Cain, the Man

México: Editorial Jus, 1968. First English Language Edition. Small octavo in tan wraps; 82 pp; 18 cm Very good(+); wraps show faint discoloration; pages bright and clean; binding tight. Paperback.

Translated by Rev. Jerome Post, S.J. and Isabel Gibbon | Stated fourth edition, 1,100 copies printed | Emma Godoy Lobato (1918–1989) was a Mexican writer, philosopher, educator, and public intellectual whose work ranges across poetry, fiction, drama, and essay, distinguished by its metaphysical gravity and ethical seriousness. Educated in Mexico and Paris, she brought existential and spiritual inquiry into dialogue with modern social conditions, often interrogating solitude, eroticism, freedom, and moral responsibility. Her best-known dramatic work, Cain, the Man (Caín, el hombre, 1950), reimagines the biblical Cain not as a mere fratricide but as a tragic figure emblematic of alienated modern humanity, caught between conscience, labor, and metaphysical exile; the play achieved notable international circulation and scholarly attention. Beyond literature, Godoy was a pioneering advocate for the dignity of the elderly in Mexico, founding organizations and influencing public policy, a civic commitment that mirrors the moral urgency and humanism of her writing.