The mimetic concept of literature in Galdos’ essays

Abstract

In this article there are analysed some Benito Perez Galdós’s minor works, short novels and essays, that collect significant aspects of the poetics of the Canary novelist. The concept that Galdós has about literature is fitted inside the most orthodox classicism. He starts from the mímesis, and as he relates it to the feuilleton observes that the genre does not achieve with the rule because it creates a non-existent reality. But in addition, the feuilleton only delights and is a bad example for the youth. Because of it Galdós rejects it in his texts, though he had been an eager reader of the genre. Close to this concept there is analysed the idea of the public (more concretly the masses) as element of the imitation, and other aspects like the relation between the literature and the reality. Besides, in the short novels we can observe models and techniques that Canary novelist uses in his novels and at the same time Galdos’ reflections about his own poetics.