La Hija del Bandido

La hija del bandido o los subterraneos del Nevado (1887) is Refugio de Barragan de Toscano's second novel. Full of adventure and intrigue this romantic text follows Maria as she tries to undo her bandit father's misdeeds and through actions of courage and kindness earn a position in the highly class-stratified society of late eighteenth century Mexico. During this time Mexico was still a colony of Spain and the novel depicts how the soon-to-be nation was ravaged by marauding bandits that terrorized the countryside. They kidnapped women, assaulted stagecoaches and robbed unarmed, defenseless travelers. Vicente Colombo is the typical bandit leader, except for one thing- he has a daughter whom he loves and must somehow accommodate in social society. In keeping with the theme of many national novels of the era Barragan limns the beauty of the Mexican countryside- its valleys, mountains, flora and fauna. La hija should be read alongside Mexican bandit classics such as Ignacio Altamirano's El zarco (1901), and Manuel Payno's Los bandidos de Rio Frio (1888). The exceptionality of this bandit novel written by a nineteenth-century Mexican woman is her portrayal of the female protagonist as an independent, active young woman who takes charge of her destiny and overcomes the social stain of being a criminal's daughter. In her novel Barragan, portrays Maria not as a subservient subject but as a willful actor who wants to live with dignity, thus introducing a unique proto-feminist nationalist vision- though marked by the author's religious tendencies- within Mexico's foundational fictions.