Mercè Rodoreda, Joan Oliver, and Llorenç Villalonga: Literary Profiles

Mercè Rodoreda: Life and Literary Stages

Mercè Rodoreda was self-taught. Her work is closely related to major events in her life and can be identified through three distinct stages of existence:

• The Early Works: A series of five novels that the author subsequently disavowed, with the exception of Aloma. Aloma is a psychological and symbolic work focusing on love and unhappiness, which Rodoreda reviewed and revised over the years.
• The Stage of Maturity: During this period, she published twenty-two stories and the work that consecrated her as a narrator, La Plaça del Diamant (Diamond Square). This novel follows the life and maturity process of a girl of popular origin named Natalia, utilizing the technique of interior monologue. She also wrote El Carrer de les Camèlies (The Camellia Street), a symbolic play recounting the protagonist's difficult years during the war.
• The Final Stage: The key work of this stage is Mirall Trencat (Broken Mirror). This novel tells a family history of Barcelona spanning from the early twentieth century until after the war. The narrative is presented from several perspectives (like a broken mirror) and employs a poetic and symbolic style.

Vocabulary Related to the Text

Searching:

To examine carefully.

Arc-lamp:

The arc light it produces.

Buzzes:

A confusing noise.

Take off:

To remove or depart.

Howling:

Making prolonged screams or cries.

Libúrnica:

A small and light Roman ship (Nave Romana).

Approached:

To bring closer.

Joan Oliver (1899–1986)

Literary Identity: Pere Quart

Joan Oliver's poems were signed with the pseudonym Pere Quart. He suffered the consequences of the post-war situation, which prevented his work from reaching or being represented normally to a broad audience.

He later adapted some of the themes from his poetry into theater, including criticism of the bourgeoisie and biblical themes. His theatrical production includes Fam (Hunger). After the Civil War, his focus shifted toward psychological comedy, reflecting on human relationships through the lives of three married couples in crisis.

Llorenç Villalonga (1897–1980)

Psychiatry, Politics, and the Myth of Bearn

Llorenç Villalonga belonged to a wealthy family in Mallorca. He studied medicine and specialized in psychiatry in Paris, where he developed a strong interest in French literature.

Before the Civil War, he wrote in both Catalan and Spanish, signing his contributions to the press with the pseudonym Dhey. During the war, he joined the Spanish Falange and confronted the Catalan nationalist intellectuals of Mallorca.

After the war, his work began to idealize a world that was disappearing. Most of his writings (prose and drama) were published after the war. His literature is based on personal experience and heavily influenced the psychological novel, focusing more on the inner life of characters rather than external action. He notably created a literary universe centered around the myth of Bearn.