Narrative Prose in the Spanish Golden Age: A Guide
Narrative Prose in the Spanish Golden Age
1. Prose Fiction vs. Didactic Prose
Didactic Prose:
Didactic prose aims to teach and offer moral reflections. It often employs satire and irony. Didactic works include:
- Political treatises
- Philosophical essays
- Satirical-moral narratives
These works typically targeted a select audience.
Prose Fiction:
The primary function of prose fiction is to entertain, though it may also contain instructive elements. It strives to blend the marvelous and fantastical with believability. Prose fiction in the Spanish Golden Age draws upon three main traditions:
- Greek Tradition (adventure novels, influencing the Byzantine novel)
- Latin and Italian Tradition (sentimental and courtesan novels)
- Medieval Anglo-Saxon and French Tradition (romances)
2. Subgenres of Romance Fiction
Byzantine Novel:
- Inspired by the Greek adventure novel.
- Features two young lovers separated by events like shipwrecks, kidnappings, or captivity.
- The lovers eventually overcome adversity and reunite.
- The narrative revolves around the protagonists’ journey.
Example: The Works of Persiles and Sigismunda (Cervantes)
Pastoral Novel:
- Based on the Greco-Roman pastoral model.
- Idealized shepherds experience love in an idyllic setting (Locus Amoenus).
- Shepherds behave and speak like noble courtiers.
- Dialogue and the exchange of love letters and poems are prominent.
Example: The Diana (Jorge de Montemayor)
Sentimental Novel:
- Continues the medieval tradition of focusing on the process of love, often unrequited.
- Frequently employs the epistolary form, with characters exchanging letters.
Example: Prison of Love (Diego de San Pedro)
Chivalric Romance:
- Revives medieval romances, often narrated in the second or third person.
- Focuses on the adventures of a knight-errant, with heightened religious sentiment.
Moorish Novel:
- Originated in Spain, without a prior model.
- Depicts life on the border between Castile and the Muslim kingdoms in the 16th century.
- Characters represent both sides of the Reconquista, promoting the idea of coexistence.
Example: The Abencerraje and the Beautiful Jarifa (Anonymous)
Courtly Novel:
- Influenced by the Italian Renaissance novel.
- Set in a courtly environment, with protagonists involved in courtly affairs and duels.
- Plots feature ambiguities, misunderstandings, and intricate relationships.
Example: Novels by María de Zayas y Sotomayor
Picaresque Novel:
- A uniquely Spanish subgenre, originating with Lazarillo de Tormes.
- The protagonist is a rogue (pícaro) who narrates their life from childhood to adulthood (fictional autobiography).
- The pícaro’s origins are typically impoverished and marginalized.
- Their development is shaped by a harsh social environment, leading to cynicism and cunning.
- The narrative often involves serving different masters, offering a portrayal of various social classes.
- Authors depict a marginalized world defined by hunger and survival.
Examples: Lazarillo de Tormes (Anonymous); The Swindler (Quevedo); Life of Guzmán de Alfarache (Mateo Alemán)
Cervantes also wrote a novella with a picaresque character, Rinconete and Cortadillo.
3. Main Didactic Prose Works
Quevedo:
Quevedo’s didactic works are characterized by their moral and satirical nature. Notable examples include:
- Dreams: A collection of stories satirizing various social groups and individuals who embody immoral behavior. Examples include “The Dream of the Last Judgment” and “The Dream of Death.”
- Time and Fortune with All Brains: Employing humor, wit, and satire, Quevedo explores the conflict between reason and self-interest. The narrative framework involves a meeting of Olympian gods who decide to give each person what they truly deserve.
Baltasar Gracián:
Gracián’s didactic works are aimed at an elite audience and focus on teaching virtue and self-improvement. His most important work is:
- The Critic: An allegorical work representing the stages of life as seasons. Spring symbolizes childhood, summer represents youth, autumn (referred to as the virile age) signifies maturity, and winter corresponds to old age.
In The Critic, the elderly Critilo is shipwrecked and rescued by the young Andrenio. Critilo teaches Andrenio to speak, and as they journey back to Spain, Critilo recounts his life experiences. Critilo embodies prudence and reason, while Andrenio represents ignorance and impulsiveness. The work offers a pessimistic view of a world where humanity’s selfishness and cruelty can only be overcome through reason and the pursuit of the common good.