Political and Gender Dialectics in Three Nineteenth-Century Spanish Novels of the Bourbon Restoration (1874-1931)

This book analyzes the three most iconic realist Spanish novels of the nineteenth century as a dialogue between their authors about gender and politics in the context of the Sexenio Democrático and the subsequent second Bourbon restoration, providing an understanding of the dynamics that shaped one of the most formative periods of Spanish history. This book aims to show that three of the most iconic Spanish novels of the nineteenth century are connected to each other as a Krausist dialogue between their authors about politics and gender in the Spanish society of the Sexenio Democrático and the second Bourbon restoration. These novels are Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós, Los pazos de Ulloa by Emilia Pardo Bazán, and La Regenta by Clarín. Galdós’ novel presents a misogynistic liberal perspective in favor of the restoration’s centrist compromise, while Pardo Bazán and Clarín defend women’s rights and criticize the restoration’s cynical politics. Pardo Bazán and Clarín each approach their side of the dialogue from their own ideological perspectives. The former presents a conservative, absolutist case while the latter presents a republican, radical case. This three-sided novelistic conversation highlights the ideological dynamics that are crucial for an accurate and nuanced understanding late nineteenth-century Spanish politics.