The Birth of the Modern Novel: Spanish Baroque & Renaissance Prose

Baroque Narrative Prose and the Modern Novel

While narrative forms in verse existed, most Baroque narrative focused on cultivating the novel genre. Subgenres from the previous stage, such as the pastoral novel, continued to be cultivated. Examples include La Galatea by Cervantes or Arcadia by Lope de Vega. Other prominent subgenres included:

• Greek Novel: Following classical models of adventure and romance.
• Courtesan Novel: Set in an atmosphere of high society, generally dealing with amorous matters.
• Picaresque Novel: Continuing the narrative structure started with Lazarillo de Tormes, featuring a protagonist who must justify their past life. A key example is El Buscón (The Swindler) by Quevedo.

The most notable aspect of Baroque narrative is the gestation of the modern novel, a genre that began with Don Quixote. This book masterfully crystallizes a large number of narrative sources and genres. Along with the Bible, it is the book that has been translated into the most languages.

Characteristics of Don Quixote

Cervantes published the first part in 1605. It detailed two excursions made by Alonso Quijano, who transforms into a character like those he read about in his books. This first run covered the first five chapters of the book.

Taking advantage of the great success of the first part, a writer using the pseudonym Avellaneda wrote a second part, published in 1614, which narrates a third excursion. In response, Cervantes published his own second part. In this authentic second part, the open space of the road is mentioned, although closed spaces are also featured.

The work is open-ended, reflecting universal themes, contemporary concerns, and autobiographical notes, with a constant play between the narrative and the reader. Don Quixote is the work that starts the gestation of the modern novel, a new genre that emerges from the masterful assimilation and mixture of other narrative forms of the time.

Renaissance Prose: The Picaresque Novel

Lazarillo de Tormes is the first work to be presented as a novel, with a narrative history and fictional characters. It is written in the first person as an autobiography and is told from the end, allowing the protagonist to justify his current situation. In the preface, Lázaro begins with an "I" directed to "Your Grace" to justify all the writing that follows.

Lázaro begins to narrate his life story chronologically, compiled in a simple and popular style throughout the seven treatises into which the work is divided. With this book, the model for the picaresque novel is established: a character who moves through different strata of the society of the time and bases his livelihood on begging, theft, and deception.