Spanish Novels: Post-War to Late 60s – Existentialism & Realism

Posted on Apr 4, 2025 in Latin

The Spanish Novel: From Post-War Era to the Late ’60s

Existentialism in the Novel

In 1942, during the post-war period, Camilo Jose Cela published Pascual Duarte’s Family. Its main features include:

  • Its central theme is the uncertainty surrounding the human condition.
  • It features scenes of harshness: its characters solve their problems violently. His characters are oppressed and marginalized.
  • The narrative predominantly uses a first-person narrator.

Cela began his career as a novelist in the mainstream, but his existential narrative evolved and incorporated innovations from the European novel. Cela’s work can be divided into three stages:

  1. The first stage involves creating works of an existential nature.
  2. The second stage sees Cela included in the narrative techniques of realism, taking behaviors such as in The Beehive.
  3. The third stage joins the European novel of the ’60s and ’70s, introducing significant technical innovations (disappearance of chapters, lack of punctuation in The Family, etc.).

Pascual Duarte presents the autobiography of Pascual Duarte, an illiterate and violent peasant. It emphasizes the influence of naturalism and narrative perspectivism.

Social Realism in the Novel

Novelists of this period described the unofficial reality of a society oppressed and subjected to injustice. Its features include:

  • Predominant issues of loneliness and the impact of the Civil War.
  • Usually a linear structure with a minimal plot.
  • Dominated by a third-person narrative.
  • Use of clear and simple language, designed to reproduce common parlance.

In this stream, notable works include The Way by Miguel Delibes and The Brave by Jesus Fernandez Santos, among others.

The Novel During Exile

During the decades after the Civil War, novelists who had been exiled because of their political ideals developed their literary careers abroad. The nostalgia for their homeland and the experience of war are common themes. The most outstanding authors and works are Francisco Ayala (Death of a Dog) and Arturo Barea (The Forging of a Rebel).

The Novel of the Sixties

This period saw a social and critical decline, with a resurgence of psychological observation and imagination. New philosophical currents such as existentialism influenced the focus on the character within the surrounding society. Novels became more complex in structure and interpretation. The critical approach did not disappear.

The renovators were foreigners (Faulkner, Kafka, etc.) and Latin American novelists (Garcia Marquez, Julio Cortazar, etc.). At this time, the novel was characterized by:

  • Playing with viewpoints and perspectives.
  • The plot recedes in importance.
  • Literary language is renewed.
  • Breaking the linear model of narrative.
  • The narrative is organized in complex ways.

Key Authors

Luis Martin Santos

A psychiatrist by profession, his life was divided between the novel and clinical trials in his specialty. He gave an existential approach to social concerns, clearly set in Spain. His style is heavy and dense. His works include Times of Silence and Time of Destruction.

Juan Benet

An engineer by profession, his works include You Will Return to Region, A Meditation, and Rusty Spears.

Gonzalo Torrente Ballester

A professor of literature and criticism. His novels include Javier Marin, The Coup de Guadalupe Limon, and The Joys and Shadows. He also wrote parody novels such as Filomeno, My King’s Grief and Stunned Chronicle.