologer based the secret society on the
brothels which the Melancholy Thug would run. Afterwards proving the relationship
between Haffner (The Melancholy Thug ) and the Astrologer. This is the
format I followed with each theme. This format caused a great discussion
on the aspects and points that I set forth. Personally, I feel the presentation
went well because of the information brought as well as class input and
participation.
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Bibliography
Arlt, Roberto. Los Siete Locos, Buenos Aires: Planeta-Carlos
Lohlé Biblioteca del Sur, 1968.
Arlt, Roberto. The Seven Madmen. Trans. by Naomi Lindstrom,
Boston: D.R Godine, 1984.
Piglia, Ricardo. Crítica y Ficción. Buenos Aires:
Siglo XX, 1990.
Goldar, Ernesto. Proceso a Roberto Arlt. Buenos Aires: Editorial
Plus Ultra, 1985.