Romanticism, Naturalism, and Realism in Literature
Romanticism
Origins and Spread
Originating in late 18th-century England and Germany, Romanticism spread across Europe in the early 19th century.
Trends
Reactionary Romanticism
This movement arose as a reaction against the Industrial Revolution and rationalism. Romantics sought refuge in two ways:
- Escaping into nature, the supernatural, religious experiences, dreams, and the ideal world.
- Idealizing the past, particularly the Middle Ages and antiquity, with a focus on Spain as a model.
Liberal Romanticism
This branch of Romanticism emphasized freedom in several aspects:
- Political: Spanish romantics embraced liberal ideals, appreciating progress while disdaining commercialism. Poetry became a gateway to the extraordinary.
- Religious: Rejection of dogma and rebellion against traditional religious authority.
- Personal: Pursuing heartfelt desires, experiencing life as exile, tragedy, and agony. This led to the emergence of rebellious figures like bandits, pirates, and beggars.
- Social: Challenging the established bourgeois order, advocating for justice and freedom, embracing inspiration over hard work, bohemianism over material possessions, and passionate love over conventional marriage.
Eventually, Romanticism lost its momentum, becoming an aesthetic movement. Disillusioned romantics paved the way for modern thought.
Naturalism
Definition and Origins
Emerging in 1859, Naturalism was influenced by Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species. Naturalist writers, like Emile Zola, drew parallels between scientific observation of the natural world and literary analysis. Naturalism, the final stage of Realism, shifted the focus from individual struggles to the collective potential for change, influenced by the growing urban proletariat.
The Naturalist’s Aim
Initially synonymous with Realism, Naturalism later became associated with Emile Zola’s work and theories outlined in books like Le Roman experimental (1880) and Les Romanciers Naturalistes (1881).
Foundations of Naturalism
Materialism
Naturalism views humans as organisms, reducing psychology to physiology. It seeks to explain “psychic reactions” through the laws governing the physical body.
Realism
The Realist Novel
The realist novel serves as a tool for observing, representing, and explaining social reality. It offers a plausible portrayal of human life, with the writer providing a critical perspective without moralizing.
Features of Realist Novels
- Critique of society, aiming to expose and address social issues.
- Focus on contemporary issues, particularly those of the middle class.
- Creation of believable settings and characters.
Narrative Techniques in Realism
- Quasi-scientific observation of reality for documentation.
- Detailed descriptions of environments and characters.
- Objective, third-person narration with an omniscient narrator.
- Simple and direct language reflecting the speech of various social groups.
Spanish Realism
It is recognized in 1868 as the beginning of realism in Spain. Two years later, published his novel Galdós gold fountain.
The movement has two phases:
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Prereality: half a century and appears to alternate romantic aspects (customs and idealization) and other strictly realistic (arguments more defined and further characterization of the characters), while responding to a strong moral and political dualism (fight between good and bad) . Fernan Caballero stand with the Seagull or Alvareda’s family and Pedro Antonio de Alarcón with the cocked hat, Scandal and the child of the ball. · Realism: It is overly ideological to the top and later is more objective and sheds extraliterary or moralistic attitudes.