El sí de las niñas: Neoclassical Play & Spanish Realism
El sí de las niñas: A Neoclassical Masterpiece
Historical Context and Premiere
Leandro Fernández de Moratín’s El sí de las niñas, though conceived in the late eighteenth century, premiered in 1806. While Moratín claimed to have read it to friends in 1801, no definitive record exists. The play was a complete success.
Neoclassical Ideals and Thematic Harmony
It is a quintessential work of neoclassical theater, embodying its ideology by combating errors and vices while championing virtue and reason. The play demonstrates a continuous critical development, yet it maintains an underlying sentiment that balances the work’s propriety, preventing it from veering into purely rational or subjectivist extremes. This balance underscores the fundamental characteristic of the work: harmony.
Formal Harmony: The Three Unities
This harmony and balance are also evident in the play’s formal aspects. The adherence to the rule of the three unities is perfect:
- Unity of Action: A single, cohesive plot.
- Unity of Place: The entire action unfolds in one location.
- Unity of Time: The events occur within a limited timeframe, specifically during a single night. This nocturnal setting symbolizes darkness and the irrationality of the unsuitable love unfolding. The action concludes at dawn, symbolizing light, rationality, and the breaking of the ‘snare’ or deception.
Autobiographical Elements and Literary Influences
Critics suggest the work may contain autobiographical elements (e.g., references to Sabina Conti or Francisca Muñoz), though this is not conclusive given the existing literary tradition in these themes. However, it is clear that both personal experience and literary tradition influenced Moratín. Two key literary sources are identified:
- Rojas Zorrilla’s Entre bobos anda el juego
- Marivaux’s L’École des mères
Thematic Depth: Intelligence, Feelings, and Truth
The play’s harmony stems from its intellectual depth, combining intelligence with feelings, logical reason with emotional insight, and a critical yet empathetic perspective. The plot masterfully balances initial inauthenticity to reveal truth by the play’s conclusion. The central conflict, the unsuitable love between Don Diego and Doña Paquita, represents this initial inauthenticity. Through reflection, the characters (and audience) are led to the authenticity of truth, which Moratín believed individuals and a virtuous society must seek.
Enduring Significance
Consequently, El sí de las niñas stands as a work that, within its genre, achieved perfection, avoiding the excesses of post-Baroque styles and prefiguring the radical expression of Romanticism.
Realism: A Literary Movement
Characteristics of Realism
Realism emerged as a literary trend in opposition to the imaginative excesses of Romanticism. It aimed to depict society, often highlighting its unflattering or ‘raw’ aspects. Many protagonists in Realist novels are bourgeois, reflecting the societal focus of the era. Unlike the lyrical poetry favored by Romantics, Realism cultivated works of fiction with a practical and positive spirit. The most prominent literary genres were novels and short stories, characterized by:
- Varied subjects, often focusing on contemporary societal concerns.
- Clear demonstration of the writer’s ideology.
- Verisimilitude in narrative and precise descriptions.
- Plain language, reflecting everyday speech.
Prominent Spanish Realist Authors and Works
- Juan Valera: Pepita Jiménez, Juanita la Larga
- Pedro Antonio de Alarcón: The Three-Cornered Hat, Captain Poison
- José María de Pereda: Sotileza, Peñas Arriba
- Benito Pérez Galdós: Doña Perfecta, La desheredada, Fortunata y Jacinta