In the case of Francisco Giner de los Ríos who dispensed with much of his master's obscure metaphysical terminology, retention of the organic image of society with its concomitant «toda persona se constituye necesariamente como Estado» (cited by Díaz, p. 84) is an indication both of the origins of his thought and of the relevance of that thought to Galdós. Thus, on the one hand, the Bronson-Alcott-like belief that education and the ethical reform of individuals must eventually redeem -one after another- the concentric collectivities of family, nation, and humanity. And, on the other, the judgement of art according to its degree of realization of «esa feliz armonía de lo general con el individual que es el que es el summum de la representación sensible». Estudios de literatura y arte, Madrid, 1876, p. 169. And, combining these two articles of faith, it follows that, since they are ordered in an identical fashion, the literature and art of the past are the best means («el más firme camino») for comprehending history and society. Indeed -as in the case of Galdós- they can be created specifically for this purpose. (N. del A.)

A comparison of the two movements must necessarily take into account Castro's concept of «vividura», the inherent structure of collective preferences and rejections which distinguish the on-going life of a people. Specifically the «idealism» of Christian Science is American because «it works»- or at least claims to work, while «krausismo» is a new form of an ethical preoccupation which goes back to the Poema del Cid and the «ome en si» of don Juan Manuel. Rejecting the degenerate forms of that «hombría» («machismo» and all that it represents), the «krausistas» proposed and indeed incarnated an ideal of inner ethical strength. It is curious to read Giner's scathing review of La familia de León Roch (Ensayos, pp. 64-77) based on the weakness, irresolution, inexperience, cowardice, and complacency of the supposedly «krausist» protagonist. In Krause's German, however, we find statements which would have pleased Mary Baker Eddy and her disciples: «Auch selbst die Pflege der Gesundheit und Herstellung der gestörten Gesundheit wird durch den Einfluss des Geistes, durch seine Wissenschaft und Kunst möglich; einmal, indem jeder Geist selbst auf seinen Leib heilend einwirken kann, dann durch die Heilkunst überhaupt, welche sowohl die Kräfte der Natur, als auch die Kräfte des Geistes kunstgemäss zur Heilung anwendet und leitet». Vorlesungen über psychische Anthropologie, ed. P. Hohlfeld and A Wünsche, Leipzig, 1905, p. 245. I should add immediately that this is only a minor aspect of Krause's belief that evil is abnormal and anomalous and that the essence of man is infinite spiritual perfectibility. Furthermore, a brief investigation indicates that those who have sought out the hidden «sources» of Christian Science never mention Krause as a possibility. Galdós in La desheredada only mentions mind sickness («El pensamiento se pone malo, como las muelas y el pulmón», 1086), but we should not forget the «miracles» of Nazarín... (N. del A.)

Prólogo a la tercera edición de La Regenta, Memoranda, Madrid, 1906. (N. del A.)

Discursos leídos ante la Real Academia Española de 7 y 21 de febrero de 1897, Madrid, 1897, p. 155. (N. del A.)

He goes on to characterize Fermín de Pas as representing «el estado eclesiástico con sus grandezas y sus desfallecimientos...» (1450). (N. del A.)

One of my favorites is a metaphor for Galdós' own creative process cited by Hinterhäuser (who compiles a minor anthology of his own) from Montes de Oca:

Los íntimos enredos y lances entre personas, que no aspiraron al juicio de la posteridad, son ramas del mismo árbol que da la madera histórica con que armamos el aparato de la vida externa de los pueblos, de sus príncipes, alteraciones, estatutos, guerras y paces. Con una y otra madera levantamos el alto andamiaje desde donde vemos en luminosa perspectiva el alma, cuerpo y humores de una nación....

(761)

Carmen Bravo Villasante cites a comparable example from the same novel (p. 106)- which is apparently a good hunting ground. (N. del A.)

Op. Cit. p. 1.66. Cited by López Morillas. (N. del A.)

A much shorter version of this study, actually a portion, was read at the MLA Conference of 1975 at San Francisco, under the title, «Doña Perfecta and the Ideology of Galdosian Criticism». (N. del E.)

[El aparato de notas del original aparece al final del artículo, en las páginas 51 a 58. (N. del E.)]

The aims of the present study do not call for a survey of, and commentary on, the various studies about the sources, form, content, theme, style and background of Doña Perfecta. For such a useful survey, see Hensley C. Woodbridge, «A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Doña Perfecta» (a chapter of his book on the Bibliography of Galdós) included in this commemorative issue of Anales galdosianos. (N. del A.)