The Historical Memory in the Narrative Works of Manual Rivas

Abstract

Spanish Civil War with sanguinary massacre endured for three years (1936-1939), but its consequence has extended nearly forty years. During this time, Spain suffered the autocracy of the General Franco. Although the autocracy finished and Spain entered into the democracy, but it's very curious that there were a few of writers who have attended to lay open the essence of the fascist regime. Until recently, some writers, such as Maunel Rivas emphasizes the theme of the inhuman of the Civil War and the autocracy. Maunel Rivas in 1995 published his narration ”La lengua de las mariposas” in which he describes the terrific situations of the prewar and the cowardice of the human beings in face of fear. Later in the novel ”El lapis del carpintero”(1998), he presents the real events that occurred during the Civil War in order to accuse this war and exalt the humanity. In 2006, he goes on dealing with these themes in ”Los libros arden mal”, which is considered a trip to the essence of the Fascism, to expose one historical scene of the cultural destruction that was completed by the autocratic regime. According to the above-mentioned statement, this study aims to analyze how, Manuel Rivas uses his three narrations to portray temporal structure and the characters, which make them the historical memory.