Miguel de Unamuno and Pío Baroja: Generation of '98

Miguel de Unamuno: Narrative and Philosophy

Miguel de Unamuno evolved from an aesthetic close to realism to the philosophical and existential. In Paz en la guerra (1897), featuring many characters and descriptions of landscapes, the protagonist provides information on the readings and obsessions of the author. Amor y pedagogía (1902) shows the disadvantages of rational education; it is an intellectual novel set in a slim fictional universe with puppet-like characters created by the author.

With Niebla (1914), a technical change occurs: a "nivola" or star cloud emerged from the author's imagination and history to illustrate that men are God's dream. Unamuno's characters are agonists. Other significant works include:

• Abel Sánchez (1917): A study of envy.
• La tía Tula (1921): A longing for immortality where the protagonist is torn between knowledge and reason.
• San Manuel Bueno, mártir (1933): A dramatic conflict between truth and illusory truth.

Characteristics of Unamuno's Narrative

His work is structurally organized around representative characters of ideas to be debated, featuring protagonists who are agonists in intimate dramas and novels. There is more attention to dialogues than to the time frame or setting, resulting in complex and ambiguous characters. The narrative features a reduction in descriptions, exact language, the recovery of terms for their primitive value, and expressions that reflect his personality. This results in a density of ideas, emotional intensity, and plastic accuracy.

Pío Baroja: Existentialism and Action

Ideology and Conception of the Novel

Baroja’s ideology is defined by existential pessimism and radical political and religious skepticism. To him, the world is meaningless and life is absurd. His conception of the novel is dynamic (driven by action) because the author's goal is to entertain; amenity and the spontaneous flow of events are crucial. The most important elements are the feelings and thoughts the work provokes.

He presents a representation of a chaotic world where the only solution is suicide. Novels are centered on a dominant active or passive character with no will; they possess vigor and vitality but are sad because life is cruel to them. These characters are anti-heroes, sometimes acting as an alter ego of the author. His style is direct and expressive, with a preference for short sentences and brief paragraphs, featuring impressionistic descriptions where narrative and description dominate.

Major Literary Cycles and Works

• La tierra vasca: Includes La casa de Aizgorri, El mayorazgo de Labraz, and Zalacaín el aventurero (focused on action).
• La vida fantástica: Includes Aventuras, inventos y mixtificaciones de Silvestre Paradox, Camino de perfección, and Paradox, rey (exploring existential angst and the longing to find meaning in life).
• La lucha por la vida: Includes La busca, Mala hierba, and Aurora roja (more intense in nature).
• La raza: Includes El árbol de la ciencia, La dama errante, and La ciudad de la niebla (containing autobiographical elements).
• Las ciudades: Includes César o nada, El mundo es ansí, and La sensualidad pervertida (where the energetic man ends up defeated).
• Memorias de un hombre de acción (1913): A series of adventure-based memoirs.
• Vidas sombrías (1900): Gloomy life stories.
• Desde la última vuelta del camino: His final memoirs.