Spanish Novelists: Evolution and Key Figures
The Evolution of the Spanish Novel
The novel has profoundly moved away from tradition, taking an intellectual view of its themes and enriching the world. It has renewed narrative techniques. These innovations are influenced by authors like Huxley and Proust and are produced by the pessimistic view of Western culture.
Key Narrative Techniques
- The plot does not always follow a chronological order.
- Characters are no longer prototypes, often featuring a reduced collective of characters.
- Loss of the story’s relief, focusing on the hero’s problem momentarily.
- Fragmentary dramatization.
Authors and Cultivators of the New Novel
Unamuno, Martinez Ruiz Azorin, and Valle-Inclan are key figures in the development of the new novel. Writers like Gabriel Miro and R. Perez de Ayala also contributed significantly.
The Generation of ’98 Novel
The Generation of ’98 novel often explores religious and existential themes, as well as themes related to Spain.
Jose Martinez Ruiz, “Azorin”
Azorin provided a personal narrative rhetoric characterized by the concept of time as an eternal return (something recoverable), accurate and precise vocabulary, and a clear, simple style.
Azorin’s Stages
- The Will and Beliefs of a Small-Town Philosopher
- The Route of Don Quixote and Castilla
- Felix Vargas or Village
Miguel de Unamuno
Unamuno used the novel to express his philosophy, including the meaning of life, the longing for immortality, and the tragic sense of death. His work delves into intellectual, literary, and political themes.
Unamuno’s Stages
- Religious crisis and socialist-progressive: Peace in War
- Love and pedagogy: Obsession with religion, a negative view of progress, and the ongoing struggle between faith and reason.
- San Manuel Bueno, Martyr: Themes of personality, concern for immortality, and contradiction.
Valle-Inclan
Valle-Inclan’s language ranges from the exquisite to the vulgar, showcasing lexical richness, archaisms, originality, and musicality. His works include:
- Sonatas: Recreates the decadent aristocratic world.
- Carlist War: Impressionistic, concise style.
Pio Baroja
Born in San Sebastian, Pio Baroja was known for his fierce individualism, anti-clerical opinions, and Basque pride. His ideology often incorporated acidic humor. He emphasized realism through types and actions, with protagonists fighting for something specific and often failing, portraying maladjusted beings.
Baroja’s Themes and Style
Baroja’s themes include adventure, reflection, and critical dialogue. He used a simple and plausible style.
Baroja’s Stages
- Highly creative and varied. The Tree of Science
- Predominance of historical background and an ironic perspective. Late Love
The Tree of Science
This novel narrates Andres Hurtado’s life until his suicide, reflecting the moral despair and disorientation of Spain. Andres fails in life, exhibiting relentless pessimism and an inability to adapt despite his efforts.
The Generation of ’14
The Generation of ’14 was a group of writers situated between the Generation of ’98 and the Generation of ’27, characterized by an aesthetic desire for renewal and the creation of art and literature of the 20th century.
Aesthetic Ideas of the Generation of ’14
- Serenity and balance towards pure art.
- The purpose is aesthetic pleasure.
- Conceptual rigor and precision of ideas.
- Rejection of Romantic and Modernist motifs.
- Disdain for realism in the novel, emphasizing style and construction.
Notable authors include Gabriel Miro and Ramon Gomez de la Serna.
Gabriel Miro
Gabriel Miro is noted for his sensitivity and ability to evoke sensations, such as light and sounds. His absolute mastery of language is evident in works like Beauty and The Leper Bishop.
Perez de Ayala
Perez de Ayala is considered a representative of the intellectual novel. His novels employ experimental techniques for refreshing narratives, as seen in Belarmino and Apolonio.
Ramon Gomez de la Serna
Ramon Gomez de la Serna’s life and work are characterized by constant breaks with established norms. His production is based on the “gregueria,” a brief, unusual metaphor enclosed in a sentence.