Benito Pérez Galdós & Leopoldo Alas Clarín: Spanish Literary Masters

Benito Pérez Galdós

Galdós' novelistic production is a reflection of the society of his time. Galdós' novels are notable for their characterizations and the integration of everyday life into the historical events of the time. The author combines various narrative techniques: the omniscient narrator, direct dialogue, and monologue. The language is consistent with the character.

National Episodes

They are demonstrations of 19th-century historical events treated from the standpoint of anonymous individuals. Examples include Trafalgar and The Battle of Arapiles.

Novels of the First Period

The first novels of Galdós, such as Doña Perfecta and Gloria, are called thesis novels because they are subject to the author's ideology: they contrast characters of conservative and progressive ideas.

Contemporary Novels

In these novels, Galdós portrays the reality of the moment, including both places and their inhabitants. A key example is Fortunata y Jacinta.

Fortunata and Jacinta: Plot Summary

This novel presents the love of two women from different social groups for the same man: Jacinta, a representative of the commercial bourgeoisie, and Fortunata, a beautiful woman of the people. Juan Santa Cruz has an affair with Fortunata, but marries Jacinta. However, Fortunata marries another man but does not renounce her love for Juan and has a child with him. Before dying, Fortunata gives the child to Jacinta, who is sterile, and she takes the child in along with her husband.

Spiritualist Novels

These novels are influenced by Russian Realism and focus on the inner world of their characters and the values of charity, embodied in individuals of great moral stature. Examples include Misericordia and Nazarín.

Characteristics of Naturalism

Narrative techniques represent reality using the scientific method, which allowed for the analysis of the behavior of individuals in light of the society and family that determines their behavior.

• Narrator: Incorporates an objective narrator, trying to be impersonal.
• Themes and Characters: Characters have flaws, lack feelings, and are dominated by their physiology. Their language reflects the environment in which they live.

Leopoldo Alas, "Clarín", and La Regenta

Set in the city of Vetusta, La Regenta presents the conflict between two characters, Ana Ozores and Fermín de Pas, dominated by the desire for love in a hostile environment.

Plot Summary: Ana Ozores is a young woman married to Don Víctor Quintanar, the regent of the court. Dissatisfied with life in Vetusta and her marriage, she is helped by Fermín. After taking refuge in religion, she feels passion for Álvaro Mesía. De Pas, jealous, reports Ana to Don Víctor, who dies in a duel with Don Álvaro. The city, which had supported Fermín, turns its back on the judge's wife.

Characteristics of Literary Modernism

Various influences:

• Parnassianism: Beauty and formal perfection.
• Symbolism: Suggesting the true reality through hidden symbols, incorporation of learned words, and words chosen for their sound.

Resources: Sought rhythmic musicality. Recovery of classical verse: enjambment, free verse, Alexandrine, and dodecasyllabic.

Rubén Darío: New Forms

Azul... and Prosas Profanas: Combines verse and prose, short stories, and poems presented with striking adjectives and images. Metrical innovations and verbal evasion; poems are exotic and aristocratic. Social issues and Spanish eroticism predominate.

Cantos de Vida y Esperanza: New and more personal motifs; intimate and reflective; focus on two lines: philosophical concerns and the Hispanic world.