Realism and Naturalism: Key Concepts and Literary Figures
Realism and Naturalism
In the mid-nineteenth century, a new cultural and literary power emerged, following the decline of Romanticism. Realism replaced the exaltation of individual freedom with an emphasis on explaining and analyzing social reality.
While Romanticism coincided with the spread of liberal ideas, Realism is related to social conflicts between the ruling bourgeoisie and the working class, who began to fight for their rights. This movement was influenced by a series of philosophical and sociological theories that changed the mentality and structure of society.
Key Influences on Realism
- Positivism: A philosophy that advocates scientific objectivity in the observation of reality.
- Marxism: The theories of Marx and Engels, which aimed to transform bourgeois society and establish socialism.
- Darwinism: Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, which explains the evolution of species through natural selection and the struggle for survival.
The Spread of Realism
Realism was born in France and spread throughout Europe:
- France: Balzac, Stendhal, and Flaubert.
- England: Charles Dickens.
- Russia: Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy.
- Portugal: Eça de Queirós.
In literature, the novel became the dominant genre of Realism because it effectively observed, represented, and explained social reality.
Characteristics of the Realist Novel
- The subjects portrayed the conflicts of the society of the time: historical events close to the author’s era, political and religious tensions, social hypocrisy, human relations, and the world of work. Often, the author adopted a critical stance.
- The creation of credible atmospheres and descriptions of environments that reflected the settings in which the characters lived.
- The creation of equally plausible characters, both in their relationships with others and in their internal conflicts, with complex psychologies. These were no longer heroes, but individuals drawn from everyday reality.
Narrative Forms and Techniques of the Realist Novel
- Careful observation of reality and an almost scientific approach to extract the necessary documentation.
- Accurate description of the environment and the nature of the characters to give credence to the story.
- Objective narration, usually in the third person, in which the omniscient narrator has an overview of the facts and knows the thoughts and behaviors of all the characters.
Naturalism
In France, during the last decades of the nineteenth century, Realism began to evolve into a new movement: Naturalism. It was created by novelist Émile Zola, who wanted to apply scientific and philosophical theories that had developed in the second half of the nineteenth century, especially biological and social determinism, to the novel.
Naturalist writers recreated the most sordid aspects of reality and explained the behavior of the characters based on the environment in which they lived.
Realism and Naturalism in Spain
As with Romantic literature, one can distinguish two groups of writers according to their ideology: conservatives or traditionalists, and liberals or progressives.
Among the progressive writers, who advocated for urban society and the progress of the middle class while attacking religious or political fanaticism, were the best novelists: Juan Valera (Pepita Jiménez), Benito Pérez Galdós (National Episodes, Mercy, The Disinherited, Fortunata and Jacinta, etc.), and Leopoldo Alas “Clarín” (La Regenta).
Naturalism especially influenced Emilia Pardo Bazán. Among her novels, Los Pazos de Ulloa and Mother Nature stand out, which thrive in rural Galicia, regarded as closed worlds dominated by passions and instincts.