Spanish Novel of the 20th Century: Key Authors & Innovations
The 20th Century Spanish Novel: A Shift in Tradition
The 20th-century Spanish novel marked a profound departure from tradition, embracing an intellectual perspective and enriching its themes and narrative techniques. While not all authors were affected equally, key renovators include Joyce (Ulysses), Proust (In Search of Lost Time), and Huxley (Brave New World). These innovations often stemmed from a pessimistic view of Western culture.
Key Innovations in Narrative Technique
- Non-linear plot structures
- Complex, non-prototypical characters
- Exploration of collective characters
- Manipulation of time
- Focus on the hero’s internal struggles
- Fragmentary and dramatized narratives
Authors who cultivated this new novelistic style include Unamuno, Martínez Ruiz (Azorín), and Valle-Inclán. Writers continuing the Noucentisme tradition, such as Gabriel Miró and R. Perez de Ayala, were influenced by heightened sensitivity and a desire for modernization.
The Novel of the Generation of ’98
Common themes explored by the Generation of ’98 novelists included religious, existential, and Spanish identity.
José Martínez Ruiz, Azorín
Azorín developed a personal narrative style characterized by:
- Time as an eternal return
- Recoverable moments
- Accurate and precise vocabulary
- Simple, clear language
Stages of Azorín’s Work:
- Stage 1: The Will and Confessions of a Young Philosopher
- Stage 2: The Route of Don Quixote and Castile
- Stage 3: Novels like Felix Vargas or Village, showcasing a refreshing, avant-garde attitude.
Miguel de Unamuno
Unamuno used the novel to express his philosophical concerns: the meaning of life, longing for immortality, and the tragic sense of death. His plays and poetry also address key intellectual, literary, and political issues. His first novel, Peace in War, is considered fiction, but the rest (Nivola) are innovative, highlighting character conflict, lack of clear data, and character dialogue.
Stages of Unamuno’s Work:
- 1st stage: Religious Crisis: Focus on progress and socialism, preoccupation with immortality, and faith in science and progress. (Peace in War)
- 2nd stage: Love and Pedagogy: Religious obsession and a negative image of constant struggle between faith and reason.
- 3rd stage: San Manuel Bueno, Martyr. Explores personality, concern for immortality, and self-contradiction between the historical and intimate. Reflects on life through characters seeking their own identity or contemplating their fate.
Ramón del Valle-Inclán
Valle-Inclán’s language is exquisite, marked by lexical richness, archaisms, originality, and musicality. Sonatas recreates the decadent aristocratic world, while Carlist War employs an impressionistic, concise style.
Pío Baroja
Born in San Sebastian, Baroja was known for his fierce individualism, opposition to political affiliations, and anticlerical views. His ideology included Basque pride and the use of acid humor as a defense against what he disliked. His work highlights realism, with protagonists fighting for specific goals, often failing, and existing as misfits. Themes include adventure, reflection, criticism, and humor, using simple and believable dialogue.
Stages of Baroja’s Work:
- 1st stage: Very creative and varied. (The Tree of Knowledge and Zalacaín the Adventurer)
- 2nd stage: Predominantly historical background and ironic perspective. (The Late Love)
The Tree of Science
This novel explores hopelessness, moral disorientation, and the state of Spain. It chronicles the life of Andres Hurtado until his suicide, detailing his first experiences, decisive events, reflections, and new experiences. Andrew H. fails in life, exhibiting relentless pessimism and an inability to adapt despite his efforts.
The Generation of 1914
This group of writers, positioned between the Generation of ’98 and ’27, was characterized by a desire to renew aesthetics, creating art and literature specific to the 20th century. Their aesthetic ideas included serenity and balance, pure art for aesthetic pleasure, conceptual rigor, and precision of ideas, shunning romantic and modernist motifs and despising realism. Their novels emphasized construction and style. Notable authors include Pérez de Ayala and Gabriel Miró, with Ramón Gómez de la Serna having a great influence.
Gabriel Miró
Miró is noted for his sensitivity and ability to capture sensations: light, sounds, smells. His command of language is absolute, and formal beauty prevails. (The Leper Bishop)
Pérez de Ayala
A representative of the intellectual novel, Ayala’s work is considered experimental for its refreshing narrative techniques. (Belarmino and Apolonio)
Ramón Gómez de la Serna
Serna’s life and work constantly broke with the establishment. His production is based on the “greguería,” a phrase or point enclosing a brief, unusual metaphor.