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Año 2007

ÍNDICE 

Estudios ............................................................................................................................................. 5 

Documentos y texto ...................................................................................................................... 142 

Ensayo-reseña ................................................................................................................................182

Anales galdosianos [Publicaciones periódicas]. Año XIV, 1979 

4

Estudios 


5


The function and presentation of the world of nature in three 

galdosian novels 

Jennifer Lowe 

In the Novelas españolas contemporáneas Galdós appears essentially as an urban novelist. Writing 

his « Observaciones sobre la novela contemporánea en España » in 1870 he proclaimed that the 

future success of the modern novel depended upon the author's ability and willingness to depict the 

middle classes. Thus, it is not surprising that from 1881 onwards portrayal of a Madrid -based society 

dominates his novels. Michael Nimetz considers that, as a result, portrayal of the natural scene is 

virtually excluded from the major part of Galdos' work: 

There are few descriptions of nature in the Novelas contemporáneas , except in El caballero 

encantado , Nazarín and Halma . The landscape for the most part is strictly urban. Flats, streets and 

shops tend to blot out the earth and sky. If landscape description does appear in a text, it is usually in 

the form of a brief topographical survey devoid of lyric rapture... There are no storms to orchestrate 

emotional crises, or autumn leaves to fall with the spirit, or «romantic fallacies» to make the irony hit 

home. In fact, these are the very things Galdós satirizes in Tormento . 1 

Like all brief general statements this one invites additions and amendments. In Ángel Guerra , for 

example, we find evocative description of the peaceful countryside surrounding the cigarral and one 

of Angel's most traumatic periods of temptation and desire occurs at night, in a deep canyon, during a 

violent storm. Nimetz also gives several examples of metaphors in which references to nature occur, 

but these concern chiefly the elements and the cosmos. A broader view is taken by Gustavo Correa, 

who considers Galdós' presentation of the natural world in opposition to society and the various 

manifestations of human nature found in his novels. 2 My intention here is to examine in detail the 

inclusion of episodes which take place in a natural setting in three novels: La desheredada (1881), 

Miau (1888) and Torquemada en el purgatorio (1894). 

The opening chapters of La desheredada present Isidora's arrival in Madrid and her reactions to 

the city and her relatives. On the first Sunday she goes for a walk in the Retiro park with Miquis, the 

1 Michael Nimetz, Humor in Galdós (New Haven, Connecticut, 1968), 128-29. 

2 Gustavo Correa, Realidad, ficción y símbolo en las novelas de Pérez Galdós (Bogotá, 1967). The 

relevant chapter en intitled « La presencia de la Naturaleza .» 

6


young medical student, and as soon as she sees the grass and trees she has an urge to run about barefoot 

with her hair streaming loose for « aquella naturaleza hermosa, aunque desvirtuada por la corrección, 

despertaba en su impresionable espíritu instintos de independencia y de candoroso salvajismo » (IV, 

993). 3 She initially reacts spontaneously and emotionally. But, « bien pronto comprendió que aquello 

era un campo urbano, una ciudad de árboles y arbustos. Había calles, plazas y hasta manzanas de 

follaje » and then « comprendió que el hombre que ha domesticado a las bestias ha sabido también 

civilizar al bosque » (IV, 993). The repetition of comprender indicates to us that rationalization has 

replaced her emotional reaction and that she has adjusted to the reality of this particular situation. The 

appearance of the people strolling by also impressed her, for they were ladies and gentlemen dressed 

as for the streets of Madrid and « no en facha de pastorcillos, no al desgaire, ni en trenza y cabello 

» (IV, 993). It is implied that she did not expect to find real countryfolk instead of citydwellers. 

However, no doubt as a result of literary influences, she imagined they would be in pastoral garb to 

harmonize with the natural scene. Isidora decides to conform to the established pattern: « Echando... 

de su alma aquellos vagos deseos de correr y columpiarse, pensó gravemente de este modo: 'Para otra 

vez que venga, traeré yo también mis guantes y mi sombrilla' » (IV, 993). The first word indicates 

a deliberate rejection of one attitude for another; también underlines her desire to adapt to this new, 

elegant society. 

Miquis draws Isidora's attention to the sound of the birds: « ¿Oyes los pájaros? -dijo Miquis-. Son 

ruiseñores » (IV, 994). This introduces a complex and intriguing incident, for Isidora « había oído 

hablar de los ruiseñores como cifra y resumen de toda la poesía de la Naturaleza; pero no los había 

oído » (IV, 994). The difference between the two verbal constructions is critical for an understanding 

of Isidora's situation. Her views are not derived from first-hand experience of reality. Although it is 

not actually stated that she has read about nightingales, the expression « resumen de toda la poesía 

» and the ensuing reference to the birds as artistas clearly places them in a cultural context. Isidora 

listens attentively: 

creyendo oír odas y canciones, y su semblante expresaba un éxtasis melancólico, aunque a decir 

verdad lo que se oía era una conversación de miles de picos, un galimatías parlamentario-forestal, 

donde el músico más sutil no podría encontrar las endechas amorosas de que tanto se ha abusado en 

literatura. 

3 All references are to Benito Pérez Galdós, Obras completas IV and V (Aguilar, Madrid 1941 and 

1942). 

7

(IV, 994) 


The contrast established by Galdós is not between what Isidora expects to hear and what she actually 

hears but between what she believes she hears and what is heard by other people. Monroe Hafter 

claims that there is not «a single nightingale to be heard amidst the pleasant trees». 4 Since Galdós 

never states categorically whether Isidora is in fact listening to nightingales whose sound, in Galdós' 

opinion, is vastly inferior to the claims made in literature or whether the teasing Miquis has deceived 

Isidora, the reader is left to formulate his own conclusion -though he will doubtless be influenced by 

Miquis' amused reaction to Isidora's ecstasy. The incident is neatly rounded off when Miquis refers 

to Isidora as ruiseñora (IV, 994). It is important to notice that Isidora does not deliberately distort 

the reality -it is an unconscious process. But there is a very definite distortion which is occasioned by 

her literature-based preconceptions. Nature is basic reality. Thus, by showing us Isidora's reaction to 

and transformation of the bird-song, Galdós is making very obvious the extent of her delusions which 

are to play such an important part in the novel. 

Soon, forgetting her earlier resolution to behave decorously, Isidora runs with Miquis through the 

park « donde todo parecía recién criado, como en aquellos días primeros de la fabricación del mundo 

» (IV, 994). This serves to show us how the plan to conform was a rational decision, not entirely 

in accord with Isidora's natural desires. Throughout the novel her real self is revealed, as here, most 

frequently when she is in contact with Miquis. He, too, can present a distorted view of reality, as is 

evidenced by his elaborate commentary with its literary and scientific influences (IV, 996). But this 

is deliberate, ironic distortion, far different from Isidora's delusions. Miquis is able to place his feet 

firmly on the real ground. 

Through these nature-based incidents Galdós has stressed characteristics in two of the major figures 

in La desheredada and has delineated for us some important thematic aspects. 

Villaamil, the unfortunate cesante whose situation is analysed in Miau , eventually decides to 

commit suicide. Having placed his grandson, Luis, in safe-keeping, Villaamil wanders around the 

outskirts of Madrid, the city in which the latter part of his working life has been spent: « El día 

era espléndido, raso y bruñido; el cielo de azul, con un sol picón y alegre; de estos días precozmente 

veraniegos en que el calor importuna más por hallarse aún los árboles despojados de hoja » (V, 698). 

There follow detailed and graphic references to eight botanical species, mentioning the extent to which 

4 Monroe Z. Hafter, Galdós' Presentation of Isidora in La desheredada », Modern Philology , 60 

(1962-63), 23. 

8


new leaves or flowers are showing. Such details are rare in Galdós' novels. Then we read: « Observó 

Villaamil la diferencia de tiempo con que las especies arbóreas despiertan de la somnolencia invernal 

» (V, 698). It is apparent that the botanical details are not important in themselves but because they 

reveal to us Villaamil's new awareness and power of observation. He, too, has awoken after a long 

sleep. In contrast to this description of the foliage we have a panoramic view of the sky « como 

mancha de acuarela extendida sobre el papel por la difusión natural de la gota, obra de la casualidad 

más que de los pinceles del artista » (V, 698). The substance of this simile derives from the world of 

art but its purpose and effect is to stress the natural rather than the contrived appearance of the scene. 

Villaamil is impressed by the beauty which surrounds him and admits: « paréceme que lo veo por 

primera vez en mi vida, o que en este momento se acaban de crear esta sierra, estos árboles y este 

cielo » (V, 698). The two alternatives provide an interesting commentary on Villaamil's situation. He 

has lived completely apart from the world of nature, functioning, until removed, like a cog in the vast 

Administrative Machine. His failure to notice the natural world was equivalent to its non-existence. 

His decision to escape through suicide has given him a new awareness of the world around him. It is 

ironic that as he plans his death the natural world is being re-born. 

Particular emphasis is given to two aspects of nature. Villaamil is fascinated watching a flock of 

sparrows and he feeds them with some crumbs of bread. He equates the birds' situation with his own: 

« A ver, esos pajarillos tan graciosos que andan por ahí picoteando, ¿se ocupan de lo que comerán 

mañana? No; por eso son felices; y ahora me encuentro yo como ellos » (V, 700). This, as A. A. Parker 

reminded us, is the «wisdom of the Gospels» as expressed in Matthew VI, vv. 25 -33. 5 Villaamil is 

able to realize this only now that he has turned his back on his previous slavery. His delight in the 

behaviour of the birds later turns to complaint when they appear to have abandoned him: « Pillos, 

granujas, que después de haberos comido mi pan pasáis sin darme tan siquiera las buenas tardes » (V, 

702). He even threatens them with the revolver with which he is going to take his own life. Michael 

Nimetz's brief summary of this incident gives an inaccurate impression: «He joyfully feeds a band of 

sparrows. But his anger surges forth as the sparrows begin to fly away. He curses them for abandoning 

him just as everyone else has done.» 6 The sparrows do not fly away while Villaamil is in the process 

of feeding them. Their departure occurs several hours later, for we are informed that it is evening 

5 Alexander A. Parker, «Villaamil -Tragic Victim or Comic Failure?)», Anales Galdosianos , IV 

(1969), 21. 

6 Michael Nimetz, op. cit. , 130. 

9


and « los gorriones iban ya en retirada hacia los tejares de abajo o hacia los árboles » (V, 702). 

Thus their absence is due to the functioning of the natural cycle. Villaamil's inability to realize this is 

representative of his life-long inability to ascertain the real state of affairs. Surely there is also here 

another implicit reference to the Gospels: « ¿No se venden dos gorriones por un cuarto? y ni uno de 

ellos caerá a tierra sin vuestro Padre. Más aún los cabellos de vuestra cabeza están todos contados. 

No temáis pues; vosotros valéis más que muchos gorriones » (Matthew 10, vv. 29-31). The sparrows 

do not fall to the ground within the context of this novel; but Villaamil does. Luis had related to him 

the vision in which God's advice for Villaamil was « morirte pronto es lo que te conviene, para que 

descanses y seas feliz » (V, 697). The paradoxical implication is that God's care for Villaamil is 

shown in suggesting he should die. 

We also find him « destrozando impíamente al pasar alguno de los arbolillos que el Ayuntamiento 

en aquel erial tiene plantados » (V, 702). He considers this not so much as an attack on Nature 

as on the offspring of the Administration. The saplings are equatable with lampposts. When he kills 

himself it is neither in the city nor in the midst of nature but on the municipal rubbish dump on the 

city boundary. The portrayal of nature in these closing chapters of Miau serves two main purposes. 

Initially it indicates to us how Villaamil's eyes have at last been opened, allowing him to see beyond 

the limitations of his work. Then, wider issues are introduced through the implicit reference to life, 

death and God. 

In Torquemada en el Purgatorio the reluctant Torquemada is persuaded by his sister-in-law, Cruz, 

to take the family to Hernani for a summer holiday. Torquemada is completely disoriented: 

Su centro era Madrid: fuera de aquel Madrid... no se encontraba el hombre. Echaba de menos su 

Puerta del Sol, sus calles del Carmen, de Tudescos y callejón del Perro; su agua del Lozoya, su clima 

variable, días de fuego y noches de hielo. La nostalgia le consumía. 

(V, 1085) 

In contrast to this personal and evocative reference to Madrid no clear picture of Hernani emerges. 

Torquemada strolls with his wife, Fidela, who « procuraba distraerle haciéndole fijar la atención en 

las bellezas del campo y del paisaje » (V, 1086). Torquemada is touched by his wife's attentiveness 

but clearly unaffected by the natural scene as they walk « a lo largo de praderas y bosques » (V, 

1086) and, on one occasion, sit « al pie de un corpulento castaño » (V, 1088). For Torquemada 

nature appears merely functional, the furniture of the countryside. Consequently, Galdós gives us 

no detailed description. We have here the reverse of the situation which occurred with Villaamil's 

contemplation of nature. 

10


One night Cruz has a lengthy discussion with her brother Rafael, as they sit by his bedroom window 

« bordeada de madreselvas », from which they can breathe the « aire embalsamado del jardín 

» and hear the frogs which « en una charca próxima entonaban su gárrulo himno a la tibia noche 

» (V, 1088). Unable to sleep because of the heat, Torquemada soon arrives in the garden and walks 

methodically up and down, watched by Cruz and Rafael « desde la ventana... respirando el aire tibio, 

aromatizado por las madreselvas » (V, 1091). The repetition of motifs is noticeable. There follows 

a paragraph devoted entirely to evocative and emotive description of this hot summer night: 

La noche era toda calma, tibieza y solemne poesía. El aire, inmóvil y como embriagado con la 

fragancia campesina, dormitaba entre las hojas de los árboles, moviéndolas apenas con su tenue 

respiración. El cielo profundo, sin luna y sin nubes, se alumbraba con el fulgor plateado de las estrellas. 

En la obscura frondosidad de la tierra, arboledas, prados, huertas y jardines, los grillos rasgaban el 

apacible silencio con el chirrido metálico de sus alas, y el sapo dejaba oír, con ritmo melancólico, 

el son aflautado que parece marcar la cadencia grave del péndulo de la eternidad. Ninguna otra voz, 

fuera de éstas, sonaba en cielo y tierra. 

(V, 1091) 

The outstanding feature of this passage is that it consists of a series of clichés as, for example, « 

aire... como embriagado con la fragancia », « tenue respiración », « fulgor plateado ». The crickets 

make their inevitable sound whilst the toad is almost ludicrously exalted. (The toad, incidentally, 

seems to have taken over the role of the frog in V, 1088.) Were it not for evidence to the contrary 

provided by the descriptions of nature in other novels, we might reasonably conclude on the basis 

of this passage that Galdós was incapable of original presentation of the natural scene. However, we 

soon realize that the clichés of this passage are deliberate. For the role of this description of nature 

is equivalent to that of mood music or background music in a present-day film, signalling to us an 

imminent change, of a sentimental kind. Although Torquernada's plodding footsteps are rhythmically 

linked with the croaking of the toad, the night scene leaves him unmoved. But Cruz « movida de 

un estado particularísimo de su ánimo, y por efecto también quizás de la serenidad poética de la 

noche » feels a pang of sympathy for him (V, 1091). His obvious discomfiture in the country, away 

from his beloved Madrid is a reflection of his current social unease, « sacado de su natural esfera 

» (V, 1091). Rafael, as if affected by his sister's mood, also speaks kindly to Torquemada (V, 1092). 

Retrospectively we can see that we were forewarned of this change in their attitudes by the emphasis 

on the sweet-smelling honeysuckle encircling the window through which they watched Torquemada. 

11


Their suggestion of animmediate return to Madrid is jubilantly received by Torquemada and, on 

arrival: « ¡Con qué alegría vio el semblante risueño de su cara Villa, sus calles asoleadas, y sus 

paseos polvorosos...! ¡Y qué hermosura de calor picante! » (V, 1093). The streets may be hot and dry 

because « aún no había llovido gota » (V, 1093) but Torquemada reacts « como pato sediento que 

vuelve a la charca » (V, 1093). This image is a more attractive version of Cruz's vision of Torquemada 

as « reptil en la humedad fangosa » (V, 1091). 

The remorse of Cruz and Rafael which began on this summer night in Hernani continues for some 

time after their return to Madrid. Cruz, indeed, struggles with her conscience, aware that she has 

caused Torquemada unhappiness (V, 1096). However, she decides there can be no retreat and soon 

redoubles her efforts to push Torquemada up the social ladder. Thus, the importance of the natural 

interlude in this novel is that it highlights the behaviour and attitude of Cruz. Under the influence of the 

summer night she relents in her treatment of Torquemada. Eventually, she reverts to her established 

course of action. But because of the pause and her own analysis of the situation, we view more 

seriously her further demands on Torquemada. She is clearly not devoid of all human sensitivity. 

The ultimate result of the incident which took place on a summer night in Hernani is to increase our 

sympathy for Torquemada. 

In examining extracts from these three novels we have seen three different ways and styles of 

presenting the world of nature. In none of the episodes have we found redundant description of the 

natural scene nor mere «topographical surveys» as asserted by Nimetz. The description has always 

been closely integrated with the presentation of character or theme. Thus, although it remains true that 

it is in his presentation of the urban scene that Galdós shows his excellence as a descriptive writer, we 

can see that he was very conscious of the significant contribution of description of the world of nature. 

University of Edinburgh. 

12


Artifacts and effigies: the Porreño househoid revisited 

Chad C. Wright 

Y... la casa declaraba con el expresivo lenguaje de las cosas... 

Pérez Galdós, Tristana . 

Me entretenía viendo... algunas cosas grotescas que nos ha legado el prosaico siglo XVIII... 

Pérez Galdós, La Fontana de Oro 

Beginning with Chapter Fourteen of his first published novel, La Fontana de Oro (1868), Pérez 

Galdós presents the eccentric house of the three Porreño women, with which every Galdós scholar is 

familiar. The Porreño house is many things -a museum, a cathedral, a prison, a warehouse of the past, 

and an architectural representation of the eighteenth century. Galdós' creation of the Porreño house is 

important for various reasons; it is the prototype of many other Galdosian houses in subsequent novels, 

it reflects his use of symbolism which Casalduero, among others, has discussed; 7 and it shows Galdós' 

initial use of effigies and artifacts -a device which he may have learned from his « maestro », Charles 

Dickens - 8 as vital parts of this early setting. The Porreño house in La Fontana de Oro contains 

a swarm of living, commenting, spectral, sinister «things» which inhabit the limbo between death 

and life. Among these effigies and artifacts one must consider the three Porreño women themselves, 

Salomé, Paz, and doña Paulita. 

7 Joaquín Casalduero, Vida y obra de Galdós (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1961), 46. 

8 The influence of Charles Dickens on the young Galdós is probably under-estimated, as this study 

will suggest. In his Memorias de un desmemoriado , Galdós writes of visiting Westminster Abbey 

during a journey to England, where he sought out the « sepultura reciente » of Dickens: En efecto, 

el gran novelador inglés había muerto poco antes. Como éste fue siempre un santo de mi devoción 

más viva, contemplé aquel nombre con cierto arrobamiento místico. Consideraba yo a Carlos Dickens 

como mi maestro más amado. He further admits that « apenas devorada La comedia humana, de 

Balzac, me apliqué con loco afán a la copiosa obra de Dickens ». See Benito Pérez Galdós, Memorias 

de un desmemoriado in Obras completas [ Novelas y miscelánea ], introducciones de Federico 

Carlos Sáinz de Robles (Madrid: Aguilar, 1971), 1468. At the same time that Galdós was writing 

La Fontana de Oro , in 1868, he was also translating Dickens' Pickwick Papers for the pages of the 

progresista publication La Nación . This translation of Dickens' work represents both a homage and 

an apprenticeship to Galdós' « maestro más amado ». 

13


For purposes of this discussion, the words «effigy» (which Galdós uses often in La Fontana de Oro 

) and «artifact» refer to the quasi-human background of the Porreño house: the furniture, the pictures, 

the statuary, the house itself. John Carey has written that «the effigy, the picture, the thing with human 

lineaments which watches, paralysed and dumb» in Dickens' novels «supplies a major imaginative 

level... which interacts with the human beings just as importantly as the human beings react to each 

other». 9 From his earliest writings, Galdós shows an almost Dickensian obsession with the «things» 

of life; the journalistic writings of his youth are crowded with the imagery of effigies and artifacts. 10 

In La Fontana de Oro , he provides an extra stratum of reality through his inclusion of humanized 

furniture and furniturized humans; he does this in a way which is innovative and perhaps revolutionary 

in Hispanic letters of the nineteenth century. By vivifying things and reifying life, Galdós creates at 

once an affinity and a tension between the two realms. 11 Although the staging of a particular scene 

in the novel may be outwardly as static as a retablo , the constant relationship between the animate 

and the inanimate objects makes the scene spring into an eery semblance of life. Through the restless 

ambience which Galdós provides, the reader is beguiled into seeing the inanimate world itself in 

revolution in this « libro con cierta tendencia revolucionaria », as Galdós called La Fontana de 

Oro . 12 

9 John Carey, The Violent Effigy: A Study of Dickens' Imagination (London: Faber and Faber, 

1973), 88. 

10 So important is Galdós' use of effigies and artifacts in such publications as La Nación , Revista 

de la Semana , and other journals to which he contributed in his youth that I am preparing a study 

devoted to that subject. 

11 Galdós states perhaps most clearly the relationship between people and things in Lo prohibido : 

« Pero dejemos las cosas que parecían personas, y vamos a las personas que parecían cosas ». See 

Benito Pérez Galdós, Obras completas [ Novelas , III, introducciones de Federico Carlos Sáinz de 

Robles (Madrid: Aguilar, 1970), 278. 

12 Quoted by Clarín [Leopoldo Alas], Obras completas , I [ Galdós ] ( Madrid: Renacimiento , 1921), 

21. 

14


Galdós' imagination was singularly visual, as various recent studies have pointed out. 13 As well 

as feeding his readers' « hearing imagination», Galdós also provides a feast for their « seeing 

imagination», to borrow Henry James' terms. 14 John Dixon Hunt has written of Dickens that he 

«frequently evades the normal verbal mode of explaining ideas in favour of visualizing them, often 

with facetious fantasy». 15 A similar tendency to visualize ideas can be found in Galdós, who in this 

early novel sketches his characters in broad, satiric strokes, as if for a cartoon. His great concern for 

the outward aspects of his characters and their milieux is perhaps due to his inability at the time of 

La Fontana de Oro to create what Forster would call a truly «round» character. Carey has noted that 

in Dickens «the rich proliferation of physical peculiarities» often «takes the place of the conventional 

novelistic 'inner life'...» 16 One could say the same of Galdós' early writing. Perhaps sensing an 

awkwardness in his still cartoon-like characters, Galdós has complemented them with a physically 

peculiar ambience which echoes them and often speaks for them. Ironically, the milieu of this early 

novel usually seems more vivid and dynamic than the characters. Indeed, the various settings of the 

novel -the Porreño house and don Elías' house, particularly - serve almost as architectural villains in 

the novel: they surround, imprison, repress, confine, and attempt ultimately to absorb the characters. 17 

13 See, for example, Hans Hinterhäuser. Los «Episodios Nacionales» de Benito Pérez Galdós , trans. 

José Escobar (Madrid: Editorial Gredos , 1963), 79-88. Also see Joaquín Gimeno Casalduero, « La 

caracterización plástica del personaje en la obra de Pérez Galdós: del tipo al individuo », Anales 

galdosianos , VII (1972), 19-25, and J. J. Alfieri, « El arte pictórico en las novelas de Galdós », Anales 

galdosiamos , 111 (1968), 79-86. 

14 Henry James, in a letter to Robert Louis Stevenson, concerning the latter's novel Catriona , dated 

October 21, 1892. The Letters of Henry James , I, ed. Percy Lubbock (London: Macmillan and Co., 

Ltd., 192.0), 214. 

15 John Dixon Hunt, «Dickens and the Tradition of Graphic Satire», in Encounters: Essays on 

Literature and the Visual Arts , ed. John Dixon Hunt (London: Studio Vista, 1971), 127. 

16 Carey, op. cit. , 87. 

17 For an excellent discussion of the café « La Fontana de Oro » itself and its importance in the novel, 

see Carroll B. Johnson, «The Cafe in Galdós' La Fontana de Oro », Bulletin of Hispanic Studies , 

XLII (1965), 112-117. 

15


The Porreño house itself is of course the most obvious «artifact» in the novel. In Dickens' Little 

Dorrit , Arthur Clennam's mother looks around the tiny quarters which she now occupies and declares 

sadly to her son, «The world has narrowed to these dimensions, Arthur». 18 Galdós uses such imagery 

of confinement or reduction to heighten the effect of La Fontana de Oro . Houses in Galdós almost 

never «fit» their inhabitants: they are either much too large, so that the furniture seemingly cowers in 

the middle of room, intimidated (as in La de Bringas ), or, conversely, the rooms are much too small 

for the imposing furniture, as in La Fontana de Oro . The very walls of Galdós' houses can become 

exoskeletons of the inhabitants, reflecting their poverty, spiritual or physical. 19 The Galdosian world 

is often made up of « venidos a menos », people who have suffered great personal failures (and 

who usually represent, on a symbolic level which permeates all of Galdós' writings, the failures of 

political causes); these people find themselves in literally straitened circumstances: a too-small house 

or a squalid upstairs room. Often they are examples of what might be called the «irony of inhabiting» 

-the contrast between the size of the house and the importance of the inhabitant. 20 La Fontana de 

Oro is no exception. Many of its characters are indeed « venidos a menos ». The three Porreño 

women have nothing left but the tangible past in the form of their tattered furniture, which they cling 

to tenaciously, and a house which is too small for their grotesque collection of belongings. They are 

of noble descent, but find themselves impoverished and living ignobly in the early nineteenth century 

-a century in which they feel most uncomfortable and out of place. They represent, symbolically, the 

eighteenth century as it anachronistically continues into the nineteenth century. After the death of the 

last male Porreño (the heir of some fourteen generations of Porreños), the women have moved all 

their inherited belongings into the house on Belén Street, where a full two-thirds of the living area is 

18 Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit (London: Oxford University Press, 1974), 33. 

19 See, for example, my discussion of Isidora de Rufete's house in La desheredada , «The 

Representational Qualities of Isidora de Rufete's House and Her Son Riquín in Pérez Galdós' La 

desheredada », Romanische Forschungen , LXXXIII (1971), 230-245. 

20 Richard Gill suggests such a concept in his discussion of the country house in the fiction of Henry 

James and others, where one sees «the poignant contrast between the great house and the smallness 

of its occupants». See Richard Gill, Happy Rural Seat: The English Country House and the Literary 

Imagination (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972), 73. One should also consider Bachelard's 

ideas concerning the «function of inhabiting». See Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space , trans. 

Maria Jolas (New York: The Orion Press, 1964), 78 et al. 

16


occupied by ancient relics and pieces of deteriorated furniture. The second floor is a veritable museum 

or artifacts exiled from the previous century into the austerity of the Porreño's house. Ironically, it 

is to that second floor, so crowded with ancient furniture that walking there is impossible, that Don 

Elías brings the young exaltado Lázaro later in the novel as a virtual prisoner. 

The exterior of this symbolic house is shabby and unprepossessing. Only the escutcheon of the 

Porreño family (with its « tres véneros relucientes » ironically emblematic of the three surviving 

Porreño women) hanging over the door denotes any pretense of nobility. Once inside the house, 

however, the walls spring to a macabre life with a multitude of Porreño ancestors, extending back 

nearly as far as the history of Spain, into the recesses of the distant past. One is reminded of the 

formidable portraits on the walls of Chesney Wold in Dickens' Bleak House . These portraits in the 

Porreño house stand as sentinels in the antesala , leaving space for little else. 

Pictures, which are always important in Galdós' novels, are especially important as effigies in La 

Fontana de Oro . In her indispensable study of symbolism, Susanne K. Langer notes that pictures, 

more than being just embellishments of a room, can be actively hostile, positive focal points, or 

completely dissociated from their surroundings. 21 Ortega y Gasset has found the framed pictures on 

a wall to be « una abertura de irrealidad que se abre mágicamente en nuestro contorno real ». He 

adds that such pictures « tienen... algo de ventana... ». Often « los lienzos pintados son agujeros 

de idealidad perforados en la muda realidad de las paredes, boquetes de inverosimilitud a que nos 

asomamos por la ventana benéfica del marco ». 22 In Galdós' novel, the pictures on the walls go 

even beyond mere representations of Porreño ancestors. More than windows into the past, they call 

to mind funeral caskets, the lids thrown open for view. 

In the antesala of the Porreño house, for example, we have this remarkable scene describing the 

paintings which people the walls in such a way that the walls themselves are hardly visible: 

Por un lado se veía a un antiguo prócer del tiempo del Rey nuestro señor don Felipe III, con la cara 

escuálida, largo y atusado bigote, barba puntiaguda, gorguera de tres filas de canjilones, vestido negro 

con sendos golpes de pasamanería, cruz de Calatrava, espada de rica empuñadura, escarcela y cadena 

de la Orden teutónica; a su lado una dama de talle estirado y rígido, traje acuchillado; gran faldellín 

bordado de plata y oro, y también enorme gorguera, cuyos blancos y simétricos pliegues rodeaban 

21 Susanne K. Langer, Feeling and Form (New York: Charles Scribner's and Sons, 1953), 101. 

22 José Ortega y Gasset, Obras completas , II (Madrid: Revista de Occidente , 1963), 310-311. 

17


el rostro como una aureola de encaje. Por otro lado, descollaban las pelucas blancas, las casacas 

bordadas y las camisas de chorrera: allí una dama con un perrito que enderezaba airosamente el rabo: 

acullá una vieja con su peinado de dos o tres pisos, fortaleza de moños, plumas y arracadas: en fin, 

la galería era museo de trajes y tocados, desde los más sencillos y airosos hasta los más complicados 

y extravagantes. 23 

Note that the personages in the portraits are relatively unimportant: what is important is their 

clothing, their jewelry, their medals, their wigs, their assorted vestments. Empty clothes, according to 

Carey, are perhaps the most common effigies of all in Dickens' repertoire. 24 Clothing is very important 

also in Galdós' writings, whether worn or empty. 25 Galdós seems fascinated by the processes of decay, 

and often describes clothing which survives the human processes of disintegration. The faces of the 

personages wearing the clothes in the Porreños' portraits are barely described, yet their apparel is 

lavishly detailed. The irony is obvious: the painted people are practically non-existent apart from their 

rich trappings. To further emphasize this person-less portraiture, Galdós informs us that « algunos 

de estos venerandos cuadros estaban agujereados en la cara: otros habían perdido el color, y todos 

estaban sucios, corroídos y cubiertos con ese polvo clásico que tanto aman los anticuarios ». (FO, 

73) The figures in the paintings seem to have died and decayed within their very frames, just as living 

persons must die and decay: the hanging pictures thus become grotesque visions of a dead and rotting 

past, of which only the splendor of gold medallions and velvet survives. They are among the most 

salient aspects of the decaying Porreño house, which is itself a « sepulcro », as doña Paulita says 

late in the novel. (FO, 186) 

In addition to the paintings, Galdós masterfully creates the strongly ironic atmosphere of the Porreño 

house through oddments of furniture. Perhaps more than any other Spanish writer, Galdós could be 

23 Benito Pérez Galdós, La Fontana de Oro , in Obras completas [ Novelas , I], introducción de 

Federico Carlos Sáinz de Robles (Madrid: Aguilar, 1971), 73. In future references to this novel, the 

page number and the abbreviation «FO» will appear in the text. 

24 Carey, op. cit. , 89-90. 

25 See T. Folley, «Clothes and the Man: An Aspect of Benito Pérez Galdós' Method of Literary 

Characterization», in Bulletin of Hispanic Studies , XLIX (1972), 30-39. Folley concentrates 

principally on clothing in Galdós' Torquemada novels, but his comments are important to consider 

in reading all of Galdós' works. 

18


called, to borrow Bachelard's term, a «poet of furniture». 26 Chapter Fifteen of La Fontana de Oro 

, entitled « Las tres ruinas », is a descriptive tour de force for Galdós: it is a veritable catalogue 

of effigies and artifacts of various sorts. Galdós guides us through the rooms of the Porreño house, 

showing us a cluttered, faded splendor reminiscent of Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations 

: the rooms have the same ancient dust, the same physical representations of vanished hopes. The 

reader appropriately has been introduced to the strange eccentricities of the house before meeting the 

three women, and when the women do appear, they seem adjuncts to the furnishings themselves. 

Each piece of furniture in the house is important: it is a character, however minor. Just as buildings, 

in an architectural sense, are the inhabitants of cities, so furniture in Galdós' writings represents 

the citizenry of the house. Even in his later, more polished works, Galdós relates important events 

indirectly through the furniture of his characters. 27 Galdós is fond of furniture which connotes 

emptiness, vacuity, or general decay. Inanimate objects, as Graham Greene has pointed out, make 

more poignant the ravages of time in human affairs, for they change at an even faster rate than humans. 

28 But even in its decrepit condition, furniture endures, mocking the fragility of human existence. In 

Howard's End , one of E. M. Forster's characters sees the end of the world as a «desert of chairs and 

sofas... rolling through infinity with no one to sit upon them». 29 In La Fontana de Oro , the furniture 

has endured for centuries while the pompous Porreños of the past have now mouldered away. 

In the Porreños' rooms are to be found « roperos sin ropa, jaulas sin pájaros, y arrinconado en 

la pared, un biombo de cuatro dobleces, mueble que, entre lo demás, tenía no sé qué de alborotado 

y juvenil » (FO, 74). Among the forlorn furnishings such as the birdless cages (reminiscent of 

Dickens' bird cages) 30 and the clothingless wardrobes is the dressing screen which evokes a feeling 

26 Bachelard, op. cit. , 78 

27 For example: Isidora de Rufete's bed, which resembles a catafalque; Rosalía de Bringas' putting 

up a portrait of Isabel II alongside a portrait of an «illustrious» ancestor, don Juan de Pipaón, and 

removing a painting of Christ; or Víctor Cadalso's mysteriously locked trunk in Miau . 

28 Graham Greene, The Honorary Consul (London: The Bodley Head, 1973), 48-49. 

29 E. M. Forster, Howard's End (New York: Vintage Books, 1921), 161. 

30 Dickens frequently uses the bird cage to represent imprisonment, confinement or frustration. One 

thinks immediately of Miss Flite in Bleak House , who promises to release her encarged birds when 

her Chancery suit is complete, or of the bird cage in the Fleet Prison where Mr. Pickwick is confined 

19


of incongruously youthful modesty. In these few lines, Galdós has sketched not only the emptiness 

of the Porreño household (everything is ironic: the cage is empty, the wardrobe is empty) and the 

latent sensuality everpresent in the house of the three old maids (the girlish dressing screen); he has 

also foreshadowed the violent love which Paulita cannot hide for Lázaro. The above-mentioned items 

of furniture all indicate her willingness to flee (empty closet) with Lázaro, thus escaping (like a bird 

from its cage), into the world of passion and romance (the romantic dressing screen). 

In the description of doña Paulita's derelict marriage bed, Galdós is at the height of his genius 

as a caricaturist. Nothing could be more ironic in the household of the three maiden women than 

such an imposing bed. Galdós suggests a multitude of ideas through this singular piece of furniture. 

Immediately the reader thinks of the generations of Porreños which he has just seen in the antesala 

; the bed is both the place of conception and the place of death for those generations of ancestors. 

The presiding bed marks the two preoccupations of the poor doña Paulita: her frustrated maidenliness 

and her veneration of the past (as shown, in part, in her religious devotion). The symbol of the bed 

makes the reader reflect on the sterility of the Porreño house and the life which the three women 

lead; the bed represents in an ironic fashion doña Paulita's late-blooming sensuality after a lifetime of 

religious withdrawal. The conjugal joys of matrimony have not been a part of her life -yet the bed is 

enshrined in her quarters as the primary article of furniture. This bed represents doña Paulita and the 

other Porreño women, past the prime of wifehood; the frayed, tattered, and time-tarnished curtains 

and the faded tapestries represent the vanished charms of the women. They are gradually sinking into 

the framed oblivion of their ancestors in the antesala . The bed is a forlorn monument -a grotesque 

epitaph - to their own unfulfilled histories. Many of Galdós' later noveis will have beds as important 

symbols, but none will surpass this early, highly representational bed. 

Every aspect of the remaining furniture refers us to the past, in a most ironic fashion: 

Junto a la cama campeaba un sillón de vaqueta claveteado, testigo mudo del pasado de tres siglos. 

Sobre aquel cuero perdurable se habían sentado los gregüescos acairelados de un gentilhombre de 

la casa del Emperador; recibió tal vez las gentiles posaderas de algún padre provincial, amigo de la 

casa: quizás sostuvo los flacos muslos de algún familiar del Santo Oficio en los buenos tiempos de 

Carlos II, y, por último había sido honroso pedestal de aquellas humanidades que llevan un rabo en 

el occipucio y aparecían constantemente aforradas en la chupa y ensartadas en el espadín. 

after Mrs. Bardell's suit, which cage Sam Weller calls «Veels within veels, a prison in prison». Charles 

Dickens, The Pickwick Papers (London: Oxford University Press, 1948), 571. 

20


No lejos de este monumento se encontraban dos o tres arcones, de ésos que tienen cerraduras 

semejantes a las de las puertas de una fortaleza, y eran verdaderas fortalezas, donde se depositaban 

los patacones, y donde se sepultaba la vajilla, la plata de familia, las alhajas y joyas de gran precio: 

pero ya no había en sus antros ningún tesoro, a no ser dos o tres docenas de pesos que dentro de un 

calcetín guardaba doña Paz para los gastos de la casa. 

(FO, 73-74) 

Among the other ironic pieces of furniture are religious artifacts, maimed by time and the reshuffling 

of history. There is « un San Antonio muy viejo y carcomido, con un vestido flamante y una vara de 

flores de reciente hechura » (FO, 73). The most conspicuous painting in the house is « un lienzo 

místico de pura escuela toledana » which has as its focal point « la Virgen con Santo Domingo, 

arrodillado: y no tenía más defecto sino que en el sitio donde el pintor había puesto la cabeza del 

santo, puso la humedad un agujero muy profano y feo » (FO, 74). With grim irony, Galdós adds, « 

Pero a pesar de esto, el lienzo era el Sancta Sanctorum de la casa, y representaba los sentimientos 

y creencias de todos los Porreños, desde el que pereció en Andalucía con Lope Díaz, hasta las tres 

ruinosas damas que en la época de nuestra historia quedaban para muestra de lo que son las glorias 

mundanas » (FO, 74). The imagery of religious art which has been either defaced, disfigured, or 

completely decapitated by time is continued in the image of the Santa Librada which is so dear to 

doña Paulita: « Con los años se le había roto la cabeza; pero doña Paulita tuvo buen cuidado de 

pegársela con un enorme pedazo de cera, si bien quedó la santa tan cuellitorcida, que daba lástima 

» (FO, 74). Even the ivory Christ which Paulita venerates daily is disfigured -with « un faldellín 

de raso blanco, bordado de lentejuelas, y una cinta anchísima y un amplio lazo que de los pies le 

colgaba » (FO, 74). This latter image of the naked Christ which hangs in Paulita's bedroom -the 

naked Christ which Paulita fondles much as she would a child or a lover and whose flesh she covers 

as if to avoid its allure- is Galdós at his most erotic. Through a simple religious artifact, Galdós shows 

more than volumes could disclose of doña Paulita's mystical-sexual inner turmoil. The reclinatorio 

too has been crippled by time: it dates from the sixteenth century, but a none-too-adept nineteenth- 

century carpenter has attempted to repair it by adding « varios listones de pino, dignos de un barril 

de aceitunas » (FO, 74). Everything is coming apart -even doña Paulita's cushioned stool on which 

she kneels for four hours each night to pray. 

In the Porreño house, as in don Elías' house and countless others of Galdós' literary houses, there 

is a resolutely stopped clock: 

21


También existe (y si mal no recordamos estaba en la sala) un reloj de la misma época con su 

correspondiente fauno dorado; pero este reloj, que en los buenos tiempos de los Porreños había sido 

una maravilla de precisión, estaba parado y marcaba las doce de la noche del 31 de diciembre de 

1800, último año del siglo pasado, en que se paró para no volver a andar más, lo cual no dejaba de 

ser significativo en semejante casa. Desde dicha noche se detuvo, y no hubo medio de hacerle andar 

un segundo más. El reloj, como sus amas, no quiso entrar en este siglo. 

(FO, 74) 

Among all the other relics of the house, we see the Porreño women themselves, seated in a solemn 

row as if they were a holy trinity of carved saints in a church. One is reading a book of devotions, 

another is sewing, and the third is embroidering some silk clothing, undoubtedly intended for one of 

the carved saints. Galdós calls them a « cuadro », and characterizes them with three well-chosen 

adjectives which add to the imagery of the house-as-sepulchre which he has carefully developed thus 

far: « Las tres, colocadas con simetría, silenciosa y tranquilamente ensimismadas en su oración o 

su trabajo, ofrecían un cuadro sombrío, glacial, lúgubre » (FO, 74). All three women are likened to 

religious reliquiae, or wooden saints. Galdós provides the three with staring, cold eyes like the eyes 

of statues and religious effigies. 31 When Lázaro comes to the house with don Elías, « los vio a 

todos inmóviles, como figuras de palo », and is haunted by their fixed eyes (FO, 104). Doña Paulita 

especially stares at him, her eyes « fijos... con tenaz atención » (FO, 105). When doña Paulita later, 

in her delirium, comes to Lázaro's quarters in her night-clothes to declare her love and give herself 

to him, her eyes are still those of an effigy. Lázaro is startled by « la intensidad tenebrosa de sus 

ojos negros, que... habían adquirido una expresión desconocida » (FO, 133). Galdós further on in 

the same scene comments on the « siniestro brillo en sus ojos » (FO, 133). When don Elías is heard 

approaching, Lázaro hurries to his bed and sends doña Paulita off. Various times during the ensuing 

hours, the troubled Lázaro arises to look out his window at the effigy of doña Paulita who remains 

staring fixedly at the window, apparently throughout the entire night: 

Lázaro se incorporó en su lecho con mucha cautela, y asomándose por una ventana que daba al 

corredor, miró hacia afuera. Aún estaba allí la dama con el rostro vuelto hacia la ventana. Lázaro se 

volvió a acostar, y pasado un cuarto de hora, en que caviló cuanto puede cavilar cabeza humana, se 

31 In this sense, the three women resemble the wax effigies in Mrs. Jarley's exhibition in Dickens 

which so frighten Little Nell with their «great glassy eyes». See Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity 

Shop (London: Oxford University Press, 1948), 217. 

22


asomó de nuevo y vio la misma figura blanca, inmóvil en el mismo sitio y con los dos terribles ojos 

negros fijos en la ventana. Aquello le acabó de confundir. Pasó mucho tiempo mirando cada cinco 

minutos, y siempre veía la misma figura, hasta que al fin ya no miró más, porque le daba miedo. 

(FO, 134) 32 

Galdós carefully delineates each of the three Porreño women to make clear her «thingly» nature. 

María de la Paz is an animated effigy made of disparate parts. She appears ageless (« era una mujer 

de ésas que pueden hacer creer que tienen cuarenta años, teniendo realmente más de cincuenta ») 

with a round face, heavy body, and a large frame. She accentuates the grotesqueness of her form by 

dressing in the eighteenth-century style, with her belt « a la altura usada en tiempo de María Luisa. 

» This fashion makes her head look « perfectamente esferoidal », resting directly on her shoulders. 

Her face is a caricature of a human face: she has sharp teeth (one of which protrudes even when her 

lips are closed), a small, ghastly nose which looks like a little red button, and on the left side of her 

face she has a large and very black mole which is also dehumanized -it is likened to an offering which 

some pitying believer has placed on the austere and bate altar of her face (FO, 75). The architecture 

of her face is completed by tiny eyes and a large chin. She wears enormous earrings (« herretes de 

filigrana ») as if to balance the ball of her head and to keep it from rolling off her shoulders. Galdós 

passes over her body by saying that it merely forms « gran armonía con el rostro » (FO, 75). As 

if to make up for the lack of natural endowments, doña Paz's hands are bejewelled with « muchos 

anillos, en los que los brillantes habían sido hábilmente trocados por piedras falsas ». 33 Galdós then 

32 The preoccupation with eyes and being watched is a peculiarly Dickensian trait. Dickens 

was personally obsessed -as were many of his literary creations- with being stared at or 

watched. For examples of Dickens' own fear of the eyes of even harmless statuary, wallfixtures, 

or possible watchers from beyond hotel-room doors, see Carey, op. cit. , 103-104. 

33 This description brings to mind the image of the many skeletons dressed in courtly clothes and 

encrusted with precious jewelry to be found in cathedrals of Spain and other parts of the European 

continent. In a chapter entitled «Jewelled Skeletons», in For Want of a Golden City , Sacheverell 

Sitwell comments on this peculiar art form: « There is a book still to be written about the jewelled 

cadavers of the saints and martyrs. Of nuns stooping their pale faces to the embroidery of pearls and 

coral for the robing of the skeleton. Of the half-mummy at the fittings, armed into his long-skirted 

coat, in Spanish court dress of the seventeenth century, and made to lean upon an elbow as though 

reading. His skeletal digits in jewelled gloves; a rapier at his side, and shoes with ribbons and red 

heels». Sacheverell Sitwell, For Want of a Golden City (London: Thames and Hudson, 1973), 364. 

23


dismisses doña Paz as if she were a gruesome corpse in a morgue: « Echemos un velo sobre estas 

lástimas » (FO, 75). 

Doña Salomé is tall and thin, with a nose so fleshless and sharp that her spectacles refuse to stay 

perched on it. Galdós frankly calls her « esta efigie » (FO, 75). He stops short of describing her 

in any terms which could be called human: 

Su rostro amarillo había sido en tiempos de Carlos IV un óvalo muy bello: después era una cosa 

oblonga que medía una cuarta desde la raíz del pelo a la barba: su cutis, que había sido finísimo 

jaspe, era ya papel de un título de ejecutoria, y los años estaban trazados en él con arrugas tan 

rasgueadas que parecían la complicada rúbrica de un escribano. No se sabe cuántos años habían 

firmado sobre aquel rostro. Las cejas arqueadas y grandes eran delicadísimas: en otro tiempo tuvieron 

suave ondulación: pero ya se recogían, se dilataban y contraían como dos culebras. Debajo se abrían 

sus grandes ojos, cuyos párpados, ennegrecidos, cálidos, venenosos y casi transparentes, se abatían 

como dos compuertas cuando Salomé quería expresar su desdén, que era cosa muy común. 

(FO, 75) 

But he is not through! After noting that what had once been a pleasing down on her upper lip is now 

« un bigotillo barbiponiente, con el cual formaban simetría dos o tres pelos arraigados bajo la barba, 

apéndices de una longitud y lozanía que envidiara cualquier muscovita » (FO, 75), he proceeds to 

describe the « efigie » as a kind of machine. The muscles, veins, and tendons in her throat work 

as if they were parts of a loom. This rather ghastly imagery suggests the process of decay. Death and 

disintegration strip away the outward flesh and expose the internal organs and physical machinery 

which keep life going: the implication is clear -doña Salomé is a part of the process of decay, well 

on her way to becoming like the feature-less portraits in the antesala . Her torso is also described in 

terms of machinery. « Debajo de toda esta máquina se extendía en angosta superficie el seno de la 

dama », writes Galdós, « cuyas formas al exterior no podría apreciar en la época de nuestra historia 

el más experimentado geómetra, y más abajo la otra máquina de su talle y cuerpo, inaccesible también 

a la completa morosidad » (FO, 75). Over this body literally deprived of human appearance, doña 

Salomé drapes a long black dress, as if in mourning for her lost youth. Even her hands and arms do 

not seem attached to her frame; they poke out from her clothing as if dissociated from her body. Her 

face is frozen into an eternal grimace, like a gargoyle or a grieving wooden saint in a cathedral. In 

the reader's last encounter with doña Salomé, when she fights with doña Paz for doña Paulita's spilled 

money, Galdós comments on her teeth, which she uses as a weapon to frighten the others (FO, 187). 

24


Undoubtedly the saddest of the three Porreño women is doña Paulita, whose identity is contained 

in her name, as Galdós indicates several times. « Nunca pudo quitarse ni el doña ni el diminutivo 

», he writes (FO, 76). The title « doña » stresses her status as a respected, older woman, but the 

diminutive ending to her name collides with the connotations of « doña ». In her name we find 

the elements of conflict in her basic nature which result in her religious passion's becoming a sexual 

passion. She is described throughout the novel as a saint -but Galdós carefully overstresses this aspect 

of her nature so cleverly that the reader suspects that hers is a false or self-deluding saintliness. Galdós 

writes « Esta doña Paulita era una santa » (FO, 71), reaffirms that « Era una santa, una santita 

» (FO, 76), and finally suggests that perhaps her saintliness is superficial -but then coyly repeats to the 

reader that she is indeed a saint: « Examinando atentamente su figura, se observaba que la expresión 

mística que en toda ella resplandecía era más bien debida a un hábito de contracciones y movimientos 

que a natural y congénita forma. No se crea por eso que era hipócrita, no; era una verdadera santa, una 

santa por convicción y por fervor » (FO, 76). Everything about doña Paulita is portrayed in terms of 

repression and false sanctity. Galdós carefully makes clear that she is like a wooden saint, but though 

she is of wood, there is still some vestige of life in its fibres. One of the most ironic images concerning 

doña Paulita is her association with the effigy of Santa Librada, which she keeps in her room. Santa 

Librada, also known as Wilgefortis (or « Virgo-Fortis »), according to Catholic tradition, took vows 

of virginity in her earliest youth and later, after praying for divine help, sprouted a moustache and 

beard so that she would not have to marry the suitor her father had chosen for her. 34 Doña Paulita 

is of such a saintly disposition that « verla y sentir ganas de rezar un Padrenuestro era una misma 

cosa » (FO, 76). Her voice is a liturgical monotone, « agridulce y atiplado », of that tone which 

« generalmente se llama de carretilla, como dicen los chicos la lección: en el tono en que se recitan 

las letanías y los gozos » (FO, 76). Galdós pokes fun at her mystical religiosity by calling her the 

34 See Donald Attwater, A Dictionary of Saints (London: Burns and Oates, 1950), 274; John 

Coulson (ed.), The Saints: A Concise Biograpbical Dictionary (London: Burns and Oates, 1958), 447; 

and The Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate (comp.), The Book of Saints: A 

Dictionary of Servants of God Canonized by the Catholic Church: Extracted from the Roman and 

Other Martyrologies (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1947), 606. 

25


« rosa mística » (the title of Chapter XXIV), and entitling two further chapters after her: Chapter 

XXV, « Virgo prudentísima », and Chapter XLII, « Virgo potens ». 35 

Since doña Paulita is the youngest of the three Porreño women, she is also the least lignified. Galdós 

shows the process whereby life once again courses through her body when she feels the stirrings of 

sexual passion toward Lázaro, more than a decade her junior: 

Doña Paulita hizo esfuerzos heroicos para aparecer con cierta dignidad arquiepiscopal en el 

momento en que Lázaro le besaba la mano, arrodillado ante ella; pero su decoro de santa fue vencido 

por lo mucho que empezaba a tener de mujer. Cuando sintió los labios del joven posados sobre la piel 

de su mano, tembló toda, se puso pálida y roja con intermitencias casi instantáneas, y una corriente 

de calor ardientísimo y una ráfaga de frío nervioso circularon alternativamente por su santo cuerpo, 

no acostumbrado al contacto de labios humanos. 

(FO, 118) 

Following this chaste kiss, doña Paulita forgets her saintly vocation entirely; this Lazarus has recalled 

her to a semblance of life. She succumbs to her own womanliness. Earlier, when the innocent Clara 

was brought into the Porreño house, she was told that in « esta casa, niña, impone al que la habita 

deberes muy sagrados » (FO, 79). This, in effect, means that she will have to become an effigy 

herself. Paz warns the young girl, « Haga usted cuenta, niña, que ha dejado un mundo de cieno para 

entrar en otro más perfecto » (FO, 79). Clara can only murmur in answer to a demand by the Porreños 

to know just what the girl expects from life, « Yo... les diré a ustedes... soy... una mujer » (FO, 

80). Upon hearing this scandalous confession, plus the subsequent disclosure that she would like to 

be married (FO, 81), the three women are horrified: 

El lector habrá visto, si ha asistido a algún sermón gerundiano, que a veces el predicador, no 

sabiendo qué medios emplear para conmover a femenino auditorio, alza los brazos, pone en blanco 

los ojos, y con tremenda voz nombre al demonio, diciendo que a todas se las va a llevar en las alforjas 

al infierno; habrá visto cómo cunde el pánico entre las devotas: una llora, otra grita, ésta se desmaya, 

aquella principia a hacerse cruces, y la iglesia toda resuena con las voces alarmantes el pataleo de los 

histéricos, el rumor de los suspiros y el retintín de las cuentas del rosario. ¿El lector ha visto esto? Pues 

el efecto producido en las tres damas por la respuesta de Clara fue enteramente igual al que producen 

los apóstrofes de un predicador endemoniado en el tímido y dueñesco auditorio de un novenario. 

35 Note that Galdós refers to doña Paulita as Virgo potens , which is al most the same as Santa 

Librada's other name, Virgo fortis . 

26

(FO, 81) 


Clara's utterance is painful to doña Paulita, after her conventual life. Her unreciprocated love for 

Lázaro is a last attempt to claim her own feminity and humanity before sinking irrevocably into the 

fossilization that awaits her. 

In a humorous passage in which doña Paulita is attempting to give Clara a lesson in religious piety 

while at the same time investigating the background of Lázaro through queries to Clara, the reader 

sees Paulita's religious fervor build up to an amorous frenzy in which she makes innumerable errors 

while reciting the Rosary, mistakes Santa Teresa for the prayerbook, and finally falls into a stupor. At 

the end of this astonishing fit of passion, doña Paulita rushes to the ever-closed balcony and throws 

the windows open wide: 

Paulita tuvo necesidad de respirar el aire libre, abrió el balcón y miró la calle; hecho inusitado, cuya 

gravedad no comprendió Clara tampoco. 

-¡Ay, que he abierto el balcón! -exclamó, comprendiendo la atrocidad que había cometido-. ¡He 

abierto el balcón! 

Y lo cerró con sobresalto, como una monja que hubiera sorprendido abierta la reja del locutorio. 

(FO, 108) 

The balcony windows of the Porreño house are carefully kept closed against the world. The Porreño 

women feel that even the dust of the present century is diseased and that the fresh air is corrupting. 

The idea of the closed balcony is related to the idea of the barred windows in don Elías' house earlier 

in the novel (in the room where Clara is confined), or the similar room with barred windows in the 

Requejo house, where Inés is sequestered, in El 19 de marzo y el 12 de mayo . Both Clara and 

doña Paulita are or have been prisoners in a Royalist house. As doña Paulita becomes infatuated with 

Lázaro, she needs to breathe the fresh air from outside. 

Ironically, doña Paulita's realization that she may be able to escape her own destiny as a mere effigy 

through her love for Lázaro comes as she observes from another balcony a religious procession of 

wooden saints and artifacts. The procession, part of a festival in honor of the « Hermandad de la 

Pasión y Muerte » includes « cofradías, pendones, estandartes, imágenes y corporaciones » (FO, 

120). Doña Paulita, who shares a small balcony by chance with Lázaro as they watch the procession, 

feels his physical presence close to her (« entre la frente de la dama y los cabellos del joven no 

había otra cosa que algunas hojas y una flor de la adelfa criada en el balcón »); her inner conflict 

27


is suddenly made vivid and obvious in an exterior form. Beside her is a man, young and handsome, 

for whom she has developed a sexual passion; in the street before her is a parade of all the saints, 

effigies, artifacts, and religious bric-a-brac which mirrors her past life and portends her future life 

without Lázaro. Galdós interjects himself at this point, as if to stress the importance of his disclosure, 

to say that he himself witnessed from the street « en el rostro de doña Paulita una muy grande 

agitación » (FO, 120). Finally doña Paulita « se pasó la mano por los ojos como si apartara un velo 

imaginario » (FO, 121). This imaginary veil which she removes from before her eyes is the symbol 

of her saintly devotion: as if it were a nun's veil, she takes it off. In a sense, then, she «unveils» herself 

before Lázaro. There is now no veil over her eyes at all: this is her moment of self-realization in the 

novel. After seeing her former world passing before her (in the form of the religious procession), 

the removal of the imaginary veil is her first step toward the world of physical human love. Later 

when Lázaro finally rejects her offers of love, she cries, « Yo soy una muerta, yo no vivo... Yo no 

puedo vivir de esta manera... Ya le dije a usted que no era santa, ¡y cuán cierto es! Hace tiempo que 

me he transformado... Puedo nacer a la verdadera vida, puedo salvarme, puedo salvar mi alma, que 

va a sucumbir si permanezco de este modo. Yo espero vivir... » (FO, 183). And, reflecting on the 

lignification that awaits her if forced to remain in « aquella casa maldita » (FO, 187), she exclaims, 

« ¿Qué va a ser de mí? ¡Sola para siempre! La muerte lenta que me espera es peor que si ahora 

mismo me matara usted... » (FO, 183). 

Doña Paulita tries to demonstrate her great affection for the youth in the only manner she knows: she 

opens her little casket of long-saved gold pieces and showers him with them, much as she would to a 

religious effigy in order to win its favor and blessings. The little casket obviously represents her pent- 

up love and desires; doña Paulita caresses it and holds it to her bosom « como si fuera la persona del 

mismo Lázaro » (FO, 186). When Lázaro rejects the money and her, she collapses into a stupor. The 

little chest of money falls and spills over the room, just as the remaining two Porreño women return 

home and madly fling themselves to the floor to seize the money for themselves with their « dedos... 

acerados » (FO, 187). Lázaro, of course, leaves the sick woman for Clara, whom he loves, and with 

whom he eventually returns to the provincial town from which he came. 36 

36 Irving Howe points out that this is the classic pattern of the «urban novel»: «Always the same 

denouement: the Young Man's defeat or disillusion, and his retreat to the countryside where he 

can bind his wounds, cauterize his pride, struggle for moral renewal». Irving Howe, «The City in 

Literature», Commentary , LI (May, 1971), 64. Concerning the end of La Fontana de Oro , one should 

consult Florian Smieja's «An Alternative Ending of 'La Fontana de Oro' », Modern Language Review , 

28


After the mortification of declaring her love and finding it unrequited, and after losing her secret 

store of money to her two harpy relatives, doña Paula is more a prisoner than ever. The balcony 

windows are now irrevocably shut. The bed which has been related to Paulita through the novel, that 

« pudoroso y casto mueble que nombramos con respeto » (FO, 74), becomes now her own casket. 

In ill health, having betrayed her house and the other Porreños, and having been betrayed also, she 

has nothing and is nothing. 

In this curious household of living death, even the dog, Batilo, has been frozen into monumentality. 

He no longer barks -he appears to have forgotten his «doghood». Like a Hogarthian dog, or one of 

the abundant dogs that populate Victorian art, Batilo also serves as a commentator on the scene. 37 He 

resembles « los perros o cachorrillos que duermen el sueño de mármol inerte a los pies de la estatua 

yacente de un sepulcro » (FO, 78). He is the last, voiceless, impotent remnant of the greatness of the 

Porreño Dynasty; in the past, part of the family's show of splendor was the possession of many dogs: 38 

En los tiempos de prosperidad había en la casa muchos perros: dos falderos, un pachón y seis o siete 

lebreles, que acompañaban al décimocuarto Porreño cuando iba a cazar a su dehesa de Sanchidrán. 

LXI (1966), 426-433 and Joaquín Gimeno Casalduero, « Los dos desenlaces de La F. de O. : origen 

y significado », Anejo , V. XII, A. G. , 1978, 55 -69. 

37 «Hogarth's animals tell tales as much as do those of the Victorians», writes Peter Conrad, in 

an enlightening discussion of animals (particularly dogs) in Victorian art. He notes that Hogarth 

strategically places dogs «to squabble in a corner in 'A Christening', or makes a limp exhausted dog 

sympathize with the flushed embarrassment and disarray of the couple in 'after II', or has another 

dog in 'Marriage a la Mode II' pull a lace cap from the pocket of the philandering Viscount». Conrad 

continues, «Dogs abound in Victorian painting, offspring of Hogarth's stubborn, defiant, satiric pug - 

yet their function is not so much satiric, to sniff into or to ape the vices of their masters, as sentimental; 

they help to suffuse the paintings they appear in with emotion». Conrad, The Victorian Treasure- 

House (London: William Collins Sons and Company, 1973), 49-51. Galdós also had the tradition, of 

course, of Cervantes' famous commenting dogs in Coloquio de los perros . 

38 For an excellent explanation of why dogs are considered a status-symbol of wealth, see Thorstein 

Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions (New York: The Modern 

Library, 1961), 105-7. 

29


Con la ruina de la casa desaparecieron los canes: unos por muerte, otros porque el destino, implacable 

con la familia, alejó de ella a sus más leales amigos. 

(FO, 78) 

This strange dog which has not been able to bark serves as a fascinating literary echo of doña Paulita 

herself. Although he is a representative of « el elemento irracional » (FO, 78) in the novel, « no 

se veían nunca la inquietud y el alborozo propios de su edad y de su raza... » (FO, 78), but rather a 

doggish melancholy which resembles doña Paulita's false mysticism. Just a doña Paulita denies her 

wornanhood, so Batilo denies his doghood. In the well-known Chapter Thirty-Seven of La Fontana 

de Oro (El 'Vía Crucis' de Clara»), Batilo escapes from the morbid household of the Porreños with 

Clara and runs through the streets of Madrid with her, probably for the first time in his life. 39 With 

Clara and the vibrancy of Madrid's street life, Batilo is transformed from a « perro misántropo » to 

a dog which recovers its identity as a living thing: when someone throws rocks at Clara, « Batilo se 

volvió lleno de despecho y ladró como nunca había ladrado, con verdadera elocuencia canina » (FO, 

158). At one point he is involved in a twelve-dog fight (FO, 160). Later in the novel, he serves as a 

watch-dog for Lázaro and Clara; his doghood now has assumed nearly human proportions, as when 

he barks, « en un tono que quería decir: 'Nada hay que temer mientras esté yo' » (FO, 189). 

Thus Batilo the dog manages to escape the confines of the macabre Porreño house and realize 

himself as a living being. Doña Paulita, on the other hand, remains a kind of effigy. In his final 

chapter, Galdós informs the reader that she later withdrew to a convent, where she astonished the 

Sisters there with her periodic spiritual paroxysms. « Creyéronla muerta varias veces, y hasta trataron 

de enterrarla en una ocasión; mas durante las exequias volvió en sí, pronunciando un nombre, que 

interpretaron todas las monjas como una señal de santidad, pues entendían que repetía las palabras 

de Jesús: '¡Lázaro, despierta!' Indudablemente era una santa » (FO, 191). The last part of her fife is 

thus spent in an ambience of wooden effigies and religious reliquiae not unlike the Porreño house; 

and ultimately, she too becomes part of that world of effigies. After being honored as a saint, she 

39 The scene of Clara's flight into the streets of Madrid with Batilo by her side is strongly reminiscent 

of Florence Dombey's escape from her father's house into the streets of London with another rather 

humanized dog bearing a classical name, Diogenes. Galdós' account of Clara and Batilo is longer 

and more complex than Dickens' account of Florence and Diogenes, but the former may well have 

been inspired by the latter. See Chapter XLVIII of Dombey and Son , which is entitled «The Flight 

of Florence». Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son (London: Oxford University Press, 1948), 667-678. 

30


finally dies -but the nuns, who have seen her as an effigy during her entire stay in the convent, do 

not know whether she is actually dead or merely in a religious ecstasy. They wait many days before 

finally deciding to bury her, « seguras de que estaba bien muerta » (FO, 191). The final irony is, 

of course, that during doña Paulita's entire adult life, with the exception of the brief period of her 

grotesque passion for Lázaro, she has been « bien muerta ». 

As for the other two Porreño women, doña María de la Paz eventually moves to Segovia, according 

to Galdós, where she has a guest house (FO, 190). Galdós claims not to know what happened to doña 

Salomé: « Creo que ha desaparecido de Madrid », he says. This strangely xyloid woman turns up 

in a later novel of Galdós', and is as effigy-like as ever: 

Doña María Salomé estaba tan momificada que parecía haber sido remitida en aquellos días de 

Egipto, y que la acaban de desembalar para exponerla a la curiosidad de los amantes de la etnografía. 

Fija en una silleta baja, que había llegado a ser parte de su persona, se ocupaba en arreglar perifollos 

para decorarse, y a su lado se veían, en diversas cestillas de mimbre, plumas apolilladas, cintas de 

matices mustios, trapos de seda arrugados y descoloridos como las hojas de otoño, todo impregnado de 

un cierto olor de tumba, mezclado de perfume de alcanfor. Decían ciertas malas lenguas que al hacerse 

la ropa juntaban los pedazos y se los cosía en la misma piel: también decían que comía alcanfor para 

conservarse y que estaba forrada en cabritilla. Boberías maliciosas son éstas, de que los historiadores 

serios no debemos hacer caso. 40 

We are further told that at this later date the women are living together once again -all of them! 41 

Las pobres señoras casi vivían en la misma estrechez que en 1822, porque las mudanzas políticas 

y sociales se detenían respetuosas en la puerta de aquella casa, que era, sin duda, uno de los mejores 

museos de fósiles que por entonces existían en España... 

40 Benito Pérez Galdós, Un faccioso más y unos frailes menos , in Obras completas [ Episodios 

nacionales , II] (Madrid: Aguilar, 1971), 686. Further citations from this novel will be included in the 

text of this paper, with the abbreviation « Faccioso ». 

41 This apparent error in Galdós' system of repeating characters may be an indication that he had not 

vet solidified his ideas of carrying characters and their circumstances from one novel to another in 

an organized sense. The resurrection of the Porreño women in the later novel may also be a youthful 

demonstration of Galdós' feeling of authorial power -to dismiss his literary creations and then later to 

re-present them, as if they were puppets, and he, the puppet-master. 

31

( Faccioso , 685.) 


Salomé, particularly, is treated as if she were a mouldering corpse, somehow managing to stay alive 

while at the same time decaying: « La momia estuvo a punto de deshacerse en polvo... » ( Faccioso 

, 696). Salvador Monsalud, meeting her at night, mistakes her for an ancient wooden door, so lignified 

has she become! After they speak and walk together, Salomé « desapareció dentro del portal, obscuro 

y profundo como un sarcófago » ( Faccioso , 697). 

Galdós seems to have realized from his very first literary efforts that in order to vivify past history, he 

would have to vivify not only the men and women of history, but also their architectural shadows and 

reflections -the house and buildings in which they lived or which they frequented. During these early 

years of apprenticeship to Dickens and Balzac, we see Galdós assimilating some of the techniques 

of both and making them uniquely his own. One of the most interesting and important features of 

Dickens' writing which he may have borrowed and adapted for his own use is his museum of effigies, 

many of whom fill La Fontana de Oro . In this novel we see him exploring the possibilities of 

symbolic setting. We see him striking forth on the literary path which was eventually to lead him to 

masterful later works such as Fortunata y Jacinta . Like an early canvas of a great painter, we can 

see clumsy brush strokes and perhaps too much posturing and outlining in La Fontana de Oro ; but 

precisely because the work is the initial effort of a master of the novel, the work is important. In it 

we see the seeds of genius. 

University of Virginia 

32


The genesis of La desheredada : Beethoven, the picaresque 

and Plato 

James H. Hoddie 

The dedication and the epilogue chapter (« Moraleja ») of La desheredada leave little doubt 

that Galdós intended to write a novel with education as the principal theme. The following hypothesis 

concerning the genesis of the novel may help explain how he went about organizing his thoughts 

and material around this theme. Exploration of the subject appears to have gone far beyond mere 

observation of contemporary life. As a devotee of Beethoven he creates Miquis, a lover of that 

composer's music, and mentions the Prometheus Ballet . In this work Prometheus attempts to educate 

a man and a woman; and, after failure, he turns the task over to Apollo and other gods. Galdós 

appears to have made use of the ballet's plot and music as structural models. However, in dealing with 

characters who will not (or cannot) learn, he had society take over the «educational process»; and, 

rather than learning virtue and love through music and the dance, the protagonists are initiated into 

the world of the picaresque. In making this «change» Galdós, of course, did not abandon his principal 

theme, for the picaresque genre is, in works such as Lazarillo , the Guzmán and the Buscón , the 

story of education and initiation into life as an outsider . Furthermore, whether because of interest in 

the theme of education, or in that of Prometheus or as a result of reading a life of Beethoven, Galdós 

drew upon the contents of at least two of Plato's dialogues, Protagoras and the Republic , for the 

development of one of his principal motifs and perhaps for other elements of the value system applied 

in his treatment of contemporary society in this novel. 

33

Schindler's «Beethoven» 


Galdós' interest in Beethoven is now well documented, especially in Vernon A. Chamberlin's book 

on the use of the Eroica as a structural model for Fortunata y Jacinta . 42 It seems that Galdós was 

not making an entirely new experiment in the case of the latter novel, for there are many indications 

that both the score and plot of «The Creatures of Prometheus» played an important role in the genesis 

of La desheredada . A reading of Anton Schindler's life of Beethoven 43 may well have led to 

his relating apparently unrelated elements in relatively unusual combinations. After a first chapter 

which ends with a commentary on the critical reception accorded the Pathétique sonata (Opus 

13), 44 Schindler's second chapter records as the first event of the year 1801, the composition of 

the Prometheus : «the beginning of the second period is marked by an event of great significance 

in Beethoven's life and art, the composition and performance of the ballet " Die Geschöpfe des 

Prometheus "» (SCH, 91-92). Later in the same chapter a discussion of Beethoven's interests and 

activities preceding the composition of the Eroica turns to the subject of political thought: « we 

encounter for the first time a new and unexpected interest, one which has to do not with music, but 

with political science» (SCH). General Bernadotte, ambassador of the French Republic to the Austrian 

court, suggested that the composer honor in music Napoleon, First Consul of the Republic. The idea 

found response in Beethoven's strong republican views: 

His belief in democratic constitutions arose, too, from his assiduous study of the writings of Plutarch 

and Plato, which surely nourished republican political thought, though the republics they described 

resembled the order that become established in France in nothing but name. 

42 Vernon A. Chamberlin, Galdós and Beethoven: «Fortunata y Jacinta» , A Symphonic Novel 

(London, Támesis, 1977) 

43 Anton Felix Schindler's, Biographie von Ludwig van Beethoven , appeared in German en 1840, 

in English in 1841 an inFrench ( Histoire de la vie et de l'oeuvre de Ludwig van Beethoven ) in 1860. 

The most recent edition: Anton Felix Schindler. Beethoven as I Knew Him , Donald McArdle, ed., 

Trans. Constance S. Jolly, New York, 1972. References and quotations below are to the latter edition 

and indicated with the abbreviation «SCH». 

44 It appears that the piece played by the Marquesa's grandson in the Pathétique sonata, Opus 13. 

See below (p. 28). 

34


Goethe says: «The doers want to make the world secure; the thinkers want to make it logical». The 

latter applies to Beethoven. He demanded logic from each political system according to the standards 

he learned from Plato. Above all he hoped for a logical order of things in France, expecting Napoleon 

to apply, perhaps with some modifications, the main principles of the Platonic republic, thus laying 

the foundation -as he saw it- of general, world-wide happiness. 

(SCH, 112.) 

Although Donald McArdle, editor of the newest English version of Schindler's book (See: SCH, 

190), believes Beethoven's interest in Plato to be apocryphal, Schindler's comments, nonetheless, 

entered into the view others formed of the composer. In the case of Galdós, an enthusiastic student of 

Beethoven's music, the attraction to the Republic and other works of Plato is quite understandable. 

And there are numerous points of coincidence between ideas and motifs in La desheredada and in 

the Republic and the Protagoras (the latter dialogue includes a treatment of the Prometheus myth). 

The network of relationships among elements in the creative mind at any point does not lend itself 

fully to analysis. Beethoven himself had in mind the Prometheus as he composed the Eroica using 

the melody of the ballet's Finale in the fourth movement of the symphony: 

one aspect of the work that particularly incensed scores of enemies was the melody of the fourth 

movement: 

which was familiar from its ocurrence in the finale of the Prometheus ballet music. Those 

who condemned the symphony asked how one melody could be a dance in one place and the 

commemoration of a hero in another. This melody had been used much earlier in a collection of 

quadrilles and somewhat later we find it as the theme of the opus 35 variations. 

(SCH, 118.) 

The importance of this passage lies in the way that it makes almost impossible thinking of the 

Prometheus without the Eroica and vice versa. They appear part of a series of elements on a 

continuurn: Prometheus -Plato- Eroica . 

In the «Music Section» of his book Schindler provides a view of Beethoven as the «musical 

Shakespeare». The parody of Shakespearian characters in Part Two in the various chapters done in 

dramatic form may have been suggested by the following comparison: 

35


In the piano sonatas named above (including the Pathétique ) and in others as well, we find the 

musical Shakespeare, to use Amadeus Wendt's comparison - the poet who tells us in music all that 

can be expressed; the struggle deep within the heart, the sweet magic love in the most innocent soul, 

the bitterest most poignant sorrow... It is not overbold to say that a performance of these sonatas, or at 

least of certain movements, presents problems comparable to those of portraying certain Shakesperian 

characters if we aim, as we should, at exploring the inner being and at presenting it logically and 

forthrightly. Just as with Shakespeare, most actors grasp only the word and not the spirit behind the 

word, so also musicians who play Beethoven sonatas study only the technical aspects of the music, 

having neither the head nor the heart to penetrate its depths. 

(SCH, 405) 

Schindler's biography of Beethoven provides a network of facts and allusions which together could 

have provided some of the basic materials for the creation of La desheredada : The Prometheus 

Ballet (music and plot) as structural model; Plato's works for ideas on politics, morality, education 

and mimetic art (The latter will be treated below) and comparison of Beethoven with Shakespeare 

as a point of departure for the presentation of characters whose lives consist of the melodramatic 

replaying of literature. 

36


Miquis' (Galdós') Uniting of Heterogeneous Interests 

In the novel Miquis is portrayecl both as an enthusiastic music lover and a student of medicine. In 

addition, as a kind of Cide Hamete Benengeli he would seem to be the author's alter-ego, a man whose 

mind has room within it for the most heterogeneous of intellectual and artistic pursuits: 

Augusto Miquis, por quien sabemos los pormenores de aquellas escenas, es hoy un joven médico 

de gran porvenir. Entonces era un estudiante aprovechadísimo, aunque revoltoso, igualmente fanático 

por la Cirugía y por la Música, ¡qué antítesis!, dos extremos que parecen no tocarse nunca y, sin 

embargo, se tocan en la región inmensa, inmensamente heterogénea del humano cerebro. Recordaba 

las melodías patéticas, los graciosos retornellos y las cadencias sublimes allá en la cavidad taciturna 

del anfiteatro, entre los restos dispersos del cuerpo de nuestros semejantes... Él, posado sobre los 

libros, como un ave sobre su empolladura, soñaba con un monumento colosal que expresase los 

esfuerzos del genio del hombre en la conquista de lo ideal. Aquel monumento debía rematarse con un 

grupo sintético: ¡Beethoven abrazado con Ambrosio Paré! 45 

Miquis attempts to play a sonata when he and Isidora visit the Aransis palace. However, rather than 

name the sonata, Galdós here makes reference to the Prometheus Ballet : « Apenas podía leer 

la enmarañada escritura del autor de Prometeo. Los sonidos equivocados, que eran los más, le 

desgarraban los oídos (DD, 159) ». This is the only reference to a specific Beethoven composition 

in the novel. Yet it appears intentional when considered in the context of the role played by Miquis 

as would be teacher of Isidora, in an action that at points is reminiscent of that of the ballet. 

45 Benito Pérez Galdós, La desheredada , Alianza Editorial, Madrid, 1967, p.65. Subsequent 

references indicated with «D» and page number. 

37

Plot of the «Prometheus Ballet» 


Hugo Rieman published a summary of the plot of the Prometheus which he stated to have come from 

the Commentarii della vita e delle opere corredrammatiche di Salvatore Vigano e della coregrafia e 

dei corepei scritti da Carlo Ritorni (Milán, 1838). 46 The title of the work as given by Rieman differs 

slightly from that given by other writers and includes a subtitle: Die Menschen (not « Geschöpfe ») 

des Prometheus oder die Macht der Musik und des Tanzes . The subtitle is intended to point out that 

music and dance (and music is used here as in Plato's Republic to include tragedy and comedy) will 

have an educational or civilizing effect upon the creatures. The plot, based on Rieman's translation, is 

as follows: After an overture, Prometheus, who has angered the gods, runs through a wood, hides the 

flame and rests against a rock. There are two statues on the stage; Prometheus dreams that they are a 

man and a woman. Upon awakening he is happy to see them, but they disappoint him in refusing to 

accept his love. They are stubborn and turn away from their would-be teacher allowing themselves 

to fall down and rest at the foot of a tree. In spite of Prometheus' repeated attempts to show his love 

and teach them, they fail to understand him. He then thinks of destroying them, but an inner voice 

bids him not to do so. With a new plan in mind, Prometheus takes the man and woman away. Act 

Two begins with the appearance of Apollo, Bacchus, Pan and their entourage followed by Orpheus, 

Amphion and Arion. A beautiful scene in the house of Apollo. Prometheus has brought his children 

here so that the gods may instruct them in the arts and the fields of knowledge. Phoebus gives Enterpe 

and Amphion the sign to begin; and the children (man and woman) dance interpreting reason and 

thinking about the beauties of nature and human passion. Arion and Orpheus join in the harmony with 

their zithers; finally, even Apollo himself joins them as they dance and give thanks to Prometheus. 

The Graces, Bacchus and the Bacchantes then follow with an heroic dance. Prometheus and those 

around him attempt to join in; but Melpomene gets in between them, and, to the astonishment of all, 

plays a tragic scene. Melpomene shows them that human life may be ended with a dagger. All are 

frightened; the woman runs to her father (Prometheus), reproaches him and tells him that because he 

has brought great misfortune he deserves to die. Melpomene kills Prometheus with her dagger while 

paying no attention to the lamentation of the children. This action is interrupted by a comic scene 

46 Alexander Wheelock Thayer. Ludwig van Beethovens Leben Hermann Deiters, ed. Revised and 

completed by Hugo Rieman, 5 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1917, vol. 3, p. 381 and ff. The Ateneo de Madrid 

does not possess the « Commentarii... » 

38


in which Thalia holds her mask before the faces of the children, while Pan, as leader of the dancing 

fauns, brings the dead Titan back to life (Rieman, 381-383). 

39

Structure of Novel and Ballet 


Before relating this plot to that of the novel, some observations on aspects of the structure of the ballet 

and the novel are in order. In those novels published immediately before and after La desheredada 

(1881) and having more than one part , there is no detectable concern for symmetry in the numbers 

of chapters within each of the parts. Gloria has two parts, the first divided into thirty-nine chapters, 

the second into thirty-three. The three parts of La familia de León Roch are broken into twenty-two, 

sixteen and twenty chapters respectively. El Doctor Centeno contains seven chapters of irregular 

length divided into from five to thirteen subchapters each. La desheredada is divided into two parts, 

each of which contains the same number of fully developed chapters. In Part One there are eighteen 

chapters (preceded by the dedication); Part Two also has eighteen chapters and a nineteenth titled « 

Moraleja », which is even shorter than the dedication. Also, it should be remembered that Galdós 

numbered the chapters of each part separately (In the Alianza edition the numbering is consecutive). 47 

The Prometheus Ballet also contains eighteen discrete numbers: An Overture, an Introduction 

and sixteen numbers which make up the body of the work. Although Paul Nettl 48 states that «the 

overture was originally titled "Tempestà," apparently being an attempt to portray the world before 

creation», it is apparent that he has confused the Introduction with the Overture, or, most probably, 

he has overlooked the existence of the former («The work is composed of 16 separate numbers not 

including the overture» (NET, 181). 49 The two acts are of disproportionate length: Act One includes 

only three numbers after the Overture and Introduction; Act Two, the remaining thirteen numbers. In 

the division of chapters into subchapters Galdós was not guided by Beethoven's indications of tempo 

changes within the numbers. That is, the Overture, divided into a brief Adagio followed by a long 

Allegro molto con brio does not lead to the creation of a Chapter 1 divided into two parts, one shorter 

than the other (Chapter 1 has four parts). However, Galdós' chapters are subdivided in accordance 

with a pattern like that used by Beethoven in the tempo changes within the numbers, that is, there are 

47 In this study I deal only with the relationship of the structure of Part One of the novel to that of 

the ballet. However, Part Two seems to have been modelled thematically and in other ways -chapter 

by chapter- on Part One. 

48 Paul Nettl, Beethoven Handbook , New York, 1956, p. 181. In following references: «NET». 

49 See: Ludwig van Beethoven, Prometheus Ballet, Opus 43, Edwin F. Kalmus, New York, n. d. All 

references to the score are to this edition. 

40


chapters of one, two, and three but never more than four parts. On the other hand, strict quantitative 

comparisons of the length of numbers to the length of chapters offers many difficulties, E. g. Chapter 

6, « ¡Hombres! », is one of the longer, more complex chapters in the novel and should «match» 

Number 4 of the Prometheus which occupies only one page of the score, with four bars labelled 

Maestoso and the remainder Andante . Although a more skillful analyst may be able to demonstrate 

how Galdós borrowed among the numbers or divided the music differently than in the one-number, 

one-chapter manner suggested here, it is my belief that in La desheredada he did not go as far in 

close imitation of the structural model as Chamberlin shows to be the case in Fortunata y Jacinta . 

Rather it appears that the novel develops as far as possible in line with what was known of the plot 

and main features of the ballet's action; and the score or a more limited knowledge of the breakdown 

of the various sections provided a loose structural model. In short, it appears that the composition of 

La desheredada is a step in the direction of the fuller use of a structural model. 

41

Analysis: Chapters 1-10 


After an «overture», (Chapter 1 which presents the principal themes and motifs but which plays a 

small role in advancing the action, Galdós shows his «creatures», Mariano and Isidora as reluctant to 

learn in their relationships with both La Sanguijuelera and Miquis. Chapter 2 serves also as a kind of 

second overture by continuing the presentation of background including the role of La Sanguijuelera 

as one of the «creators» of the Rufetes. Without her it appears they could not long have existed. 50 

Chapters 2 and 3 (The first corresponding to the ballet's Introduction, Allegro non troppo , the latter 

to Number 1, Poco Adagio, Allegro con brio, Poco adagio, Allegro con brio ) both deal with the 

lack of response in Isidora and Mariano to La Sanguijuelera's attempt to make them reasonable and 

responsible people in accordance with her understanding of life. Chapter 3, « Pecado », like Number 

1, moves from serious to lively moods (becoming almost slapstick by the end); at the end of this 

chapter it is clear that neither of the children will respond to Encarnación's love for them. Chapter 

4, « El célebre Miquis » (corresponding to Number 2, Adagio , followed by a longer Allegro 

con brio ) unfolds in the Buen Retiro Park and the Castellana (reminiscences of the ballet's woodsy 

setting) and presents the modern. Prometheus, Miquis, attempting to bring «understanding» and love 

to Isidora. Like La Sanguijuelera, Miquis, the future healer of mankind, makes no impression on his 

pupil. The mood of the next chapter, « Una tarjeta » is that of Number 3, Allegro vivace . Number 3 

marks the end of Act One and the decision by Prometheus to take the children to the house of Apollo. 

In the novel, Isidora, who is already a boarder in the Relimpio home, decides to dissociate herself 

from Miquis and to pursue her hope of a fairytale ending for her story. Nevertheless, Prometheus «has 

lost»; and the task of the creatures' educations passes to others. 

As indicated above, Act Two of the ballet is the longer act; also, it is less clearly explained in the 

existing summary of the action. Number 4 ( Maestoso , Andante ) serves as a kind of brief overture 

to the second act. And the Commentarii suggests a kind of procession of the gods onto the stage. 

Chapter 6, « ¡Hombres! » can be seen as ironically serving a similar purpose, for here the reader 

is introduced to the world of the streets and a procession of future pícaros . And this is the «school» 

in which Mariano and the future generation are being trained. The children are rehearsing the tragedy 

of Spain's future. It is also Mariano's entry into the world of the criminal. Contrasted with the fallen 

50 In spite of the literal meaning of « Sanguijuela » this character's name seems intended to underline 

her role as keeper of human leeches. Later references by Bou to Isidora and Mariano as « sanguijuela 

» confirm this. 

42


hero Prim, the «new» heros are quite ungodlike. In the novel there are attempts at further education, 

but this is the real school -which teaches neither the arts nor the finer emotions and makes criminals 

of impoverished youth. Chapter 7, « Tomando posesión de Madrid », like Number 5 ( Adagio, 

Andante quasi Allegretto ) is divided between two tempos, that of the scene in the Church of San Luis 

contrasts with the quickened pace of the shopping spree in which Isidora goes about demonstrating her 

lack of ability to exercise rational control over her expenditures in covering her many «needs» (The 

needs of those addicted to luxury which Plato treats in the Republic ). As Mariano becomes a criminal 

by playing children's games (imitating adult views of heroism) Isidora becomes the snatcher of her 

own purse, a victimizer of herself in following the model of her novelized -yet learned from society- 

erroneous conception of reality. With this chapter the procession of the gods is completed and the 

action shifts to the «house of Apollo». 

According to Nettl, Act Two is «in reality a divertimento with individual dances, each of which 

represents one of the gods instructing the creatures in a particular art» (NET, 181). Nevertheless, 

Chapter 8, « Don José y su familia » (corresponding to Number 6, Un poco adagio -only four bars- 

and Allegro ) concentrates on setting the social scene in the house of the Galdosian Apollo in addition 

to showing how the «creatures'» education procedes as they become defined as social outsiders. The 

description of Don José Relimpio y Sastre seems intended to make of him a compendium -and a 

parody- of Apollonian characteristics. His surnames suggest both the god's moral cleanliness and 

dandy-like manner of dress. 51 The golden hair of his moustache and the bright shiny face are also 

reminiscent of Apollo. And the red tinted cheekbones are another possible allusion, if Galdós was 

aware that the Greek word for Apollo could as well be derived from abol , «apple» as from apolluni 

, «destroy». 52 Like Apollo, Relimpio once had a military career and comes from Muchamiel, a land 

not unlike that of the Hyperboreans, where, according to mythology, half the year is spring-like, filled 

with flowers, herbs and the ecstasy of life. In addition, Don José is something of a music lover and his 

tendency to platonic donjuanism may be counted reminiscent of Apollo's many amourous adventures. 

(However, he is also a character in realist fiction and other characteristics such as his fanatical interest 

in book-keeping, his uselessness and his participation in Dionysian revelry cannot be entirely ignored 

in that context.) Isidora resides in this house until the end of Part One and is accompanied by Don 

José to the end of the novel. In further imitation of the ballet, the three Graces seem present in the 

51 Of course, «Relimpo» also refers to the state of the family's coffers. 

52 Robert Graves, The Greek Myths , 2 vols. Hammondsworth, Middlesex, 1955, vol. I, p.57. 

43


persons of his wife and his daughters Leonor and Emilia; and Apollo, that is Don José, does undertake 

to teach the «art» of using a sewing machine to the distracted, dreamy Isidora. However, Don José 

and his family are, on another level, a microcosm of contemporary society; and life there seems at 

the same time an introduction to life in Madrid. In spite of her rejection of the cursi behavior of 

Emilia and Leonor and the schemes of Melchor, the reader eventually must conclude that she is more 

like than unlike them. All share in varying degrees in ignorance and miseducation, and all desire to 

be seen as superior. 

The use of the titles «Beethoven» and « Sigue Beethoven» for Chapters 9 and 10 seems to invite 

comparison between the «true nobility» of the Aransis in the one case (when the music is played well) 

and the falseness of lsidora's dreams as Miquis raises a mighty din. However, it is possible that Galdós 

is here engaged in a musical-literary game. Number 7 is marked Grave and Number 8, Allegro con 

brio and Presto . During the first of the chapters the Marquesa's grandson plays a sonata, possibly 

the Pathétique . The Introduction to the Pathétique is also marked Grave and is followed by 

an Allegro molto con brio . Chapter 9 is not entirely Grave but is developed through an interplay 

between the thoughts of the Marquesa as she moves to emotional equilibrium and the music which 

passes through a «series of moods», playful, inspirational and mournful. So while the theme of the 

chapter is serious, the pathos of the situation is controlled. Chapter 10 is by contrast primarily happy 

and playful only to change rather abruptly at the end as Isidora's feelings are wounded and the scene 

draws to a rapid ( Presto ) close. 

44


Interlude: Identification of the « Pathétique » 53 

Although the composition played on the piano by the Marquesa de Aransis' grandson has been 

identified as the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and as the «Moonlight Sonata », intensive 

examination of the text of the novel suggests that there is a greater likelihood that Galdós had in mind 

the « Pathétique Sonata », Opus 13. 54 In Chapter 10 Miquis finds a volume of sonatas when 

he visits the palace (D, 159). And one may assume this a «clue with a purpose». In addition, Galdós' 

description of the playing of the piece points to a three part composition. Although he emphasizes 

the first part in prolonged commentary, it should be noted that this is followed by an « estrofa 

amorosa, impregnada de candor pastoril » and a rondo (D, 152). Some ten of Beethoven's sonatas 

end in a rondo. And the rondo seems a sine qua non in establishing the identity of the piece, as no 

other technical references are made to parts of the composition outside of the First Movement. The 

« Pathétique » appears to match most closely the description in La desheredada , which begins 

as follows: 

Entonces oyéronse las notas medias del piano, acordadas dulcemente, indicando un motivo lento 

y sencillo de escaso interés musical, pero que semejaba una advertencia, el érase una vez del cuento 

maravilloso. 

(D. 147) 

Apart from a strong initial chord, it is possible to say that the first measures of the sonata are of 

scant musical interest, if a steady rhythm, marked dynamics and an easily identifiable theme are what 

seem «missing» to the listener. Beyond this point the First Movement lends itself to the transcendental 

53 The author recognizes his indebtedness to Irene A. Sharp 

(Lecturer in 'Cello, an Francisco State University and the San 

Francisco Conservatory of Music) for her aid in resolving 

questions related to the sonata form and in correcting usage of 

musical terminology in this section. 

54 See: Gustavo Correa, Realidad, ficción y símbolo en las novelas de Pérez Galdós. Ensayos de 

estética realista , Bogotá, 1967, 51-62 and José Montesinos, Galdós , vol. 2, Madrid, 1969, 19-20. 

The score of Opus 13 is among the works of Beethoven to be found in Galdós' private library. See: 

José Pérez Vidal, Galdós, crítico musical , Madrid-Las Palmas, 1956, p. 209 (Cited from H. Chanon 

Berkowitz, La biblioteca de Pérez Galdós , Las Palmas, 1951). 

45


programme developed by Galdós. The Second Movement is credible as a « pastoral » and the rondo 

may suggest to those given to visual reverie during musical performances a series of pictures such 

as are drawn by Galdós. 

The First Movement of the « Pathétique » is structured in the following manner: 

-Introduction: Grave 

-Exposition: Allegro molto e con brio 

-First Theme © minor) 

-Second Theme (First time plaved: E flat minor touching on E flat major: C minor with 

allusion to E flat major) 

-Closing Theme 

-Return 

-Repeat of the Allegro in its entirety 

-Grave 

-Allegro molto e con brio 

-Development Section 

-Recapitulation (First Theme, Second Theme, Closing Theme) 

-Coda 1 

-Coda 2 (Grave) 

-Coda 3 (Allegro molto e con brio) 

All parts of the First Movement are described within the novel except the initial strong chord and the 

codas. The first four measures of the Introduction correspond well to Galdós' first words describing 

the piece. 55 The remaining six measures of the Introduction correspond to the next passage in which 

the description resumes: 

levantóse de la caja del piano próximo un murmullo vivo, que pronto fue un lamento, expresión de 

iracundas pasiones. Era la elegía de los dolores humanos, que a veces, por misterioso capricho del 

estilo, usa el lenguaje del sarcasmo. 

(D, 149) 

At this point the Introduction (Grave) gives way to the first playing of the Allegro: « Luego las 

expresiones festivas se trocaban en los acentos más patéticos que pudiera echar de sí la voz de la 

desesperación » (D, 147). As this paragraph develops it would seem that Galdós first describes the 

First Theme then the Second Theme; but his description is only partial, as he wishes to continue the 

description in the following paragraph where he deals with his subject matter in greater technical 

detail. For the moment he is content to state in general terms the development of the transition from 

55 The reader will bear in mind that the Second Theme is in a minor key; however, it «touches on» 

or «alludes to» B flat major each time that it is played. 

46


the First Theme into the Second Theme with the contrast between the sound of the minor key of 

the Introduction and the development of the Second Theme (derived from the Introduction) in the 

contrasting key (which touches on the major): 

Una sola idea, tan sencilla como desgarradora, aparecía entre el vértigo de mil ideas secundarias, 

y se perdía luego en la más caprichosa variedad de diseños que puede concebir la fantasía, para 

reaparecer al instante transformada. Si en el tono menor estaba aquella idea vestida de tinieblas ahora 

en el mayor se presentaba en luz resplandeciente. El día sucedía a la noche, y la claridad, a las sombras 

en aquella expresión de sentimiento por el órgano musical, tanto más intenso como vago. 

(D, 149) 

In the following paragraph Galdós approaches the Allegro with another focus. The regular playing 

of the theme is accompanied by tremolo. The Second Theme is played first in the bass, then in the 

treble. The references to the playing of arpeggios, chromatic scales and imitations seem to belong to 

the playing of the Closing Theme, although the chromatic scales are of short duration, the arpeggios 

are largely accompaniment and the use of imitation is quite limited. The « soplo de reacción » 

which crosses the keyboard may be identified as the concluding portion of the Closing Theme; and 

the return to the First Theme, however brief, can be taken as the voice which Galdós states to be the 

expression of antithetical passions. The paragraph follows: 

De modulación en modulación la idea única se iba desfigurando sin dejar de ser la misma, a 

semejanza de un histrión que cambia de vestido. Su cuerpo subsistía, su aspecto variaba. A veces 

llevaba en sus sones el matiz duro de la constancia; a veces, en sus trémolos, la vacilación y la duda. 

Ora se presentaba profunda en las octavas graves, como el sentimiento perseguido que se refugia en 

la conciencia; ora formidable y guerrera en las octavas dobles, proclamándose vencedora y rebelde. 

Sentíase después acosada por el bravío tumulto de arpegios, escalas cromáticas e imitaciones, se le 

oía descender a pasos de gigante, huir, descoyuntarse y hacerse pedazos... Creyérase que todo iba a 

concluir; pero un soplo de reacción atravesaba la escala entera del piano; los fragmentos dispersos 

se juntaban, se reconocían, como se reconocían, como se reconocerán y juntarán los huesos de un 

mismo esqueleto en el juicio final, y la idea se presentaba de nuevo triunfante, como cosa resucitada y 

redimida. Sin duda alguna una voz del otro mundo clamaba entre el armonioso bullicio del clave: «Yo 

fui pasión, duda, lucha, pecado, deshonra, pero fui también arrepentimiento, expiación, redención, 

luz y Paraíso» . 

(D, 140) 

47


The difficulty of identifying the relationship between parts of Galdós' description and the « 

Pathétique » is not diminished by the use made of the imperfect tense with both a narrative and a 

descriptive function which blurs somewhat the understanding of whether the author is dealing with 

a chronological ordering or repeated effects. The use of « a veces... a veces » and « ora... ora 

» works a similar effect. 

The return to the Grave is signaled by the sentence: « Oyóse otra vez la voz del clave, con triste 

elocuencia de salmodia » (D, 151). And the beginning of the Development (Second Allegro) is then 

marked by the next sentence in the text: « La frase tenía un segundo miembro » (D, 151). In listening 

to the Development, one may share in the associations suggested by Galdós: 

Bien podría creerse que un alma dolorida preguntaba por su destino desde el hueco de la tumba, que 

una voz celestial contestaba desde las nubes con acentos de paz y esperanza. Descansaba el motivo 

sobre blandos acordes y este fondo armónico tenía cierta elasticidad blanda que sopesaba muellemente 

la frase melódica. A ésta seguían remedos, ahora pálidos, ahora vivos, sombras diferentes que iban 

proyectando la idea por todos lados en su grave desarrollo. 

(D, 151) 

The last sentence of this description, however, would not seem to apply to the Return to the 

First Theme. The contrast which follows cannot possibly be one between the First Theme and the 

immediately preceding Development, but rather between the First Theme and the Grave passage 

which is played between the two Allegro sections. « Sencillez soberana » cannot apply to the 

Development section. Again, the problem is a lack of clearly defined chronological successions in 

the text. Nevertheless, the contrast can exist quite easily between the Grave and the Allegro ; and 

this may be what is intended: 

Las sabias formas laberínticas del canon sucedieron a la sencillez soberana, de donde resultó que 

la hermosa idea se multiplicaba, que de tantos ejemplares de una misma cosa formábase un bello 

trenzado de peregrino efecto, por hablar mucho al sentimiento y un poco al reciocinio, juntando los 

encantos de la mística pura a los retruécanos de la erudición teológica. 

(D, 151) 

The first coda ends on a loud chord announcing a return to the Grave : « Bruscamente, una 

modulación semejante a un hachazo variaba el número, el lenguaje, el sentido » (D, 151-152). The 

remaining bars of the First Movement do not play a role in the novel. 

48


In comparison with the extensive treatment of the First Movement, attention to detail in the Third 

Movement is slight. And it is concentrated only on the early parts of the movement. The following 

is a composite of Galdós' observations: 

y después, el festivo rondó, erizado de dificultades, con extravagancias de juglar y esfuerzos de 

gimnasta. Enmascarándose festivamente, agitaba cascabeles. Se subía, con gestos risibles, a las más 

agudas notas de la escala, como sube el mono por una percha; descendía de un brinco al pozo de los 

acordes graves, donde simulaba refunfuños de vicio y groserías de fraile. Se arrastraba doliente por 

los medios imitando los gemidos burlescos del muchacho herido, y saltaba de súbito pregonando el 

placer, el baile. La embriaguez y el olvido de penas y trabajos. 

¡Cómo se reía entonces Beethoven! Su alegría era como la de Mefisto disfrazado de estudiante. 

Luego entonaba una graciosa serenata, compuesta de lágrimas de cocodrilo y arrullos de paloma. 

(D, 152-153) 

The playing of the Main Section of the Rondo may be associated easily with the tinkling of bells 

and the gambols of a monkey. In the transition from the Main Section to the First Contrasting Theme 

(Measures 19-25) there are bass chords to which Galdós may have related the grumbling of old 

men and obscenities of friars. As the First Contrasting Section of the Rondo begins (measure 26), 

the middle range of the keyboard is in exclusive use for some six measures; this is followed by 

varied patterns. Such a combination may be interpreted as the feigning and playfulness of the young 

boy. The return to the Main Section would then be the laughing of Beethoven compared to that of 

Mephistopheles dressed as a student. Finally, the « serenata » corresponds to the middle section 

of the Rondo marked Tranquillo . Initially, at least, this is a simple motif presented in contrapuntal 

form, such that in its first eighteen or so measures it appears songlike. 

In La desheredada Galdós has at the ready irony and humor, the Cervantine and the picaresque 

traditions, in order to avoid lapses into the melodramatic effects which mar his earlier novels. 

However, such «controls» are of little use in narrating and describing the emotional state of the 

Marquesa de Aransis. In order to avoid the melodramatic, a solution is found in the playing of 

Beethoven's « Pathétique ». The interplay between the grandmother's recalling the death of her 

daughter and the performance of a work identified with the sublimation of pathos has the effect of 

diminishing the direct attention given the pathetic scene itself. At the same time the pathos is raised 

to another level and «universalized». 

49


It would seem that the role of pathos in art (and in the novel) had been of interest to Galdós for 

some years. In Chapter 5 of Gloria musical taste and ideas possibly revelatory of Galdós' interest 

in music as a transcendental art are treated in some detail. Gloria's taste as a musician trained in a 

convent shool is lamentable: 

Gloria repasaba todo su repertorio de fantasías, nocturnos, flores de salón y auroras de pianista, 

sin poder encontrar lo grave y patético que el alto espíritu de su padre pedía. 56 

Although Juan Lantigua lacked both musical training and extensive exposure to musical 

performances, his « espíritu elevado y su sensibilidad exquisita le hacían encontrar diferencias 

profundas entre las varias clases de músicas que había oído » (G, 37). His words provide some insight 

into why the « Pathétique » may have seemed an appropriate accompaniment to the Marquesa's 

meditations: 

No me digas que así es toda la música, porque yo he oído en alguna parte, no sé si en la iglesia o 

en el teatro, composiciones graves y patéticas, que penetrando más allá de los sentidos, conmueven 

el ánimo y nos sumergen en dulce meditación... 

(G, 27) 

In the scene from Gloria and in Chapter 9 of La desheredada concern with expression of the pathetic 

is related to music. In Lantigua's view good music is by definition pathetic and grave . The lengthy 

commentary centered on the First Movement of the « Pathétique » suggests that Galdós' search 

for an adequate expression of pathos in literature advanced along a trajectory having had an early 

articulation in Lantigua's observations. 

56 Benito Pérez Galdós, Gloria , Hernando, Madrid, 1972, p. 28. Subsequent references indicated 

with «G» and page number. 

50

Analysis: Chapters 11-18 


In the last chapters discussed no reference has been made to the ballet's plot, as, in fact, Galdós 

seems to have taken advantage of the independence of the numbers to develop aspects of his plot and 

characterizations which go beyond the requirements of ballet plot. However, knowledge that a model 

such as the Prometheus was used makes understandable the seeming lack of connection between 

the various chapters, many of which are not tied logically to the preceding and some of which seem 

almost independent units in themselves. 

Chapter 11, « Insomnio número cincuenta y tantos » seems to parallel the tempo indications of 

Number 9, Adagio , Adagio and Allegro con brio . The action narrated moves to a faster tempo 

after the initial pages (D, 163-165) as the night advances and the hours seem to pass with increasing 

rapidity. 

Chapter 12, « Los Peces (Sermón) », corresponds to one of the few titled numbers in the 

Prometheus , Number 10, « Pastorale ». The association of a « Pastorale » with a sermon about 

the Manchegan Peces is not altogether illogical. The use of Old Testament quotations and the choice 

of the name Manuel (Immanuel) for the «savior of the nation» summon both the association with the 

« pastoral » world of the Bible and through the form of a sermon the work of the pastor. The heavy 

handed sarcasm is not misunderstood by readers who know that the Peces have their origins in the 

pastoral world of La Mancha, as do Miquis, Isidora (to a lesser degree) and, of course, Don Quixote. 

The Peces have made the play of illusion and reality work to their own advantage. The «festive» 

Allegro of the « Pastorale » thus sets the tone for one of the best of Galdosian satires. 

Chapter 13, « ¡Cursilona! » parallels in its building to a climax Number 11, a brief Andante which 

moves through two crescendi, ending in a sustained fortissimo . In « ¡Cursilona! » a rising tide 

of suspense is built into Joaquín Pez's attempt to seduce Isidora. He finally meets the insurmountable 

obstacle of her pride and responds with the epithet which gives the chapter its title. 

Chapter 14 parodies aspects of Larra's « Nochebuena de 1836 » the celebration of the spiritual 

through gluttony, the description of the markets, and, most significantly, in Mariano's playing upon 

Isidora's concept of self in imitation of Larra's Asturian servant. Like Larra's Saturnalia, that of Isidora 

and Mariano turns out rather melancholy and sad (cf. saturnino ). The contrast between the festive 

spirit of the holiday and the «children's melancholy» organizes the chapter. Number 12 ( Maestoso 

, Adagio , Allegro and Mosso ) is reflected in the growing animation of the Relimpio family 

51


feast: Don José (Apollo), the «three graces», Miquis (Prometheus) and an episodic character, the 

poet Sánchez Barande (Orpheus) celebrate the birth of Christ. Ironically, the festivities are used to 

underscore Isidora's growing alienation, for, with Mariano's release from prison, she is excluded from 

the dinner. Celebration of the creatures' education in the arts in the Prometheus is replaced with their 

growing isolation. And Galdós steadily develops picaresque allusions to this end. Their rejection by 

«respectable» society, their poverty and hunger, their apodos , Mariano's recitation of picaresque 

verse (the surname Rufete suggests rufián ) -all of these elements, in addition to their love of riches 

for selfish motives, their sense of beleaguerement (especially Isidora's) and their seeking defence in 

pride ( orgullo ) seem to confirm that their education is progressing towards their ultimate alienation 

from society, the opposite of the conclusion one would expect in view of the structural model. As 

Miquis leaves Isidora alone and joins in the celebration his ironic remark, « Pero es tan tiránica la 

sociedad (D, 199)», marks the end of his Prometheus role in line with the ballet's plot. 

In Chapters 15, 16, and 17 (« Mariano promete », « Anagnórisis », and « Igualdad: Suicidio 

de Isidora ») Galdós completes the «tragic» picaresque initiation of both protagonists and launches 

them into a trajectory leading to their ever increasing degradation in Part Two. 

Chapter 15, « Mariano promete » is structured in four episodes which lead to a conclusion opposite 

that suggested by the title. Isidora's first attempt to make Mariano into « una persona decente (D, 

206)» ends with his apparent repentance, but also with a demand for money accompanied by a threat- 

insult: « ¡Dinero! Ya sé cómo se encuentra cuando no hay. Los chicos me lo han enseñado » (D, 206). 

The second episode: Mariano steals Isidora's earrings and disappears for a week. Again repentance 

and again a lesson from the chicos : « -Ya, ya. Las mujeres son todas unas... Bien sé lo que hacéis 

para tener siempre dinero. Los chicos me lo han dicho » (D, 209). Mariano is now joining with those 

who through maliciousness believe the worst about Isidora's relationship with Joaquín Pez. By giving 

a label to Isidora's supposed conduct, Mariano and the chicos provide her with the «solution» that 

all had expected (and already had taken for granted) when later her illusions are threatened. When 

Isidora takes Mariano to the theatre (the ballet is subtitled «The Power of Music and the Dance») she 

believes there is improvement in his behavior: 

y llevó a su hermano al teatro, de lo que éste recibió tanto gusto, que en algunos días apareció como 

transformado, encendida la imaginación por las escenas que había visto representar y manifestando 

vagas inclinaciones al heroísmo, a las acciones grandes y generosas. Contenta Isidora de esto, 

comprendió cuánto influye en la formación del carácter del hombre el ambiente que respira, las 

personas decentes con quienes tiene roce, la ropa que viste y hasta el arte que disfruta y paladea. 

52

(D, 210) 


However, Mariano's experiences in school put the finishing touches on his role as outcast. Already 

not disposed to formal learning, the boy is laughed at for his backwardness: 

La mortificación de su amor propio al ver que le eran superiores niños de su edad... Era casi un 

hombre y en todas las clases ocupaba el último lugar. Era el burro perpetuo, burla y mofa de los 

demás chicos. 

(D, 210) 

His defence is pride (as was Isidora's when she escaped Joaquín and when she was excluded from the 

Christmas feast); the effect is withdrawal into himself: 

La poca estimación que se le tenía mató en él sus escasos deseos de aprender. Concluyó por 

despreciar el colegio como el colegio le despreciaba a él, de donde vino su costumbre de hacer 

novillos, la cual aumentó de tal modo que, sin saberlo su hermana, dejó de asistir un mes entero al 

estudio. 

(D, 210) 

En sus compañías, que al llegar al colegio fueron de niños decentes, descendió poco a poco hasta el 

más bajo nivel, concluyéndose por incorporarse a las turbas más compatibles con su fuerza y condición 

picaresca. 

(D, 211) 

Number 13 of the Prometheus contains two sections marked Allegro and Comodo and a coda 

(marked Mosso toward its close). The tempo and volume of the music builds to the end, presumably 

(for we have no more exact way to proceed), marking the threat of death to Prometheus at the hands 

of Melpomene. Here society, not a dagger, is shown to be lethal to the creatures themselves made 

victims, rather than to the god who in the ballet is sacrificed and resurrected. 

Chapter 16 reflects some of the mood and tempo of Number 14 ( Andante , Adagio , Allegro and 

Allegretto ) in the slow movement of the beginning followed by the faster pace of the preparations for 

the meeting and the «happy mood» of Isidora as she enters the Palace. Finally, the slower Allegretto 

with the alternating of the theme between the violin and basset horn may suggest the exchanges 

between Isidora and her supposed grandmother. Titled « Anagnórisis » the chapter presents the 

discovery of truth destructive of Isidora's illusions and fantasies. Isidora protests against the truth 

manifested to her by the Marquesa; and in the ballet the woman raises accusations against Prometheus 

for having created man and woman as creatures susceptible of death. It is the « mortal » nature 

53


of her illusion -the result of deception- which brings the action of Part One to its climax. Chapter 16 

also parallels the development of the picaresque motif of the preceding chapter. When the Marquesa 

informs Isidora that her claim is false, the latter takes refuge in her pride, which is transformed into 

brutal soberbia and ira : 

Era toda convicción y la fe de su alto origen resplandecía en ella como la fe del cristiano dando luz 

a su inteligencia, firmeza a su voluntad y sólida base a su conciencia. El que apagase aquella antorcha 

de su alma habría extinguido en ella todo lo que tenía de divino, y lo divino en ella era el orgullo. 

Al oír a la Marquesa, creía escuchar los términos más terribles de la injusticia humana. La pena que 

con esto sintiera la colmó de confusión y espanto en los primeros momentos, pero después su orgullo 

contrariado se hizo brutal soberbia. Su ira surgió como una espada que se desenvaina y le dio concisa 

elocuencia para decir: -Por Dios que nos oye. Juro que soy quien soy y que mi hermano y yo nacimos 

de doña Virginia de Aransis... 

(D, 220-221) 

Despite the echo of the « Yo sé quien soy... » of the Quixote , the protagonist continues within 

her picaresque trajectory. Isidora leaves as one sentenced to death on the scaffold: 

Andaba con teatral arrogancia y la serenidad terrible de que se revisten algunos al subir al cadalso. 

Las salas del palacio se iban quedando atrás, como se desvanece el mundo cuando nos morimos. 

(D, 213) 

And as she comes out, definitive judgement is passed in the glance of the man standing in the portal 

with Alfonso: « En el portal estaba Alonso y un hombre muy gordo, el cual al pasar, la miró con 

intención picaresca » (D, 223). Although criticism generally concentrates on Isidora's being forced 

to renounce her illusions in prison with the subsequent fall into lowest degradation at the end of Part 

Two, the paradigm of her subsequent action is completed here. And the rest is... «variations on the 

pattern». 

Even with the moral death of Isidora and Mariano and the absence of a sacrificial god to be 

resurrected, Galdós does not abandon imitation of some aspects of Number 15 ( Andantino , Adagio 

and Allegro ) in Chapter 17. Having been «killed» in Chapter 16, Isidora is now reborn, transformed, 

and thus completes her picaresque initiation: 

El mundo era de otro modo... La gente y las casas también se habían transformado; y, para que la 

mudanza fuera completa, ella misma era punto más o menos otra persona. 

(D, 225) 

54


The action of the chapter itself must conclude, however, before readers understand fully what is so 

announced at the chapter's beginning. In the ballet Thalia masks the crying children while Pan, leading 

the dancing fauns, brings Prometheus back to life. In this chapter Pan seems to be the former «Apollo», 

Relimpio. The merrymaking population is faun-like, drinking and behaving somewhat libidinously 

-at least in Don José's view. Relimpio and Isidora wander the streets in the midst of a celebration 

of sorts marking the end of the reign of Amadeo and the establishment of «Equality». Isidora's own 

interpretation of «equality», now that all «are alike», leads her to some peculiar conclusions: (1) that 

the law will allow her to prove that she is «more equal» than others by «dethroning» her grandmother 

and (2) she ends up as Joaquin's paramour. And, paradoxically, it is contact with the crowds which 

first rekindles her ambition to gain her inheritance: 

El contacto con la muchedumbre, aquel fluido magnético conductor de misteriosos apetitos, que se 

comunicaba de cuerpo por el roce de hombros entró en ella y la sacudió. 

(D, 231) 

Thus Galdós says that she is clearly part of the pueblo which she despises; and her reborn ambition 

and her immediate fall become confirmation that she is an integral part of the society dominated by 

cursilería . As the action of Part One thus ends «tragically» it includes a parody of the comic ending 

as well, with the «wedding of Isidora and Joaquín». In some measure the music of Number 15 is 

reflected in the chapter's action passing from the embittered and somewhat romantic initial moments 

to a middle section in which questions of politics slow things down until finally, the faster moving 

conclusion to the chapter in which Isidora goes to her meeting with Joaquín. As the action becomes 

livelier Galdós insinuates what may be reminiscences of his model. 

Deteníanse los vehículos, y la gente, refugiándose en las aceras, se estrujaba como en los días de 

pánico. La tienda del viejo Schropp detenía a los transeúntes. Como se acercaba Carnaval, todo era 

cosas de máscaras, disfraces, caretas. Estas llenaban los bordes de las ventanas y puertas, y la pared 

de la casa mostraba una fachada de muecas. 

(D, 230) 

In the ballet Pan (etymological root of pánico ) leads the fauns and the children are masked. 

The Finale, Number 16, consists of a long Allegretto , followed by a somewhat shorter Allegro 

molto , then a brief Presto . The title of the last chapter of the novel, « Últimos consejos de mi tío, 

el canónigo » is ambiguous in the use of the possessive adjective. If my uncle is Isidora's, the use of 

the adjective implying a first person narrative perspective is out of place in an otherwise third-person 

55


narrative. Of course, in some measure Galdós is imitating Isidora's own references to her uncle. But 

the usage by the narrator also suggests that he too is related to Santiago Quijano-Quijana (and so to 

Isidora!). And, in fact, Quijano-Quijana and Galdós are «related» in that each is in some measure 

her creator and the creator of her madness. Using the surname(s) belonging to the sane man that 

Don Quixote once had been and becomes at his death, Galdós has named the fool Santiago. And in 

imitating Cervantes in his own fashion Galdós has brought himself into the author-creator confusion 

in ways reminiscent of the Quixote . In this framework, the parody of Don Quixote's giving advice 

to Sancho Panza becomes ironic. Quijano-Quijana is giving debased Quixote-like advice to Isidora 

who is closer to sharing Sancho's ambitions. Yet all of this can be missed should one insist overmuch 

in seeing Isidora as Quixote-like. The lively festive mood of the ending of Part One relects the joyful 

ending of the Prometheus and is also a celebration of the creator of the creatures, whether Quijano- 

Quijana or Benito Pérez-Galdós. 57 

57 Part Two of Isidora´s story may be read as that of a « pícara » going from «master to master». 

Mariano moves through a similar pattern. Once initiation into the picaresque has been completed in 

Part One, there seems to be little room for the characters' reform. However, this kind of «determinism» 

in not of the kind treated by those trying to show links between this novel and Naturalism. 

56

Plato: Arithmetic and Reality 


Whether following Schindler's lead or a more general curiosity concerning Plato, Galdós appears 

to have found his way to the Republic (the only platonic text mentioned by Schindler) and, most 

likely, also to the Protagoras (for its treatment of the Prometheus myth). 58 Whether or not virtue and 

good citizenship may be taught is the dominant theme of the Protagoras , a theme related to the social 

and political focus of La desheredada . Also, the theme of Arithmetic, a major motif in the novel, 

is given extensive treatment here and in the Republic . In the latter work is found an analysis of the 

consequences of good and bad education as well as a carefully developed analysis of the relationship 

between mimetic literature and morality. 

In Protagoras' retelling of the myth of Prometheus, Epimetheus is a bungler who distributed to the 

animals all means of self-protection as well as means to guarantee survival; when he came to man, 

he had left no powers to give him. To assure mankind's survival, Prometheus broke into Zeus' citadel 

and stole Hephaestus' art of working fire and Athena's knowledge of the arts. However, mankind still 

lacked the art of politics and that of making war, both of which are essential to civilization. Because 

he feared for the future of the race Zeus sent Hermes to distribute to all «the qualities of respect for 

others and a sense of justice, so as to bring order to our cities and create a bond of friendship and 

union» (PRO, 322C). The distribution of these virtues to all, and not to a limited few, is fundamental 

for the existence of a just and orderly state: 

Let all have their share. There could never be cities if only a few shared in these virtues, as in the 

arts. Moreover, you must lay it down as my law [Zeus is speaking] that if anyone is incapable of 

acquiring his share of these two virtues he shall be put to death as a plague upon the city. 

(PRO, 322C) 

Protagoras, however, is a Sophist; and, although the above is consistent with Plato's view, other 

statements clearly are not, for, despite his expressing these ideas on civic virtue, Protagoras seems 

most interested in the question of individual survival... through appearances of justice. He states that 

the proof that all men believe in justice is that it would be madness for an evil man to admit to injustice: 

58 Protagoras , Trans. W. K. C. Guthrie and Republic , Trans. Paul Shorey, in Plato. The Collected 

Dialogues , Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns, Ed. New York, 1961. Subsequent references as 

«PRO» and «REP». 

57


Everyone, it is said, ought to say that he is good, whether he is or not, and whoever does not make 

such a claim is out of his mind, for a man cannot be without some share in justice or he would not 

be human. 

(PRO, 323C) 

In short, a working principle of assumed justice in all allows for a social structure in which injustice 

may work its weal. This view contrasts with that of the just society described in the Republic in 

which all would learn to value and practice justice and virtue as well as to do one thing as well as 

possible for the good of the state (whether one be shoemaker or ruler). In this society busybodies, 

lawsuits and the like have no place. The world of La desheredada , in this light, would seem the 

opposite of the ideal state and very much like that of the Sophist -and states dominated by democratic 

and tyrant-types as described in the Republic . Lack of education in virtue and in justice as well as 

in work useful to oneself and others and the tendency to moral laxness and lawsuits -all of these are 

contrary to the ideal. 

However, it is the adaptation of the Arithmetic theme in Plato to use as a motif in La desheredada 

which best serves to show how Galdós kept the question of education at the heart of his work. In 

attempting to explain the primary role of wisdom and knowledge in making choices between good 

and evil, pleasure and pain and in calculating the advantages of distant good over immediate pleasure, 

Socrates works around to a process of quantification: 

In weighing pleasures against pain, one must always choose the greater and the more; in weighing 

pains against pains, the smaller and the less; whereas in weighing pleasures against pains, if the 

pleasures exceed the pains, whether the distant, the near, or vice versa, one must take the course which 

brings those pleasures; but if the pains outweigh the pleasures, avoid it. 

(REP, 356, 356b) 

As the discussion procedes the application of mathematical vocabulary becomes more specific: 

If now our happiness consisted in... choosing greater lengths and in avoiding smaller, where would 

lie out salvation? In the art of measurement or in the impression made by appearances? 

(REP, 356b) 

the metric art would have canceled out the effect of the impression by revealing the true state of 

affairs and would have caused the soul to live in peace and quiet and abide in the truth, thus saving 

our life? Faced with these considerations, would people not agree that out salvation would lie in the 

art of measurement. 

58

(REP, 356d and 356e) 


Finally, Plato has his Socrates reveal that the knowledge which is the basis for reasonable and virtuous 

decisions is «arithmetic»: 

Again, what if out welfare lay in the choice of odd and even number, in knowing that the greater 

number must rightly be chosen and when the less, whether each sort in relation to itself or in relation 

to another and whether they are near or distant? What would assure us a good life then? Surely 

knowledge, and specifically a science of measurement, since the required skill lies in the estimation 

of excess and defect-or to be more precise, arithmetic, since it deals with odd and even numbers. 

(REP, 356d and 357a) 

Since Plato does not allow his dialoguers to name the specific branch of knowledge about which they 

are speaking (ethics), the reader is left with the metaphorical explanation, that virtuous action arises 

from the right application of «arithmetic» and evil from ignorance of arithmetic or its misapplication. 

Plato was concerned with the pursuit of pure knowledge and the study of arithmetic would be, after 

that of literature, the first step towards such knowledge: 

It is befitting... that this branch of knowledge should be prescribed by our law and that we should 

induce those who are to share the higher functions of the state to enter upon that study of calculation 

and take hold of it, not as amateurs, but to follow it up until they attain to the contemplation of the 

nature of number, by pure thought, not for the purpose of buying and selling, as if they were preparing 

to be merchants and hucksters, but for uses of war and for facilitating the conversion of the soul itself 

from the world of generation (appearances) to essence and truth. 

(REP, 525b and 525c) 

Such fine distinctions seem to have been taken seriously by Galdós as he developed from these ideas 

a motif to be applied in distinguishing virtue and vice among his characters. 

The dedication of the novel to schoolmasters marks it first appearance: 

Saliendo a relucir aquí sin saber cómo ni por qué, algunas dolencias sociales nacidas de la falta de 

nutrición y del poco uso que se viene haciendo de los beneficios reconstituyentes llamados Aritmética, 

Lógica, Moral y Sentido común, convendría dedicar estas páginas... ¿a quién? ¿Al infeliz paciente, 

a los curanderos y droguistas que, llamándose filósofos y políticos, le recetan uno y otro día?... No; 

las dedico a los que son o deben ser sus verdaderos médicos; a los maestros de escuela. 

59


The primacy of position accorded arithmetic by Plato is repeated by Galdós. And morality follows 

arithmetic and logic in the Platonic view because morality should be based upon reason. Galdós 

blames the lack of means required for making right decisions upon false teachers, without referring 

to them as Sophists. However, he has made the best «teacher» in the novel a physician, one very able 

with arithmetic. Miquis, in discussing the cause of Isidora's failure with Sánchez Botín observes, « 

¡Tonta, si hubieras sabido aprovecharte!... Pero tú no sabes hacer números y en esta época el que no 

hace números está perdido » (D, 331). Later when Isidora seeks his prescription for her salvation his 

prescription turns out to be nearly a summary of platonic thoughts: 

has de considerar que empiezas a vivir de nuevo. Tienes que educarte, aprender mil cosas que ignoras, 

someter tu espíritu a la gimnasia de hacer cuentas, de apreciar la cantidad, el valor, el peso y la realidad 

de las cosas. Es preciso que se te administre una infusión de principios morales, para lo cual, como 

tu estado es primitivo, basta el catecismo. 

(D, 358) 

In his plan for Isidora's reform Miquis combines calculations -even if at first only on the huckster 

level- with learning the nature of reality and the development of a moral sense. The aim is a fife of 

reason and moderation, a thought not at all compatible with the patient's insistence on extremes (« O 

en lo más alto o en lo más bajo. No me gustan los términos medios » [D, 360]). In the remainder 

of the same chapter can be seen the rewards which come to Miquis as a result of his weighing pains 

against pleasures (His resistance to Isidora's «charms» for the sake of distant satisfactions) as well as 

Isidora's temporary improvement brought about through a period of enforced moderation. 

Juan Bou is another character who proves mostly virtuous and very able in mathematics. Although 

engaged in business, his facility for arithmetic calculation does not seem incompatible with his growth 

in a moral sense as well. His development recalls the following from the Republic : «Again, have 

you noticed this, that the natural reckoners are by nature quick in virtually all their studies?» (REP, 

526b). Galdós describes Bou's mathematical skill as extraordinary: 

Un hombre acompañaba a Melchor, trabajando con él en la misma mesa. Del cerebro del hombre 

descendía al pupitre una invisible corriente de cálculos que al tocar el papel se condensaba en números 

como al influjo de la helada la humedad de la atmósfera cristaliza sobre el suelo. 

(D, 328) 

Not long afterwards Bou realizes that Melchor's plan is dishonest and abandons it. But it is 

mathematics which has made him a successful businessman: 

60


¡Qué iniciativa la suya! Fue el primero que imaginó hacer en gran escala las cenefas con que adornan 

las cocineras los vasares. Antes que él nadie había hecho el siguiente cálculo: Hay en Madrid 92.188 

viviendas, que son 92.188 cocinas... 

(D, 283) 

Bou's calculations falter when he falls in love with Isidora; and his fanaticism and dogmatism 

sometimes are quite irrational. However, with Miquis he is closer than other major characters to the 

ideal of the just man who attends to his own affairs. Two other characters, the orthopedist Juan José 

and the lawyer Muñoz y Nones seem equally admirable in the author's view, but the arithmetic motif is 

not applied explicity in these cases. In that of La Sanguijuelera there is little question of mathematical 

skill, but the weakness of the Rufetes takes a terrible toll on her resources (See Note 9). 

Against this group of «good mathematicians» the disorders arising from ignorance and poor 

arithmetic become very apparent. Isidora is poorly educated, mostly on bad literature. Melchor was 

graduated from the university a « pozo de ignorancia » (D, 138). Joaquín Pez is a victim of 

erotomania. These characters are shown worthy of one another or quite near parallel in development. 

Mariano (a poor student) and Isidora represent but differing aspects of a common trajectory. Isidora 

despises Melchor; but Galdós recognizes similarities between them (See: D, 139-140). Finally, 

Joaquín and Isidora live from similar illusions; and the two come to realize (though without effect) 

that the fault lies in perverse education (D, 395). Before considering these characters in relation to 

the arithmetic motif, further examination of Plato's thoughts on the role of individuals in society may 

prove useful. 

In Plato's concept of the state and the roles to be assigned individuals a central part is played by 

the three principles which operate within the individual soul: The rational, the irrational or appetitive 

and that of high spirit (the latter referring to capacity for impassioned response). The latter, when not 

corrupted, would tend to the side of reason. Men controlled by reason should be counselors or rulers, 

those dominated by the appetitive should be businessmen and the like, and the high spirited should 

be helpers (See: REP, Bk. IV). As reason should predominate in the highest form of city, unbridled 

irrationality and corrupted high spirit would reign among individuals forming the lowest form of civic 

life, that of the tyrants, having evolved through miseducation during the immediately preceding era, 

that of the democratic state. Since Plato held that the type of man dominant in the next step of political 

evolution was prepared in the preceeding one, it is quite likely that Galdós was thinking in accordance 

with Plato's belief that the «equality» of democracy leads to a freeing of the appetitive or acquisitive 

principles with the result that men are dominated by drunkenness, the erotic and the maniacal as a 

61


preparation for the onset of the rule of the tyrant. The important role of madness in the souls of Isidora 

and Mariano, of the erotic in Joaquín and Isidora and of the appetitive and irrational in all of them 

is evident. Thus they are more than simply examples of the consequences of a poor education and 

incomplete moral development, for they are also indicators of the nation's future, as individuals give 

reign to dreams and emotions which under other circumstances would be repressed (REP, 574d, 574e, 

and 575). Although Isidora and Joaquín despise cursilería , it is also certain that, despite their much 

discussed sensitive and superior nature, ignorance and lack of ability to calculate lies at the heart of 

their problem. For Isidora equality means only a right to the satisfaction of her appetites. And in her 

case literature and erotic tendencies seem to be as important causative factors as a failure to understand 

calculation. However, when Miquis would cure her, he brings up arithmetic first. And her shortlived 

attempts at reform at other points in the novel also involve attempts at keeping accounts. 

Melchor's interest in arithmetic is tied closely to his single purpose in life, instant and illegal wealth. 

However, it is Mariano's envy of him that turns the younger man to his emulation; and, in this 

relationship arises the opportunity to show that among the solitary and underprivileged there is a 

«black arithmetic» (one which Plato does not discuss), which permits Galdós to develop the motif in 

relationship to other principal characters. 

La soledad en que vivía le despabiló antes de tiempo. Su precocidad para comparar y hacer cálculos 

no era común en los chicos amparados por padres o parientes cariñosos. Porque el abandono y el vivir 

entregado a sí propio favorecen el crecimiento moral en el niño. De la índole nativa depende que este 

crecimiento sea en buen o mal sentido, y es evidente que los colosos del trabajo así como los grandes 

criminales, han nutrido su espíritu en una niñez solitaria... 

El ejercicio de la vida independiente le dio cierto vigor de voluntad, que es propio de los vagos: 

aguzó su ingenio, precipitó su desarrollo intelectual. Conviene estudiar bien al vago para comprender 

que es un ser caracterizado por el desarrollo prematuro de la adquisitividad, del disimulo y de la 

adaptación... El vago adolescente, otra manera de salvaje, sabe más mundo y más Economía política 

que los doctores recién incubados en la Universidad. 

Hallábase Mariano a la sazón a punto de consumar su sabiduría en aritmética parda se le habría 

desarrollado ya el genio de los cálculos, el furor de la adquisitividad y las facultades oscuras de la 

adaptación, del disimulo y de la doblez. 

(D, 334-335) 

62


Arithmetic in Galdós thus serves the ends of both good and evil. However, when not used as Miquis 

uses it the result is not happiness. One of the most evil men to appear, Sánchez-Botín, is an excellent 

calculator. Miquis says of him, « no hallarás otra fiera como ésta. No hay dos Botines en el mundo 

» (D, 331). His hypocrisy, lack of generosity and manipulation of the state to his own ends are 

sufficient to make him the «devil» of dark arithmetic. As a member of the «Comisión» and a specialist 

in governmental administration his activities affect the whole nation. Yet he is not a happy man. 

The congenital madness of the Rufetes, their obsession with acquisitiveness, envy and power, is 

linked to the arithmetic motif from the first pages of the novel as the reader first sees Tomás Rufete 

attempting to fix a sum in his memory. In the same chapter Canencia, the pacific madman who seems 

quite able with numbers, also appears. Here too, Isidora's madness begins to be revealed so that it 

is seen to be closely related to that of her father. The juxtaposition of the three cases with the first 

appearance of Miquis (the good mathematician) provides an introduction to this principal motif of 

the novel, the relationship between madness or a proper sense of reality and the world of numbers. 

One's sense of reality can be judged in relation to mathematical ability, provided of course, that moral 

growth keeps pace. The case of Don José, the master of double entry bookkeeping is perhaps most 

in accord with the platonic view: Mathematics employed in hucksterism is of the kind, after all, that 

leads not to pure knowledge but further attaches the individual to the world of appearances. And so 

he turns out as much a sensuous type as those who are not professionals in mathematical operations! 

63

Platonic and Cervantine Mimesis 


When considered in relation to earlier novels it is apparent that in La desheredada Galdós made 

a serious attempt to increase the distance between author and narrative by means which go beyond 

some employed in the Quixote . If Cervantes copies from the Manchegan archives and «translates» 

from the work of Cide Hamete Benengeli, Galdós at various points lets his reader know that he is 

recounting what Miquis has related to him about Isidora's adventures and misadventures. Beyond this 

he also makes of her father and uncle co-authors in the creation of her madness. The novel, then, 

is more than simply one within the tradition which began with the Quixote ; it is clearly imitative 

of and strives in places to go Cervantes one better. In addition, parody of portions of the text of the 

Quixote and allusions to its characterizations keep the reader alert to the author's concern with the 

question of mimesis. 

Nevertheless, the imitative act in which Galdós engaged in writing his text differs significantly from 

that of Cervantes. The latter's novel was born of a fundamental paradox: the novel imitates earlier 

fictional forms and pretends to imitate life at the same time that it condemns «vital mimesis», the 

imitation of «bad» art by living men. Cervantes and Don Quixote imitate the same literary models; 

but the author is «right» and the character is «wrong». In La desheredada author and character are 

not imitating the same books or music. This places Galdós at a «safer» distance from his characters 

than Cervantes chose for himself, a distance which allows for a sharpening of satirical intensity. Also, 

when one considers the moral depths to which Galdós' characters descend, the presence of Cervantine 

allusion can be perceived as an attempt to salvage some shred of idealism in an otherwise bleak 

world. However, the presence of Cervantine allusions and symbols at the surface of the text also 

masks the underlying structural model in such a way that La desheredada does not engage the reader 

fully in the Cervantine paradox (of approval of artistic mimesis with parallel condemnation of vital 

mimesis). For all its intricacy the text of the Quixote stands on its own; the mimetic paradox may be 

explored entirely from within the text itself. Galdós' overt imitation of Cervantine elements suggests 

an ambivalence in attitude in setting out in a new direction. Allusion to the imitative process in which 

Galdós seems to have been most completely involved is approached gingerly -and ironically- through 

constant allusion to and imitation of the Quixote which provided an archetypal creative pattern. 

In the more limited area of character development Galdós seems to have had a more clearly defined 

conception of the negative consequences of «vital mimesis». To some extent this appears to be a 

consequence of the same readings in Plato which contributed to the development of the «Arithmetic 

64


motif» studied above. However, there is little possibility that Galdós can be perceived as one with 

Isidora (as seems to have occurred with Don Quixote and Cervantes), for Galdós' concern with 

ideological point of view is still strong. 

Although Galdós explicitly and implicitly invites comparison of his characters with those of the 

Quixote , he seems more aware than his critics that there is little similarity between Isidora and 

Cervantes' protagonist when he makes of her a « Sancho Panza » about to receive instructions from 

the mad Santiago Quijano-Quijana. In the measure that each tries to impose literature upon life, that 

each is poor yet generous and that they are mad there are similarities. But Isidora is a victim of her 

father's criminal intentions; and her dreams are primarily egocentric and materialistic. And, although 

her dreams and the literature which sustains them are perhaps «impossible», they are closely tied to 

common aspirations in a society shown to be ever more sordid and unjust as one ascends the social 

scale (with some exceptions). Isidora allows herself to lie. She goes from one liaison to another in 

order to satisfy «needs» which are little more than her insatiable hunger for luxuries. She shows little 

perseverance -except in the lawsuit- nor constant striving towards an ideal. Her literary heroines are 

virtuous and hardworking; she is neither. And when she is «cured» there is not revealed the equivalent 

of an Alonso Quijano, el Bueno, but a woman who goes to Gaitica and then to prostitution. One must 

conclude that Isidora is one with the worst of her society. 

In the Republic literature is considered part of «music». And in Isidora's case the consequences 

of experiencing mimetic or imitative literature are quite the same as those foreseen by Plato. In the 

ideal state there would be allowed only those works which lead to the development of truthful citizens 

firmly in control of their lives: 

And for the multitude are not the main points of self-control these -to be obedient to their rulers 

and themselves to be rulers over the bodily appetites and pleasures of food, drink and the rest? 

(REP, 389d and 389e) 

The danger of the imitative genres, such as tragedy and comedy, is that they lead him who experiences 

them to imitate that which is beneath him. And what a person imitates becomes second nature to him. 

Negative examples include such behavior as that presented in bad novels: 

If then we are to maintain our original principle that our guardians, released from all other crafts, 

are to be expert craftsmen of civic liberty, and pursue nothing else that does not conduce to this, it 

would not be fitting for these to do nor yet to imitate anything else. But if they imitate they should 

from childhood up imitate that which is appropriate to them -men, that is who are brave, sober, pious, 

65


free and all things of that kind- but things unbecoming the free man they should neither do nor be 

clever at imitating, nor yet any other shameful thing, lest from imitations they imbibe the reality. Or 

have you not observed that imitations, if continued from youth into life, settle down into habits and 

second nature in the body, speech and the thought. 

(REP, 395b and 395c) 

We will not then allow our charges, who expect to prove good men, being men, to play the parts 

of women and imitate a woman, young or old, wrangling with her husband, defying heaven, loudly 

boasting, fortunate in own conceit, and involved in misfortune and possessed of grief and lamentation 

-still less a woman that is sick or in love, or in labor. 

(REP, 395d and 395e) 

As the ultimate realist Plato held that artists deal only with phantoms thrice removed from the «real», 

creating imitations of the imitation of the Idea. And such artists, ignorant of the true nature of the 

thing copied, must rely for judgment of their success on the multitude: «But, as it seems, the thing he 

imitates will be the thing that appears beautiful to the ignorant multitude» (REP, 601b). Art dealing 

with a third remove from the truth is related to that element of man's soul most removed from that 

«which puts its trust in measurement and reckoning (and so it is) the best part of the soul» (REP, 603): 

This then was what I wished to have agreed upon when I said poetry, and in general the mimetic 

art, produces a product which is far removed from the truth in the accomplishment of its task, and 

associates with the part of us that is remote from intelligence, and is its companion for no sound or 

true purpose. 

Mimetic art, then is an inferior thing cohabiting with an inferior and engendering inferior offspring. 

(REP, 603b) 

In this way the theme of rationality and arithmetic are joined to that of the mimetic arts and 

irrationality. Art and irrationality are thus inimical to the virtuous life: 

you are also aware that we plume ourselves... on our ability to remain calm and endure, in the belief 

that this is the conduct of a man, and [in art] what we are praising in the theatre that of a woman. 

(REP, 605d and 605e) 

However, whether one be man or woman, the effects are likely to be similar, at least in the mind of a 

modern moralist. And in Plato's view the effects of the imitative arts can be seen as all pervasive: 

66


And so in regard to the emotions of sex and hunger, and all the appetites and pains and pleasures 

of the soul which we say accompany all our actions, the effect of poetic limitation is the same. For 

it waters and fosters these feelings... and it establishes them as rulers when they ought to be ruled, to 

the end that we may be better and happier men instead of worse and miserable. 

(REP, 606d) 

From these ideas Galdós seems to have derived a framework for the treatment of the role of art in his 

characterizations. Both protagonists, Mariano and Isidora are given to bad literature, and both live, in 

some measure, in imitation of it. Although Isidora is also the victim of her father's deceit, the problem 

is exacerbated by her readings. Although she does not lead the virtuous life of her heroines, she expects 

their rewards. And if she were to receive her expected inheritance there is no reason to expect that 

she would be morally better as a marchioness. Mariano's love of romances de ciegos and aleluyas 

and the speech and actions of pícaros and bullfighters seems to have a more specifically «platonic 

effect», as he lives only for money and fame and dies a celebrated criminal. Isidora's experience in 

prison and life with Gaitica also lead through imitation of speech and action to a similar picaresque 

transformation. The «side of virtue» is also treated within this framework. Through his association 

with Mariano and Majito, Bou takes up the singing of aleluyas ; and as he does he begins to lose 

his perspective on the «bloodsuckers» and attempts to marry Isidora. Miquis, the just practitioner of 

a single profession has, of course, the author's love of Beethoven... although in fairness it must be 

admitted that this includes the mimetic Prometheus . 

A more detailed study may produce further insight into the relationship between Galdós' value system 

and that of Plato. However, it appears that the principal motifs of arithmetic and literature (music), 

owe much to Plato's writing. Even cursilería can be seen as a form of imitation. In the end, cursilería 

, poor arithmetic and addiction to bad art are shared characteristics of the would-be «tyrants» of 

Envidiópolis , where satisfaction of the appetitive principle of the soul reigns near supreme. 

67

Conclusion 


La desheredada reflects a serious concern for the question of the role of education in society. The 

structure of the novel is rooted in that of the Prometheus Ballet , the plot of which deals specifically 

with the theme of education. In addition, the psychological pattern of development of the protagonists 

closely parallels that found in the picaresque novel in which miseducation or the lack of education, 

combined with other factors, leads to bad example, but bad example used by the author to instruct 

others in virtue. In moving away from the «ideological novel», Galdós needed to revise his value 

system in order to be able to deal with a broader panorama of characters whose identification as good 

or evil would not longer be so readily discernible. Readings in Plato seen to have provided -at least 

in the case of La desheredada - a means to this end. At the same time he gained further insights 

into the question of life as imitation of literature. The sustained interest in Beethoven appears to have 

provided the point of departure for bringing together in a single novel what have to appear a mass 

of heterogeneous elements -perhaps even more heterogeneous than those occupying the thoughts of 

young Miquis. 

Boston University. 

68

The political significance of La desheredada 59 

J. M. Labanyi 


Antonio Ruiz Salvador 60 has demonstrated how Galdó's use of contemporary historical events in La 

desheredada gives the novel a symbolic political significance. Politics clearly occupy considerable 

space in the novel: apart from the inclusion of historical events and of several politically involved 

characters (parliamentary deputy: Sánchez Botín; government officials: Manuel Pez and his affiliates, 

Joaquín Pez and Melchor Relimpio at certain points; socialists/anarchists: 61 Juan Bou, Mariano), a 

large number of characters express opinions on the political vicissitudes of the time (in addition to 

the above: Augusto Miquis, José Relimpio, La Sanguijuelera, Tomás Rufete). In fact -as I hope to 

show in this article- if one broadens the concept of politics from contemporary political events to the 

general question of the structure of society, there is hardly a character or episode in the novel that 

does not in some way illustrate a political attitude. 

It is in this sense that I would like to supplement Ruiz Salvador's conception of the political 

significance of the novel. I would suggest that its political function is not limited to that of 

a commentary on a particular historical period, but that the novel can also -and perhaps more 

importantly- be seen as a wider examination of the basic issue, made urgent by the particular historical 

events of the time, of the class-composition of society. Galdós's main talent as a novelist -and it is this 

that makes him still relevant for the present-day reader- resides precisely in this constant ability, in his 

depiction of a specific character or situation, to go beyond the psychological or historical particulars, 

in order to put forward a general hypothesis about the workings of human behaviour or society. 

59 I should like to thank professor A. I. Watson, and 

particulary Dr. G. M. Scanlon, for their extremely helpful 

commenets on the original version of this article. (N. del A.) 

60 « La función del trasfondo histórico en La desheredada », AG , I (1966), 53-62. 

61 Galdós does not, at this stage in his writing, formally distinguish between the two; the split between 

Marx and Bakunin had, of course, occurred only in 1871. While Bou, as a printer (printing-workers 

formed the nucleus of the Spanish Socialist Party, recently founded in 1879) and with his gospel of 

labour, would seem to be a portrait of a socialist, Mariano, despite being Bou's disciple, is clearly the 

stock figure of the anarchist terrorist. 

69


The key to the political function of the novel is to be found in the title. It is curious that this title 

has not aroused more critical comment. Galdós rarely gave his novels «significant» titles: the vast 

majority of the novelas contemporáneas simply bear the name or nickname (often symbolic, of 

course) of the main character or characters. La desheredada , although clearly an epithet of Isidora, 

is not a nickname in that it is not used to refer to Isidora in the novel either by other characters or by 

the narrator. One must conclude that the title, being untypical, was chosen by Galdós with a specific 

purpose in mind. 

«Disinherited» in what sense? It seems unlikely that Galdós is making a reference to naturalist 

theories of hereditary determinism since Isidora almost certainly does inherit the madness of the 

Rufete family (despite E. Rodgers's point 62 that only La Sanguijuelera and not the narrator explicitly 

states that Isidora takes after her father, the combined evidence of a clinically mad father, an eccentric 

quixote-uncie, a brother who ends up both demented and epileptic, and a symbolically big-headed 

son, would seem to me sufficient evidence of an inherited trait). Nor can the title simply refer to 

the action of the novel, since Isidora is not disinherited inasmuch as her inheritance never existed 

except in her head. The only possible meaning of the title would seem to be a political one: 63 « las 

clases desheredadas » was a commonplace synonym for «the poor» in the press of the time, and 

Galdós himself -or rather, his fictional narrator Máximo Manso- uses the phrase in this sense in his 

next novel, El amigo Manso . 64 

If the whole point about Isidora's inheritance is that it is an illusion, and if La desheredada 

consequently is primarily a novel about illusion, nevertheless the novel can be seen as having a 

62 «Galdós's La desheredada and Naturalism», BHS , XLV (1968), 286-98. 

63 The one critic to have paid attention to the title of La desheredada , A. Regalado García ( Benito 

Pérez Galdós y la novela histórica española: 1868-1912 , Madrid, 1966, pp. 219-20), also interprets 

it as politically symbolic, but does not consider the possibility, which I hope to demonstrate below, 

of its ironic application. Although pointing out Galdós's criticism of the methods used by the poor to 

obtain wealth and position, Regalado García nevertheless considers that Galdós is depicting Isidora 

and Mariano as tragic victims of an unjust society -i. e. as genuinely «disinherited». 

64 « Pero aquel día mi benéfico hermano quiso dar indubitables pruebas de su interés por las clases 

desheredadas » ( Obras completas , 6th, ed., vol. IV, Madrid, 1966, p. 1240). All references to La 

desheredada in this article are to the same volume and edition. 

70


fundamental political significance inasmuch as the substance of that illusion is the political question 

of the unequal distribution of wealth. The use of the word «disinherited» in order to refer to the 

«have-nots» of society poses the question in terms of the injustice -or otherwise- of such an unequal 

economic distribution: if the poor are «disinherited», it is implied that they have a right to a place in 

society, as a lawful inheritance. It is precisely in these terms that Galdós presents the issue of poverty 

versus wealth in La desheredada . That Isidora, believing herself to be the heiress to a fortune, regards 

poverty as an injustice is both obvious and natural: 

Su apetito de engrandecerse no era un deseo tan solo, sino una reclamación. Su pobreza no le parecía 

desgracia, sino injusticia, y el lujo de los demás mirábalo como cosa que le había sido sustraída, y 

que, tarde o temprano, debía volver a sus manos. 

(1039) 

But this question of the right to wealth is raised not only by Isidora's inheritance; it is a recurring theme 

throughout the novel. Isidora's belief in her right to a fortune is merely symbolic of a generalized 

view that the gap between rich and poor is a travesty of justice, which must be remedied by giving to 

the poor that which is their rightful due. On the two occasions of face-to-face confrontation between 

the two economic extremes constituted by Isidora's two visits to view the Palacio de Aransis, her 

respective companions -Miquis and José Relimpio the first time; Juan Bou the second- make this the 

central point of their comments: 

-(Relimpio). Oiga usted lo que pienso, amigo don Augusto: ¡Lo que es el mundo!... ¡Qué unos 

tengan tanto y otros tan poco!... Es un insulto a la Humanidad que haya estos palacios tan ricos, y 

que tantos pobres tengan que dormir en las calles... Vamos, le digo a usted que tiene que venir una 

revolución grande y atroz. 

-(Miquis). Eso digo yo, señor don José. ¿Por qué todo esto no ha de ser nuestro? A ver, ¿qué razón 

hay? ¿Qué pecado hemos cometido usted y yo para no vivir aquí? 

(1029) 

-(Bou). Eso es, hay dos Dioses: el Dios de los ricos, que da cortinas, y el Dios de los pobres, que 

da nieve, hielo. Isidora, Isidora, ¿no opina usted como yo, no cree usted que esta canalla debe ser 

exterminada? Todo esto que vemos ha sido arrancado al pueblo; todo es, por tanto, nuestro. 

(1105) 

But does Galdós share this view that poverty is an injustice and wealth a right? I would suggest that 

his attitude is somewhat ambivalent. To go back to Isidora as « la desheredada »: the fact she is 

71


not disinherited, inasmuch as she had no right to an inheritance in the first place, surely means that 

the title of the novel is ironic. Galdós would seem to be implying that « las clases desheredadas » 

do not have the right to expect society to provide a living for them as a birthright; indeed, that such 

belief in the right to wealth is a form of hereditary (i.e. generic) madness. It is significant that Gaitica, 

presented explicitly by the narrator as the very scum of society, should also introduce himself, in what 

the narrator's sarcasm makes clear is a blatant lie, as a « desheredado »: « abandonado de sus 

nobles padres y desheredado por sus nobilísimos abuelos (¡miserias y bribonadas del mundo y de la 

ley!) » (1139). 

With Isidora's inheritance, Galdós is, of course, specifically dealing with the question of the 

aristocracy -i.e. the right to wealth and position by birth into a certain class. But it is worth noting that 

Isidora does not hinge her claim to an inheritance solely on her supposed noble birth; she considers 

that she merits a position in society, even if she is not entitled to it by rank, because of her innate 

qualities of beauty and taste: a «birthright of merit» rather than of class: 

Ella era noble por su nacimiento, y si no lo fuera, bastaría a darle la ejecutoria su gran belleza, su 

figura, sus gustos delicados, sus simpatías por toda cosa elegante y superior. 

(1114) 

Galdós is clearly criticizing Isidora for persisting in her delusions of grandeur not just because 

her pretensions to nobility are based on forged documents -i.e. because she is not after all the 

granddaughter of the Marquesa de Aransis- but because she regards wealth and position as something 

to which one is entitled by accidents of birth (whether social or « moral »). In other words, the novel 

is not simply a critique of the concept of the aristocracy, but a wider attack on any form of belief in 

the innate right of the individual to a position in society. 

In fact, this belief in the right to wealth and status through innate superiority is held by a number 

of other characters in the novel who do not consider themselves to have been cheated out of an 

aristocratic inheritance, but who simply consider themselves to be endowed by birth with select moral 

or intellectual qualities. Melchor Relimpio, whose mother has instilled into him the idea that he is 

blessed with « altas cualidades morales y mentales » (1022), indignantly refuses his uncle's to 

train him as an orthopaedist: « Sólo la idea de ir a trabajar con él en aquella odiosa tienda lo 

sublevaba. ¿Cómo podían entenderse él y su tío, él tan sabio, tan listo, llamado a sublimes destinos 

» (1020). (The narrator comments: « Entre tantas combinaciones no se le ocurrió al joven Relimpio 

lo más sencillo de todas, que era trabajar en cualquier arte, profesión u oficio, con lo que podía 

ganar, desde una peseta arriba, cualquier dinero. Pero él, fanatizado por lo que oía decir de fortunas 

72


rápidas y colosales, quería la suya de una pieza, de un golpe, no ganada ni conquistada a pulso, sino 

adquirida por arte igual al hallazgo de la mina de oro o del sepultado tesoro de diamantes » (1022). 

Similarly, Joaquín Pez sees himself as entitled to a life of luxury because of his natural charm and 

elegance; if he is penniless, it is the fault of the present-day materialistic age, which no longer gives 

idealism its rightful due: « Yo vivo de lo ideal, yo sueño, yo deliro y acato la belleza pura, yo 

tengo arrobos platónicos. En otro tiempo, ¿quién sabe lo que hubiera sido yo? » (1091). There is, 

of course, an enormous difference between this notion of a «birthright of merit» and the concept of a 

meritocracy: in a meritocracy, position is earned through effort; the Rufetes, Peces and Relimpios of 

La desheredada expect recognition to fall into their laps solely because of their innate distinction. It 

makes little difference whether this innate distinction is real or imagined (Isidora and Joaquín Pez's 

genuine refinement makes them no more deserving than the brutish Mariano or the fraudulent Melchor 

Relimpio): the point Galdós is making is that wealth is not a right, but that it must be earned. He is 

putting the case for a genuine meritocracy. 

In other words, Galdós is attacking -as in all his novels- those parasites on society who demand (and 

often take) without giving or producing in return. In La desheredada , the attack is not limited -as is 

the case in most novels- to a particular sector or class, but is applied systematically to the full range 

of the social scale. Apart from the familiar denunciations of the social and financial « apariencias 

» and « milagros » of the middle classes (the Relimpio family -excepting Emilia, who on her 

marriage comes to her senses) and of the civil service in particular (the Peces), Galdós launches a 

twin-pronged attack on the « vagos » of both the top and bottom of society. While the child « 

vagos » of the slums are depicted as « esos presidios sueltos del porvenir », (1051) a social evil that 

must be eradicated by correctional institutions such as the Penitenciaría para jóvenes delincuentes 

that the lawyer Muñoz y Nones wants to set up, similarly Miquis -referring to Joaquín Pez and the « 

mendicidad » of a bourgeoisie permanently in debt- half-jokingly (but only half-jokingly) talks of 

the need for reforms to curb « la alta vagancia »: 

Yo pregunto: ¿No habrá algún día leyes para enfrenar la alta vagancia? ¿No se crearán algún día 

palacios correccionales? ¿No establecerán las generaciones venideras asilos elegantes, forrados de 

seda, para tener a raya la demagogia azul, dándole de comer? 

(1064) 

This concerted attack on economic parasitism is complemented in the novel by the insertion of a 

set of characters incarnating precisely the virtues lacking in the former category of « vagos »: the 

virtues of honesty (as opposed to « apariencias »), individual initiative and hard work (as opposed 

73


to laziness and a passive belief in the innate right to wealth). This is the thematic function of minor 

characters such as La Sanguijuelera (whose poverty is due only to her generosity in helping out the 

Rufete family), Emilia Relimpio and the lawyer Muñoz y Nones; and of the more important figures of 

Juan Bou and Augusto Miquis. If Juan Bou has twice worked himself up from total penury (his first 

wife frittered away the entirety of his hard-earned savings) to a solid position in middle-class society, 

building up a thriving business, acquiring a medium-sized fortune 65 and marrying the daughter of 

a wealthy blacksmith, Miquis -a self-declared « hijo del pueblo »- through a successful career in 

medicine marries the daughter of a rich and respected lawyer, and gains access to the upper echelons 

of Madrid society as the guest of his distinguished clients. 

Of course, in suggesting that wealth is not a right but must be earned, Galdós is not justifying poverty. 

A society divided into rich and poor is unjust; but so too would be a society where all received an 

equal share of the national cake. In La desheredada , Galdós is defending the liberal notion of a free- 

enterprise society against both the stratified social order of the ancien régime (represented by the 

Aransis family) and new communistic visions of a classless society (represented by Juan Bou and 

Mariano). As in his critique of parasitism, we have another simultaneous attack on the top and bottom 

levels of society, this time not in terms of their economic habits but in terms of their ideology. 

Galdós's presentation of the Marquesa de Aransis is interesting. Both she and the family mansion 

(symbolically representing its owner) are depicted as anachronistic relics from a now-obsolete 

Romantic past. 66 Chapter IX of Part I («Beethoven»), in which the Aransis family is introduced, is 

not simply a piece of costumbrista nostalgia: it is making a point about the position of the aristocracy 

65 It is curious that Galdós awards Bou an inheritance with seeming approval: the reason, of course, 

is precisely that Bou (despite his views on the rights of the working class as a whole) never regarded 

such an inheritance as personally owing to him; his inheritance is, therefore, a just reward for a lifetime 

of initiative and enterprise. It is worth noting that Galdós is not, in this novel, criticising money as 

such -or even the principle of inheritance- but merely the attitude that wealth is a right. 

66 « La marquesa era una mujer de otras edades » (p. 1025): compare Galdós' treatment of the 

Marquesa de Aransis to that of Rafael in the Torquemada novels. Significantly, Isidora's quixotic 

uncle, as un upholder of the values of the old order, dies during the course of the novel (coinciding, in 

fact, with Amadeo's abdication -i. e. with the end of the monarchy). Similarly, the fervent monarchist 

La Sanguijuelera is described as an incarnation of « el entusiasmo monárquico del antiguo pueblo de 

Madrid » (pp. 1145-6), i. e. as a phenomenon of the past. 

74


in contemporary society. The gloom, the silence, the solitude, the decay of the Palacio de Aransis 

suggest that the aristocracy is confined to a symbolic Romantic cemetery: an image reinforced by the 

locked room in which the Marquesa's daughter died, preserved intact as at the moment of death: 

La muerte estampaba su sello triste en todo. La falta de luz había dado a la tela de los muebles tonos 

decadentes. El polvo deslustraba las hermosas lacas, y había tendido sobre todo una neblina áspera y 

gris que no podía ser tocada sin estremecimiento de nervios. Sobre la chimenea permanecía un jarrón 

con flores que fueron naturales y frescas nueve años antes. 

(1024) 

Even more significant is the fact that the Marquesa's daughter died from isolation (« encierro ») 

as a result of her family's refusal to allow her to marry an army colonel, i.e. to contemplate mixing 

by marriage with the middle classes. The thematic function of the Aransis family in the novel is to 

provide a critique of an outdated class-exclusivism. 

If Galdós depicts the exclusivism of the aristocracy as leading to isolation and death, he similarly 

shows little sympathy for what he presents as the «exclusivist» social pretensions of the socialists or 

anarchists. If the aristocracy is criticized for refusing to mix with the middle classes, the politically- 

active working classes are criticized for wanting to abolish all classes other than their own. The 

Romantic obsolescence of the Aransis family finds its thematic parallel in the satire of Juan Bou as 

the «sunworker» (note the link ancien régime /socialism implicit in this parody of Louis XIV): 

Deliraba por los derechos del pueblo, las preeminencias del pueblo y el pan del pueblo, fundando 

sobre esta palabra ¡pueblo!, una serie de teorías a cuál más extravagantes. Realmente, estas teorías no 

eran nuevas. Una generación se había embobado con ellas, mirándolas como pan bendito. Pero Juan 

Bou las había sublimado en su mente indocta, convirtiéndolas en una fórmula brutal del egoísmo. 

Según él, muchos miembros importantes del organismo social no tenían derecho a ser comprendidos 

dentro de esta designación sublime y redentora: ¡el pueblo! Nosotros, los que no tenemos las manos 

llenas de callos, no éramos pueblo; vosotros, los propietarios, los abogados, los comerciantes, tampoco 

erais pueblo. De toda idea exclusiva nace una tiranía, y de aquella tiranía nació el obrero sol: Juan 

Bou, que decía: «El pueblo soy yo». 67 

(1078) 

67 Galdós' use of the first person plural here -and later the 2nd person plural- clearly shows where 

his own allegiance -and the supposed allegiance of his readers- lies. The phrase is repeated on p. 1081: 

« Todos nosotros que no tenemos callosidades en las manos ». 

75


Galdós's presentation of the socialist Juan Bou is, however, more complex than straight satire. If he is 

satirized for his notions of popular power, his ethos of labour is nevertheless presented as an example 

to the « vagos » of society. It is made clear that, if he wants to destroy the leisured classes, it is not 

in order to occupy their place, but in order to construct a society of producers rather than consumers. 

68 Galdós's treatment of Mariano, representing the anarchist terrorist, is far more condemnatory. Not 

only is he guilty of the same class-exclusivism as Bou, but -as a « vago » rather than a genuine 

worker- he is motivated not by an authentic desire for an egalitarian society, but by that national defect 

which Galdós -echoing the cuerdo loco Tomás Rufete- singles out in the novel as characteristic of 

a parasitic society-envy: 

En el fondo de su alma, Pecado anhelaba ser también saguijuela y chupar lo que pudiera, dejando al 

pueblo en los puros huesos; se desvivía por satisfacer todos los apetitos de la concupiscencia humana 

y por tener mucho dinero, viniera de donde viniese. En esto se distinguía radicalmente de su maestro, 

amantísimo del trabajo. 

(1081) 

Even more telling of Galdós's political viewpoint is the link he establishes with Mariano between 

anarchism and hereditary madness, epilipsy and criminality, in a curious anticipation of the theories 

of the Italian criminologist Lombroso that were to have considerable currency in Spain in the 1890's. 

69 If socialist theory (in the form of Juan Bou) is guilty of class-exclusivism, revolutionary practice 

is the product of a warped mind, a diseased body and a criminal background. 

68 It should be pointed out, however, that Bou evolves in the course of the novel. His encounter 

with Isidora initially gives him a taste for luxury, and finally leaves him with a general cynicism: 

« Si quieres trabajar, trabaja; si no quieres trabajar, no trabajes. En este mundo el que más trabaja 

tiene probabilidades de morirse de hambre. Aquí hay dos papeles: el de víctima y el de verdugo. 

¿Cuál vale más? El de verdugo. Chupar y chupar todo lo que se pueda » (p. 1136). But, despite this 

disillusionment with his socialist principles, Bou does of course continue to work, and is genuinely 

horrified when Mariano translates his nihilism into practice. 

69 See L. Maristany, El gabinete del doctor Lombroso (Delincuencia y fin de siglo en España) , 

Barcelona, 1973. The basis of Lombroso's theories was the sinister suggestion of a hereditary, 

biological link between criminality, madness, anarchism (and genius). Mariano is a child-murderer, 

with a history of madness in the family, and by the end of the novel suffering from an « evidente 

desorden cerebral » (p. 1151); the idea of regicide is depicted as the immediate result of epilepsy, 

76


Just as Mariano's revolutionary terrorism is not motivated by a genuine egalitarianism but by envy, 

conversely Galdós points out how this national defect of aspiring to usurp, the position of one's 

superiors has created a pseudo-democracy in contemporary Spain: « la confusión de clases en la 

moneda falsa de la igualdad » (1019). In other words, a disappearance of the pure externals of class- 

differentials (dress, material possessions), but an equality that is counterfeit inasmuch as it is based 

on false pretences (« apariencias » -significantly, the previously-quoted phrase is used to describe 

a theatre audience) and not on a solid economic basis. The same point is made by Miquis's joking 

references to the surface «communism» of Spanish society (1064): «communistic» in the sense that, in 

a society living off credit and corruption, money and possessions continually pass from hand to hand. 

Galdós is arguing in favour of a « confusión de clases » that is neither counterfeit nor communist 

(in the genuine sense of the word). Through his division of characters into ideological groups, and 

the respective sympathetic or hostile presentation of these groups, he angles his depiction of society 

in such a way as to persuade the reader of the need for a social mobility based on free enterprise. 

An example of precisely such social mobility -based on his mother's acquisition of money through 

business and on his own initiative as a man of action- will be provided by the character Manuel Peña 

in Galdós's next novel, El amigo Manso , whose case prompts the narrator, Máximo Manso, to make 

the following (somewhat overoptimistic) observations about Spanish society of the time: 

Es evidentísimo que la democracia social ha echado entre nosotros profundas raíces, y a nadie se le 

pregunta quién es ni de dónde ha salido para admitirle en todas partes y festejarle y aplaudirle, siempre 

and the actual assassination attempt is not only preceded by an « ataque epiléptico » but is described 

as the combined product of « la demencia » and « el mismo criminal instinto » (p. 1148). Although 

Lombroso's first major work on the congenital nature of criminality ( L'uomo delinquente ) was 

published in 1876, it was not translated into French till 1887, when it became a topic of discussion 

in Spain for the first time; Lombroso's writing on anarchism were only published in the 1890s 

( Il delitto politico e le rivoluzioni [1891], Gli anarchici [1894], and his works only began to be 

translated into Spanish in 1892. It is, therefore, virtually impossible that Galdós knew of Lombroso's 

ideas, unless at second hand through his contacts in the médical world. M. Gordon («The Medical 

Background to Galdós's La desheredada », AG , VII [1972], 67-77) has convincingly suggested a 

concrete genesis for Mariano in the real-life terrorist Otero, tried and executed for attempted regicide 

in 1880. Nevertheless, the coincidence with Lombroso is significant at least in revealing commonly- 

held prejudices towards social misfits such as the delinquent, the madman and the revolutionary. 

77


que tenga dinero o talento. Todos conocemos a diferentes personas de origen humildísimo que llegan 

a los primeros puestos y aun se alían con las razas históricas, El dinero y el ingenio, sustituidos a 

menudo por sus similares, agio y travesura, han roto aquí las barreras todas, estableciendo la confusión 

de clases en grado más alto y con aplicaciones más positivas que en los países europeos, donde la 

democracia, excluida de las costumbres, tiene representación en las leyes. 70 

(1182-3) 

In other words, with its condemnation of class-exclusivism and praise of a soundly-based social 

mobility, La desheredada can be seen as a demonstration -on a political level- of Miquis's belief, 

contradicting Isidora's extremism, in the need for « términos medios »: 

-(Miquis). Desgraciada; si no acabas en la casa de Aransis, acabarás en un hospital. 

-(Isidora). Bien, me agrada eso, en lo más alto o en lo más bajo... No me gustan términos medios. 

-(Miquis). Y, sin embargo, en ellos debemos mantenernos siempre... 

(1110) 

Indeed, in his inaugural speech to the Academia Real in 1897, Galdós stated that he saw the middle 

classes not as a class existing in their own right, but simply as the end-product of this « confusión 

de clases » -i.e. as the result of the intermixing of the two social extremes: the aristocracy and the 

pueblo : 71 

70 Galdós is not, of course, wholly uncritical of Manuel Peña, but he clearly regards his social 

success as both right and natural. A similar assertion not just of the need but of the actual existence 

in Spain of a genuinely democratic social structure is made by the narrator in Fortunata y Jacinta 

( Obras completas , 7th ed., vol. V, Madrid, 1970, p. 65), all the more surprisingly since this novel 

is precisely about class differentials, with only the child at the end holding out a somewhat dubious 

hope for fusion in the future. 

71 This failure to define the middle classes as a class in their own right accounts for the frequently 

loose classdistinctions Galdós makes in his novels: in La desheredada , Tomás Rufete as a civil servant 

and La Sanguijuelera as a shopkeeper -strictly speaking petty-bourgeois- are called « pueblo »; while 

the so-called « obrero » Juan Bou is in fact a smallscale boss. Galdós does not distinguish between the 

working classes as wage-earning manual workers and the middle classes as self-employed or white- 

collar workers: he distinguishes only between rich and poor, aristocracy and pueblo . 

78


La llamada clase media, que no tiene aún existencia positiva, es tan sólo informe aglomeración 

de individuos procedentes de las categorías superior e inferior, el producto, digámoslo así, de la 

descomposición de ambas familias: de la plebeya, que sube; de la aristocrática, que baja . 72 

It is this dualistic -rather than triadic- view of society as composed of two extremes, with an area of 

overlap in the middle, that underlies the structure of La desheredada : Isidora attempts to find wealth 

(and in fact finds degradation) via nobility, Mariano via popular revolution -a kind of «high road» 

and «low road» to a common destination, as Miquis points out: 

-Su hermano y ella han corrido a la perdición: él ha llegado, ella llegará. Distintos medios ha 

empleado cada uno: él ha ido con trote de bestia, ella con vuelo de pájaro... 

(1154) 

Isidora and Mariano can be seen as twin-protagonists, representing a twin-pronged attack on two 

kinds of class-extremism (or exclusivism): that of the aristocracy (rejection of the pueblo ) and that 

of the revolutionary (destruction of the upper classes). 73 It is significant that the novel is set against a 

background of civil discord (i.e. conflict between intransigent extremes): in Part I, with the symbolic 

civil wars of the slum children, in Part II, with the real civil strife of the Carlist Wars. 

Against this background of conflict, Galdós is putting forward a plea for mutual understanding: for 

a transcending of class barriers rather than class confrontation. Typically, his depiction of the two 

extremes of society is not presented in terms of a division into black and white: his attitudes towards 

both pueblo and aristocracy are mixed. If he praises Juan Bou for his initiative and hard work but 

ridicules his socialist theories, similarly he shows Isidora's belief in the innate right to wealth and 

position to be deluded, and yet ironically Isidora's aristocratic delusions do give her a certain moral 

178. 

72 Printed in Benito Pérez Galdós: Ensayos de crítica literaria , ed. L. Bonet, Barcelona, 1972, p. 

73 In fact, at the end of the novel Isidora, finding the aristocratic path blocked, ends up adopting 

Mariano's «revolutionary» position: she becomes a prostitute by choice as a way of destroying 

respectable society: « En fin, los hombres sois todos unos. Hay que vengarse, perdiéndose a todos y 

arrastrándoos a la ignominia. Nosotras nos vengamos con nosotras mismas » (p. 1156). 

79


nobility: it is only when she loses those delusions at the end of the novel that she finally loses any 

sense of morality. 74 

Birkbeck College. University of London. 

74 It is her pride in her supposed nobility that makes her on moral grounds postpone -though no more 

than that- her illicit liaisons with Joaquín Pez, Melchor Relimpio and Juan Bou; significantly, she 

takes the first step to perdition (by becoming Joaquín Pez's mistress) precisely after being rejected 

by the Aransis family -i. e. as the result of the first blow to her illusions- and, ironically, throughout 

her relationship with Joaquín she plays the role of ever-faithful, forgiving and self-sacrificing wife. 

Her eventual, quite shameless plunge into prostitution is the direct psychological consequence of her 

final disillusionment: « cuando perdí la idea que me hacía ser señora, me dio tal rabia que dije: 'Ya no 

necesito para nada la dignidad ni la vergüenza' » (p. 1155). This moral ambiguity of Isidora's illusions 

and of her final symbolic «death» on awakening to reality is, of course, another quixotic touch. 

80

The hall of mirrors in Galdós' Lo prohibido 

Mary Anne O'Neil 


Following Stendhal's dictum that « Un roman: c'est un miroir qu'on promène le long d'un chemin 

», 75 Galdós in Lo prohibido uses the novel as a means of bringing the reader face to face with the 

corruption and superficiality of contemporary Spain. The mirror, however, does not function simply as 

a reflection of the social and moral realities of Madrid, for Galdós uses it in more subtle ways, varying 

both its meanings and its connotations. Both glass and people function as literal and metaphorical 

mirrors, creating a revealing depth study in illusion and reality on the social and psychological levels. 

The brilliance of the author's «mirroring» consists in the felicitous juxtaposition of the characters, who 

frequently succeed in finding the illusion that they desperately seek in their mirrors, and the reader, 

who is inevitably led to view the reflection of truth that generally escapes the character in question. 

The first mirror that appears in Lo prohibido is the « espejo biselado » that José María offers 

Eloísa. There can be no doubt that this gift marks a turning point in their relationship. Previously 

Eloísa had accepted her cousin's affections as mete gestures of friendship, but shortly after accepting 

the mirror she gives evidence of deeper feelings and finally enters into an adulterous relationship 

with him. Because of its associations with the two lovers, the mirror becomes a symbol of greed and 

adultery. 

Galdós carefully constructs the scene to convey the impression that the two «innocents» are on the 

verge of sin. He represents the « tienda de Equía », where the mirror is on sale, as a mock Garden of 

Eden in which Eloísa is allowed to purchase baubles, but is forbidden her heart's greatest desire. José 

María, « la encarnación del diablo seductor, cuyo máximo ideal se halla en la conquista pecaminosa 

de la fruta prohibida », 76 realizes that his cousin will not resist the temptation of such an unattainable 

luxury. Eloísa also understands the danger represented by the mirror: « No mires, no mires. Esto 

trastorna, esto deslumbra, esto ciega. No es para nosotros ». 77 Her conclusion that « Esta tienda 

75 Henri Beyle, Le Rouge et le Noir (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1959), p. 88. 

76 Gustavo Correa, Realidad, ficción y símbolo en las novelas de Pérez Galdós (Bogotá: 

Publicaciones del Instituto Caro y Cuervo , XXIII, 1967), P. 281. 

77 Benito Pérez Galdós, Lo prohibido (Madrid: Clásicos Castalia, 1971), p. 116. All further 

references to the text will be cited parenthetically. 

81


es la sucursal del Infierno » (116) is prophetic, for the purchase and gift of the mirror releases the 

two lovers from their inhibitions and brings about their downfall. Eloísa's insatiable desire for luxury 

leads her to bankruptcy and prostitution, just as José María's lust eventually is accompanied by a loss 

of moral and economic rectitude. 

The mirror itself is described in such a way that it becomes the perfect symbol of their adultery. It is 

baroque, a style associated at once with excess and the art of illusion. These terms bring to mind Eloísa, 

but they apply equally as well to José María who lives in an illusion, allowing his passions to consume 

his entire being. The mirror is beveled, causing a double reflection and creating the impression of 

greater depth. José María's passion for Eloísa acts, in much the same way, as a « trompe l'oeil », 

for what he mistakes as genuine love turns out to be only a desire to gratify his egotism. The colors 

are significant also: « En el color dominaban los esmaltes metálicos de rosa y verde nacarino », 

(116) two shades which Raimundo employs in his « Mapa moral gráfico de España » to represent 

adultery and «libidinous desire» (314). 78 The mirror sets the tone for their relationship, doomed from 

the start to be both deceptive and destructive. 

The « espejo biselado » reappears when José María frequents María Juana's house. His eldest 

cousin expresses a desire for her bankrupt sister's mirror at about the same time that she and José 

María begin their flirtation. It might even be conjectured that, as in the case of Eloísa, it is shortly 

after the mirror is mentioned that she is seduced, because, for the first time, José María speaks of her 

« estimables prendas » (341) and of his desire to revenge himself upon Medina, « de jugarle una 

mala pasada » (343). If María Juana is « la mujer que quisiera amar porque ve amar a otra », 79 the 

mirror is also for her a symbol of greed; it represents her envy of the pleasures Eloísa has experienced 

and that she has been denied in her marriage. She would like to possess José María as a devoted lover 

in the same way as her sister. lt is ironic, inasmuch as she is unable to attain him, that she becomes 

the ultimate possessor of the « espejo biselado ». 

Camila is seldom associated with the mirror, since she is neither greedy nor adulterous. There is 

one point, however, where she seems capable of succumbing to these two sins, and, significantly, 

78 The significance of colors is explained by Vernon A. Chamberlain in «Galdós' Chromatic 

Symbolism Key in Lo prohibido », Hispanic Review , vol. 23, núm. 1 (January, 1974), pp. 109-117. 

79 José F. Montesinos, Galdós, estudios sobre la novela española del siglo XIX (Madrid: Editorial 

Castalia, 1969), viii, 191. 

82


at this time alone, she is found before a mirror. During her nursing of Eloísa and her quarrel with 

Constantino, she spends an afternoon trying on her sister's finery « mirándose en el gran espejo 

de pivotes » (375) with José María present. Shortly afterwards, she suggests that her cousin return 

that evening. He interprets this invitation as an acquiescence to his desires, but is disappointed when 

Camila and Constantino are reconciled. 

An examination of the mirror in its associations with the three sisters reveals that it is an incitement 

to lust. Eloísa, morally the weakest, introduces both the mirror and adultery into the family. In María 

Juana's hands, the mirror becomes an ironic reminder of her intense sibling rivalry and frustrated 

passion. Camila, the symbol of moral strength, is only briefly tempted by the passions that destroy 

her sisters. 

In addition to converting vanity into lust, mirrors are used by Galdós to stress the illusions and 

pretenses of Restoration Madrid, a world more concerned with outward appearance than virtue. He 

parades before the reader several characters whose external respectability masks moral or economic 

corruption. They constantly seek themselves in mirrors, not simply because they are vain, but also 

because they are vitally interested in projecting a social identity that hides their degradation. 

One such character is the gallant « Sacamantecas », « persona de intachables formas », who « 

tenía la especialidad de cebarse en la carne viva » (158). Wherever this maligner of reputations goes, 

his first impulse is to admire himself in a mirror (158). Likewise the handsome Marqués de Cícero 

constantly seeks his own reflection. A hollow rather than evil character, José María calls him a person 

« a quien jamás sorprendió nadie en posesión de una idea » (170). The financier Torres is even 

more of a hypocrite. Presenting himself as a self-made man whose wealth comes from hard work and 

intelligence, he turns out to be a usurer and embezzler. Significantly, he receives the « espejo biselado 

» from Eloísa and at the height of his prosperity plans to decorate his house with mirrors (428). 

But Eloísa is the most egregious of the image makers. José María is duped into believing that her 

extraordinary beauty reflects moral grandeur, « Pues en su perfección física creí ver impresos los 

signos más hermosos del alma humana » (61). 80 Long after he is aware of her true nature, he 

80 While this paper is limited to Lo prohibido , it is worth noting that one finds many similar situations 

involving mirrors in Fortunata y Jacinta . As he leaves Fortunata's grave, Maxi exclaims: « adoro en 

ella lo ideal, lo eterno y la veo, no como era, sino tal y como yo la soñaba y la veía en mi alma; la 

veo adornada de los atributos más hermosos de la divinidad, reflejándose en ella como en un espejo 

83


still notes that she can maintain an aura of respectability, and even when she has sunken into virtual 

prostitution, she can pass for « el espejo de las viudas » (314). Eloísa not only has several mirrors in 

her house, she also surrounds herself with shiny, reflecting objects, such as jewels or the « reflectores 

» used to give the illusion of reality to her paintings. She devotes all her energy to creating the illusion 

of elegance and wealth where in reality there exist only vulgarity and debt. 

José María often describes her as a beauty « para deslumbrar ». In effect, Eloísa creates a dazzling 

exterior in order to limit the world's knowledge of her to external appearances and to blind others to 

her true nature. She becomes an expert at creating optical illusions. For example, in her mock deathbed 

scene, she mirrors her head in elegantly folded silk: « se veía la cara como si estuviera cristalizada 

en el fondo de uno de esos feldespatos que tienen reflejos de ópalo y ráfagas de nácar » (382). Her 

purpose here is to transform her contorted physiognomy into a thing of beauty. Significantly when she 

cannot maintain illusions, at the period of her bankruptcy and illness, she is deprived of mirrors. One 

of the first things José María notices upon entering the pillaged house is that « agujeros horribles en 

la pared... marcaban el sitio del espejo biselado que había ido a parar a casa de Torres » (351). 

Galdos' treatment of Eloísa reminds one of the Sartrian « être pour autrui », 81 the person who 

seeks himself in the eyes of others. Lacking the moral integrity founded on her own identity, Eloísa 

must constantly seek herself in mirrors. In two visits to José María's house, she uses mirrors in just 

this way. In the first, after a passionate love scene, she attempts to persuade him to invest money 

(199-201). When her efforts fail, she returns home to her husband. Both at the beginning and the end 

of this episode, she glances in the mirror -the first time to compose the right face for her lover, the 

second to remake herself into a dutiful wife. Long after she has lost his love, Eloísa pays another 

visit to her cousin in an effort to seduce him with her beauty. His insulting inferences that she has 

become « una francesa » (307) send her scurrying to the mirror. She must reassure herself that she 

»; (Benito Pérez Galdós, Fortunata y Jacinta [Buenos Aires: Colección Austral, 1951], p. 762). Like 

José María, Maxi mistakes physical beauty for moral perfection and this error eventually costs him 

his sanity. 

81 See Part I, chapter II of Sartre's L'Etre el le Néant for a more detailed description of « mauvaise 

foi ». 

84


is producing the right effect. 82 An inauthentic character, Eloísa plays the role her audience requires 

and totally lacks moral solidity. 

Eloisa, in turn, reflects the superficiality Galdós found so prevalent in Madrid. The society in which 

she lives is preoccupied, as she is, with vanity and the impression it creates, while giving lip service 

to virtue. As don Rafael explains, « Es el mal madrileño que nos lleva a ser tolerantes con las 

infracciones de toda ley, así moral como económica... para que a nuestras mujeres y a nuestras hijas 

las llamen elegantes y distinguidas » (438). The mirror is a fitting symbol for this society concerned 

with external appearance rather than integrity, which tries to keep the observer at the surface rather 

than allowing him a glimpse of its underlying corruption. Having no moral depth, it is content to 

project a beautiful illusion. 

In the course of the novel, as Galdós strips his world of illusions, the mirror does an about-face and 

becomes the symbol of truth. Especially in the second half of the novel, certain naive or hypocritical 

characters are forced to admit unpleasant realities. For example, the innocent Constantino, who has 

defended José María against all charges of immorality, is pushed before the mirror by Eloísa: « Le he 

calentado las orejas a ese venado, y le he puesto ante el espejo para que vea aquella cornamenta que le 

llega al techo » (414). José María himself tries for the greater part of the novel to shirk responsability 

for his actions, claiming to be dazzled by Eloísa or Camila and incapable of acting rationally. The 

mirror forces him also to confront reality. In Eloísa's palace María Juana exclaims to her cousin: 

« Mírate, mirémonos todos en este espejo » (376). This concrete example of the ravages caused 

by excess passion is a condemnation of José María as well as of his mistress. He fears the mirror 

82 Similarly, in La de Bringas , before solliciting money from Pez, Rosalía « echó un vistazo en el 

espejo a su aspecto personal que era inmejorable » (Benito Pérez Galdós, La de Bringas [Madrid: 

Perlado, Paez y Compañía, 1906], p. 249). Fortunata likewise composes a decorous appearance for the 

priest Nicolás Rubín: « y mirándose al espejo, aprobó su perfecta facha de mujer honesta » ( Fortunata 

y Jacinta , p. 288). When she decides to enter the convent of the Micaelas, « Fortunata cogió una 

toalla, y echándosela por la cabeza se fue a mirar al espejo » (p. 298) to judge her effect as a nun. 

Ironically, in the convent, « como ella esperaba y deseaba, pusiéronle una toca blanca; mas no había 

en el convento espejos en que mirar si caía bien o mal » (p. 317). 

85


during his illness: « no me atreví a pedir un espejo para mirarme » (461). The physical proof of 

his degradation is too painful for him to face. 83 

Without a doubt, Eloísa and María Juana both function as mirrors for José María in the process of his 

disillusionment. After they have ceased to be his mistresses, both sisters have several confrontations 

with their cousin, who usually finds these meetings disagreable, either because of Eloísa's immorality 

or María Juana's pedantry. The reader wonders why he is so harsh towards these two women not 

entirely lacking in good qualities who rush to his aid in time of need. The answer is, perhaps, that 

they act as his conscience, causing him to feel guilty about his own moral defects. 

Throughout the novel José María condemns Eloísa's insatiable acquisitiveness, the sin that leads her 

to sacrifice her honor and dignity. Yet his lust functions in the same manner. His determination to 

seduce Camila forces him to ridiculous excesses, such as following her about town or worshipping 

her shoes. Like Eloísa, he destroys his fortune, health and reputation for an unattainable pleasure. 

Eloísa is well aware of these similarities and never fails to remind him of them. On her sickbed she 

reproaches: « Y a ti, grandísimo pillo, ¿quién te perdona? Porque tú eres tan malo como yo, quizás 

peor » (365). María Juana's most unpleasant trait, her hypocrisy, is shared by her cousin. Just as 

she praises the virtues of marriage while pursuing him, so also he admires Camila's fidelity while 

trying to seduce her. Whenever María Juana meets José María, she harps upon their mutual weakness 

and need for reform. The closer José María approaches ruin, the more antipathetic he considers the 

two women's sermons, until finally in the scene where his knavishness towards Camila is revealed, 

he throws them forcibly out of his house. Yet his attempts to escape the truth, to break the mirror, 

are futile, for during his final illness, he avows his mistakes. Moreover, his final behavior is largely 

explicable in terms of his two mistresses. He is overwhelmed with remorse, as was Eloísa, and his 

exhortations to lead a simple, regulated life are stolen from María Juana's lips. 

83 A striking example of this use of the mirror is found in the final rupture scene between Fortunata 

and Juanito Santa Cruz in Fortunata y Jacinta . When Fortunata accuses the absent Jacinta of adultery, 

Juanito turns on his unhappy mistress Fortunata, belittling their relationship and exalting his wife's 

virtues: « veo lo miserable que soy al lado suyo; tú eres el espejo en que miro mi conciencia, y te 

aseguro que me veo horrible » (p. 645). 

86


Both Galdós and his critics have noticed a tendency towards «gemination» in his paired characters. 

84 Very often, couples, especially husbands and wives or lovers, take on aspects of one another. By 

having one character mirror the personality of another, Galdós is able to disclose truths to the reader 

that the individual characters do not understand. 85 In Lo prohibido the three Bueno de Guzmán 

sisters, each involved in a different way with José María, all reflect different sides of his personality. 

Eloísa represents his childish tendencies towards hysteria and excess; María Juana, a parent figure, 

expresses hypocritical lip service to order and reason; Camila stands for the happiness he believes 

attainable through hard work and legitimate love. The three women form a triple mirror, constantly 

held before the eyes of the protagonist, to remind him of his vices and virtues, of his capacity for 

success as well as his penchant for self-destruction. 

In a more general sense, the use of characters as mirrors performs a vital function in this first-person 

narrative where the narrator-protagonist has almost total control over the reader's perceptions. By 

surrounding José María with several personalities, each of whom has one of his character traits, Galdós 

allows the reader to view his protagonist objectively. The importance of women in explaining his 

personality has already been noted; however, both the men of the Bueno de Guzmán family and 

those José María encounters in society provide significant insights. Don Rafael and Raimundo reflect 

his tendencies towards hypochondria and laziness. Severiano reveals the same foolish attraction to 

expensive women. Taken together, the secondary characters, through their observations and treatment 

of José María, facilitate the reader's understanding of a complex protagonist, who, Galdós would have 

us believe, symbolizes the moral failures of Spain. 

Finally, José María himself functions as a mirror for Restoration Madrid. He reflects its cult of 

appearances, its love of elegance and refinement, its pretensions to progress. However, as the novel 

unravels, he shows the «mirror image» of this society -the engrained corruption that takes hold of 

men's souls and destroys all but the strongest. Just as Eloísa uses the mirror to create illusions, the 

author uses José María as a mirror to disillusion the reader and to make him aware of social problems. 

84 See J. J. Alfieri, «The Double Image of Avarice in Galdós' Novels», Hispania , vol. 46, núm. 4 

(1963), p. 722. and Arthur Terry, « Lo prohibido : Unreliable Narrator and Untruthful Technique». 

Galdós Studies , J. E. Varey, ed. (London: Tamesis Books Limited, 1970), p. 70. 

85 Alfieri, p. 722. 

87


The mirror, therefore, functions in Lo prohibido as a double reflection of both the social and 

moral realities of contemporary Spain. This use of the mirror is totally in keeping with the literary 

conventions of the Nineteenth century novel. Yet it is also very modern, for in its associations with 

Eloísa and the other unauthentic characters of the novel, it brings to mind the Sartrian hell of Huis 

Clos . Galdós varies the meaning of the mirror, making it an ambivalent symbol of both reality and 

illusion. This enables him to reinforce the theme of deceit and immorality in Madrid society while 

simultaneously exposing these defects to the reader. Finally, the mirror becomes a structural device 

by means of which the reader gains an objective view of the protagonist. By the constant reflection 

of Eloísa, María Juana and Camila, who together form the dominant mirror of the novel, the reader 

avoids succumbing to the constant dissimulations of the first-person narrator and sees José María as 

he really is. 

University of Oregon. 

88


The materialism of life: religion in Fortunata y Jacinta 

James Whiston 

Religion occupies a considerable amount of space in Fortunata y Jacinta . Six of the thirty-one 

chapter headings have to do with the idea or the institution of religion. Three priests (Nicolás Rubín, 

Pintado and Nones) pass through the pages of the novel, each attempting to show Fortunata the error 

of her ways. Fortunata spends the six months preceding her marriage in a convent, almost half the 

money for which, according to don Baldomero, has come from the Santa Cruz family. One of the 

principal characters, Guillermina, who has devoted herself to a life of prayer and practical charity, is 

often referred to as « la santa » and is introduced with the liturgical title « virgen y fundadora », 

a reference to the fact that she has founded an orphanage for the poor in Madrid. Of the four principal 

characters who die, two receive the last rites of the church, a third has a priest in attendance. The 

fourth character, Moreno, dies suddenly and is not discovered until the next day, but shortly before 

his death he has begun to practise his religion again. We are told that Estupiñá visits three churches 

every day and attends « varias misas en cada una » (I, 92; 39) 86 and Bárbara is a daily worshipper. 

Commenting on one of Estupiñá's visits to church with Bárbara, and on Estupiñá's report to her during 

prayers about the day's shopping, Stephen Gilman remarks on the «grotesque mixture of material and 

spiritual values which characterizes the society of Galdosian Madrid». 87 But are there any «spiritual» 

values portrayed in the novel? Is there a God in Fortunata y Jacinta ? The institutions of religion 

and people's attitudes to them are not seen in any transcendental or altruistic light. The part played 

by religion in Fortunata confirms in a general way Robert Ricard's comment of Galdós' « aversion 

pour l'aspect institutionel et hierarchique de l'Eglise, aspect qui lui reste incompréhensible et où il ne 

sait voir que politique ». 88 Ricard's word « aversión » does not fit the tone of Galdós' treatment of 

religion in Fortunata , or indeed in the contemporary novels of the '80s and '90s (with the exception 

of the portrayal of Nicolás Rubín in Fortunata to be discussed later). But the latter half of Ricard's 

statement is true of this novel because in it the institution and profession of religion are subject to 

86 Page references are to the 1st edition of Fortunata y Jacinta . Roman numerals refer to the volume 

no., Arabic numerals to the page no. in that volume. The accentuation has been modernised. The 

Obras completas location (Vol. V, Madrid, 1950) is also given. 

87 «The Birth of Fortunata», Anales Galdosiamos , I, 1966, p. 72. 

88 L'Evolution spirituelle de Pérez Galdós , París, n. d., p. 20. 

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the same quizzical, ironic and finally detached view which permeates the rest of the work. Religion 

is treated in an ironic fashion because it is seen to make so little impact for good on the lives of the 

characters. Conventional religion in the novel is not a transcendental force in people's lives, but is 

merely a prop for the indulgence of prejudice or, at best, the projection of one's own point of view. 

Even «heaven», it is playfully intimated, is not free from the putting of self before others, at least 

where one of the characters in Fortunata is concerned: the credit for the marriage of Baldomero and 

Bárbara is claimed by Asunción Trujillo: 

Y que no le disputara esta gloria Juana Trujillo, madre de Baldomero, la cual había muerto el año 

anterior, porque Asunción probaría ante todas las cancillerías celestiales que a ella se le había ocurrido 

la sublime idea antes que a su prima. 

(I, 49; 26) 

The playful tone of the statement should not detract from its content: self love comes first, even in 

heaven. And so, generally, through the novel: religion is not a force for change for the better, but is 

something used by people who filter in through « el lente de sus ideas propias » (III, 109; 189). 

Although they pay lip service to the notion of the existence of God, many of the characters in 

Fortunata are in the position which J. Hillis Miller also see s in the Victorian novel: 

Victorian fiction may be said to have its fundamental theme an exploration of the various ways in 

which a man may seek to make a god of another person in a world without God. 89 

Such is indeed the situation in Fortunata , where a character's hopes may rest so heavily on another 

person as to give the latter a controlling interest in his or her life. A case in point is that of Juanito 

and Bárbara. Through his wit and elegance he becomes the oracle of the household (although Bárbara 

has her way in the matter of his marriage). It is also due to his being an only child and the fact that 

his birth was expected for ten years. The images describing this relationship, while humorous, reveal 

the overriding interest that Juanito receives from his mother and are an ironic contrast to the kind of 

son that eventually results: 

Pues Juanito fue esperado desde el primer año de aquel matrimonio sin par. Los felices esposos 

contaban con él este mes, el que viene y el otro, y estaban viéndole venir y deseándole como los judíos 

al Mesías... Por fin Dios le mandó en carne mortal. 

(I, 51; 26-7) 

89 The Form of Victorian Fiction , Notre Dame and London, 1968, p. 96. 

90


As a matrimonial catch, the other half of the alliance holds him in equally high esteem: « el Delfín, 

por su fortuna, por sus prendas, por su talento, era considerado como un ser bajado del cielo » (I, 117; 

46). He himself plays little part in the arrangement of his marriage: all the initiative comes from his 

mother. At this time she has resumed « aquel ascendiente omnímodo » (I, 113; 45) over him that she 

had before his affair with Fortunata, and he is prepared to accept her dispositions as infallible: « una 

voz de su alma le declaraba que aquella gran mujer y madre tenía tratos con el Espíritu Santo, y que su 

proyecto era un verdadero caso de infalibilidad » (I, 112; 45), and this is the claim that Bárbara makes 

when she explains her plan to Juanito: « En ciertos casos no nos equivocamos; somos infalibles como 

el Papa » (I, 112; 45). While Bárbara's activities are at least directed towards the « salvamento » (I, 

104; 42) of Juanito, he is content to accept the attentions of those about him: « Estaba satisfecho, 

cual si se hubiera creado y visto que era bueno » (I, 248; 86). The biblical reminiscence permits 

us to imply that not only do some characters make gods of others but also arrogate to themselves, 

whether through misguided love, selfishness or power urges, qualities attributable to God. In the case 

of two characters with strong power urges, doña Lupe is won over to accept Fortunata into the family 

because of this despotic urge to dominate, arrogating to herself a quasi divine role in this respect, as 

the biblical reference indicates: « De una salvaje en toda la extensión de la palabra, formaría una 

señora, haciéndola a su imagen y semejanza » (II, 347; 261-2); while Guillermina, in spite of being 

shaken by her encounter with Fortunata and perplexed by other subsequent events, is humorously 

described in the final pages of the novel as God's « vicario con faldas » (IV, 428; 543), an indication 

that the core of her dominating personality has remained untouched. 

With Maxi, his love for Fortunata leads him to idealise her to such an extent that she might fairly be 

said to be the motivating force of his life, which once lost or dead leads to his own total detachment 

from society. The situation is particularly ironic in his case, because he sets out, as he thinks, to be 

the salvation of Fortunata. The irony is driven home by the description of his reaction on first seeing 

Fortunata « como a sobrenatural aparición », (II, 29; 164); by the words of love that he uses to her, 

part of a lover's vocabulary certainly, but ironic in the context of his later designs for her salvation: « 

¡Que la idolatraré... no, que ya lo estoy idolatrando! » (II, 37; 167); and in his idealised impression 

of « Fortunata transfigurada » (II, 55; 172). When she enters the convent he makes the daily trip 

there with such fidelity that « era como ir a misa, para el hombre devoto » (II, 249; 232). Maxi's 

quasi religious devotion to Fortunata is born out of his persistent habit of idealising the world around 

him, in particular the women he follows from a distance, and is an offshoot of his peculiar religion 

which is not at all orthodox: 

91


La religión que él sentía en aquella crisis de su alma era demasiado alta y no podía inspirarle 

verdadero interés por ningún culto. 

(II, 228; 225) 

His religious ideas are seen as another facet of his mistaken notion of reality. These ideas of redeeming 

Fortunata, springing from his lack of contact with the world, are also viewed ironically. He insists that 

he is marrying Fortunata « porque me lo manda Dios » (II, 95; 184) and he repeats the sentiment 

to doña Lupe as follows: 

si yo siento dentro de mí una fuerza muy grande, pero muy grande, que me impulsa a la salvación de 

otra alma lo he de realizar, aunque se hunda el mundo. 

(II, 149; 201) 

The last words of the quotation introduce an underlying note of unconscious irony: « La recherche de 

l'Absolu » in the realist novel, however sympathetically it is portrayed, is something to be distrusted. 

That Maxi's profession of religious purpose is also something not to be trusted is made plain by the 

narrator when he comments on Maxi's initial enthusiasm for the Las Micaelas proposal: 

El amor le conducía a la devoción, como le habría conducido a la impiedad, si las cosas fuesen 

por aquel camino. 

(II, 207; 219) 

His real attitude to Fortunata's proposed reformation in the convent becomes clear in his reaction 

to his suspicions that she might take her religious exercises too much to heart. The passage merits 

quoting in full: 

Tenía un presentimiento vago de no volverla a ver, no porque ella se muriese, sino porque dentro 

del convento y contagiada de la piedad de las monjas, podía chiflarse demasiado con las cosas divinas 

y enamorarse de la vida espiritual hasta el punto de no querer ya marido de carne y hueso, sino a 

Jesucristo, que es el esposo que a las monjas de verdadera santidad les hace tilín. 

(II, 241; 229) 

This sentence brings out very well the self interested nature of Maxi's conviction that he is Fortunata's 

saviour. The comic juxtapositions of the images of discase with religious notions (« contagiada de 

piedad », « chiflarse con las cosas divinas ») and the colloquialism « hace tilín » aptly express 

his delusion: Maxi is prepared to tolerate religion as long as it gets him what he wants; otherwise he 

dismisses it as illness or sexual sublimation. On another occasion, in one of Maxi's imagined replies 

to doña Lupe, Galdós again calls into question the altruistic basis of Rubín's interest in Fortunata: 

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a donde voy, voy, y al que se me ponga por delante, sea quien sea, le piso y sigo mi camino. 

(II, 136; 197) 

The image evokes more the naturalistic atmosphere of the struggle for life than any religious 

sentiment. Maxi is one of several characters in the book who are prepared to accept religion as long as 

things go well. In his case, as soon as his hopes concerning Fortunata are reversed so is his religious 

faith abandoned. This is due to his initial « fe ciega en la acción directa de la Providencia sobre el 

mecanismo funcionante de la vida menuda » (II, 229; 225). Therefore when things go wrong and his 

marriage begins to break up, Maxi's comfortable belief in a Christian Providence is also brought to 

breaking point; as he exclaims to Fortunata after he suspects her of returning to Juanito: « Me estás 

haciendo creer que no hay Dios, que portarse bien y portarse mal todo es lo mismo » (II, 417; 238). 

After the first break with Fortunata, Maxi gives up the optimistic religion of the time preceding his 

marriage and becomes interested in theosophy and renunciation of the world. These studies, however, 

are only a compensation for the loss of Fortunata; his interest increases with her absence, but, as the 

narrator says: 

Aquel ascetismo y aquel ver a Dios en sí fueron nada más que obra fugaz de la tristeza, o quizás de 

las circunstancias, y existían en su mente como esas lecciones, pegadas con saliva, que los estudiantes 

aprenden en los apuros del examen. 

(III, 243; 365) 

and his interest fades away when Fortunata returns. On her second defection Maxi's thoughts are again 

turned to religion, using it to bolster up his own ideas. On this occasion the consequences are more 

serious because the supposedly religious retribution that he visits upon Fortunata leads to her death. 

He uses religion to further his revenge by appearing to Fortunata in the guise of a messenger of a 

God of retribution: 

Di gracias a Dios por aquella luz que hizo venir a mí. Dios es el único que castiga, ¿verdad, 

señora? ¡Y qué bien que lo sabe hacer! ¿A qué usurparle sus funciones? Dios, realizando la justicia 

por medio de los sucesos, lógicamente, es el espectáculo más admirable que pueden ofrecer el mundo 

y la historia. 

(IV, 358; 522) 

These remarks are addressed by Maxi to Guillermina who emphatically agrees with them. It is clear 

that Maxi's notions are what he thinks of as Christian, since when he is meditating on his revenge he 

considers it preferable to tell Fortunata about the affair between Aurora and Juanito, rather than kill 

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her: « Si la mato no hay lección. La enseñanza es más cristiana que la muerte » (IV, 275; 497); 

and when he breaks the news to her he claims that his clearsightedness in these matters is « un don 

que recibí de Dios » (IV, 364; 524). 

Maxi's religious notions therefore, cannot be seen as anything other than an extension of his own 

lack of self-knowledge, of his misguided perception of everyday reality, as a cloak for inadequacy, 

and finally as a peg on which to hang his ideas of revenge. He is prepared to accept institutional 

religion as long as it gets him what he wants: Fortunata. While he cannot be said to represent 

unremittingly the materialism of life, his religious ideas and profession are riddled with seif-interest, 

and the reader is forced to conclude, by the ironic presentation of this aspect of Maxi's character, that, 

at best, the portrayal of his thoughts and actions illustrates a fundamental scepticism on Galdós' part 

towards the profession of religion that this character exemplifies, whether it be theosophy, Maxi's own 

interpretation of Christianity, or his tolerance and use of conventional religion to further his plans to 

win the love of Fortunata. 

Guillermina is another character whose profession of religion is looked at ironically. In spite of 

her charitable work for the poor she is all too readily identifiable with the social class that she has 

supposedly left behind. While apparently acting out of religious motives she, unwittingly or otherwise, 

bolsters up the social status quo. If Maxi, in the pursuit of what he sees as religious ends, is prepared 

to trample upon anybody who gets in his way, Guillermina in the pursuit of her religious interests 

can count on the support of the civil authorities. Felisa, one of the inmates of Las Micaelas, has been 

enclosed there by Guillermina who has acted in this way on many occasions: 

Llevóla a las Micaelas doña Guillermina Pacheco, que la cazó, puede decirse, en las calles de 

Madrid, echándole una pareja de Orden Público, y sin más razón que su voluntad, se apoderó de 

ella. Guillermina las gastaba así, y lo que hizo con Felisa habíalo hecho con otras muchas, sin dar 

explicaciones a nadie de aquel atentado contra los derechos individuales. 

(II, 293; 245) 

The semi-ironic use of « cazar » to describe Guillermina's methods is brought into striking relief 

in the story of her encounter with the protestantes who take Mauricia off the streets. Guillermina 

comes to claim Mauricia for her own faith and, as Maxi, who is telling the story, humorously puts it: 

« Religión frente a religión, la cosa se iba poniendo fea » (III, 238; 363). Guillermina goes to the 

Governor of Madrid, who orders the Protestant couple to hand over Mauricia, but she refuses to leave. 

She finally tires of her situation, however, attacks the pastor's wife and wreaks havoc in their chapel: 

« Costó trabajo echarla a la calle... Al salir, ¡tras!... doña Guillermina, que me le echa un cordel al 

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pescuezo y se la lleva. » (III, 239; 364). Whether Maxi's final image is literal or metaphorical, it is 

not out of character with the authoritarian attitude of Guillermina and her abiding conviction that she 

knows what is best for others. Mauricia, as we shall see later; is one of her signal failures. Guillermina's 

religious motives and effectiveness in the case of Fortunata are also ironically scrutinised. A feature 

of the second Pituso episode which shows where Guillermina's true interests lie, is that her concern 

is almost entirely for the Santa Cruz heir, and only for Fortunata inasmuch as the latter can harm or 

advance the welfare of the child. Thinking that Ballester is Fortunata's lover, she tries to get him on 

her side to persuade Fortunata to give the child to « personas que le habrían de cuidar mejor que 

ella » (IV, 343; 518), that is, the Santa Cruz family. When Ballester protests that his relationship 

with Fortunata is of the purest, Guillermina replies ironically: « Si, yo creo todo... Pero no se trata 

ahora de esto. ¿A mí qué me importa? ». Moral considerations are less important when the kind of 

society represented by the Santa Cruz family is not implicated. When Fortunata finally returns from 

her confrontation with Aurora, Guillermina pushes her, calls her names and threatens to take the child 

from her (IV, 352; 520). Once inside, « la santa no atendía más que al pequeñuelo » (IV, 351; ibid. 

). When she sees Fortunata's highly nervous and dangerous condition her only concern is for the child: 

« Está esa mujer excitadísima, y me temo que se seque... ¿Hay aquí antiespasmódica? » (IV, 353, 

521). She pays more attention to Fortunata when Estupiñá runs to tell her that she is dying, but this 

is after Fortunata has made over the child to Jacinta. Her ministrations at the death bed of Fortunata 

are also viewed in an ironic light. As she attends the dying girl Guillermina attempts to lead her to a 

religious repentance by getting her to forgive Aurora and Juanito. Fortunata's response is that she is « 

arrepentida por mitad » (IV, 382; 530), the half repentance being her willingness to forgive Juanito. 

With regard to Aurora, Fortunata cannot understand what would be lost if Aurora were to depart this 

world: « Esto lo decía con tanta naturalidad, que Guillermina, por un instante, no supo si indignarse 

o tomarlo a risa » (IV, 383; 530). Very shortly after this, Fortunata is insisting that it is she who 

has given life to her child, Guillermina that it is God's work (IV, 384; 530). Guillermina also tries to 

persuade Fortunata that her claim to be married to Juanito « era un error diabólico a fuerza de ser 

tonto » (IV, 416; 540), while among Fortunata's last words are « soy ángel » (IV, 417; 540). 

Guillermina is also placed in a dilemma with Maxi when she is left alone with him in the room 

adjoining Fortunata's after the latter has given birth to Juanito's child: 

Quiso la dama hablarle, y no pudo decir una palabra... ¿Acometería el estado real de las cosas? 

Ni pensarlo. ¿Lo tomaría por el lado religioso y de la resignación? Tampoco. ¿Por el lado mundano? 

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Quiá... Nunca se había visto la buena señora enfrente de un problema de ciencia social tan enrevesado 

y temeroso... Aquel enigma superaba a cuantos enigmas había visto ella en su vida infatigable. 


It is clear that in this case the religious solution is only one of many that occur to Guillermina and is 

rejected in any case (in the complete paragraph, not given above, she thinks of five different ways of 

tackling Maxi); and in the narrator's summary the question is presented as « un problema de ciencia 

social », the morality of the situation being left aside. When she finally decides to speak to him « 

tirando por la calle de enmedio », Maxi's reply is to talk of his «former» religious mania, but he 

thanks God that he is now a new man. Such a resigned and religious sentiment leaves Guillermina 

speechless: « estaba pasmada y no se le ocurría nada que oponer a aquellas razones ». Why « oponer 

» since the « razones » are entirely in conformity with orthodox religious sentiment? Thus, the 

relationship between religious profession and more practical considerations once again comes under 

Galdós' ironic scrutiny. 

Guillermina, then, is by no means « una llama viva, la caridad ardiente », as Casalduero holds. 

90 Her religious witness, far from being a transcendental and altruistic way of life, is bound by the 

narrow confines of social class and depends upon a conservative and often institutional framework to 

support it. As such it is inadequate to deal with the complex social and psychological situations that 

arise. Unlike Maxi's, her religion is not a cloak for inadequacy, but her motives are equally suspect 

and her final effectiveness in communicating her point of view to those outside her class is minimal. 

While her religious profession is insistent throughout, her effectiveness as seen in the novel is in the 

main based on political, middle class support, and her situation aptly confirms Ricard's judgement, 

quoted earlier, that Galdós « ne sait voir que politique » a religion that is professed in such a way. 

The two most «religious» characters, therefore -Maxi and Guillermina- are presented in such an ironic 

and sceptical fashion that their religious profession is seen as not being finally higher than the more 

materialistic preoccupations of other characters. 

Although religious sentiment pervades the novel it makes no impact and is indistinguishable from 

materialistic or social concerns since characters use it for their own ends. For Bárbara, prayers are a 

« pararrayos » to keep Juanito healthy: 

Si antes sus oraciones fueron pararrayos puestos sobre la cabeza de Juanito para apartar de ella 

el tifus y las viruelas, después intentaban librarle de otros enemigos no menos atroces. Temía los 

90 Vida y obra de Galdós (1843-1920) , 3ª ed. ampliada, Madrid, 1970, p. 93. 

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escándalos que ocasionan lances personales, las pasiones que destruyen la salud y envilecen el alma, 

los despilfarros, el desorden moral, físico y económico. 

(I, 15; 16) 

Somewhere in the catalogue of Bárbara's fears there is a religious sentiment, but it takes third place 

to the social and physical evils of « escándalos » and « pasiones ». Juanito's Sunday evening 

entertainment depended upon his unwilling religious observance earlier in the day. The narrator's 

judgement on him at the end of Volume I shows how Juanito uses religion as a pretext in his search 

for Fortunata: « quería cohonestar su inquietud con razones filantrópicas y aun cristianas que sacaba 

de su entendimiento rico en sofisterías » (I, 476; 156), and in Juanito's own reasoning: « Mi mujer... 

no puede hacerse cargo de los motivos morales, sí, morales que tengo para proceder de esta manera 

» ( ibid. ; ibid. ). 91 When he tires of her he again uses the excuse of religion to be free: « Yo soy 

casado, tú también; estamos pateando todas las leyes divinas y humanas » (III, 103; 322-3). On this 

occasion the criticism of Juanito's hypocrisy is put into Fortunatas's unspoken response: 

en su buen instinto comprendía que toda aquella hojarasca de leyes divinas, principios, conciencia y 

demás, servía para ocultar el hueco que dejaba el amor fugitivo. 

The portrayal of Juan Pablo Rubín's conversion to naturalism suggests Galdós' generally sceptical 

attitude to preaching and evangelising. Juan Pablo's newly discovered religion of nature is summarized 

as follows: « La Naturaleza es la verdadera luz de las almas, el Verbo, el legítimo Mesías » (III, 49; 

306), and Rubín is then described in Christ-like terms, as he attempts to put across his ideas on nature 

to his café audience, ideas that deny the existence of a Christian God: « Pues el mismo Jesucristo, 

¿no escogió por discípulos a unos infelices pescadores, hombres rudos que no conocían ninguna letra, 

y a mujeres de mala vida? » (III, 50; 306). So it is with Juan Pablo as he attempts in the café to sow 

the seeds of his « Evangelio al natural ». His style of preaching is based on gospel phrases: 

La que tenga oídos, oiga. 

(III, 51; 307) 

«En verdad os digo que no hay Infierno ni Cielo, ni tampoco alma» afirmó Rubín con acento 

apostólico. 

(III, 52; 307) 

91 The words « filantrópicas y aun cristianas » were substituted for the word « caritativas », and the 

words « morales, sí, morales » for the word « personales » at the galley stage of the novel. 

97


His exclamations of exasperation at the ingenuous questions of his audience are also an ironic 

reminder of the Christianity that he is trying to explain away, and his unthinking use of Christian 

expletives indicates the very precarious hold that any kind of religion has on him: «María Santísima, 

con lo que sale usted ahora » (III, 51; 307), « Doña Nieves, por amor de Dios » (III, 52; 307), and 

(a particularly ironic example): « Señora, por los clavos de Cristo » (III, 53; ibid. ). 92 

Such an unthinking jumble of religion and naturalism that characterizes Juan Pablo Rubín is not 

to be found in the character of Feijóo. His attitude to religion is amiably cynical and his religious 

observance does not go beyond what society requires: his advice to Fortunata is to conform outwardly: 

Yo bien sé que lo mejor es que uno sea un santo; pero como esto es dificilillo, hay que tener 

formalidad y no dar nunca malos ejemplos. 

(III, 139; 333) 

Feijóo is so insistent on this in his « curso de filosofía práctica » that Fortunata remembers his 

advice as a « religión de las apariencias » (III, 396; 03). Feijóo himself practices this religion: on 

one occasion he is thought to be near to death and he accepts the last rites of the church, not as a 

believer in them but as part of his social duties: 

Yo creo en Dios -dijo-, y tengo acá mi religión a mi manera. Por el respeto que los hombres nos 

debemos los unos a los otros, no quiero dejar de cumplir ningún requisito de los que ordena toda 

sociedad bien organizada. Siempre he sido esclavo de las buenas formas. Tráiganme ustedes cuantos 

curas quieran, que yo no me asusto de nada, ni temo nada, y no desentono jamás. 

(III, 209; 355) 

When the priests of the parish ask him about leaving money for masses after his death, « replicó 

que no había olvidado ninguno de los deberes de la cortesía social, y que para no desafinar en nada, 

también quedaba puesto el rengloncito de las misas » (III, 211; ibid. ). Feijóo's conformity with 

the rules of what he sees as a social game has its desired effect on Nicolás Rubín and others, as the 

priest's description to doña Lupe indicates: 

Que D. Evaristo es un cristiano rancio, y que cuando le administraron, recibió al Señor con una 

edificación y una santidad tan grandes, que todos los concurrentes al acto lloraban a moco y baba. 

(III, 221; 358) 

92 The words « los clavos de Cristo » were substituted for the word « Dios » at the galley stage. 

98


Feijóo's declaration of his belief in God, coupled with his unorthodox and essentially social attitude to 

organised religion also occurs when he and Fortunata are making their farewells prior to her restoration 

to the Rubín household: « Yo juro por Dios, en quien siempre he creído » (III, 198-9; 352), which 

leads to the narrator's remark about « la santificación de las relaciones que entre ambos habían 

existido ». Apart from these references, Feijóo's religion is essentially a religion of living according 

to the law of nature, as his statements on that theme indicate, particularly in his advice to Fortunata. 

The presentation of Nicolás Rubín continues the scrutiny of religious profession in the novel. Indeed 

it might be argued that with the portrayal of the priest, Galdós, uncharacteristically at this stage of 

his career, has let anti-clerical sentiment gain the upper hand and that at times he has made the priest 

the butt of his sarcasm. The portrayal is out of harmony with the tone of the rest of the work. We 

are given little background information about the character, and the single sentence referring to his 

fatherless upbringing goes no way towards explaining the nauseating characteristics of the priest. He 

preaches the values of the spirit to Fortunata but he himself is the least spiritual character in the work: 

he is filthy, gluttonous, pompous, vain, hypocritical, affected, selfish, ambitious and emasculated. His 

heart is set on advancement to a canonry (a political appointment, in the hands of Villalonga). When 

he achieves it he is unaware of its ironically unreligious provenance, since it is part of Feijóo's secret 

manoeuvering to reunite Maxi and Fortunata, as Fortunata realises later: « Si no hubiera sido por mi 

maldad, ¡cuándo habría sido canónigo este tonto de capirote, ordinario y hediondo! » (III, 317; 388). 

Two of the chapters of the novel are entitled « Las Micaelas por fuera » and « Las Micaelas 

por dentro », and the institution receives a good deal of attention from Galdós' pen. It is mentioned 

in Volume I when Guillermina and Jacinta are visiting Severiana, Mauricia's sister. Mauricia has 

«escaped» from the convent by climbing over the wall, and as Severiana says, « ahora la estamos 

buscando para volverla a encerrar allá » (I, 359; 120), to which Jacinta replies « Allí la enderezarán... 

Crea usted que hacen milagros ». Fortunata also has high hopes for her six-month stay in the convent: 

« De seguro me volveré otra sin sentirlo » (II, 209; 219), the narrator remarking that « lo particular 

era que veía su purificación como se ve un milagro cuando se cree en ellos » (II, 208; 219). But 

there are no miracles in Las Micaelas: the supposed miracle that occurs is the result of intoxication, 

when Mauricia, having acquired Sor Marcela's bottle of brandy and consumed the contents, begins 

to imagine that she has seen the Virgin. The supposed vision is not only not miraculous, but is a 

simple psychological reflection of Mauricia's subconscious anxiety about her child Adoración, who 

has been taken from her and put in the care of Severiana: the Virgin of the vision « no traía nene 

Dios; paicía que se lo habían quitado » (II, 317; 252): Mauricia sees the apparition in terms of 

99


her own situation. The entire Las Micaelas episode illustrates Galdós' view of such institutions as 

being, however well-intentioned, 93 ultimate failures because they are unable to make any impact 

on the spirit of the inmates. The ineffectiveness of Las Micaelas is particularly striking in the cases 

of Mauricia and Fortunata, and the friendship between the two women that is consolidated by the 

enforced proximity in the convent further illustrates what little impact institutional religion makes on 

them during their prolonged and intense exposure to it. With typical Galdosian irony the conversations 

between the women in the convent are always shown to concern Fortunata's position vis-à-vis the 

Santa Cruz family. Mauricia reminds Fortunata of her time spent with Juanito, as they reminisce about 

the past (II, 259; 234) or discuss Jacinta, « esposa de tu señor » (II, 277; 240), as Mauricia calls her. 

In the convent Mauricia becomes an influencing force on Fortunata and an « autoridad en cuestión 

de amores » (II, 295; 246). She also imparts her opinions on religion to her friend, which are highly 

unorthodox, heretical indeed. Her view is that the practice of religion makes women more attractive 

to men: 

si una se mete mucho a rezar y a confesar y comulgar, se les encienden más a ellos las querencias, y 

se pirran por nosotras desde que nos convertimos por lo eclesiástico... Pues qué, ¿crees tú que juanito 

no viene a rondar este convento desde que sabe que estás aquí? Paices boba. Tenlo por cierto. 

(II, 263; 236) 

which turns out to be true: when the friends meet in doña Lupe's house Mauricia confirms that Juanito 

has reacted to Fortunata's religious enclosure in the way she had predicted. Another of the advantages 

of the religious life, according to Mauricia, is that it predisposes the heart to love affairs. She also 

imparts this opinion to Fortunata in the convent: « la religión lo que hace es refrescarle a una la 

93 The tone of the description of Las Micaelas is more tolerant than J. L. Brooks's description allows 

for: Nothing in the novel, not even the character of Juanito, is described with such harshness as Las 

Micaelas. Everything about it, its architecture, its decoration, its church music, is cheap and trashy, 

and to crown it all, its spiritual director León Pintado is a priest of the same calibre and outlook as 

his friend Nicolás Rubín, that epitome of pride, ignorance, dirt and gluttony. «The Character of doña 

Guillermina Pacheco in Galdós' novel, Fortunata y Jacinta », Bulletin of Hispanic Studies , XXXVIII, 

1962, pp. 90-1. Where is the harshness in the description? Pintado and Rubín are friends, but not «of 

the same calibre», if we are to judge by the information given us in Fortunata . Las Micaelas and its 

chaplain are treated in an ironic and sceptical fashion, certainly, but not in the fulminating manner 

described by Professor Brooks. (See my remarks on Pintado on p-74.) 

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entendedera y ponerle el corazón más tierno » (II, 297-8; 246). 94 Her advice to Fortunata as to 

what attitude she should have towards Jacinta is very much at odds with the profession of Christianity 

which they should both be making in Las Micaelas: « Chica, no seas tonta, no te rebajes, no le tengas 

lástima... Siempre y cuando puedas darle un disgusto, dáselo, por vida del santísimo peine » (II, 299; 

247). Her advice to Fortunata on the day before her wedding further illustrates what little religious 

impact her second confinement in the convent has made on her. In the face of Fortunata's doubts about 

her marriage, Mauricia advises her to proceed with it, so that she will then be able to do what she 

likes: « La que tiene un peine de marido, tiene bula para todo » (II, 358; 265). 

On her death bed, where Mauricia expresses the wish to die « lo más católicamente posible » (III, 

246; 366), the ineffectualness of her religious training and its scanty hold on her is also in evidence. 

Guillermina's attentions and insistence on observing the solemnity of the administration of the last 

rites see to it that Mauricia refrains from using profane language, but the deeper recesses of her moral 

life are never touched. Even the curbing of her language is probably not due primarily to the religious 

occasion itself but to the judicious administration of sherry. In the very act of dying, however, Mauricia 

reverts to swearing and cursing and Guillermina gives her a glass of sherry « llena hasta los bordes 

» (III, 333; 393), at which Mauricia becomes religious again. (The chapter is appropriately entitled 

« Naturalismo espiritual ».) Her advice to Fortunata on her death bed and her ideas on marriage 

are as anarchic as ever. She assures Fortunata that Juanito will return to her and that love is above 

all: « en el querer, ¡aire, aire! y caiga el que caiga » (III, 259; 370), and she suggests that Jacinta 

may have a lover. Her death agony is accompanied by intermittent bouts of religiosity, during which 

she offers to pray for Fortunata to have Juanito restored to her (III, 288; 379) and says that God will 

agree: « el Señor te arreglará, haciendo justicia y dándote lo que te quitaron ». She tells Fortunata 

that she will not sin if she takes back Juanito « por la santidad que tengo entre mí » (III, 289; ibid. 

94 The earlier versions of this sentence are a good example of how Galdós could use the galley proof 

stage to sharpen the ironic presentation. The first version on the galley reads: « la religión lo que 

hace es refrescarle a una todo lo que ha gozado y padecido en este indino mundo » and the second 

version: « la religión lo que hace es refrescarle a una la entendedera y ablandarle el corazón ». The 

versions progress from the somewhat flat and generalised original to the use of « ablandar » which, 

while suggesting that Fortunata will relent and take back Juanito, lacks the romantic connotations of 

« corazón más tierno ». 

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), referring to the last rites of the church that she has received earlier in the day. 95 The description 

of the death of Mauricia is full of the ironic approach to religious motivation that also characterizes 

the description of the death of Torquemada. Torquemada's final word is « Conversión », and one 

of the characters asks « ¡Conversión! ¿Es la de su alma o la de la Deuda? » 96 It is similarly so 

with Mauricia: was her final word « ya. Como quien dice: Ya veo la gloria y los ángeles », or « 

más..., a saber , "más Jerez" » (III, 334; 393). Doña Lupe, the speaker, takes the latter view. Far 

from being a constructive force in Mauricia's life, therefore, her convent experience produces in her 

a religiosity that is confused, has nothing to do with orthodox Christian profession, indeed is nearer 

to a naturalistic struggle for life, and even then needs intoxicating drink to promote it. 

Mauricia's influence on Fortunata, in spite of being made in the name of religion, also encourages 

her friend to cultivate feelings that are far from religious. Fortunata's own experience in Las Micaelas 

confirms what little impact that religious institution makes. Again with typical irony Fortunata, far 

from being removed from worldly concerns and thoughts of Juanito by her enclosure, is frequently 

reminded of him in the convent. Apart from her daily contact with Mauricia, another of the 

95 The following reminiscence of Pardo Bazán suggests that this «grotesque mixture of material and 

spiritual values» of which Gilman speaks might not have been confined to «Galdosian Madrid». Pardo 

Bazán leads into her anecdote with a reference to Fortunata and to Galdós' admirable portrayal of the 

women of the pueblo , and continues: Para mostrar cómo entiende esta mujer la idea religiosa, séame 

permitido referir una anécdota que llegó a mi por fidedigno conducto. Contaba una chula que, bajando 

cierto día por una calle de Madrid, acertó a ver un señorito elegante, el cual la fascinó por su gallardía, 

su negro bigote, sus hermosos ojos, y otras cualidades y gracias que en él notó o creyó notar. Tan 

viva fue la impresión que, añadía, « me puse a mirarle de fijo para que me siguiese... y pensaba yo 

entre mí: ¡Ay, si este hombre no me sigue, me muero! Con tanto deseo me puse a rezarle a la Virgen 

del Carmen salves y más salves, la ofrecí una misa..., y tanto ofrecí y recé, que al fin el señorito me 

siguió... » (« La mujer española », in La España moderna , XX, 1890, p. 147.) Given, however, the 

love affair between Pardo Bazán and Galdós about this time (see Carmen Bravo-Villasante, Vida y 

obra de Emilia Pardo Bazán , Madrid, 1974, pp. 142-157, and Walter T. Pattison, «Two Women in 

the Life of Galdós», Anales Galdosianos , VIII, 1973), it is not unlikely that Pardo Bazán's source was 

Galdós himself. And this raises the question: how much of Galdós' depiction of religious attitudes in 

Fortunata is a naturalistic «slice of life» and how much is due to his ironic and sceptical imagination? 

96 Torquemada y San Pedro , Obras completas , vol. V, Madrid, 1950, p. 1196. 

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arrepentidas that she meets in the convent is a doña Manolita, who knows the Santa Cruz family and 

who describes Juanito as « un excelente chico, y muy simpático, pero mucho » (II, 283; 242). It is 

she who tells Fortunata about the Santa Cruz's endowment of the convent and that the monstrance has 

been donated by Bárbara. This means that even Fortunata's time supposedly spent in prayer before 

the Sacrament is a reminder of Juanito: 

Lo malo era que en aquellas largas horas, a veces aburridas, que pasaba de rodillas ante el 

Sacramento la pecadora solía fijarse más en la custodia, marco y continente de la sagrada forma, que 

en la forma misma, por las asociaciones de ideas que aquella joya despertaba en su mente. 

(II, 304: 248) 

The long hours in front of the Sacrament allow Fortunata to think of Juanito, and she also admits to 

Mauricia that she dreams of meeting him and even dreams that she is his wife and that Jacinta is the 

mistress (II, 298; 246). Jacinta's visit to the convent is yet another reminder of the past and produces 

in Fortunata an « inmenso trastorno » (II, 286; 243). Her adultery within forty-eight hours of her 

marriage is, of course, the conclusive proof of the ineffectualness of the religious life that she has led 

for the previous six months. The religious veneer which she received in the convent is lost when she 

meets Juanito again. She apparently makes great strides in religious knowledge during her stay in the 

convent. Before her entry, we are told, « su catecismo era harto elemental y se reducía a dos o tres 

nociones incompletas, el Cielo y el Infierno, padecer aquí para gozar allá, o lo contrario » (II, 199; 

216). Towards the end of her stay « había adelantado mucho en la lectura y escritura, y se sabía de 

corrido la doctrina cristiana » (II, 301; 247). But in Juanito's arms the day after her wedding to Maxi 

« toda idea moral había desaparecido como un sueño borrado del cerebro al despertar; su casamiento, 

su marido, las Micaelas, todo esto se había alejado y puéstose a millones de leguas » (II, 395; 276), 

and her exclamation on seeing Juanito, « Nene, ¡bendito Dios! », shows where she feels on whose 

side religion should be in the tug-of-war between her affections and the demands of an institution 

such as Las Micaelas. The resulting confusion which this tug-of-war causes in her may be seen in the 

way she replies to Guillermina when she tries to explain her idea that Juanito was really her husband, 

and not Jacinta's: « Mi conciencia me aprobaba... vamos al caso, me decía una cosa muy atroz » (III, 

369; 404), where the juxtaposition of the moral and the immoral (« aprobaba » and « atroz ») 

indicates the urcertain hold that conventional religious dictates of conscience have upon her. 

Like Pardo Bazán's chula (see note 10), and probably under the influence of Mauricia, Fortunata 

also has a tendency to see religion « por el lente de sus ideas propias ». In one of her more optimistic 

moods she imagines that the « idea blanca » (the exposed Sacrament) tells her that she will come 

103


round to loving Maxi (II, 314; 251). But when she is with Juanito again she tells him that she prayed to 

the Virgin to love Juanito: « Lo que me aconseja la Virgen siempre que le rezo con los ojos cerrados, 

es que te quiera mucho y me deje querer de ti » (II, 404; 279) and according to Juanito she also prays 

to have a child by him (III, 97-8; 321). If Maxi's religion depended on Fortunata, she in her turn at 

one stage depends on the example of Jacinta's conduct. When Aurora tells her of her suspicions with 

regard to Jacinta and Moreno Isla, Fortunata is stunned by the revelation, and her response is: 

ja, ja, ja... ¡Ya no había virtud! ¡Ya no había más ley que el amor!... ¡Ya podía ella alzar su frente! 

Ya no le sacarían ningún ejemplo que la confundiera y abrumara. Ya Dios las había hecho a todas 

iguales... para poderlas perdonar a todas. 


So even Fortunata, in many respects the most attractive character in the novel, also uses religion in 

a way that is lacking in altruism. In the passage just quoted, her response, based on hearsay, is to 

drag Jacinta down and leave the way open for her to continue her affair with Juanito with religious 

impunity. 

When Maxi breaks the news to her of the affair between Aurora and Juanito, Fortunata meditates 

her revenge on her new rival and uses the expression « me paseo por encima de su alma » (IV, 395; 

533). The last word of this sentence was changed at the galley stage from « cuerpo ». The result 

is certainly more expressive, but it also creates an unconscious juxtaposition of the material and the 

spiritual on Fortunata's part. As she attempts to overcome her post natal weakness and put her plan 

of revenge into action, she exclaims: « yo le he de refregar la jeta con la suela de mis botas. Si no lo 

hago, Dios mío, me va a ser imposible ser ángel, y no podré tener santidad » (IV, 395; 534), a further 

indication that, as also in the case of Mauricia, orthodox religious tenets had taken no root during 

the enclosure in Las Micaelas. A similar unconsciously ironic use of religion occurs again when she 

considers Maxi's report that Aurora is suggesting that Ballester is the father of her child. If Juanito 

were to say such a thing, she thinks to herself, 

si yo supiera que lo había dicho, juro por esta cruz (haciéndola con los dedos y besándola), por esta 

cruz en que te mataron, Cristo mío, juro que le he de aborrecer... pero aborrecerle de cuajo, no de 

mentirijillas. 


104


The jumble of religious and naturalistic attitudes that characterizes the novel is particularly marked 

in this instance, where the image of the cross and the expression of hatred is repeated and sustained, 

and yet in spite of this, Fortunata is unaware of the irony of her remark. 

A further indication of the slight hold that conventional religion has on the characters in the novel 

and that it is tolerated only as long as things go well, is the feeling that some of them have about God: if 

they are not in agreement with Him, that it is He who is in the wrong, is not to be trusted, or is « chocho 

». Thus, Baldomero and Bárbara, when childless « empezaron a quejarse de la Providencia y a decir 

que les había engañado » (I, 52; 27). The narrator makes-this kind of observation on occasions in 

Volume I; for example, Jacinta's affluent childlessness when compared to the fertility of her two elder 

sisters, particularly that of Candelaria who has had twins: « ¡Y ella, que era rica, no tenía ni siquiera 

medio!... Dios estaba ya chocho sin duda » (I, 180; 65). This remark is repeated, again in playful 

terms, when the narrator is commenting on the obsessive nature of Jacinta's longing for children: 

¿Pero qué hacía Dios que no mandaba uno siquiera de los chiquillos que en número infinito tiene 

por allá? ¿En qué estaba pensando su Divina Majestad? Y Candelaria, que apenas tenía con qué vivir, 

¡uno cada año!... Y que vinieran diciendo que hay equidad en el Cielo... Sí; no está mala justicia la 

de arriba... sí... ya lo estamos viendo. 

(I, 197; 70) 

When Ido visits her, his reaction to Jacinta's plight is to take God to task for not having given her 

children. As in the lines just quoted, his comment is also striking for the tone of familiarity and the way 

it reduces God to someone who does not really know what is good for man, and who sells justice short: 

«La señora no tiene hijos... ¡Qué lástima!» -exclamó Ido- «Dios no sabe lo que se hace... Y yo 

pregunto: si la señora no tiene niños, ¿para quién son los niños? Lo que yo digo... ese señor Dios será 

todo lo sabio que quieran; pero yo no le paso ciertas cosas.» 

(I, 273; 93) 

Mauricia also comments on the unwillingness on the part of Providence to fall in with man's plans: 

« como que [Jacinta] está rabiando por tener chiquillos y el Señor no se los quiere dar. Mal hecho, 

¿verdad? » (II, 277; 240). Mauricia's remark to Fortunata may have influenced the latter's thoughts 

in that direction, because she too sets to thinking of the lack of harmony in her own life after her 

marriage to Maxi: « Todo va al revés para mí... Dios no me hace caso. Cuidado que me pone las 

cosas mal » (II, 392; 275), and the narrator calls her attempts to explain this to Juanito « aquella 

corrección de las obras de la Providencia » (II, 403; 279). The birth of Fortunata's second child is a 

105


further reason for Jacinta's discontent, as Guillermina reports: « Jacinta, furiosa, dice que Dios está 

chocho y que no hace más que disparates » (IV, 329-30; 513). In the final pages of the novel Jacinta, 

looking back at the events that have included the deaths of Moreno and Fortunata, her possession of 

the latter's child, and Moreno's love for her, turns her thoughts again to 

lo desarregladas que andan las cosas del mundo... haciendo, en fin, unas correcciones tan 

extravagantes a la obra total del mundo, que se reiría de ellas Dios, si las supiera. 

(IV, 427-8; 543) 

The gentle tone is in keeping with the quiet detachment of the novel's closing pages, but it is intriguing 

to speculate on the irony contained in the words « si las supiera »: the narrator in assuming his 

detached and wise stance can tell the reader about Jacinta's secret fantasies and suggest that God does 

not know about them! Whether the irony is intentional or not on Galdós' part, the God conjured up by 

the sentence is an anthropomorphic one, with less power than the omniscient author. 

Although when in Spain Moreno Isla is in daily contact with his aunt Guillermina, the example of her 

religious activity makes no impact on him and he is another character who uses religion for his own 

ends. Very much a sceptic, he begins to practise again the religion of his upbringing by going to Mass 

with Guillermina. Moreno's motive, however, is to impress Jacinta with whom he is in love. He, like 

Fortunata, also appears unaware of the irony of his situation in which religious practice and adultery 

are bound up in this way. He himself is convinced that if Jacinta were to love him he would regain his 

lost religious faith (IV, 129; 452). His final thoughts before his death are a jumble of feelings of love 

towards Jacinta and religious sentiment, generally expressed in financial terms (notice especially in 

the following passage the grotesquely unorthodox juxtaposition of « mi niña adorada bien vale una 

misa »). Self-interest, love, money and religion are so inextricably bound up together that only a full 

quotation will serve to bring out the irony and pathos of his situation: 

¿Y quién me asegura que el año que viene, cuando vuelva, no la encontraré en otra disposición? 

Vamos a ver... ¿por qué no había de ser así? Se habrá convencido de que amar a un marido como el 

que tiene es contrario a la naturaleza; y su Dios, aquel buen Señor que está acostado en la urna de 

cristal, con su sábana de holanda finísima, aquel mismo Dios, amigo de Estupiñá, le ha de aconsejar 

que me quiera. ¡Oh! sí, el año que viene vuelvo... En Abril ya estoy andando para acá. Ya verá mi tía 

si me hago yo místico, y tan místico, que dejaré tamañitos a los de aquí... ¡Oh!... ¡Mi niña adorada 

bien vale una misa. Y entonces gastaré un millón, dos millones, seis millones, en construir un asilo 

benéfico. ¿Para qué dijo Guillermina? ¡Ah! para locos; sí, es lo que hace más falta... y me llamarán 

la Providencia de los desgraciados, y pasmaré al mundo con mi devoción... Tendremos uno, dos, 

106


muchos hijos, y seré el más feliz de los hombres... Le compraré al Cristo aquel tan lleno de cardenales 

una urna de plata. 

(IV, 156-7; 461) 

Religion and money are often linked in the novel. Bárbara's response to Juanito's trip to Paris is 

to give « más limosnas que de costumbre ». She thinks of having the Sacrament exposed while 

he is away, but decides that this « recurso gordo » is « un lujo desmedido » (I, 17; 16). The 

scenes in church between herself and Estupiñá are obviously on a comic, innocent level; nevertheless 

commerce and religious practice, church and market place are jumbled together as Estupiñá sidles 

over to Bárbara and fills her in on the details of the day's victuals: 

Hoy reciben congrio en la casa de Martínez; me han enseñado los despachos de Laredo... llena eres 

de gracia; el Señor es contigo... coliflor no hay. 

(I, 205; 73) 

The commercial aspects of the Juanín deal in Volume I have been mentioned in a previous article. 

97 In her effort to beat Izquierdo down to a modest price for the child, Guillermina uses a torrent of 

rhetoric that leaves Izquierdo speechless. She urges him to admit that he would accept a « portería 

» in exchange for Juanín; « confiéselo por la pasión y muerte de nuestro Redentor, en quien todos 

creemos » (I, 370; 123), she exclaims, also unconscious of the irony of using religious language to 

bolster up what is at best an ill-considered, if not indeed a shady deal. When Fortunata remembers 

handling the Virgin's mantle in Las Micaelas, which was a donation from the Santa Cruz family in 

thanksgiving for Juanito's recovery from pneumonia, the narrator himself seems to pause and ponder 

on the strange juxtaposition of money and religion that is involved: « aquel mismo manto que había 

servido para pagar, digámoslo así, la salvación del chico de Santa Cruz » (II, 284; 242). Perhaps 

the most striking juxtaposition of this kind in the novel, apart from Moreno's remark, is doña Lupe's 

matter-of-fact description of the death of Melitona Llorente, Maxi's aunt: « Murió como una santa, 

recibió todos los Sacramentos y dejó treinta mil reales para misas » (II, 83; 181). 

The relationship between the daily commerce of shopping and the daily act of worship has just been 

mentioned: the scene between Estupiñá and Bárbara in church, where the shopping strategy is plotted 

between prayers. The church is also used as another kind of market: the marriage market. For Isabel 

Cordero, the Sunday Mass is a place where she can « exhibir y airear el muestrario, por ver si 

97 See James Whiston, «Language and Situation in Part I of Fortunata y Jacinta », Anales 

Galdosianos , VII, 1972, pp. 79-91, in particular p. 84. 

107


caía algún parroquiano, o por otro nombre marido » (I, 73; 33). God, included among the clientèle, 

« echó una mirada de benevolencia sobre el muestrario y después lo bendijo » (I, 73; 33). Other 

references to the Mass in the novel might not unjustly be seen as further illustrating the link between 

underlying commercial attitudes and the practice of religion. On three occasions there are references 

to the length of time the priest takes to celebrate the Mass. Estupiñá, indeed, takes it upon himself to 

advise intending members of the congregation where they can attend a Mass said by a «quick» priest. 

On two of the occasions the verb used to describe the act of worship is not « celebrar », « rezar 

» or « decir », but « despachar » (I, 208; 74; II, 329; 256). It may not be an overinterpretation to 

say that the use of such a verb suggests yet again how ingrained is the commercial mode of thought 

that runs through the novel. 

The religious surface that covers so much of the action and conventional motivation in Fortunata is 

Galdós' method of pointing to the materialism of life that lies beneath such religious profession. He 

sees conventional religion as not being in any way divorced from the struggle for social favour, money, 

jobs, husbands, wives or lovers. Religion may be effective in putting together the bricks and mortar 

of an institution (although ironically the vital donation for the « piso principal » of Guillermina's 

orphanage is produced by Moreno's interest in Jacinta) but it makes no impact as a genuinely altruistic 

force. Doña Lupe probably epitomises the true attitude of many of the characters when their religious 

motivation is scrutinised: 

sabía dar a Dios lo que es de Dios y al César, etc. Este estribillo lo repetía muy orgullosamente 

la viuda siempre que saltaba una oportunidad, añadiendo que creía cuanto la Santa Madre Iglesia 

manda creer; pero de que mientras menos trato tuviera con curas, mejor. Oía su misa los domingos y 

confesaba de muy tarde en tarde; mas de este paso regular no la sacaba nadie. 

(II, 168; 207) 

Such is doña Lupe's uninspiring if pragmatic attitude to religion: for her, religious profession is 

reduced to a trite display of biblical erudition, apparently used so often that it becomes an « estribillo 

» not worth finishing. 

Galdós's approach to religion in Fortunata is a mixture of realist irony and naturalistic content, where 

the materialistic realities of money, desire, and the social struggle are clothed with the conventional 

expression of idealism represented by religious profession. The presentation of religion in the novel 

is not a doctrinaire and scathing condemnation of decadent religious practice, even though the 

characterization of Nicolás Rubín is sometimes sarcastic. Typical of the tone of the novel is the 

materialistic way in which his colleague in religion, León Pintado, is presented. In Las Micaelas 

108


the chaplain is obliged to hear the confession of nuns like Sor Facunda, who have such scrupulous 

consciences 

que el capellán se reía para su sotana. Como el pobre D. León Pintado tenía que vivir de aquello, lo 

oía seriamente, y hacía que tomaba muy en consideración aquellos pecados tan superfirolíticos... Y la 

monja se ponía muy compungida... y él, que era muy tuno, decía que sí, que era preciso tener cuidado 

para otra vez, y que patatín y que patatán. 

(II, 319; 253) 

The tone of this passage indicates an amiable conspiracy of attitude between narrator and chaplain 

to the practice of religion. Some of the characters at least, such as Pintado, Feijóo and the narrator, 

recognise the anomaly of such a close juxtaposition of the material with the conventionally religious 

and the way that religious practice and physical, social and economic needs are jumbled together. 

To the question, where is the practice of true religion in the novel? The answer must be that there is 

none. Guillermina is presented too ironically to support Casalduero's view that « en la tierra lugar 

de desolación y de tristeza, hay una llama viva, la caridad ardiente de Guillermina ». But neither are 

we left with a « lugar de desolación » in the Zola fashion, rather with the serene march of nature 

and time, and the author's final detachment from the forces of society and religion, which at the time 

of the writing of Fortunata y Jacinta Galdós sees as having their parts to play, but only parts, and 

these mostly negative and tragic ones, in the discovery of the law of nature. 

Trinity College, Dublin. 

109


Villaamil's suicide: action, character and motivation in Miau 

Stephen Miller 

A glance at «More on Miau » by the editors of Anales galdosianos (1971), or at a note to A. 

F. Lambert's «Galdós and the Anti-bureaucratic Tradition» (1976) will confirm what any student of 

Miau criticism knows; to date most discussion of this major novel has been curiously restricted to one 

theme in it, i.e., the question of the extent of Villaamil's own responsibility in his downfall and suicide. 

98 In treating this issue both those who fault him and those who defend him expatiate on arguments 

drawn from writings by Galdós of the most varied nature: the Miau text itself, other novels in which 

the bureaucracy is treated, and newspaper pieces on socio-economic topics. The critics involved find 

justification for this practice in the thematic recurrence of the bureaucracy in Galdós. They readily 

attribute the same value to the author's words in his different novels and diverse periodical writings. 

For them, it seems, Galdós' intention was always one; he made a specific «comment» either about the 

oppressive role of the bureaucracy in the life of the individual, or, contrariwise, about the need of the 

individual to control and be responsible for his actions, no matter what the circumstances of his life. 

In this essay I prefer to leave the question of Galdós' intention(s) to one side. Also, I do not want 

to study the themes of the bureaucracy and the responsibility of the individual for himself. Rather, I 

shall closely examine the structure of action and character in Miau , and note carefully who does 

what, to whom, for what reasons, under what circumstances and to what effect in Miau . In light of 

this analysis, I shall, then, try to explain Villaamil's death -an issue most critics, no matter what their 

approach to it, find important in the novel. 

98 For short discussions of this twofold division, see: «More on Miau », Anales galdosianos , 6 

(1971), 51-52; A. F. Lambert, «Galdós and the Anti-bureaucratic Tradition», Bulletin of Hispanic 

Studies , 53 (1976), 49, núm. 15. 

110

I 


A convenient starting point may be found in a statement by Robert J. Weber in his study of the 

Miau manuscript. As he compares the Alpha and Beta manuscripts of Miau , Weber notes two 

important developments in the second (Beta) version: an increased precision in «temporal and spatial 

references», and the intertwinement of «the trajectories [actions] of Víctor and Villaamil» which 

evolved independently in Alpha. 99 The importance of these innovations by Galdós in Miau cannot 

be overemphasized in this study. Villaamil's fate is intimately bound to Víctor's. A careful review of 

the fictional chronology dispersed throug-out the novel reveals significant dates and turning points 

in Villaamil's life, and the pattern of interaction between him and Víctor. The pattern is all the more 

noteworthy since, in light of Weber's comparison of the two Miau manuscripts, it is one which Galdós 

elaborated as he structured Villaamil's history. 

Two references in Miau indicate that November, 1877 is the approximate beginning of Villaamil's 

fifth and last unemployment: the family never has savings to cover necessary expenses during 

unemployments because of Villaamil's wife Pura's spendthrift habits; the Villaamil's last rent payment 

is for November, 1877. 100 Therefore, it may be inferred that the family ceased paying the rent 

when Villaamil no longer received his monthly salary -November, 1877. The present time of Miau 

commences in early February, 1878, shortly after a « pignoración en grande escala se había verificado 

el mes anterior (enero del 78), el mismo día del casamiento de don Alfonso con la reina Mercedes 

» [January 23] (565). 

An interchange in Chapter III between Villaamil and Pura introduces not only the characters of these 

two, but also their relationship and overall situation. Pura is indicting her husband on two counts: his 

method of seeking a new position and the philosophy behind it. She cites the example of the successful 

bureaucrat Cucúrbitas who was once under Villaamil. According to her this man has no special talent, 

but is opportunistic and aggressive. She suggests that Villaamil should model himself after him. A 

99 The «Miau» Manuscript of Benito Pérez Galdós. A Critical Study (Berkeley and Los Angeles: 

Univ. of California, 1964), 74-75. 

100 Since Víctor's money allows the Villaamils in February, 1878 to pay rent for « dos meses de los 

tres vencidos », I conclude that November, 1877 is the beginning of the unemployment (588). All 

page references to Miau in these notes and in the body of the essay are to Benito Pérez Galdós, Obras 

completas (Madrid: Aguilar, 1967),V. 

111


first step would be to go to the newspapers and begin to « vomitar todas las picardías que... [sabes] de 

la Administración », such an action by threatening so many would, she asserts, cause the immediate 

reemployment of Villaamil in order to quiet him. In conclusion Pura resorts to more general, but more 

cutting arguments: 

no sirves para nada, vamos, y no sabes vivir. No; si con lamentos y suspiros no te van a dar lo 

que pretendes. Las credenciales, señor mío, son para los que se las ganan enseñando los colmillos. 

Eres inofensivo, no muerdes, ni siquiera ladras, y todos se ríen de ti. Dicen: «¡Ah, Villaamil, qué 

honradísimo es! ¡Oh el empleado probo !...» Yo cuando me enseñan un probo, le miro a ver si 

tiene los codos fuera. En fin, que te caes de honrado. Decir honrado, a veces, es como decir ñoño. 

Y no es eso, no es eso. Se puede tener toda la integridad que Dios manda y ser un hombre que mire 

por sí y por su familia... 

(561) 

Villaamil, « desalentado », responds, « Déjame en paz »; then he makes a brief apology for 

himself: « Yo no puedo ser sino como Dios me ha hecho » (561). A few moments later Pura, her 

sister Milagros and daughter Abelarda leave for the theater. « El buen Villaamil sintió un gran alivio 

» when he saw them exit because « mejor que su familia le acompañaba su propia pena » (562). 

Throughout the novel present of Miau we see Villaamil caught between two poles of action: by 

nature he is pacific, even passive; yet success in the bureaucracy, as is affirmed by everyone in Miau 

, varies in direct proportion to the bureaucrat's aggressivity. But for Villaamil to be a «probo» who 

conducts himself « como Dios me ha hecho » is to eschew the offensive, the tactic of baring « 

colmillos ». When challenged he prefers to withdraw into himself as instanced above. As a result he 

is handicapped in the effort to «look out for himself and his family». Villaamil's character, his idea 

of himself, precludes the exercise of a whole range of tactics in dealing with his unemployment. In 

what follows much of his problems derives from conflict with a system and a person that act in the 

way Pura describes. 

Despite this picture of Villaamil in 1878 it must be emphasized that, handicaps notwithstanding, he 

supported himself and his family for more than thirty-five years after entering the Ministry of Finance 

in 1841. 101 In fact, beginning in 1869 support of the family, as we shall see, seems to be the one 

social and familial role Villaamil cares at all to fill. From 1869 until 1878 his bureaucratic position is 

101 Obras completas , V, 563. 

112


important only because it provides an income. Yet before 1869 it was a career that was not without 

its successes. 

Villaamil's work, including the early and advanced drafts of the much-discussed plan for financial 

reform (« las cuatro memorias »), was praised by such Ministers of Finance as Mon, Bravo Murillo, 

Bruil and Madoz. 102 The praises of Mon and Bravo Murillo, both historical figures, are especially 

significant in judging the cogency of Villaamil's proposals and, on that basis, out opinion of their 

author. Mon was « uno de los ministros más importantes del ramo en el siglo XIX, señalándose sobre 

todo por su célebre Reforma tributaria que lleva su nombre ». 103 Bravo Murillo was known for his 

efforts to put the Ministry of Finance on sound financial footing and for his official probity. 104 

A third indication of Villaamil's professional competence and recognition is that some of the 

positions he held in Madrid and in the provinces entailed more than moderate responsibility. Finally, 

the narrator's assessment, « Poco tiempo había estado cesante antes de la terrible crujía en que le 

encontramos » [following November, 1877], implies that Villaamil's previous four unemployments 

were relatively infrequent and of comparatively short duration (a total of twenty-three to twenty-four 

months from 1841 until 1877). 105 

In late March, 1878 Villaamil reviews his career while talking with Cucúrbitas and signals 1854, 

when the latter was still his subordinate, as the beginning of Cucúrbitas' « buena fortuna, y el 

[principio] de mi desdicha » (652). During the Progressive Biennium (1854-56) a National Militia 

was formed by the liberal government; clerics, civil servants and certain others were not required to 

join, but could volunteer. 106 Villaamil, though he was a moderate and in 1836 joined as a volunteer 

in the defense of Madrid against the Carlist leader Gómez, preferred to stay clear of the « bullanga 

102 Obras completas , V, 651. 

103 Germán Bleiberg, ed., Diccionario de historia de España , 2nd ed. (Madrid: Revista de Occidente , 

1968), II, 1088. 

104 Diccionario , I, 588. 

105 Villaamil's unemployments were for four, eleven, three and a half, and five months; the last one 

was between September, 1868 and March, 1869 (563, 590). 

106 See: Obras completas , V, 652.; Diccionario , II, 1063-64. 

113


» which the Militia represented; and as a bureaucrat he was free to do so. 107 Not so Cucúrbitas. He 

enlisted and in so doing began, according to Villaamil, his bureaucratic rise. During the Biennium 

Villaamil suffered his longest period of unemployment -eleven months; apparently, by failing to 

demonstrate positive adherence to liberal policies, he came into disfavor with those who had power. 

The force of Villaamil's seif-comparison with Cucúrbitas is to imply that whether a person likes the 

« bullanga » or not, a bureaucratic career may be advanced by wading into politics and orienting 

himself as the situation requires. In conversations with Cucúrbitas, Sevillano and Víctor, Villaamil 

demonstrates that he knows how this system of extra-official «duties» functions; but, because of 

his character Villaamil simply refuses to act on this knowledge. 108 As a consequence he is more 

subject to circumstances than are his more active and aggressive interlocutors. While these others try 

to manipulate, Villaamil is subject to manipulation. 

Early in 1868 Villaamil's moderately successful career rewarded him with a position as chief 

financial officer in a third-class province: 

En aquel pueblo de pesca pasó la familia de Villaamil la temporada triunfal de su vida, porque allí 

doña Pura y su hermana daban el tono a las costumbres elegantes y hacían lucidísimo papel, figurando 

en primera línea en el escalafón social... 

(588) 

At this time the Villaamils were married for twenty years, had had a number of children, but with only 

two daughters, Luisa and Abelarda, surviving; the family was rounded out by Pura's sister Milagros. 

Villaamil was one of the three or four men of authority in the city. 

This period of success and attendant happiness was first shadowed by the appearance of Víctor 

Cadalso, « un empleadillo joven y guapo, de la clase de aspirantes... engendro reciente del caciquismo 

» (588). Víctor immediately became the toast of the local society, succeeded in winning the love 

of the plain Luisa, Villaamil's elder daughter, and, despite family misgivings, married her sometime 

before the liberal revolution of September, 1868. Once Víctor was a member of the family, Villaamil 

prevailed on the local cacique to obtain a promotion and salary increment for Víctor since « no 

había más remedio que empujarle y hacer de él un hombre » (590). This was the one and only time 

Villaamil was in a position to aid Víctor. 

107 Obras completas , V, 676; Diccionario , II, 221. 

108 For example, see: Obras completas , V, 657-58. 

114


With the revolution Villaamil lost his post. Víctor, though, « tuvo aldabas y atrapó un ascenso 

en Madrid » (590). For Villaamil, especially in retrospect, the « cesantía » itself was not the 

worst factor in the new situation. As always Pura's spending left the family with no savings and so the 

Villaamils followed Víctor, his job and Luisa to Madrid. He who was the « aspirante » and the one a 

condescending Villaamil was going «to make a man of» was transformed into the material support of 

the family. This humiliating and ironic reversal of roles was further complicated by Víctor's behavior 

in Madrid. He began to lead an active social life and as husband to Luisa « no era un modelo ». 

Luisa, left behind and slighted, persisted in her love, but, 

vivía en ascuas, agrandando cavilosamente los motivos de su pena; le [a Víctor] vigilaba sin descanso, 

temerosa de que él partiese en dos su cariño o se lo llevase todo entero fuera de casa. Entonces 

empezaron las desavenencias entre suegros y yerno, enconadas por enojosas cuestiones de interés... 

(590) 

Luisa, as is Abelarda later, was easily manipulated by Víctor. A smile from him was enough to make 

her happy and « un monosílabo adusto » enough to leave her miserable. While still in the provincial 

capital, Villaamil began to « columbrar en el carácter de Víctor algo que no le agradaba », and 

then, when he and his family depended on Víctor for support, found that initial suspicion painfully 

confirmed (589). (This situation must be remembered when we discuss the events of 1878, for it offers 

significant parallels to the later time.) 

In March, 1869 a son, Luisito, was born to Luisa. Six days afterwards Villaamil obtained « un 

destino con ascenso en Madrid » (590). Despite this good luck and promotion, Villaamil was left 

worse off than when he arrived in the city: Luisa, weakened by her jealousy and pregnancy, was so « 

desmejorada y endeble » that all could tell she was going to die. Her dependence upon and love for 

Víctor became stronger and more pitiable than ever; at he same time she showed indifference toward 

her son. As a result « Villaamil, que conocía la incorrecta vida de su yerno fuera de casa, empezó 

a tomarle aborrecimiento » (590); for her part Pura was more easily reconciled with Víctor because 

of his facile words and improved treatment of Luisa. On St. John's Eve (June 23), Luisa, demented, « 

se arrojó del lecho pidiendo un cuchillo para matar a Luis. Juraba que no era hijo suyo, y que Víctor 

le había traído a la casa en una cesta debajo de la capa » (590). Simultaneously she profusely kissed 

Víctor. She died later that evening. 

The family mourned Luisa, but Villaamil suffered a radical physical and moral crisis from which he 

never recovered and under which he still labors in 1878: 

115


sin ruidoso duelo exterior, mudo y con los ojos casi secos, se desquició y desplomó interiormente, 

quedándose como ruina lamentable, sin esperanza, sin ilusión ninguna de la vida, y desde entonces 

se le secó el cuerpo hasta momificarse, y fue tomando su cara aquel aspecto de ferocidad famélica 

que le asemejaba a un tigre anciano e inútil. 

(590) 

This is the Villaamil we meet in February, 1878. He is a shadow of what he once was; he is half- 

dead, a walking mummy. Unfortunately we are shown nothing in Miau to account for the uniqueness 

and profundity of his reaction. The events of 1868-69 are narrated in the short Chapter XIII and no 

detailed picture of family life at that time is offered. 109 

Yet if the reasons for Villaamil's transformation are hidelen, the short -and long- range effects on 

him are clear. Almost immediately he gives up his promotion in Madrid for a « destino regular » 

in Cuba on the pretext of « [l]a necesidad de un sueldo que permitiese economía » (590). But why 

then? Luisa's marriage and death decreases his financial obligations, and, according to Abelarda (602), 

the family, no matter how much Villaamil earns, is destined to be wanting money always because 

of Pura's extravagant tastes. Hence when Villaamil returns from Cuba the first time with « algunos 

ahorros », we read that the monies « se deshicieron pronto, como granos de sal en la mar sin fin 

de la administración de doña Pura » (590-91). 

It seems, then, what Villaamil really desired following Luisa's death was to exile himself from his 

family -a family that probably still counted Víctor among its numbers. After five years spent mostly 

abroad, Villaamil returned to the family that no longer included Víctor, the latter apparently living in 

Valencia by the time Villaamil retires from overseas service. 110 But Villaamil lived on the margin 

109 In an earlier draft of this paper, I advanced the thesis of a latent incestuous desire of Villaamil 

toward Abelarda. His profound grief and separation from the family would then be guilt reactions. I 

decided to excise this argument from my interpretation after several readers agreed in finding little 

basis in the text for my contention. Such a thesis, I now believe, is reductionist and, in absence 

of textual substantiation not found by me, would constitute a good example of invalid use of 

psychoanalytic theory in literary criticism. 

110 These speculations are made difficult by apparent inconsistencies in the fictive chronology. In 

1876 while the family fived in Chamberí, Víctor « pasó algunos meses con la familia » and first began 

to toy with Abelarda (594, 596). Luisito's memory of his father is of a time when Villaamil is supposed 

116


of family life. He slept by himself in his study, did not participate in the family « tertulia » which 

included some of his colleagues, and never accompanied the « Miaus » to the theater. 

This withdrawal and isolation from the family is repeated by Villaamil at the Ministry. His return 

to the bureaucracy in Madrid is easy, but at a low level, « con poco sueldo » (591). He holds this 

obscure position for three peaceful years during which no minister has occasion to comment on his 

« cuatro memorias ». 111 

Following Luisa's death Villaamil, « sin esperanza », « sin ilusión ninguna de la vida », gives the 

impression of losing interest in the bureaucracy as a career. He needs an income, but does not have the 

enthusiasm to seek out or even retain a good position that would bring in more money. Villaamil is 

«putting in time». The last years of his life as a bureaucrat are designed to qualify him for the limited, 

but constant income of a pension. By contenting himself with removed and low positions Villaamil 

simulates the retirement that he, like « un tigre anciano e inútil », longs for following his collapse 

in 1869. His fifth and last « cesantía » comes at a time when Villaamil is anticipating the final 

release from striving and activity; two more months and he could complete the process begun nine 

years before. 

to have been in Cuba and on a day when the « Miaus », especially Abelarda, were engaged in a violent 

argument with Víctor (578). But, the last time Villaamil was in Cuba was during the second half of 

1873 and the first days of 1874 (these dates are arrived at by noting the historical references in the 

text, secking the dates in Bleiberg's Diccionario , collating this material with the fictive chronology). 

Since Luis also recalls that the family was living somewhere else than they do in the present time of 

the novel, we are forced to choose between 1873 and 1876 as the time of his memories. Yet, he would 

have only been four or five in late 1873 and early 1874. How good would his memory have been 

of events at the earlier period? Nonetheless, it seems important that Villaamil, as discussed on pages 

eighty seven and eighty eight, not have previous knowledge of relations between Víctor and Abelarda, 

that the « escándalo y reyerta » recalled by Luis not be of 1876, but of 1873-74 when Villaamil was 

absent from the family. 

111 Juan Bruil, who was Minister of Finance in 1855, was the last one to praise Villaamil's « cuatro 

memorias » (563). Nonetheless, since Villaamil's promotions through 1855 were granted on the basis 

of his work -as opposed to bureaucratic politics-, it may be supposed that it was his work that kept 

him advancing until 1868-69. 

117


The foregoing, then, is the background of the man who asks Pura to «leave him in peace», and who 

finds more consolation in « su propia pena » than in his family. 

118

II 


The first page of Miau presents the spectacle of Luisito being taunted with the nickname « Miau 

» by a group of his schoolmates. The scene foreshadows certain aspects of Villaamil's conflicts and 

provides an insight into them. 

Posturitas, a nephew of Villaamil's caricaturist, « el cojo Guillén », is the leader of Luisito's 

tormentors. Luis is « bastante mezquino de talla, corto de alientos, descolorido » and is timid 

and retiring (551). He resembles his grandfather Villaamil both in appearance and demeanor. He is 

pursued by his companions much as is Villaamil, and his chief antogonist is related to Villaamil's 

bane in the offices of the Ministry of Finance. And like Villaamil Luisito retreats when attacked, 

is characterized by his inoffensiveness. Nonetheless, one day following the initial scene of Miau 

Luisito, who has brooded over the hated nickname and his tormentor Posturitas, is again confronted 

by Posturitas calling him « Miau » in a mewing voice. He becomes infuriated and to the surprise 

of all his classmates leaps on Posturitas. Before either is hurt a teacher intervenes. For Luis the fact 

of striking out at Posturitas is more important than the outcome of the fight: 

Su ira se calmaba lentamente, aunque por nada del mundo le perdonaba a Posturas el apodo, y, 

sentía en su alma los primeros rebullicios de la vanidad heroica, la conciencia de su capacidad para 

la vida, o sea, de su aptitud para ofender al prójimo, ya probada en la tienta de aquel día. 

(575) 

Pura would approve this conduct in her grandson. He is learning to show his « colmillos » 

and experiencing the intoxication which comes of asserting himself. Early in Miau the equation « 

capacidad para la vida » equals « aptitud para ofender al prójimo » is given. Villaamil, unlike Luis, 

never experiences the truth of it. When attacked, he retreats, mumbling to himself, perhaps slamming a 

door to relieve his frustration. Even when he realizes he wants to lash out at someone who antagonizes 

him, he does not, like Luisito finally, discharge the aggressive impulse produced by a confrontation. 

Earlier we saw how he retreated before Pura's indictment. A second example of this behavior occurs 

in Chapter XI. In a scene to which we shall have reason to return, there is a serious discussion between 

Villaamil and Víctor. The latter best his father-in-law in argument. Typically Villaamil pulls in his 

horns, but what is more important is the description of his state of mind and reaction to Víctor's little 

victory: 

119


Y fue tal su indignación, que no quiso hablar más, temeroso de hacer un disparate, y pegando un 

portazo que estremeció la casa, huyó a su alcoba y arrojose en la inquieta superficie de su camastro 

como un desesperado al mar. 

(583) 

The anger Villaamil wants to discharge against his hated son-in-law, he retains and turns in on himself. 

Lacking a « capacidad para la vida », i.e., the « aptitud para ofender al prójimo », he becomes 

the target of his own frustrated aggressive feelings. This psychological process is illustrated in the 

action of Villaamil casting himself into his bed « como un desesperado al mar ». This action and 

the simile not only foreshadow Villaamil's real suicide, but also one of the motivations behind it. This 

point deserves special consideration. 

Toward the end of Miau , when Villaamil learns that Víctor has spread the rumor that he is crazy, he 

gives up, as we shall see, all hope of gaining a position; soon after he resolves to kill himself. At one 

point during his odyssey through Madrid on the last day of his life, he, exalted, declares to himself: 

De veras que siento ganas de acabar con todo lo que vive, en castigo de lo mal que se han portado 

conmigo la Humanidad y la naturaleza y Dios... 

(679) 

As on other occasions he recognizes the desire, even the need, to « ofender al prójimo » after a 

life of retreat. With exaggeration he blames all that exists for his suffering. Nonetheless, for a while 

he entertains the possibility of returning to his previous life of passivity and frustration, that is, of 

resuming life with the three « Miaus ». He abandons this thought, however, when he realizes how 

great is his need to « ofender »: « Si sigo con ellas me entra un día la locura y con este revólver... 

las despache a todas » (680). After this moment of self-analysis, he concludes by reavowing his 

habitual method of dealing with frustrated aggressive impulses: « Más vale que me despache yo, 

emancipándome y yéndome con Dios... ¡Ah! Purita, Purita, se acabó el suplicio. Hinca tus garras en 

otra víctima » (680). Villaamil identifies those who torment him. But instead of defending himself by 

taking the offensive, he finds it easier to « despachar » himself than his antagonists, acting the part 

of the « desesperado » who takes out his frustrations on his person rather than attacking their cause. 

In what follows I will try to trace the developing pattern of conflict and frustration which leads 

Villaamil to have to make a choice: change his life by adopting the aggressive, self-protective ways 

of those with « colmillos »; or, reaffirm his life and pay the consequences of that decision. 

120

III 


A few hours after Víctor's arrival at the Villaamil apartment in early February, 1878, Villaamil 

questions him as to his intentions. It is soon clear that the two men are opposites: Víctor is a 

corrupt official, Villaamil a « probo »; Víctor is unscrupulous, aggressive, pragmatic, Villaamil 

conscientious, passive, principled; Víctor is in his prime, Villaamil is a ruin; Víctor wants a promotion 

and has great ambitions, Villaamil only wants two months more employment and retirement. 

Nevertheless, both men share one thing at least; they are unemployed and looking for jobs. And 

just as they differ in so much else, they pursue distinct methods in seeking positions. Víctor, like 

Pura, mocks Villaamil's method, refers to him as a « virginal doncella » in such matters (582), and 

fatuously suggests to his father-in-law, « Lo que tiene usted que hacer... es aprender de mí » (583). 

Given the way of the world and of « la cochina Administración », Villaamil is willing to concede 

that Víctor will be rewarded with a promotion despite his corruption; but he cannot tolerate even the 

idea of learning from Víctor. He prefers to bear his unemployment with patience while admitting that 

he needs a job for the sake of the family. Víctor responds, « echándose a reír malignamente », 

« Vamos, ¿a que le coloco yo a usted si me atufo? » (583). Such a prospect fills Villaamil with 

indignation and is the occasion of the retreat to his room and bed discussed above. 

From the time of Víctor's advent, then, a competition between Viliaamil and him is established. The 

remaining thirty-three chapters of Miau record the stages of the struggle which begins in Chapter 

XI, and the effect on Villaamil of Víctor emerging victorious. 

At the outset Víctor has one great advantage in addition to that of his character: the supply of money 

he brings with him from Valencia. This fund allows him to win Pura to his side in the initial dispute as 

to whether or not he shall be allowed to stay at the Villaamil's. From penury (recall the « pignoración 

en grande escala » of January, 1878) the family, at an opening of Víctor's billfold, passes to plenty: 

the rent is paid, food purchased, and even Villaamil's chothes are improved. Moreover, Víctor does 

not assume the role of family breadwinner for the first time. During the critical days of autumn and 

winter in 1868-69, Víctor, also during one of Villaamil's unemployments, was the support of the 

family. On both occasions Víctor's methods as opposed to Villaamil's yield fruits that gall the older 

man terribly. And yet the need of his family and of himself requires that he accept what is produced 

and given by a man he abhors. 

121


Víctor's situation is not without weaknesses. Following his interview with Villaamil, we learn that 

Víctor is being threatened by official action from his superior in Valencia. There is no doubt that 

incriminating evidence against Víctor exists, but at the same time Víctor has material in hand that 

would convict his accuser of similar trespasses. In Víctor's mind the really decisive advantage he has 

over his opponent is twofold: good friends and some « manos blancas » that he hopes will help 

defend him and advance his career (584). It is against this kind of man that Villaamil is obliged to 

compete. 

122

IV 


The first «round» in the struggle between Villaamil and Víctor occurs soon after its initiation. Just 

before Víctor's arrival, Villaamil began to have hopes of receiving a position through the good will 

of a minister (572). Shortly afterwards, when the family is enjoying Víctor's bounty, Villaamil finds 

that his name does not appear on the new list of appointees. No sooner does Víctor learn this than he 

comforts Villaamil with the ironic observation that no «probo» should expect any kind of reward from 

the corrupt bureaucracy (599). While Víctor has made no advance toward his goals in the short time 

of his stay in Madrid, he has the satisfaction -and Villaamil the added frustration- of seeing his father- 

in-law and his method of dealing with the system suffer a reverse. The importance of this first clash 

cannot be overemphasized. Reacting to the new disappointment and Víctor's implicit vindication, 

Villaamil presents a fierce aspect: « fiera enjaulada », « estaba como si le fueran a dar garrote 

», silent, but « con cara lívida y la mandíbula temblorosa » (599, 600). But Víctor is not done. 

He proclaims that he is a « deudor a la familia de grandes favores », and that [l]a familia no 

carecerá de nada mientras yo tenga un pedazo de pan» (600). Villaamil cannot resist the ironies of 

these declarations which evoke the time when Víctor was the « aspirante » whom he undertook 

to «make a man of»: 

Agobiado por sentimientos de humillación, que caían sobre su alma como un techo que se desploma, 

Villaamil dio un resoplido y salió del cuarto... 

(600) 

Conforming to character, Villaamil retreats when attacked. More importantly, the description of his 

humiliation being experienced like the force of a collapsing roof reproduces his reaction to Luisa's 

death; at that time Villaamil « se desquició y desplomó interiormente ». 

The similarity of Villaamil's reactions on these two occasions indicates the essential continuity of 

events in 1868-69 and 1878. Villaamil is apparently as vulnerable to Víctor as when Luisa died. In a 

sense the nine years since that death represent only a suspension of the conflict between the two men, 

not a peace. Perhaps Villaamil saw this vulnerability in himself in 1869 and, as I suggested earlier, was 

motivated, at least in part, by this realization to go abroad. In this connection it may be significant that 

Víctor's attentions toward Abelarda in 1878 renew those of an earlier period. 112 Perhaps already in 

1869 Villaamil perceived that with Luisa dead and him again supporting the family, Abelarda would 

112 See note 13. 

123


substitute her sister as the point of contention with his son-in-law. Weakened and knowing he could 

not resist Víctor, Villaamil broke off the struggle rather than expose himself to further hurt. 

The importance of Weber's observation regarding the evolution of Miau from the Alpha to the 

Beta manuscript should be evident by now. Villaamil and Víctor -their «trajectories»- are not merely 

proximate in space and time, but are interdependent. Based on what has been established about them 

and their conflict until now, I would assert that the bureaucracy is important in the novel as one of the 

fields in which each of the two men exercises his prowess in the struggle with the other. The family is 

the other field. Both in 1868-69 and 1878 Villaamil and Víctor contend, albeit with unequal powers, 

for dominance in the home and justification in the bureaucracy. 

124

V 


Once recuperated from the frustration of his first serious hopes for a position in the novel present, 

Villaamil resumes the task of job hunting and only intensifies his usual methods: 

Aunque las esperanzas de los Villaamil, apenas segadas en flor, volvían a retoñar con nueva lozanía, 

el atribulado cesante las daba por definitivamente muertas, fiel al sistema de esperar desesperando. 

Sólo que su pesimismo avenía mal con el furor de escribir cartas y de mover cuantas teclas pudiesen 

comunicar vibración a la desmayada voluntad del ministro. 

(610) 

It appears that Villaamil rises to the challenge offered by Víctor. The « cesantía » forces him 

out of the retreat into self which overseas service and his obscure post allowed him for the nine 

years following Luisa's death. By chance the period of « crujía » and penury are complicated 

and made more onerous first by the arrival, then by the taunts and munificence of Víctor. Villaamil, 

overwhelmed by the events of 1868-69 in which Víctor figured so prominently, is nonetheless shaken 

back into activity and striving. His method of seeking a job is the old one which Víctor and Pura 

denigrate. But it has been successful; and if successful again Villaamil would be vindicated and could 

return to the peace and retreat of 1869-77, or perhaps even begin a new life. 

During the balance of February and most of March, 1878, Villaamil continues to write his letters, 

visit offices where he has friends such as Cucúrbitas and Pantoja. He still is granted ready access to 

these men and is respected by the porters. Víctor in the meantime is engaged in two principal pursuits. 

Trying to advance his principal project, his promotion, he moves in the world of high society: he 

frequents the conversation of those who are aristocrats, deputies to Cortes, and the high office holders 

who are the superiors of those with whom Villaamil associates. While Villaamil pursues the « trapo 

», Víctor tries for the « bulto ». Víctor's second activity is toying with the affections of Abelarda. 

Around the beginning of March, 1878, Víctor's fortunes enter a temporary decline. He is spending 

all his money and is not yet under the protection of the friends, especially of the « manos blancas 

», that will assure him of a position and income. He cannot be generous with the Villaamils, in fact 

can give Pura nothing. « Hubo una semana de horrible penuria » for the family (630). Villaamil 

bears the privations « con estoica entereza » as does Pura. But when Víctor makes his initial contact 

and again has money, Pura gladly accepts it, caring not at all whence it comes. Víctor becomes more 

splendid than ever; not only does he meet the needs of the Villaamils, but presents « frecuentes 

regalitos a toda la familia », including an invitation to the presumptuous « Miaus » to occupy far 

125


better seats at the opera than they have ever had before (630). For Villaamil this renewed generosity 

is a motive for « verdadera indignación, pues era un escarnio de su pobreza y un insulto a la moral 

pública » (630). For him the quick succession of decline and rise in Víctor's luck is particularly 

painful: if Víctor cannot support the family, great suffering results; if he has money and the family 

prospers, Villaamil's self-esteem is wounded and his principles are ridiculed. 

Soon Villaamil learns the source of Víctor's money and hopes for promotion: the « manos blancas 

» is a sixty and some odd year old noblewoman whom Víctor first met in Valencia and with whom he 

is having amours (658). And while there can be no real doubt about the efficacy of Víctor's methods, 

Villaamil continues as before and through an office friend meets an influential deputy to Cortes on 

his own terms: the man is interested in Villaamil's « cuatro memorias » plan for fiscal reform and 

on that basis promises to help Villaamil in his quest for a job. 113 

When Villaamil is ready to tell Pura of this development, he prefaces his announcement with a 

caution: « De esto ni una palabra a Víctor, que es muy perro y me puede parar el golpe » (654). 

Villaamil takes this measure because he knows he is competing against Víctor and that his son-in-law 

is capable of anything that may assure his besting Villaamil. 

113 Villaamil's plan is censured by critics who cite articles by Galdós in newspapers that seem to be 

opposed to Viliaamil's position. But in Miau people of responsibility such as ministers of finance and 

influential representatives to Cortes favor the plan; it is the likes of Guillén that scoff at it. All the 

same, it is interesting to note that Villaamil, who finds little good will shown toward him 1878, bases 

part of his plan « en la buena fe del contribuyente » (634). Hence, if Galdós is criticizing anybody 

in Miau , it is not only Villaamil, but also a certain philosophy of government finance which had 

important adherents at the ministerial level. (Of course, it could be suggested that what Galdós thought 

on the subject one way or another is unimportant, that to confuse the opinions of Galdós with those 

of the apparently ironic narrator is to commit the intentional fallacy.) 

126

VI 


This struggle between Villaamil and Víctor poses several questions. Why does Víctor want to 

establish dominance over his father-in-law? Why toy with Abelarda when Villaamil is at hand? And, 

why live with the family when he would probably be more comfortable and spend less in public 

lodgings? 

To consider the last question first. In addition to the Villaamils' or an inn, Víctor has a third option. 

His sister Quintina and her husband live in Madrid. Villaamil queries why Víctor does not stay with 

them and receives the response, « Ya sabe usted... que mi cuñado Ildefonso y yo estamos así..., 

un poco de punta. Con ustedes me arreglo mejor » (579). The issue between the brothers-in-law 

is the disposition of an insignificant inheritance which Víctor claimed and spent with no regard for 

Quintina's rights. But Ildefonso is a man jealous of his prerogatives. And though the matter at issue 

is much slighter than that between the Villaamils and Víctor, Ildefonso one day « por poco descarga 

sobre Víctor los seis tiros de su revólver » (591). 114 Villaamil may want to smash a chair against 

Víctor's head, but this one knows he would never do so. How different Villaamil from Ildefonso! The 

latter has « colmillos » and is respected by Víctor. Yet Viilaamil's inoffensiveness may not be the 

only, nor the most important reason for Víctor choosing to stay in his apartment. 

When Víctor is alone and restless in bed following his first talk with Villaamil in early February, 

we learn of his great ambition. He is consumed by « el ansia de introducirse en las clases superiores 

de la sociedad » and believes he has in hand « un cabo y el primer nudo de la cuerda por donde 

otros menos audaces habían logrado subir » (584-85). This handhold is the old noblewoman. As 

we have seen, though, within a month Víctor's Valencia money gives out and he spends a bad week. 

This incident serves to demonstrate the true precariousness of Víctor's situation following his dispute 

with his superior in Valencia. 

In view of this circumstance I suggest that Víctor goes to the Villaamils for powerful, even though 

unconscious reasons. His first promotion was achieved through his control of Villaamil's elder 

daughter. At the same time a second success, the promotion in Madrid, was accompanied by his 

ascendency in the Villaamil household while its nominal head was in eclipse. Perhaps at this new and 

critical juncture in his career, Víctor needs to recreate insofar as is possible the conditions of his first 

successes in the bureaucracy. Once again he forces his way into the family, using the Valencia money 

114 For an indication of what the Villaamils think of Víctor see Obras completas , V, 578. 

127


rather than Luisa's love for him as leverage. He then proceeds to win Abelarda's affection completely; 

and as with Luisa he spurris a love he cares nothing for and drives her to attacking Luis for the wrongs 

Víctor has committed against her. His money allows him to assume Villaamil's role in the family and 

thereby humiliate the older man. 

For Víctor the real game is outside the world of these « vulgarísimos y apocados parientes » (585). 

Unfortunately for the weakened Villaamil, Víctor's need to bolster his confidence and, maybe, take 

out on him the frustration of his difficult situation produces sorrow and despair like that of 1869. 

Víctor disputes or contradicts everything Villaamil is. But Villaamil, given his character, cannot truly 

contend against Víctor; he can only strive to get what he needs in life by using the means of an « 

inofensivo ». Left to himself, Villaamil, as between 1841 and 1877, would probably vindicate himself 

and his methods. Víctor, whether from malice or need, does not let this happen. 

128

VII 


Toward the end of April Víctor receives his appointment. 115 Abelarda in her love for Víctor has 

become hostile toward his critic Villaamil; feeling a « malignidad parricida » she announces Víctor's 

luck to Villaamil when she meets him in church: 

Un gran destino... Él está muy contento, y dijo que si a ti te dejan fuera, puede, por de pronto y para 

que no estés desocupado, darte un destinillo subalterno en su oficina. 

(642) 

Víctor has won the competition by establishing the superiority of his methods. If Villaamil works in 

his office, the triumph would be complete. Villaamil feels Víctor's vindication like a blow: 

Creyó por un momento el anciano sin ventura que la iglesia se le caía encima. Y en verdad, un peso 

enorme se le sentaba sobre el corazón, no dejándole respirar... 

(642) 

For the third time Villaamil reacts to a defeat at Víctor's hands by experiencing the sensation of a 

great weight falling down and oppressing him, inhibiting his breathing -nearly killing him. When he 

recovers somewhat, he unleashes a stream of invective on the absent Víctor. Abelarda vehemently 

defends the latter and Villaamil suddenly makes sense of certain theretofore unexplained conduct 

in Luisa. The old man realizes that Víctor has done with Abelarda what he did with Luisa. The 

implications of this development, given its place in the 1878 pattern of events which reproduce those 

of 1868-69, are, « Tan grave... tan contrario a sus sentimientos, que le daba terror cerciorarse de 

él » (642). 

More than ever Villaamil needs the vindication and freedom from Víctor that receiving an 

appointment through the deputy would represent. Instead he learns from Pantoja that Víctor has ruined 

his chances with the deputy by convincing him that his father-in-law is crazy. This news finishes 

Villaamil: 

115 I say «end of April» because of references to budding flowers and plans for Abelarda's wedding 

to Ponce on May 3 (675, 667); a few days after Víctor's appointment, Villaamil kills himself on a fine 

spring day, but thinks of the wedding as still some little time off in the future. 

129


Esto acabó de trastornarle. Ya la insistencia de su incansable porfía y la expresión de ansiedad que 

iban tomando sus ojos asustaba a sus amigos. En algunas oficinas cuidaban de no responderle o de 

hablarle con brevedad para que se cansara y se fuese con la música a otra parte... 

(650) 

Villaamil is but one step from the decision to kill himself. A position is the only thing that can save 

him, but it must not be one that he owes to the man who has ruined him: 

Te [a Cucúrbitas] digo en confianza, de ti para mí, que me contento con una plaza de oficial tercero; 

proponerme al ministro. Mira que siento en mi cabeza unas cosas muy raras, como si se me fuera 

el santo al cielo. Me entran ganas de decir disparates, y aún recelo a veces que se me salen de la 

boca. Que me den esos dos meses [to qualify for the pension] o no sé: creo que pronto empezaré 

a tirar piedras... 

(652) 

It is probably not by chance that Villaamil is reduced to seeking out a man of « colmillos », in fact, 

the model proposed by Pura of bureaucratic excellence. 

Villaamil concludes his exhortation to Cucúrbitas by declaring, « el quid está en firmar la nómina, 

en ser algo, en que cuando entre yo aquí [the offices] no me parezca que hasta las paredes lloran 

compadeciéndome » (652). Villaamil implies that he is nothing, that in the unsuccessful struggles 

with Víctor he has lost his self-esteem, even his identity. 

In this frame of mind he enters Pantoja's office to find the workers diverting themselves with the 

gimpy Guillén's caricatures of Villaamil's (« el señor de Miau ») history and career. Villaamil, to the 

surprise of all, excoriates Guillén, mocks him as a « cojitranco ». However, he takes, unlike Luisito, 

the offensive in life too late. Out of breath he is sitting, noticing how people avoid him, thinking; he 

murmurs the words then which signify the end of his struggle: 

Es que por todos los medios se proponen acabar conmigo, de desautorizarme, para que el ministro 

me tenga por un ente, por visionario, por un idiota. 

(654) 

But that is what Pura and Víctor thought about him long ago and began to do as a result. From the 

day of Villaamil's marriage, when it was recommended that he silently lower his head « cuando 

Pura alzaba el gallo », Pura was the authority in the house (586). Such a system « cuadraba 

admirablemente a su [Villaamil's] condición bondadosa y pacífica » (586). But this was the way he 

130


acted in the bureaucracy and for the same reason of character. And while the system had a place for 

a man like Villaamil, there was no place for a Víctor in such a man's life. By a stroke of bad luck 

Víctor appeared to carry on Pura's « desautorización » of Villaamil; but Víctor, unlike Pura, vied 

with Villaamil for things so basic that the older man was left with nothing to justify his life. 

Villaamil's last actions confirm this thesis. Strengthened by the resolve to kill himself, Villaamil 

begins to act out of character by exercising authority in the home. In order to avoid a potential lawsuit 

from Ildefonso, Víctor accedes to Quintana's long-felt desire to have custody of Luisito. Above the 

protests of the « Miaus » and Pura especially, Villaamil declares that the family will concur 

with Víctor's decision because as Luisito's father he has « más autoridad que nosotros » (666). 

Emphasizing his point, he asks a question that he himself answers: « Tiene [Víctor] autoridad, ¿sí o 

no? Pues si la tiene, a nosotros nos corresponde callar y sufrir » (666). 

Villaamil now truly knows about authority and its relation to aggressiveness, and about the cost 

of his pacificity and passivity. When talking with Pura in this last scene between them, he asserts, 

« mejor estará el chiquillo con Quintina que con... vosotras » [Galdós' emphasis] (666). The 

hesitation and then stress in saying « vosotras » is perhaps quite important. Quintina is subject to 

her husband. She, for example, cares little about the inheritance; however, Ildefonso does and that is 

reason enough for Víctor to have to stay away from her until the matter is settled. At the same time 

she participates together with her husband in the smuggling and selling of religious goods. In Pura's 

sense they clearly are aggressive people who have prospered. The advantage of this aggressiveness 

and Quintina's acceptance of Ildefonso's authority become especially patent in obliging Víctor to give 

Luisito into their care. Villaamil never deals with Víctor this way; he is always on the defensive. 

The force of Villaamil's hesitation in saying « vosotras », then, seems to be that Luisito is better 

off with Quintina and Ildefonso than with... Villaamil himself . Were Luis to continue to have him 

as a model, perhaps he would not pursue the lesson learned in the fight with Posturitas. In that case 

he would incur the risk of entering into the life of frustration and hate directed toward self which 

destroyed Villaamil. Villaamil's assent to the transferral of Luisito shows his wish that the boy be a 

victor, not a victim in life. 

Villaamil's last thoughts center on his family: that Pura and Milagros will be cared for through 

Abelarda's marriage to the somewhat fatuous, but inoffensive and soon to be well-off Ponce; that he is 

going to join the angelical Luisa in heaven; and, Quintina's training notwithstanding, that Luisito may 

someday wish to follow the example of Villaamil's last earthly deed. At the end Villaamil proves Pura 

131


wrong. Within the limits of his character, he «looks out for himself and his family» while remaining 

the way «God made him». If Ponce rather than Víctor had been that « aspirante » in 1868, the story 

of Villaamil would have been other than it was. 

Texas A & M University. 

132


Observaciones sobre la estructura y el significado de La corte 

de Carlos IV 

Arístides G. Paradissis 

El protagonista y narrador de la primera serie de Episodios es Gabriel Araceli, quien nació en Cádiz 

en 1791. 116 De origen muy humilde, es hombre del pueblo. Como héroe romántico tiene muchas 

buenas cualidades: es valiente, generoso, patriota, y tiene sentido de honor. Su gran amor único es 

Inés de Santorcaz, con quien se casa finalmente. 117 En La corte de Carlos IV , ésta pasa por hija de 

doña Juana. Sin embargo, en el capítulo XXVIII ya se puede entender que es, en realidad, hija natural 

de la condesa Amaranta. 118 La unión de Inés y Gabriel, quien representa a toda una clase de jóvenes 

del pueblo en la Guerra de la Independencia, tiene valor simbólico. 

El paralelismo entre la carrera de Gabriel y el desarrollo de la historia española es significativo. La 

vida del joven es, en cierto sentido, un reflejo de la evolución sicológica e histórica de la nación, 

desde la pérdida de su poder naval en el combate de Trafalgar hasta el restablecimiento de su poder 

terrestre en la batalla de los Arapiles. 

En este sentido, La corte de Carlos IV representa un vacío, una interrupción, tanto en la carrera 

militar de Gabriel, como en la lucha histórica de la nación. La acción de La corte se desenvuelve 

desde «fines de 1805» (257a) hasta 1807. Antes, Gabriel había tomado parte como grumete en el 

combate naval de Trafalgar, y más tarde participará en los grandes acontecimientos de la Guerra de 

la Independencia: el levantamiento del 2 de mayo de 1808 en Madrid, la batalla de Bailén, el segundo 

sitio de Zaragoza, el sitio de Cádiz y la exaltación constitucional, la guerrilla -sirviendo a las órdenes 

de Juan Martín «el Empecinado»- y la batalla de los Arapiles. En cada ocasión Gabriel desempeña 

su papel de individuo y de tipo galdosiano: para la clase de jóvenes que él representa, la carrera 

militar era, en su época, la única capaz de ofrecerles tanto éxito. Gabriel obtiene «poco después de 

los Arapiles el grado de Teniente Coronel», ( Arapiles , 1187b) y más tarde, debido a la influencia 

de su suegra, Amaranta, el de General. 

116 Véase Trafalgar , en las Obras completas , Madrid, Aguilar, T. I (1970), 183a. Todas las citas de 

los Episodios corresponden a este tomo. Se indicará el título del episodio seguido de la página. 

117 Véase La batalla de los Arapiles , 1187a. 

118 La corte de Carlos IV , 356a. 

133


Empero, al examinarlo bien, Gabriel no sólo es un individuo y un tipo sino también la encarnación de 

tres otros elementos sociales o históricos. Personifica (1) un medio ambiente: el del joven voluntario 

de la Guerra de la Independencia; (2) un temperamento: el patriotismo honrado y generoso; y (3) una 

abstracción: el valor. La importancia de Gabriel en toda la Primera Serie de Episodios nacionales 

está subrayada por el hecho de que él es un elemento significativo de unidad como único narrador 

y personaje principal. 

Como «episodio nacional», La corte de Carlos IV tiene una estructura formal de 29 capítulos, tras 

la cual se puede discernir una estructura intrínseca y subyacente de 86 escenas, organizadas alrededor 

de las ideas básicas o primitivas que tuvo Pérez Galdós al escribir la historia novelada de este período 

(1805-1807). Así, el primer capítulo se puede dividir en cuatro escenas o unidades, de las que la tercera 

es la básica. La preceden un corto relato de Gabriel, en el que habla de su llegada a Madrid ( Corte 

, 257a), y una enumeración de sus distintas ocupaciones como criado de la cómica Pepita González 

(257a-258a). Esta tercera escena es larga e importante, y consta de varias secciones enlazadas. Gabriel 

proporciona al lector no sólo una descripción de la González sino también un análisis de las opiniones 

literarias de ésta, aprovechando la ocasión para hacer comentarios sobre los dramaturgos neoclásicos 

y satirizar el melodrama tradicional (258a-260b). 

Esta escena básica está seguida de unas breves observaciones personales del narrador (260b). 

De un modo parecido, las varias escenas básicas de la obra se pueden reconocer por su significado 

histórico o cultural, y por su importancia en el desarrollo progresivo de la trama. En la escala de 86 

escenas de la estructura intrínseca las básicas son: 

(7) El relato, entremezclado con diálogos satíricos y reveladores, del estreno de El sí las niñas el 

24 de enero de 1806, cuando una claque de tradicionalistas trató de hundir la comedia de Moratín 

(262b-266a). 

(12) El diálogo entre Gabriel e Inés sobre la ambición y el destino (268b-270b). 119 

(22) y (25) Los diálogos entre Amaranta, su tío el Marqués y otros sobre varios aspectos de la historia 

contemporánea. Los detalles de la historia de España, estudiados con esmero por Pérez Galdós, son 

importantes. El concepto del Episodio nacional está basado en una dualidad: la historia verdadera 

entrelazada con la trama novelesca (278a-279b y 281a-284a). 

119 Véase la escena (36), 297b-299b. 

134


(41) y (46)-(48) La narración y los diálogos que revelan los detalles de la conjuración del príncipe 

Fernando y su tentativa para apoderarse del trono (301a-302a y 307a-313a). 

(51) y (52) El largo diálogo entre Gabriel y Amaranta sobre el papel del cortesano, seguido por una 

autocrítica en la que Gabriel descubre que es honrado (315a-319a y 319a, b). 120 

(67) y (68) La narrativa, el diálogo y los textos de las cartas escritas por Fernando y publicadas en 

la Gaceta de Madrid . El pueblo madrileño sigue creyendo en Fernando y en las buenas intenciones 

de Napoleón. Su credulidad contrasta con la agudeza del amolador Pacorro Chinitas, que ya prevé la 

lucha del pueblo español contra los invasores franceses. Estas dos escenas constituyen un comentario 

preliminar importante sobre la Guerra de la Independencia y sus orígenes (334b-335b y 336a, b). 

(70)-(79) Revelan lo que pasó durante la noche del 6 de noviembre de 1807. Estas diez escenas 

constituyen la crisis de la acción novelesca principal. Se trata primero de los preparativos y diálogos 

preliminares que preceden la representación de una obra teatral, Otello , por Teodoro Lacalle, 

adaptación de una traducción francesa por Ducis de la tragedia de Shakespeare. La obra, al ser 

presentada, está intercalada en el relato del narrador, de modo que la acción está concentrada en los 

amores y los celos del gran actor Isidoro Máiquez, de la González y de la duquesa Lesbia, tanto en el 

escenario como en la realidad de la narración de Gabriel (336b-350a). 

Ya se ha mencionado la dicotomía fundamental del concepto galdosiano, los aspectos históricos y 

novelescos que constituyen la doble base del Episodio nacional . En La corte de Carlos IV cada 

uno de estos elementos se puede dividir en dos, así que tenemos en este Episodio cuatro hilos de 

acción. Sin embargo, se puede ver que hay puntos de contacto entre ellos en ciertas escenas. 

Algo ya se ha dicho del primer hilo, de la primera o principal acción novelesca, en la que Gabriel 

desempeña su papel de criado y actor, y encuentra a Pepita González y a Isidoro Máiquez. Es el mundo 

artístico y cultural que está en contacto con la esfera de la nobleza, es decir con Amaranta y Lesbia, 

don Juan de Mañara, el Marqués y la Marquesa. Este hilo se desenvuelve de la manera siguiente: 

- las escenas (1)-(8) (caps. I y II) y (14)-(20) (caps. IV y V) constituyen la exposición, en la que 

se da a conocer el asunto; 

120 Véase la escena (56), 324b-325a. 

135


- las escenas (21)-(30) (caps. VI-IX), 121 (34) y (35) (cap. XI), 122 (39) (fin del cap. XI), (43)-(52) (fin 

del cap. XII-cap. XVIII), 123 (55)-(61) (fin del cap. XVIII-primera parte del cap. XX), (63) (primera 

parte del cap. XXI), (65) y (66) (cap. XXI) 124 forman la complicación o desarrollo de la acción; 

- las escenas (70)-(79) (caps. XXII-XXV), de las que ya se ha hablado, constituyen el clímax, la 

crisis, o el punto culminante; 

- las escenas (80)-(85) (caps. XXVI-XXVIII) son el desenlace. 

El segundo hilo (o segunda acción novelesca) es en el que Gabriel está en contacto con gente humilde, 

con Inés, doña Juana y el cuñado de ésta, el padre Celestino Santos del Malvar: 

- las escenas (9)-(13) (cap. II) son la exposición; 

- las escenas (36)-(38) (cap. XI), 125 (50) (última parte del cap. XVI), (54) (cap. XVIII) 126 y (56) 

(principio del cap. XIX) forman la complicación; 

- las escenas (62) (cap. XX), 127 (64) (cap. XXI), 128 (69) (principio del cap. XXI) y (85) (cap. 

XXVIII), escenas en las que se narran la enfermedad y muerte de doña Juana, y en las que se revela 

que Inés es en definitiva hija de una gran señora. Estas escenas constituyen el clímax o la crisis de 

este hilo de la acción novelesca; 

- la escena (85) contiene también el desenlace; 

- la escena (86) (cap. XXIX) es la conclusión. 

121 Hasta el fin del «monólogo interior» de Gabriel, 289a. 

122 Hasta el fin de la entrevista de Gabriel con Amaranta, 297b 

123 Hasta el fin del análisis de los sentimientos de Gabriel, 319b. 

124 Los ensayos del papel de Gabriel en Otello y el relato de sus ocupaciones el día de la 

representación de la obra, 334a y b. 

125 297b-300a. 

126 320b-324a. 

127 330a-332b. 

128 333b-334a. 

136


El tercer hilo (o primera acción histórica) es en el que Gabriel sigue los acontecimientos políticos 

y aprende algo de la corrupción en Palacio y de la influencia de la camarilla. Es la esfera de los 

gobernantes, de la nobleza. En él se desarrolla la conjuración del príncipe Fernando: 

- las escenas (5) y (8) (cap. II), 129 donde se habla de Godoy por primera vez, constituyen la 

exposición; 

- las escenas (22) y (23) (cap, VI), 130 (25) (cap. VII) 131 y (40) (principio del cap. XII) forman la 

complicación; 

- las escenas (41) y (42) (cap. XII), 132 (44)-(49) (caps. XIII-XVI), (51) (cap. XVII), (53) y (54) (cap. 

XVIII) 133 constituyen la crisis, en la que se revelan el descubrimiento de la conjuración de Fernando 

y el castigo de éste; 

- las escenas (67) (cap. XXI) 134 y (83) (cap. XXVII) 135 son el desenlace; 

- la escena (86) (cap. XXIX) es la conclusión. 

El cuarto hilo (o segunda acción histórica) es en el que Gabriel está en contacto con el pueblo y 

aprende lo que piensa de Godoy, de los reyes padres, de Fernando y de Napoleón. 

- las escenas (9)-(11) (cap. III) 136 son la exposición; 

- las escenas (31)-(33) (cap. IX y X) y (62) (cap. XX) 137 constituyen la complicación; 

129 260b-261a y 266b. 

130 278a-280b. 

131 281a-284a. 

132 301a-303b. 

133 319b-324a. 

134 334b-335b. 

135 354a-355a. 

136 266a-268b. 

137 330a-332b. 

137


- la escena (67) (cap. XXI) 138 es la crisis, en la que se describe (a) la incredulidad del pueblo 

madrileño ante las cartas reveladoras de Fernando, publicadas en la Gaceta de Madrid , y (b) su 

empeño en creer en la inocencia del príncipe; 

- las escenas (67) y (68) (cap. XXI) 139 forman el desenlace; 

- la escena (86) (cap. XXIX) contiene la conclusión de este hilo también. 

Se debe notar finalmente que en cada uno de los sectores analizados -tanto en el privado y novelesco 

como en el público o histórico- estos hilos de acción se desarrollan en la alta esfera social de la nobleza 

y en la baja del pueblo. Es un aspecto significativo de la visión total de la realidad que nos proporciona 

Pérez Galdós. 

Otro aspecto significativo de esta visión total es la riqueza de los temas que se desarrollan en La corte 

de Carlos IV , temas que están asociados con muchísimas actividades de la sociedad contemporánea. 

Así, el tema de la vida cultural y artística de la época tiene su importancia: está basado no sólo en la 

discusión de los méritos del neoclasicismo -y en particular, de la obra de Moratín- sino también en 

la descripción del trabajo que hizo Goya al decorar la casa del Marqués y pintar el telón antes de la 

representación de Otello (288b-289a y 324b). 

Más importante desde el punto de vista histórico es el tema de la corrupción en Palacio. Gabriel, 

embelesado por la bella Amaranta, vacila en sus sentimientos de amor hacia Inés pero, a pesar de ser 

ambicioso, se decide finalmente en favor del amor verdadero y del honor, después de haber expresado 

su repugnancia con respecto al espionaje (324b). Su anhelo es poder siempre decir: «No he hecho 

nada que ofenda a Dios ni a los hombres. Estoy satisfecho de ti, Gabriel» (318a). Lo más significativo 

es que el concepto del honor está enlazado en su mente con la figura de Inés. La virtud atrae la virtud. 

En cuanto al tema de la corrupción, éste se desarrolla en las varias facetas de la vida política del 

país. Se muestra en la influencia funesta de la camarilla, constituida por personas como Amaranta y 

Lesbia. Según las explicaciones que aquélla da a Gabriel, el espionaje y el conocimiento de secretos 

vergonzosos están enlazados con el ejercicio del poder político. A veces una preferencia personal 

puede conseguir puestos, canonjías o destinos: en tales asuntos, la doncella de Amaranta tiene ciertas 

ventajas -sabe peinarla tan bien (318b y 356a) -y el padre Celestino es nombrado- con justicia, según 

138 334b-336b. 

139 259b-266a, 336b-337a y 339a, b. 

138


parece -para el puesto de ecónomo de la iglesia parroquial de Aranjuez después de una larga espera de 

catorce años y sólo debido a la intervención de Gabriel y Amaranta (336a). Las carreras de Godoy y 

del marqués Caballero son ejemplos de lo que se puede conseguir de esta manera. Lesbia, don Juan de 

Mañara y el licenciado Lobo también esperan asegurar sus carreras o su felicidad personal no por sus 

propios méritos sino por alguna protección, intriga o influencia secreta. De todo esto, y del retrato del 

rey Carlos IV, se destaca la impresión de la debilidad desastrosa del soberano y del gobierno frente 

al poder de Napoleón. Al desarrollar su tema Pérez Galdós revela otro aspecto de la vida política de 

la época: la falta de juicio de los gobernantes, y aun la falta de patriotismo verdadero. Godoy, por 

ejemplo, busca un trono en Portugal. Carlos IV y Fernando -padre e hijo- luchan casi abiertamente 

para conseguir el apoyo de Napoleón. En estas circunstancias no nos extraña que Pacorro Chinitas, 

amolador madrileño y filósofo callejero, diga con respecto a la lucha futura contra los franceses «todo 

lo hemos de hacer nosotros», es decir, el pueblo. 

El desarrollo del cuarto hilo (o segunda acción histórica) en el que Gabriel está en contacto con varios 

representantes de la población de Madrid revela la impaciencia del pueblo para con los gobernantes 

egoístas, corrompidos y políticamente poco inteligentes. 

El pueblo tiene su propio punto de vista, no siempre bien fundado. Ejemplo: su preferencia por el 

heredero del trono, Fernando. Lo que se puede discernir aquí es el tema de la importancia naciente del 

pueblo. Se prepara un período de guerra, de inestabilidad histórica, de movilidad social ejemplificada 

por la carrera de Gabriel. En la Primera Serie de los Episodios nacionales Pérez Galdós demuestra 

que la lucha por la independencia está basada sobre todo en la unidad nacional y la energía del pueblo. 

En este clima social Gabriel, al ver el éxito de otros, se muestra muy ambicioso. El tema de la 

ambición y de sus límites se desarrolla sobre todo en sus contactos con Amaranta y sus conversaciones 

con Inés, quien representa el honor, la sencillez y el buen sentido. 140 

Esto nos conduce a la discusión del tema del amor. Según la narrativa de Gabriel, él encuentra 

muy distintos tipos de amor: el amor-ilusión que se insinúa en su ánimo cuando piensa en Amaranta 

(288b-289a), su amor sincero y correspondido con Inés, el amor materno de doña Juana, el amor- 

pasión de la González (345a-346b y 351b-352a), el amor-vanidad de Máiquez (344b-345b), los 

amores de Lesbia y de don Juan de Mañara, el amor culpable de Amaranta (342a), el amor adúltero 

de la reina. El amor tiene una importancia fundamental en la vida de Gabriel. 

140 Caps. III, XI, XVII, XX,y XXVII. 

139


Para él, y en la entera Primera Serie de los Episodios nacionales , todo se relaciona con el amor: 

su patriotismo, su concepto del honor, su éxito final, sus bodas y su felicidad durante tantos años. 141 

El tema del amor está enlazado con el de los celos, que se desarrolla sobre todo en los capítulos VI y 

XXIII-XXVI, y con el del honor. La diferencia entre el honor verdadero y la apariencia del honor se 

ve al comparar el comportamiento de Gabriel con el de Amaranta y Lesbia. 

En ambos aspectos fundamentales de La corte de Carlos IV , el histórico y el novelesco, el tema de 

la Providencia tiene una importancia que no se puede negar. Es, según dice Hans Hinterhäuser, «el 

principio que dirige la Historia... y no sólo determina el proceso de la Historia grande y "externa", sino 

también la pequeña e "interna" de los personajes novelescos». 142 La Providencia puede significar 

«Dios» o «el Cielo», y en su primera conversación con Inés, ya habla Gabriel de sus proyectos y de 

su éxito posterior «Dios mediante» (268b). Más tarde agrega: «Eso será lo que Dios quiera» (269a 

y 270b), y así atribuye a Dios la influencia decisiva en su propia vida. Sin embargo, es ambicioso, y 

frente a su ambición, Inés defiende un punto de vista mucho más fatalista: «en el mundo, al fin y al 

cabo, pasa siempre lo que debe pasar» (269b). El fatalismo de Inés es un tipo de determinismo, puesto 

que niega la influencia personal sobre la determinación y atribuye un papel decisivo a los motivos, 

considerados como elementos externos que actúan sobre la voluntad humana. El aspecto histórico de 

la Providencia no aparece tan claramente en la obra, sino más bien en el desarrollo de la Historia en 

toda la Primera Serie. 

Es un proceso más lento y se mezcla con la idea del Progreso. Las últimas líneas de La corte de 

Carlos IV nos dejan entrever algo de este proceso histórico. La nación española, basándose en los 

sentimientos patrióticos y las virtudes militares del pueblo, tendrá éxito en su larga lucha contra los 

invasores franceses. Pero después de la Guerra de la Independencia, el progreso hacia la democracia y 

la justicia social, preconizado por Pérez Galdós, es mucho más lento. Con la desaparición del peligro 

extranjero desaparece la unidad nacional, y la energía del pueblo se disipa en una serie de luchas 

políticas, religiosas y sociales que durarán hasta la última parte del siglo. En el pensamiento de Pérez 

Galdós, el proceso histórico, tal como se desarrolla en los Episodios nacionales, está enlazado con la 

dicotomía fundamental de las virtudes militares y las flaquezas políticas de la nación. 

141 La batalla de los Arapiles , op. cit., p. 1187a. 

142 Los episodios nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdós , Madrid, Gredos, 1963, pp. 119-120. 

140


Finalmente, podemos decir que La corte es un buen ejemplo de un Episodio cuyo examen con 

respecto a la estructura y el significado nos facilita la comprensión del proceso creador en la obra de 

Pérez Galdós. Nuestro estudio nos ha ofrecido detalles valiosos sobre su preocupación con distintos 

aspectos de los elementos histórico y novelesco, sobre sus métodos de organización, y sobre su 

instinto dramático, revelado en las escenas dialogadas. La grandeza de Pérez Galdós reside tanto en 

su inspiración creadora como en su maestría en cuanto a los aspectos técnicos del arte de novelar. 

School of Humanities. La Trobe University. Melbourne, Australia 

141

Documentos y texto 


142


Galdós y Valle-Inclán: A propósito de un texto olvidado 

Allen W. Philips 

El objeto original del presente trabajo fue sencillamente dar a conocer una página de Valle-Inclán 

publicada en La correspondencia de España , con fecha del 6 de julio de 1902, sobre Las tormentas 

del 48 , la novela de Galdós que inicia, en aquel año de 1902, la cuarta y penúltima serie de los 

Episodios nacionales . El texto en sí no carece de interés por ser de quien es y por su contenido, 

pero también se destaca de modo especial, porque Valle no solía prodigar por escrito, aun en los 

comienzos de su vida literaria, sus juicios sobre los escritores del día. Por lo tanto, dentro de ese 

contexto, no pude resistir totalmente la tentación de abordar, por lo menos de manera tangencial, 

otras pertinentes consideraciones que conciernen las relaciones entre Galdós y Valle-Inclán, aunque 

sé que éstas merecen un estudio más serio del que ahora se hace. Nadie ha estudiado a fondo y 

exhaustivamente la ambigua amistad literaria y personal entre los dos, aunque es bien sabida, frente 

a su franca admiración juvenil, la notable antipatía que el irascible gallego tenía a Galdós durante los 

últimos años de su vida. Todo el mundo recuerda cómo en boca de Dorio de Gádez (Antonio Rey 

Moliné), uno de los poetastros del Parnaso Modernista en Luces de bohemia (1920), se oyen las tan 

a menudo citadas palabras irrespetuosas: «Precisamente ahora está vacante el sillón de Don Benito 

el Garbancero (Escena Cuarta)». No dudo por un instante de la intención despectiva del apelativo, 

pero también la frase debe leerse como procedente de un modernista venido a menos, que ataca con 

sarcasmo a la Academia como lo solía hacer Valle en ésta y otras obras suyas. 

Otro tema, de mayor importancia literaria que las relaciones personales entre los dos escritores que 

no puede ser rehuido del todo aquí, es el tratamiento de la historia en los Episodios nacionales y el 

concepto que de ella tenía Valle al escribir las tres novelas de La guerra carlista , tal vez el comienzo 

frustrado de otra serie de episodios, que irían a desembocar, años después, en la incompleta serie de 

las grandes novelas históricas de El ruedo ibérico . Recordemos aquí las palabras de Rubén Darío 

referidas a las novelas de La guerra carlista : «El viejo e ilustre Galdós debía haber hablado ya y decir 

quién viene después de él... Y conste que hoy yo amo y respeto a don Benito casi lapidariamente». 143 

Así Rubén intuía con acierto quien iba a seguir a Galdós en la interpretación de la historia española 

del XIX. 

143 Rubén Darío, Obras completas , II (Madrid, 1950), 582-583. 

143

Algunos testimonios sobre Galdós y Valle 144 


No me propongo historiar detalladamente las relaciones personales entre ambos novelistas, ni 

tampoco puntualizar todos los motivos que determinaron su separación posterior, sino recordar unos 

hechos capitales que gravitaron en sus desavenencias ulteriores. Se puede suponer que una firme 

amistad unía a Galdós y Valle hasta el año de 1913 poco más o menos, una amistad rota por el episodio 

notorio de El embrujado ; la crítica siempre ha recalcado ese distanciamiento posterior que los 

separaba durante los últimos años de la vida de Galdós, ya viejo y quebrantado de salud. 

Con ciertas reservas, los escritores del 98 admiraron en general la obra de Galdós; admitieron su 

magisterio aunque pretendían seguir otros caminos. Se quejaban a lo sumo de su falta de estilo lírico, 

cosa muy lógica desde el punto de vista de las nuevas estéticas de fines del siglo. No eran, sin embargo, 

antigaldosianos, y no podía ser de otra manera, porque en más de un sentido él era precursor de todos 

ellos en la preocupación por España y su regeneración. No hay por qué olvidar tampoco que sus 

colaboraciones fueron bien recibidas en ciertas revistas de los jóvenes de aquel entonces ( Electra 

, Alma española entre otras). 145 

El primer texto que me concierne de modo directo aquí es el muy conocido comentario que publicó 

Valle-Inclán acerca del Ángel Guerra en El Globo (13 de agosto de 1891). 146 Que me perdone el 

lector la impertinencia de resumir de nuevo los conceptos más significativos expresados por su autor. 

144 Me he referido brevemente a las relaciones personales entre 

los dos escritores en un trabajo titulado «Algo más sobre 

Antonio Machado y Valle-Inclán», recogido ahora en mi libro 

Temas del modernismo hispánico y otros estudios (Madrid, 

1974), nota 15, 216-217. 

145 Es necesario citar al menos aquí dos trabajos de conjunto sobre el tema en cuestión: H. Chonon 

Berkowitz, «Galdós and The Generation of 1898 », Philological Quarterly , XXI (núm. 1, enero de 

1942), 107-120 Y José María Monner Sans, «Galdós y la generación del 98», Cursos y conferencias , 

XII (núms. 139-141, octubre-diciembre de 1943), 57-85. 

146 Lo recogió William L. Fichter en su ya famosa colección de Publicaciones periodísticas de don 

Ramón del Valle-Inclán anteriores a 1895 (México, 1952), 56-59, Sobre esta importante aportación a 

la bibliografía de Valle-Inclán, hay una hermosa e informativa reseña por José F. Montesinos [NRFH, 

VIII (núm. 1, 1954), 91-99], a la cual me referiré más adelante. 

144


La reseña es generosa, aunque a veces creo que la crítica ha destacado más el reproche final sobre la 

fecundidad de Galdós («Pienso que a producir con menos facilidad, Galdós sería no más novelista, 

pero sí más literato» (58) 147 ) que los aspectos positivos de ese temprano texto crítico. Recordemos 

que estamos en 1891, y el Valle modernista, aunque da clara indicación de sus ambiciones artísticas 

en aquella frase citada, no ha dado a la estampa en su forma definitiva las Sonatas . Ya se había 

estrenado (30 de enero de 1901), sin embargo, Electra de Galdós. 

Además de nombrar a Galdós el «primer novelista español», «insigne autor» y hasta llamarle «el 

maestro» ( ibídem ), Valle se fija en otros aspectos de su arte de novelar que merecen tenerse en 

cuenta. Acerca de la novela galdosiana escribe primero que «lo principal son las personas, por dentro, 

y esta clase de principalidades son innarrables o poco menos. Lo que constituye la atmósfera moral 

en una novela, al igual que la atmósfera física, se siente, sí, pero no se ve ni se palpa» (56). Descubre 

en Ángel Guerra (y hay que retener el dato) un cierto realismo superior (57); no es, pues, el realismo 

limitado, de mera copia. Asombrado además por el conocimiento que el autor tiene de los diferentes 

ambientes sociales del mundo español, afirma Valle con certeza y en tono de encomio que Galdós es 

un novelista hondo y que ha adivinado toda una época en sus Episodios ( ibídem ). No escatima, 

pues, los elogios: «Y no se diga que en esta novela hay pobreza de asunto: todo lo contrario»; «¡Qué 

galería de admirables figuras!»; y «¡qué riqueza de caracteres!» (58). 148 

147 Una curiosa coincidencia: Rubén Darío, al ocuparse con cierta extensión en 1899 de la Estafeta 

romántica , recién aparecida en los escaparates de las librerías madrileñas, le reprocha también su 

fecundidad inquietante que le contrista. Ob. cit. , 1126. En la reseña antes aludida Montesinos registra 

su protesta ante esta misma aseveración antigaldosiana hecha por Valle-Inclán (94). 

148 No olvidemos que don Benito Pérez Galdós también utilizó repetidamente la palabra esperpento , 

cuyo uso se extiende a la descripción de personajes, principalmente masculinos, para recalcar su 

fealdad grotesca o estado moral degradado. Sobre este tema véase la informativa nota de Iris M. Zavala 

[«Del esperpento», en Homenaje a Casalduero (Madrid, 1972), pp. 493-496], en que se estudian 

las raíces literarias y sociales de tan célebre palabra. En su libro sobre Valle-Inclán [ Valle-Inclán, 

introducción a su obra (Salamanca, 1971)] Manuel Bermejo advierte dos ocasiones en que figura en La 

de Bringas (1882) de Galdós (10). También es curioso notar, como han señalado Rodolfo Cardona y 

Anthony N. Zahareas, que precisamente en Ángel Guerra se lee el siguiente fragmento: «Empujábanse 

unos a otros para acercarse, y con la boca abierta daban brincos pretendiendo coger el deseado higui , 

145


que saltaba en el aire con las sacudidas de la cuerda, a los golpes en la caña por el horrible esperpento , 

que tan estrafalariamente se divertía...» Visión del esperpento (Madrid, 1970), 33. 

146


Algo sobre historia, novela y estilo en Galdós y Valle 

La bibliografía sobre los indicados aspectos de la obra de Galdós y Valle-Inclán es naturalmente 

imponente, así como contradictoria a veces en sus premisas y conclusiones. Son temas importantes 

que han interesado a los más eminentes críticos de hoy y de ayer: sería impertinente que hiciese yo 

más que resumir, desde mi propio ángulo de interés, lo más sustancioso dicho ya por otros críticos. 

Son notorias las diferencias y semejanzas de ambos escritores en su intento de novelar e interpretar la 

historia española del XIX. En sus Episodios , al menos en la primera serie, Galdós, movido por un 

sincero patriotismo o, si se prefiere, por un nacionalismo de buena fe, deseaba destacar principalmente 

lo heroico y lo grande del pasado español, así como algunos momentos culminantes de la historia 

decimonónica; su plan abarcaba una amplia zona de tiempo; hacía novelas amenas, de tono familiar, 

que debían mucho al costumbrismo de factura popular. Su estilo realista, siempre llano y sencillo, sin 

preciosismos de ninguna clase, se prestaba de modo admirable a la narración de los hechos y de las 

peripecias de sus personajes. En sus Episodios describía y explicaba naturalmente de acuerdo con 

las normas características de su época. 

Por otra parte, en su visión de la historia y bajo el signo del esperpento , Valle-Inclán quería 

captar lo incongruente y mezquino de las «amenes de un reinado», concentrándolo todo en un 

corto lapso, para llenar completamente ese espacio de pocos meses. Al acentuar lo grotesco y lo 

degradado de aquella vida, ya no se trata del espejo plano del realismo, sino de los espejos deformantes 

que estilizan y distorsionan. 149 No quiero decir que Galdós después no se haya decepcionado con 

149 Fernández Almagro ha escrito: « Alardea Valle-Inclán de sus fuentes como el pintor de 

vanguardia, que gustaba de incorporar a sus cuadros algún trozo de realidad, papel o trapo, con su 

auténtica crudeza; no como el erudito, que almacena sus puntuales referencias en notas y apéndices 

documentales. Salvo los casos en que por expreso designio aflora el cabal conocimiento histórico 

de Valle-Inclán, su información va por dentro, en lo que se aproxima a Galdós, contra lo que pueda 

parecer. Los Episodios Nacionales transmiten al lector la impresión directa del pretérito bajo especies 

de realidad experimentada y vivida, que no excluye la invención. La diferencia, ciertamente profunda, 

entre los dos grandes intérpretes del siglo XIX en España no radica en el modo de percibir y rehacer la 

Historia, sino en su manera de expresarla, como corresponde a las contrapuestas estéticas de Galdós, 

realista, y Valle-Inclán fantaseador». Vida y literatura de Valle-Inclán (Madrid, 1966), 228. 

147


el progresivo desmoronamiento de la vida nacional, 150 y también creo que inicialmente buscaba 

Valle, sin encontrarlo, la epopeya de esa guerra frustrada de partidas, presentadas con todo su 

fragmentarismo en la serie de las novelas de La guerra carlista (1908-1909). Quizá decepcionado 

por la falta de grandiosidad épica, regresó Valle hacia 1909 al teatro modernista en verso. Así en 

las extensas novelas de El ruedo ibérico nos da, desde su posición criticista o moralista si se 

quiere, un cuadro caricaturesco y corrosivo de aquellos últimos meses del reinado de Isabel II. De 

gran complejidad formal y densa elaboración estilística, esas últimas obras se diferencian de las de 

Galdós por sus modos expresivos y su riqueza lingüística. Se ha relacionado con el último estilo 

de Valle-Inclán el impresionismo; yo creo que sería más exacto, al pensar en los procedimientos de 

Tirano Banderas y las novelas finales, caracterizar su estilo como expresionista. Galdós y Valle 

se documentaban escrupulosamente, y el genio de cada uno hizo posible que se fundiese en feliz 

amalgama novela e historia; realidad y ficción se dan la mano, con las inevitables fluctuaciones entre 

la invención y la fidelidad. 151 No olvidemos nunca, no obstante, que de novelas (obras de arte) se 

trata aquí en los dos casos. 152 

150 Ricardo Gullón, Galdós, novelista moderno (Madrid, 1966), 121-124. 

151 Guillermo de Torre ha preguntado: « ¿acaso son novelas ceñidamente históricas las suyas? Por lo 

pronto, no parece que fuera esa su intención capital, menos aún la costumbrista o patriótica -como en 

Galdós- sino la satírica. Y la sátira no supone precisamente fidelidad al hecho real; todo lo contrario, 

abultamiento, deformación, subrayado violento de ciertos rasgos con eliminación de otros. Mas no 

por ello El ruedo ibérico constituye un documento histórico inferior a los Episodios nacionales de 

Galdós y a las Memorias de un hombre de acción de Baroja. En los primeros, considerados desde 

un punto de vista estético, la mezcla de historia y de ficción no se acuerda plenamente; en muchas 

ocasiones ambos elementos se mantienen aislados, independientes, causando la desazón del lector 

actual. Quienes buscan la evocación precisa, desde dentro, del hecho histórico puro, se impacientan 

ante las gruesas porciones de intriga novelesca amorosa; y al revés... De modo opuesto, en estos libros 

de Valle-Inclán no hay desequilibrio ni soldadura ficticia. Los personajes, sin perder su autonomía, 

viven esencialmente en función del hecho histórico; son, a la par, condicionantes y condicionados 

por las circunstancias de la época. Todos ellos -tanto los fantoches palatinos como los caballistas 

andaluces, los 'espadones' carlistas y los emigrados revolucionarios- sirven para incorporar una nota; 

agregan algún cuadro expresivo al vasto friso total de las 'Vísperas septembrinas'...» «Valle-Inclán o 

el rostro y la máscara», La difícil universalidad española (Madrid, 1965), 160-161. 

148


Sin embargo, no creo que sea imprudente decir que más le interesaba a Valle la vida vacua y grotesca 

de la época, en todos sus aspectos chulescos y aflamencados, que la historia misma, aunque no por 

eso fue menos verídica su visión del pasado. La desrealización satírica es una de las constantes de 

El ruedo ibérico , y Valle encontraba en las fuentes consultadas la degradación, que solía relacionar 

con la actualidad; quizá sería más exacto decir que su dolor actual se proyectaba hacia lo pretérito. 

153 Para Gaspar Gómez de la Serna, especialista en el tema, la nota más característica del Episodio 

es, por lo contrario, «la historia como suceso», 154 y define el género como «la versión literaria de 

la Historia». 155 El mismo comentarista sintetiza los orígenes del nuevo género que por tantos años 

iba a ocupar a Galdós: 156 

Ese fondo general... se articula, desde el punto de vista ideológico en las dos grandes ideas 

políticas del siglo XIX; el liberalismo y el nacionalismo que arrancan, sobre todo, de la revolución 

de 1848. Estéticamente se le corresponden otras dos tendencias claves de la literatura del tiempo; 

una, el costumbrismo, que Galdós recibe directamente de Mesonero Romanos limpio de toda ganga 

romántica; otra, el puro realismo que ha de culminar en él; despojado de los arrastres naturalistas 

anteriores. Desde ahí, la doble vocación narrativa e historiográfica de Galdós va a poner en marcha, 

con cuerda propia, el nuevo género. 

En sus excelentes páginas sobre Galdós y Valle-Inclán, se refiere Yndurain a la creación de 

personajes en El ruedo ibérico , algunos identificables y otros simplemente criaturas de ficción 

y a cómo los somete Valle a un tratamiento esperpéntico. 157 Luego nota, entre otros aciertos, dos 

152 Ricardo Gullón, «Los Episodios : la primera serie», Philological Quarterly , LI (núm. 1, enero de 

1972), 301-302, y anota además cómo Galdós, a su vez, interpreta y deforma la historia como Valle- 

Inclán hará años después (302-303). 

153 Pedro Salinas, «Significación del esperpento o Valle-Inclán, hijo pródigo del 98», Literatura 

española. Siglo XX , 2.ª ed. (México, 1949), 111-112. 

154 Gaspar Gómez de la Serna, Entrerramones y otros ensayos (Madrid, 1969), 270. 

155 Ibídem , 267. 


157 Francisco Yndurain, « El ruedo ibérico de Valle-Inclán», Clásicos modernos (Madrid, 1969), 127. 

En el mismo volumen quisiera llamar la atención de modo especial sobre otros dos trabajos pertinentes 

149


cosas no siempre señaladas al hablar de los personajes valleinclanescos y los modos narrativos de 

su creador: 158 

esa novela histórica, llamémosla así, tiene el carácter de una estampa de época a la que, de pronto, 

se le hubiera dado movimiento y voz. No hay antecedentes: los personajes están ya hechos del todo, 

ni el autor se ocupa de ponernos en autos, salvo en muy contados casos. Parece que hemos sido 

introducidos como intrusos, sin más, porque tampoco se nos da la pista de una perspectiva histórica, 

es decir, no está contado en forma de rememoración evocadora, sino, lo diré una vez más, presente y 

sin interpuesta persona. Lo que se advierte en el escamoteo del narrador. 

y un poco más adelante persigue atinadamente la misma idea: 159 

Los personajes tienen escasa vida interior, se producen en pura exterioridad, desde una presencia 

que se nos da en visión y audición (gestos y voces, también en la gama grotesca). Apenas les concede el 

autor una postura crítica respecto de los sucesos o los otros personajes... Viven una farsa íntegramente. 

Por eso los parlamentarios son tan superficiales, sin complicaciones, y por lo mismo la vida interior 

de los actores, de los personajes quiero decir, no es atendida... 

Pienso que éste es el momento más indicado para dejar que nos hable Valle un momento de sus propias 

intenciones al emprender la magna tarea nunca terminada que le ocupó durante los últimos años de 

su vida. Cuando un periodista le preguntó sobre lo que se había propuesto en las novelas históricas 

de El ruedo ibérico , la contestación fue rotunda: «-Burlarme, burlarme de todo y de todos... La 

verdad, la justicia son las únicas cosas respetables... La literatura satírica es una de las formas de la 

canción histórica que cae sobre los poderosos que no cumplieron con su deber». 160 Afirma Valle en 

el mismo sitio que las novelas no necesariamente tienen un personaje principal, sino que las suyas 

tienen uno colectivo: 161 

y de gran utilidad: «Imaginería en El ruedo ibérico » (136-169) y «Valle-Inclán y Galdós» (170-184). 

Del mismo crítico: Valle-Inclán: tres estudios (Santander, 1969), que recoge los mismos estudios. 

158 Ibídem , 128-129. 


160 Francisco Madrid, La vida altiva de Valle-Inclán (Buenos Aires, 1943), 106. 

161 Ibídem . 

150


Cuando le llega [al personaje] su hora se destacan del fondo y adquieren la máxima importancia. 

Ya sé que al lector le molesta que le abandonen al personaje que ganó su simpatía, pero yo escribo 

la novela de un pueblo, en una época, y no la de unos cuantos hombres. El gran protagonista de mi 

libro es el Ruedo Ibérico . Los demás sólo sirven mientras su acción es definidora de un aspecto 

nacional. La calidad externa del suceso o la anécdota me tienen sin cuidado. Lo que me interesa es 

su calidad expresiva... 

Continúa hablando Valle nuevamente de los tres modos en que los autores ven a sus criaturas, pero 

vuelve a insistir más adelante en que el protagonista de El ruedo ibérico es el medio social, el 

ambiente: « Quiero llevar a la novela la sensibilidad española, tal como se muestra en su reacción ante 

los hechos que tienen una importancia. Para mí, la sensibilidad de un pueblo se refleja y se mide por 

la forma de reaccionar ante esos hechos. Ver la reacción de la sensibilidad española en aquel período 

tan interesante que va desde la Revolución, en el año 68, hasta la muerte de Alfonso XII, en el año 

85, es lo que me propongo en la nueva novela...» 162 

Por último, la diferencia principal entre Galdós y Valle-Inclán, ambos emparentados por su innegable 

afición a la historia como materia novelable, consistía en el modo de expresarla y no necesariamente 

en su manera de percibirla. Muy bien vio Antonio Machado lo que separaba a los dos escritores cuando 

en 1938 escribió en Barcelona un prólogo para La corte de los milagros : 

Don Ramón, que escribe para la posteridad y, por ende, para los jóvenes de hoy, olvida a veces, lo 

que nunca olvidaba Galdós: mostrar al lector el esquema histórico en el cual encuadraba las novelas 

un tanto frívolas de sus Episodios Nacionales. Pero don Ramón, aunque menos pedagogo, es mucho 

más artista que Galdós, y su obra es además mucho más rica de contenido histórico y social que la 

galdosiana. 

162 Ibídem . 115. Emma Susana Speratti-Piñero en su excelente trabajo «Cómo nació y creció El ruedo 

ibérico » [ De Sonata de otoño al esperpento (Aspectos del arte de Valle-Inclán) , Londres, 1968, 

243-327] recuerda otras palabras de Valle que confirman lo que hemos citado. En una entrevista de 

1926 dice de El ruedo ibérico : « No es a modo de episodios, como los de Galdós o como los de 

Baroja. Es una novela única y grande, al estilo de La guerra y la paz , en la que doy una visión de 

la sensibilidad española desde la caída de Isabel II. No es la novela de un individuo, es la novela de 

una colectividad, de un pueblo» (248). 

151


Habría que añadir aquí con Iris Zavala que Valle en aquellas novelas tenía plena conciencia del 

anarquismo revolucionario, la lucha de clases, y el sistema socialista que intentaba romper con el viejo 

orden monárquico. Con espíritu combativo pone de manifiesto los vicios y abusos, tanto políticos 

como sociales, de todo un mundo en crisis cuya representación se logra por una visión corrosiva que 

subraya sus elementos más grotescos y negativos. 163 

163 Iris M. Zavala, «Historia y literatura en El ruedo ibérico », en Clara Lida e Iris M. Zavala, eds., 

La Revolución de 1868 historia, pensamiento, literatura (Nueva York, 1970), 425-449. 

152

Otros testimonios sobre Galdós y Valle-Inclán 


Aunque al final de la presente nota se reproduce íntegro el texto de Valle sobre Las tormentas 

del 48 (1902), veámoslo ahora con toda brevedad. En primer lugar, abundan los términos de elogio 

que Valle utiliza para referirse al maestro, y califica este nuevo episodio de Galdós de admirable 

relato. Bien caracterizado José García Fajardo, el listo protagonista de la novela escrita en forma de 

memorias, Valle pasa a decir algo muy importante al afirmar sin titubear que la novela «marca una 

nueva manera dentro de los Episodios »: advierte también una mayor amplitud en el medio social, que 

ahora adquiere un noble carácter de severidad moral y política: «¡Son otros los tiempos!» exclama, 

tiempos en los cuales no hay ya «heroísmos populares ni caudillos valerosos». Continúa diciendo el 

futuro autor de las novelas de El ruedo ibérico : 

Acaso en Las tormentas del 48 se inicia por primera vez la decadencia del alma nacional. Con 

la nueva aristocracia que se forma, comienza la lepra que nos devora hoy. El vampirismo de los 

poderosos y la indiferencia del pueblo. Los motines, las asonadas, los pronunciamientos que estallan 

todos los días son únicamente obra de generales y de políticos despechados, ávidos de medro personal. 

maravilla la poderosa visión del maestro. Palpita en los otros episodios la fuerza creadora, la 

inspiración serena, llena de simpatías humanas, que tiene a veces, como el Romancero, un aliento 

popular y heroico, pero en este último Episodio el maestro se muestra solamente como prodigioso 

creador de hombres y mujeres. Resucita toda una sociedad. 

¿Hasta qué punto -nos preguntamos- veía Valle en la remota lejanía un cambio posible para su manera 

propia de recrear y rehacer la historia de las postrimerías del reinado de Isabel II? Hay que señalar 

que ahora, al iniciar la cuarta serie de Episodios , percibía con toda claridad Galdós la degradación 

moral del medio nacional. 

Así aparentemente las relaciones entre Galdós y Valle-Inclán son muy cordiales en los primeros 

años del nuevo siglo. Sabemos, por ejemplo, que al ofrecer a Valle los escritores un banquete en 

1904, probablemente con motivo de la publicación de Flor de santidad , don Benito se sentó al lado 

derecho del autor y Blasco Ibáñez al izquierdo. Acompañado de inteligente comentario, Sebastián 

de la Nuez y José Schraibman han recogido siete cartas y cuatro tarjetas de Valle escritas a Galdós 

entre 1898 y 1913. 164 En ellas se trata principalmente de asuntos relacionados con el teatro; su tono, 

164 Sebastián de la Nuez y José Schraibman, Cartas del archivo de Galdós (Madrid, 1967), 23-34. 

153


siempre cordial, es respetuoso. Lo más interesante de ese breve epistolario es que hacia 1904 Valle 

había concertado por lo visto con Galdós la dramatización de Marianela , proyecto nunca realizado 

por el escritor gallego. Por último, en las dos cartas finales se habla ya de El embrujado , origen 

definitivo del distanciamiento ocurrido entre los dos escritores. Valle pide la opinión de Galdós sobre 

la obra (penúltima carta, con fecha del 22 de noviembre de 1912); en la última comunicación (3 de 

febrero, ¿1913?) alude a sus esfuerzos fallidos de verle en su casa y vuelve a su petición de consulta, 

así como a su deseo de que oiga la pieza el primer actor Francisco Fuentes. Antes de comentar con 

más detalle el incidente de El embrujado , no quiero dejar de advertir otro dato curioso. Cuando 

Valle estuvo en Buenos Aires en 1910 dictó, como es bien sabido, cuatro conferencias, solamente en 

parte conservadas. Una fue titulada «El modernismo», y, aunque se habla más de la pintura que de 

la literatura, se lee al final del texto: 165 

En la literatura, Unamuno, Benavente, Azorín, Ciges Aparicio, Baroja, los Machado, Marquina y 

Ortega tienen un sentimiento nuevo de patria... El patriotismo consiste en imponer lo grande, y no en 

dejar que la audacia vanidosa se imponga. Tal fuerza anima y vive en la obra de los nuevos escritores... 

Entre los precursores del modernismo hay que señalar a Pérez Galdós. Galdós marca los senderos 

de la tradición y va contra los «patriotas» que reniegan de la Historia para ver tan sólo las acciones 

de los hombres. 

Los pueblos son grandes por la comunidad de un mismo sentimiento de la historia. Si la de España 

fuese un zurcido de rectificaciones como es su política actual, su grandeza se convertiría en mito. 

165 Madrid, ob. cit. , 200-201. 

154

El incidente de El embrujado 


En el libro de Manuel Bermejo Marcos sobre Valle-Inclán se lee el siguiente párrafo: 166 

El que Galdós rechazase esta obra para ser estrenada en el Teatro Español, en 1912, debió ser uno de 

los principales motivos -si no el único- del exagerado y, en mi opinión, totalmente injusto menosprecio 

que don Ramón demostró públicamente en adelante por el gran novelista y autor de los Episodios 

nacionales . Tanto más injusto cuando sabemos que ese menosprecio sólo era aparente, ya que puede 

comprobarse la admiración que Valle sentía en privado por Galdós como novelista al leer las páginas 

mejores de El ruedo ibérico , que tanto deben en inspiración -en guía- al autor de Doña Perfecta . 

Al menos en parte las observaciones despectivas sobre la persona y la obra de don Benito se debían a 

la personalidad agresiva de Valle. Son generalmente posteriores al rechazo de El embrujado , lo que 

precipitó sin duda la aparente ruptura entre los dos escritores. Resulta difícil, sin embargo, lejos de la 

hemerografía española de la época, documentar con el debido detalle el asunto que ocupó bastante la 

atención de los aficionados literarios del día. Acerca del episodio una de las mejores fuentes es por 

supuesto la de Fernández Almagro, 167 quien recuerda que Valle-Inclán había roto ya, en 1912, con la 

compañía de María Guerrero y Díaz de Mendoza, lo cual impedía su estreno en La Princesa, que un 

poco antes había presentado La marquesa Rosalinda , obra de muy distinta índole que El embrujado 

. No admitida su «tragedia de tierra de Salnés» por El Español, cuyo director artístico era Galdós, la 

prensa española ( El Imparcial , 24 de febrero de 1913) anunció su lectura en el Ateneo para el martes, 

y en el mismo sitio se lee la siguiente breve noticia: «Intercalados con la lectura, el autor de Rosas 

166 Manuel Bermejo, ob. cit. , 178. Entre otros, Yndurain [«Valle y Galdós», ob. cit. , p. 174, nota 

2] da gran importancia a los motivos personales de la animosidad de Valle, y los atribuye al rechazo 

de la obra para El Español. Se refiere además a las dos lecturas del drama, junto con la intervención 

del vicepresidente del Ateneo, y añade que esos breves datos se deben a José María de Cossío, testigo 

presencial del acto. Hay una descripción detallada de las lecturas de El embrujado en el comentario de 

Diego San José, «Valle-Inclán», texto recogido ahora por José Esteban en su libro Valle visto por ... 

(Madrid, 1973), 256-258. Otro comentario del escándalo motivado por el mismo asunto puede leerse 

en Victoriano García Martí, El Ateneo de Madrid (1835-1935), Madrid, 1948, 270-271. Debo la copia 

del texto a la bondad de mi amigo Fernando López Sawa, así como las copias de los comentarios 

tomados de El Imparcial . A él mis más expresivas gracias. 

167 Fernández Almagro, ob. cit. , 147-148. 

155


de otoño [sic] hará comentarios estéticos como exégesis de su última producción». Según Fernández 

Almagro, el autor se arremetió contra Galdós en una protesta dirigida al Ayuntamiento de Madrid, y 

también, en las palabras que antecedían la primera lectura de la obra, atacó a Matilde Moreno, primera 

actriz, y a Francisco Fuentes. Para ampliar los pocos datos que ahora se dan en forma tan limitada, 

existe un texto anterior, publicado también en El Imparcial (26 de febrero de 1913), amén de otros 

comentarios periodísticos sobre tan sonado caso. A pesar de las varias versiones contradictorias, allí 

se refiere que Francisco Fuentes había elegido El embrujado de Valle para su beneficio y que estaba 

conforme Galdós con esa selección para el Teatro Español, pero cuando la empresa resolvió no aceptar 

la obra, renunció el primer actor. En el artículo se reproducen algunas comunicaciones pertinentes 

al asunto: Matilde Moreno, coempresaria y primera actriz, manifiesta a Valle, en Cambados, que 

no puede asegurar el estreno de El embrujado por compromisos ya contraídos. Parece que Valle, 

por su parte, dijo en otro cable que Rosario Pino quería estrenar el drama en La Coruña, hecho que 

había motivado la mencionada comunicación de Matilde Moreno. Al recibir a su vez unas palabras de 

Galdós, ahora por correo, mediante las cuales le informa que oirá con gusto su comedia («Una obra de 

usted es siempre un hallazgo para esta empresa»), Valle-Inclán fue a Madrid para resolver el asunto. 

A su llegada el autor de la obra se entera de que había sido definitivamente rechazada por el Español. 

Sin embargo, en otra versión, se citan las palabras de Galdós, el director artístico de la empresa: « yo 

le contesté [a Valle] que siendo cosa suya sería muy bonita y tendría yo mucho gusto en leerla; que me 

la enviase y que, de acuerdo con Matilde Moreno, como coempresaria, procederíamos a su admisión. 

Y, esto hecho, ya no volví a tener más noticias directas de El embrujado ni de su autor. Conste, pues, 

que yo ni conozco todavía la obra, ni mucho menos la he tenido admitida, ni muchísimo menos, como 

se ha afirmado, se ha sacado de papeles». Como se ve, este litigio es complejo y delicado. Y en virtud 

de lo anterior, parece menos seguro el papel de Galdós en su rechazo; El Imparcial se niega a entrar 

en más pormenores sobre tan lamentable cuestión. Se concluye el artículo con un breve comentario 

acerca de la lectura hecha por Valle (25 de febrero) de su drama ante un público curioso y nutrido 

en El Ateneo. Se decía además que Valle, tan admirado por los que llenaban el salón de actos, iba a 

contar intimidades de la gente del teatro; fue recibido con grandes aplausos y, a su modo, refirió, como 

prólogo a la lectura de El embrujado , los incidentes ocurridos: «Todo el relato fue hecho con energía 

y humorismo, alternativamente y sabiamente mezclados, que son las notas características del Valle- 

Inclán conversador». Por el ingenio del conferenciante, que hablaba claro y sin eufemismos, quedó 

encantado el público, y Valle terminó su actuación de aquel primer día al concluir la lectura del primer 

acto solamente de la comedia para no fatigar a los oyentes. Se escucharon prolongados aplausos, y se 

marchó Valle para continuar al día siguiente, a las seis y media de la tarde, su disertación. El desenlace 

156


de aquella lectura, con la fecha del 26 de febrero, fue por lo visto tumultuoso. A pesar de lo dicho por 

Fernández Almagro, en la segunda parte de «La cuestión de El embrujado » ( El Imparcial , 27 de 

febrero de 1913) se refiere que pudo Valle en esa ocasión concluir su lectura y que después se oyó una 

atronadora ovación. Fue en aquel momento, mientras el público todavía aplaudía, cuando el vocal de 

la Junta de Gobierno D. Pedro Díaz se levantó para decir que el Ateneo no podía hacerse solidario 

con los juicios relativos a las personas mencionadas expresados el día anterior por Valle. Contestó el 

dramaturgo en seguida que «no había pretendido que se hiciese nadie solidario de sus palabras». Dijo 

además que «sólo había deseado exponer una cuestión en la que considera tener la razón de su parte. 

Y los aplausos -añadió- con que me ha honrado el público del Ateneo ayer y hoy vienen a demostrar 

que efectivamente, la tenía». En la salida hubo muchos vivas a Valle-Inclán, pero también algunos 

gritaban «¡viva Galdós!» Así, Valle, sonriente y rodeado de sus admiradores, subieron a la plaza de 

Santa Ana para pasar por delante del teatro Español, pero pronto se disolvió lo que fue aparentemente 

una verdadera manifestación. 

Desde luego, hay otros testimonios posteriores que tienden a confirmar la actitud antigaldosiana de 

Valle-Inclán. Por ejemplo, se ha recordado que cuando un periodista le preguntó su opinión de Galdós, 

con motivo de un homenaje que se le iba a hacer, contestó con el siguiente exabrupto: «¿Cree usted 

que la fotografía puede sustituir al arte?» 168 Otros datos negativos se hallan en uno de los últimos 

artículos de Valle publicado en Ahora (1935) e íntimamente relacionado con El ruedo ibérico . 

Vuelve a surgir el traído y llevado asunto del asesinato del general Prim. Al narrar su muerte, Galdós 

había aceptado la versión oficial, y Valle, cuya intención fue disculpar a Paul y Angulo, no deja pasar 

la ocasión sin volver a zaherir al autor de los Episodios . 169 

Hasta aquí todo lo negativo después de la ruptura hacia 1913 y por las razones aducidas, en la amistad 

personal entre Galdós y Valle-Inclán. No obstante, he podido recoger también algunos testimonios de 

Valle en otro sentido; pocos es verdad, pero merecen citarse. Cipriano Rivas Cherif recuerda haberle 

168 Citado por Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Don Ramón María del Valle-Inclán (Buenos Aires, 1944), 

113. 

169 Emma Susana Speratti-Piñero, «Los últimos artículos de Valle-Inclán», ob. cit. , 331-338. 

Quisiera agregar aquí en esta misma nota que a Valle se deben unas tempranas y conmovedoras 

palabras escritas en 1892 sobre la solitaria muerte de Paúl y Angulo desterrado en París. Véase Fichter, 

ob. cit. , 108-109. 

157


oído elogiar muchas veces los grandes méritos dramáticos de don Benito y solía citar Alma y vida , 

El abuelo y Sor Simona . 170 El siguiente texto, cuya fecha ignoro, parece confirmar lo anterior: 171 

-Don Benito es pintoresco e intenso. La misma exuberancia de sus obras ha perjudicado el valor 

intrínseco de las mismas. Pero a pesar de eso Galdós ha sido el redentor de nuestro teatro. Nadie antes 

que él había llevado a la escena los vastos problemas. Realidad fue el preludio de una renovación 

gloriosa. Reinando Echegaray, todo era arbitrariedad ampulosa y vana retórica. ¡Lo que tendría 

que luchar Galdós con los cómicos! Alma y vida , tan fresca y tan delicada, fue verdaderamente 

escarnecida por quienes la estrenaron... 

Finalmente en el artículo de Maeztu (enero de 1901) se lee sobre el estreno de Electra : « nuestro 

Valle-Inclán, el enemigo de la emoción en la obra de arte, llora por detrás de sus quevedos». 172 Me 

permito recordar aquí un testimonio último que no he mencionado a propósito hasta ahora que ha sido 

contado en la hermosa y detallada reseña que José Montesinos dedica al ya citado libro de Fichter. Al 

comentar la reseña que Valle, en 1891, dedica a Ángel Guerra afirma el crítico que es «testimonio de 

una admiración a la que Valle fue fiel toda su vida». 173 En una nota el mismo Montesinos recuerda 

que el pintor José Moya del Pino « me refería que en ocasiones, don Ramón salía del café por las 

tardes "para ir a ver a don Benito," que solía pasear a aquellas horas por el Retiro. El inmenso poder 

creador del novelista, o su nunca desmentida humanidad, le salvaron de ser considerado como un 

"viejo idiota"...» 174 En su libro misceláneo Madrid se refiere a los ataques a Pérez Galdós y a cómo 

170 C. R. C. [Cipriano Rivas Cherif] «Máscaras de don Ramón», La pluma (núm. 32, enero de 1923), 

94. 

171 Madrid, ob. cit. , 296. En la entrevista con Valle-Inclán publicada por Juan López Núñez, en Por 

esos mundos (enero de 1915) y citada entre otros por Guillermo Díaz-Plaja [ Las estéticas de Valle- 

Inclán (Madrid, 1965), 36] vuelve a insistir en el papel que corresponde a Galdós como innovador 

en el teatro español. No sé si se trata del mismo texto que cito según el libro de Madrid, porque los 

textos allí recogidos carecen de señas bibliográficas. 

172 El texto del artículo de Maeztu se reproduce en E. Inman Fox, « Galdós' Electra . A Detailed 

Study of its Historical Significance and the Polemic between Martínez Ruiz and Maeztu », Anales 

galdosianos , I (núm. 1, 1966), 136-137. 

173 José F. Montesinos, reseña citada, 93. 

174 Ibídem , 93-94. 

158


éste había decidido escribir un artículo violento contra su amigo distanciado, para luego decir, años 

después: « Sí, tuve el propósito de responder varonilmente a don Ramón. Fui a casa para redactar una 

réplica a tono con sus ataques. Pero antes se me ocurrió fijar la vista en uno de los estantes de mi 

biblioteca y leí unos títulos de sus obras: Sonata de estío... Sonata de primavera , Cuento de abril . 

Abrí sus páginas debidas a la pluma de mi detractor. Y entonces fue cuando decidí no responder, por 

respeto y por admiración a mi talentoso adversario.» 175 

175 Madrid, ob. cit. , 316. 

159

Unas palabras finales sobre Las tormentas del 48 


Valle-Inclán acertó plenamente en su rápida caracterización de Las tormentas del 48 y, a no dudarlo, 

encontró en aquel nuevo episodio algo que ya creía suyo tal vez, una dirección estética y un ambiente 

pagano que, con el transcurrir del tiempo, él iba a perfeccionar a su modo. Efectivamente ha habido 

un cambio en la visión artística de Galdós. También más importancia que a la historia se concede, en 

la primera porción de las memorias o confesiones de José García Fajardo, a las intrigas amorosas y a 

las travesuras de los jóvenes. Hasta puede decirse que los conflictos anímicos y su solución tienden a 

desplazar las acciones y hechos externos. El final de ese primer episodio de la cuarta serie no puede 

ser más desolador: el joven cínico y frívolo, de poca o ninguna vocación religiosa, se va a casar 

con la grotesca y repugnante María Ignacia, cuyos títulos y riqueza solucionarán de inmediato sus 

graves apuros económicos. Se impone, de modo implacable, la nota fría y egoísta que caracteriza a 

la sociedad hipócrita e inmoral de aquellos tiempos: 176 

Retiréme sin comprender bien la intrincada psicología de aquella mujer, mas con esperanza de 

entenderla y desentrañarla pronto, algún día... Desde la sala próxima, volviéndome para mirarla, vi 

que en mí clavaba sus negros ojos, y en ellos se me reveló su soberano talento, su apasionado corazón... 

y su profunda inmoralidad. Eran sus ojos el signo de los tiempos. 

Como lamenta Valle en su reseña del libro, los tiempos son otros y ya no hay hechos épicos que 

cantar. Es significativo advertir que Galdós, en tono didáctico, habla con sus lectores de la historia y 

de su papel. Sobre ella y quienes la hacen escribe el siguiente pasaje, el cual, al menos en parte, puede 

relacionarse con lo que después Unamuno iba a llamar la intrahistoria : 177 

176 Todas las citas que corresponden a Las tormentas del 48 se hacen según las Obras completas , 

II (Madrid, 1941), 1401-1503. 

177 José Schraibman [«Patria y patriotismo en los Episodios Nacionales de Galdós», Boletín del 

seminario de Derecho Político (Salamanca), núm. 27, agosto de 1962, 71-86] se ocupa como tantos 

otros críticos del concepto de la historia en Galdós y lo relaciona asimismo con la intrahistoria de 

Unamuno. Es decir, la hacen el pueblo y las masas anónimas. La historia externa de las grandes 

hazañas no excluye la que crea el pueblo en su lento vivir cotidiano; todo merece ser contado en la 

verdadera historia de una manera simbólica y moral (83). Por lo pronto, no puedo menos de pensar 

de modo especial en las novelas de La guerra carlista , una guerra fragmentada y popular, y también 

en la historia colectiva que quiere brindarnos Valle-Inclán en El ruedo ibérico . 

160


Cosas y personas mueren, y la Historia es encadenamiento de vidas y sucesos, imagen de la 

Naturaleza, que de los despojos de una existencia hace otras, y se alimenta de la propia muerte. El 

continuo engendrar de unos hechos en el vientre de otros es la Historia, hija del Ayer, hermana del 

Hoy y madre del Mañana. Todos los hombres hacen historia inédita; todo el que vive va creando 

ideales volúmenes que ni se estampan ni aun se escriben. Digno será del lauro de Clío quien deje 

marcado de alguna manera el rastro de su existencia al pasar por el mundo, como los caracoles que 

van soltando sobre las piedras un hilo de baba, con que imprimen su lento andar... 

(1416) 

El ojo zahorí de Casalduero ha percibido en Las tormentas 48 , así como en otras obras de 

aquella época, que Galdós se acerca de cuando en cuando a una nueva técnica y estilo de escribir: el 

impresionismo. 178 Es decir, cultiva un estilo más decorativo y libresco, con fondo helenístico de gran 

plasticidad (1410), y se recordará que una buena porción de la acción transcurre en Roma, a donde 

había ido a estudiar teología el imberbe protagonista. Hasta habla Galdós de sus gustos literarios, 

explicando los motivos por los cuales le retiró su confianza don Matías: 

la inclinación vivísima que a las cosas paganas sentía yo sin cuidarme de disimularla; mis preferencias 

de poesía y arte, manifestadas con un calor y desparpajo enteramente nuevos en mí; la soltura de 

modales y flexibilidad de ideas que repentinamente adquirí,... mi despego de los estudios teológicos, 

exegéticos y patrológicos, en los cuales mi entendimiento desmentía ya su anterior capacidad; la 

insistencia con que volvía los cien ojos de mi atención a historiadores y filósofos vitandos, y aun a 

poetas que mi protector creía sensuales, frívolos y de poco fuste, pues él, por una aberración muy 

propia de la monomanía humanista, no quería más que clásicos latinos, sin poner pero a los que más 

cultivaron la sensualidad... 

(P. 1404) 

Efectivamente el instrumento de seducción de aquella tarde cuando « piu non vi lleggemmo avanti » 

eran las Confesiones de Rousseau (1414). En el fragmento que ahora citaremos con cierta extensión 

Casalduero ha notado en algún momento el juego impresionista de colores y un ambiente casi 

modernista poco frecuente en el mundo novelesco de Galdós: 

La vi entre la arboleda, corriendo gozosa, y fui en su seguimiento; se me perdía en el ameno 

laberinto, pasando de la verde claridad a la verde sombra, y no encontraba yo la callejuela que me había 

178 Joaquín Casalduero, Vida y obra de Galdós (Madrid, 1951), 172-177. 

161


de llevar a su lado. Llamé, y sus risas me respondieron detrás de los altos grupos de lilas. Se escondía, 

quería marearme... ¡Qué hermosa estaba, encendido el rostro por la agitación de sus carreritas y el 

contento de la libertad! En su peinado advertí alguna incorrección, sin duda producida por las mismas 

causas. Vestía con sencillez deliciosa. Nunca la vi más interesante... 

A cada instante se detenía para señalarme los grupos de rosas que con insolente fragancia y risotadas 

de colores nos daban el quién vive. Por otro lado, me mostraba los cuajarones de lilas inclinando 

con su peso las ramas de que pendían, como millares de hijos colgados de los pechos de sus madres; 

luego vi el árbol del amor, con su infinita carga de flores entre las hojuelas incipientes, símbolo de 

la precocidad juvenil y de la desnuda belleza pagana; vi el árbol del Paraíso, de lánguidas ramas que 

huelen a incienso hebraico, y la acacia de mil flores olorosas... En los cuadros rastreros, los lirios de 

morada túnica eran los heraldos de las no lejanas fiestas del Señor, Ascensión, Corpus, y las blancas 

azucenas anunciaban la proximidad del simpático San Antonio. 

(1489) 

En el mismo bello y ameno jardín, de flores y olores enervantes, continúa el dulce coloquio amoroso, 

y nuestro héroe entona, como dice Galdós, sus estrofas de amor y canta en variados metros sus quejas. 

El autor de los Episodios nacionales no sólo comparte con los del 98 su amor por la patria y la 

rehabilitación de la vida, nacional, sino que también ahora, en 1902, escribe con ideales artísticos 

que no dejan de relacionarse lejanamente con el modernismo que empieza a ponerse de moda hacia 

aquellas fechas. El breve comentario que hace Valle-Inclán de Las tormentas del 48 y que ahora 

reproducimos se presta a toda una serie de interesantes cuestiones, que no hemos pretendido agotar, 

ni mucho menos, en las páginas del presente trabajo. 

Universidad de California. (Santa Bárbara) 

162

Apéndice: Las tormentas del 48 


Ha comenzado el maestro la cuarta serie de los Episodios nacionales . Nuestro gran don Benito 

tal vez abriga el generoso propósito de darnos completa la historia del siglo XIX. Alcanzado ese 

monumento de la literatura española, acaso sueña el maestro, como el término más venturoso, con 

sentarse en la estela del camino y contemplar sus obras en silencio y en paz, como ha vivido siempre. 

La tarde le cubrirá de luz y de gloria. 

Este último Episodio , que acabo de leer en pocas horas, sin descanso y sin fatiga, es un admirable 

relato. 

Las tormentas del 48 son las memorias amables, egoístas y burguesas de un muchacho muy despierto 

que ahorca los hábitos falto de vocación. Hermano de un prestamista y de una monja, y por valimiento 

de ellos rico y ennoblecido de la noche a la mañana, parece el símbolo de esa aristocracia híbrida y 

rampante formada de aluvión, sin ningún prestigio tradicional e histórico y sin ninguna de las fieras 

virtudes populares. 

Taifa de logreros y de agiotistas, que restaura y dora los más ilustres blasones en la oscuridad de una 

trastienda, y procura dar pátina a los nuevos con el humo de los incensarios en la paz de las sacristías. 

Aristocracia nacida de la vanidad y del expolio, que triunfa en la Bolsa y malbarata en la política. 

Ya Eufrasia, la dama de los ojos morunos, con frases de profundo sentido y de malicioso donaire, 

predice a su enamorado galán esta metamorfosis de la sociedad española. -«Hágase cargo de lo que 

pasa. La aristocracia histórica, que no sabe administrar su riqueza ni cuidar sus fincas, se va quedando 

en los huesos. Toda la carne viene a poder de los del estado llano, que cada día afilan más las uñas, 

y acabarán por ser poderosos. ¡Como que también están afanando lo que fue de frailes y monjas!... 

Claro que luego volverán las aguas a su nivel; los que vivan mucho verán cómo se forma una nueva 

aristocracia de la cepa de esos ricachos, y cómo recobrará el clero lo suyo, no sé por qué medios, pero 

ello ha de ser. El mundo da vueltas, y al cabo de cada una de ellas se encuentra donde antes estuvo. 

Por esto digo yo que andando hacia adelante, andamos hacia atrás.» 

Las tormentas del 48 marcan una nueva manera dentro de los Episodios . 

La visión del medio social parece más amplia, y adquiere muchas veces un noble carácter de 

severidad moral y política. En Las tormentas no hay heroísmos populares ni caudillos valerosos. 

¡Son otros los tiempos! 

163


El maestro recuerda más sus novelas como Lo prohibido que sus episodios como Trafálgar , 

Zaragoza , Juan Martín , Zumalacárregui , Luchana y Montes de Oca . Acaso en Las tormentas 

del 48 se inicia por primera vez la decadencia del alma nacional. Con la nueva aristocracia que se 

forma, comienza la lepra que nos devora hoy. El vampirismo de los poderosos y la indiferencia del 

pueblo. Los motines, las asonadas, los pronunciamientos que estallan todos los días son únicamente 

obra de generales y de políticos despechados, ávidos de medro personal. 

Ya en su tiempo lo creía así aquel Pepito Fajardo, protagonista de Las tormentas del 48 . En sus 

Memorias o Confesiones escribe: «La verdad, ni a mí me interesa grandemente la detallada relación 

de los movimientos de la tropa leal y de la tropa rebelde, con tanto general que va y viene de calle 

en plaza, o de uno a otro cuartel, ni creo que la remota posteridad que esto lea con ello se divierta ni 

se instruya. Porque, si bien se mira, por lo muy repetidos son estos movimientos sediciosos como los 

amanerados poemas de corta inspiración y de frase pedestre, y sólo en el caso de que el triunfo los 

haga eficaces merecen la atención de las gentes. 

En los pronunciamientos fallidos veo yo la más tediosa sarta de aleluyas que nos ofrece nuestra 

historia. Mirémosla de prisa y pasaremos a otro asunto. Por mi gusto, no me habría detenido en 

puntualizar la psicología de aquel movimiento; todo era vanidad, interés de personas. 

Salamanca, Buceta, León Bullwer, Gándara y luego una cáfila de nombres de progresistas, llenaban 

la histórica aleluya.» 

¡Qué lejos estamos del ingenuo y fervoroso patriotismo de Rafael (sic) Araceli, del nombre y 

caballeresco entusiasmo de Salvador Monsalud, del romántico y juvenil ardimiento de Fernando 

Calpena! ¡Cómo ha degenerado la raza! Pepe Fajardo no pasa de ser un muchacho listo, con cuatro 

libros en la cabeza, mucha ambición y muchas trampas. 

Yo lamento que hubiese perdido en Roma la gracia de Dios y ahorcado los hábitos, porque el ex 

seminarista nos regaló con tan larga y lúcida descendencia, que apenas hay español con prebenda, 

que no sea su hijo o cuando menos su yerno. 

En Las tormentas del 48 maravilla la poderosa visión del maestro. Palpita en los otros Episodios 

la fuerza creadora, la inspiración serena, llena de simpatías humanas, que tienen a veces, como el 

Romancero, un aliento popular y heroico, pero en este último Episodio el maestro no se muestra 

solamente como prodigioso creador de hombres y de mujeres. Resucita toda una sociedad. 

164


Las gentes del año 48 comparecen a nuestra vista con los mismos cuerpos y almas que tuvieron, 

como sin duda comparecerán en el valle de Josafat. 

A este propósito recuerdo un artículo de don Federico Rubio, que leí hace mucho tiempo en no sé 

qué revista médica. El artículo parecía escrito para refutar ciertos casos de telepatía, que pudieran 

tomarse por adivinaciones de lo pasado y de lo venidero. Don Federico Rubio, después de dar una 

explicación científica, recordaba los Episodios nacionales , y decía poco más o menos: «Don Benito 

Pérez Galdós retrata personajes históricos que no pudo haber conocido.» 

Yo conocí algunos, porque ya cuento muchos años. 

Pues bien, el retrato que hace el novelista de aquellos hombres es tan semejante, que maravilla. Y 

hasta parece que nos completa el conocimiento, a nosotros que con los propios ojos los hemos visto. 

El escritor que consigue esto no tiene ningún demonio familiar. Su talento es quien crea. 

He citado de memoria, y ciertamente no son éstas las palabras exactas; pero tal es su sentido. Al 

recordarlas ahora, alzando el corazón, me inclino ante el maestro, que sin ningún demonio familiar, 

y sólo con los sentidos perecederos crea la obra inmortal. 

Ramón del Valle-Inclán 

[ La correspondencia de España , 6 de julio de 1902, p. 5.] 

165


Galdós and the french translation of La campaña del 

Maestrazgo 

Peter Bush 

The letters received by Galdós in the years 1899-1902 reveal considerable activity by the novelist 

to exploit the renewed interest in the Episodios nacionales aroused by the publication of the Third 

Series . Through Eugenio Sellés, he negotiated with Ruperto Chapí and then Amadeo Vives to try to 

make a zarzuela out of Un voluntario realista in the hope of profiting from the great popularity of 

the género chico . 179 Later, he toyed with the idea of converting Zaragoza , with the help of Carlos 

Fernández Shaw, into « un drama con acompañamientos e intermedios musicales, por el estilo de 

Peer Gynt ». 180 These ventures in Madrid proved as unsuccessful as his attempt to break into the 

Paris market for feuilletons which were published regularly in the daily newspapers of the French 

capital. I wish to chronicle here the problems encountered by Galdós in his protracted dealings with 

the representatives of Le Temps . 

On 28 April 1899, Arthur E. Houghton, the Madrid correspondent for Le Temps , wrote to Galdós 

seeking authorisation for his editor, M. Hébrard, to have translated into French « uno o más de 

los episodios nacionales que Ud. está publicando ». The would be published in serial form in the 

newspaper. M. Hébrard wanted it made clear from the start that in this process it should be possible 

to condense and modify what might be difficult to translate. Galdós replied on 1 May suggesting that 

Houghton should translate the first four Episodios of the Third Series and prepare the way for 

those by publishing a translation of Gloria . Houghton paid a visit to Galdós's publishing centre 

in the calle de Hortaleza where he informed the novelist's representative that he had published in 

1898 in the Times Literary Supplement three literary articles on Misericordia , Zumalacárregui 

and Mendizábal . He told his own editor of Galdós's suggestions. 181 There is no record of further 

179 The letters which provided the material for this appendix are in the archive of the Casa-Museo 

Pérez Galdós. Unless otherwise indicated, they are letters written to Galdós. Sellés wrote these letters 

on 13 July and 23 August 1899. He offered to write the songs, « porque tú no tienes gran afición a 

hacer versos ». 

180 C. Fernández Shaw, 6 August and 19 September 1900. Galdós wrote in 1907 a « drama lírico en 

cuatro actos », Zaragoza . It was not performed (OC, Cuentos , 823). 

181 E. A. Houghton, 4 May 1899. 

166


contact until a letter on 18 November 1899 in which this early English enthusiast for Galdós included 

a letter of introduction to M. Adrien Hébrard. After writing four Episodios in the first eleven moths 

of the years, Galdós was to take a break before beginning Montes de Oca . A visit to Paris would 

enable him to enjoy the cosmopolitan tastes of the city, visit his many friends and pursue his plans 

for publication there. 182 

His relationship with Le Temps appeared to be developing satisfactorily. During December and 

January, M. Hébrard published as a feuilleton the translation of Misericordia by Maurice Bixio. 

183 On 19 February 1900, Boris de Tannenberg contributed a general article on the figure of Galdós. 

He complained that although Galdós was in Paris, he had not attracted as much attention as would 

have a Russian or a Norwegian writer: « nous nous sommes habitués à mettre l'Espagne en dehors 

du mouvement européen ». Galdós was a great psychological as well as historical novelist from 

whom the French reader could learn about « une Espagne vraie, bien différente de notre Espagne 

d'Opéra Comique ». The critic's conclusions about Galdós and the provincial reputation of Spanish 

literature reflected, as we shall see, prejudices deeply embedded in the offices of Le Temps itself: 

« C'est un lieu commun souvent répeté que la littérature espagnole est trop spéciale, trop locale pour 

réussir hors d'Espagne: qu'on nous traduise les romans de Pérez Galdós, et tout le public d'Europe 

qui lit s'y intéressera. » 184 That commonplace would be the justification for the mis-translation of 

La campaña del Maestrazgo . 

We know that Galdós was exploring other avenues which might enable him to make an impact on 

the French reading public and add to his impoverished finances. León y Castillo was negotiating with 

Le Figaro over the publication of Nazarín . 185 José María Heredia was hopeful that Ollendorf 

would publish a translation of El abuelo . 186 Hachette were planning to publish the translation of 

182 « Pérez Galdós en París », El Cantábrico , 8 January 1900. The Santander newspaper notes that 

Galdós was in Paris to negotiate over translations. His friend Fernando León y Castillo, the Spanish 

ambassador, had given a dinner in his honour. 

183 Miséricorde , Le Temps , 12 December 1899 to 25 January 1900. 

184 B. de Tannenberg, « Un grand romancier espagnol », Le Temps , 19 February 1900. 

185 F. León y Castillo, 5 April 1900. 

186 J. M. Heredia, 7 February 1900. 

167


Misericordia , with a preface by Alfred Morel Fatio. 187 By the beginning of March, Galdós was 

preparing to return to Spain and the Third Series . His farewell letter to Morel Fatio reveals a mood 

of frustration: 

Continúo en París, pero estoy ya con el pie en el estribo y me falta tiempo para despedirme de 

Vd. personalmente. ¡Tantos días aquí sin verle, cosa en verdad extraña y triste para mí! Pero mis 

ocupaciones apremiantes, obligándome a una inquietud angustiosa, son la causa de esta anomalía, 

que Vd. no tomará por desatención. 188 

By the end of April, Montes de Oca was complete and the two remaining novels in the series were 

finished by the end of October. 

Although I have found no record of a meeting between Hébrard and Galdós or of any discussion 

in Paris of the proposal to publish the Episodios , clearly the publication of Misericordia can be 

regarded as opening the breach and preparing the way for the serialisation of the historical novels. We 

do know that on 11 June 1900 Galdós received a letter from La Grange de Langres which shows that 

the translation of these novels was in hand. La Grange thanked the Spanish novelist for his letter in 

which he praised a proposed foreword to the translation of La campaña del Maestrazgo . Galdós was 

invited to help in the task of adapting the novel to the taste of his French readership for that praise 

« ne sauraient en tout cas me donner le droit de couper, d'allonger le texte primitif d'une oeuvre 

émanant de vous ». He was asked to make the changes he thought necessary in the manuscript which 

La Grange had sent. Already the possibility of an early publication of the translation was receding. 

The commitments of the feuilleton in Le Temps took it to the end of 1901, so the only hope lay in 

canvassing other Parisian dailies, such as Le Matin , Le Gaulois or Le Soir . La Grange also sent 

Galdós proposed changes in Montes de Oca . He had received Los ayacuchos and eagerly awaited 

Bodas reales . This was the beginning of lengthy correspondence in which the French translator, a 

retired politician with a château in Calvados and a nostalgic love of Spain, insistently lectured Galdós 

on how to adapt his historical novels for the French market. Unfortunately, we have not the replies of 

Galdós. The sustained nature of the correspondence suggests that he was more attracted by the possible 

financial rewards than upset by the proposed doctoring of his original text. His literary reputation in 

France would be helped only marginally. The feuilleton was not highly prized by the established 

187 M. Bixio to A. Morel Fatio, 31 January 1900. 

188 B. P. Galdós, 8 March 1900. 

168


French writers and the novels published at this time in serial form are completely forgotten, as are 

the novelists. Who now remembers Le Crépuscule by George Quinet, or La Mort blanche (Roman 

alpin) by Rodolf Strats? 189 

In a further letter on 27 June, La Grange outlined in detail some of his ideas for refashioning 

La campaña del Maestrazgo . He wanted to develop the character of Marcela by lengthening the 

account of her imprisonment in the convent, her conversations with the nuns and descriptions of her 

psychological state. This would deepen the relationship with Nelet -to be expressed in lengthened 

exchanges- and would prepare the reader for the idea of marriage which obsessed Marcela before the 

final catastrophe caused by Nelet's suicide. Such a romantic interval after the escape would give the 

reader a brief rest from the horrors of Cenia and Burjasot: « L'amour est de tous les temps, de tous 

les âges, on s'y intéresse toujours, tandis que les marches et contremarches de Cabrera en 1835-36 ne 

peuvent offrir à un lecteur français l'attrait passionné qu'un Espagnol peut y trouver. » 

At the end of this letter, La Grange sent his best wishes to José de Mendoza and it was to this mutual 

acquaintance that he next wrote. He asked Mendoza to tell Galdós that he had reached agreement with 

the editor of Le Débat on the publication of Gloria . He had also heard that Galdós would be coming 

to Paris and hoped to conclude an agreement with him concerning La campaña del Maestrazgo . 

Mendoza was asked finally to get Galdós to send on the ten translated chapters he had for their final 

revision. 190 Within three weeks he could write to Mendoza from the family mansion thanking him 

for his reply and the registered parcel with the manuscript translation, and Marianela , Doña Perfecta 

and Gloria . 191 

In this letter and a letter written the day after to Galdós himself, the French translator praised Los 

ayacuchos for the lack of executions in the narrative: « Enfin on ne fusille personne et l'amour 

constant, fidèle et passionné de Demetria est recompensé ». He followed this praise with detailed 

instructions on the re-writing of La campaña del Maestrazgo . He had left space in his translation for 

the new version of Marcela's imprisonment and first conversation with Nelet after her escape, which 

would provide an « épisode romanesque » to please the French public. Tactful tributes in Spanish (« 

189 Two novels which appeared in Le Temps in this period. Of course, the feuilleton was sometimes 

the first step towards getting a novel published in book form. 

190 L. La Grange de Langres to J. de Mendoza, 1 July 1900. 

191 L. La Grange de Langres to J. de Mendoza, 23 July 1900. 

169


Me sacas de este suyo inagotable et [sic] admirable tintero... una relación bastante larga de la salida 

de la monja ») precede his definite instructions for transforming this section of the novel: 

Ne craignez pas de dramatiser cela; cela fera oublier quelques unes des scènes de carnage qui 

abondent dans le Maestrazgo... 

je crois qu'il y a un incident très heureux à mettre en lumière, au lieu de le conter en dix lignes, 

ainsi que vous l'avez fait. 

1. Entrée de Marcela au couvent, où elle met, sens dessus dessous les nonnes et la supérieure, 

en vantant sa mission, en soutenant son droit de se promener en liberté -appuyé sur une infinité de 

citations latines. Les Religieuses prient Le Bon Dieu de les débarasser de cette brebis galeuse. 

2. Marcela s'embête au Couvent, et songe à s'échapper, elle reçoit avec bonheur les ouvertures des 

agents de Nelet. 

3. On prépare l'evasion -les religieuses veulent bien être sourdes et muettes mais il faut faire comme 

si elles n'etaient pas- Escalader le mur du jardin -scier les barreaux sans grille et y faire passer Marcela- 

qui est reçue par Nelet, à qui Elle témoigne sa reconnaissance. 

4. Les deux conversations suivantes préparent la résolution qui doit s'accomplir dans les idées de 

la nonne errante. 192 

A fortnight later, La Grange wrote again to Galdós. He informed him of negotiations which he had 

begun with Arthur Meyer to publish his translation in Le Gaulois . Even before reading the novel 

Meyer had insisted on the need to adapt it to French taste. La Grange had defended the integrity of 

Galdós by telling Meyer, « Je crois que les convenances exigent que je ne passe aucune coupure 

dans une oeuvre de Galdós qui occupe une situation considérable sans en avoir reçu l'autorisation 

de lui-même ». 193 Galdós was told that he must « graduer la chaleur » of the Marcela-Nelet 

relationship (« ce qui sera un jeu pour une plume comme le vôtre ») and cut out details of some of 

the military operations. By 6 September, still no reply had reached La Grange who despatched a letter 

to Mendoza in Madrid asking whether Galdós was angry with him and why he had not replied to his 

last letter about Arthur Meyer. By 15 November, La Grange had received a firm offer of 2000 francs 

192 L. La Grange de Langres, 24 July 1900. 

193 L. La Grange de Langres to A. Meyer, 8 August 1900. La Grange included a copy of this letter 

in the letter he sent to Galdós on the same date. 

170


for his translation. He now asked Mendoza whether he should accept and did not fail to inform him 

of the changes to be made: « Hay que hacer una narración romanesca a esta evasión y no contarla 

en dos renglones secos. » 

Contact was re-established with Galdós in February, 1901. 194 Unfortunately for La Grange, Meyer 

had decided that the time was not right to publish a work by the Spanish novelist. The scandal 

over Electra made this decision necessary for Meyer who now wanted to wait until the anticlerical 

movement in Madrid had quietened down. His newspaper could not even afford « la apariencia de 

atacar los jesuitas, y otros señores de esta especie ». 195 The translation made its way back to the 

offices of Hébrard at Le Temps ; its publication had been agreed by the beginning of October. Galdós' 

approaching visit to Paris made the situation seem even more favourable. 196 Finally, Galdós met his 

translator and publisher for dinner on 7 November, and on 21 November Le Temps carried on its 

front page the first episode of its new feuilleton , Soeur Marcela , Episode de la campagne du 

Maestrazgo . Within a week La Grange had written to Spain a letter full of optimism for the future 

of translations of Galdós in Paris, provided that they were properly adapted. He begged Galdós to 

look for suitable material in his earlier writings, after explaining why Un voluntario realista and, by 

extension, the Episodios were unsuitable: « Il faut bien comprendre ceci, que la partie extrêmement 

intéressante des Episodios nacionales a un caractère local espagnol -mais qui ne fera pas, et ne 

pourra pas produire le même effet sur un lecteur français qui aujourd'hui recherche pardessus tout les 

aventures romanesques, ou les études psychologiques. » He could only find a dozen pages in Un 

voluntario realista which would satisfy French readers. 197 On 18 December, the twenty-third and 

final part of Galdós' feuilleton was published. It was now time to clear up the accounts and find a 

publisher for the novel. 

194 L. La Grange de Langres, 6 February 1901. This was given to Galdós by a correspondent of Le 

Temps visiting Madrid. It contains congratulations on the success of Electra . For a description of 

the impact of Electra in France, see J. Blanquat, « Au temps d' Electra . (Documents galdosiens) », 

Bulletin Hispanique , LXVIII (1966), 253-308. 

195 L. La Grange de Langres, 5 June 1901. 

196 L. La Grange de Langres, 4 August 1901. 

197 L. La Grange de Langres, 28 November 1901. 

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La Grange wrote on Christmas Day promising that he would « cobrar lo convenido, pagar lo que 

el Director de dicho periódico ha prometido a la persona que ha hecho "les coupures" que yo no 

quería hacer y mandarle a Ud. lo que le corresponde ». It was now revealed that the changes made 

by La Grange in the process of translating La campaña del Maestrazgo did not satisfy Hébrard who 

engaged two translators, Arbellán and Angulo, to make further cuts for his feuilleton requirements. 

After the three translators had been paid, Galdós received one thousand francs. 

On 15 January, La Grange sent to Madrid the letter from the publishers, Ollendorf announcing that 

their « comité de lecture » had turned down the request for the publication of Soeur Marcela . A 

week later, he informed Galdós of successful negotiations with Calmann-Levy. They were prepared 

to print what is described as « la traducción literal » which had been cut by Le Temps . The 

publication of Le roman de Soeur Marcela brought to a close the correspondence between the novelist 

and his translator. 198 

It is interesting to see how the instructions issued to Galdós for adapting his novel were carried out. It 

seems clear that it was the translator who made the changes and not Galdós. The latter's reluctance can 

be discerned in the repeated efforts made by La Grange to persuade him to elaborate on the episode of 

Marcela's escape from the convent. The re-writing of the incident bears the mark of the Frenchman's 

rather prurient imagination. What Galdós had limited to « por la noche se efectuó con facilidad y 

sin ningún tropiezo la evasión de Marcela » and the humorous suggestion that the nuns were glad 

to be rid of the pedantic nun ( OC , II, 1319), now became eight pages of the purest feuilleton 

style. There is a mixture of Romantic melodrama and erotic appeal of a rather morbid nature. Marcela 

gets wax in order to make a key to the attic-windows. She slips out on a stormy night as bells strike 

midnight, her body entrusted to « la solidité douteuse d'une mince cordage de soie ». The rope 

lifted up the nun's skirts, enabling the Carlist leader to admire « la beauté sculpturale des jambes de 

la divine Marcela ». In later exchanges, introduced to reinforce the «psychological» development of 

the relationship, Marcela laments at length that she could not « arracher de ma mémoire ce souvenir 

indécent ». 199 This is the main addition in the translation apart from some introductory sections 

giving the background to the characters from the previous novels. Many references to the history of the 

198 Le Roman de Soeur Marcela . Par Pérez Galdós. Traduction de L. de L. Paris. Calmann-Levy, 

Editeurs, 3, rue Auber, 3. There is no date. 

199 Op. cit. , 160-161. See note 20. 

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period are cut out: these include historical episodes as well as passages in which fictional characters 

tell of their sufferings. La Grange succeeded in adapting Galdós's novel to the taste of the readers 

of Le Temps , and upsetting the already delicate balance in the novel between serious fiction and 

melodrama. 

88 Albert Road. London 

173


Galdós en Santander: sus colaboraciones en La tertulia y en 

la Revista cántabro-asturiana (1876-1877) 

Salvador García Castañeda 

En el último tercio del siglo XIX existía en Santander un grupo de amigos de las letras y del politiqueo 

local, formado en su mayoría por antiguos colaboradores en La abeja montañesa , publicación 

literaria fundada en 1857, o en El tío Cayetano , revista satírica de la que sólo vieron luz trece números 

entre diciembre de 1858 y febrero del año siguiente y que resucitó luego Pereda en noviembre del 67 

como tribuna de sus ideas tradicionalistas. 

El grupo se reunía por las tardes en la guantería de don Juan Alonso y allí acudían, además de 

Pereda, de vuelta ya de sus correrías madrileñas, parisinas y electorales, Sinforoso Quintanilla, el 

médico don Juan Pelayo, Domingo Cuevas, el impresor Mazón, Antonio Bustamante y otros varios, 

cuyos nombres sólo interesan hoy al historiador local. Eran figuras de primera magnitud en la escena 

literaria santanderina entonces, comenzando por el mismo Pereda, ya cuarentón y autor de dos libros, 

Escenas montañesas (1864), casi ignorado en Madrid y mal recibido por sus paisanos, y Tipos y 

paisajes (1871): Amós de Escalante, autor de Costas y montañas , quien preparaba ya su novela 

de costumbres montañesas Ave maris stella (1877); don Gumersindo Laverde, temprano mentor de 

Menéndez Pelayo; el Cronista de la ciudad, don Enrique Leguina; el hidalgo don Ángel de los Ríos 

que en su casona de Proaño se dedicaba a la erudición y a las faenas del campo; el poeta Ricardo 

Olarán; el costumbrista Manuel de Assas; y, sobre todo, el joven y ya descollante Menéndez Pelayo. 

Entre los contertulios de la Guantería estaba el impresor Francisco Mazón, tipo curioso y muy amante 

de su tierra pero tan entusiasta de las grandes empresas como incapaz de llevarlas a buen puerto. 

En febrero de 1876 lanzó La tertulia , una publicación de índole comercial, dedicada «A nuestras 

lectoras» y que era una «colección de pensamientos poéticos, charadas, enigmocharadas, acertijos, 

logogrifos, rompecabezas y otros excesos». En la introducción, el editor hacía una breve historia 

de la charada y presentaba su colección formada con obras de ingenios locales. La tertulia tenía 

404 páginas en 8º y en ella, además de charadas y acertijos, aparecieron varias poesías de Amós 

de Escalante, de Evaristo Silió y de Ricardo Olarán, además del cuadrito en prosa titulado «Escena 

diaria», de Pereda, no recogido luego en sus Obras completas . 

El éxito de esta primera ventura literaria y la colaboración de Pereda, de don Amós y de Silió 

encandilaron: Mazón para dirigir una revista de categoría. Así dio comienzo la segunda época de La 

tertulia , que salía ahora en tamaño folio y cuidadosamente impresa, dedicada tan sólo a propagar y 

174


enaltecer la obra de la gente de letras montañesa. Cada número tenía alrededor de treinta páginas y 

aparecía los días 1 y 15 de cada mes; el primer número salió el 1 de agosto de 1876 y el último, que 

fue el 24, al 15 de julio del año siguiente. 

En unas páginas iniciales «Al que leyere», la Redacción exponía sus propósitos de unir lo útil a lo 

agradable, de rehuir el estilo periodístico y de guardar el decoro literario. Prometía también respetar 

el dogma y la moral católicos «que son el dogma y la moral de sus colaboradores», subrayaba su 

apoliticismo y la intención de conservar un carácter español puro y castizo «que importa conservar más 

que nunca hoy que el contagio extranjero cunde y se propaga que es una maravilla». Anhelaba sobre 

todo ser una verdadera revista literaria montañesa, «eco fiel del muy notable movimiento literario que, 

de algunos años a esta parte, habrán notado los menos linces, en la capital de la Montaña». Finalmente, 

los redactores de La tertulia , animados por el ejemplo de otras provincias, se proponían que su 

tierra conquistase la merecida autonomía intelectual y que Santander llegara a ser el centro de una 

escuela literaria. 

El programa retrata bien a quienes lo redactaron: tradicionalistas y monárquicos, católicos a 

machamartillo, enemigos de heterodoxias y orgullosos de su estirpe montañesa. En La tertulia 

colaboraron todos los grandes de la provincia y muchos de los que no lo eran: Pereda dio a conocer 

allí casi todos los relatos de sus Tipos transhumantes ; Menéndez Pelayo contribuyó con artículos 

sobre la ciencia española; y con versos, con narraciones o con estudios Laverde, Olarán, don Amós, 

Leguina, de los Ríos y los amigos venidos de otras partes como Polo y Peyrolón, Emilio Ferrari y 

Pérez Galdós. 

La tertulia despertó entusiasmo y pronto se dio a conocer: los epistolarios de entonces rebosan 

de alusiones a la revista y a su contenido. Nada más salir la monografía de Menéndez Pelayo sobre 

Trueba y Cosio la reseñó allí Amós de Escalante, y a La tertulia enviaba Pereda las cartas del 

joven Marcelino desde Portugal e Italia. Desde Valladolid o desde Santiago esperaba Laverde con 

impaciencia la llegada de cada número que luego comentaba en sus cartas; y en su correspondencia 

con Galdós, Pereda hablaba con preferencia de flores, cuyas semillas enviaba a don Benito, y de lo 

que traía la revista del sin par Mazón. 

Este, que era hombre de voz sonora y que gastaba bigotes y larga perilla, animado por el éxito 

y por los amigos escritores que se reunían ahora en su librería, decidió transformar su revista en 

otra que abarcase «los intereses literarios de las dos Asturias». No eran éstos literarios tan solo pues 

Laverde, uno de los interesados en el nuevo proyecto, era partidario ferviente, como otros asturianos 

175


y montañeses, de la construcción de un ferrocarril entre Langreo y Somorrostro que facilitase el 

intercambio del carbón y del mineral de hierro norteños. 200 

Así dio fin La tertulia el 15 de julio del 77 y, a poco, dio comienzo la Revista cántabro-asturiana 

, impresa también en Santander y por la misma imprenta. Pienso que debió salir el 1 de agosto pues 

Laverde se quejaba el 22 del mismo mes de no haber recibido todavía el segundo número. 201 Como 

su antecesora tenía tamaño folio y era quincenal, con una treintena de páginas en cada número. 

En el «Prospecto», la nueva publicación se consideraba fruto de la tarea emprendida por el 

Almanaque de las dos Asturias en 1864 para estrechar lazos entre cántabros y astures. El autor del 

«Prospecto» daba una sucinta historia de estas gentes, atribuía la prosperidad de estas provincias 

al «haber conservado más puros los elementos tradicionales y el culto de sus viejas y gloriosas 

memorias» y afirmaba «que es deber de conciencia y de amor patrio resistir la centralización en todas 

sus esferas y reanimar el espíritu provincial, única fuente de grandeza para las naciones». En todo 

momento queda clara esta conciencia ante el despertar de las literaturas regionales y, en especial, la 

catalana, «luz y espejo hoy de todas las gentes ibéricas». El ideal de la Revista cántabro-asturiana 

sería la unificación de Santander y Asturias y su independencia administrativa de Madrid, «sin que 

seamos, ni nadie nos llame castellanos». Como La tertulia , la nueva publicación proclamaba también 

el «inviolable respeto al dogma y a la moral católicos, al espíritu y tradiciones de la raza española y 

a los fueros del buen gusto». 

El primer número iba encabezado por un largo artículo de don Alejandro Pidal y Mon sobre «El 

campo en Asturias» y la alta calidad de La tertulia se incrementó ahora con firmas nuevas como la 

del folklorista asturiano don Fermín Canella y las de las poetisas Robustiana Armiño, Emilia Mijares 

y Micaela Silva. Continuó además la colaboración de Laverde, Pereda, Ángel de los Ríos, Menéndez 

Pelayo, Amós de Escalante y, entre los amigos de fuera, Pérez Galdós. 

A pesar de tan risueños comienzos y del apoyo constante de amigos tan desinteresados como fieles, 

la revista no pudo mantenerse a flote. Mazón se había empeñado en montar en Santander una librería 

«a la alta escuela», manejada de modo tan desastroso que Pereda, en una carta a Galdós del 6 de 

marzo del 78, escribía: «Nada puedo decirle a Vd. de la marcha de la librería de Mazón y dudo que él 

200 Ignacio Aguilera, Epistolario de Laverde Ruiz y Menéndez Pelayo (1874-1890) , tomo II 

(Santander, Diputación Provincial, 1967), p. 743 (Carta del 13.VII.1877). 

201 Ibíd. , 786 (Carta del 22.VIII.1877). 

176


mismo sea capaz de decirle mucho más. Paréceme aquello una madeja a merced de los ratones». 202 

Y, en efecto, poco después fracasaron los negocios del pobre Mazón y el 15 de mayo del aquel año 

Menéndez Pelayo concluía una carta a Laverde con la frase: «La revista de Mazón murió». 203 

La relación de don Benito con la Montaña nació -según escribía éste en el prólogo a El sabor de la 

tierruca - después de conocer las Escenas montañesas (1864) y luego Tipos y paisajes (1871), al que 

dedicó una elogiosa reseña en El Debate , el 7 de noviembre de aquel año. La lectura de estos libros 

despertó en él «un deseo ardiente de conocer el país, fondo o escenario de tan hermosas pinturas». 

Conocidos son el encuentro de don Benito y Pereda en el verano del 71 en una fonda santanderina 

y la intimidad que nació entre ambos a pesar de las diferencias ideológicas. Tan grande fue ésta que 

Galdós dibujó el proyectado panteón familiar de Pereda en Polanco, juntos viajaron por la Montaña, 

fueron a Portugal en 1885 y sólo dio fin con la muerte de don José María en 1906. 

A partir de esta primera visita Galdós acudió todos los veranos a Santander donde pasaba largas 

temporadas; allí escribió no poco y al fin construyó una villa, de cara a la bahía, a la que llamó «San 

Quintín». En 1876 era ya santanderino de adopción y sus amigos le invitaron a colaborar en las revistas 

de Mazón. 204 En aquel año, a pesar de su juventud, Galdós era ya el conocido autor de los Episodios 

nacionales , de los que llevaba escrita la primera serie y mediada la segunda, y acababa de publicar 

Doña Perfecta . En aquel verano hizo un viaje por la provincia de Santander en el coche de caballos 

de Pereda, acompañado de aquél y de Ángel Crespo, en el que conoció Santillana, Comillas, San 

Vicente de la Barquera, la Hermida y Potes. 

Como resultado de esta gira y para responder a ruegos de sus amigos, escribió Cuarenta leguas por 

Cantabria que, según Walter T. Pattison apareció por entregas en La tertulia entre noviembre del 

76 y enero del 77 y, antes de terminar de publicarse, salió de nuevo en la Revista de España , LIII 

(1876), fechado en Madrid en diciembre de aquel año y en dos entregas (la del 28 de noviembre, pp. 

202 Soledad Ortega, Cartas a Galdós , (Madrid, Revista de Occidente , 1964), 67. 

203 Epistolario , II, 954 (Carta del 15.V.1878). 

204 El estudioso montañés Benito Madariaga está dando fin en estos días a una «Biografía 

santanderina de Benito Pérez Galdós», en la que incorpora interesantes noticias recogidas en la prensa 

local. 

177


198-211, y la del 28 de diciembre, pp. 495-508). 205 Aunque no sea de mayor importancia pienso que 

Pattison se equivocó en las fechas: Cuarenta leguas salió primero en la Revista de España , donde 

Pereda leyó la primera entrega 206 y, más tarde, en La tertulia , entre el 15 de diciembre de 1876 

y el 15 de febrero del 77. 

A don José María le gustó mucho: la descripción de Santillana «no puede tener rival en su género» y 

así lo pensaban también Menéndez Pelayo y los demás santanderinos. Lo que apasionaba a Pereda era 

que en aquellas páginas «se moja el lector y se siente el húmedo contacto del musgo, y el rumor del 

regato y el de la gente de otros siglos, y tirita en la abadía, de frío y de miedo». En su carta señalaba 

algunas inexactitudes de poca monta, 207 se condolía de que Galdós no hubiese dedicado más espacio 

a los desfiladeros de la Hermida y le advertía de que, para incluir el texto en La tertulia , pensaba 

«meter un poco la hoz en el párrafo de las monjas, un poquillo recargado de irreverencia, que acaso 

y aun seguramente, ha de hacer mal efecto en el pueblo fósil. Pienso, si Vd. no se opone, suprimir el 

parrafito que empieza "Allí están las pícaras..."» 208 En efecto, el parrafito en cuestión, modificado 

de modo más «reverente», comenzaba ahora «Aquellas pobres ascetas...» en la revista montañesa y 

así quedó luego en las sucesivas ediciones. 

Aun en medio de la que Montesinos llamó «trifulca epistolar» con don Benito a propósito de Gloria 

, continuaba Pereda comentando los efectos de las Cuarenta leguas sobre los santanderinos. A uno 

de ellos, el marqués de Casa-Mena, historiador y heraldista, colaborador en La tertulia y dueño de 

un palacio en Santillana, le había molestado tanto lo que dijo Galdós sobre esta villa que «escribió a 

205 Walter T. Pattison, Benito Pérez Galdós and the Creative Process (Minneapolis, University of 

Minnesota Press , 1954), 24. 

206 Soledad Ortega, Cartas... , 43 (desde Santander, el 6.XII.1876). 

207 Ibíd. , 44. 

208 Ibíd. , Ibíd. El pasaje en cuestión dice: «Los habitantes mejor situados en esta venerable 

ciudad muerta son las monjas. Ellas desde las desvencijadas ventanas de los dos grandes conventos 

construidos hace siglos a la derecha del camino, cuando se baja al campo de Revolgo, pueden atisbar 

a todo el que pasa, aunque no vaya a Santillana. Disfrutan de ameno paisaje, aunque no espacioso, y 

de la grata compañía de hermosos árboles y frescas praderas. Aquellas pobres ascetas...» 

178


Mazón hecho un veneno» y preparaba una contestación aunque al fin se contentó, gracias sin duda a 

los buenos oficios de Pereda quien juzgaba «una puerilidad» tal enfado. 209 

El texto de La tertulia ofrece pocas variantes y éstas de escasa importancia con respecto al texto 

definitivo de 1895. 210 Tan sólo se ha omitido aquí otro comentario, también ligeramente irreverente 

aunque respetado años atrás por la censura perediana; hablando de San Vicente de la Barquera, Galdós 

escribía: «Un convento que fue de Franciscos parece que vigila la entrada. Ya se sabe que ellos no 

se situaban en los peores sitios». 

Conocido es el gran partido que sacó Galdós de todo lo que vio en aquel viaje para su próxima novela 

Gloria . Pattison trató de identificar el paisaje de Ficóbriga con el de varios sitios de la Montaña, 

Cossío escribió que Galdós no se inspiró en ningún lugar determinado y, más tarde, Montesinos, de 

acuerdo con Cossío, señalaba sin embargo, el gran parecido que existe entre la colegiata de Santillana, 

tal y como la vio entonces Galdós -con las decoraciones interiores cubiertas de yeso y con el claustro, 

que aun servía de enterramiento, rezumando humedad y abandono- y la abadía de Ficóbriga, muy 

semejante a ella, con los capiteles enyesados y con su claustro pavoroso. 

La aparición de la primera parte de Gloria , esperada por Pereda «con un palmo de lengua» 211 

provocó, como sabemos, vivas polémicas de partido y la furia de los neos. Menéndez Pelayo todavía 

despotricaba en sus Heterodoxos contra Gloria «que ha sido traducida al alemán y al inglés y no 

dudo que antes de mucho han de tomarla por su cuenta las sociedades bíblicas y repartirla en hojitas 

209 Soledad Ortega, Cartas... , 44. Lo que tanto molestó al marqués de Casa-Mena fue la visión 

negativa (aunque poética) de su pueblo dada por Galdós y que podría resumir bien este parrafito de 

Cuarenta leguas : «Contra Santillana se conjura todo: los cerros que la aplastan, las nubes que la 

mojan, el mar que la desprecia, los caminos que de ella huyen, el telégrafo que la mira y pasa, el 

comercio que no la conoce, la moda que jamás se ha dignado dirigirle su benévola sonrisa». 

210 Cuarenta leguas por Cantabria apareció en Madrid, Biblioteca de Viajes, núm. 1, 1895, formando 

parte de un volumen junto con Un día en Ronda de Ortega Munilla, Las ermitas de Córdoba de M. 

Troyano, Playas y cíclopes de Pérez Nieva y Viajes de placer de Luis Taboada. Esta edición, con 

fotografías y grabados y bien impresa, es hoy rara y parece mencionarse poco. 

211 Soledad Ortega, Cartas ... (Desde Santander, 9.I.1877). 

179


por los pueblos». 212 A Pereda le pareció que don Benito se había «metido de patitas en el charco de 

la novela volteriana» 213 y en una asidua correspondencia fue dando su opinión al amigo, aunque sin 

rasgarse las vestiduras e intercalando bromas, además de la información de costumbre sobre plantas 

y flores. 214 

El otro texto galdosiano de La tertulia se titula «En un jardín» y pertenece a un artículo en seis 

partes que con el nombre de «Junio simbólico» escribió Galdós para la serie descriptiva de los doce 

meses del año. Apareció en el Almanaque de La Ilustración española y americana para 1877 y 

quedó recogido luego junto con otras cosas para dar más volumen a Torquemada en la hoguera 

cuando se publicó en 1889. 

El fragmento de La tertulia corresponde a la parte I «En el jardín», casi completa (menos los 22 

renglones iniciales) y se publicó antes aquí (julio del 77) que en el Almanaque de La Ilustración 

. Es una descripción muy poética de las flores en un jardín y presenta numerosas variantes, algunas 

notables, con respecto al texto definitivo. La tendencia de este último fue de omitir adjetivos y acortar 

frases para simplificar el relato. En ocasiones se han suprimido frases enteras, entre ellas una de 

catorce líneas que incluía la descripción de la azucena, vista como «una bacante, una loca... una mala 

mujer» y del lirio, «vestido de nazareno». 

Finalmente, en la Revista cántabro-asturiana y entre septiembre y octubre de 1877 vio luz «La 

princesa y el granuja», cuento de Año Nuevo, fechado el 31 de diciembre de 1876 y también recogido 

más tarde en el tomo encabezado por Torquemada en la hoguera , donde estaba fechado en enero 

de 1879. 

Es una narración de asunto fantástico en la que un golfillo madrileño, llevado de su amor por una 

hermosa muñeca que vio expuesta en una tienda, renuncia a su condición de humano y acaba en un 

escaparate convertido en muñeco de porcelana. Las variantes entre el texto de la Revista y el de 

la edición madrileña de 1879 son muy numerosas y pocas son las frases que escaparon a la lima de 

212 Historia de los heterodoxos españoles , VI, 480 ( Obras completas , Santander, Aldus, 1965, vol. 

XL) 

213 Soledad Ortega, Cartas... (Desde Santander, 9.II.1877). 

214 Acerca de los juicios de Pereda y la influencia de éste en la preparación de la segunda parte de 

Gloria se recordará lo escrito por Montesinos en su primer volumen sobre Galdós . 

180


Galdós. Con todo, ninguna afecta a la estructura del cuento y las adiciones u omisiones son escasas. 

Creo que el texto sale ganando en la segunda versión. 

Ohio State University 

181

Ensayo-reseña 


182

Fortunata y Jacinta and The Eroica 215 

James H. Hoddie 


Professor Chamberlin seeks to demonstrate that Galdós used Beethoven's Third Symphony ( Eroica 

) as the structural model for Fortunata y Jacinta. Each of the four parts of the novel are analyzed in 

relation to the symphonic structure. For example, the sonata form of the First Movement is broken 

down into Themes I and II, Transition, Development, Recapitulation and Coda and the structures of 

Part One of the novel are shown to be analogs of the musical themes in so far as is possible within 

the parameters and definitions Chamberlin has chosen to apply. 

Not the least of the perils in such an undertaking is that of being rejected out of hand. Tony Lambert 

approaches this in his review ( London Times Literary Supplement , June 9, 1978, p. 638) calling the 

interpretation one of the zaniest and asking «So what?» about the usefulness of such an enterprise, 

the effect of which, he believes, «is to distract attention from the particular meaning or meanings 

of the work». It is true that much of the evidence brought to bear in support of the thesis is the 

circumstantial kind. Nevertheless, it may be premature of Lambert to write Chamberlin off as a victim 

of the hypertrophy of the imaginative faculty. Other novelists than Galdós have explored the problem 

of writing «symphonic» novels and have attempted such works (see Chamberlin's «Conclusion»). And 

since there are no rigorously chronological lines in the evolution of the arts and their interrelationships, 

there is no reason why such an idea could not have occurred to Galdós. Because the Spanish novelist 

seems never to have told intimates that he was writing a symphonic novel nor has he told readers to 

read the work as they would experience a symphonic performance, it would seem that such knowledge 

is not absolutely essential to appreciation of the novel. Nevertheless, solid proof of reliance on a 

structural model could contribute in some measure to knowledge of Galdós' creative approach to the 

gente of the novel and his talent for drawing from a broad range of materials in the synthesis of a 

novelistic universe. 

At present it is difficult to concur unconditionally with Chamberlin's claim that «our study has 

demonstrated that Galdós certainly patterned his masterpiece, Fortunata y Jacinta , structurally, after 

Beethoven's Eroica » (109). Failure to develop a precise terminology seems to have hindered the 

215 Vernon A. Chamberlin: Galdós and Beethoven: «Fortunata 

y Jacinta» , A Symphonic Novel , Tamesis Books Ltd. (Series 

A. Monografías LXI), London 1977, 123 pp. 

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development of the best argument possible in support of the thesis. In trying to show how musical 

themes are expressed as novelistic themes, Chamberlin uses quite an eclectic approach. A recurrent 

musical theme most probably should be expressed in a recurrent novelistic theme. However, in 

identifying novelistic equivalents of musical themes Chamberlin sometimes fastens on to a character 

(who enters and leaves the action) a situation or action which may be repeated with the same or 

different characters, etc. This very flexible but in a real sense simplistic approach restricts how he may 

view certain chapters and interpret them within the overall symphonic structure. Below I examine 

three sections of the book in which Chamberlin claims difficulties in finding correspondences between 

model and novel. It is impossible to claim that through the application of an alternative definition of 

theme the thesis can be proved. However, a consistent approach that worked in all cases would be more 

convincing than that obtained through the present definition of «theme» as applied by Chamberlin. 

Furthermore, in a case in which everything depends upon proof of a very close match between model 

and novel, the invention of rationalizations for Galdós' departure from the model suggests arbitrariness 

of an unacceptable kind. If the creative writer is free to follow his associative processes where he 

will and as far as readers will tolerate, the critic and historian must be able to give carefully reasoned 

interpretations of the «irrational». 

In Chapter II the discussion of Themes I and II of the sonata form as applied in the novel is dependent 

upon what can be viewed as the development of a clever conceit rather than a useful critical concept. 

Among some writers on music Themes I and II may be treated as the «masculine» and «feminine» 

themes. In this instance Chamberlin associates theme primarily with character. The first statement 

(Themes may be viewed as statement and counterstatement in the sonata) is represented by Juanito 

Santa Cruz. And the feminine counterstatement or rebuttal (Chapter II) is centered on fecundity and 

maternity. Through this opposition between masculinity versus femininity, Juanito versus Barbarita- 

Jacinta Chamberlin succeeds in tracing the interplay of Themes I and II right up to Chapter IX where 

his definitions force him to decide that because Juanito must be present in the action for Theme I to 

be present, Chapter IX must be excluded from the Eroica pattern. 

However, a close examination of Chapter I reveals material that may be considered as constituting 

theme in a different way, that is, a cluster of associated referents which may be repeated although 

from a different perspective or with a different emphasis at each appearance whether or not Juanito 

Santa Cruz is present in the action. At the end of the second paragraph Juanito is called ironically 

by Galdós « el revolucionario, el anarquista, el descamisado Juanito ». Yet such behavior as is 

designated by these words is shown to be only part of a cycle of behavior, but a pattern which reveals 

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Juanito's behavioral shifts to be reminiscent and symbolic of shifts in the mood and manners of the 

pueblo . Juanito is not simply a perpetually immature male, as suggested by Chamberlin (p. 23), but 

a socio-political symbol. In light of the above, Theme I may be redefined as a nucleus of interrelated 

associations as follows: revolution, anarchy, the poor and the pueblo . The second half of Chapter I 

presents the ambiguous manner in which the family treats Juanito. Don Baldomero fosters tendencies 

in his son which Doña Barbarita would suppress. In dealing with this latter material Chamberlin 

stresses the feminine opposition and points to the father's approval as «harmonic instability» as can 

be found in the structural model. 

With the above in mind, Chamberlin's reader must be not a little perplexed at the failure to integrate 

Chapter IX into the pattern of symphonic development. Examination of the table on p. 22 reveals that 

the part of the Development section for which an analog is sought is some 149 measures in length. An 

analog of comparable length in the novel for this long part of the Development section could easily 

embrace Chapters VIII and IX as a unit. However, analysis of measures 248-397 shows that Theme Ib 

(«Feminine anxiety regarding Juanito's activities» (34)) must be followed by an alternation between 

a «New Theme» and Theme I (Juanito) in the following way: New Theme; Theme I; New Theme; 

Theme I. Chamberlin defines the New Theme as «adultery». However, it is not at all clear that adultery 

must constitute a new theme, but may be another manifestation of Theme I. On the other hand, there is 

a new theme, that introduced by José Ido del Sagrario: the lack of something essential in an individual 

life manifesting itself through a compensating madness. Because of chronic hunger, cating causes 

madness in Ido del Sagrario; lack of a child leads Jacinta to behavior which is considered irrational 

by others when she learns that her husband is a father. Let this be designated as the Lack-Madness- 

Literary-behavior theme. Ido as a novelist acts out his madness in forms characteristic of melodramatic 

literature and sets Jacinta to taking part in a novel-like action in her search for Pitusín . Ido appears 

in two series of actions, once in Chapter VIII and again in Chapter IX; and these appearance of the 

new theme alternate with treatment of the pueblo and descamisados in lengthy passages in which 

Jacinta, not Juanito, is present. 

In the above it turns out that themes and techniques which may be labeled «Galdosian constants» 

assert themselves as dominant. Desperation leads to exaggerated imaginative activity here as in 

La desheredada or later in the case of practically every character in Misericordia . And the 

practice of making a protagonist into a symbol with socio-political connotation is omnipresent in the 

Galdosian novel. It should be expected that an author would adapt his usual themes when attempting 

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an experimental approach to the novelistic form, especially when the subject is not very different from 

that of preceding works. 

In Part II, Chapters III and IV Chamberlin believes Galdós again departed from his model, which in 

this case should be the trio section of the Second Movement ( Marcia Funebre ), measures 69-104: 

Customarily a trio is constituted in a two-reprise or binary form with an internal substructuring 

of «aababa»... Beethoven, however, departs from this traditional schema, and repeating neither 

section, employs a simpler structure divided into two parts: «c d e»... Galdós, however, choosing to 

follow the more traditional structural form, makes his trio section more conventional -and therefore 

significantly more complex- than Beethoven's, with the result that it remains about equal in length to 

his introduction to the march theme. 

(Chapter I and 110, p. 59) 

In the Second Movement Chamberlin believes that Galdós expresses the march theme «a» as plot 

line in Chapters I and II: «The Maxi-Fortunata relationship; their "march" toward an impossible 

marriage» (p. 51). However, in his study of the trio section he abandons expression of musical theme 

as plot in favor of expression through characters: «Galdós has a corresponding trio section in which he 

substitutes for Beethoven's three themes the following triad of characters: Doña Lupe, Juan Pablo and 

Nicolás Rubín» (58-59). This approach presents the reader with a complex solution, as Doña Lupe is 

made the a-theme of the Galdosian (not Beethoven's) trio and Juan Pablo-and-Nicolás become the b- 

theme. The action of Chapters III and IV and most of Chapter IV are then treated in terms of the non- 

Beethoven pattern of «aababa» (not «c d e») in spite of the fact that Chamberlin identifies the analogs 

of two fanfares reminiscent of the «c d e» pattern! 

Although Chamberlin believes he has found a structural model for Fortunata y Jacinta in a symphony 

which has historical and political associations, he often cannot see the dominance of such concerns in 

the symbolic-allegorical aspects of the novel itself. As he passes over associations of Juanito with the 

pueblo in Part One, he fails to see similar or related concerns informing the development of a possible 

tripartite drama in Doña Lupe's household. Such a division may be viewed as follows: (c) Doña 

Lupe's traditionalist rule is threatened by Maxi's rebellion, the announcement of his intention to marry 

Fortunata (Chapter III); (d) Growth in strength of the rebellion as Juan Pablo through indifference 

and Nicolás through ineptitude assure its success while enjoying (especially the latter) Doña Lupe's 

confidence in the loyalty and competence of her followers (Chapter VI, 1-5): and (3) Doña Lupe's 

regaining in appearance -her hold and maintaining appearances for others (most of the remainder of 

Chapter IV). 

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Through reference to Galdosian constants, in this case the treatment of the struggle among 

individuals of the same household as historical allegory (cf. Doña Perfecta , La de Bringas and 

Misericordia ), it can be shown that Galdós may have followed the Beethoven analogy after all. Doña 

Lupe as a traditional ruler can be seen as the Pretender to the Spanish throne whose attempt to win his 

cause is undermined through the bad advice and lack of good faith on the part of his clerical supporters. 

In the end Doña Lupe has no influence or power, only the appearance. Although the three moments in 

the domestic drama may be considered from a perspective of plot development and thus fitting into the 

plot-line analog developed by Chamberlin for the march theme, the series may also be considered as 

the expression of «themes»: (c) power threatened, (d) power undermined through ineptitude, and (e) 

power, although denatured, maintaining appearances. Chamberlin's lack of specific definition leaves 

him such broad margins for working out needlessly complex solutions that he creates the impression 

of total arbitrariness. Had he been able to find a specific although different definition of the theme 

analog for each part of the novel, some of this appearance of arbitrariness might be diminished. Of 

course, a uniform approach for the entire analysis would be preferable. 

The treatment of the Third or Scherzo Movement may be reworked completely if one more carefully 

defines the application of the term «theme». In the present chapter theme is applied to a hodgepodge 

of references to anecdote and characters. The movement is broken down into an initial scherzo 

(aabab), followed by a trio (aababa), a return to the scherzo (aab) and a coda. In Chamberlin's view, 

Chapters I through IV correspond to the first scherzo. The «aa» sections are expressed in Galdós' 

novelistic equivalents (1) «Philosophical expoundings by Juan Pablo in a café» and (2) «Philosophical 

expoundings by Juan Pablo in a second café ». The b-theme (in aabab) is «A breaking off of the 

relationship with Fortunata: Juanito» in Chapters II and III, and Chapter IV, the final ab is expressed 

in «Philosophical expoundings (of a practical nature) by Feijoo and a breaking of the relationship with 

Fortunata by Feijóo». Such a breakdown of the material neglects entirely the relationship between 

the pseudo-philosophizing and the on-going political and historical content of Part III. Galdós could 

not have been more insistent in calling attention to this. Three chapter titles in Part III stress political 

thematics: II - «La revolución vencedora», III - «La revolución vencida», and V - «Otra restauración». 

All other chapter titles refer explicitly or implicitly to the world of thought or the spiritual: I - « 

Costumbres turcas (the pseudo-intellectualism and political "ferment" of the coffee houses)», IV - 

« Curso de filosofía práctica », VI - « Naturalismo espiritual », and VII - « La idea... la pícara 

idea ». Examination of Juan Pablo's philosophizing yields little except that he is engaged in self- 

justification; his philosophy has no raison d'être outside of his lack of money, his resentment and his 

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need for a job. When he becomes an Alphonsine bureaucrat his philosophizing ceases. If one may 

redefine the a-theme as self-justifying philosophizing, then it is no longer necessary to count cafes 

in which Juan Pablo expounds his non-ideas (and there are more than two). Chapter I may then be 

considered the Galdosian novelistic equivalent of the first a-theme in the initial scherzo. Chapter II can 

then be seen as roughly analogous with Juanito's engaging in similar philosophizing as he too is caught 

up in the general movement of middle class individuals back to stable and responsible activity with 

the return of the Bourbons to the throne. In this redefinition leave has been taken from Chamberlin's 

division of themes. Chapter III is now outside the second a-theme and can be discussed as the first 

appearance of a redefined b-theme, the suppression of honor and love of the pueblo and the weak by 

others for «reasons of state». The sacrifice of Fortunata's love and sense of honor (and later Maxi's 

sense of honor) cannot have the same meaning as Juan Pablo and Juanito's sacrificing their vices 

for the sake of bourgeois respectability. The final ab of the initial scherzo can now be seen as the 

development in Chapter IV of Evaristo Feijóo's self-serving practical philosophy (which echoes the 

other «philosophies» so far developed) as the a-theme; and Fortunata's subjection to this philosophy 

as the second development of the b-theme. In this redefinition the only significant departures from 

Chamberlin are those related to Chapters II and III, that is including Maxi in the redefined a-theme 

and redefining the b-theme so that it becomes a theme rather than an act. 

However, this redefinition of themes permits reanalysis of the trio section. The action continues, as 

noted by Chamberlin, in a related key (in the symphony, C major). Some of the characters change 

in the trio analog, but it would appear that the a- and b-themes remain the same. Self-justifying 

philosophizing and pueblo love and honor can be seen as alternating throughout Chapter V in 

the pattern aababa. Doña Lupe's world is one of practical, harsh realities and coarse ambitions. In 

Chapter V, 1, she is seen in her ambition (emulation of Guillermina Pacheco) and her interest in 

what has been proposed by her one time suitor, Evaristo Feijóo. This action develops the a-theme 

as Doña Lupe is forced to philosophize her way to acceptance of what she does not want. In the 

end she is «bought» and Maxi is now forced to live with Fortunata, Chapter V, 2, thus bringing 

up again the suppression of the weak- pueblo , the b-theme. Chapter V, 3 allows for a return 

to the a-theme, for Mauricia la Dura, now a badly ill alcoholic, is seen from the vantage point of 

various self-serving would-be saviors and that of members of the Rubín family which engages in self- 

serving moralizing about her case. As Chapter V, 4 develops Fortunata ( pueblo theme) is being 

subjected to living an only apparently comfortable bourgeois existence, the final b-theme in the trio. 

The final appearance of the a-theme in the chapter will then be the return to the theme of practical 

self-serving, «philosophizing» considerations: Maxi should develop a medicine to get rich quick, 

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Fortunata's conviction that Evaristo's views on generalized hypocrisy are correct and Doña Lupe's 

decision to visit Mauricia, not out of charity but so that she may get closer to Guillermina Pacheco. 

This approach to the trio section relies totally on thematic alternation. All of Chamberlin's a-themes 

relate to Doña Lupe, his b-theme to Maxi. Fortunata is counted with Maxi and Lupe as forming a 

trio of characters in this section just as the trio in Part II was shown to be composed of the trio Lope, 

Nicolás and Juan Pablo. 

After minimizing Mauricia's importance in the trio section where she is considered as part of 

the «usual complicating enrichment of additional material, theme and characterizations» (82), 

Chamberlin decides that Chapter VI was not developed in accordance with the structural model at all. 

Rather «Galdós omitted these themes ("aa" from the final scherzo aab); instead (he) has resolution 

of Mauricia la Dura's story, reechoing of earlier themes and introduction of new themes and 

characters» (77). In addition, he insists that «on three specific occasions within the story, music is 

inappropriate and must be dispensed with (77)» as an indication that Galdós was aware that «themes 

and events of his chapter correspond not at all to the musical patterns of the Eroica ...» (84). Since 

much of the strength for his case for considering the Eroica the structural model for the novel 

lies in the use the novelist made of Mauricia as physically and otherwise reminiscent of Napoleón 

Bonaparte, it is indeed odd to suppose that Galdós could not or would not have seen Mauricia's role as 

central to his overall conception. One must assume that the liberal Galdós could find a way to tie the 

death and heritage of Mauricia into the on-going life of Fortunata, the latter a member of the lower 

classes who would like to place her own child on the «throne» of the legitimate heir (El Delfín) to 

the Santa Cruz-Arnaiz line (Baldomero II, Delfín-Delfina, etc. -such references must have meaning). 

Furthermore, without the experiences of Chapter VI, Fortunata's idée fixe, the determinant of her 

return to Juanito, has no development whatsoever. Chamberlin's failure to understand that Chapter VI 

does not focus primarily on Mauricia's death but rather on the development of Fortunata's own self- 

serving philosophy would appear to be at the root of the problem. 

The title of Chapter VI, « Naturalismo espiritual », would seem in itself an indication that the 

theme of self-serving philosophies is about to return. The setting and circumstances of Mauricia's 

death and Fortunata's conduct with Jacinta suggest Naturalist technique and provide «background» 

for the development of the religious-spiritual dimension (arising out of self-interest and instinctive 

drives). However, the significance of the action for Fortunata must be drawn from the two Napoleonic 

types in the chapter, Mauricia and Guillermina, Evil and Good. The controlling image is introduced 

initially through the description of the prints on Severiana's walls, pictures of the important moments 

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in Napoleon's carrer. The lack of Napoleon's death bed scene in the series of prints is supplied by 

Mauricia's providing a «living tableau ». As the narration of the chapter draws to a close Galdós 

tells us that « Con la claridad veía (Fortunata) a Guillermina, como si la tuviera delante; pero lo raro 

no era esto, sino que se le parecía también a Napoleón, como Mauricia la Dura » (VII, 11). Although 

attracted to Guillermina and good as defined by religion, Fortunata's attachment to the hope offered 

her by the dying Mauricia for vindication and recognition as the real wife of Juanito exercises an even 

stronger attraction on her. Viewed from this perspective, the aa themes of the final scherzo may be 

considered the development in two stages of Fortunata's own authentic self-justifying philosophy in 

the pull between Mauricia and Guillermina (as one and then the other dominates the outward action 

but not the growing inner conviction). The b-theme, Chapter VII, would again be the break up between 

Fortunata and Maxi, but seen as a theme, that of the subordinated pueblo now asserting itself and 

affirming itself in spite of respectable society's concern for appearances. 

Theme, character, and plot are not easily separated into neat discrete entities in any attempt at literary 

analysis. The need for definition, however, becomes quite acute when one would deal with a problem 

such as the use of the Eroica as the structural model for as long and as complicated a novel as 

Fortunata y Jacinta . Apparently arbitrary or convenient grasping after characters here, plot elements 

there and themes elsewhere as analogs for musical themes has caused Chamberlin endless difficulties 

and ultimately makes his thesis and proof less than totally convincing. This is especially lamentable 

because a careful and detailed study of the themes of Fortunata y Jacinta would be most useful and 

interesting. And were such a study carried out independently of the attempt to match themes of the 

Eroica to those of the novel and at the same time proved the present thesis, the hope for acceptance 

of this thesis as a viable one would be immensely greater. 

A final note : Diane Beth Hyman's unpublished doctoral dissertation (Harvard, 1972) might provide 

a useful point of departure to those interested in the study of the structure of Fortunata y Jacinta . (This 

avenue of investigation was not followed by Chamberlin.) Dr. Hyman has produced a critical version 

of the «Alpha» manuscript, essentially Parts I and II (and some sketch material for the remainder of the 

novel). This version contains some references to music which have survived in the published version, 

but no references to Beethoven or related themes. This would suggest that were the Eroica analog 

thesis to be proved, it could be shown through a comparison of the «Alpha» version with the published 

version working with the hypothesis that possibly the decision to use a structural model arose after the 

initial version was written. One change in the published version over the «Alpha» involves the epithets 

cited in my redefinition of the First or masculine theme in Part I. Galdós originally described Juanito 

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(in the objective case) as « al revolucionario, al descamisado, al demagogo Juanito » (Hyman, p. 1). 

Such a change could reflect a redefinition of theme from one draft to another, one possibly occasioned 

by the decision to use a structural model. At this point no one may be sure. 

Boston University. 

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IV - Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes

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