Ekphrasis and Avant-Garde Prose of 1920S Spain
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies Hispanic Studies 2015 Ekphrasis and Avant-Garde Prose of 1920s Spain Brian M. Cole University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Cole, Brian M., "Ekphrasis and Avant-Garde Prose of 1920s Spain" (2015). Theses and Dissertations-- Hispanic Studies. 23. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/hisp_etds/23 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Hispanic Studies at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Brian M. Cole, Student Dr. Susan Larson, Major Professor Dr. Moisés R. Castillo, Director of Graduate Studies EKPHRASIS AND AVANT-GARDE PROSE OF 1920s SPAIN _________________________________________ DISSERTATION _________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Brian Matthew Cole Director: Dr. Susan Larson, Professor of Hispanic Studies Lexington, Kentucky 2015 Copyright © Brian Matthew Cole 2015 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION EKPHRASIS AND AVANT-GARDE PROSE OF 1920s SPAIN This dissertation analyzes the prose works of the “Nova Novorum,” a fiction series created and published by José Ortega y Gasset between 1926 and 1929. This collection included six works by four authors, five of which will be discussed in this dissertation. Pedro Salinas’ Víspera del gozo (1926) inaugurated the series. Benjamín Jarnés published two works: El profesor inútil (1926) and Paula y Paulita (1929). Antonio Espina is also responsible for two works: Pájaro pinto (1927) and Luna de copas (1929). The dissertation is divided into five sections. The first chapter introduces the topic of avant-garde prose during the 1920s in Spain, and the concept of ekphrasis as a methodological approach. Prose authors of the avant-garde were prolific during the first third of the twentieth century in Spain. They produced a new aesthetic sensibility with their experimental narrations. All of the works analyzed are examined through the lens of ekphrasis, which is the verbal representation of visual representation. Chapter Two discusses three relational aspects of ekphrasis: word and image, time and space, and the hermeneutics of ekphrasis. The first section examines the difference between narration and description. The second explores the relationship between time and space and the implications of the fact that a visual object is normally associated with space, while a verbal representation is associated with time. This section examines how authors incorporate spatial techniques into their narrations in ways that are commonly employed by painters. The third section of Chapter Two examines iconology and the hermeneutics of ekphrasis and how the authors use the trope of mimesis not to imitate nature but rather to distort reality. Chapters Three, Four and Five closely examine the images described by each author. This study draws on understanding of ekphrasis from literary studies and art history as well as theories of the literary avant-garde that stems both from Europe and from Spain in particular. Ortega y Gasset’s ideas about the novel and the avant-garde informed the basic assumptions of the authors of the “Nova Novorum,” who often used ekphrasis as a means of avoiding narrative progress. In many cases of ekphrasis found in the “Nova Novorum” collection, the representations of art are deployed in the same way in which the authors utilize metaphor, as a means of digressing from the narrative. These ekphrastic moments allow each author to withdraw from or slow down the narration, providing the author with the opportunity to focus on the use of language itself. KEYWORDS: Ekphrasis, Spanish Avant-Garde Prose, Benjamín Jarnés, Antonio Espina, Pedro Salinas. Brian Matthew Cole 10/15/2015 EKPHRASIS AND AVANT-GARDE PROSE OF 1920s SPAIN By Brian Matthew Cole Dr. Susan Larson Director of Dissertation Dr. Moisés R. Castillo Director of Graduate Studies 10/15/2015 For my wife Amy, and our daughter Caroline, my two best girls ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible apart from the insights, direction and support of my dissertation director, Dr. Susan Larson. I am grateful for her meticulous editing of this project and constant encouragement. I also want to thank the members of my dissertation committee and outside reader, respectively, Dr. Aníbal Biglieri, Dr. Ana Rueda, Dr. Robert Jensen and Dr. Leon Sachs. I appreciate their time, effort and participation in this project. I would like to recognize The Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s Ministry of Culture and United States’ Universities for a dissertation research grant that enabled me to travel to Madrid during the summer of 2009. Researching the cultural magazines of 1920s and 1930s Spain at the Hemeroteca Nacional, the Biblioteca Nacional and the library at the Museo Nacional Reina Sofía was invaluable to the project’s completion. During the writing of this project, I received academic and emotional support from many people. I would specifically like to thank Dr. Ted McVay for his encouragement and support. I also wish to extend my profound thanks to Dr. Jeff Sibley and his family. I am grateful for their prayers and encouragement as well as their friendship. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to my family, without whose support this project would not have been possible. I am thankful to my parents Kenneth and Barbara Cole. I am indebted to my father- and mother-in-law Kenneth and Patty Chance. I am grateful for my brother and sister-in-law David and Robin Cole, my brothers- and sisters-in-law Josh and iii Susan Chance, Josh and Anna Brown, and to my nieces and nephews: Elijah, Isaac, Samuel and Daniel Chance; Ayden, Audrey Anna and Anderson Brown; Olivia, Caleb and Ivy Cole. Finally, I wish to extend my deepest appreciation to my wife, Amy, and our daughter, Caroline. Your love and support sustained me during every step of this project. I love and cherish you both. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................. v List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Ekphrasis and Spanish Avant-Garde Narrative ........................................................... 1 Introduction: The “Nova Novorum” and the Literary Avant-Garde in Spain ............. 1 Gómez de la Serna, Ortega y Gasset, Giménez Caballero, and the Avant- Garde in Spain .................................................................................................... 9 The Avant-Garde Novel in Spain and the “Nova Novorum” ......................... 15 Avant-Garde Criticism ........................................................................................... 19 Ekphrasis: Verbally Representing Visual Representation ............................................... 21 The Roots of Ekphrasis: The Painting-Poetry Analogy and Its Negation ..... 22 The Genesis of a Theory: Krieger, Mitchell, and Heffernan ............................ 24 Ekphrasis in Spanish Literature: Bergmann, De Armas, Klohe and Persin ... 28 The Avant-Garde Notion of Ekphrasis: Skillful Deception ............................. 31 “La deshumanización del arte”: Vision, Perspective, and the Arts ............................... 34 Ortega y Gasset’s Essay and Mitchell’s Concept of Ekphrasis .......................