Travesuras de la niña mala: The Temptation of the Impossible

Authors

  • Alberto Castelli Hainan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2036-0967/21706

Keywords:

Madame Bovary, Mario Vargas Llosa, Sartre, The Bad Girl, Travesuras de la niña mala

Abstract

Mario Vargas Llosa’s novel Travesuras de la niña mala can be interpreted as an artistic expression of the author’s unsettled relationship with his country, Peru. But the role played by an enigmatic femme fatale moves the analysis in a different direction. By reading Vargas Llosa’s text in comparison with classics of Western canon, I intend to re-evaluate the prevailing negative judgment of the Bad Girl. By pulling together different textual strands, we have evidence enough to redeem her existence. Hence, it is that her disputable choices hide something enviable: the magnitude that only those who defeat their destiny can have. 

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Published

2026-07-29

How to Cite

Castelli, A. (2026). Travesuras de la niña mala: The Temptation of the Impossible. Confluenze. Rivista Di Studi Iberoamericani, 18(1), 260–284. https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.2036-0967/21706