Gustavo Adolfo Becquer Spain's greatest romantic writer Country: Spain

Biography of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, the pseudonym of Spanish writer Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida, was born in Seville to a family of renowned artist José Domínguez Bastida and Joaquina de la Bastida y Vargas. He was one of seven children in the family. At the age of seven, Bécquer became an orphan and was raised by various relatives. After a brief education in school, he started working in his uncle's art workshop, where his talent as a writer was recognized. In 1854, Bécquer went to Madrid to study literary theory. In the capital, he worked as a freelance writer and journalist, translating novels by foreign authors, but these endeavors did not bring him success. He briefly collaborated with "Direccion de Bienes Nacionalis," but was soon fired when his boss caught him drawing scenes from Shakespeare. Bécquer fell ill with a disease, believed to be tuberculosis or syphilis, while in Madrid. In 1858, he returned to Seville, but his illness prevented him from working. He then went for treatment in Soria and Veruela. In 1860, Bécquer published his book "Rimas" ("Rhymes"), which showed a strong influence of German Romantic poetry, particularly the works of Heinrich Heine. In 1861, the writer got married, but the marriage was unhappy. Ironically, it was during this time that he created his best prose and poetry works. After some time, Bécquer divorced his wife and started living with his siblings. In the later years of his life, the writer published the magazine "La Illustracion de Madrid." Bécquer passed away in 1870 in Madrid at the age of 34, leaving behind three sons and a life full of hardships and changes. His romantic novellas, collected in two volumes titled "Leyendas" ("Legends"), were published in 1871. In these works, Bécquer retold romantic legends of the past and explored the times of chivalry. These stories demonstrate the spiritual kinship between the writer, a representative of late Spanish Romanticism, and authors such as E.T.A. Hoffmann, Lewis Carroll, and Edgar Allan Poe. It is worth noting that the fact that Spain's greatest romantic writer, Bécquer, was of Flemish descent may provide food for thought for theorists who believe that certain nations, such as the Flemish, have a genetic predisposition for the mystical and mysterious. Although "Leyendas" also contains elements of fairy tales, these novellas primarily consist of classic mystical stories. Alongside the legend-like novella "The Devil's Cross," there is "El Miserere," a story in the style of Hoffmann. This story portrays a possessed musician searching for the "perfect Miserere" (the word "Miserere" means "have mercy" and begins one of the psalms in the Catholic Mass). In the end, the ghosts of deceased Spanish monks sing him the "perfect" psalm. The pinnacle of Bécquer's work is represented by the stories "Green Eyes" and "The Souls' Purification." Both are marked by the writer's characteristic misogyny. While the first story is a kind of variation on the theme of "Undines," the second depicts a cruel aristocrat who sends her hopelessly in love cousin to the Hill of Ghosts on the eve of All Saints' Day to retrieve her forgotten veil, despite the mortal danger that awaits him there. When the ghost of the deceased lover brings her the veil early in the morning, she dies of horror. The novella concludes with a scene in which the woman, now a ghost, is pursued by ghosts from the Hill. They, along with their dogs, hunt her like a wild beast, circling around the same place - the tomb of her deceased lover. Although Bécquer did not achieve great fame during his lifetime, he became renowned after his death. Bécquer once said, "In the dark corners of my mind, naked and crowded, lie the whimsical creations of my imagination. They patiently wait for the hour when art will clothe them in words and present them to the world." His works have been translated into several foreign languages, including German. Hans Heinz Ewers, who compiled the famous eight-volume "Gallery of Phantasts," included selected stories by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer in the final volume of the anthology, which was published in 1922 under the title "About Devils, Spirits, and Demons."