Publications
Publication details [#14320]
Quevedo, Francisco J. 2019. La Política del Espectáculo en El Amigo Manso, de Benito Pérez Galdós . Bulletin of Hispanic studies 96 (9) : 919–933. 15 pp.
Publication type
Article in journal
Publication language
Spanish
Keywords
Place, Publisher
Liverpool University Press
ISBN
14783398
Abstract
Citizens have always carefully monitored the decisions taken by politicians as these determine their lives. Therefore, criticism against these public figures has come from many areas, literature being one of the most important. According to Benito Pérez Galdós, politics was a means of improving Spanish society, so his social commitment led him to participate in politics. In fact, he was elected as a member of parliament on two occasions. However, he also denounced politics as a mass show. More specifically, he fiercely criticizes some politicians who behave as clowns, with ridiculous speeches and comical gestures, in El amigo Manso by making use of caricature and irony. Although this work was published in 1882, the time of the Spanish Bourbon Restoration, it bears a strong resemblance to contemporary Spain.