151
R. Gullón, Psicologías del autor y lógicas del personaje (Madrid, 1979), p. 56.
152
G. Gullón, El narrador en la novela del siglo XIX (Madrid, 1976). Additional useful information is contained in Kay Engler, The Structure of Realism (Chapel Hill, 1977) and in R. Gullón, see note 7159.
153
G. Gullón, El narrador..., p. 19.
154
All page references are to B. Pérez Galdós, Obras Completas, ed. Sainz de Robles (Madrid, 1942), IV.
155
As G. Gullón indicates, in addition to the real reader of flesh-and-blood, there exists also the «lector implícito o ficcionalizado, que adopta el papel que estructuralmente tiene asignado», El narrador..., p. 19. As R. Gullón points out, direct appeal to the reader will enable the narrator to communicate his moral more effectively, Psicologías..., p. 73.
156
Brooks suggests that this remark allows Galdós to «dispense with the need for much background material», Introduction, p. 32. This comment is hardly borne out by the vast amount of detail in the opening three chapters of the novel. Nimetz claims that Galdós «assumes the reader already knows Torquemada. His show of confidence has a pleasant democratizing effect... But the 'se me antojó' puts Galdós clearly in charge. He is a professional weaver of tales... It is a comfort to know that one's guide is experienced», Nimetz, Humor..., p. 180. More pertinently, R. Gullón indicates that «El narrador da por supuesto un lector informado de cosas que en la página no constan», Psicologías..., pp.60-61.
157
Nimetz, Humor..., p. 180.
158
Ayala, «Los narradores...», p. 76.
159
Ibid.
160
It is, perhaps, ironical that the narrator later makes frequent use of the epithet el Peor, which was allegedly created by outside agents.