The Marroccan short stories of El criados de gorilas

Abstract

Arlt’s short stories El criador de gorilas (1941) are little known. While some critics consider them “exotic”, “maudlin” or “commissioned writing”, in this article I try to show their closeness to the genre of travel and adventure literature, outlinig briefly Arlt’s models (Kipling, T. E. Lawrence, R. De Nogales). With the exception of four stories, the action takes place in Morocco and the subject is usually international espionage, with women playing an important role. Two stories are about esoterism, another important theme in Arlt’s literature. Characters are usually stereotypes (spies, merchants, cadis, thieves..) and formally the stories are influenced by A Thousand and One Nights (story within a story) and Arlt’s personal knowledge of the Moroccan haki.