• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.47
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• pp.131-161
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• 2017

This work introduces Nada (1944) by Carmen Laforet in humanities in Korea, to add new knowledge about Spanish literature and therefore broaden and enrich humanities. When the opera prima of this Barcelonian author came to light, critics and the readers were shocked at a work that departed from the expiring Spanish novel under Franco's anti-intellectual and anticreative regime, to renew it indefinitely. That was more than 70 years ago, and today the freshness of Andrea's story continues to be prevail, thanks to its most outstanding feature: polyphonic ambiguity in its text, which allows the novel to include and develop different and contradictory meaning. This investigation addresses several critical readings of Nada, produced and extended inside and outside Spain. These readings, together, reveal the exceptional flexibility and complexity of Nada, a work of fiction that reflects and recreates multiple aspects of the human being.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.33
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• pp.121-141
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• 2013

The purpose of this paper is to establish a methodology useful for identifying links between the postwar novels of Spain and Korea. We analyze the lives and actions of the characters from Nada by Carmen Laforet, and Writing on blank paper by Oh Sang Won. The characters in these novels demonstrate the challenge of adapting to the harsh reality of life because of the psychological or physical scars of war: characters such as Jungsub and Jungseo in Writing on blank paper and Juan and Andrea in Nada finally overcome their difficulties thanks to a shared sense of existential conscience and a steadfast fighting spirit; others, like Jungyun and Roman, surrender to the struggle and commit suicide, tragically succumbing to the bitter harshness of reality. Through the analysis of these novels' characters, we can empathize with the common tragedy of war-time life and death; we gain perspective on the destruction of both society and people caused by war.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.33
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• pp.7-32
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• 2013

This present study focuses on Franco's censorship and its influences in the works of Carmen Martín Gaite and Miguel Delibes. We know that from the years 1940's to 1970's a very harsh censorship existed in Spain. But the authors of those times were not completely obedient to the power of the Regime. Some authors attempted to find a new way to present his novels. In fact, Between Curtains of Martín Gaite shows an ideology that advocates for women who were not valued as deserved at the time. Against Franco's totalitarianism the author indirectly revealed readers an attempt to improve the situation of women, criticizing the tradition. On the other hand, Delibes sought a new way of presenting the novel in Five Hours with Mario to avoid Franco regime's censorship. The author hid behind a character that represents Franco's politics to criticize the society of that time. The both authors as representatives of contemporary Spanish literature demonstrate that the oppression does not restrict the authors' ability to create unexpected works.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.48
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• pp.289-323
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• 2017

L'Espoir, a novel by Andre Malraux, contains traits of the genre of literacy reportage that depicts the full account of the Spanish Civil War as non-fiction based on his personal experience of participating in war; the novel has been dramatized into a semi-documentary film that corresponds to reportage literature. A semi-documentary film is the genre of film that pursues realistic illustration of social incidents or phenomenon. Despite difference in types of genre of the novel and the film L'Espoir, such creative activities deserve close relevance and considerable narrative connectivity. Therefore, $G{\acute{e}}rard$ Genette's narrative discourse of novel and film based on narrative theory carries value of research. Every kind of story, in a narrative message, has duplicate times in which story time and discourse time are different. This is because, in a narrative message, one event may occur before or later than another, told lengthily or concisely, and aroused once or repeatedly. Accordingly, analyzing differing timeliness of the actual event occurring and of recording that event is in terms of order, duration, and frequency. Since timeliness of order, duration, and frequency indicates dramatic pace that controls the passage of a story, it appears as an editorial notion in the novel and the film L'Espoir. It is an aesthetic discourse raising curiosity and shock, the correspondence of time in arranging, summarizing, deleting the story. In addition, Genette mentions notions of speech and voice to clearly distinguish position and focalization of a narrator or a speaker in text. The necessity to discriminate 'who speaks' and 'who sees' comes from difference in views of the narrator of text and the text. The matter of 'who speaks' is about who portrays narrator of the story. However, 'who sees' is related to from whose stance the story is being narrated. In the novel L'Espoir, change of focalization was ushered through zero focalization and internal focalization, and pertains to the multicamera in the film. Also, the frame story was commonly taken as metadiegetic type of voice in both film and novel of L'Espoir. In sum, narrative discourse in the novel and the film L'Espoir is the dimension of story communication among text, the narrator, and recipient.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.26
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• pp.445-463
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• 2012

Beltenebros is Antonio Mu?oz Molina's third novel. Its plot originates in a criminal act. Darman, the main character, arrives in Madrid to kill a traitor of the undercover organization to which he himself belongs. Treason is paid with death and Darman is in charge of the executions. The intricate story of espionage and intrigue is absorbing. Unlike other novels of the genre, in Beltenebros we can witness a unique psychological development of the main character. In his fiftieth anniversary, Darman becomes conscious of the painful and devastating effects of his criminal acts on the lives of the people he has crossed paths with. Then, for the first time, he acts like a Romanesque heroe by killing Valdivia-Ugarte, a deceitful mole who has been manipulating the strings of the plot to his own benefit. The story unfolds along an almost uniform progression of chronological time, only interrupted by random memories of a past that twenty years ago destroyed Walter's life, and in which Darman and the rest of the characters are all implicated. Few references to the Spanish Civil War inserted in the discourse are, however, of paramount importance as the depiction of a historical trauma, as a triggering force for the episodes of the novel, or as justification to Darman'scrimes as well as those of the clandestine Comunist Party. Indeed they were the victims of the conflict and the winners inflicted upon them hatred, repression, treason and disloyalty. As in other Mu?oz Molina's novels, the literary space, in this case Madrid, propels the development of the plot, and plays a protagonist role only equal to that of the main characters. It is in Madrid where Darman lives until he becomes prisoner of the enemy army, or where the symmetrical deaths of Walter and Andrade take place. Other spaces inhabit Madrid: the Universal Cinema, symbolic territory of the secret and hidden, where the story, as well as the relationships of the characters start and end the warehouse; or the Bo?te Tab? the nightclub that frequents Valdivia-Ugarte through secret passages connected with the Universal Cinema.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.27
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• pp.81-104
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• 2012

This paper looks into the complexity of the comparative and conflictive elements portrayed on the novel Nada. Through the interpretation of the actions of the female characters, we can classify them into two different categories: pro-Franco and anti-Franco system. Thus, for example, the character Ena is an active, intellectual and liberal woman capable to manipulate and control men who lives at her own free will. This active and liberal personality is clearly not the favored type of woman under Franco, which prefers a society where men are the dominant figures. Another female character, Gloria, places herself far from the Catholicism based morality during the Franco period as she is having an affair with her husband's brother. We also find examples of the opposite, that is, affinity with Franco ideals, such as Angustias' decision to become a member of the convent, in line with the motto "Spain, united and great, through Catholicism"; the example of Ena's mother, nurturing six sons and daughters, also resonates with Franco ideology of a woman's role in the Spanish society, being mostly a reproductive instrument. One of the topics of this novel is the confrontation between the prewar petit bourgeoisie and the new postwar bourgeoisie. We can appreciate a big difference between the lifes of Andrea's family and Pons' family. Andrea has friendly relationships with friends from the new bourgeoisie; however, these interactions are not genuine, but superficial. Because of that, we also conclude that this novel reflects the underlying conflicts between different social strata. We also observe the conflicts and confrontations between republicans and nationalists in this society, through the relationships between two brothers, Juan y $Rom{\acute{a}}n$. During the civil war, Juan collaborates with the national faction, while $Rom{\acute{a}}n$ joins the republican faction. Consequently, they separate from each other due to their different ideologies. We will conclude that this novel also reflects on the idea that the Spanish civil war destroyed fraternity and separated families.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.46
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• pp.173-197
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• 2017

The present work aims to analyze the concept of space in $Jes{\acute{u}}s$ $Fern{\acute{a}}ndez$ Santos' work Los bravos. Throughout its pages, one can observe the multidimensional possibilities of space in literature. Throughout time, the concept of literary space has developed and it has been modified constantly in order to meet the needs required for the evolution of narratology. In the past, Aristotle stated that space is the place where characters and physical objects happen to exist. This remained almost unchanged until the Renaissance. In the $19^{th}$ century, space stopped being considered just a mere scene where the action takes place as it was given more importance by romantic authors in their works. Realism intensified the spaces as the interior of the house. In fact, the descriptions of space became more important. In this article, I focus on the various meanings of space in the novel Los bravos. First, I analyze the dichotomy between real and ideal spaces, and continue with the cathartic dimension of the fictional space. Then, I present and analyze the opposition between urban and rustic spaces in this novel, and, finally, I show the confrontation between the spaces of men and women. Through this analysis, we can observe that characters have a space where they feel more comfortable and how, occasionally, they leave their "usual space of action" to reach their "ideal place". Women want to stay in their kitchen to chat with each other, while men prefer to leave the house to visit a cafe with their colleagues. The door and the window divide the border of the worlds of men and women. However, that line is not only dividing the structure of the house, but it is also of a psychological house.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.53
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• pp.51-72
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• 2018

Camilo $Jos{\acute{e}}$ Cela's hometown Galicia has frequently appeared as the spatial background in his early and later works, revealing various factors related to the area in detail. It is in "Mazurca para dos muertos" that Galicia's characteristic elements appear most strikingly among his works. Several distinctive elements of Galicia are revealed in this work. First, the author shows some of Galicia's features by placing his characters in a Galician rural village and giving them the opportunity to speak local dialects. Second, Galician characteristic nature is specifically embodied through the dozens of depictions of nonstop rain. Third, the author has made the link between his work and Galicia by mentioning names of many Galician cities, villages, rivers and local writers and their works. Fourth, various Galician characteristic features, such as numerous myths, legends, and superstitions surrounding around this region are mentioned through the work. As such, almost all the sub-themes and materials of this work center on things associated with Galicia. This analysis provides for the realization that Cela reveals his identity as a Galician-born writer through this work.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.47
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• pp.191-216
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• 2017

Among 20th century Western ideologies (Western civilization), existentialism is a spirit of the times to restore humanity as rationality and advanced technology have driven mankind to impoverishment and death, experiencing the First and Second World War, Great Depression, Fascism and the Spanish Civil War. In his literature, $Andr{\acute{e}}$ Malraux records his existential agony of how mankind lives and faces death by questioning the fateful life and death of characters. For Malraux's characters, the absurdity of existence related to the human identity means self-examination. Malraux explores existential consciousness and actions of characters in the presence of a concept known as death relative to terror, revolution, and adventure. Malraux deftly addresses the concept of death in his literary works, and it has being emphasized as a central subject for philosophical speculation. In Les $Conqu{\acute{e}}rants$(1928), La Voie Royale(1930), La Condition Humaine (1933), L'Espoir(1937), Malraux suggested a philosophical thesis of the meaning of life through characters in tragic situations, and sought out the consciousness of being and the existential meaning through how the characters control their fate. Malraux, in such a tragic perspective of the world, portrays humanity, affirmation of life, and characters' consciousness and actions in denying death. The agony of death triggers escapist behavior such as having unpredictable instinctual desires such as gambling or smoking opium, but these are desperate struggles to flee from frustration and related to the question of one's existence. What is always emphasized with respect to Malraux's existentialism is the tragic metaphysics of the inevitable destiny of the human condition eventually leading to the question of how humans ultimately confront death. But as characters unite in times of war, revolution and adventure in the novel, such cooperative actions symbolizes a keen sense of solidarity reflecting a camaraderie that transcends individualism. Fellowship among people who voluntarily gather for the common cause of philanthropy and restoring humanity is possible because of the underlying human greatness to sacrifice for such a noble cause. Therefore, Malraux's camaraderie includes the victory of existentialism in creating a world of humanism.