Spanish Novelists Before the 20th Century: Azorín, Valle-Inclán, Unamuno, and Baroja
36 Prior to the Novel
Azorín (1873-1968)
Azorín evolved from youthful anarchism to a very clear conservatism. What is most striking in his novels is that the borders between essays and novels are blurred. In these novels, the plot is less important, seeming more like an excuse to link rooms or a gallery of characters. Notable works include The Will, Confessions of a Small Philosopher, and Doña Inés. Language plays a key role because the style is very slow and clear. Descriptions are accomplished with a miniaturist technique, showcasing an immense wealth of vocabulary.
Valle-Inclán
Valle-Inclán’s work demonstrates an evolution from modernism to the grotesque. In his modernist era, we find works like Flower of Holiness, where the Galician environment first appears. However, his most important works from this period are the Sonatas. The protagonist, the Marquis de Bradomín, is the link between the four novels: Autumn Sonata, Summer Sonata, Spring Sonata, and Winter Sonata. These works feature beautiful prose rich in sensory effects. Emerging environments, situations, and language processing hint at the esperpento style that would later become prominent.
The Carlist War trilogy (The Crusaders of the Cause, The Glow of the Fire, and Bigwigs of the Past) presents a contrast between the romantic heroism of the Carlists and the harsh realism of war. This contrast is also reflected in the style, where beautiful prose and careful language appear alongside rougher, tougher elements.
In the 1920s, Valle-Inclán began writing in the esperpento style. Novels from this period include Tyrant Banderas. This novel has been very influential in Spanish-American literature, inspiring works like The Fall of the Patriarch, Mr. President, and I, the Supreme, which deal with the theme of the Hispanic-American dictator.
Finally, we must mention the cycle of The Iberian Ring, which ridicules the court of Elizabeth II. Notable works from this cycle include The Court of Miracles, Viva mi Dueño, and Baza de Espadas.
Unamuno
Unamuno wrote in all genres and is one of the most determined innovators of the early-century novel. All his novels are a literary projection of his personality, with characters often embodying his ideas and feelings. After his first novel, Peace in War, written with a realistic technique, the author moved away from what he called “the deceptive realism of appearances” to focus on what he considered authentic realism: the inner reality of the characters’ souls. This led to a change in technique, which he termed “viviparous.”
This change gave rise to a new way of writing novels: the “nivola.” The characteristics of the nivola, as presented in a chapter of Fog, are:
- Waiving any kind of preparation to write without a plan, letting whatever happens happen.
- Elimination of descriptions, dispensing with any reference to the landscape, places, and circumstances surrounding the “agonists.”
- The main character goes from being an “antagonist” to an “agonist.”
- The importance of dialogues and monologues (which Unamuno called “self-talk”).
Baroja
Baroja was a novelist known for his autonomy within the Generation of ’98. The Tree of Knowledge is the work that best defines him and was regarded by him as his best work. Baroja was known for his radical skepticism. He believed human life is meaningless and had no trust in humans. The root of these ideas can be found in Schopenhauer, who posited that the nature of life is suffering, directly proportional to the intellectual conscience of each individual. The proposed solution was ataraxia, a state of calm, negative, indifferent contemplation of everything around us.
His Theory of the Novel
Baroja’s theory of the novel can be summarized as follows:
- “The novel is like a bag into which everything fits, a permeable novel.”
- He totally disregarded composition and even said that the novel could have no argument.
- The supreme qualities of the novelist are imagination, invention, and careful observation of life.
Technique
- His novels have only a frame, no subtopics.
- Around the central character, there is a small group of relatives, friends, or casual acquaintances who, by contrast or similarity, highlight aspects of the protagonist’s character.
- There is an overabundance of very short dialogues and descriptions of customs and ways of life.
- There is an abundance of minor characters that run through the scene very quickly and provide encouragement.
- These characters represent attitudes of social groups or attacks that Baroja directly caricatured.
Style
Baroja’s prose is quick, nervous, and vivid, constantly employing short sentences and paragraphs. This creates a very entertaining and lively style, even in descriptions. Baroja was a very prolific writer and had the habit of grouping his novels into trilogies, such as The Struggle for Life (which includes The Quest, Weeds, and Red Dawn).
The Struggle for Life depicts the harsh conditions of life in Madrid at the beginning of the century in a very realistic manner. Between 1913 and 1935, the author dedicated himself to composing a series of 22 historical novels recounting the adventures of Eugene Aviraneta, an ancestor of his mother. Aviraneta was a typical character of 19th-century adventures. These novels are known as Memoirs of a Man of Action.