The Generation of ’98: A Literary and Philosophical Movement
The Generation of ’98 takes its name from the year of the loss of Spain’s last overseas colonies. It is a purely Spanish movement formed by a group of young writers who sought to renovate the aesthetics of earlier literature (Realism) and regenerate the country’s socio-cultural landscape. The colonial disaster brought awareness of poverty, misery, social injustice, economic and political apathy, etc. With it came the need for a change in the structure of power since the Restoration (the current system) did not satisfy anyone. In this situation, a group of writers, moved by their revolutionary ideas, wrote the “Manifesto of the Three” (1901), signed by Azorín, Ramiro de Maeztu, and Pío Baroja. It denounced the country’s reality, the confusion of youth, the lack of values, and showed “a common desire to improve the lives of the miserable.” The national soul was seen as Castile.
Key Features of the Generation of ’98
- Europeanism and a taste for the castizo. Being European meant being open to modern trends of thought and living in a wide space without borders. The noventayochistas loved a Spain different from the one they saw. They found the authenticity of Spain in medieval Castile: free, domineering, powerful, and invincible.
- Sobriety. They avoided rhetoric and grandstanding, trying to present their ideas with the utmost clarity and sincerity. The language was intended to be simple and precise.
- Subjectivism. An introspective view of reality.
- Idealization of the landscape. The landscape is sublimated and becomes a symbol of the Spanish soul. Its description is poetic and expresses the emotion of the viewer.
- Concern for Spain’s problems. This concern led them to subordinate form to content. Hence, they preferred the essay, which became the main genre of ideological dissemination.
- Philosophical Reflections. They reflected on the meaning of life, religion, the existence of God, time, etc.
Impact of the Generation of ’98
As a movement for social and political regeneration, it failed for two reasons:
- It merely provided a philosophical and abstract answer to the real problems of Spain.
- It believed that spiritual change precedes all social change.
As a literary movement, it produced works of great quality in the novel and the essay. From it emerged Unamuno’s advanced philosophical reflections and Azorín’s concept of the depth of being Spanish.
Authors of the Generation of ’98
Miguel de Unamuno (Salamanca, 1864 – Basque Country, 1936)
Two main themes run through his work: the problem of Spain and existential issues. The essay is Unamuno’s primary genre. Two important essays are The Tragic Sense of Life and The Agony of Christianity. He addresses his concerns using the word in its etymological Greek sense. In Unamuno’s novels, he addresses the same issues through the experience of his characters. In Mist, the protagonist goes from being a character who lives life with a comic feeling to seeing the tragic sense of life. In a novelistic environment devoid of descriptions, only the agony of the characters struggling for meaning in their lives constitutes the theme and action. At the end of the novel, Augusto Pérez maintains a dialogue with a dying Miguel de Unamuno, which is a transcript of the dialogue between man and his creation. Other novels include Aunt Tula, San Manuel Bueno, Martyr, and Love and Pedagogy.
Pío Baroja (Guipúzcoa, 1875 – Madrid, 1956)
He was part of the “Group of Three” and evolved into almost total skepticism and nihilism. Baroja contributed his extensive production of novels in the form of trilogies, including a series of historical novels covering events of the 19th century, called Memoirs of a Man of Action. Other trilogies are The Root, The Basque Land, and Life for Life.
Azorín (Alicante, 1875 – Madrid, 1967)
He cultivated both the essay and the novel. His first works are autobiographical, such as Antonio Azorín, where he took his pseudonym. One of Azorín’s obsessions was the passage of time and the transience of life. In later works, he recreated the past whose essence he wanted to remember, for example, in Don Juan and Doña Inés. Azorín’s prose is famous for its lyricism; his novels are almost poetic prose.
Valle-Inclán (Arosa, 1866 – 1936)
He went through a first modernist phase, during which he wrote The Sonatas. Later, in his most characteristic noventayochista phase, he wrote novels similar to his theatrical works, criticizing reality subjected to a grotesque and degrading strain. Examples include Tyrant Banderas (on American dictatorships) and the trilogy The Iberian Ring. He placed increasing emphasis on theater throughout his career.