El topos simbolista de la ciudad muerta en la tradición literaria europea y española

Abstract

In this article, we make an exhaustive survey of the representation of the dead city in European and Spanish literature of the end of the century, with special interest in Rodenbach of Belgium and Azorin of Spain. First, we introduce by this literary convention, the current state of this critical issue and the reasons for its emergence in European literature at the end of the century. Second, we identify the most important manifestations of this motif in European literature, with special emphasis on The Dead City of Bruges (1892), by Georges Rodenbach, who initiated the rise of this motif in the symbolism of the turn of the century. Also, we identify the most important manifestations of the dead city in the literature of the Generation of 98, which is principally the case of Azorin (Toledo, Yecla, Lantigua, Villena), Baroja (Toledo, Alcolea del Campo) and Machado (Soria). Finally, we discuss the dead cities of other authors of Spanish and Latin American literature, beyond the 98 Generation: Vetusta, in The Regent's Wife, Leopoldo Alas y Ureña (also known as Clarín) or Ypres (in The Chronicles of Enrique Gómez Carrillo).