19th Century: Political, Social, Economic & Cultural Shifts

Early 19th Century: Political, Social, and Economic Aspects

Political: There were many political changes, and the introduction of capitalism and the liberal state led to the rise of the bourgeoisie.

Social: The social transformation process was complex and inadequate, marked by the alliance of the bourgeoisie with the landowning aristocracy. Disentailment enriched the wealthy and worsened the conditions of the rural poor.

Economical: The delay of industrialization limited efforts to modernize the country. There were important advances, such as the development of the textile and mining industries, the incorporation of the steam engine, the launching of the steel industry, and the construction of the railway network, improving water supply and road networks.

Cultural and Ideological Aspects: The development of the press and industry played a leading role, providing an outlet for ideas and political controversy in opinion journalism. This fostered the dissemination of theories and literary works and stimulated the love of reading with serials and the sale of works by increasing the population deliveries. New partnerships were created, such as casinos, the lyceum, and secondary schools, apart from the reading rooms and social gatherings in homes. Theater concentrated entertainment for the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy, while the rest enjoyed bullfights. Museums were established in provincial capitals, and the Prado Museum grew.

There are two groups that represent these values:

• Satanism: Rebellion against God and proud rebellion against laws.
• Historicism and Nationalism: Related to the character of the nation's spirit and inclined to step into the mood that led to the works in times past. They searched in the nation's past and rebirth of Galician literature and Catalan existential angst.

Other themes:

• Opposition: The opposition between the aspirations of the individual and the social environment led to an interest in marginal human types.
• Flight from Reality and Irrationalism: The past also served as a stage for the expression of yearnings and rejection of truth. Reasons for the choice of fantastic, frightful, or night work, and there's a particular taste for the dismal and macabre.
• Subjectivity and Sentimentalism: Conception is claimed subjective reality that literary creation is manifested in the expression of romantic inwardness of the self.

Themes and styles: Most importantly, freedom and justice, the power of God, and the meaning of life, the northern coasts of the human being and its mysteries. Writers rejected the conventions of poetic language and claimed the mixture of registers and styles. Colloquialism and neologisms are used. Nature highlights the perception of nature reflects the feelings of man. Style highlights the use of exclamatory statements to express moods and dominate the linguistic and lexico the exhibition of subjectivity, sentimentality, and emotion.