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This paper aims at presenting one of Fuentes's ideas about history, which he developed in the novel The Orange Tree. The said idea refers to the cyclical nature of history as well as time. The paper begins with a claim that Fuentes uses the technique of cyclic repetition, which is typical for the so-called new historical novel, with the aim of questioning the official version of history and showing which constants have been repeating themselves throughout the history of mankind. The representation of historical constants is essential in order to avoid the repetition of mistakes from the past. It transpires that, in this way, Fuentes seeks to refute the linear conception of time and with it closely related positivist idea of progress, which emerged in the Enlightenment era, so that he could show that the passage of time brings no real change in man's position. The paper aims at presenting the way in which Fuentes demonstrates that past events repeat themselves in the present and simultaneously represent the prophecy of the future. The conclusion is that Fuentes questions the past in order to illuminate his own present and build a national (Mexican) identity, which is sustained solely by the memory of the past.

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