Unamuno, the Reader, and the Hermeneutical Gap

Abstract

Unamuno's work is full of apostrophes to the reader, and in his novels we find fictional readers as well. Using a number of well-known novels as illustration, this article considers how Unamuno places the reader centre stage and how this rhetorical device functions in forcing the reader to face choices. Instead of simply making statements, Unamuno's texts ask questions in accordance with his theory that 'la novela la hace el lector'. In some ways Unamuno's narratives adumbrate the reader-response theories of the later twentieth century, not just by placing the burden of responsibility for meaning on the reader, but also in the way in which Unamuno attempts to create a reading community.