Modernity as Representation: The Self-Reflexivity of the Spanish Realist Novel

Abstract

This article argues that the perception in Restoration Spain that modernity was constituted by representation allowed the Spanish realist novel to be self-reflexive without contradicting its claim to depict contemporary reality. It outlines how the Spanish realist novel critiques modernity’s conversion of reality into representation in relation to the following contemporary phenomena: social reform initiatives which imposed gender norms on women; the market economy including consumerism, fiduciary money, and the abandonment of the gold standard; and a fraudulent system of parliamentary representation.