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Galdós’ Literary Presentations of the Interregnum, Reign of Amadeo and the First Republic (1868–1874)

1986; Liverpool University Press; Volume: 63; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/1475382862000363001

1469-3550

Geoffrey Ribbans,

Historical and Modern Theater Studies

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. ‘The Hedgehog and the Fox’, in Russian Thinkers, ed. Henry Hardy and Aileen Kelly (London: Hogarth Press, 1978), 22–81. 2. Berlin, 22. The original distinction derives from the Greek poet Archilochus: ‘The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing’. 3. Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins U.P., 1973). If ‘what was at issue throughout the nineteenth century, in history as in both art and the social sciences, was the form that a genuinely “realistic representation of historical reality” ought to take’ (432), Hayden White claims that, for historians as well as novelists, there is no certain scientific or objective proof of the superiority of one response over another. Such an approach evidently frees the critic or the historiographer from any a priori dogma as to how historical material should be dealt with. 4. For a perceptive critical discussion of this question, see Hans Hinterhäuser, Los ‘Episodios Nacionales’ de Benito Pérez Galdós (Madrid: Gredos, 1963), 236–47. 5. Galdós's Novel of the Historical Imagination (Liverpool: Francis Cairns, 1983), 5. 6. Hinterhäuser, 223, quotes a late statement from Galdós which gives the historical structure precedence over the fiction: ‘Ahora estoy preparando el cañamazo, es decir, el tinglado histórico … Una vez abocetado el fondo histórico y político de la novela, inventaré la intriga’. At the beginning of España sin rey, Galdós speaks of the relation between private and public lives as follows: ‘Los íntimos enredos y lances entre personas que no aspiraron al juicio de la posteridad son ramas del mismo árbol que da la madera histórica con que armamos el aparato de la vida externa de los pueblos, de sus príncipes, alteraciones, estatutos, guerras y paces. Con una y otra madera, acopladas lo mejor que se pueda, levantamos el alto andamiaje desde donde vemos, en luminosa perspectiva, el alma, cuerpo y humores de una nación’ (785). The page references given for all quotations from the fourth and fifth series of the episodios nacionales are to Obras completas, III (Madrid: Aguilar, 9th ed., 1968). 7. ‘Historia novelada and novela histórica: The Use of Historical Incidents from the Reign of Isabella II in Galdós's Episodios and Novelas contemporáneas’, in Hispanic Studies in Honour of Frank Pierce, ed. John England (Sheffield: Department of Hispanic Studies, University of Sheffield, 1980), 133–47; ‘The Portrayal of Queen Isabella II in Galdós’ Episodios and Novelas contemporáneas’, in LA CHISPA ‘81 : Second Louisiana Conference on Hispanic Languages and Literature (New Orleans: Tulane University, 1981), 277–86; ‘La historia como debiera ser: Galdós's Speculations on Nineteenth-century Spanish History’, BHS, LIX (1982), 267–74. 8. See Clara E. Lida and Iris M. Zavala, La revolución de 1868: historia, pensamiento, literatura (New York: Las Américas, 1970). For its impact on Galdós, see J. M. Jover, ‘El fusilamiento de los sargentos de San Gil (1866) en el relato de Pérez Galdós. Los dos primeros capítulos de La de los tristes destinos’, in Política, diplomacia y humanismo popular en la España del siglo XIX (Madrid: Ediciones Turner, 1976), 389–95. 9. For a more detailed account see my ‘Contemporary History in the Structure and Characterization of Fortunata y Jacinta’, in Galdós Studies, ed. J. E. Varey (London: Tamesis Books, 1970), 90–113. For a general survey see also my Critical Guide, Pérez Galdós: Fortunata y Jacinta (London: Grant & Cutler, 1977). 10. The page references given for all quotations from this novel are to Fortunata y Jacinta, 2 vols., ed. Francisco Caudet (Madrid: Cátedra, 1983). 11. The page references for all quotations from this novel are to La desheredada (Madrid: Alianza, 1967). 12. ‘Esta ilusión, que era entonces común en las turbas infantiles, a pesar de la reciente trágica muerte del héroe, se va extinguiendo ya conforme se desvanece aquella enérgica figura. Pero aún hoy persiste algo de tan bella ilusión …’ (92). 13. See Bly, 8. 14. For example, Brian J. Dendle, Galdós. The Mature Thought (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1980), ‘Historical recreation was often accessory to the exigencies of a fictional narrative rooted in a moral vision of Spain’, 183; see also pp. 79 and 153; and A. Regalado García, Benito Pérez Galdós y la novela histórica española: 1868–1912 (Madrid: Insula, 1966), ‘En España sin rey los elementos novelescos desbordan a los históricos’, 445. 15. Nicolás Estévanez describes this scheme in his Fragmento de mis memorias (Madrid, 1903), 328–29. In Galdós’ copy in the Casa-Museo in Las Palmas, the passage is marked in pencil in the margin. 16. Galdós’ characterization bears some slight resemblance to the more hostile portrait by Castelar in the parliamentary debate of 3 November 1870, when Amadeo was elected (Carlos Cambronero, Las Cortes de la Revolución [Madrid, n.d.], 147); the text is also found in M. Fernández Almagro, Historia política de la España contemporánea, I: 1868–1885 (Madrid: Alianza, 1968, 51): ‘¿Sabéis cuál es el dios del general Prim? El acaso. ¿Sabéis cuál es su religión? El fatalismo. ¿Sabéis cuál es su ideal? Lo presente. ¿Sabéis cuál es su objetivo para el porvenir? Vincular el Poder a su partido. A esto lo sacrifica todo’. 17. For a concise account of the various candidates (‘comidilla de todas las bocas en aquellos días’, España trágica, 903) and the problems raised, see Fernández Almagro, 61–81. 18. ‘La de Subijana, por la promiscuidad [my italics] de sus relaciones, era tan pronto de la Carrera como provisional’ (841). 19. See my ‘La historia como debiera ser …’, 267–74. 20. Galdós reports Demetria as saying that Isabella had encouraged him to thwart Montpensier's pretensions in every way possible (930). The infante's way was rather drastic! 21. ‘De cuanto pudiera decirse acerca de Vicente Halconero, lo más fundamental es que provenía espiritualmente de la Revolución del 68. Estas y las ideas precursoras le engendraron a él y a otros muchos, y como los frutos y criaturas de aquella Revolución fueron algo abortivos, también Vicente llevaba en sí los caracteres de un nacido a media vida’ (900) [my italics]. 22. I cannot follow Brian Dendle (Galdós. The Mature Thought, 160) in his concept of ‘the brittle Fernanda’ as symbolizing ‘the disappointed hope for a possible happier future for Spain’; much less do I see Don Juan de Urríes as ‘the representative of the Revolution of 1868’. In my view the fundamental defect of this well-documented book is its tendency to consider the episodios almost exclusively in the light of the politics of the time of writing. 23. ‘… he cambiado mi rebeldía por un epicureismo que me asegure el regalo y el reposo del presente y el porvenir’ (1396). 24. Antonio Ruiz Salvador, ‘La función del trasfondo histórico en La desheredada’, Anales Galdosianos, I (1966), 53–62. 25. Galdós and the Art of the European Novel: 1867–1887 (Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1981), 102–10. 26. Bly, 14. In my view Bly grossly overestimates the degree of Relimpio's historical perception (‘keen feeling for contemporary history’, 10; ‘superb political insight’, 14). Nor do I see any evidence in support of his ‘tempting hypothesis’ (3) that Rufete represents a fictional counterpart to Amadeo or that Doña Laura is ‘tentatively presented as a symbol of the unity and honour of all Spain’ (17). 27. Gilman, 123, following Ruiz Salvador and Chad C. Wright, ‘The Representational Qualities of Isidora Rufete's House and her Son Riquin in Benito Pérez Galdós’ Novel La desheredada’, Romanische Forschungen, LXIII (1971), 230–45. Wright takes the concept much further by seeing in Isidora's house a representation of the First Republic and in Riquín the danger of over-concentration of power in Madrid. 28. I cannot undertake, within the scope of this article, any discussion of the problem of determinism or refer to the substantial bibliography on this subject and on the structure of the novel. 29. ‘Los Carbonarios’, Obras completas, V (Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 1948), 1150. See also José F. Montesinos, Galdós, III (Madrid: Castalia, 1972), 249, and Regalado García, 460–64, who accuses Galdós of cowardice for not revealing what he knew. 30. Brian J. Dendle, ‘Galdós and the Death of Prim’, Anales Galdosianos, IV (1969), 63–71. 31. The latest study of the assassination is Antonio Pedrol Rius, Los asesinos del general Prim (Barcelona, 1971), who concludes that the assassins were directed by Paúl y Ángulo and José María Pastor, a member of Serrano's staff. Money may have been provided by Montpensier's aide, Solís. There is no evidence that either Serrano or Montpensier knew about the plot. See also Regalado García, 461–64, who holds that Galdós is obliquely arguing against Paúl y Angulo's involvement and in favour of ‘una conjura, o del gobierno y de los diputados ... o de los altos personajes del palacio’. I do not share his view that Galdós ‘quiere dar indicios de los autores, pero tan entre nieblas que nada descubren’. 32. For perceptive opinions on Galdós’ political views in the 1870s see Peter Goldman, ‘Galdós and the Politics of Conciliation’, Anales Galdosianos, IV (1969), 73–87, and Demetrio Estébanez Calderón, ‘Evolución política de Galdós y su repercusión en la obra literaria’, Anales Galdosianos, XVII (1982), 7–23. In the interests of ‘conciliation’, Galdós was strongly opposed to Ruiz Zorrilla. By the time he wrote Amadeo I, he considered conciliation ‘infecunda’ and praised Ruiz Zorrilla's independent stance. 33. In Galdós. The Mature Thought, 200, Dendle is far more critical towards proteísmo: ‘A trait related—as symptomatic of inner insecurity—to evasiveness is proteísmo, the ability to defend all points of view’. 34. Galdós never lost his deep respect for Prim. One example from 1908, when he was writing España trágica, is the message he addressed to Miguel Moya in the campaign to oppose the law against terrorism: ‘Ninguno de los aquí presentes dejará de sentir en su alma una secreta voz que reproduzca, sin ninguna variante, un concepto del primer estadista español del siglo XIX, del glorioso, del inmortal Prim: “¡Radicales, a defenderse!”’ (El Liberal, 29 May 1908). The quotation is the final phrase of his speech in the sesión de San José, 19 March 1870. 35. Brian J. Dendle, ‘Isidora, the mantillas blancas and the Attempted Assassination of Alfonso XII's, Anales Galdosianos, XVII (1982), 51–54. In order to accommodate Isidora's story to the incident, Galdós had to force the timing slightly. 36. Later on, during her imprisonment, Isidora compares herself with Marie Antoinette, imprisoned in the Conciergerie (403). 37. Mariano's attack is reminiscent of two real attempts on Alfonso XII's life, by Juan Oliva and Francisco Otero. See Ruiz Salvador, 55, and Dendle, ‘Isidora, the mantillas blancas ….’, 53. 38. Historically, this appears somewhat exaggerated. See C. A. M. Hennessy, The Federal Republic in Spain (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962), 172: ‘… ugly crowds, waving republican slogans and agitated by club leaders, milling around the Cortes building, emphasized the dangers of delay and the threat of armed rising if the Republic were not immediately proclaimed’. 39. In El Liberal (16 January 1908), when the serial publication of España sin rey is announced, it is stated that ‘el insigne Pérez Galdós ha terminado el Episodio Nacional con que inaugura una nueva y última serie, la cuál constará solamente de dos tomos’. See also H. Chonon Berkowitz, Pérez Galdós. Spanish Liberal Crusader (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 1948), 342. 40. Montesinos, 327–37, is severely critical of Galdós’ ‘persistente manía alegorizante’. Regalado García, 501, finds that Tito ‘raya en bufonería, y pasa rápidamente de lo sublime a lo grotesco’. Madeleine de Gogorza Fletcher, The Spanish Historical Novel 1870–1970 (London: Tamesis, 1973), 48–50, is dismissive of the whole fifth series as ‘a kind of reductio ad absurdum’ of previous techniques, but she takes no account at all of the first two episodios. Dendle, Galdós. The Mature Thought, 153–81, likewise does not distinguish between the first two and the rest. 41. In Cánovas Galdós places these same ladies, incongruously, in a box at the bull-fight to celebrate the wedding of Don Alfonso and Doña Mercedes, and, in a curious lapse, declares that they were protesting against the Savoyan dynasty. ‘Eran las que el año 72 hicieron en la Castellana, a las órdenes de Ducazcal, la famosa manifestación contra la dinastía de Saboya’ (1376). 42. See my ‘Contemporary History …’, 97–102, for further details and a more extensive account of the Pavía episode. 43. It is curious to note that one of the deputies was called Villalonga: Antonio Villalonga Pérez. He voted against Castelar. See Eduardo Comín Colomer, Historia de la Primera República (Barcelona: AHR, 1956), 564. 44. In a letter to Galdós dated 22 February 1912, filed in the Casa-Museo de Galdós in Las Palmas, Nicolás Estévanez notes a contradiction in De Cartago a Sagunto concerning Colonel Iglesias. On p. 98 (OC, III, 1248) he is said to be ‘alto’, on p. 260 (OC, III, 1304; see also 1306–07) he is described as ‘chiquitín’. Estévanez explains: ‘Sin duda ignora V. que esos dos personajes son una misma persona. El coronel del Congreso y el brigadier de Cuenca son el mismo don José de la Iglesia; no hay tal Iglesias. Era alto. Yo conocí mucho al personaje por haber sido uno de mis maestros en Toledo …’ In Fortunata y Jacinta he is twice (I, 437, 438) called ‘Iglesias’. La Época (Año XXVI, núm. 7756, Domingo, 4 de enero de 1874), quoting La correspondencia, also speaks of ‘Coronel Iglesias’. Perhaps Estévanez was mistaken in identifying the two. 45. In De Cartago a Sagunto (1245) it is quoted, incorrectly, as ‘—“¿Y el proyecto de Constitución?” … —“Lo enterrasteis en Cartagena’”. 46. ‘The Intransigents were those who rejected any sort of understanding with monarchical parties’, Hennessy, 151. 47. The question of Castelar's foreknowledge of the plot is not clear. It is obvious that he could not have been unaware of the risk of a coup if he lost the vote of confidence, but he refused to postpone the session. He always claimed an absolute regard for legality and was outraged by the use of force. See his letter of 4 July 1874 to Adolfo Calzado (Correspondencia de Emilio Castelar 1868–1898 [Madrid, 1908], 4–5): ‘En lo que ahora sucede, no tengo parte ni responsabilidad. El 2 de Enero se hizo contra mí y a pesar mío. ¿Por qué he de cargar yo con las consecuencias? Además, nuestra España padece de un mal gravísimo, de grande menosprecio por la legalidad…’ 48. Díaz Quintero is referred to somewhat differently in the episodio: ‘Por la puerta que da a la misma calle se escabulleron cantando bajito los que más habían alborotado en los pasillos, queriendo desarmar a la tropa: eran Olías, Casalduero, Díaz Quintero, el marqués de la Florida, y otros’ (1249). Díaz Quintero, Casalduero and Santamaría were among those who voted against Castelar; Olías, Antonio Orense and Fernández Castañeda voted in favour of the government. Figueras, as Galdós indicated, abstained, but ordered his supporters to vote against Castelar. See Comín Colomer, 562–67, who gives the voting figures. 49. It seems unlikely that Pavía would have made such a promise. He is known to have seen Castelar on 24 December 1873 and again on 1 January 1874 and advised him to postpone the session. Serrano was certainly conspiring to bring about a coup, so that the scene in Fortunata y Jacinta rings true. Exceptionally, Pavía's action involved no political ambitions and was not carried out on behalf of a party. The same day Pavía handed over to a government headed by Serrano: it was la flor de un día. See Hennessy, 237–41, and Daniel R. Headrick, Ejército y política en España (1866–1898) (Madrid: Tecnos, 1981), 203–05. 50. Montesinos, 275, for instance, praises it highly. 51. See my ‘Historia novelada and novela histórica …’, 135–42. For the San Gil executions, see also Jover, 367–430. 52. Miguel Enguíidanos makes a spirited defence of these late allegories in ‘Mariclío, musa galdosiana’, Papeles de Son Armadans, LXIII, (June 1961), 235–49.