Emilia Pardo Bazán The Making of a Novelist

At the end of the nineteenth century Emilia Pardo Bazán was Spain's leading woman novelist and short story writer, and also a critic, journalist and fierce campaigner for women's rights. This book examines Pardo Bazán's growth into maturity as a novelist during the late 1880s and the 1890s. Hemingway argues against the convenient critical division of the author's works into an early 'Naturalist' and later 'spiritual' phase. Concentrating on four novels published during this time the author demonstrates that Pardo Bazán's writing shows an increasing interest in psychology; the ambiguity and irony evident in her treatment of characters' motivation show her a subtle critic of the claims of science to explain human behaviour, illustrated in the work of Zola and his followers. Dr Hemingway stresses Pardo Bazán's originality as a writer, deserving comparison with her compatriot Galdos and with contemporary French and Ruissian novelists. This wider perspective will make the book of interest to students of the European novel generally as well as those is Spanish studies.

Photograph of Emilia Pardo Bazán; Acknowledgements; Note on abbreviations; Introduction; 1. The development of Pardo Bazán's ideas on the novel in the 1880s; 2. Los pazos de Ulloa: Naturalism and beyond; 3. Insolación and Morriña; 4. Una cristiana - La prueba; 5. La piedra angular; 6. Doña Milagros; 7. Memorias de un solterón; Conclusion; Appendix I. A biographical sketch; Appendix II. Some French works in Pardo Bazán's personal library; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

At the end of the nineteenth century Emilia Pardo Bazán was Spain's leading woman novelist and short story writer, also a critic, journalist and fierce campaigner for women's rights. This book examines Pardo Bazán's growth into maturity as a novelist during the late 1880s and the 1890s.