19th Century Spanish Realism: Historical Context, Authors, and Key Works
Realism: Historical and Cultural Context, Authors, and Most Significant Works
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the consolidating capitalist system produced social and political changes. Modern states emerged with central governments, unified legislation, and eventual unification. However, Spain experienced continuous government changes.
Philosophical Movements
- Positivism: This philosophy emphasizes empirical observation and experience. It posits that only perceived facts or those verifiable through research are real.
- Evolution: This movement focuses on humanity’s adaptation to society.
- Marxism: This ideology advocates for transforming the world.
General Features of Realism
- Observation and Accurate Description of Reality: Real life becomes the subject of aesthetic representation.
- Focus on the Familiar: Writers depict what they know, emphasizing the present and the proximate. This focus shifts attention to everyday life, eliminating subjectivity and fantasy.
- Frequent Social and Political Criticism: The nature of this criticism varies depending on the writer’s ideology. Generally, authors aim to expose societal ills.
- Simple and Sober Style: Realist writers reject pompous romantic rhetoric, favoring clarity and accuracy.
- Preference for the Novel: The novel was considered the most suitable genre to reflect reality in its entirety.
Features of the Realist Novel
- Verisimilitude: Stories closely resemble reality.
- Individual or Collective Protagonists: Realist novels can be categorized as psychological or social, depending on their focus.
- Omniscient Narrator: The narrator possesses complete knowledge of the characters but remains outside the narrative.
- Didacticism: Realist novels often convey a moral or social message.
- Linear Structure: Events unfold chronologically.
- Detailed Descriptions:
- Use of Colloquial Language:
Naturalism: A literary movement emerging from Realism, Naturalism posits that individuals are determined by their biology and social environment.
Poetry
Poetry of this era often celebrated family and religious values. Three main trends emerged:
- Anti-rhetorical Realistic Poetry: This trend is best exemplified by Ramón de Campoamor.
- Grand Realistic Poetry: Gaspar Núñez de Arce is a key figure in this movement.
- Intimate Post-Romantic Poetry: This trend, represented by Rosalía de Castro and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, incorporates themes from Spanish Romanticism with a style that foreshadows later developments.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Bécquer is known for his prose, particularly his Leyendas (Legends), a collection of short stories with a fantastical and romantic atmosphere. His poetry, characterized by its use of rhyme, explores themes of love and the nature of poetry itself, seen as a direct expression of inner emotions.
Bécquer’s poems are typically short and deceptively simple. He employs symbolism, representing ideas and feelings through allusions to the external world.
His style is marked by careful craftsmanship, blending elements of classical and popular poetry. He uses combinations of eleven-syllable and seven-syllable lines, reminiscent of the cultivated silva, but often in short stanzas like traditional songs.
Prose
This period saw the rise of regional novels depicting local customs and thesis novels advocating for specific ideologies. Notable authors include:
- Fernán Caballero: Her work features romantic elements, Catholic didacticism, and idealization. Her best-known novels are La Gaviota (The Seagull) and La familia de Alvareda (The Alvareda Family).
- Pedro Antonio de Alarcón: His characters often lack individuality and are portrayed in a Manichean manner. His plots can be implausible, and his language sometimes suffers from excessive verbosity. His most famous work is El sombrero de tres picos (The Three-Cornered Hat).
- Other Important Authors: Juan Valera (Pepita Jiménez), José María de Pereda (Sotileza), and Emilia Pardo Bazán (Los Pazos de Ulloa).
Benito Pérez Galdós
Galdós was a prolific novelist and playwright. His narrative work can be divided into two main categories: the Episodios Nacionales (National Episodes) and his other novels, which fall into three groups:
- Early Novels: These novels, mostly written with a didactic purpose, include La Fontana de Oro (The Golden Fountain), Doña Perfecta, Gloria, Marianela, and La familia de León Roch (The Family of León Roch).
- Contemporary Spanish Novels: Published after El doctor Centeno (Doctor Centeno), these novels, including El amigo Manso (The Peaceful Friend), La de Bringas (The Bringas Woman), and Miau, analyze the world of the middle class. His most ambitious work in this group is Fortunata y Jacinta (Fortunata and Jacinta).
- Later Novels: These novels, written from 1889 onwards, experiment with narrative techniques, incorporating dialogue, dreams, and symbols. Examples include Nazarín, Misericordia (Mercy), and Tristana.
The Episodios Nacionales, comprising forty-six novels in five series of ten episodes each (except the last, unfinished series with six), aim to present a fictionalized history of nineteenth-century Spain.
Galdós’s style is characterized by clear and simple language, but his narratives are richly developed. He often employs free indirect discourse, allowing his characters’ voices to emerge through the narration.
Leopoldo Alas Clarín
Clarín was a prominent journalist and literary critic. His creative writing consists mainly of narrative. He wrote two novels, La Regenta (The Regent) and Su único hijo (His Only Son), as well as short stories like”¡Adiós, Cordera” “Farewell, Lamb”) and”El gallo de Sócrate” “Socrates’ Rooste”). His short stories often feature satire and burlesque, contrasting with his more serious and thoughtful novels.
In Su único hijo, Clarín critiques the morality of his contemporary society, highlighting selfishness, greed, deceit, hypocrisy, and lies. La Regenta is considered one of the greatest novels in Spanish literature.
Theater
Theater in this period catered to different social classes. Bourgeois audiences favored high comedy, which emphasized domestic harmony and was set in bourgeois environments. Key playwrights in this genre include Adelardo López de Ayala (El tanto por ciento [The Percentage]), Manuel Tamayo y Baus (Un drama nuevo [A New Drama]), and José Echegaray (El loco Dios [The Madman God]). Naturalist theater did not gain much traction in Spain.