Intertexts

1 7 5 R e v i e w s all the deistic philosophy behind this text (60); or the emphasis on friend¬ ship as the most valuable human attachment (75). Also, in astudy so conscientious about tracing the intellectual and cul¬ tural context of this book, is alittle bit surprising to find at the same time a considerable amount of the introduction devoted to pointing out at the sim¬ ilarities between Lugubrious Nights and Cadalso’s life. Such abiographical approach to aliterary text doesn’t seem to fit well with the rest of this wellresearched introduction. Otherwise, this is indeed an important edition and translation that will be very useful to introduce this crucial text to non¬ native Spanish speakers in Comparative Studies. The edition has been done with such rigor and care that it even fulfills, at least in the very elegant cover, the wishes of the author to see his book published “in black paper and writ¬ ten with yellow ink.” C a r m e n P e r e i r a - M u r o Texas Tech University Coonrod Martinez, Elizabeth. Josefina Ni^U, Mexican American Writer: ACritical Biography. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2007. 317 pp. Elizabeth Coonrod Martinez’s book aims to bring attention to Josefina Niggli , awoman who receives acclaim in the early twentieth century when "... were neither encouraged to pursue careers nor greatly distin¬ guished” (2). Niggli not only received fame in the 1930s and 1940s as a playwright and novelist, but received this acclaim by writing about Mexico and Mexicans in away in which they had never been presented in English, to an American public. In “Introduction and Early Life, 1910-1935,” Martinez shares insights into Niggli’s childhood, family ancestry, and early college life. Niggli born in Monterrey, Mexico in the same year that the Mexican Revolution erupted in Mexico. Due to the violence there, Niggli and her femily moved to San Antonio. She finished high school and made plans to continue advanced studies in the United States. Martinez stresses the connections between Niggli and acurrent day Chicana writer, Sandra Cisneros. The comparison is credible in that both authors received considerable attention for their first novel, then published asecond and athird with less attention. At the same time, Martinez places Niggli in the context of other distin¬ guished Mexican women of her own time, such as the artist Frida Kahlo and the actress Dolores del Rfo. At times, Martinez’s attempts to show the importance of Niggli by creating comparisons with other better known w o m e n s e e m a s t r e t c h . w o m e n w a s 1 7 6 I N T E R T E X T S The chapter “Playmaking in North Carolina, 1935-1942” illustrates Josefina Niggli’s life and writings as aplaywright with the Carolina Playmakers , which produced student plays, including several of Niggli’s plays. In The Cry of Dolores^ Niggli explains the origins of Mexican Independence, creat¬ ing astrong female character as one of the heroes. Following this dramatic historical play came two others, Azteca and Soldadera. This last play was selected for publication in the The Best One-Act Plays of 1937. The impor¬ tance of this play lies in the role Niggli gives to afemale soldier during the Mexican Revolution. Most of the critical attention Niggli has received is for Soldadera and for the novel Mexican Village.Although some critics see Nig¬ gli’s character as weak and naive, Martinez argues that, with this play, “Nig¬ gli more solidly launches two primary themes; women as contributors to society, and the mestizo consciousness or philosophy of the Mexican peo¬ ple” (38). Other plays discussed by Martinez include the comedies Red Vel¬ vet Goat and Sunday Costs Five Pesos, plays which were performed in the United States and Britain. The play Sin£[in£[ Valley, used to fulfill M.A. requirements, is one which Martinez argues is a“classic example of the Mex¬ ican way of relating astory ...” (43). Niggli’s first book, Mexican Folk Plays, published by the University of North Carolina Press...