Julia's Memoirs Bornhorst

Abstract

The Memoirs of Julia Bomhorst, a German traveller who belonged to the group of German traveller who belonged to the group of businessmen's wives who visited visited Venezuela, reflects the difficulties of her adaptation to the country. to the country. This becoming is a development in the dysphoric relationship from the beginning to a euphoric relationship with the Venezuelan reality. Venezuelan reality. A doubt arises over the classification of this work in one of two genres: travel literature and development novels. development novels. The former presupposes rather a journey by the the subject on the object of his observation, without any evolution of either the the one or the other. The Memoirs are an account of his travels insofar as they describe an exotic landscape. insofar as they describe an exotic landscape and its people. people. But, and perhaps more importantly, it is the growth of the main character, in an autobiography. main character, in an autobiography in which the author learns how to learns to enter a tropical and primitive country. That is why we say that there is also in these memoirs We therefore say that there is also in these memoirs an evolution of Julia's social mentality: the aristocratic Julia Kulenkamp learns to live among the poorest of the poor. learns to live among the poorest of the poor. Discontinuity is replaced by a continuity of wanting to be one with these simple people. simple people. Julia's norms, although they are maintained, cease to be universal, are no longer universal.