Miua by Pérez Galdós

 This novel presents the same humor we have already seen in others Galdós’ books, which makes the experience of reading very pleasant.

Like said in previous posts, Galdós’ writing is very approachable, and easily captures the reader’s attention. Ana Mª Vigara Tauste, in her paper “El lenguaje coloquial
(humano)
en Galdós”, explains that this author used this colloquial way to write as an aesthetic resource.  Once again, I want to point out that the apparent simplicity, the humor, and the rich historical background are a constant in this great Canarian author. This novel is not as extensive as “Fortunata y Jacinta”, which makes it a perfect reading for the weekend.

“Miau”, released in 1888, criticizes how the Spanish administration works by showing the inefficient State machinery and the corruption of government employees. The plot tells the story of the Villaamil family. Mr. Ramón Villaamil was the Pater familias, and used to work for the IRS. Though he was a good employee, his talent was not appreciated and eventually was let go. Sadly, to get a job in Spain, talent is less important than who you know. He was married to Mrs. Pura, and they had two daughters: Luisa and Abelarda. Luisa fell in love with Víctor, a corrupted government employee. They got married and had a son, Luisito. Because of Luisa’s death, Luisito was raised by Mr. Villaamil. After a while Víctor went back to Mr. Villaamil’s house because of his illegal activities in the IRS. Víctor showed his true colors when he played with Abelarda’s feelings. Unfairly he got a very good promotion. Later, close to the end of the book, it is revealed that Víctor was the responsible for Villaamil’s disgrace. He, been a member of the Villaamil family, did spread the rumor in the IRS that Mr. Ramón Villaamil was a crazy old man that was not capable of working anymore. Luisito had a vision of God, who told him that very soon he was going to take his grandpa, Mr. Villaamil, with him. It is very interesting how God is portrayed through Luisitos’ eyes. There is a very brief paper called “La visión de Dios por Luisito Cadalso en Miau” written by Geiffrey Ribbans, which focuses on the linguistic and narratological aspect of these mystical experiences. At the end, tired of the world, Mr. Villaamil killed himself.

"Fortunata y Jacinta", by Benito Pérez Galdós

Though usually Benito Pérez Galdós is studied as a 19th century author, I like thinking that he is a transition to the 20th century literature. That is why today I am writing about him.

Galdós’ books are a great way to learn about Spain’s history and society. An example is “Fortunata y Jacinta”, which is perfect to understand the Spanish political and social reality at the second half of the 19th century. This book shows the way the bourgeoisie and the poor class lived at that time, and constantly refers to the political environment. 

“Fortunata y Jacinta” was published in 1885 and 1887, but the story is set between 1869 and 1876. In 1868 the most important cities in Spain organized themselves against the central government, and soon the queen Isabel II had to leave the country. The new constitution of 1869 made important changes that were oriented to democracy and a very limited monarchy. Amadeo I de Saboya was chosen as the new king, but soon he resigned because of a very conflicted environment against the monarchy. The Republic is proclaimed in February of 1873, but it didn’t last for too long because of the regimen’s political weakness. “El carlismo” was one of the factors that brought down Amadeo I and, later, the Republic. This novel brings up “el carlismo” many times. Finally, in 1875, the monarchy was reinstated and the king Alfonso XII initiated the period known as “La Restauración”.

“Fortunata y Jacinta” tells us the story of two unhappy married women: Fortunata and Jacinta. To make a long story short, this is a very complicated plot in which Jacinta, Juanito’s wife, wishes to be a mother, but she is sterile. Fortunata, married to an impotent and ugly husband, is Juanito’s lover, wishes to be his wife, and becomes the mother of his son. At the end, Fortunata dies, leaving her baby to Jacinta. But this book is much more that the story. Galdós described every character in detail, presenting Madrid’s social life through all of them. I like imagining this book as a tree, in which every branch is the story of some secondary character, being all connected to the trunk or main plot. But Galdós’ universe is much bigger than that; he connected many of his books through common characters. As example, in “Fortunata y Jacinta” we can think of Torquemada. At the end we have a huge net of characters that is Galdós' universe.

This book is extremely large, but somehow Galdós keeps us interested from the first to the last page.  The way he writes is very oral, and some times the reader can have the impression of being listening to a friend. Galdós also uses humor to keep us engaged. This humor leans on caricature and funny comments. But humor allows him to use satire as a way of social and political criticism.

As a conclusion, Galdós is a genius because he was able to create a very commercial literature that at the same time was a piece of art.