Eduardo Lopez Bago: "Radical naturalism" and the representation of women in his novels.
Item
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Title
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Eduardo Lopez Bago: "Radical naturalism" and the representation of women in his novels.
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Identifier
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AAI9908350
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identifier
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9908350
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Creator
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Reeves, Sharon Levette.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Andres Franco
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Romance | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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This dissertation acknowledges and examines the literary, social and ideological contributions of Eduardo Lopez Bago (1853 or 1854-1931), a Spanish naturalist novelist virtually unknown today, but who distinguished himself as a popular and controversial late nineteenth-century secondary writer. His seventeen naturalist novels published between 1884 and 1895 expose and denounce the worst human vices and societal injustices in: politics, prostitution, the penal system, bullfighting, the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie and the Catholic Church. Lopez Bago's novels earned him commercial success, severe criticism and censure. His descriptions of the sordid and repugnant, and his provocatively erotic novels satisfied the literary tastes of certain sectors of the reading population, but offended the Establishment's sense of decency and good taste in literature.;The Introduction includes the "Status of Bibliographical Studies Published on Lopez Bago in the Twentieth Century," and Chapter I details the author's life and career. The remaining chapters address the dissertation's two primary objectives.;Chapter II defines and characterizes "Radical Naturalism," Lopez Bago's literary and ideological interpretation of Zola's doctrine. As Zola's most avowed advocate in Spain, Lopez Bago was, perhaps, the first Spaniard to purposely endeavor to denounce his contemporaries' eclectic interpretation of Naturalism in favor of the complete acceptance of a very polemic doctrine of foreign origin.;Chapters III and IV are devoted to an analysis of "La prostituta," the novelist's tetralogy against professional female prostitution. The tetralogy documents the progressive physical, moral and psychological degeneration of the two protagonists, innocent young women incapable of defending themselves against the toxic forces in their environment. Chapter III focuses on Estrella Sanchez, the proletarian heroine of the first two novels: La prostituta (1884) and La Palida (1885); Chapter IV concerns Rosita Perez, the heroine from the lower middle class and the protagonist of the remaining novels: La buscona (1885) and La querida (1886). In keeping with Lopez Bago's reformative mission, the tetralogy underscores the necessity of formal education and updated vocational training for women, especially those from the lower strata, and calls for a radical transformation in society's misperceptions and mistreatment of proletarian and "fallen" women.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
