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"The Swan of Vilamorta" by Emilia, condesa de Pardo Bazán As a woman of the arts, the countess was a talented and prolific writer. In this book, she takes readers to Spain in a tale about romance, mystery, and beauty. Taking place in the fictional Vilamorta, readers are taken on a dramatic adventure where rumors tear people apart and ruin reputations but where redemption is still possible for those who look for it.
Behind the pine grove the setting sun had left a zone of fire against which the trunks of the pine trees stood out like bronze columns. The path was rugged and uneven, giving evidence of the ravages wrought by the winter rains; at intervals loose stones, looking like teeth detached from the gum, rendered it still more impracticable. The melancholy shades of twilight were beginning to envelop the landscape; little by little the sunset glow faded away and the moon, round and silvery, mounted in the heavens, where the evening star was already shining. The dismal croaking of the frogs fell sharply on the ear; a fresh breeze stirred the dry plants and the dusty brambles that grew by the roadside; and the trunks of the pine trees grew momentarily blacker, standing out like inky bars against the pale green of the horizon. [pg 002] A man was descending the path slowly, bent, apparently, on enjoying the poetry and the peace of the scene and the hour. He carried a stout walking-stick, and as far as one could judge in the fading light, he was young and not ill-looking. He paused frequently, casting glances to the right and to the left as if in search of some familiar landmark. Finally he stood still and looked around him. At his back was a hill crowned with chestnut trees; on his left was the pine grove; on his right a small church with a mean belfry; before him the outlying houses of the town. He turned, walked back some ten steps, stopped, fronting the portico of the church, examined its walls, and, satisfied at last that he had found the right place, raised his hands to his mouth and forming with them a sort of speaking trumpet, cried, in a clear youthful voice: "Echo, let us talk together!"
Set against the background of civil unrest in the late 1860s after the overthrow of the monarchy - a period of turmoil, brief restoration, and the eventual triumph of the republicans in 1873 - the novel portrays the life of a young girl, Amparo, growing up in the streets of La Corufia, the city Dona Emilia knew so well from her own wanderings there some years earlier.
"Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921) was the most prolific and influential woman writer of late nineteenth-century Spain," write the editors of this volume in the MLA's Approaches to Teaching World Literature series. Contending with the critical literary, cultural, and social issues of the period, Pardo Bazán's novels, novellas, short stories, essays, plays, travel writing, and cookbooks offer instructors countless opportunities to engage with a variety of critical frameworks. The wide range of topics in the author's works, from fashion to science and technology to gender equality, and the brilliance of her literary style make Pardo Bazán a compelling figure in the classroom. Part 1, "Materials," provides biographical and critical resources, an overview of Pardo Bazán's vast and diverse oeuvre, and a literary-historical time line. It also reviews secondary sources, editions and translations, and digital resources. The twenty-three essays in part 2, "Approaches," explore various issues that are central to teaching Pardo Bazán's works, including the author's engagement with contemporary literary movements, feminism and gender, nation and the late Spanish empire, Spanish and Galician identities, and nineteenth-century scientific and medical discourses. Film adaptations and translations of Pardo Bazán's works are also addressed. Highlighting the artistic, social, and intellectual currents of Pardo Bazán's writings, this volume will assist instructors who wish to teach the author's works in courses on world literature, nineteenth-century literature, and gender studies as well as in Spanish-language courses.
The Cambridge Companion to the Spanish Novel presents the development of the modern Spanish novel from 1600 to the present. Drawing on the combined legacies of Don Quijote and the traditions of the picaresque novel, these essays focus on the question of invention and experiment, on what constitutes the singular features of evolving fictional forms. It examines how the novel articulates the relationships between history and fiction, high and popular culture, art and ideology, and gender and society. Contributors highlight the role played by historical events and cultural contexts in the elaboration of the Spanish novel, which often takes a self-conscious stance toward literary tradition. Topics covered include the regional novel, women writers, and film and literature. This companionable survey, which includes a chronology and guide to further reading, conveys a vivid sense of the innovative techniques of the Spanish novel and of the debates surrounding it.