El naturalism tardio de Vicente Blasco Ibanez en cuatro novelas Valencianas: Zola en Espana

Abstract

This study proposes to establish the influence of the French Naturalist writer Emile Zola in four of the Valencian novels of the Spanish writer Vicente Blasco Ibanez. In order to achieve the stated goal, an extensive outline of the salient characteristics of Zola's Naturalism in the four works of the Spanish author has been formulated. The outline is followed for each chapter, illustrating the ever-increasing influence of Zola in subsequent works in the series. The four Valencian novels analyzed in this study exemplify the characteristics of Zolian Naturalism presented in the outline, among them expressionist and impressionist description, the battle between many protagonists and their environment and the problems presented by the historical moment in which they live, the materialist/determinist vision of life, and the symbolic significance of the characters and settings, just to list a few. The four novels studied in this dissertation are Arroz y tartana, Flor de mayo, La barraca and Canas y barro. A comparative/historical approach is used in order to observe the characteristic style of Emie Zola as seen in several of his novels, among them L'Assommoir and Germinal.