The Spanish Novel in Exile and Post-Civil War: A Literary Journey
The Novel of Exile: Characteristics, Main Authors, and Works
Many novelists who began publishing in Spain during the 1930s had to leave the country after the Civil War and continue their work abroad. Their novels express the anguish of separation and repeatedly address the theme of a divided Spain. Common themes include:
Remembrance of the Past
The past serves as a means to understand the historical roots of the war.
Testimony of the Present
The novel becomes a way to capture the reality surrounding the writer.
The Invented Spain
Faced with exile, authors imagine the Spanish reality they’ve lost, dream of returning, and testify to the experience of being strangers in their own land.
Rosa Chacel
Of all the exiled writers, Chacel deeply felt its impact. Her novels delve into the emotional analysis of her characters. Key work: The Acropolis of Unreason.
Ramon J. Sender
Sender faithfully embodied the role of the exile. His political commitment, rooted in his experiences in Spain, permeated his life and best novels. Chronicle of Dawn exemplifies this. Sender also cultivated historical novels like The Equatorial Adventure of Lope de Aguirre. His unique perspective on Mexico is reflected in The Dark Epithalamium of Trinidad (1942), a Latin American novel exploring violence.
Max Aub
The war radically altered Aub’s worldview. Among his preferred themes are those related to the Civil War, evident in his six-novel series Magic Labyrinth. However, Aub never abandoned his love for experimental novels, as seen in Joseph Torres.
Francisco Ayala
Ayala’s exile led him to Argentina and eventually back to Spain in 1976, where he gained deserved recognition. His bitter and pessimistic view of reality shaped his moralistic novels, which critique modern man and socio-political issues through humor and irony. The Dog Killer is a prime example.
The Existential Novel of the 1940s
The Civil War, harsh post-war conditions, and cultural deprivation caused by censorship shaped the novel’s evolution in the 1940s. Cela initiated the existentialist trend, characterized by:
Themes
Uncertainty of human destiny and the difficulty of communication.
Action
Harsh situations where human destiny is tragic, often ending in extreme and senseless violence.
Characters
Marginalized, violent, and oppressed individuals.
Setting
Often limited and confined spaces.
Narrative
First-person narration dominates.
Language
Strong and raw, reflecting the characters’ unpleasant environment.
The Family of Pascual Duarte
This novel employs perspectivism, presenting events through multiple narrators and viewpoints:
Narrator-Protagonist
Offers a biased and incomplete version of the story.
Narrator-Witness
Narrator-Observer
The true, hidden narrator who chronicles the events.
The novel reflects the naturalistic influence of the picaresque tradition.
Nada, Carmen Laforet
Winner of the Nadal First Prize, Nada is a cornerstone of this period. Laforet portrays the painful reality of post-war Barcelona and a young woman’s journey of self-discovery. Key features include:
Autobiographical Narrative
First-person narration presents a subjective view of reality.
Closed Space
Symbolizes a hostile world where the protagonist must survive.
Characters
The protagonist’s inner world is central to the narrative.
Simplicity of Expression
The Social Novel of the 1950s
The early 1950s saw a renewal in Spanish narrative, marked by Cela’s The Hive. A group of storytellers emerged, using the novel to denounce social injustices. The social novel’s main characteristics are:
Realism and Social Critique
Novels reflect Spanish reality and expose social injustices.
Focus on Environments
Urban life, rural settings, bourgeois society, and the working world are common settings. Notable examples include The Wheel by Luis Romero and Games at Twilight by Juan Goytisolo.
Objectivism
Predominance of dialogue, collective protagonists, confined spaces, and concise language with short sentences and simple vocabulary.
Recurring Themes
Everyday life, individual isolation in provincial society, and a critical view of contemporary thought and culture.
The Hive
Considered Cela’s masterpiece, The Hive depicts poverty in Madrid. It features nearly 300 characters from all social classes, with a focus on the impoverished middle class affected by the war. The action unfolds over two days in Madrid. Divided into six sections and an ending, it exhibits:
Post-War Degradation
Depicts the deterioration of Spain after the war.
Alienated Characters
Money, hunger, and sex are the primary concerns of the characters.
Open Ending
Lacks a definitive conclusion.
Chronological Disorder
Chapters are fragmented and arranged non-linearly.
Objective Narration
The Jarama, Rafael Sanchez Ferlosio
This novel embodies the characteristics of the objectivist social novel:
Objective Narrator
Records events impartially.
Concentrated Time and Space
Simultaneous Actions
Episodes occur concurrently rather than sequentially.
Minimal and Insignificant Action
Absence of Individual Protagonists
Character traits are revealed through dialogue and actions.
Prevalence of Dialogue
Dialogue, often colloquial, is the novel’s foundation.
The Novel in the 1960s: Experimental and Structural
This period’s novel is marked by:
Characters with Identity Issues
Characters grapple with existential angst and seek meaning.
Critique of the Past
Childhood, education, and national history are examined critically.
Disappearance of Plot
Narrative fragments are combined like a collage.
Structural Complexity
Chapters are replaced by unnumbered sequences.
Multiple Points of View
Counterpoint techniques interweave various storylines.
Interior Monologue
Dialogue is replaced by free indirect style and interior monologue.
Rupture of Linear Time
Flashback techniques disrupt chronological order.
Renewal of Language
Neologisms, foreign words, learned terms, and colloquialisms are used freely.
Luis Martín Santos
Time of Silence revolutionized the Spanish novel. Irony and humor expose societal problems. However, Santos emphasizes that social conditions aren’t the sole determinants of human behavior. Existential and symbolic tones permeate the novel’s structure, which consists of 63 non-linear sequences. An omniscient narrator sometimes appears, while at other times, dialogue and interior monologues take center stage. Another notable work is Time of Destruction.
Juan Goytisolo
Goytisolo’s early novels explore childhood and adolescence. He then transitioned to social narratives, culminating in the objectivism of The Island. Identity and subsequent works like Count Julian (1970) and Juan the Landless (1975) showcase his experimental narrative style.
Miguel Delibes
Delibes evolved from the traditional realism of his early works to the critical realism of Rats and the technical innovation of Five Hours with Mario. Parable of the Castaway embraces experimental trends, while The Holy Innocents represents a milestone in his new realist phase.
Juan Marsé
Marsé’s early novels, such as Enclosed with a Toy, exhibit a realistic style. Last Evenings with Teresa marks his shift towards renewal. This novel critiques the superficial progressivism of some university students, employing irony, parody, hyperbole, and a diverse range of language registers.