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The Spanish Debate Over Idealism and Realism Before the Impact of Zola's Naturalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Gifford Davis
Gifford Davis*
Affiliation:
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
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Abstract

In the middle 1870's a polemic concern in the daily and periodical press over idealism and realism anticipates Spain's later reception of naturalism, and reveals the general affiliations of Valera's art for art's sake and of Alarcón's moralism. Earlier hostility to French influence now permeates neo-Kantian concern for the relative merits of the good (idealism), the true (realism), and the beautiful (art for art's sake). Philosophical and literary debate is twisted by the quarrel of liberals and neo-Catholics. Much writing was stimulated by the debates in the Ateneo in 1875 and 1876 over the effects of realism in the theater. Many intellectuals took part, including Revilla and Valera. The summary position is one of essential idealism ready to compromise to meet the scientific age. The polemic of Navarrete and Vidart over Pepita Jiménez (1874) is an early manifestation of this debate, and the quarrel of the liberals and neo-Catholics over Alarcón s reception to the Academy (1877) reduces the polemic to bitter argumentum ad hominem. One of the early reports of Zola's naturalistic writings (also in 1877) shows that the “cuestión palpitante” was an immediate and intensified continuation of the debate.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 84 , Issue 6 , October 1969 , pp. 1649 - 1656
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1969

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References

1 For this debate over naturalism, see Gifford Davis, “The Critical Reception of Naturalism in Spain before La cuestiôn palpitante,” ER, xxii (1954), 97–108; and “The ‘Coletilla’ to Pardo Bazân's Cuestiôn palpitante,” HR, xxiv (1956), 50–63. See also Walter Pattison, El naturalisme espanol (Madrid, 1965).

2 Pedro de Alarc6n, Juicios literarios y arlisticos, in Obras, xi (Madrid, 1922), 92.

3 Alarcón, pp. 96, 99.

4 Revista de Espana, iv (1868), 108. Salvador Lopez Gui-jarro was a publicist and politician, diplomat, deputy, and civil governor, editor in many of the newspapers of his period, and a skillful polemicist.

5 Revista de Espana, viii (1869), 634. Fernando Cos-Gay6n was a conservative politician and economist, newspaper editor, theater critic, and member of the Ateneo.

6 “Poetas liricos del siglo xviii,” Revista de Espana, xi (1869), 616–631.

7 Iluslraciôn Espanola y Americana, 8 April 1874, p. 207. Manuel de Revilla (1846–81) was a frank, even harsh, critic and writer of great erudition and judgment. He was a liberal, though a hater of French realism, and one of the most respected debaters of the Ateneo. Further samplings of this Francophobia can be found in Abdon de Pozo, “La novela espanola—estudio histórico filosófico desde su nacimiento a nuestros dias,” Revista de España, x (1869), 98–116; Patricio de la Escosura y Morrogh (writer, critic, academician), “Adolfo Belot, Mujer de fuego,” Imparcial, 14 Dec. 1874; Manuel de Revilla, “Revista critica,” Revista Contemporânea, 15 Dec. 1875; Pico de la Mirândola, “Cartas de lunes,” Imparcial, 8 Feb. 1876; Arturo Bel Asa, “La semana en Paris,” Imparcial, 4 Dec. 1876.

8 Francisco Pi y Margall, “Del arte y su decadencia en nuestros dias,” Revista de Espana, xxxvi (1874), 441–449. Pi y Margall, distinguished statesman, jurist, scholar, and writer, must have just relinquished his direction of the First Republic when he wrote this.

9 Revista Europea, xlix (Jan.-Feb. 1875), 425–429; 465–468; 493–501; 528–535, a total of forty-eight columns. Emilio Nieto was a statesman and writer, director of the Nacion, profesor auxiliar of the Univ. of Madrid, civil governor of the Canaries, and deputy to the Cortes.

10 The treatment of the good, the true, and the beautiful came to the Spanish intellectuals through Krause, Hegel, Schelling, and Victor Cousin. The German influences are in general proclaimed by the debaters; that of Victor Cousin is attested by Luis Araujo Costa, Biografia del Ateneo de Madrid (Madrid, 1949), p. 50:“Su [Cousin's] libro Delo verdadero, de lo hello y de lo bueno, publicado en 1853, nos enamora todavia y pone en nuestra alma el contento de ascender a regiones etéreas de perenne luz.”

11 The summaries appeared in Vol. iv (1875), pp. 115–119, 194–199, 273–274, 318–320, 400, 475–479. The authorship is ascribed by Victoriano Garcia Marti, El Ateneo de Madrid (1835–1035) (Madrid, 1948), p. 147.

12 Meeting of 13 March. The summary appeared in Revista Europea, 21 March 1875, pp. 115–117. Montoro was a Cuban writer and critic, who, while in Spain, published in a number of Madrid dailies, edited the Revista Contempordnea, and shone in Ateneo debate. In Cuba, he was a member of the cabinet, and served as Cuban minister to England.

13 Revista Europea, 21 March 1875, pp. 117–118. Mariano Calavia was a doctor, publicist, and writer.

14 Revista Europea, 4 April 1875, p. 194. Francisco de Paula Canalejas was a philosopher, professor, orator, member of the Real Academia, and for some years president of the literary section of the Ateneo. His speech is amusingly slighted by the summarizer, who says that his attention wandered.

15 Revista Europea, 4 April 1875, p. 197. This Rayon is quite possibly Damiln Mencndez Rayon, public functionary, achivero of the Ministry of the Hacienda, and collaborator in many periodicals on economic matters.

16 Revista Europea, 18 April 1875, pp. 273–274. Luis Vidart y Schuch was a soldier, deputy, member of the Academia de la Historia, poet, novelist, dramatist, and critic.

17 Revista Europea, 25 April 1875, pp. 318–320. José de Moreno Nieto was a distinguished judge, statesman, and professor of Arabic. He became rector of the Univ. of Madrid, and was for several years president of the Ateneo, and also of the Real Academia de Jurisprudencia.

18 Revista Europea, 23 May 1875, pp. 475–476. José de Navarrete y Vela-Hidalgo was a soldier and writer in various genres.

19 Ricardo Beltrân Rozpides (of the Sociedad Geogrâfica de Madrid, and of the Real Academia de la Historia) in “; Qué es el arte dramâtica?” Globo, 13 Dec. 1875, makes a rapid, excellent summary of the point of view of the eclectic idealists. See also Jacinto Octavio Picon, “Arte y Libertad,” Globo, 16 June 1875, and Javier Galvete de Molina, “Neo-Kantismo en Espafia,” Globo, 31 July 1876.

20 Ilusiraciân Espanola y Americana, Dec. supplement, 1875, pp. 402–404.

21 Taking part in this debate, according to the summarizing speech of Francisco de Paula Canalejas, were José Acalá Galiano, Paul Vidart, Manuel de Revilla, Juan Valera, Fernandez Jimenez, Rodriguez Correa, Nunez de Arce, Rafael Montoro, Reus, Burel, and Menéndez Rayon.

22 Revista Europea, in (9 April 1876), 274–275.

23 La poesia dramâtica en Espana—discurso pronunciado por D. Francisco de Paula Canalejas en el A leneo de Madrid, la noche de 27 de mayo de 1876 (Madrid, n.d.; bound in Vol. 210 of Folletos of the Ateneo).

24 “Se halla decadencia en el teatro espafiol,” Revista Con-lempor&nea, 30 March 1876. José Acalâ Galiano was a poet, humorist, translator of Byron, freethinker, and supporter of advanced philosophical views.

25 Revista Europea, 1 April 1877. Aureliano J. Pereira was an editor and writer. 26 Orden, Diario Repuhlicano, 28 June 1874.

27 “Pépita Jimenez por D. Juan Valera, al Sr. D. José Navarrete,” Orden, 5 Aug. 1874.

28 “Polémica sobre el concepto del arte. Al Sr. D. Luis Vidart,” Orden, 11 Aug. 1874.

29 “Recuerdos de una polémica acerca de la novela, Pépita Jiménez,” Revista de Espana, lui (28 Nov. 1876), 269–284.

30 “Discurso sobre la moral en el arte,” Juicios, pp. 7–58. This first appeared the same day that it was delivered in Revista Europea, iv, 25 Feb. 1877; and also in Globo, 26, 27, 28 Feb., 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 March 1877.

31 Globo, 2, 5, 7, 10, 16, 17 March 1877.

32 “El arte por la belleza, a José Navarrete,” Globo, 21, 2S, 26 April 1877.

33 Globo, 25 April 1877. Vidart continued by extending this attack against the influence of religion in art to include all philosophers and even the temporal opponents who would use art for propaganda.

34 “La moral en el arte,” p. 10.

35 “Discurso de D. Cândido Nocedal de la Academia Espafiola, contestando al de entrada de D. Pedro de Alarcón,” Siglo Future, 26 Feb. 1877.

36 “La Academia Espafiola,” Siglo Futuro, 26 Feb. 1877.

37 That there had been anticipation and fear of this conversion among the liberals seems indicated by the introduction to Alarcón's discourse by the editor of Revista Europea, 25 Feb. 1877. “El discurso del Sr. Alarcôn constituye un verdadero acontecimiento (como demostrarân sin duda al-guna las criticas a que dé lugar) y en este concepto nuestros lectores nos agradecerân que lo demos a luz al mismo tiempo que se esta leyendo en la Academia.”

38 “Bromazo diario para musicos y danzantes,” 25 Feb. and 2 March 1877. Eladio Lezama was an editor and collaborator in several newspapers of the epoch.

39 “Verdades como punos (con motivo del discurso pronun-ciado por el Sr. Alarcôn sobre La moral en el arte)” Solfeo, 4 and 14 March 1877.

40 “Revista critica,” Revista Conlempordnea, 15 March 1877, pp. 121–124.

41 “Cartas Parisienses,” Ilustracion Espanola y Americana, 22 March 1877, pp. 189–190.