The evolving narrator in the Spanish novel (1884-1958) : La de Bringas, Niebla, and Entre visillos.
The function of the narrator in Spanish literature is evolving, but the narrative voice continues to play a crucial role in communicating the message of the work, whether forcefully, playfully, or subtly. La de Bringas (1884), by Benito Pérez Galdós, exemplifies the Realist movement with its monolithic, intrusive narrator who mocks his society and those around him, yet the narrator also ironizes himself and undercuts his narrative though unreliable narrating. Part of the Generation of 1898, Niebla (1914), by Miguel de Unamuno, is ostensibly narrated by the author, yet this fictive Unamuno enters into the text to converse with his characters; the narrative innovation reflects the work’s philosophical approach, which deals with questions of individual authentic existence. Entre visillos (1958), written by Carmen Martín Gaite in a time of strict censorship, uses multiple narrators in a Social Realist style that critiques its oppressive society between the lines.