Realism in Literature: Characteristics and Key Authors
Realism in Literature: A Faithful Representation
Realism in literature applies to works that are faithful to reality. This movement emerged among writers in the second half of the nineteenth century who sought to move away from romantic melodrama to reflect an objective reality. Their aim was to capture the total reality—social, political, economic, and cultural. Realism flourished in Europe during a time when the bourgeoisie held power and became increasingly conservative. The realistic novel gained ground in France during the 1830s and 1840s and triumphed throughout Europe in the second half of the century. In Spain, the movement began with the Revolution of 1868 and reached its peak in the 1880s (e.g., The Judge's Wife, Fortunata and Jacinta). Great authors such as Benito Pérez Galdós, Clarín, and Blasco Ibáñez presented marginal characters and environments, explored social conflict, and reflected the authors' ideologies through "thesis novels."
Key Features of Realism
2.1. Observation of Reality
Realism addresses the problems of the bourgeoisie, viewing the world from a bourgeois perspective while critiquing that class from within. Spanish bourgeois society is the central theme, with a focus on urban life, primarily represented by Madrid. This is the result of direct, rigorous, and objective observation, as the writer applies the experimental scientific method to literature.
2.2. Aesthetic Requirements
Realist authors adhered to strict aesthetic requirements. The style is sober and simple; it is not spontaneous but rather the result of an intensive process of refinement.
2.3. The Narrator and Narrative Discourse
The omniscient narrator knows the lives of their characters perfectly, understanding not only their external reality but also their intimate truths. The narrative is typically in the third person, interspersed with dialogues in a direct style. Authors also utilized the monologue, through which characters analyze themselves and reveal their innermost secrets.
2.4. Descriptions
Description plays a prominent role within the realist novel, driven by the desire to reproduce characters and their environments with fidelity and detail. While some descriptions are notoriously lengthy, Galdós typically avoided mere accumulation, instead using careful selection. This focus on character description paved the way for the psychological novel.
2.5. The Characters
The novel revolves around a protagonist caught in a conflict between personal aspirations and social norms. Characters are situated in urban settings and frequently include members of the clergy and the civil service.
Benito Pérez Galdós
Born in 1843 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Galdós moved to Madrid at nineteen, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He began studying law but did not finish his degree, choosing to dedicate his life exclusively to literature. He was an avid traveler with a progressive ideology, serving as a deputy in politics—first for the Liberal Party and later for the Republican Party—though his political participation remained discreet. His novels are grouped into four main sections: