Spanish Post-War Literary Trends: Theatre and Novel
Spanish Post-War Theatre
Theatre in Exile and Early Post-War
Exile Theatre: Diversity and Themes
Theatre in exile showcased diverse achievements, styles, and tendencies. Key figures include Max Aub (known for his novelistic theatre, often exploring the human inability to understand, as seen in Dying to Close Your Eyes), Alejandro Casona (The Lady of Alba), and Rafael Alberti (The Scarecrow).
Post-War Theatre: Three Subgenres
Bourgeois Comedy and Creative Humor
Post-war theatre developed into three subgenres. Bourgeois comedy, though often of limited interest, included works like Calvo Sotelo’s The Wall. More creative humor emerged with Jardiel Poncela (influenced by the avant-garde, Eloísa is Under an Almond Tree) and Miguel Mihura (Three Hats for Cup, known for its banal and absurd arguments yet innovative language).
Existential Drama: Buero Vallejo
Antonio Buero Vallejo stands out in existential drama, using tragedy as a basic form to explore existential and social obstacles. His work evolved through phases: an initial existential focus (Story of a Ladder), followed by an emphasis on man’s social conditions (Las Meninas), and finally, a third phase with more explicit social and political content (The Foundation).
Theatre of Protest and Denunciation
This genre focused on depicting specific problems with significant social implications. Its leading representative is Alfonso Sastre (William Tell Has Sad Eyes, The Gag). Other notable playwrights in this vein include Martín Recuerda, Lauro Olmo, and Carlos Muñiz.
Search for New Forms: Underground and Independent Theatre
The search for new forms led to the emergence of underground theatre, often addressing critical themes like the Francoist dictatorship. Fernando Arrabal is known as the creator of the ‘Panic Movement.’ The 1970s saw the rise of independent theatre groups, such as ‘Tábano’ or ‘Los Goliardos,’ who challenged conventional norms.
Recent Developments in Spanish Theatre
Recent years have seen the establishment of the National Drama Centre, complementing the Centre for Stage Experience and the Classical Theatre Company. Neorealist theatre also gained prominence, offering many successful costumbrist (customs-based) plays.
Spanish Post-War Novel
Early Post-War Novel and Realism
Ramón Sender is a representative author of the novel in exile. Nada by Carmen Laforet introduced a direct, fresh, and spontaneous prose style, marking a trend towards realism and simplicity.
Camilo José Cela and Existential Pessimism
Camilo José Cela, a Nobel Prize laureate, captured the existential pessimism of post-war Spain in The Family of Pascual Duarte. His novel The Hive initiated social realism, employing an objectivist technique to reflect reality with an abrupt and direct tone.
Miguel Delibes: Humanism and Social Commentary
Miguel Delibes’s narrative is imbued with a Christian-based humanism, often exploring themes of childhood, death, and the passage of time, as seen in The Cypress is Long and Death is Short, The Way, The Red Leaf, and The Rats. His masterpiece, Five Hours with Mario, is an internal monologue of a middle-class woman observing her deceased husband’s body, contrasting his progressive views with her conventional, closed-minded perspective, thus highlighting the tension between traditional and progressive Spain. Another notable work is Parable of the Shipwrecked.
The Novel of the 1950s: Realism Trends
The 1950s novel saw two main trends: Objectivist Realism (minimizing author and character presence, concentrating on anecdotes, arguments, space, and time) and Social Realism (focusing on issues of the rural working class and the bourgeoisie). Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio’s Jarama exemplifies this period, depicting a group of Madrid youths on an evening outing where a girl drowns, exploring the mental poverty of certain societal sectors of the period.
Novelistic Renewal of the 1970s
The 1970s brought a significant renewal to the novel, characterized by multiple points of view, reduced emphasis on plot, complex structures, interior monologue, and experimental style and language. The starting point for this renewal is often considered Luis Martín Santos’s Time of Silence. Other influential authors include Juan Benet and Juan Marsé.
Current Narrative Landscape
The current narrative situation is marked by works like Eduardo Mendoza’s The Truth About the Savolta Case, which signaled an important turn in Spanish narrative, incorporating aspects of the traditional novel and a sense of disillusionment. Authors like Manuel Vázquez Montalbán and José María Guelbenzu moved towards more traditional narrative forms in the 1980s, exploring a wide range of thematic lines, including trends towards intimacy and a taste for storytelling within limited, character-centered realism. Conversely, authors like Antonio Molina and Javier Marías have embraced more avant-garde approaches or a rejection of conventional forms.