Structure in five novels by Pio Baroja
For many years critics apparently accepted Boroja's own affirmation that his novels were written without a plan. It was customary to gloss over structure in his works by explaining that they reflected his view of life, which he saw as chaotic and disordered, and therefore it was useless to expect a compact and well-defined framework. Especially since 1972, the centenary year of Baroja's birth, there has been a reappraisal of many apsects of his work, including the structure of his novels. Many critics have questioned the 'traditional' concept of structure in Baroja by analyzing its role in given novels, and have been quite successful in disproving the 'chaos and disorder' theory which was the critical reaction perpetuated for many years This dissertation explores the relationship between structure and theme in five of Baroja's most famous novels. The study is divided into six chapters. In Chapter I we summarize scholarly efforts to date which have dealt with the topic of structure in Baroja's novels. Each of the subsequent five chapters is devoted to one novel. In each case we discuss how the work is constructed in order to determine how structure and theme affect and support each other Chapter II, Camino de perfeccion, elaborates on Jose Ares Montes' identification of a mystical structure in that novel, with Fernando Ossorio passing through the three mystical v(')ias in his wanderings through Spain. Baroja used the novel's title as its theme, having drawn both from Santa Teresa's book. Other elements support this sturcture, including secondary characters, nature descriptions, and point of view In Chapter III, Zalaca(')in el aventurero, Baroja writes his most intrahistorical novel. He saw to it that the structure enhances the historical theme by surrounding the Carlist War on either side with two relatively short intrahistorical sections that resemble each other structurally. Tying the three parts together is the ancient antagonism between the Ohandos and the Zalaca(')ins, itself an intrahistorical conflict. Popular songs and stories serve as a secondary support for the structure Cesar o nada, Chapter IV, is essentially a novel of setting and characters. The two divisions, 'Roma' and 'Castro Duro,' which comprise the novel are basic to an understanding of its major theme, which is the Church and its effect on Spanish life. The events in Rome and the presentation of the city prepare us for what is to happen in Spain when Moncada returns. Also, the negation with which Barojo treats the characters foreshadows Cesar's failure in Castro Duro El arbol de la ciencia, the fifth chapter, follows a quite symmetrical plan. The center of the book (Andres' philosophical discussions with his uncle) acts as the central 'trunk' or heart of the narration, in such a way that the other parts spread from it like branches of a tree. These sections preceding the central part concern Andres and the tree of knowledge; those which follow deal with the tree of life The theme of el gran torbellino del mundo, Chapter VI, is the torbellino to which the title refers, the confusion and lack of direction of modern life. The structure mirrors this theme by its lack of cohesion and well-defined orientation. Jose's acceptance of the world at the end of the novel is prepared by the vignettes which precede each chapter. They act as a calming influence on life's disorder as well as providing another point of view, that of the quieter, more static aspects of the chapters which they precede There is a final section summarizing our conclusions. Principal among them is that these five novels are well-constructed pieces of literature in which the structure is used to reflect the main theme. Implicit in our view is that this relationship may exist in Baroja's work in general; however, much investigation is yet to be done before this can be stated with certainty