Necessary Sacrifices: From Romanticism to Naturalism in Galdós’ Marianela

Abstract

Over seventy years ago Casalduero demonstrated that Galdós had based the main characters and basic plot features of Marianela on key ideas from Positivism, but he did not grasp Galdós’ nuanced and ambiguous position as regards progress at a time when the Industrial Revolution was impacting on Spain. A careful analysis shows that mining/geology and ophthalmology, as depicted in the novel, bring with them a complex series of benefits and disadvantages. Under threat are nature, the countryside, agriculture, and a traditional, rural way of life, elements with which Marianela herself is closely associated. Alongside this allegorical drama of the problematical onset of modernity, parts of the novel present a Romantic vision and tone, while other parts a Naturalistic perspective and style. I propose that there are various parallels here: between the attack on nature, the demise of Marianela, and the move away from Romanticism, between the spread of science and industry, the (relative) success of Carlos and Teodoro and the adoption of their methods, and the espousal of Naturalism, and finally, between the dynamics that link each of these together (thus: the implementation of strip-mining involves the destruction of countryside, the adoption of Naturalism involves the abandonment of Romanticism, etc.). The dénouement seems to accept the inevitability of ‘necessary sacrifices’, but not without reluctance and regret.