The Liberal Pantheon: The Creation of an Anti-Authoritarian Narrative using Ferdinand VII’s Political Repression

This thesis examines the Spanish re-imagination of Ferdinand VII’s political repression in order to forge an anti-authoritarian narrative, demonstrating that the collective memory of the early 19th century provides a base for societal critique and national identity. Each part of this project discusses a different political martyr holding anti-Ferdinand Liberal views. I first explore the symbol of Rafael del Riego throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries in Spain by using the anthem Himno de Riego; Benito Pérez Galdós’ El terror de 1824 (1877); and Carmen de Burgos’ Gloriosa vida y desdichada muerte de don Rafael del Riego (1931). Secondly, I analyze Mariana Pineda and the physical memorialization of her figure in Granada, before drawing a connection between Federico García Lorca’s play Mariana Pineda (1927) and the playwright’s own martyrdom in 1936. I end with Francisco de Goya and Antonio Buero Vallejo’s 1969 play El sueño de la razón, commenting on its criticism of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship and ideological persecution. Each of these figures demonstrates the persistence of Ferdinand VII’s cruelty in Spain’s historical narrative and its use in defining the nation’s relationship with the state.