La España rural de los años cuarenta y sesenta a través de dos novelas de Miguel Delibes : ‘El camino’ (1950) y ‘Los santos inocentes’ (1981)

Abstract

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was a military conflict that had a profound impact on the shaping of Spain’s history during the twentieth century. Upon the end of the war, the conservative faction led by Francisco Franco seized power and established a dictatorship. Franco’s rule is divided into two time periods. The first (1940s-1950s) saw Spain being cut off from the rest of the world after the defeat of Franco’s fascist allies, Italy and Germany, in the Second World War; the regime was severe and aggressive and conditions for civilians were miserable. The second period (from the 1960s till Franco’s death) was characterised by improved socio-economic conditions and a change in Spanish mentality as the country became less isolated. The aim of this dissertation is to contrast the story of Spain’s evolution during Franco’s dictatorship as historiography presents it to us with Miguel Delibes’s depiction of the same evolution in two of his best works: 'El camino' (1950) and 'Los santos inocentes' (1981). Even though historical writings indicate that between the first and second period of Franco’s regime, Spain experienced significant socio-economic progress, these two novels do not portray any such improvements. When contrasting historians’ outlining of the most important events of the two decades in question with the reality presented in both novels, one can note that Delibes inserts himself into the life of the common man and consequently, he adopts a more pessimistic vision in his novels, thus questioning that of the historians. The first chapter of this dissertation focuses on the author’s life, his literary career and the most striking themes in his writing. The second chapter provides a summary of official historical narratives regarding the period from the Civil war till the 1960s. Finally, the third chapter analyses and contrasts Delibes’ perspective with that of the historians to verify the hypotheses posed in this dissertation.