19th Century Spanish & French Writers: Overview
19th Century Spanish & French Writers
Spanish Writers
Fernando Fernán Gómez
Fernán Gómez, son of a Spanish-German mother, spent his childhood in Cádiz before moving to Hamburg. Widowed after her first husband, with whom she had gone to Puerto Rico, she returned to Spain and remarried a Marquis. After his second husband’s death, she married Antonio Arrom, who also passed away. Having gained the favor of Elizabeth II and befriended the Dukes of Montpensier, she spent several years in the Alcázar of Seville, which she had to leave in 1868. The outstanding virtue of her novels lies in the vivid portrayal of characters and customs, creating a pleasant narrative atmosphere with its light and intentionally naive tone. One of her most important works is La Gaviota; she also wrote short stories and poems.
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
Alarcón had a dynamic ideological life. Like his characters, he evolved from liberal and revolutionary ideas to more traditional positions. Although his family was humble, they managed to support his law studies, which he abandoned for ecclesiastical studies and journalism. He wrote from adolescence, his first piece appearing in El Eco del Comercio. He participated in the African War as a journalist, and also served as a deputy, senator, ambassador, and member of the Royal Spanish Academy. Convinced that realism had reached its limits, he fell silent, perhaps influenced by criticism from his former liberal colleagues. His works include Diario de un testigo and El escándalo.
Leopoldo Alas “Clarín”
Alas began his studies at a Jesuit college in León. His childhood was spent between León and Guadalajara, and at age seven, he moved to Oviedo, where he spent much of his life. The 1868 revolution led him to politics, embracing Republican ideas he would defend throughout his life. He earned a law degree from the University of Oviedo and began his journalism career as a literary critic and columnist. His most important work is the novel La Regenta. He also wrote the “lost” sermon and plays.
Emilia Pardo Bazán
Born into a wealthy noble family, Pardo Bazán showed an early interest in writing. Her privileged upbringing gave her access to education and ample time for her passion: reading. She traveled extensively, learned languages, and dedicated books to her family. Inclined towards naturalism, she wrote journals and novels, her masterpiece being Los Pazos de Ulloa.
Benito Pérez Galdós
Galdós, a novelist, playwright, and columnist, is a key figure in the 19th-century realist novel and one of the greatest Spanish-language writers. He earned an arts degree in 1862 and began working for a local newspaper, contributing satirical poems, essays, and stories. He also showed interest in drawing and painting. After a cousin’s arrival caused emotional upheaval, his parents sent him to Madrid to study law. He frequented theaters, captivated by Venganza catalana. His exceptional memory and visual acuity fostered his power of observation, crucial for a novelist. His first novel was La Fontana de Oro. He published Doña Perfecta, a novel criticizing ideological intolerance in the fictional Orbajosa, similar to Ficóbriga in Gloria. Despite opposition from neo-Catholics, Galdós was elected to the Royal Spanish Academy.
French Writers
Guy de Maupassant
Maupassant, a French writer of short stories, is associated with Realism and Naturalism. He wrote numerous short stories with the help of his friend Gustave Flaubert. He particularly excelled in tales of terror, becoming a master of the genre. These tales, narrated in a lively and tense style, reveal the haunting presence of death, madness, and the supernatural. He published five novels, wrote under several pseudonyms, and tragically died by suicide after suffering from serious nerve problems.
Gustave Flaubert
Flaubert, a French writer considered one of the greatest Western novelists, is best known for Madame Bovary and his meticulous devotion to his art. Considered unfocused in school, he began writing at eleven. After passing the selectivity exam, he studied law in Paris. Despite shyness, he possessed vigor, enthusiasm, individualism, and seemingly no ambition. After his mother’s death, his financial situation worsened. His commitment to realism and aesthetics demanded extensive preparation for each work. His ironic and pessimistic view of humanity makes him a great moralist.