The emotional person

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The Emotional Man (Spanish El hombre sentimental ) is the fifth novel by the Spanish writer Javier Marías . It was published in 1986 by Editorial Anagrama Barcelona; the German translation by Elke Wehr was published in 1992 by Piper Verlag .

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A Spanish opera tenor meets three people on a train ride: the melancholy Natalia Manur, with whom he will fall in love; her husband, an imperious banker; and their companion Dato. In a hotel in Madrid he meets Dato, whose job it is to entertain Natalia and to make the time pleasant for her, since her husband cannot have time for her on his business trips. She had married him once because of her father and brother's financial hardship. Mediated by Dato, there are frequent meetings between the tenor and Natalia until the husband learns of the singer's intentions and intervenes. Finally, Natalia leaves her husband, who then shoots himself. Even the tenor will not be able to hold it.

The novel treats the subject of love from two sides, in the desire for love and in remembering love. The husband loved Natalia, but never met with approval. After the separation, his longing and desires had become hopeless. As the narrator in the novel, the tenor remembers the past events. He too could not keep love fulfilled. All he has left is the memory of her. A second theme in the novel is the discontinuity of modern man, which is also a reason for the waning of love. The trades of the traveling salesman and the singer, both of whom are constantly on the move, prevent the creation of a home and thus security. Marías impressively describes the depressing and melancholy character of constant travel. After the separation, the banker found himself at the mercy of this fate, which he could not bear. The singer, on the other hand, just as lonely as the banker, lives from the memory of love. Natalia finally broke out of melancholy twice and left the two tragic characters.

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German

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