Heath's Modern Language Series: Spanish Short Stories Part 1

Heath's Modern Language Series: Spanish Short Stories.

by Elijah Clarence Hills and Louise Reinhardt and Various.

PREFACE

These _Spanish Short Stories_ are, for the most part, realistic pictures of the manners and customs of modern Spain, written by masters of Spanish prose. All were written in the second half of the nineteenth century or in the first decade of the twentieth,--except the story by Larra, which was written about seventy-five years ago. And all describe recent conditions,--except the tale, partly historical and partly legendary, by Becquer, which goes back to the invasion of Spain by the French under Napoleon in the early years of the nineteenth century; the story by Larra, which, however, is nearly as true of Castile to-day as it was when written; and Trueba's story, which is partly legendary, partly symbolic, and partly realistic. The stories by Becquer and Perez Galdos contain incidents that are supernatural, and those by Fernan Caballero and Alarcon have romantic settings that are highly improbable; but all the stories are, in the main, true to the every-day life of contemporary Spain.

The Spanish stories in this collection have been arranged, so far as possible, in the order of difficulty; but some instructors will doubtless prefer to read them in chronological order, or, better still, in an order determined by the "school", or literary affiliations, of each author. This latter arrangement is difficult to make, and it must be, at the best, somewhat arbitrary. But to those who wish to study in these stories the growth of contemporary Spanish fiction, it is suggested that the authors be taken up in the order in which they are given in the Introduction.

To the stories by Spanish authors have been added two by Spanish-American writers,--the one a native of Costa Rica, the other of Chile. These stories are excellent and well worth reading. For a fuller statement regarding them, see the last pages of the Introduction.

The texts have been taken from standard editions (see the first note to each story). The integrity of the texts has been scrupulously preserved, with only the two following changes: (1) the orthography has been made to conform to that of the latest editions of the _Dictionary_ and the _Grammar_ of the Royal Spanish Academy; and (2) a few omissions from the texts have been made, all of which are marked by five suspensive points (.....).

The Vocabulary contains the more irregular verb-forms, and it has also descriptions of the important places and biographies of the noted men and women that are mentioned in the texts.

The editors offer these _Spanish Short Stories_ as suitable material to be read immediately after a beginners' book.

E. C. H.

L. R.

INTRODUCTION

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Spain was awakened from her torpor by the a.s.sault of the French armies under Napoleon (in 1808), and there ensued the tremendous struggle known in Spanish history as the War of Independence (_Guerra de la Independencia_). When the Spanish people, though deserted by many of those to whom they looked for leadership, had worn out the French by their stubborn resistance, a new disaster fell to their lot. Their American colonies, extending from California to the straits of Magellan, fell away from the mother country one by one, until only a few islands were left. And through it all the peninsula was rent by civil discord. Spain sank to the lowest level of inefficiency and corruption, and was forced to drink the bitter dregs of humiliation and despair. But from her travail there came a new birth. With the expulsion of Isabel II in 1868, Spain entered upon a new life. She has since then suffered from civil and foreign wars and from internal dissensions, but she has grown in wealth and strength and intellectual cultivation, until there is once more in the heart of her people the hope of ultimate and complete redemption.

In Europe generally the nineteenth century brought to literature a resumption of religious sentiment and of the artistic sense, with their appeal to the emotions, and lyricism became the dominant note in letters. The romanticists turned to history and legend for their material, rather than to contemporary life. The cult of the medieval brought with it much that was sentimental or grotesquely fantastic, but it awakened in the people a renewed interest in their past history. All Spaniards worship the past, for Spain was once great; and when romanticism came from France and England into Spain, it was warmly welcomed. The historical novel flourished beyond measure. The artificial epic in _ottava rima_, imitated from the Italian, gave way to a flood of pseudo-historical romances which followed the lead of Sir Walter Scott and the elder Dumas. They were mostly weak imitations, carelessly done and without depth or brilliancy. The best presentation of Spanish legends was made by Jose Zorrilla (1817-1893) in verse: his work has enduring value. But the historical romance turned the mind of the reader away from adventures in cla.s.sic lands or in the orient, and brought his own land to his attention. It thus caused renewed interest in the one-time native excellence of Spanish literature, and it also paved the way for the national novel of manners. The historical romance has now taken a secondary place in fiction; but it was cultivated till quite recently by so virile and popular a writer as Perez Galdos.

Before pa.s.sing on to the modern school of realists, mention must be made of a writer whose influence has been far-reaching. This is BeCQUER,[A] a poet, writer of short stories, and journalist. His tales are mostly legendary, and are imbued with morbid mysticism. He is primarily a poet, for even his prose has the poetic fancy, and, to a large extent, the music of verse. Becquer's lyric verse is perhaps the most finished that was written in Spain during the nineteenth century, although it has less force than that of Nunez de Arce. The dreamy, fairy-like mysticism of Becquer's writings has been widely imitated throughout the entire Spanish-speaking world.

Although modern realism triumphed in Spain only with the coming of Fernan Caballero's _La gaviota_ in 1848, the ground was prepared in advance by several writers, the more important of whom are Larra, Estebanez de Calderon and Mesonero Romanos.

LARRA,[B] many of whose writings appeared over the pen-name _Figaro_, was a master of Castilian prose; but even his best work is marred by a morbid distrust of human nature. In his satirical articles he attacks the follies and weaknesses of contemporary Spanish life with biting sarcasm and bitter invective: he criticizes not to reform but to crush.

There was in him little milk of human kindness, but he was not afraid of man or devil. He tried his hand at the romantic drama and novel with little success. Larra's most enduring works are his critical reviews and his essays on manners.

Writing with the pen-name _El Solitario_, Serafin Estebanez de Calderon (1799-1867), gave in his _Escenas andaluzas_ fairly true pictures of the manners and customs of the lower cla.s.ses of Andalusia in his day. This volume was published in 1847, but many of the articles had appeared much earlier in periodicals.

In 1842 _El curioso Parlante_, Ramon de Mesonero Romanos (1803-1882), published his _Escenas matritenses_. The author was a kindly scoffer, and in this work he gave merry pictures of Madrid customs, written simply and accurately in language that was chosen but diffuse.

In 1848 FERNaN CABALLERO[C] published _La Gaviota_, a story dealing largely with the manners and customs of Andalusia. This work, which has probably been the most widely read of all Spanish novels since _Don Quijote_, marked the transition from romanticism to present-day realism in Spanish literature, as Flaubert's _Madame Bovary_ did in French letters ten years later. Fernan Caballero was probably influenced by the _Escenas andaluzas_, the _Escenas matritenses_ and Larra's essays on manners; and it is quite possible that from her German friends came to her some of the modern spirit of scientific investigation that led her to declare the novel to be "not the product of invention, but of observation." She practiced this theory, however, only in part, for her work partakes of both the romantic and the realistic. Her stories usually have a romantic framework of pa.s.sion and intrigue that is always unreal and often dull; but within this framework, almost in the nature of digressions, there are pictures of home life among the lowly Andalusian peasants that are charming in their simple, refined realism.

No better work than that of some of these realistic scenes has ever been done in Spanish fiction, and yet it is nearly always found in bad company. Crimes, sentimental episodes, ultra-Catholic preachments and true pictures of the life of the humble are jumbled together in a queer medley. The work is evidently that of a clever but untrained mind, that was largely controlled by its emotions. Her later works are marred by extreme religiosity and a growing habit of scolding.

It has been well said that the realistic novel in Spain is essentially provincial or regional.[D] The people of the several provinces of Spain differ greatly. The proud, stern Castilian; the gentle, pleasure-loving Andalusian; the Catalan, alert and practical; the light-hearted, turbulent Valencian; and the plodding, dreamy Galician,--all these differ as do the lands in which they dwell. A realistic literature, therefore, that describes accurately the doings and the environment of Spanish villagers must be regional: it can not be broadly national.

After Fernan Caballero had begun to tell of life in southern Spain, PEREDA[E] came forth with tales of the northern mountainland, the _Montana_, that lies on the sh.o.r.e of the Cantabrian Sea. Pereda was, perhaps, the most provincial, the least cosmopolitan, of modern Spanish writers. An old-fashioned _hidalgo_, or country gentleman, he rarely left his ancestral home at Polanco, and if he did go away, he was always sorry for it. In politics he was a conservative and a Carlist, and his writings evince a hostile att.i.tude towards modernism. Pereda was the most reactionary, Perez Galdos one of the most progressive, of modern Spanish writers; but the two men were the best of friends, which goes to show that neither was narrow. Pereda's language is academically correct, with some of the flavor of Cervantes; but his thought is often ponderous, or even obscure. He is at his best when he pictures the uncouth homely life of his highland peasants or simple fisher-folk. This he does with the truthfulness of the most scrupulous realist, but without stooping to p.o.r.nographic detail. The _Escenas montanesas_ are direct descendants of the _Escenas andaluzas_ and the _Escenas matritenses_. The better known works of Pereda are _Don Gonzalo Gonzalez de la Gonzalera_, _Pedro Sanchez_, and _Sotileza_.

In the Spain of the past fifty years, the most cosmopolitan man of letters, and the writer of the most polished prose, has been JUAN VALERA,[F] poet, novelist, literary critic, and, first of all, diplomat. At one time he also sought to become a realist, but his nature revolted. He was always an idealist, and at times a mystic. Valera's _Pepita Jimenez_ is perhaps the master-piece of Spanish prose fiction of the nineteenth century, and it shows some attempt at realism. His short stories are fantastic and allegorical, or are translations from other languages.

Pedro Antonio de ALARCoN[G] was by nature and training a journalist. He served his apprenticeship as a writer on the staff of several radical journals. A volunteer in the African war of 1859, he won a cross for gallantry in battle, and his account of the war brought him sudden fame as a writer. In his earlier novels Alarcon was fond of sensation, as young writers are wont to be. He was extravagant in description and intemperate in criticism, keen of observation but shallow; and he showed a lack of sense of proportion; but he had a versatility and dash that brought him some meed of popularity. In later life Alarcon pa.s.sed over from radicalism to conservatism in politics, and his writings became more sober in tone. His best stories are probably _El sombrero de tres picos_, _El capitan Veneno_, and some of his _Novelas cortas_.

Of the lesser writers of stories of manners and customs, Antonio de Trueba and Narciso Campillo should receive especial mention. At one time TRUEBA[H] shared with Fernan Caballero the esteem and admiration of Spanish readers; but he is now nearly forgotten, except among his fellow-countrymen, the Basques of northern Spain. A journalist, poet, and writer of short stories, Trueba is best known as an interpreter of Basque life. Though a conservative and a monarchist, he loved the common people, and he delighted in describing their customs and in collecting their traditions. In his tales of manners and customs he idealized the simple life of the country folk almost beyond recognition, and he worked over and embellished their traditions to suit his taste. His works are pervaded by a genial, kindly humor; but his language is not seldom dull and insipid.

NARCISO CAMPILLO[I] is known as a poet and a writer of short stories.

His prose writings have a light and graceful humor that is peculiarly Andalusian.

The most important Spanish novelists now (in 1910) living are Perez Galdos, Pardo Bazan, Palacio Valdes, and Blasco Ibanez. Of these the first is now usually cla.s.sed as a writer of psychological novels and plays, and the others as naturalistic novelists.

PeREZ GALDoS[J] began as a writer of historical romances modeled largely after those of Erckmann-Chatrian. His _Episodios nacionales_ treat of the War of Independence (called by the English the "Peninsular War") against the French under Napoleon and of the immediately following years. These works are not historically accurate; but they present in an entertaining way the elemental facts of an important period in Spanish history. Their appeal to Spanish pride and patriotism won for them an extraordinary popularity in Spain, although they are little known outside of the peninsula. From the historical struggles of the past Perez Galdos next turned his attention to the inner struggle that is now going on in Spain between conservatism and modern progress, and his prolific pen produced a series of interesting psychological novels. He is a firm believer in the ultimate good of modern progress, but he presents pitilessly and with the impartiality of a judge some of the tragedies that result from the readjustment of conditions. A liberal in politics and religion, Perez Galdos attacks not the Church and State but the abuses that have grown up under their sheltering wing. It is needless to say that his polemical writings, though presented in the sugar-coated form of highly entertaining novels, are not taken with pleasure by the monarchists and ultra-Catholics; but they are received with joy by the large and rapidly increasing numbers of liberals. Perez Galdos' literary activities are now devoted chiefly to the drama which, it would appear, he considers a better vehicle than the novel for the expression of his views. The later work of Perez Galdos is realistic, but it is in no sense regional. Rather does he seek to be broadly national in his realism by presenting problems that confront the Spanish people as a whole. As a writer, he is often careless and sometimes incorrect. To him the thought he expresses, and not the language in which it is expressed, is all-important. As he approaches old age, there seems to grow upon him the desire, not to be a literary artist, but to become a leader in reform.

The Galician PARDO BAZaN[K] is considered the most highly cultivated and the most forceful contemporary writer among the women of modern Spain.

In theory she has been a disciple of French naturalism, and some of her novels, particularly _Los Pazos de Ulloa_ and _La madre Naturaleza_, have somewhat of the repulsive realism of Zola's work. At times she expresses a cold cynicism or a mocking flippancy which detracts from the usual charm of her writings. She pleases most in her picturesque descriptions of the life and manners of her fellow-Galicians. Pardo Bazan early founded a critical review, _El Nuevo Teatro Critico_, and in this and in other periodicals she has published many valuable articles of literary criticism. She is now giving her time and thought chiefly to critical work. Her most popular novel is probably _Pascual Lopez_.

PALACIO VALDeS[L] began as a member of the school of naturalists, but his later works have become more and more idealistic. He has been a writer of regional novels, like Fernan Caballero and Pereda, but he differs from the others in that he portrays life now in one province and now in another, pa.s.sing from the Asturias to Valencia and from Madrid to Andalusia. This very broadness of outlook has made his work more cosmopolitan than that of any other modern Spanish novelist,--excepting only Juan Valera,--and has brought him a large meed of popularity in foreign lands. No other contemporary Spanish writer has been so generally translated and so widely read by foreigners as has Palacio Valdes.

In his realistic works he is a careful observer and a faithful describer of life, and he is especially successful in his portrayal of the uneventful lives of the middle and lower cla.s.ses. Although in his earlier novels he is a p.r.o.nounced realist, he displays a care-free optimism and a sympathetic humor that distinguish his work from the cynicism of Pardo Bazan and the bitter invectiveness of Blasco Ibanez, nor has he the seriousness of purpose that characterizes Perez Galdos.

His style is usually direct and simple, but at times it becomes careless or even dull. His genius is uneven, but when at his best Palacio Valdes is one of the most charming of modern novelists. His better known works are probably _La hermana San Sulpicio_ and _La alegria del capitan Ribot_.

The most forceful of the younger writers of Spain is the Valencian BLASCO IBanEZ.[M] His earlier writings were mostly short stories of manners and customs. In these vivid pictures of life among the Valencians and their neighbors, the influence of Maupa.s.sant and Zola is easily discernible. Blasco Ibanez next brought forth a series of polemical writings, in the form of novels, in which he attacked Church and State ruthlessly. His literary work is now quieter in tone, but it still gives evidence that he wishes to arouse the Spanish ma.s.ses and to lead them on to the complete acquirement of political and social equality. His best known work is _La barraca_.

Spain has done excellent work in prose fiction during the last fifty or sixty years past, but this work is little known outside of the Spanish-speaking countries. Even those people who are, for the most part, well read in the literatures of Europe are generally ignorant of recent Spanish fiction. Or if they have read a few of the best Spanish novels in French or English versions, they may not have found them very interesting. This is explained, I take it, by the fact that Spanish literature is essentially national, and if you do not know the Spanish people you can not fully understand their literature. This is largely true of all literatures, but it is especially true of the Spanish. The French literature, for instance, is more universal and less national than the Spanish, perhaps by the very force of geographical position.

Spain is nearly surrounded by water, and on land it is separated from the rest of Europe,--excepting only Portugal,--by an almost insurmountable barrier of lofty mountains. France, on the other hand, is so situated as to feel the cross-currents of European life. Do not these facts explain, at least in part, the relatively insular characteristics of much contemporary Spanish literature? The Spanish literature, however, by its very provincialism is fascinating to those who are interested in Spanish civilization.

Although it is doubtless quite true that there has been in modern Spain no writer of short stories who rivals Guy de Maupa.s.sant, nor has there been any writer of longer stories who may compare favorably with Honore de Balzac, yet, as a whole, the Spain of the nineteenth century has probably been pictured as faithfully as France by native authors. And Spain has to-day a group of vigorous young writers, who give promise of carrying the work forward to an even greater future.

Spanish America has done little work of merit in prose fiction, but it has produced much lyric poetry. If we may believe the statements of Juan Valera in his _Cartas americanas_, the Spanish Americans have written more good verse than have the English Americans. In the domain of letters the Spanish-speaking peoples of America have been slower than their Peninsular cousins to throw off the yoke of French imitation. Most young men of wealth in Spanish America are educated in Paris, and their Castilian shows unmistakably the effect of their long residence in France. This influence may be studied in the works of Manuel Ugarte (even in his _Introduccion_ to _La joven literatura hispano-americana_, Paris, 1906) and of Ruben Dario (cf. _La muerte de la emperatriz de China_).

But among the younger writers there are some who show little French influence, or none at all. These may be divided into two cla.s.ses: (1) those who write only in pure cla.s.sical Castilian, and who, if they use Americanisms at all, use them consciously and with due apologies; and (2) those who write freely and naturally in the current language of the educated cla.s.ses of their own particular Spanish-American country. To represent the first of these two types, _Un alma_, by Ricardo FERNaNDEZ GUARDIA,[N] has been selected for this volume of _Spanish Short Stories_. _Juan Neira_, by Joaquin DiAZ GARCeS,[O] has been chosen to represent the other type. They are both thoroughly good stories, and they speak well for the future of prose fiction in Spanish America.

E. C. H.

COLORADO SPRINGS, 1910.

Footnotes to the Introduction:

[A] Don Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, born in 1836 at Seville. An orphan in his tenth year, he was educated by his G.o.dmother, whom he left at the age of eighteen to go penniless to Madrid. He suffered many hardships, and died in 1870 at the early age of thirty-four. Works: three volumes of prose and verse.