Evolution of Realism, Naturalism, and Modernism

Realism and Naturalism in Literature

Realism represents the abandonment of passion, fantasy, and subjectivity in favor of external reality. It seeks credibility and objectivity, as writers document the reality they describe. Naturalism evolved from Realism; it attempts to apply experimental sciences to the novel, demonstrating how natural and social laws justify human behavior.

The Rise of Modernism

Modernism is a term describing the revivalism of art from the past few years, marking a new attitude toward life. Originating in Latin America as a revolt of youth led by Rubén Darío, its modern sources and influences stem from American and Spanish romance, as well as French poetry trends:

• Parnassianism: Defended aestheticism, balance, and perfection, summarized as "art for art's sake."
• Symbolism: Influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, it focuses on vagueness, suggestion, and identifying the inner self.

Themes and Styles of Modernism

By rejecting daily reality, modernist authors showcase the poet's intimacy, including feelings of melancholy and sadness. They express a desire for evasion and escape toward exotic, distant, and idealized worlds. Key stylistic features include:

• Lexis: Highly sonorous and sensory adjectives with a focus on cultism.
• Phonic Resources: Meter and internal rhythms, such as parallelism and anaphora.
• Synesthesia: Mixing sensory perceptions and symbols to suggest meaning vaguely.

This language renovation occurred across verse, prose, and drama.

Rubén Darío: The Modernist Leader

Born in Nicaragua, Rubén Darío worked as a journalist across Hispano-America. In 1892, on the anniversary of the discovery of America, he arrived in Spain. His travels through Europe and the Americas allowed him to spread Modernism. His major works include:

• Prosas Profanas: A consolidation of modern aesthetics. Despite its title, this poetry book written in verse is full of fantasy.
• Azul: A book written in both prose and verse, containing the core elements of Modernism while exalting American roots against Spanish influence.

Leopoldo Alas "Clarín" and the Realistic Novel

Leopoldo Alas "Clarín" was born in Zamora. As a child, his family moved to Oviedo, where he studied law and served as a Republican councilman in 1891. Clarín wrote numerous articles on literary criteria, discussing novelistic innovations. His narrative literature is usually divided into major works like Su único hijo and La Regenta.

Analysis of La Regenta

In La Regenta, the protagonist, Ana Ozores, possesses a passionate and dreamy temperament that her husband cannot satisfy. She is caught between her love for her confessor, Fermín de Pas, and the courtship of the seducer Álvaro Mesía. Set in a hypocritical, mediocre, and vulgar society, the novel provides essential psychological analysis of characters like Ana and Fermín. The work blends Realism and Naturalism, showing how social determinants and circumstances provoke the characters' decisions.