«Vámonos a la frontera»: El exilio en la segunda serie de los Episodios Nacionales de Benito Pérez Galdós

Abstract

During the first thirty years of the 19th century, the power struggles between the different sociopolitical forces in Spain caused numerous exiles. Literature was not indifferent to this phenomenon and, during this period, the experience of the expatriation inspired a lot of literary works. However, the presence of exile did not disappear after these first decades and, during the rest of the century, many literary pieces had exile as a main theme. Set in the first part of the century, the second series of Benito Pérez Galdós’ Episodios nacionales might be a good example. Our main purpose is to delve into the exile’s literary motives and the different attitudes that Galdós used in these ten novels and, through this literary itinerary, analyze how the Canary author connects himself with the literary tradition of the exile and provides new perspectives and horizons about this theme.