La Regenta
La Regenta (1884–1885), a two-volume novel by Leopoldo Alas , “Clarín”; German The President , in the translation by Egon Hartmann, with an afterword by Fritz Rudolf Fries, Frankfurt a. M .: Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, 1987 (licensed edition of Insel-Verlag 1985, ISBN 3-458-14283-5 - originally Berlin / GDR 1971); 3rd edition Suhrkamp 1991, ISBN 3-458-16162-7 .
This novel by the Spanish author Leopoldo Alas (1852–1901), who became known under his pseudonym “Clarín” , surpasses everything that had existed in Spanish literature up to that point in terms of psychological analysis; Every single character is examined in detail in his behavior and made understandable in his innermost motivations, especially the main character Ana Ozores, "The President" (so called because she is the wife of the former court president Don Víctor de Quintanar).
Location
The action takes place in a fictional city called "Vetusta" (Latin: "the old one"); behind which, however, the city in which the author spent a large part of his life, Oviedo in northern Spain, can easily be seen . So the text was immediately understood by many members of the local society as a roman clef, which caused Clarín a lot of trouble.
subjects
The novel can be read as a typical adultery or seduction novel of the late 19th century; the main character, Ana Ozores, is often compared to Madame Bovary and Effi Briest . In addition, there are also striking allusions to the Don Juan theme, in the form of the irresistible womanizer Álvaro Mesía. Equally noteworthy and a taboo break for the time is the subject of the priest Don Fermín de Pas, who is in love, with all its sexual complexes. A line of tradition often found in Spanish literature also concerns the issue of the unequal (and therefore unhappily ending) marriage between a substantial older man and a young woman. Overall, the corrupt, hypocritical and hypocritical provincial bourgeoisie of the Spain of the time and especially the mendacious attitude of the clergy to sexuality are subjected to sharp criticism.
Narrative perspectives and techniques
La Regenta is usually referred to as a typically naturalistic novel because of its socially critical elements and its relentlessly demonstrative narrative technique . In between the lines, however, the initiated reader can certainly recognize humorous, satirical and ironic elements, an element that is otherwise rather alien to naturalism. Two constantly intermingling narrative levels make up the charm of the text, which on the one hand gives a sociogram of the society of Vetusta / Oviedo, on the other hand the very personal, intimate story of the regenta. In addition, the text could also be called a literary novel , as it contains numerous intertextual references to the dramas of honor Calderón and to the Don Juan myth.
In a famous opening scene, a bird's eye view of the various social classes is thrown from the towering tower of Vetusta Cathedral. The center of the city is the clergy, in the center of which is again the figure of the ambitious and power-obsessed magistral (vicar general) Don Fermín de Pas. The mainstay of the clergy is the local aristocracy . The urban bourgeoisie, including many nouveau riche, so-called “ Indianos ” (Spaniards who have returned after a lengthy stay in Latin America and who have made quick fortune there through dubious businesses), hopes to marry into the nobility or to buy a title; in addition, the petty bourgeoisie and workers are also represented, who, however, are only contemptuously regarded by the priest as sweaty and, moreover, dirty and repulsive misguided people, because they listen more to the socialists than to the humble sermons of the Catholic Church .
Feminist and psychological aspects
La Regenta can also be read as a woman's novel, one of the most progressive in 19th century Spain. Because of the precise history of the main character Ana, which is presented in an extremely detailed general confession right at the beginning , the author awakens an understanding of adultery in the readers that goes much further than z. B. with Gustave Flaubert in Madame Bovary . The outcome of the private tragedy is marked from the start by the unequal marriage between a spirited, sensual young woman and an elderly, cool, impotent, albeit good-natured and socially high-ranking man. In addition, there is the typical Catholic awareness of sin, which the regenta was cultivated according to tradition. Although admired by everyone, the young woman feels oppressed by the confines of her surroundings and restricted in her freedom of movement. Guided by her new confessor, she takes refuge in mystical religiosity, increasingly finds herself in a state of mystical rapture and is soon venerated like a saint. At the same time she is swarmed by Don Álvaro Mesía, a provincial Don Juan guy. When Ana discovers that her confessor is also erotically attracted to her, she turns away from him in horror, but for that very reason falls victim to the soulless and unscrupulous dandy, who was only attracted by it, the most beautiful and fascinating woman in Vetusta conquer. After the relationship becomes apparent, there is suddenly general hypocritical outrage - even the husband, who had previously been willing to tolerate, sees himself forced to act in accordance with the traditional code of honor and challenges the lover to a duel in which he dies contrary to all expectations. Álvaro flees to Madrid from further responsibility; however, Frígilis of all people, her husband's hunting friend who was also his second, stayed with her to protect her and bring her back to life. In the end, in the form of the backwards-told fairy tale of the Frog King , she is kissed awake from the fainting she fell into because her confessor, Don Fermín, did not want to take her confession from the acolyte Celedonio (from the opening chapter), whose Kiss her feels like the slimy, cold belly of a toad.
Film adaptations
- 1974 (directed by Gonzalo Suárez, leading actress: Emma Penella).
- 1995 TV adaptation (Director: Fernando Méndez Leite, leading actress: Aitana Sánchez-Gijón)