View source for La razón de mi vida

{{Short description|Autobiography of Eva Perón}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| image         = LaRazónDeMiVida.jpg
| image_caption = Book cover, first edition
| author        = [[Eva Perón]]
| pub_date      = 1951
| language      = [[Castilian Spanish]]
| publisher     = Peuser
}}
'''''La Razón de mi vida''''' (literal translation: "The Reason for My Life") is the [[autobiography]] of [[Eva Perón]], [[First Lady]] of [[Argentina]] from 1946 until her death in 1952. The book was published in 1951 shortly before Eva's death, and is considered a propagandistic piece for [[Peronism]], the political movement her husband, [[Juan Perón]], started. The book explains how things such as [[class differences]], [[labor rights]], [[Gender role|gender roles]], and [[Labor Union|unions]] work in a Peronist world. In 1952, after her death, the book became required reading for government employees.<ref name=":0">Finchelstein, Federico. ''The Ideological Origins of the Dirty War: Fascism, Populism, and Dictatorship in Twentieth Century Argentina''. Oxford University Press. pp. 80–81.</ref>
It has been published in English under the titles ''My Mission in Life,''<ref name=":4">Peron, Eva (1951). ''My Mission in Life''. Translated by Cherry, Ethel. New York: Vantage Press. (Published 1953).</ref> and ''Evita by Evita.''<ref name=":5">Peron, Eva (1951). ''Evita by Evita''. London: Proteus (published 1980).</ref>
== Authorship ==
Despite being credited to Eva Peron, much of the writing of the book wasn't done by her.<ref name=":1">Fraser, Nicholas; Navarro, Marysa (1996). "The Bridge of Love". ''Evita''. W.W. Norton. pp. 139–140.</ref> In 1950, Spanish [[journalist]] Manuel Penella da Silva was hired to work on a [[memoir]] for Eva.<ref name=":1" /> At the end of that year, a completed manuscript of what would eventually become La Razón de Mi Vida was presented to Juan Perón and other members of his administration for review.<ref name=":1" /> It was disliked by those who read it, for reasons including the fact the language used was more consistent with the Spanish [[dialect]] in Spain than in Argentina.<ref name=":1" /> Juan Perón gave the manuscript to Raúl Menda, one of his [[Speechwriter|speechwriters.]]<ref name=":1" /> The manuscript was heavily reworked, removing things such as a chapter of [[Feminism|feminist]] analysis of Eva and her political contributions.<ref name=":1" /> The final version produced by these revisions is the version of the book seen today. Due to the high involvement of the Peron regime in its creation, many historians consider the book a work of [[propaganda]] more than an accurate account of Eva Perón's life.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">Goddard, Victoria (2003). "'The virgin and the state': Gender and politics in Argentina". In Goddard, Victoria (ed.). ''Gender, Agency and Change: Anthropological Perspectives''. Taylor & Francis. pp. 238–243.</ref>
== Content and themes ==
Despite being an autobiography, the book's focus often strays from Eva Perón herself. For example, the book contains little information about Eva's life before she met her husband, Juan Perón.<ref name=":3">Navarro, Marysa (1987). Stanton, Donna (ed.). ''The Female Autograph: Theory and Practice of Autobiography from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century''. University of Chicago Press. pp. 181–185.</ref> Once Juan Perón is introduced into the narrative, the book simultaneously aggrandizes Eva and minimizes her to being Juan's shadow.<ref name=":3" />
The book describes how Evita became aware of class differences and struggles as a child.<ref name=":2" /> It repeated ideas and messages Eva often spoke of in her speeches<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> and expanded on Peronism.<ref name=":1" /> Throughout the book, Juan Perón is characterized as the ideal Argentinian man, leader, and father, and Eva as the ideal woman, follower, and mother.<ref name=":1" />
The style of the book is casual and personal.<ref name=":2" /> It is set in [[present tense]], a deviation from the expected norms of autobiographies.<ref name=":3" /> It mimics the way Eva would speak while delivering speeches,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> and is arguably an extension of her public persona.<ref name=":2" />
== Literary context ==
Before the publication of La Razón in 1951, autobiography as a genre in Argentina was almost entirely dominated by upper-class men.<ref name=":3" /> Eva Perón, as a lower class woman born of an extra-marital affair and an ex-actress, represented a deviation from the genre's established norms.<ref name=":3" />
== Publication history ==
In English, the book has been published under a couple different names. In 1953, it was translated by Ethel Cherry and published under the title ''My Mission in Life,''<ref name=":4" /> and in 1980 it was published under the title ''Evita by Evita.''<ref name=":5" />
The book has also been translated into German,<ref>Peron, Eva (1951). ''Der Sinn meines Lebens'' [''My Mission in Life''] (in German). Thomas Zürich (published 1952).</ref> French,<ref>Peron, Eva (1951). ''La raison de ma vie'' [''The Reason for My Life''] (in French). Translated by Solar, Raoul. Paris: Gaston Maillet (published 1952).</ref> and many other languages.<ref>"La Razon de Mi Vida". ''World Cat''. Retrieved March 25, 2024.</ref>
==Reference==
{{Reflist}}
{{Maria Eva Duarte de Perón}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razon de mi Vida}}
[[Category:Eva Perón]]
[[Category:Political autobiographies]]
[[Category:Argentine autobiographies]]
[[Category:1951 non-fiction books]]
{{Argentina-poli-bio-book-stub}}