Echegaray, and the Generation of 1898

Echegaray, and the Generation of 1898 

     Jose Echegaray, Spanish dramatist, was born in 1832 and died in 1916. He was awarded the nobel prize for literature in December 1904, and his defining work was “The Great Galeoto” (1895). His work has often been criticized for being undeserving of such a prestigious prize. During our unit on Echegaray, we briefly learned about the Generation of 1898 and how they were part of these critiques. I was interested to learn more about the Generation of 1898, which was a literary movement which emerged after the Spanish-American war, and contrast the works of these writers to the works of Echegaray.

     Echegaray’s chapter in “The Nobel Prize Winners: Literature” by Frank N. Magill provides background information on Echegaray, contextualizing his works and overviewing the critical reception he received at the time. Magill stated that although Echegaray may have been “the darling of the Spanish people…he was repudiated by the emerging new generation of writers, the Generation of 1898. Their outrage and response was immediate and bitter.” The award being presented to Echegaray seemed to these writers “a betrayal of all for which they had fought in their literary careers” (Magill 1987). In fact, several writers of the Generation of 1898 (often called simply “The Generation”) prepared a formal manifesto to present to the Nobel Committee to signify their ire with their decision. These writers included Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo, Rubén Darío, Pío Baroja, and Antonio Machado y Ruiz. Magill then goes on to comment on the more sympathetic response that some other critics had to Echegaray. They believed that Echegaray was awarded the Nobel Prize too late, because his theater did not belong in the modern period, and could not be held to represent the beginning of the twentieth century. Benavente, the second Spanish Nobel Prize winner, said that Echegaray “made multitudes think and feel….In half a century there is no theatrical writing that can compare with his in quantity, variety or creative force” (Magill 1987). 

     The Generation of 1898 in Spain included the novelists, poets, essayists, and thinkers who were actively producing works at the time of the Spanish-American War. For an overview on The Generation of 1898, I read a Britannica article. The article provides historical context for The Generation of 1898, including events which preceded this new generation and the characteristics of its members. The article also lists and describes some of the prominent figures of the movement. 

     The Generation of 1898 ranged from 1898-1910. The Generation sought to reinvigorate Spanish literature and restore it to a high level of intellectual prominence that it had been lacking for centuries (Britannica). It stemmed from the defeat of Spain by America in the Spanish-American war (1898), which left Spain shocked and stripped of Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. This led to an opportunity for Spain’s writers and thinkers to be introspective and analyze the problems of the country post-defeat. The term “The Generation of 1898” was coined by the literary critic Azorín around the turn of the century. The term was then applied to writers who focused on Spain, its heritage, and its new position in the modern world. It was not an organized movement or school, but rather a loose and diverse group of thinkers from different fields who aimed to jolt Spanish people “out of what they saw as apathy and restore a sense of national pride” (Britannica). The outcome of the work of The Generation of 1898 was a revitalization of Spanish literature and a new sense of gravity and purpose of the novel. These writers “elevated the essay- critical, psychological, philosophical- to a position of literary importance At the same time, they brought to Spain an awareness of foreign trends in literature and thought that enabled the Spanish people to reassess their own values in the context of the modern world, thus awakening a national consciousness that paved the way for Spanish cultural development in the 20th century (Britannica). 

     The third source I read while researching this topic was an article titled “THE SPANISH ‘GENERATION OF 1898’: I. THE HISTORY OF A CONCEPT” by a professor of Spanish Language and Literature at the University of Manchester, H. Ramsden (1974). In this article, Ramsden investigates the origin of the concept of The Generation of 1898. Ramsden describes the characteristics of that new generation through the eyes of contemporary commentators. He states, “...first, that it is a generation of protest against the social, moral and intellectual state of Spain, and secondly, that it is a generation that seizes eagerly on influences from abroad’ (Ramsden 1974). A Spanish novelist, essayist, and philosopher of the time, Miguel de Unamuno, observed the signs of a literary awakening, noting a “desintegración de antiguas categorías” and stated that “viejos y jóvenes son habitantes de distintos planetas” (Ramsden 1974). The generation was further characterized by their tendency towards idealism or utopianism. Thinkers such as Unamuno, Azorin, Baroja, and Maeztu drew a distinction between Modernism and the ideas of The Generation of 1898. It was narrower to them, and they often used the words “decadentismo” and “esteticismo”, and categorized it by the generation’s commitment to critical intellectualism. Of course, there were a lot of divisions and variety in the themes and values of each individual writer of The Generation of 1898. However, it can be broadly summarized by the above ideals. The Generation of 1898 contrasts heavily with Echegaray, who was producing works at the same time. After investigating some of the core concepts of the generation, it is easy to see why the writers of The Generation of 1898 would have taken offense to Echegaray’s selection as Nobel Prize winner. Echegaray tended to replicate or “revitalize” classic Spanish drama, whereas The Generation of 1898 aimed to do things that were new, different, and more auto critical of their country. 

 Bibliography Magill, Frank N. The Nobel Prize Winners: Literature. vol. 1, Pasadena, CA, Salem Press, 1987. “Generation of 1898 | Modernismo, Symbolism, Naturalism.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Generation-of-1898. Accessed 12 February 2024. Ramsden, H. (1974). the Spanish "generation Of 1898": I. The History Of A Concept. Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 56 (2):463-491.