Tristana is young when she is orphaned and taken into the care of Don Lope, a family friend and fading Don Juan. Sadly, it’s not long before he turns his wiles on her and she becomes a possession to him. He is willing to sacrifice his own comfort by spending his dwindling fortune on her, but the price she pays for his attentions is heavy. As she grows into a young woman she begins to question their relationship and the control he exercises over her. She has great ambitions, wanting to make her own money through creative endeavours mostly shut off to women at the time. When she meets a handsome artist named Horacio she believes she’s found her soulmate, but how will Don Lope react to the news that he is losing her, and will their love stand the test of the challenges of life?
Tristana is an interesting character. Despite an unfortunate start in life she is headstrong and talented, excelling at almost anything she turns her hand to. She is, nonetheless, in an unenviable position. She has no money of her own, her relationship with Don Lope means many men would not wish to marry her (although she does not want to marry, rejecting the idea of being under the power of another man), and as a woman in nineteenth century Spain has very little in the way of career prospects. Her relationship with Horacio has all the hallmarks of impassioned first love and there is an innocence about her despite her maturity in some respects. Sadly, she has more hardship to come that will once again alter the course of her life. She is stoic yet feels the weight of the limits placed on her.
Don Lope is fairly repugnant. Some find him charming and enticing, as the women in the novel are meant to, but his abuse of the power he holds over Tristana and the short period it takes for him to claim her as a conquest when he is meant to be playing the role of guardian makes it hard to sympathise with him. There are moments in the novel where he acknowledges his glee at knowing Tristana is trapped, that she will not be able to leave him, is not admirable. He does seem to care for her, and at times he seems to put his own feelings aside for her sake, but for the most part he is jealous and possessive.
Horacio makes less of an impression. He is idealistic and dreams of a pastoral future. He appears completely smitten with Tristana and is happy to forgo his desire to marry her, respecting her autonomy and desires. The way their relationship progresses however becomes unsatisfying and he doesn’t feel as well developed as some of the other characters.
There are many themes in this short novel that feel familiar to regular readers of nineteenth century literature. We have a talented, ambitious female protagonist whose life is limited by unfortunate circumstances and societal expectations. We have a youthful romance doomed to fail, and a possessive ‘protector’ whose actions have limited Tristana’s opportunities further. There is passion and overblown emotion, but nothing extraordinary happens, they are merely trying to find their way through the life they’ve been given. Nicely written with some interesting ideas. Not many of Galdós’ novels seem to be readily available in English, but it’s worth picking this one up.
Pick up a copy:
No comments:
Post a Comment