Fonchito y la luna: Eroticism in Mario Vargas Llosa´'s children literature

Abstract

This essay analyzes Mario Vargas Llosa children's short story, Fonchito y la luna as his third erotic work. This article argues that Fonchito y la luna is the prequel of In Praise of the Stepmother and The Notebooks of don Rigoberto. In In Praise of the Stepmother and The Notebooks of don Rigoberto, Rigoberto and Lucrecia's son, Fonchito is the protagonist. In the first novel, the reader finds a prepubescent Fonchito, who seduces his stepmother with his subtle innocence. Fonchito emulates the prolific sensuality of Greek gods and goddesses in this novel, through various references to the Greek pantheon. In The Notebooks of don Rigoberto, Fonchito is a pubescent fascinated by Egon Schiele's work. The sensual drawings and paintings of the Austrian artist draw Fonchito immensely. Fonchito finds resemblance between Egon Schiele's life and work and his own. In Fonchito y la luna, Vargas Llosa first children's work, Fonchito is an eight year-old boy. Fonchito's sexuality is awakening and his curiosity is made patent. By means of various references to erotic art and Greek mythology, Fonchito y la lund's narrative describes the beginning of Fonchito's erotic initiation, which would be the protagonist primordial and more distinctive characteristic.