Galicia and the Generation of '98: Nineteenth-Century Society, Literature and Cultural Identity

Situation of Galicia in the 19th Century

Economy

• There is a great deal of poverty.
• There is a large-scale emigration, especially to America.

Politics

• Galicia lives through all the events of Spanish history (the War of Independence, revolts against Isabella II).
• The Galeguismo movement emerges:
  • A political movement that demands self-government as the only way out of our underdevelopment.
  • One of its leaders is Manuel Murguía.

Culture

• Galician remains the majority language.
• Galician remains a minoritized language.
  • Diglossia persists (Galician does not appear in schools, the Church, laws, etc.).
• Galeguistas defend the Galician language because it is what makes us different.
  • As a consequence, Galician reappears in writing. The Rexurdimento (Galician Renaissance) takes place.

2. Nineteenth-Century Literature

2.4 The Generation of 98

This name is given to a group of Spanish writers who, in Madrid, at the turn of the century, after the loss of the last Spanish colonies (the Disaster of 1898), showed a great interest in regenerating the country.

Characteristics

• They take a pessimistic and critical attitude toward the situation of real Spain (with the loss of its country's power, caciquismo, poverty, illiteracy, high mortality...), very different from the official vision.

• They feel attraction to the landscape and Castilian traditions, seeking the personality of Spain.

• They wish to modernize and Europeanize their country.

• They struggle between their faith and reason.

• They use a simple and castizo (authentically Spanish) language.

• They experiment and innovate within traditional literary genres.

Authors and Works

• Miguel de Unamuno, author of Niebla... and creator of the nivola, a novel in which the author inserts himself into the plot to speak, debate... with the characters.

• Azorín, author of La voluntad..., and cultivator of the impressionist novel, where action is unimportant and the impressions of the author/character matter most.

• • Valle-Inclán, author of Divinas palabras, creator of the esperpento in theatre, offering a distorted vision of reality; this work is centered on marginalized beings, in whom greed and lust drive the plot.

  • Other authors: Pío Baroja, Antonio Machado.