In Praise of the Stepmother

In Praise of the Stepmother

Author	Mario Vargas Llosa
Original title	In Praise of the Stepmother
Language	Spanish
Genre	Novel
Publication date	1988
Publication place	Peru
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded by	The Storyteller
Followed by	Death in the Andes

In Praise of the Stepmother is an erotic novel by Peruvian writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, Nobel Literature Prize 2010. Published in 1988. It’s a story about a sexually open couple whose fantasies lead them to the edge of morality.

Story

Lucrecia and Rigoberto are an upper middle class married couple. On the outside, they look like an average Peruvian couple of their social class. However, they have a rich and open sexual relation that enriches their life. Their openness with sexuality, however, turns dangerous when Lucrecia starts an incestuous relationship with her pre-teen stepson, Fonchito, which ultimately leads to the unraveling of the marriage.

Main Themes

This is a book of the erotic novel genre that reflects on the meaning of happiness, sexual morality, and the loss of innocence. It incorporates essays and poetry into the narrative. It also has vivid descriptions and analisis of famous art representing erotic scenes, in particular from the Peruvian painter Fernando de Szyszlo and the Flemish master Jacob Jordaens.

Main Characters

Don Rigoberto – Husband of Lucrecia and father of Alfonsito (Fonchito),

Doña Lucrecia – Second wife of Rigoberto and stepmother of Alfonsito,

Alfonsito (Fonchito) – Son of Don Rigoberto,

Justiniana – Domestic Employee

Obras Relacionadas

En 1997 Vargas Llosa published Notebooks of Don Rigoberto, a follow up novel that also belongs to the erotic novel genre.

Other Fiction Works by Mario Vargas Llosa

Título	Fecha	Argumento
*1959 – Los jefes (The Cubs and Other Stories, 1979) 1963 – La ciudad y los perros (The Time of the Hero, 1966) 1966 – La casa verde (The Green House, 1968) 1969 – Conversación en la catedral (Conversation in the Cathedral, 1975) 1973 – Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, 1978) 1977 – La tía Julia y el escribidor (Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, 1982) 1981 – La guerra del fin del mundo (The War of the End of the World, 1984) 1984 – Historia de Mayta (The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta, 1985) 1986 – ¿Quién mató a Palomino Molero? (Who Killed Palomino Molero?, 1987) 1987 – El hablador (The Storyteller, 1989) 1988 – Elogio de la madrastra (In Praise of the Stepmother, 1990) 1993 – Lituma en los Andes (Death in the Andes, 1996) 1997 – Los cuadernos de don Rigoberto (Notebooks of Don Rigoberto, 1998) 2000 – La fiesta del chivo (The Feast of the Goat, 2002) 2003 – El paraíso en la otra esquina (The Way to Paradise, 2003) 2006 – Travesuras de la niña mala (The Bad Girl, 2007) 2010 – El sueño del celta.