Leopoldo Alas CLARÍN: most important works

If we look at the most outstanding and studied authors in the history of Spanish literature, Leopoldo Alas Clarín he is one of the essentials. Born in Zamora in 1852, this writer joined the current of Realism and, later, took a step further to enroll in Naturalism, an artistic trend that was inspired by the scientific method to analyze society through literature. Clarín is the author of one of the best known novels in our history, "The Regent", but also he also has other essential titles in his literary career. In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to know the most important works by Leopoldo Alas Clarín so that, thus, you can better investigate this author and his contribution to culture.

Index

1. Brief biography of Leopoldo Alas Clarín
2. La Regenta, Clarín's top novel
3. Doña Berta de Leopoldo Alas Clarín
4. Socrates' rooster
5. Goodbye, Cordera!

Before knowing the most outstanding works of Leopoldo Alas Clarín, it is important to briefly inquire into his biography and, specifically, into his artistic and literary career.

Clarín is the pseudonym of Leopoldo García-Alas and Ureña, a writer who was born in 1852 and is considered one of the essential writers of 19th century Spain. In his career, his contribution in the field of narrative and, specifically, in the genre of the novel stands out, above all, since it was where he could most extensively capture the reality of the time.

He belongs to the same wave of writers as Benito Pérez Galdós, both linked to the current of the Literary realism, although Clarín ended up getting closer to the Naturalism. In addition to being a writer, Clarín also left his mark on his articles published in innumerable newspapers in which he made, above all, reviews and literary criticisms.

If you have any doubts, the best-known and best-valued work of Clarín is "The Regent", an extensive book that is divided into two volumes and is one of the maximum exponents of the realistic and naturalist movement in Spain. Due to its style and plot, "La Regenta" is compared to other European classics such as "Madame Bovary" or "Ana Karenina".

Clarín and Naturalism

Clarín's work is classified as Realistic and Naturalistic. However, the author was a faithful follower of the movement promoted by Emile zolain which a great determinism and the objective and precise exposition of reality were defended, a work that was more similar to the scientific method than to literary creation.

The works of Leopoldo Alas Clarín can be perfectly framed in the aesthetics promoted by Zola, both in his novels and in his stories. But, in addition, the Spanish author launched a strong social criticism with the texts of him in a simple way. He only exposed what he saw in Spanish society, but Spanish society was full of flaws that, just by looking at each other, he could easily discover.

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We are already beginning to know the most important works of Leopoldo Alas Clarín to mention the first of them all: La Regenta. As we have already commented, it is the author's masterpiece but, in addition, it is one of the most important novels of 19th century European literature.

This extensive novel, which is extended in two large volumes, was written during 1883. The plot places us in Vetusta, a fictional town that experts place in Oviedo, and the author makes a review of Spanish society showing the great differences between the strata social. The first part was published in the 1884 and the second in the 1885. It was a work that did not go unnoticed: either she liked it a lot or it didn't like it at all. The most detractors of this work did not accept the objectionable argument of the time, since the work tells us about an adulterous woman.

"La Regenta" tells us the story of Ana Ozores, the wife of the Regent of Vetusta. Her marriage was an arrangement of her family and she lives in constant frustration between what she wants and what she has. Social conventions and her loveless marriage make Ana a miserable and unhappy woman. But Ana will decide to let herself be carried away by her passions and, therefore, will commit adultery with Álvaro Mesía.

During the novel we attended a analysis of Spanish society in which deception, false appearances and hypocrisy are shown. Due to the length of the work, more than 100 characters that show prototype characters of the society of the time participate in the plot. Clarín describes very concisely each character and each scene, in an objective and distant way.

• The first part of La Regenta tells us an action that takes place in just 3 days. Here we meet the characters and the city of Vetusta. It is a costumbrista exhibition on Spanish society.
• In the second part This is when we will learn more about Ana's desires and the reasons why she decides to be unfaithful to her husband are described. After the infidelity, Ana will be socially marginalized and stigmatized.

The topics that are discussed in La Regenta were very controversial at the time as he launched a criticism of the supposed Spanish morality. He talked about topics like the dubious morality of the church, adultery, abuse of power, and so on.

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We continue to know the most outstanding works of Leopoldo Alas Clarín to talk about Doña Berta, another novel that also had great significance in the literature of the time. The story told here is that of a Single woman who lives in a rural town in Asturias. She lives with her maid and is the last person of a traditional and conservative family.

Although she is a single woman, she is not a virgin and in fact, she has a son that he conceived with a general from the Carlist war. They were engaged, but the man died in the war, leaving Berta unmarried and with a son that she could not raise because her brothers took him from her hands.

Berta will meet a painter, who will become a friend of hers, and he will tell her the story of a captain who also died in the war, but not in the first, but in the second.

Clarín was also an outstanding short story and, in the production of it, we find very interesting stories such as "El gallo de Sócrates". This story that places us in Athens and that tells us history of Socrates, the Greek philosopher, in his days in prison. Leopoldo Alas Clarín tells us how Socrates awaited his last days in prison, an incarceration that took place for having denied divine beliefs and being accused of corrupting the society.

Although Crito tries to save Socrates from his fatal outcome, he does not want his money nor does he want to use his position to corrupt judges or prisons. A faithful defender of the laws, Socrates continues to defend them, even when they go against him. His righteousness and his ideology had left Socrates on the verge of death, in prison and without any hope.

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We finish this review of the most important works of Clarín to talk about another story that has become one of the most studied in schools and institutes. "Bye, Lamb!" is a story that is part of the compilation "The Lord and the rest" which has written accounts between 1852 and 1901.

This story stands out from the rest because it is the most lyrical and has a neat and emotional style. The plot tells us the story of two twins who live in a town in Asturias and who they take care of a cow, whose name is Cordera. His family is very humble and much of his money depends on what Cordera gives.

In this town you begin to see the traces of the technology of the time, like telephone poles, and twins are very interested in all technical innovations. A story that shows the two Spains that existed at the time and that, in addition, links the story with the relationship that the two children have with their cow Cordera.

As the years go by, the brother has to go to the Carlist war. The farewell between the brothers will be equated with the farewell they had to do to their cow when he went to the slaughterhouse: a symbol of how society can destroy everything, even feelings.

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