For centuries, authors in several national literatures have incorporated the Faust legend as a leitmotif into their own creations, a claim that the quest myth, is the parent of all myths (Adams Lemming 184). . . . Although this legend first appeared in Germany in the fifteenth century (c. 1480), it dates back to the theme of the Fall of Adam and Eve who, overreachers like Faust, committed hubris by transcending the boundaries of paradise set by God, causing themselves to wander in despair in a world already loaded with travails. Faust's dissatisfaction with what he had already conquered drove him continuously to further conquests, resulting in the multiple errors of hubris, the ultimate payment of which is death. Our archetypal analysis of the five Latin American texts selected for this study suggests that they imbue the conventional elements commonly found in traditional Faust literature, namely: An overreacher, a demon, a contract with a devil, and a female portrayed either as a young, pretty lover, or a young or old witch. This may be attributed to (1) specific influences, (2) archetypal patterns, and (3) an attempt by each author to recreate and "Latin Americanize" his own Faust work by placing it in his own national epic setting. —Ollie O. Oviedo,