Spanish Literary Movements: 1898-1936 Narrative Evolution

Posted on Jun 24, 2025 in Latin

Spanish Narrative Before 1936

This period saw a crisis in 20th-century realism and a search for new narrative paths. Key aspects include:

  • Plot: The action becomes less important, is interrupted with digressions, and often has an open, uncertain ending.
  • Themes: In addition to universal themes (solitude, death, love), new themes emerged, influenced by nihilism, psychoanalysis, and philosophical inquiry. The novel evolved into a psychological and moral exploration of individuals.
  • Structure:
    • External: Arrangement into chapters and sequences.
    • Internal: Influence of film and language.
  • Characters: Individuals are often cerebral, abstract, and primarily aware of their internal world. The interior monologue becomes a prominent technique.
  • Space and Time: Subjective portrayal, featuring mythical spaces and labyrinths. Time is often anachronistic, using flashbacks or anticipations.
  • Narrator: The external narrator tends to intrude or become internal, appearing as a proto-autobiographical storyteller, a witness (secondary character), or an intrusive narrator who can converse with the characters.

The Modernist Novel: Generation of ’98

In 1902, four significant works were published that marked a break with realism: The Will (Azorín), The Way of Perfection (Baroja), Love and Pedagogy (Unamuno), and Autumn Sonata (Valle-Inclán). All rejected the realist aesthetic and shared common traits:

  • Subjectivism: Emphasis on individual perception and inner reality.
  • Common Issues: Focus on the crisis and failure of bourgeois values.
  • Plot Design: Breaking the traditional tripartite plot structure.
  • Renewed Prose: Characterized by simplicity (Baroja, Azorín), accuracy (Azorín, Unamuno), and beauty (Valle-Inclán).

Key Authors of the Generation of ’98

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)

Unamuno advocated for an intimate realism. His works often explore existential anxiety and the search for faith.

  • Mist: Explores existential anxiety and the longing for immortality and God.
  • Abel Sánchez: A study of blind envy.
  • Aunt Tula: Focuses on frustrated maternal instinct.
  • San Manuel Bueno, Martyr: Depicts the martyrdom of a priest who hides his loss of faith.

Azorín (José Martínez Ruiz, 1873-1967)

Azorín’s work frequently explores two main themes: time and creative writing. He viewed the novel as a hybrid genre, blending narrative, essay, and prose poem.

  • The Will
  • Doña Inés

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (1866-1936)

Modernism was central to Valle-Inclán’s creation of the grotesque (esperpento). His work evolved through three main cycles:

  • Symbolist-Decadent Cycle: Represented by his four Sonatas (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter), especially Summer and Autumn, which are considered the culmination of modernist prose.
  • Historical Cycle: The Carlist War trilogy, more legendary than historical, set in rural Galicia.
  • Grotesque Novels Cycle (Esperpento): Characterized by caricature and a grotesque vision of the contemporary world.
    • Tirano Banderas: A satire of a dictator.
    • The Iberian Circle: A caricature of Queen Elizabeth II.

Pío Baroja (1872-1956)

A pure novelist and a key figure of the Generation of ’98, Baroja was a pessimistic philosopher with a negative vision of Spain. He believed the novel was a multifaceted genre encompassing everything. His protagonists are often misfits who fail in their vital struggle.

Baroja excels in description, dwelling on details to evoke a strong sense of presence in the scene. His style is concise, made up of short paragraphs, and uses clear, accurate, and direct language, avoiding lengthy and empty rhetoric.

His extensive body of work includes over 70 novels, many grouped into trilogies. Some of his notable works and series include:

  • The Basque Land: Featuring novels like Zalacaín the Adventurer.
  • The Fantasy Life: Including The Way of Perfection.
  • The Struggle for Life: Including The Search.
  • Cities: The World Is Like (Original text’s problematic title).
  • The Sea: Including The Restlessness of Shanti Andía.
  • The Race: Including The Tree of Knowledge (1911), a philosophical novel often considered Baroja’s autobiography. It features a linear, chronological, and closed structure, subdivided into two cycles: the first focuses on the medical student Andrés, Lulu, family, friends, and collective characters.
  • The Life of an Adventurous Man: A series of 22 novels recounting 19th-century Spanish life through the character of Aviraneta.
  • Other trilogies mentioned: The Agonies of Our Time, The Dark Wood, and Lost Youth.

Novecentismo or Generation of ’14

This movement emerged around 1910, rejecting 19th-century art. Prominent figures include Ortega y Gasset, Pérez de Ayala, Salvador de Madariaga, and Gabriel Miró. Key features:

  • Intellectualism: Emphasis on rationality and rigor.
  • Europeanism: Focus on modernization and linking Spain to European trends.
  • Aestheticism: Art detached from pure sentimentality.

Notable genres and authors:

  • Poetic Prose: Gabriel Miró
  • Essay: Ortega y Gasset
  • Poetry: Juan Ramón Jiménez

Avant-garde Movements (Isms)

These movements began in Europe around 1917 and gained rapid reception in Spain in the 1920s through literary gatherings and magazines. Key figures include Ramón Gómez de la Serna and Vicente Huidobro (for Creationism).

The main avant-garde movements in Spain were:

  • Creationism: Advocated for poetry as pure creation.
  • Ultraism: Primarily based on metaphor.
  • Surrealism: The most influential movement for the Generation of ’27, embracing emotions, anguish, and rebellion, leading to a “rehumanization” of society.