Miguel de Unamuno: biography of this writer and thinker.

A review of the life of Miguel de Unamuno, a reference of Spanish literature.

Miguel de Unamuno was a Spanish poet, writer, philosopher and politician with a restless personality, rebellious and critical of the society in which he lived. A great Spaniard, he wanted his country to overcome certain attitudes that he attributed as the cause of Spain's ills.

Never at ease with the governments he lived under, Unamuno was condemned, exiled and dismissed by kingdoms, dictatorships and republics alike, even though he was a supporter of the Second Spanish Republic.

Spanish 20th century literature cannot be understood without reviewing the figure of this writer, his work, the themes he deals with and, also, his personality and historical characteristics. Here we will address these issues through a biography of Miguel de Unamuno..

Brief biography of Miguel de Unamuno.

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was born on September 29, 1864 in Bilbao. He was the third of six children born to Félix de Unamuno, a humble merchant who had made his fortune in Mexico, and his wife Salomé Jugo. From a very young age, the young Unamuno would have to experience two experiences that would mark his character and that he would leave well reflected in the style of his works: the death of his father and the outbreak of the Third Carlist War (1872-1876). (1872-1876), besieging the city of Bilbao.

Academic training

In his adolescence he moved to Madrid to begin his studies of Philosophy and Letters at the university. At this time he published his first article, at the same time that he formed a more intimate and affectionate relationship with Concha Lizárraga, who would end up being his wife and the mother of his X children.

In 1883 he finished his university studies and obtained his Ph. with his thesis "Critique of the problem on the origin and prehistory of the Basque race". After that, Miguel de Unamuno went to work teaching, as well as collaborating in different newspapers nationwide. He also focused on preparing for the competitive examinations to obtain the chairs of Institute and University, convened in different cities of Spain to fill vacancies.

Professor in Salamanca

After several unsuccessful attempts, Unamuno obtains a position as professor of Greek Language at the prestigious University of Salamanca. He arrived in this city when he was already married to his wife Concha and lived in several rented residences. It was around this time that his first son, Fernando, was born. He managed to move to a house in the Plaza de Gabriel y Galán in the same city, a place where his first child, Fernando, was born.where Pablo, Raimundo, Salomé and Felisa were born.

It was during these years that he published several works, introducing his concern for Spain and its destiny. Among the texts that came to light around this time we can highlight "En torno al casticismo", "Paz en la guerra", "la Esfinge" and "La Venda", as well as having the opportunity to publish several articles in the Spanish and Latin American press. But to all this good news was added a very bad one: his son Raimundo fell seriously ill, which caused him a deep personal and religious crisis.

Beginning of the new century

At the beginning of the 1900 academic year, Uamuno, as a professor, had to give the inaugural speech. His educational proposals in his speech were so innovative that shortly afterwards he was elected rector of the university.. After his appointment, Unamuno moved to the rector's residence, right next to the Patio de Escuelas of the University of Salamanca. The rest of his children will be born there: José, María, Rafael and Ramón, but it will also be where his son Raimundo dies.

The rectory of the University of Salamanca will see how Miguel de Unamuno writes "Tres ensayos", "Paisajes", "De mi país", "Vida de Don Quijote y Sancho", "Poesías", "Del sentimiento trágico de la vida" and "Niebla". It will also be the same place where in 1914 Unamuno is dismissed and has to move to Bordadores Street. It was then when he began to show a committed attitude towards Spanish society, initiating an intense and active political life.

During the First World War (1914-1918) he showed support for the Allies against the Germanophilesvisiting the Italian front with Manuel Azaña and Américo Castro. Unamuno ran as a candidate for deputy for the Republican Party of Biscay at this time. He had no qualms about confronting King Alfonso XIII himself, which led him to be prosecuted for slander against the crown, being convicted, although he was later pardoned.

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera

Being very opposed to the monarchy and the military Directory imposed by Primo de Rivera, Miguel de Unamuno was exiled.. First he travels to Fuerteventura, but then he ends up fleeing to France, although he had already been pardoned. He promises not to return to his country until Primo de Rivera leaves the government, a promise he keeps. He shared his exile with other great Spanish personalities, such as Eduardo Ortega y Gasset and Vicente Blasco Ibáñez.

Once Primo de Rivera was no longer in power, Miguel de Unamuno finally returned to Spain. His return was a tremendous one, passing through Hendaye to reach the city of Salamanca, where he regained his university professorship, although this time it was to be in the History of the Spanish Language. These were years of theatrical production, publishing works such as "El Otro", "Sombras de sueño" and "Medea".

Second Republic and final years

He runs for the republican-socialist coalition in the municipal elections, obtaining a councilor's seat and a seat on the council.He obtained a city council seat and proclaimed the Republic from the balcony of the Salamanca City Hall. He is named Honorary President of the municipal corporation in perpetuity, President of the Council of Public Instruction, Deputy to the Cortes, Rector of the University of Salamanca and later Rector for life.

Also, during the Second Spanish Republic, he was named Honorary Citizen of the Republic and was nominated for the Spanish Academy and the Nobel Prize. However, despite his republican affiliation, soon began to be critical of the government, joining the military uprising of 1936.He soon became critical of the government, joining the military uprising of 1936. Although he had been retired since 1934, his antipathy towards the Republic led the rebel government in Burgos to reappoint him as rector of the University of Salamanca.

However, it should be noted that Miguel de Unamuno was neither a fascist nor a Falangist, quite the contrary. He soon showed himself to be against the rebels and confronted General Millán Astray during the celebration of the "Day of the Race" in 1936 in the Paraninfo of the University of Salamanca. He famously told his Falangist audience: "You will win, but you will not convince". For this reason, he was he was finally dismissed, confined to his home on Bordadores Street under police surveillance.. He died there suddenly on December 31, 1936, at the age of 72.

Themes in Unamuno's work

Miguel de Unamuno was always a restless and rebellious man, as well as paradoxical and contradictory. Based on his personal life, we can see how he had no qualms about confronting the authorities when he did not like what they were doing, whether it was the monarchy, the dictatorship or the republic. His individualistic character made him worship himself, not as an egocentric act but, rather, as a way of expressing and putting his ideas in order. He himself said "I speak of myself because he is the man closest to me"..

Miguel de Unamuno was an intellectual who cultivated all the genres of his time. His theater, poetry, essays and novels can be encompassed on the basis of the two recurring thematic axes in his literary production: concern for Spain and the meaning of human life. Both themes have existential overtones, which makes Unamuno one of the first modern existentialists in Spain.

The problem of Spain

Miguel de Unamuno was a great lover of Spain, something that we can understand with what he himself said: "Spain hurts me"; "I am Spanish, Spanish by birth, education, body, spirit, language and even profession and trade; Spanish above all and above all". He is interested in its literature, its past and its future, and He tries to find a solution to the ills that afflicted Spanish society, emphasizing the need for a renewal of the Spanish language.He emphasized the need for a spiritual renewal that would get rid of two attitudes, according to him, deeply rooted in Spanish society: chronic laziness and atony.

With the intention of vividly capturing the essence of the Spanish, Unamuno traveled through the villages of the country to understand firsthand what it was that characterized them. He wanted to capture what Spain truly was beyond intellectual circles and official history books.

For him it was essential to learn the "intrahistory", that is, the real and popular history, to have a reliable idea of what had been the past of Spain. These pretensions and his interest in the Spanish is shown in works such as "En torno al casticismo" (1895), in which he the idea of intrahistory" (1895)..

In addition, it is very important his "Life of Don Quixote and Sancho" (1905) where he claims that the work of Miguel de Cervantes is the ultimate expression of the Spanish soul, in addition to the dichotomy between madness and reason, fiction and reality. In "Por tierras de Portugal y España" (1911) and "Andanzas y visiones españolas" (1922) he also shows his concern for the destiny of the country.

Originally, Miguel de Unamuno considered that the ills affecting Spain would vanish once the country had become Europeanized, putting itself on a par with Franceand put itself on a par with France, Germany and the United Kingdom. However, with the passage of time he changed his position, considering that what really needed to happen was for Europe to become Spanish, to capture some of the best customs of Spain and to adopt some of the attitudes of the peninsulars.

The meaning of human life

The other characteristic theme of Unamuno's work is his interest in the meaning of human life. As an existentialist writer, he is interested in flesh and Blood man, delving into the tragic meaning of his existence through his experiences, tragedies, problems and anguish. In his literature we can see his interest in the immortality of our existence: when we die, do we cease to exist or is there an afterlife? Herbert Spencer, Sören Kierkegaard, William James and Henri Bergson influence his work.

As personal contradictions and paradoxes in his thinking prevented him from developing a coherent philosophical system, he used his writings as a vehicle of expression and also as a kind of therapy to put his ideas in order. he used his writings as a vehicle of expression and, also, as a sort of therapy to put his ideas in order. He expresses his personal anguish and his way of thinking in works such as the aforementioned "En torno al casticismo" (1895) as well as "Mi religión y otros ensayos" (1910), "Soliloquios y conversaciones" (1911) or "Del sentimiento trágico de la vida en los hombres y en los pueblos" (1913).

Main works

Miguel de Unamuno cultivated all kinds of genres, although novels and essays were his strong points.

Poetry and theater

As a poet, Miguel de Unamuno was quite undervalued for a long time, although he is now considered one of the greatest representatives of Spanish poetry of the 20th century. Both his poems and plays show a great wealth of thought, mainly addressing intimate, religious and political dramas through the conflicts of the characters and their own sensitivity to reality. and his own sensitivity to reality.

Among his main poetry books are "Poesías" (1907), "Rosario de sonetos líricos" (1911), "El Cristo de Velázquez" (1920), "Rimas de dentro" (1923) and "Romancero del destierro" (1928), the latter being a portrait of his experiences on the island of Fuerteventura after being deported for opposing the government of Miguel Primo de Rivera. After his death "Cancionero Posthumous" was published, a book in which poems written between 1928 and 1936 are collected.

As for Unamuno's theater we have "Fedra" (1924), "Sombras de sueño" (1931), "El otro" (1932) and "Medea" (1933) and "El hermano Juan" (1934). In this genre he does not seem to have stood out much, since it has been considered that his work has a rather scarce dramatic action and ends up resulting in excessively schematic compositions.

Novels

The novel is Miguel de Unamuno's strong point, considered one of the most resolute renovators of this genre at the beginning of the 20th century.. The novel is the main tool of this writer to transmit his existential conflicts and personal experiences, having as the first his "Peace in the war" (1897) in which he describes the historical events occurred during the last Carlist war.

Already in the twentieth century he published his well-known "Niebla" (1914), which gave birth to a new literary genre founded by himself: the "nivola". "Nivola" is a neologism used by Unamuno to refer to his narrative fiction novels, trying to distance himself from the realist novels that dominated the literary panorama of 1900. In "Niebla" Unamuno presents the confrontation of souls and human passions without resorting to landscapes, environments or customs.

His most representative nivola becomes a reference of the literature of the twentieth century because of its innovation.. Its protagonist, Augusto Pérez, breaks the fourth wall by rebelling against Unamuno himself. Augusto realizes that he is nothing more than a fictional being, whose destiny, experiences and even his feelings are determined by Unamuno's will. But Augusto also reminds the writer that he is also under the will of an entity superior to him: God.

In 1917 he published "Abel Sánchez" and in 1921 "La tía Tula". His masterpiece would arrive in 1931 with "San Manuel bueno mártir". It is the dramatic story of a parish priest of a village lost from the hand of God who, exemplarily devoted to his village and manifesting himself as if he were a saint, hides a deep inner tear of doubt about what lies beyond death.

Of special mention is his "Three Exemplary Novels and a Prologue" (1920), considered by some experts to be an autobiographical novel.. It has nothing to do with the facts of his life, but it is about his spiritual biography and his essential vision of reality. It is the affirmation of his individual identity and the search for the binding elements that underlie human relationships.

Bibliographical references:

• Abellán, José Luis (1964). Miguel de Unamuno a la luz de la psicología; una interpretación de Unamuno desde la psicología individual. Doctoral thesis. Madrid: Tecnos.
• Ruiza, M., Fernández, T. and Tamaro, E. (2004). Biography of Miguel de Unamuno. In Biografías y Vidas. The online biographical encyclopedia. Barcelona (Spain). Retrieved from https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/u/unamuno.htm on September 22, 2020.
• Garrido Ardila, Juan Antonio (ed.) (2015). El Unamuno eterno. Barcelona: Anthropos