Summary of The Red Queen

The Red Queen is a novel by Macedonio Fernández, published in 1934. The surrealistic novel follows a woman who wanders a dystopian mountain, searching for her identity and life's meaning. The female protagonist encounters people, forces, and phenomena that cause her to question reality and morality. Throughout the novel, Fernández emphasizes the desire for personal freedom and explores the deleterious effects of repression, conformity, and domination. Ultimately, the novel posits that social institutions are like an interlocking set of masks, obscuring not only individuals’ true natures but the enduring validity of any one paradigm. The Red Queen is a text of self-discovery that ultimately reveals a bleak existential viewpoint.