Spanish Literature Commons^™

El Movimiento Romántico En España: El Costumbrismo, Lo Gótico Y Su Recepción, Charlotte Parker

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This essay explores the history and development of the Romantic movement within Spain. Considering the historical context of the 18th century, topics such as the influences of the monarchy and the Catholic Church, the authors Mariano José de Larra and José Zorrilla and the literary works produced in this era are investigated. The presentation reveals unique aspects of romanticism within Spain. Additionally, it investigates how these themes were reflected in popular culture values. Finally, it examines the perception of a Spanish national identity, as well as the relationship between Spain and the rest of Europe.

Unha Vez Tiven Un Cravo (Once I Had A Nail), Roslie De Castro, Scott Cooper

Obsculta

Rosalia de Castro was a nineteenth-century Spanish Catholic writer now best-known for her novels, but her poetry is widely admired in the Spanish-speaking world as well. This devotional poem is written in the language of her native region of Galicia, and the translator hopes that this new version will awaken interest in Castro's work in the English-speaking world.

Two Stories, One War: Arturo Barea, George Orwell, And The Spanish Civil War, Autumn Howard

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

While studying abroad in Spain, I learned the Spanish Civil War is a controversial, even taboo, subject not broached outside the classroom, and this sparked a curiosity to know the truth. Both Arturo Barea and George Orwell wrote books about the Spanish Civil War based on their personal experiences in order to portray the truth as they lived it. This essay analyzes Spanish author Barea's La llama and George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia individually and comparatively. Both authors were immersed in similar experiences on paper, but their portrayal differs greatly. I discuss how various literary tools employed - insider versus …

Understanding How Women Navigated The Fight For Equality During The Second Republic And Transition-Era Spain Through Feminist Literature, Amanda Jeanette Pagoaga

Honors Theses

This paper explores how women navigated the fight for equality during the Second Republic and Transition-era Spain through the lens of feminist literature. Specifically, comparing and analyzing two books, Doble esplendor by Constancia de la Mora (1939) and Crónica del desamor by Rosa Montero (1979). Both books feature women in their thirties who work and explore themes of marriage and romantic love, friendship as a space of freedom, motherhood, working women, and politics against the backdrop of the ever-changing sociopolitical situation in Spain. Through close analysis of these works, the author examines how these women navigate gender roles and societal …

Deconstructing Biopolitical And Performative Modes Of Gender In Spanish Science Fiction, Emma Navarro

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This thesis investigates the distinctly Spanish works of science fiction created by Pedro Almodóvar and Elia Barceló through biopolitical and feminist frameworks. Utilizing the theories of feminist philosopher Judith Butler and sociologist Jemima Repo, we uncover associations between the fictional and theoretical that have seldom been studied in conjunction. The paper aims to demonstrate Almodóvar and Barceló’s unique narratives free from the confines of an unwavering gender stratum while simultaneously revealing the deteriorative effects of gender as a control apparatus. Deeply influenced by the post-Franco Madrid Movida movement, these creators exemplify the feminist ideals emerging from that progressive time, rejecting …

Characterization And The Aesthetic Representation Of Violence In The Graphic Novel "Esperaré Siempre Tu Regreso", By Jordi Peidro, Deirdre Kelly

Books/Book Chapters

The graphic novel, Esperaré siempre tu regreso (2016, Desfiladero Ediciones) by the author and illustrator, Jordi Peidro (Alcoy, 1965), is a biographical and historical text that centres on the life in exile of Francisco Aura Boronat (or Paco Aura, Alcoy, 1918-2018), a Spanish communist and Republican who survived the horrors of the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria. Drawing on comics studies and memory studies, the analysis will discuss how Peidro navigates ethical and aesthetic issues when representing traumatic and violent memories related to the Spanish experience of Civil War, exile and deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. Firstly, it will …

Pendulums Of Personhood? Exploring The Multitudes Of Immigrant Womanhood In Spanish-Maghrebi Literature, Kaitlyn C. Sisco

Honors Theses

Often considered articulations of in-between-ness and bearers of fraught selfhoods, the work of Spanish-Maghrebi authors has been widely debated in literary fields, with academics arguing that it constitutes a largely homogenous set of texts about the standard immigrant experience. However, by placing these texts in a single category, such arguments end up erasing the immensely varied identities expressed and represented by Spanish-Maghrebi authors. This thesis seeks to address this issue by paying particular attention to how Spanish-Maghrebi authors negotiate different types of immigrant subjectivities in their writing. Specifically, I analyze the works of three contemporary Spanish-Maghrebi writers, Najat El Hachmi, …

The Importance Of Letter Writing In The Letters Of Hernán Cortés, Gavin J. Maziarz

Student Publications

The various individual methods utilized by Hernán Cortés have been previously documented by multiple scholars. However, while the “tools” Cortés used—such as a reliance on legal precedent and religious allusions in the tradition of conquest rhetoric—to craft his narrative have been dissected, the use of those tools to create a narrative in letter format has not been discussed as much if at all by these scholars. While Cortés utilized previously established literary devices to prove his loyalty, his narrative was only as effective as it was because of his decision to place it in a literary format. This gave Cortés …

Being Portuguese In Spanish: Reimagining Early Modern Iberian Literature, 1580–1640, Jonathan William Wade

Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures

Among the many consequences of Spain’s annexation of Portugal from 1580 to 1640 was an increase in the number of Portuguese authors writing in Spanish. One can trace this practice as far back as the medieval period, although it was through Gil Vicente, Jorge de Montemayor, and others that Spanish-language texts entered the mainstream of literary expression in Portugal. Proficiency in both languages gave Portuguese authors increased mobility throughout the empire. For those with literary aspirations, Spanish offered more opportunities to publish and greater readership, which may be why it is nearly impossible to find a Portuguese author who did …

Propuestas Para (Re)Construir Una Nación : El Teatro De Emilia Pardo Bazán, Margot Versteeg

Purdue University Press Book Previews

Propuestas para (re)construir una nación explores how Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851–1921) imagines and engenders the Spanish nation in her theatrical production staged and/or published between 1898 and 1909. In the aftermath of Spain’s colonial losses, when Spain’s male authors, in a growing mood of collective introspection, directed their attention to the homeland, Pardo Bazán generated a series of theatrical proposals to revitalize the nation. In her plays, she manifests her ideas about Spain’s fin de siècle crisis, reflects on Spain’s place in the international arena (emphasizing the nation’s civilizing mission), critiques the intoxicating power of the so-called golden legend (Spain’s …

Posthumanism And The Representation Of Power Dynamics In Hispanic Graphic Novels, Savannah Campbell

Honors Projects

My focus in this research has been to use graphic novels, a literary medium that is often marginalized in both academic and cultural circles, to examine how posthumanism, specifically from the viewpoint of Spanish and Argentinian creators, allows readers to explore and critique various power dynamics.

Encuentro Con La Precariedad: La Reaparición Del Gitano En El Cine Documental Español De La Crisis De 2008, María Julia De León Hernández

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

In 2008, Spain’s financial crisis had a great impact on the primary sector on which the nation’s ‘economic miracle’ was founded: housing.Land speculation, the increase in housing construction, and easy loans had become one of the hallmarks of twenty-first-century Spanish identity. The crisis del ladrillo (“brick crisis”) plunged the national economy into chaos and condemned many Spanish citizens to job insecurity, loss of earning power, threat of eviction, and put them at high risk of social marginalization. This dissertation studies the unusual proliferation of documentary films during the years surrounding this economic downturn about the ghettoization of the Spanish Gypsy …

"Si Tú No Fueras Tan Poco, Yo No Sería Tanto": El Catolicismo Español, El Fanatismo Religioso Y El Atraso Intelectual, Karl Douglas Groneman

Master's Theses

The question of Spain's stagnation with respect to other European countries has intrigued academics for centuries. In this thesis, I will be focusing on the intellectual stagnation of Spain. Some blame said stagnation on the monarchy, on economic policies, or on a lack of standardized education. Despite all of these are contributing factors, one area that is worth investigating further is intellectual stagnation due to religious fanaticism.This thesis examines 9 texts from the late 1800s until the early 1900s (1870-1930). Many themes are present in this study: censorship, ideological exaggeration, clerical corruption, Church authority, the family, and spiritual consolation. I …

Camino A La Interseccionalidad: Una Aproximación Al Desarrollo De Ideas Feministas En La España Contemporánea, Kierra Mitchell

Scripps Senior Theses

Esta tesis utiliza la interseccionalidad como lente para hacer un análisis de los textos culturales y activistas para explicar cómo se manifiestan las ideas feministas en estos dos períodos cruciales de avance del feminismo en España: el primer cuarto del siglo veinte y las primeras décadas del siglo veintiuno. La interseccionalidad sirve como una prisma de análisis que permite entender los sistemas hegemónicos de poder. Esta tesis analiza ejemplos de textos y demandas que ilustran las preocupaciones y aparatos ideológicos que sustentan diferentes aproximaciones al feminismo en estas dos épocas. Un interés específico, en especial en la segunda parte, es …

Blaming The Victim: Deconstructing María De Zayas's Feminism, Jennifer Zundel

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

María de Zayas y Sotomayor (1591 – 1661?) was the best-selling author of two extant collections of novellas, Novelas Amorosas y Ejemplares (Exemplary Tales of Love) (1637) and Desengaños Amorosos (The Disenchantments of Love) (1647). Both collections, consisting of stories of love, marriage, and gendered violence between aristocratic men and women, are explicitly and unapologetically pro-woman. Zayas condemns systemic misogyny and calls for institutional inclusion and protection of women, earning her place as an early modern feminist. Despite her depictions of violence against women and her denunciation of patriarchal institutions, Zayas does not advocate for a radical restructuring of society. …

La Representación De Los Ecuatorianos En España: El Discurso Como Expresión De Poder, Racismo E Ideologías, Francesco Masala

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

This dissertation focuses on the representation of Ecuadorians in Spain between 2000 and 2015 in literature, film and the press. After enduring a decade of economic, climatic, and political problems, more than 175,000 Ecuadorians emigrated to Spain in 2001 alone (Herrera 2005). This process marked the beginning of a major migratory movement which has caused Spain to become a premier destination. The response to such migration has been disparate, yet both Ecuadorian and Spanish artists as well as the Spanish press have shown the different perspectives related to a discriminatory ideology. This dissertation focuses on three cultural products and three …

Feminist Strategies And The Advancement Of Women In 19th-Century Spain: Press And Freethinking, Benjamín García Egea

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation reexamines the rise of feminism in 19th-century Spain. In this historical context, the female writers who received recognition were mostly from the upper-middle classes: Fernán Caballero, Rosalía de Castro, Concepción Arenal and Emilia Pardo Bazán, to name a few. However, at the end of the 19th century there was also a group of female authors from lower-middle classes who were promoting freethinking, secular education and equal rights for women in the press. Unfortunately, their contributions have been largely forgotten and ignored by critics. The main purpose of this study is to give well-deserved recognition to three female authors, …

China And The Politics Of Cross–Cultural Representation In Interwar European Fiction, Carles Prado-Fonts

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "China and the Politics of Cross–Cultural Representation in Interwar European Fiction" Carles Prado-Fonts analyzes Joan Crespi's La ciutat de la por (The City of Fear, 1930) to illustrate the varied representations of China in interwar Europe. In the 1920s and 1930s, a plurality of views on China and the Chinese people became widespread across different parts of Europe, mainly shaped by English, French, and German representations. Contradictory images of China coexisted in literature, thought, and popular culture. Crespi's work exemplifies these contradictions: China appears as both an attainable reality and an unreachable fantasy, two tropes that prevailed …

Tabaquismo: ¿Negocio Y Forma De Identidad Cultural?, Caroline Zuhone

Modern Language, Literature, and Culture Honors Theses

España es un país con un nivel de desarrollo similar a los Estados Unidos, no obstante, a pesar de su inserción dentro de los países del primer mundo tiene un índice que no se corresponde con esta categoría, una gran parte de su población usa tabaco frecuentemente. Con la actualización de muchos trabajos científicos que explican los efectos negativos del tabaco y su difusión pública, en los Estados Unidos se ha logrado que muchas personas dejen de fumar. No ha sucedido lo mismo en España, allí muchos españoles siguen consumiendo tabaco desestimando la difusión de los mismos estudios científicos. El …

Franco, Pedro Y El Género, Kaleigh E. Hoffman

Honors Theses

El franquismo no dejaba de existir después de la muerte de Franco. Mientras las reglas de censura oficiales desaparecieron con el fin de la dictadura, sus rasgos permanecían, en términos de la vida social, además del cine. La influencia de Franco en el cine determinaba que los conceptos de la masculinidad y la feminidad no tenían espacio para interpretación. De hecho, durante la dictadura, el cine franquista reflejaba la rigidez de género y la falta de expresión. No había aprobación de cine que demostrara la homosexualidad, las personas transgénero ni la fluidez de género. De la represión, sin embargo, emergió …

A Case For Empathy: Immigration In Spanish Contemporary Media, Music, Film, And Novels, Constantin C. Icleanu

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

This dissertation analyzes the representations of immigrants from North Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe in Spain. As engaged scholarship, it seeks to better the portrayal of immigrants in the mass media through the study of literature, film, and music about immigration spanning from the year 2000 to 2016. Because misconceptions continue to propagate in the media, this dissertation works to counteract anti-immigrant, xenophobic representations as well as balance out overly positive and orientalized portrayal of immigrants with a call to recognize immigrants as human beings who deserve the same respect, dignity, and rights as any other citizen.

Chapter 1 …

Science Fiction In The Spanish University: The Boundaries That Need To Be Broken, Sara Martín

Alambique. Revista académica de ciencia ficción y fantasía / Jornal acadêmico de ficção científica e fantasía

The aim of this article is to trace what Rosi Braidotti calls an ‘accurate cartography’ as regards the limited space that science-fiction occupies in the Spanish university. SF has not yet overcome in Spain what Brian Baker has called its ‘crisis of legitimation’. Teaching this genre and doing research on it is, hence, still conditioned within our national borders by boundaries broken in the Anglo-American university many decades ago. Here I examine these boundaries, paying special attention to the institutional limitations preventing scholars from introducing innovations in teaching and research. Another main barrier, as I argue here, is the lack …

Psychological Pathology And Aging In Cervantes’S Don Quixote De La Mancha, Ida Sudol

Hispanic Studies Honors Papers

Miguel de Cervantes wrote his most famous work, Don Quixote de La Mancha, in a prison cell after a life of great misfortune. The work he created, however, changed his fate, and to this day lives on as one of the most-read pieces of all time. Unique to Cervantes’s literary creation is the applicability of its themes across history. Though the setting is 16th-Century Spain, the topics of the work include aspects of psychopathology, personality, and aging. This synthesis of psychology, philosophy, and human character outlines concepts that would benefit clinicians in their understanding of geriatric patients, which is among …

Eating Spain: National Cuisine Since 1900, Matthew J. Wild

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

Analyzing cookbooks, gastronomic guides, literature and film, this dissertationoutlines the creation of a Spanish national cuisine. Studying the works of Carmen de Burgos, Emilia Pardo Bazán, Dionisio Pérez, Ana María Herrera, Juan Mari Arzak and Ferrán Adrià among others, the project examines the evolution of this nationalist discourse by identifying common and recurring themes in an effort to extrapolate and describe the historical and cultural evolution of food from 1900 to the present day.

Within the framework of Food and Cultural Studies, this project treats cookbooks, culinary manifestos and guidebooks as texts. Influenced by a variety of culinary and gastronomic …

Estudio Y Edición De La Más Constante Mujer De Juan Pérez De Montalbán, Philip Allen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

La más constante mujer is a Spanish Golden Age play written by Juan Pérez de Montalbán in 1631 and published for the first time in 1632. Although he was once one of the most famous playwrights in Madrid, known for running in the same literary and social circles as Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca, the bulk of the dramatist's work has been greatly ignored by scholars, or is referred to as being of second rate, and the author himself has nearly tragically been forgotten throughout the centuries following his short life. Although research has been conducted to …

Ortega: Secrecy And The World, Stephen D. Gingerich

World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Comedia Of Virginity: Mary And The Politics Of Seventeenth-Century Spanish Theater, Elizabeth Lehfeldt, Mirzam Perez

History Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Knowing Subjects: Cognitive Cultural Studies And Early Modern Spanish, Barbara Simerka

Purdue Studies in Romance Literatures

In Knowing Subjects, Barbara Simerka uses an emergent field of literary study-cognitive cultural studies-to delineate new ways of looking at early modern Spanish literature and to analyze cognition and social identity in Spain at the time. Simerka analyzes works by Cervantes and Gracían, as well as picaresque novels and comedias. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, she brings together several strands of cognitive theory and details the synergies among neurological, anthropological, and psychological discoveries that provide new insights into human cognition. Her analysis draws on Theory of Mind, the cognitive activity that enables humans to predict what others will do, feel, …

Literary Africa: Spanish Reflections Of Morocco, Western Sahara, And Equatorial Guinea In The Contemporary Novel, 1990-2010, Mahan L. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

This dissertation analyzes the strategies that Spanish and Hispano-African authors employ when writing about Africa in the contemporary novel (1990-2010). Focusing on the former Spanish colonial territories of Morocco, Western Sahara, and Equatorial Guinea, I analyze the post-colonial literary discourse about these regions. This study examines the new ways of conceptualizing Africa that depart from an Orientalist framework as advanced by the novelists Lorenzo Silva, Concha López Sarasúa, Ramón Mayrata, María Dueñas, Fernando Gamboa, Montserrat Abumalham, Javier Reverte, Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa, and Donato Ndongo. Their works are representative of a recent trend in Spanish letters that signals a literary focus on …

Exhumándo La Memoria: La Memoria Histórica Español Tras El Cine Y Los Periodicos, Jillian Kate Raftery

CMC Senior Theses

(In Spanish) The Spanish Civil war isn't over in the hearts and minds of the people of Spain; rather, it is still being fought in the ideological realm of historical memory. Originally explored in literature and film, the theme of historical memory has not only become more visible and more explicit, but has taken the leap from art and literature into the political realm to become one of Spain's most pressing political issues.