Más allá del "infierno verde" y del "paraíso perdido". Paisaje y perspectiva medioambiental en dos novelas amazónicas peruanas

The Western view of the Amazon rainforest landscape has been for a long time (and partly still is) functional to the colonial ideology and aimed at its natural resources exploitation. Since the colonial penetration, a whole set of myths was created, which crystallised in two stereotyped and opposed images. On the one hand, the Amazonian landscape as ʻgreen hellʼ; on the other, the forest as the Garden of Eden. This paper will approach the theme of landscape and the relationship between human being and nature through the analysis of two Peruvian novels: Paiche, by César Calvo de Araújo and La virgen del Samiria by Róger Rumrrill, which outline a reflection on environmental problems.