Generation of ’98: Spanish Literature & Existentialism

Posted on Sep 21, 2024 in Latin

Generation of ’98

The Concept of Literary Generation Applied to ’98

Literary generations are defined by certain conditions:

Birth Years Close Together: The age difference between the oldest and youngest authors of the Generation of ’98 is only eleven years: Miguel de Unamuno was born in 1864 and Antonio Machado in 1875.
Similar Cultural Training: The authors of ’98 pursued diverse studies, from Medicine (Baroja) to Philosophy (Unamuno) and Law (Azorín). However, they didn’t prioritize formal education, considering themselves self-taught with a passion for reading both Spanish classics and European idealist philosophers (primarily the Germans Schopenhauer and Nietzsche).
Personal Relationships: Baroja, Azorín, and Ramiro de Maeztu formed a close friendship in their youth, known as the Group of Three. They also interacted with Unamuno and Valle-Inclán, and later with Antonio Machado.
Participation in Collective Actions and Projects: These authors frequently participated in gatherings and collaborated on magazines like Youth, Spanish Soul, or Helios. In the early 20th century, they promoted significant cultural events.
Generational Historical Event: The major historical event in Spain during this period was the Disaster of ’98, which gave the group its name. The military defeat against the USA, with the loss of the last remnants of the Spanish Empire, forced a reflection on the causes of Spain’s weakness and backwardness.
Generational Language: The writers of ’98 exhibit clear stylistic and linguistic differences from previous authors, particularly the realist novelists. However, the differences with the modernists are less distinct, as both groups aimed to renew and enrich literary language. Broadly speaking, the language of the Generation of ’98 is more sober and less ornate than that of Modernism, which is characterized by its exotic and sensory qualities.

The Evolution of the ’98 Authors

1. The Youth of ’98

Generally, the members of ’98 displayed a rebellious attitude in their youth, protesting social and political issues. In the late 19th century, Unamuno, Maeztu, and José Martínez Ruiz sympathized with socialist and anarchist movements, contributing to magazines with this ideological slant. In contrast, Ramón María del Valle-Inclán and Antonio Machado, also associated with this literary generation, did not exhibit the same political leanings during this period.

2. The Group of Three

The formation of the Group of Three, composed of Baroja, Azorín, and Maeztu, was significant in the ideological evolution of the ’98 authors. These authors met in Madrid, working together in newspapers and sharing similar views.

In 1901, they published a manifesto expressing their concern about the state of spiritual confusion and lack of faith in grand philosophical ideas. However, the three had distanced themselves from their revolutionary youth, losing confidence in socialism and anarchism. They now advocated for social reform to improve living conditions through specific measures, rather than a revolutionary change in the political, economic, and social system.

The Group of Three’s campaign ultimately failed, leading to further disillusionment with political action. Unamuno, who had already abandoned socialism and shifted his focus from social problems to philosophical and religious questions, had experienced similar disappointment.

3. The Maturity of ’98

After the radicalism of their youth, the characteristic mentality of ’98 emerged, coinciding with the authors’ maturity. This mentality was idealistic, prioritizing the immaterial world of the human mind over the material world.

Their engagement with European irrationalist philosophy intensified. Questions about the meaning of life, human destiny, the passage of time, the existence of God, etc., became central, especially for Unamuno and Azorín. The Generation of ’98 sought abstract and spiritual answers rather than addressing specific material problems of Spanish society. Although they continued to engage in politics, they generally adopted conservative positions, even extremely reactionary ones in the case of Ramiro de Maeztu.

In contrast, Machado published poetry addressing social problems critically. His subsequent evolution towards progressive ideals diverged from the characteristic trajectory of the ’98 authors. Valle-Inclán followed a similar path.

’98 Themes

Several themes are particularly important in this generation:

History of Spain: Initially, the ’98 generation held a critical view of Spanish history, seeing it as the source of economic, social, and cultural backwardness. However, as they adopted a more conservative mindset, they became interested in the past as a repository of core values, the “essence” of Spanish identity.
The Castilian Landscape: The ’98 authors explored different Spanish regions and wrote about various areas. However, despite none of them being Castilian, they were particularly drawn to the Castilian landscape.

This austere landscape, while remaining real, also reflected the writers’ souls, their search for truth, and their religious concerns.

Existential Problems: Beyond political and social concerns, these writers felt a sense of unease about the world they lived in. They constantly questioned the meaning of human existence, burdened by the awareness of inevitable death. They grappled with the conflict between their desire to find God and their profound religious doubts. Unamuno, in particular, expressed this ongoing and tragic conflict between faith and reason in many of his works.

The Novel in the Generation of ’98

The Generation of ’98 also contributed to the renewal of literary genres. In the novel, they created a new model that departed from realism. For them, a novel didn’t have to focus solely on narrating events, reflecting a real environment, and portraying believable characters. Instead, the plot often served as a pretext for characters to reflect and discuss philosophical, political, or sentimental issues, or for the author to express their own views, even appearing as a character.

Common Features:

Open Structure: Many ’98 novels prioritize the succession of loosely interconnected episodes over a rigorously constructed plot. Characters come and go, anecdotes and digressions abound, and subjective descriptions are frequent.
Sober Style: These novels are written in a careful yet plain and anti-rhetorical style, avoiding excessive figures of speech and unexpected plot twists. Clarity (simple syntax, lexicon, etc.) is prioritized as an essential narrative element.
Protagonists as Failures: In many works (especially by Baroja), characters are rebels, men of action who confront society. However, despite their talent and determination, they often succumb to pressure (dying, committing suicide, or simply giving up the fight).

Prominent Novelists:

Pío Baroja (1872-1956): The most prolific novelist of the generation and arguably the most prominent 20th-century Spanish novelist (considered one of the best of all time, alongside Cervantes and Galdós). Many of his novels (over sixty in total) are grouped into trilogies (or tetralogies) connected by setting and characters: “Basque Country” (including The Adventurer Zalacaín), “The Struggle for Life” (with The Search), “Race” (including The Tree of Knowledge), “Cities” (with Caesar or Nothing), “The Sea” (including The Concerns of Shanti Andia), etc.

Between 1913 and 1935, he wrote and published a more extensive series titled Memoirs of a Man of Action: twenty-two novels featuring Eugenio Avinareta, a historical figure who played a role in 19th-century Spanish politics. Baroja uses his adventures to paint a unique picture of Spanish history during that century, from the Peninsular War to the Carlist Wars.

The Spanish Theater in the Early 20th Century: The Theater of ’98

Valle-Inclán:

Valle-Inclán, arguably the best 20th-century Spanish playwright, followed a similar pattern in his theater as in his prose narratives. Starting with modernist aesthetics, his work increasingly emphasized deformed, grotesque, and caricatured elements. These elements became dominant in his esperpentos (grotesques), such as The Marquise Rosalinda or his rural tragicomedy Divine Words, leading to the creation of the esperpento, Valle’s main contribution to dramatic theory and practice. Bohemian Lights is considered his masterpiece and best reflects his concept of the grotesque.

Essential Features of Valle-Inclán’s Theater:

Grotesque and Distorted Vision of Reality: By distorting superficial appearances, the author aims to make the viewer aware of the true reality, the actual state of Spanish society at the time.
Degradation of Characters: The author observes his characters from above, portraying them as “puppets” devoid of dignity, with rare exceptions.
Rich and Varied Language: Both the dialogue, with its surprising vivacity and wit, and the stage directions (where Valle skillfully describes appearances, movements, and stage characteristics) exhibit a wide range of linguistic resources. Popular expressions and literary quotations, cultisms and slang, regionalisms and linguistic inventions are combined and contrasted.

The Poetry of ’98

Antonio Machado (1875-1939):

Machado was the quintessential poet of the Generation of ’98 (although his membership is debated due to his ideological evolution, which diverged from the majority of the group as he adopted increasingly progressive positions and supported revolutionary principles during the Second Republic and the Civil War).

In his first book, Solitudes, he shows a strong affinity for the modernist style, but his attempts at sensory exploration do not overshadow the expression of feelings. It is an intimate modernism that employs complex symbols (water, light, afternoon, roads, etc.) to convey deep emotions and obsessions (the passage of time, loneliness, death, the search for love, etc.).

His second work, Fields of Castile, is his most famous and aligns more closely with the spirit of ’98: the identification between the poet and the Castilian landscape, concern for the present and future of Castile (and Spain in general), and the expression of religious and metaphysical doubts and yearnings. He also recalls his unhappy marriage to the young Leonor, who died prematurely. The style of this book still draws on modernist principles but with greater refinement, incorporating traditional forms of Spanish poetry, such as the long romance The Land of Alvargonzález, which narrates a tragic legend from Soria, or the shorter Proverbs and Songs, inspired by folk songs.

From then on, Machado’s poetic activity decreased as his interest in philosophy grew. His later works (like New Songs, 1924) lack thematic and stylistic unity. Their most interesting aspect is the creation of new “proverbs and songs” with a philosophical bent, along with some cycles of love poetry and political poetry from his later years.