Spanish Romantic Prose and Mariano José de Larra's Works

Spanish Romantic Prose in the Early 19th Century

Although high-quality literary prose existed in Spain during the early 19th century, with notable exceptions like Larra, this period was crucial for the later emergence and consolidation of the realist novel. During the first decades of the 19th century, a publishing web was brewing, producing newspapers and books. This made not only the translation of novels profitable but also their original writing. Romantic prose developed late and hesitantly in Spain. The romantic prose genre itself was the historical novel, although other stories with romantic, sentimental, or horror content were also published. The serial novel significantly increased readership. It also conditioned the form and structure of texts, including many melodramatic elements to attract readers, social themes, large typefaces for easier reading, and illustrations to aid comprehension.

Mariano José de Larra

In addition to newspaper articles, Larra cultivated other genres such as theater and the novel. His drama Macías portrays the history of the medieval troubadour of the same name. His only novel, The Youth of Don Henry the Sufferer, develops the life of Macías. However, it is in his journalism where Larra's writing truly shines.

With over two hundred articles, his work can be classified as follows:

• Articles of literary and cultural criticism
• Political articles
• Articles of customs

The themes of his writings show a mixture of enlightened thinking and the new romantic sensibility. The desire for freedom is the primary reason that guides his writing. Larra is aware that its realization depends on the collective acceptance in everyday life. Education, therefore, must begin the reform of the old ways. He criticizes the nobility and the Church. Religious feeling is absent in his writings, and references to the Church are always critical. Larra is profoundly individualistic. This corresponds to dandyism, which enhances elegance and good taste compared to popular tastelessness. His style is functional.