La maja y el torero

by Théophile Gautier

Passion, love, and jealousy fuel this tragicomic novel that portrays the culture and society of a divided Madrid in the 19th century. While the well-off bourgeois imitate the high fashion of Paris and London and amuse themselves with imported entertainment, the working class residents create their own style and invent new forms of dance, music, and theater in which life and death, rather than lavish extravagancies, serve as the protagonists. The social balance tilts when working-class Militona meets wealthy Andrés at a bullfight, where the matador Juancho enviously observes the blossoming of new love from the ring. Spain’s profound beauty is shown with historical accuracy alongside detailed descriptions of the bullfights and of the throes of exacerbated love.

 

Pasión, amor y envidia impulsan esta novela tragicómica que representa la cultura y la sociedad del Madrid dividido del siglo XIX. Mientras la burguesía acomodada imita la alta costura parisina o londinense y se entretiene con espectáculos importados, los residentes de la clase obrera crean su propia moda e inventan nuevos estilos de baile, música y teatro en los cuales la vida y la muerte, en vez de extravagancias lujosas, son los protagonistas. El equilibrio social se desbalancea cuando la trabajadora Militona y el señorito Andrés se conocen en una corrida de toros, donde el torero, Juancho, observa celosamente desde la arena el nacimiento de un nuevo amor. La belleza profunda de España se muestra con exactitud histórica junto con descripciones detalladas de las corridas de toros y de la agonía de un amor exacerbado.

176 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and literary critic. In the 1830 Revolution, he chose to stay with friends in the Doyenné district of Paris, living a rather pleasant bohemian life. He began writing poetry as early as 1826 but the majority of his life was spent as a contributor to various journals, mainly for La Presse, which also gave him the opportunity for foreign travel and meeting many influential contacts in high society and in the world of the arts, which inspired many of his writings including Voyage en Espagne (1843), Trésors d'Art de la Russie (1858), and Voyage en Russie (1867). He was a celebrated abandonnée of the Romantic Ballet, writing several scenarios, the most famous of which is Giselle. His prestige was confirmed by his role as director of Revue de Paris from 1851-1856. During this time, he became a journalist for Le Moniteur universel, then the editorship of influential review L'Artiste in 1856. His works include: Albertus (1830), La Comédie de la Mort (1838), Une Larme du Diable (1839), Constantinople (1853) and L'Art Moderne (1856)

Reviews

[Vasilaki Tocili · Rating 5 out of 5]

First few pages, I was not too fond of the book-cliche descriptions. I was patient and gave it some time, but later on, I understood the emotion of the main character Andres. It was getting more transparent and more interesting over time... Plot twists... It was getting even more interesting... I loved the unexpectedness... Was hooked to see what was coming, either a tragedy or something unexpectedly lucky for Andres... Near the end, except for the near-death experience of Militona, it all went smoothly, but the last sentence, it shouldn't end like that!