Visor de obras.

The letters received by Galdós in the years 1899-1902 reveal considerable activity by the novelist to exploit the renewed interest in the Episodios nacionales aroused by the publication of the Third Series. Through Eugenio Sellés, he negotiated with Ruperto Chapí and then Amadeo Vives to try to make a zarzuela out of Un voluntario realista in the hope of profiting from the great popularity of the género chico.¹⁷⁹ Later, he toyed with the idea of converting Zaragoza, with the help of Carlos Fernández Shaw, into «un drama con acompañamientos e intermedios musicales, por el estilo de Peer Gynt».¹⁸⁰ These ventures in Madrid proved as unsuccessful as his attempt to break into the Paris market for feuilletons which were published regularly in the daily newspapers of the French capital. I wish to chronicle here the problems encountered by Galdós in his protracted dealings with the representatives of Le Temps.

On 28 April 1899, Arthur E. Houghton, the Madrid correspondent for Le Temps, wrote to Galdós seeking authorisation for his editor, M. Hébrard, to have translated into French «uno o más de los episodios nacionales que Ud. está publicando». The would be published in serial form in the newspaper. M. Hébrard wanted it made clear from the start that in this process it should be possible to condense and modify what might be difficult to translate. Galdós replied on 1 May suggesting that Houghton should translate the first four Episodios of the Third Series and prepare the way for those by publishing a translation of Gloria. Houghton paid a visit to Galdós's publishing centre in the calle de Hortaleza where he informed the novelist's representative that he had published in 1898 in the Times Literary Supplement three literary articles on Misericordia, Zumalacárregui and Mendizábal. He told his own editor of Galdós's suggestions.¹⁸¹ There is no record of further contact until a letter on 18 November 1899 in which this early English enthusiast for Galdós included a letter of introduction to M. Adrien Hébrard. After writing four Episodios in the first eleven moths of the years, Galdós was to take a break before beginning Montes de Oca. A visit to Paris would enable him to enjoy the cosmopolitan tastes of the city, visit his many friends and pursue his plans for publication there.¹⁸²

His relationship with Le Temps appeared to be developing satisfactorily. During December and January, M. Hébrard published as a feuilleton the translation of Misericordia by Maurice Bixio.¹⁸³ On 19 February 1900, Boris de Tannenberg contributed a general article on the figure of Galdós. He complained that although Galdós was in Paris, he had not attracted as much attention as would have a Russian or a Norwegian writer: «nous nous sommes habitués à mettre l'Espagne en dehors du mouvement européen». Galdós was a great psychological as well as historical novelist from whom the French reader could learn about «une Espagne vraie, bien différente de notre Espagne d'Opéra Comique». The critic's conclusions about Galdós and the provincial reputation of Spanish literature   —120→   reflected, as we shall see, prejudices deeply embedded in the offices of Le Temps itself: «C'est un lieu commun souvent répeté que la littérature espagnole est trop spéciale, trop locale pour réussir hors d'Espagne: qu'on nous traduise les romans de Pérez Galdós, et tout le public d'Europe qui lit s'y intéressera.»¹⁸⁴ That commonplace would be the justification for the mis-translation of La campaña del Maestrazgo.

We know that Galdós was exploring other avenues which might enable him to make an impact on the French reading public and add to his impoverished finances. León y Castillo was negotiating with Le Figaro over the publication of Nazarín.¹⁸⁵ José María Heredia was hopeful that Ollendorf would publish a translation of El abuelo.¹⁸⁶ Hachette were planning to publish the translation of Misericordia, with a preface by Alfred Morel Fatio.¹⁸⁷ By the beginning of March, Galdós was preparing to return to Spain and the Third Series. His farewell letter to Morel Fatio reveals a mood of frustration:

By the end of April, Montes de Oca was complete and the two remaining novels in the series were finished by the end of October.

Although I have found no record of a meeting between Hébrard and Galdós or of any discussion in Paris of the proposal to publish the Episodios, clearly the publication of Misericordia can be regarded as opening the breach and preparing the way for the serialisation of the historical novels. We do know that on 11 June 1900 Galdós received a letter from La Grange de Langres which shows that the translation of these novels was in hand. La Grange thanked the Spanish novelist for his letter in which he praised a proposed foreword to the translation of La campaña del Maestrazgo. Galdós was invited to help in the task of adapting the novel to the taste of his French readership for that praise «ne sauraient en tout cas me donner le droit de couper, d'allonger le texte primitif d'une oeuvre émanant de vous». He was asked to make the changes he thought necessary in the manuscript which La Grange had sent. Already the possibility of an early publication of the translation was receding. The commitments of the feuilleton in Le Temps took it to the end of 1901, so the only hope lay in canvassing other Parisian dailies, such as Le Matin, Le Gaulois or Le Soir. La Grange also sent Galdós proposed changes in Montes de Oca. He had received Los ayacuchos and eagerly awaited Bodas reales. This was the beginning of lengthy correspondence in which the French translator, a retired politician with a château in Calvados and a nostalgic love of Spain, insistently lectured Galdós on how to adapt his historical novels for the French market. Unfortunately, we have not the replies of Galdós. The sustained nature of the correspondence suggests that he was more attracted by the possible financial rewards than upset by the proposed doctoring of his original text. His literary reputation in France would be helped only marginally. The feuilleton was not highly prized by the established French writers and the novels published at this time in serial form are completely forgotten, as are the novelists. Who now remembers Le Crépuscule by George Quinet, or La Mort blanche (Roman alpin) by Rodolf Strats?¹⁸⁹

In a further letter on 27 June, La Grange outlined in detail some of his ideas for refashioning La campaña del Maestrazgo. He wanted to develop the character of Marcela by lengthening the account of her imprisonment in the convent, her conversations with the nuns and descriptions of her psychological state. This would deepen the relationship with Nelet -to be expressed in lengthened exchanges- and would prepare the reader for the idea of marriage which obsessed Marcela before the final catastrophe caused by Nelet's suicide. Such a romantic interval after the escape would give the reader a brief rest from the horrors of Cenia and Burjasot: «L'amour est de tous les temps, de tous les âges, on s'y intéresse toujours, tandis que les marches et contremarches de Cabrera en 1835-36 ne peuvent offrir à un lecteur français l'attrait passionné qu'un Espagnol peut y trouver.»

At the end of this letter, La Grange sent his best wishes to José de Mendoza and it was to this mutual acquaintance that he next wrote. He asked Mendoza to tell Galdós that he had reached agreement with the editor of Le Débat on the publication of Gloria. He had also heard that Galdós would be coming to Paris and hoped to conclude an agreement with him concerning La campaña del Maestrazgo. Mendoza was asked finally to get Galdós to send on the ten translated chapters he had for their final revision.¹⁹⁰ Within three weeks he could write to Mendoza from the family mansion thanking him for his reply and the registered parcel with the manuscript translation, and Marianela, Doña Perfecta and Gloria.¹⁹¹

In this letter and a letter written the day after to Galdós himself, the French translator praised Los ayacuchos for the lack of executions in the narrative: «Enfin on ne fusille personne et l'amour constant, fidèle et passionné de Demetria est recompensé». He followed this praise with detailed instructions on the re-writing of La campaña del Maestrazgo. He had left space in his translation for the new version of Marcela's imprisonment and first conversation with Nelet after her escape, which would provide an «épisode romanesque» to please the French public. Tactful tributes in Spanish («Me sacas de este suyo inagotable et [sic] admirable tintero... una relación bastante larga de la salida de la monja») precede his definite instructions for transforming this section of the novel:

A fortnight later, La Grange wrote again to Galdós. He informed him of negotiations which he had begun with Arthur Meyer to publish his translation   —122→   in Le Gaulois. Even before reading the novel Meyer had insisted on the need to adapt it to French taste. La Grange had defended the integrity of Galdós by telling Meyer, «Je crois que les convenances exigent que je ne passe aucune coupure dans une oeuvre de Galdós qui occupe une situation considérable sans en avoir reçu l'autorisation de lui-même».¹⁹³ Galdós was told that he must «graduer la chaleur» of the Marcela-Nelet relationship («ce qui sera un jeu pour une plume comme le vôtre») and cut out details of some of the military operations. By 6 September, still no reply had reached La Grange who despatched a letter to Mendoza in Madrid asking whether Galdós was angry with him and why he had not replied to his last letter about Arthur Meyer. By 15 November, La Grange had received a firm offer of 2000 francs for his translation. He now asked Mendoza whether he should accept and did not fail to inform him of the changes to be made: «Hay que hacer una narración romanesca a esta evasión y no contarla en dos renglones secos.»

Contact was re-established with Galdós in February, 1901.¹⁹⁴ Unfortunately for La Grange, Meyer had decided that the time was not right to publish a work by the Spanish novelist. The scandal over Electra made this decision necessary for Meyer who now wanted to wait until the anticlerical movement in Madrid had quietened down. His newspaper could not even afford «la apariencia de atacar los jesuitas, y otros señores de esta especie».¹⁹⁵ The translation made its way back to the offices of Hébrard at Le Temps; its publication had been agreed by the beginning of October. Galdós' approaching visit to Paris made the situation seem even more favourable.¹⁹⁶ Finally, Galdós met his translator and publisher for dinner on 7 November, and on 21 November Le Temps carried on its front page the first episode of its new feuilleton, Soeur Marcela, Episode de la campagne du Maestrazgo. Within a week La Grange had written to Spain a letter full of optimism for the future of translations of Galdós in Paris, provided that they were properly adapted. He begged Galdós to look for suitable material in his earlier writings, after explaining why Un voluntario realista and, by extension, the Episodios were unsuitable: «Il faut bien comprendre ceci, que la partie extrêmement intéressante des Episodios nacionales a un caractère local espagnol -mais qui ne fera pas, et ne pourra pas produire le même effet sur un lecteur français qui aujourd'hui recherche pardessus tout les aventures romanesques, ou les études psychologiques.» He could only find a dozen pages in Un voluntario realista which would satisfy French readers.¹⁹⁷ On 18 December, the twenty-third and final part of Galdós' feuilleton was published. It was now time to clear up the accounts and find a publisher for the novel.

La Grange wrote on Christmas Day promising that he would «cobrar lo convenido, pagar lo que el Director de dicho periódico ha prometido a la persona que ha hecho "les coupures" que yo no quería hacer y mandarle a Ud. lo que le corresponde». It was now revealed that the changes made by La Grange in the process of translating La campaña del Maestrazgo did not satisfy Hébrard who engaged two translators, Arbellán and Angulo, to make further cuts for his feuilleton requirements. After the three translators had been paid, Galdós received one thousand francs.

On 15 January, La Grange sent to Madrid the letter from the publishers, Ollendorf announcing that their «comité de lecture» had turned down the request for the publication of Soeur Marcela. A week later, he informed Galdós of successful negotiations with Calmann-Levy. They were prepared to print what is   —123→   described as «la traducción literal» which had been cut by Le Temps. The publication of Le roman de Soeur Marcela brought to a close the correspondence between the novelist and his translator.¹⁹⁸

It is interesting to see how the instructions issued to Galdós for adapting his novel were carried out. It seems clear that it was the translator who made the changes and not Galdós. The latter's reluctance can be discerned in the repeated efforts made by La Grange to persuade him to elaborate on the episode of Marcela's escape from the convent. The re-writing of the incident bears the mark of the Frenchman's rather prurient imagination. What Galdós had limited to «por la noche se efectuó con facilidad y sin ningún tropiezo la evasión de Marcela» and the humorous suggestion that the nuns were glad to be rid of the pedantic nun (OC, II, 1319), now became eight pages of the purest feuilleton style. There is a mixture of Romantic melodrama and erotic appeal of a rather morbid nature. Marcela gets wax in order to make a key to the attic-windows. She slips out on a stormy night as bells strike midnight, her body entrusted to «la solidité douteuse d'une mince cordage de soie». The rope lifted up the nun's skirts, enabling the Carlist leader to admire «la beauté sculpturale des jambes de la divine Marcela». In later exchanges, introduced to reinforce the «psychological» development of the relationship, Marcela laments at length that she could not «arracher de ma mémoire ce souvenir indécent».¹⁹⁹ This is the main addition in the translation apart from some introductory sections giving the background to the characters from the previous novels. Many references to the history of the period are cut out: these include historical episodes as well as passages in which fictional characters tell of their sufferings. La Grange succeeded in adapting Galdós's novel to the taste of the readers of Le Temps, and upsetting the already delicate balance in the novel between serious fiction and melodrama.

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