Martín Morúa, in addition to his intellectual work in the sphere of politics and literary studies, conceived some works of creation, in this sense he is the author of some verses and at least two novels: “Sofia” and “The Unzúazu Family”, which would form a series with the title of “Things of my land”, apparently corresponding to sections of the same plot, similar to the narrative plan that Balzac followed in “The Human Comedy”.

The issue of slavery resurfaces in Cuban literature through these works, in a more stark manner and revealing profound personal implications for the author. The mulatto Sofía—almost white, as was customary to characterize black female characters, whether or not they were subject to slavery—faces the restrictions of colonial society not only as a slave but also as a woman, and her beauty constitutes yet another reason for the danger of collapse in the face of the moral canons of the time.

Regarding slavery, the author puts the following line into the mouth of Mr. Gonzaga’s character: “We are all aware that the moral corruption alien to the inhumane system of slavery was not limited to the unfortunates who suffered the immediate effects of that disastrous organism; no, our families also suffer the devastating consequences of this evil; because, as it could not be otherwise, it has intimately affected the social body and sickened its constitution. Even in our principal families, a little observation can note the moral decadence produced by constant contact with these unfortunate savage beings, for whom it was impossible for them to institute chairs of morality and good manners amidst the immorality and bad habits of the unbridled slave owners who have constituted and constitute their example.”

In “The Unzúazu Family,” he continues with the characters who made up the same family Sofía served during her life. Morúa’s gaze focuses on the false morality of white society and its axiological banality, the underlying emptiness that unbearably ravaged the core of the upper social classes and the very role model they represented for others, in a system that was utterly deteriorating and inevitably led to unhappiness.

The works also reiterate the topic of corruption within the legal world and, in a broader sense, how it was an evil that eroded society, stemming from social inequality itself.

Sofía’s character is quite believable, not only in her particularities but also as an archetypal example of her poor, dark-skinned peers. Federico, for his part, represents not only the contradictions of his social class but also the internal moral breakdown, despite the posturing he adopts in society.