Naturalism in 19th Century Literature: A Deep Dive
Naturalism in 19th Century Literature
From Realism to Naturalism
In the final decades of the nineteenth century, realism evolved into naturalism. French author Emile Zola took the realistic approach to its extreme and proposed to apply scientific principles to the literature of the time. For Zola, humans are a product of their genetic inheritance and social circumstances.
Zola’s Works:
- Therese Raquin
- The Tavern
These works aimed to show the more sordid aspects of reality.
Features of Naturalism
Narrative Techniques:
Naturalism employed extreme observation techniques. It analyzed the behavior of individuals in society and the family that determined their behavior. Descriptions sometimes focused on stark and cruel aspects.
Narrator:
The narrator in naturalist works is objective and impersonal, unlike the realistic narrator who may be part of the story.
Themes and Characters:
Naturalism presented the most impoverished aspects of reality, including characters with flaws, lacking feelings, dominated by their physiology, with harsh language, and living in squalid environments that reflected their circumstances.
Spanish Naturalism
Leopoldo Alas “Clarin”
Known by his literary pseudonym “Clarin”, he was a famous author of articles and critical essays. He also wrote well-known tales like Pipa and Adiós, Cordera. La Regenta (The Judge’s Wife) was one of the best Spanish language novels, set in Vetusta (Oviedo). It presents two characters in conflict (Ana Ozores and Fermin De Pas) dominated by a hostile environment. Vetusta was a bourgeois society filled with hypocrisy and convention. The detailed analysis of society and the characters in this novel makes it a prime example of naturalism.
Emilia Pardo Bazán
The Galician author Emilia Pardo Bazán is considered the introducer of naturalism in Spain. Her novels contain a detailed study of the Galician countryside and the nobility that maintained its power over the peasants.
Works:
- Los Pazos de Ulloa (The House of Ulloa)
- Madre Naturaleza (Mother Nature)
These works present the decline of the nobility and allow us to observe social, moral, and physical decay.
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez
The Valencian author Vicente Blasco Ibáñez is considered the Spanish writer who most directly followed the principles of naturalism. His novels present the world of three socioeconomic spheres in Valencia:
- Trade (Arroz y Tartana – Rice and Tartan)
- Agriculture (La Barraca – The Cabin)
- Fishing (Cañas y Barro – Reeds and Mud)
His characters are dominated by primitive forces that determine their behavior. The environments described are often violent and unpleasant, with a predominance of sordid aspects.
Glossary of Terms
Grant:
Giving gratuitously.
Encomendar:
Ordering.
Epistle:
Letter.
Afan:
Self-centeredness, effort, commitment.
Essence:
Imminent features of something.
Quitaesencia:
Natural perfection.
Graphiosis:
Disease caused by a fungus.
Requiem:
Funeral prayer.
Head:
Inside and tightest part of a vegetable.
Thrive:
To improve the social or economic status of.
Rationalist:
Based on reason.
Vernacular:
Referred to a language, own of a country.
Exacerbated:
Exaggerated, outside the ordinary.
Reo:
Prisoner.
Fill:
Enlarge.
Polish:
Different types of poetry mix.
Fate:
Destination.
Brag:
Presume.
Neglect:
Laziness, apathy.
Serpent:
To make a snake-like motion.
Transient:
Pedestrian.
Vasto:
Grand, immense, extraordinary.
Fonda:
Boarding house.
Patria:
One’s original country.
Rudeness:
Coarse, lacking elegance, simple.
Azores:
Disquiet, disturb, stun.
Fickle:
Changeable and inconstant in how one acts, thinks, or feels.
Rescusar:
To not want to reject or accept.
Metamorphosis:
Very grand physical changes.
Errant:
Not sedentary.
Discern:
To distinguish things by pointing out their differences.
Implied:
Included without being explicitly stated.
Pulsion:
Impulse or force that causes something.
Urgent:
Urgent or pressing.
Delight:
Pleasure of the senses or the spirit.
Brace:
To reduce the strength of something.
Consumer:
End, conclude, terminate.
Overlap:
A metric resource.
Aerate:
Refresh.
Muffler:
Part of the savanna that folds outwards.
OSCE:
The Oscans.
Align:
To produce alignment or lose one’s identity.
Alienation:
To get out of or upset one’s reason or senses.
Genocide:
Systematic destruction or elimination of a social, racial, political, or religious group.
Refute:
To oppose what another says using arguments and reasons.
Concocted:
Clothed, dressed.
Garnish:
Decorating.
Slanderer:
Someone who speaks incorrectly or curses.
Bison:
Rookie.
Grumete:
Sailor’s apprentice.
Timorous:
Excessively scrupulous.
Scrupulous:
Something that disgusts someone.
Repulgo:
Unease of conscience.
Stonewalling:
Refuge.