Ruination: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Spain's Ruins in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture

This doctoral dissertation examines representations of architectural ruins in nineteenth-century Spanish literature as part of the larger tradition of literary and artistic engagement with ruins in Western culture. It seeks to identify the ways in which these authors’ treatment of ruins is unique and how it intersects with larger questions of national identity and history in nineteenth-century Spain. The project is interdisciplinary in nature, incorporating works of visual art as well as considering the cultural and political implications of archaeology and architectural restoration in nineteenth-century Spain to create a dialogue with the literary analysis. This thesis will argue that Spain’s ruins were the vehicles through which authors like Mariano José de Larra, José Zorrilla, Carolina Coronado and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer dialogued with the nation’s past in order to contend with the uncertainty and turmoil of their present, confronting issues specific to a nineteenth-century Spanish context such as the continued oppression of women, distorted foreign perceptions of Spain and its people, the fallen status of the nation and the Romantic desire to reconnect with the Medieval past and rebuild Spain from its ruins. It will also show how Spanish authors of the mid-nineteenth century treat universal themes, such as the ruin as a reminder of the inevitable fall of all empires and a representation the ultimate triumph of nature over man. This search to gain a greater understanding of nineteenth-century Spain is an archaeological excavation of its material remnants: the literary and artistic texts. In a sense, these authors were also “excavating” Spain’s ruins in a search for meaning. The present study represents the first-ever attempt at a comprehensive analysis of representations of architectural ruins in Spanish literature and art from the early- to mid-nineteenth century. It aims to expand on and diversify the study of ruins in cultural production by drawing on existing works but focusing specifically on the cultural, political and social circumstances of the nineteenth-century Spanish context. It situates itself at the crossroads of nineteenth-century Spanish studies and the analysis of ruins in literature and art.