Introduction
It might be stated that both realism and naturalism played a substantial role in the history of Spanish literature. Hence, the approaches of the founders of these genres are an appropriate theme to discover. It should be mentioned that French authors – such as Balzac and Zola – affected the Spanish ones to a visible extent. This paper aims to compare and contrast the characteristics of realism and naturalism advocated by Spanish and French writers.
Realism
A person, the main object of a realistic novel, does not tend to be a separate individual from society and the class. A realist studies a whole social fabric – infinitely diverse in its nature – in which each character is an essential particle. In Balzac’s The Human Comedy, there are more than two thousand significant and multilaterally studied characters. He claimed that “society resembled Nature,” and a particular aspect could not reflect its vital features (qtd. in Sotelo 17). Not only a person or relationships of people are covered by the author – the history of contemporary society is explored.
The concreteness and diversity of the language in Balzac’s works are associated with a new type of detail. The color of the house, the appearance of an old armchair, the creak of a door, and the smell of mold become significant and socially saturated signals. This is the imprint of human life and the comprehensive narration about it. Hence, realism’s primary goal is to show reality through routine experiences in real life. The image of the external appearance of things becomes an expression of the stable or changing mental state of humans. Balzac’s human science and the ability to penetrate into the internal system of people – young and old, the poor and rich, men and women – constitute the true wealth of The Human Comedy and his other noticeable works.
The works of Benito Perez Galdos were the ideological and artistic peak of classical realism of the XIX century in Spanish literature. Turning to literary activity on the eve of the revolution, Galdos aimed to comprehend the causes, content, and results of the revolution primarily; this made the writer turn to history. Galdos created the artistic canvas of the life of an entire nation for three-quarters of a century filled with wars and revolutions. These were characterized by the disappearance of some classes from the historic arena and the emergence of others. At the same time, Galdos deliberately narrows the focus of observation mainly on the middle class; that is, the bourgeoisie (Lissorgues). He claimed, “The people of Madrid are now very little known: … I would find huge drawbacks and would need a direct and natural study, extremely angry” (qtd. in Sotelo 35). An artistic study of the process of dying of the old and the affirmation of new society, and in particular a critical assessment of the social consequences, made the social content of Galdos’ works.
He uses exceptionally sharp colors, without any semitones, as well as accentuation in the appearance of the characters. Their personality has one leading feature, often emphasized by an ironic semantic name. His works belong to an openly biased social novel, and this is of characteristic to the whole style of the author (Bonet 8). At this point, two distinguishable features that contrast French and Spanish realism might be identified. First, it is the language – Balzac does not seem to use non-noble language to the same extent as Galdos. Second, the latter tend to focus on a particular social class – the bourgeoisie, while the former aspires to depict society as a whole.
Naturalism
Zola considered sensitive attention to new phenomena of social reality as his moral responsibility (contrary to the objectivist principles of his own theory), exposing pathos and implacable hatred of evil. The vulgarity in his works was combined with the relentless search for an alternative to bourgeois relations. Meanwhile, Zola’s faith in social progress was based on the belief in personal and spiritual values inherent in very human nature. The writer, as a theorist of naturalism, perceived this game of hereditary principles and physiological instincts essential. Thus, naturalism aims to apply the scientific principles of human nature and determinism to distinguish the objective reality. Zola stated that he aspired to “study temperaments, not characters” (qtd. Sotelo 27) – it allows assuming his dedication to naturalism. Emil Zola did not overcome these contradictions until the end of his life. As a critic, he not only created the theory of an experimental novel but also used the force of his art to destroy the misleads provided by bourgeois reality and morality.
Responding in his works to the main trends of modern life, Zola created a gallery of types characteristic not only of his time but also of bourgeois society at the beginning of the 20th century. A projection into the future is inherent in many of his works and is especially noticeable when he portrays new forms of capital and financial figures. Nevertheless, Zola claims that he dedicates himself to the analysis of “human machinery” (qtd. in Sotelo 28). It might be assumed that the author chose the way of combining the founding principles of realism and naturalism in his works, demonstrating a significant extent of balance between them.
Zola’s approach might be considered similar to the perception of a Spanish naturalistic novel by Clarin. The latter states that a man “is not only his head, and to study living, social being …; you need to see him in reality, moving in the natural environment” (qtd. in Sotelo 55). It means that Carlin supposed that the reliability of naturalistic assumptions could be provided only through the lens of uncovered reality. He emphasizes such an interception in his review of The Disinherited by Galdos, admitting a substantial and beneficial influence of the French literature on the Spanish one. He also notices the importance of indignation at the language of Galdos’ characters, which is characteristic of Zola’s works.
On the other hand, Pardo Bazan’s interpretation of naturalism differs from Zola’s one. She fully admitted the significance and heritage of Zola within the genre’s scope but claimed that her naturalistic formula “was longer, broader, and more human than his” (Davis 287). The essence of such a difference is that Pardo was catholic and was creating her naturalistic works through the prism of religion. She also claims that “naturalists are not utopian revolutionaries” – it indicates her firm segregation of realism and naturalism (qtd. in Sotelo 72). However, as Clarin, she emphasizes Zola’s contribution to the latter in the framework of his experimental novel and non-noble style and expressions of characters that reveal the nature of a person.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems reasonable to claim that French and Spanish realism and naturalism has a number of visible differences. Meanwhile, in the framework of realism, it was found that the characteristics of the authors from Spain and France differ from each other more substantially than within the naturalism scope. The primary distinction within the latter is the influence of the religion on the Spanish works.
Works Cited
Bonet, Laureano, “Galdós, crítico literario”, introducción a Benito Pérez Galdós, Ensayos de crítica literaria, Barcelona, Península, 1972, pp. 7-112.
Davis, Gifford. “Catholicism and Naturalism: Pardo Bazan’s Reply to Zola.” MLN, vol. 90, no. 2, 1975, pp. 282–287.
Lissorgues, Yvan. “El Realismo. Arte y literatura, propuestas técnicas y estímulos ideológicos.” Cervantesvirtual.com, Web.
Sotelo, Marisa. Realismo y Naturalismo en España. La novela. Antología de textos. Textos Docents, 2013.