Spain in the Nineteenth Century

The nineteenth century in Spain was a whirlwind of political upheavals, as the nation grappled with shifting forms of governance. At the momentous time of Unamuno's birth in 1864, the country was under the constitutional monarchy of Queen Isabella II. However, the tides of change swept through with the 1868 revolution, which cast Isabella II into exile. As the revolution waned in 1870, Amadeo, an Italian prince, ascended as Spain's monarch in yet another constitutional monarchy. Yet, the stability was fleeting; in 1873, Amadeo abdicated amidst a revolt, and Spain ventured into the brief experiment of the First Republic. This nascent republic foundered by 1875, paving the way for Alfonso XII, Isabella II's son, to assume the throne, and the Constitution of 1876 reinstated the constitutional monarchy. The circle of monarchy completed in 1885 with the young Alfonso XIII taking the crown after Alfonso XII's death.

The Spanish-American War

In his thirties, Unamuno witnessed the turbulent years of the Spanish-American War, spanning from 1895 to 1898. This conflict centered around Cuba, Spain's long-held colony, where cries for independence crescendoed into rebellion, a force Spanish arms could not quell. The United States cast its lot with the Cuban insurgents in 1895, bringing military might to the cause, culminating in a devastating defeat for Spain. The ensuing peace treaty was a bitter pill, stripping Spain of its colonial jewels, including both Puerto Rico and Cuba. The sun set on Spain's once-vast empire, leaving only the Canaries and Morocco under its dominion.

Spain in the Twentieth Century

As Europe was engulfed in the flames of World War I (1914–18), Spain managed to stay aloof, officially neutral, and thus spared from the continent's widespread devastation. From 1885 to 1923, Spain enjoyed relative governmental stability under a constitutional monarchy, until King Alfonso XIII entrusted Miguel Primo de Rivera with dictatorial power, while retaining his ceremonial role. Yet, by 1930, Alfonso XIII compelled Rivera to step down, and the king's own unpopularity prompted his departure from Spain in 1931, effectively relinquishing his reign. This departure heralded the Second Republic, born with a fresh constitution but destined to last only until the civil war erupted in 1936.

The Spanish Civil War saw the nation torn asunder between the right-wing Nationalists led by General Francisco Franco and the Loyalists aligned with the left-leaning Republican government. The Nationalists drew sustenance from fascist allies in Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, while the Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union and garnered the support of international volunteers, notably Americans, rallying to their cause. Franco's triumph in 1939 ushered in his authoritarian regime, which persisted until his demise in 1975, thereafter King Juan Carlos I guided Spain into a peaceful transition to a democratic constitutional monarchy.

Spanish Literature

Unamuno stood as a towering figure among the Spanish literary luminaries of his era, part of the illustrious Generation of 1898. This group emerged in the wake of Spain's mortifying defeat in the Spanish-American War, as the empire crumbled, prompting soul-searching on Spain's national identity and place in the modern world. Alongside Unamuno were critics like Azorin and José Ortega y Gasset, novelists such as Pio Baroja and Vicente Blasco Ibanez, and the poets Juan Ramon Jimenez, Antonio Machado, and Manuel Machado.

Unamuno also witnessed the rise of the Generation of 1927, a wave of writers, predominantly poets, who drew inspiration from avant-garde movements sweeping early twentieth-century Europe, such as Futurism, Surrealism, and Symbolism. This literary vanguard included luminaries like Rafael Alberti, Vicente Aleixandre, Damaso Alonso, Luis Cernuda, Gerardo Diego, and the celebrated Federico Garcia Lorca.

The Roman Catholic...

The Nivola

Unamuno introduced the evocative term "nivola" to capture his unique approach to crafting tales. In his view, a nivola prioritizes the philosophical musings and inner dialogues of its characters over the backdrop of their narrative. "Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr" epitomizes this literary concept, where the characters are sketched through the prism of their spiritual turmoil, deliberately leaving out mundane life details. Through this approach, Unamuno shines a spotlight on the core theme of existential and theological introspection, with characters serving as vessels for exploring profound ideas about belief and skepticism.

Narrative Voice and Confessional Fiction

"Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr" unfolds through a first-person narrative lens, offering a singular character's vantage point. Angela, the storyteller, weaves the life of Don Emmanuel into a memoir, a personal tapestry of her reflections. This memoir doubles as "confessional" fiction, a genre where the narrative blossoms from the revelation of deeply private emotions or experiences. Angela harbors the "tragic secret" of Don Emmanuel's wavering faith, a truth she conceals from the bishop documenting his biography. Despite her intent to keep her memoir from the bishop's eyes, Angela feels compelled to pen this secret tale, confessing her awareness of the saintly Don Emmanuel's profound religious doubts.

Metaphor and Symbol

In "Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr," Unamuno skillfully weaves metaphors throughout the narrative, with the village's setting, "like a brooch between the lake and the mountain," serving as a vivid motif. Angela, the narrator, employs these metaphors to draw parallels between Don Emmanuel, the village, and their natural surroundings. Don Emmanuel is often likened to the landscape, "bearing himself as our Buitre Peak upholds its summit, with eyes mirroring the azure depths of our lake." The villagers' collective recitation of scripture is depicted as "a mountain with Don Emmanuel as its peak." Yet, at times, Don Emmanuel's voice "drowns within the populace's chorus, much like a voice submerged in a lake." These metaphors transform the mountain and lake into emblems of the community's spiritual essence, with Don Emmanuel as its guiding light.

A local legend speaks of a lost city beneath the mountain lake's surface. Lazarus likens this submerged city to Don Emmanuel's spiritual state, suggesting that "a city lies deep within Don Emmanuel's soul, awash and hidden." This buried city symbolizes the enigma of Don Emmanuel's beliefs, a labyrinth of faith and doubt regarding religion's true nature. Moreover, it signifies the village's enduring spiritual legacy. Thus, the ageless landscape becomes a metaphor for the eternal life promised by Catholic doctrine.

Epilogue

Unamuno appends an epilogue to "Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr," a brief yet illuminating section set apart from the main tale, offering reflections on the narrative itself. While the fictional Angela narrates the primary story, Unamuno takes the reins in the epilogue, speaking as himself, Miguel de Unamuno, the story's creator. Here, Unamuno cryptically refrains from divulging how Angela Carballino's memoir came into his possession. He then muses on the nature of fiction and reality, insinuating that perhaps the characters he conjured possess a vitality that eclipses even his own. Unamuno closes this epilogue with a poignant hope: that his characters might endure through time, even as their author fades into memory.

1930s

Throughout the 1930s, Spain undergoes profound governmental upheavals. The curtain falls on Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, which began in 1923, as it concludes in 1930. This ushers in the era of the Second Republic, a nascent government that stands from 1931 until the flames of conflict ignite the Spanish Civil War in 1936. By 1939, as this civil strife draws to a close, Francisco Franco emerges as the nation's new authoritarian leader.

Today

In the present day, Spain flourishes as a constitutional monarchy. King Juan Carlos I fulfills the role of head of state under a constitution ratified in 1978. The prime minister, meanwhile, governs alongside the Cortes Generales, a bicameral parliament composed of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate. Parliamentary members are chiefly elected through the democratic process of universal suffrage.

1930s

As the world plunges into war in 1939, Spain boldly maintains its official stance of neutrality. Beneath this facade, however, lies clandestine support for the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—through most of the conflict. Yet, as World War II reaches its denouement, Spain subtly shifts its unofficial alliances towards the victorious Allies.

Today

Spain stands as a vibrant participant in global affairs, holding seats in major international organizations. Since 1955, it has been a member of the United Nations, joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1982, and entered the European Union in 1993, following its earlier inclusion in the European Community in 1986.

1930s

During the Second Republic's tenure from 1931 to 1936, Spain makes historic strides in secular governance by severing the ties between church and state. The educational landscape once dominated by the Catholic Church becomes a secular domain. Yet, the conclusion of the Civil War in 1939 sees Franco swiftly reestablishing the Catholic Church's influence, reinstating it as the endorsed national religion and reinstating church-led education.

Today

In contemporary Spain, the government continues to uphold a strict division between religious and state affairs, despite the majority of its population identifying as Roman Catholic. The public educational system remains entirely secular, reflecting modern Spain's commitment to the separation of church and state.

Sources

Kerrigan, Anthony, Introduction, in Abel Sanchez and Other Stories, by Miguel de Unamuno, Regnery/Gateway Press, 1956, pp. vii–xvii.

“Miguel de Unamuno,” in Encyclopedia Britannica, 2004, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, at http://search.eb.com/eb/ article?eu=76165 (accessed January 22, 2004).

Unamuno, Miguel de, “Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr,” in Abel Sanchez and Other Stories, translated by Anthony Kerrigan, Regnery/Gateway Press, 1956, pp. 207–67.

Further Reading

Basdekis, Demetrios, Unamuno and Spanish Literature, University of California Press, 1967. Basdekis provides critical discussion of the ways in which Unamuno’s stories, poems, and essays have influenced, and been influenced by, Spanish literature.

Enders, Victoria Loree, and Pamela Beth Radcliff, eds., Constructing Spanish Womanhood: Female Identity in Modern Spain, State University of New York Press, 1999. Enders and Radcliff offer a collection of essays by various authors on the social conditions of women in Spain during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These essays are organized into broad thematic categories, such as socio-cultural roles, work, and political conditions.

Esdaile, Charles J., Spain in the Liberal Age: From Constitution to Civil War, 1808–1939, Blackwell Publishers, 2000. Esdaile provides a history of Spain from the Spanish War of Independence in 1808 to the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939.

Shaw, Donald L., The Generation of 1898 in Spain, Barnes & Noble, 1975. Shaw provides an overview of the major works of literature by writers of Spain’s Generation of ’98 and discusses the influence of this group of writers on Spanish literature and culture.

Smith, Bradley, Spain: A History in Art, Doubleday, 1971. Smith provides a history of Spain from its early civilization through the twentieth century, focusing on pictorial documentation through painting, sculpture, and photography.

Valdes, Mario J., Death in the Literature of Unamuno, University of Illinois Press, 1964. Valdes examines the recurring theme of death in the poems, stories, and essays of Unamuno, focusing on Unamuno’s existential questioning of religious faith regarding the afterlife.

Vincent, Mary, Catholicism in the Second Spanish Republic: Religion and Politics in Salamanca, 1930–1936, Oxford University Press, 1996. Vincent examines the intersection of Roman Catholicism and the political climate of Spain’s Second Republic, focusing on the cultural and political context of the university town of Salamanca, where Unamuno lived and worked for much of his life.