Spanish Literature After Franco: Trends and Evolution
Spanish Literature After Franco: Political and Social Context
In 1975, after Franco’s death, Spain began a new era, marked by democratization and integration into European and international politics. The Political Reform Bill, sponsored by Adolfo Suárez, was approved by referendum in 1976. This initiated the transition to democracy: political parties were legalized, and general elections led to the Constituent Cortes, resulting in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Spain achieved international recognition as a fully democratic nation and joined the European Economic Community in 1985.
These developments fostered Spain’s full participation in international politics and the rapid development of a dynamic society aligned with Western cultural trends. While 1975 is often considered the starting point for studying recent Spanish literature due to the significant impact of these historical events, it did not cause a sudden transformation in writers’ work.
International contacts and the rediscovery of the avant-garde revitalized Spanish literature. In the 1960s, writers began to reject social realism, experiment with new expressive techniques, and cultivate diverse genres. However, recent years have seen a return to more traditional literary forms. The flourishing of Latin American literature, with novelists like Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Carlos Fuentes, also influenced the Spanish novel.
Furthermore, other peninsular languages (Euskara, Galician, and Catalan) recovered their literary past after a long period of censorship. These decades saw a proliferation of literary prizes and participation in book fairs, initiating a period of great editorial vitality and enriching the country’s cultural life.
The Novel: Growth and Trends
In recent years, narrative has experienced exceptional growth. The publication of novels and short stories has increased. The appeal of the new narrative is evident in the proliferation of reviews in periodicals, the frequent appearance of writers in the media, numerous literary awards, and the public’s interest in new releases.
Themes, Trends, and Characteristics
Authors follow varied trends, largely due to:
- Total creative freedom after the end of censorship and political commitment.
- Influence of mass media with diverse trends.
- Ideological fragmentation of Western thought.
Since the late 1970s, there has been an abandonment of the aggressive stance of social realism, a decline in experimentalism, and a recovery of the plot. Novelists now seek interesting topics and develop them using traditional narrative resources, rather than writing to express beliefs or as a mere rhetorical exercise.
Some elements that provide cohesion to current Spanish narrative include:
- Tendency towards subjectivity and intimacy: Common in existential novels where a protagonist, often feeling helpless or insecure, seeks their identity, family roots, or the meaning of their life.
- Proliferation of mediocre, cynical, and morally undefined characters.
- Abundance of humorous novels and those with a lyrical or nostalgic tone.
- Preference for urban themes, although rural and idyllic interpretations of nature are not uncommon.
- Relaxation of narrative structure, generally serving expressiveness and narrative efficiency.
- Greater emphasis on language and finding a personal style.
- Appreciation for cultural references.
Critic Santos Sanz Villanueva classifies post-1975 novels into thematic subgenres. This classification serves as a basis for understanding the most representative currents of contemporary narrative.