Realism and the Generation of ’98 in Spanish Literature
Realism and Naturalism in Spain
Realism emerged in mid-19th century France within the context of a burgeoning urban society. In Spain, the heyday of the movement occurred in the 1880s. Its aim was to present, as completely as possible, the world of the bourgeoisie, with its new features and problems: its relationship to power and the lower classes, the emphasis on money, and the role of passions and desire.
In the last years of the nineteenth century, there was an evolution of realistic techniques leading to Naturalism. The writer sought to analyze the human condition, which is determined by environment, both historical and biological heritage.
The novel is the most important literary genre of the realistic movement. Its main features are:
- Plausibility
- Developed Character Personalities
- Linear Structure
- Detailed Descriptions
- Appearance of Contrasts
- Omniscient Narrator
- Colloquial Language
Key Authors of Spanish Realism
Benito Pérez Galdós (1834-1920)
Emphasized the creation of characters and their ability to integrate the country’s history into the lives of these beings.
Novels
- The National Episodes: Novels that seek to reconstruct the history of nineteenth-century Spain.
- First Novels: Exposed ideological conflicts and anticlerical religious themes. Examples include Doña Perfecta (1876) and Marianela (1878).
- Contemporary Spanish Novels: Reflect the reality of the time. Examples include Miau (1888) and Fortunata y Jacinta (1886-1887).
- Most Recent Novels (Spiritual Novel): Examples include Nazarín (1895), Misericordia (1897), and El abuelo (1897).
Leopoldo Alas Clarín (1852-1901)
Cultivated criticism, essays, novels, and stories. La Regenta (The Judge’s Wife) is his most famous novel. It portrays the provincial society of Vetusta, a literary name for Oviedo.
Other Authors
- José María de Pereda: Peñas arriba
- Juan Valera: Pepita Jiménez
- Emilia Pardo Bazán: Los Pazos de Ulloa
The Generation of ’98
Most writers of the Generation of ’98 have in common their rebellious attitude against bourgeois values. Over the years, traits such as individualism, pessimism, and distrust of reason become obvious. The landscape, old cities, and boredom come to the fore in their texts.
In style, they proclaim the need for a return to simplicity, sincerity, and to living and expressive phrases. Given the subjectivity of these writers, each of them has a clearly distinct personal style.
Key Authors of the Generation of ’98
Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)
His earlier books include reflections on existential themes – time, life as a struggle, death – and descriptions of the vicissitudes of everyday life. Notable works include:
- Poetry (1907)
- Rosario de sonetos líricos (1911)
In 1920, he published The Christ of Velázquez, a long poem in blank hendecasyllables. The poems from his years of exile give way to talk about loneliness, longing, and the obsession with death. A key work from this period is Ballad of Exile (1928).
Antonio Machado (1875-1939) (Although debatable, many critics include this author in the Generation of ’98)
His first book, Soledades, released in 1903 and reprinted with many additions in 1907, appeared in the heyday of modernism. The tone predominates melancholy and suffering, and the themes are love, the passage of time, loneliness, lost childhood, and dreams. He frequently uses symbols such as the road, river, sea, garden, and afternoon/fall.
Campos de Castilla (1912) involves a consideration of the Castilian poetic landscape, humanized with the emotion of lost love. Subsequently, he added a series of poems with paintings of Andalusian landscapes and types. This book features a new type of poetry: philosophical and moral sentences in the Proverbios y Cantares series.
Nuevas canciones (1924) includes a new series of Proverbios y Cantares.