Benito Pérez GALDÓS: most important works

Galdos It's one of the realism writers most prominent of Spanish literature. He is an author widely studied in schools and institutes for novels such as Fortunata and Jacinta or his great masterpiece titled National episodes. He is one of the essential writers in the country's literary panorama and, therefore, in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we want you to know what they are. the most important works of Benito Pérez Galdós. Read on and discover one of the movement's most representative realist authors.

Index

1. Who was Benito Pérez Galdós?
2. What is the most important work of Benito Pérez Galdós? National episodes
3. Other 4 important works by Galdós
4. What themes does Benito Galdós address in his works?

Before starting to list the works of Benito Pérez Galdós, we are going to make a brief foray into his biography. East author of literary realism he was born in Las Palmas in 1843 and died in Madrid in 1920; In fact, he is regarded as the highest representative of the

His literary career forks in his way as fictional author and his contribution as journalist. He was working in popular newspapers at the time such as El Debate or La Nation. In 1873 is when he begins to write one of the top works of his literary career: National episodes.

Due to his work as a journalist, Galdós traveled through Europe as a correspondent and it was thanks to those trips that he soaked up the artistic current of realism and naturalism. Galdós's influences are clear: Balzac, Zola and Flaubert.

We begin to know the most important works of Benito Pérez Galdós and, thus, we understand why he is an author so studied in compulsory education. Of all his publications, National episodes is the most prominent in the field of fiction and journalistic investigation.

Due to his work as a journalist, Galdós collected the story of 19th century Spain and he published it by means of a chronicle of great dimensions in which he explained, not only the external history, but also the intimate life of the inhabitants of the country.

Is a immense chronicle that collects historical memory of life in Spain in the 19th century, relating it to a large number of transcendent events for the future of society. National episodes It is a work that consists of 46 episodes, among which we find 10 novels that begins with the Battle of Trafalgar and ends at the time of the Bourbon Restoration.

Structure of National episodes

• First series. It is the one that encompasses the historical period from 1873 to 1875, when the War of Independence takes place.
• Second series. It focuses on the time from 1875 to 1879 in which the struggle between the liberals and the absolutists stands out. Salvador Monsalud is the protagonist of this novel.
• Third series. It is the one that focuses on the First Carlist War (from 1833 to 1840).
• Fourth series. This work by Galdós focuses on the year 1902 to 1907 and narrates such outstanding historical events as the Revolution of 1848.
• Fifth series. It remains incomplete, but covers from 1907 to 1912 ending with the restoration of Alfonso XII.

We meet one of the most important works in history of our literature and that focuses on the historical novel.

Although National Episodes is Galdós's great work, the truth is that the author has other very important novels within his literary production. Here we are going to discover you 4 works by Benito Pérez Galdós which are also essential to know the author's style.

Fortunata and Jacinta

Undoubtedly, Fortunata and Jacinta It is another of the essential works of this author of Realism. It is the second most studied work of the author and is starring two spanish women who are the representatives of two social classes typical of the XIX century: Fortunata is the humble and low-class woman, while Jacinta is the representative of the bourgeoisie and the one most linked to the Christian religion.

Mercy

This play takes place in the city of Madrid and Galdós wants to represent the reality of the city: a city ​​ravaged by class differentiation and where there is a great presence of marginalization Social. The novel stars Doña Paca, a woman who was rich, but now lives in extreme poverty due to her own misappropriation of funds.

Marianela

This novel by Galdós introduces us to Nela, an orphan teenager who falls in love with a boy from a wealthy but blind family. A love story that is told from a more emotional point of view, when the eyes do not have the function of looking, analyzing or judging.

Grandpa

Benito Pérez Galdós also wrote theater and, among all the works that he signed, Grandpa it is one of the most prominent. This work is part of the author's last creative stage and introduces us to Albrit, a poor man with vision problems who returns to Spain after living in Peru. At home he will discover that he has a granddaughter and, during the novel, he will try to find out who she is.

Galdós is a realistic writer and, therefore, the themes and genres that he touches the most are those of this current. Focuses on wanting analyze the reality of his time And, for this, he exhaustively analyzes his surroundings and places his characters there to see how they develop. By means of literary technique, Galdós tries to get to know reality better.

The most abundant themes in his novels are those that focus on social inequalities and the recovery of historical memory. Besides, his style is characterized by the following:

• Direct style. Bet on a natural and simple language, which reduces to academicism or aestheticism.
• Dialogues abound to make his novels more natural.
• Cultured and colloquial language at the same time, an inspiration from Cervantes.
• He abounds in satire, humor, and irony in his novels.

Benito Pérez Galdós is considered one of the most outstanding Spanish novelists, after Cervantes, He wrote nearly 100 novels and nearly 30 plays, as well as many short stories, essays, and articles. journalistic. He is considered the father of Realism in Spain and has greatly influenced the literary production of the country.

If you want to read more articles similar to Benito Pérez Galdós: most important works, we recommend that you enter our category of History of Literature.

• Urey, D. F. (2005). Galdós and the Irony of Language. Cambridge University Press.
• Ynduráin, F. (1970). Galdós between the novel and the serial.