EPISTOLARIDAD Y REALISMO: GALDÓS Y LA NOVELA MODERNA / EPISTOLARITY AND REALISM: GALDÓS AND THE MODERN NOVEL
Palabras clave:
Género epistolar, novela epistolar, novela realista, La incógnita, Tristana, La estafeta romántica, Epistolary genre, epistolary novel, Realist novelResumen
Los grandes autores del diecinueve fueron epistológrafos asiduos, cultivando todos ellos de modo prolífico el (in)discreto encanto de la amistad a través del correo, de manera que es natural que las posibilidades literarias de un género que imita una forma real de comunicación escrita les tentasen. Galdós desempeñaría un papel fundamental en el desarrollo de la novela epistolar, destacando las misivas insertadas en Tristana (1892), como ejemplo de cartas vis-à-vis, La incógnita (1889), modelo de novela confesional de un solo corresponsal, y La estafeta romántica (1899), muestra de la única novela epistolar polifónica del siglo XIX. Se trata de una producción epistolar que Galdós madura tardíamente para ensanchar los caminos de la epístola y de la novela moderna. El examen de la epistolaridad galdosiana revela una conciencia clara de las paradojas del discurso epistolar, y sugiere una relación fascinante entre realidad y ficción, y entre correspondencia personal y ficticia. / The major authors of the 19th century were conscientious epistolographers, prolifically cultivating the (in)discreet charm of friendship through the post. It therefore stands to reason that they would be tempted by the literary possibilities of a genre that imitates a real form of written communication. Galdós would play a fundamental role in the development of the epistolary novel, among whose best examples are the letters inserted in Tristana (1892), as an example of letters vis-à-vis, La incognita (1889), a confessional novel related by a single correspondent, and La estafeta romántica (1899), the only example of a 19th-century Spanish polyphonic epistolary novel. Galdós’s epistolary develops later in his career and advances both this genre and the modern novel. An analysis of Galdosian epistolarity reveals a clear awareness of the paradoxes of epistolary discourse, and suggests a fascinating relationship both between reality and fiction, as well as between personal and fictitious correspondence.
