Celia en el mundo
Encyclopedia
Celia en el mundo is the fourth installment in the series of "Celia" novels by Spanish
children's author, Elena Fortún. Originally published in the year 1934
, the novel continues the adventures of Celia in a series now considered classic
s of Spanish children's literature
. In the fourth novel, Celia is taken away by her uncle from the convent
where she had resided in Celia en el colegio
(1932), and is brought to live with him and his servants, Basílides and Maimón. Celia spends quite a lot of time among grown-ups rather than with children her own age. Eventually, she befriends a young French
girl named Paulette who becomes her constant companion throughout many adventures and misadventures. Like the previous novels, Celia en el mundo reflected a country slowly entering its civil war
years, as well as the, often negative, general views people of those times had towards certain social groups, including the Moors
, the Galicians
, and to a lesser extent, the French, as well as the religious communities
, such as the nun
s. Different editions and reprints of the book featured artwork from different illustrators; the most recent editions featured Molina Gallent's artwork, while older editions featured that of M. Palacios and Gori Muñox. This was the very first "Celia" novel to not be featured in its entirety or even partially in Televisión Española
's 1992
series, Celia
, directed by José Luis Borau
.
(1932).
Celia's uncle, Tío Rodrigo, had arrived at the school where Celia attended class with the nuns and had rudely taken her away, without her parents permission or consent, because he strongly believed that the nuns were a poor influence for Celia, and her mind would only be filled with uncultured foolishness rather than educational nourishment. Celia is taken to her uncle's home in Madrid
, to live with Basílides, Rodrigo's servant, and Maimón, a young Moor
boy; two characters who could hardly stand each other's presence. Rodrigo wants the nine-year-old girl to "see the world", but not the world as in "earth", the world as in "real life". Living with her uncle, Celia spends many days without the company of boys and girls her own age, but rather that of older people. Her uncle asks her to behave when he takes her out with his friends to restaurants or to the park, but Celia hesitates; the grown-ups she spends time with make such curious, sometimes silly, remarks that Celia feels she must have a say in their conversation. Rodrigo's rule for Celia in order for her to be a well-behaved little lady, is for her to speak only when spoken to and to remain still the rest of the time. At home Celia deals with constant arguments between her uncle and Basílides, as well as the latter's beloved pet owl
, and the battling between the servant woman and Maimón. Celia, Rodrigo, Basílides and Maimón, as well as the animals, the owl Casimira and the cat Pirracas, spend their summer in a French
villa
. Basílides has a hard time adapting to this strange place where no one can understand her Spanish
, but Celia manages to make a couple of very good friends. The young girl Paulette becomes Celia's best friend and companion during the summer, visiting each other at their houses or spending time at the beach
. The two have another friend, a girl named Claude. Claude is from a poor family and has an older brother named Raymund that cannot join her during her vacation, because their family cannot afford to send them both on holiday to the beach. Celia comes up with a plan to help Claude's brother through numerous schemes to earn money from people, including the selling of Rodrigo's berries
and flower
s as well as telling the people she meets at the beach about the sad situation of Claude's family, especially her brother's. Celia's aunt and Rodrigo's sister, Julia, arrives just in time to help Celia's cause, but soon the aunt contributes to a lot of bothersome hassle within the French villa. When summer's over, Tío Rodrigo bids farewell to Basílides and Maimón as he sends them back to Madrid, Spain
on train. Rather than return home, Celia and her uncle and invited to spend Christmas
with Paulette's family in a grand castle, where Celia again stirs up plenty of trouble. When the two girls are severely punished over a series of mischief, Celia tries to escape with Paulette, who's being sent off to a school in Paris
, and manages to crash the car she had stowed away into against a tree. Unconscious and believing herself dead, Celia wakes up to the voice of her own father, who's come to return her to Spain
, because he wants his daughter to bloom as a Spaniard, and believes the constant changing of culture
and language
is too much for her young mind.
The book is told in first-person
from Celia's perspective, like in all previous books, following a third-person introduction from author Elena Fortún
's.
Celia en el mundo was the first of the "Celia" novels to not be adapted as part of the 1992 series
directed by José Luís Borau; only a very small part of the previous book, Celia novelista (1934) was adapted as the very last few minutes of the sixth and last episode, "¡Hasta la vista!" Some major characters from the fourth book played rather small roles in the series, including Tío Rodrigo, Maimón, Basílides and Tía Julia.
Tío Rodrigo, Celia's uncle and her father's brother, appeared only in the second episode of the series, "Doña Benita." He was introduced as Celia told her friend María Teresa about his uncle's arrival with Maimón. Tío Rodrigo, played by Spanish actor Fernando Valverde, was represented as a very loving uncle to Celia and a dear brother-in-law to her mother, also referred to as "very handsome" by the girl. His last appearance was in the very same episode, when he invites Celia to his quiet and boring birthday party, where the girl and her two snobby girl-cousins celebrated together as he retired due to a headache, as well as the pressures of aging. Maimón was introduced at the same time as Tío Rodrigo, and was immediately disliked by Doña Benita, who believed him to be a thief. Maimón is saddened by the dislike certain characters show against him, such as Basílides, Doña Benita and Celia's two cousins. The Moor
boy appeared again and for the last time in the fifth episode, "Ni santa, ni mártir", where he came to attend Celia's final examinations for her first schoolyear at the convent.
Both Basílides and Tía Julia had small roles in the series. Basílides, played by the Spanish actress Diana Salcedo, was introduced in Rodrigo's birthday party, where she tried to keep the three girls in peace with one another, and especially from upsetting their uncle. Basílides, just like Rodrigo, did not appear again the series. Finally, Tía Julia played a slightly larger role in the series, though she only appeared in two episodes. In the first episode, "Soy Celia", Tía Julia joined Celia's family for Christmas, and several times tried to convince her father to send the girl to school with the nuns, an option Celia's father, Pablo, did not find suitable. Tía Julia reappeared again for the last time in the third episode, "El verano", with the same purpose as before. The second time, however, she was successful in convincing Celia's parents as the girl's misbehaving gravely endangered the life of her little brother, "Cuchifritín". The short appearances of all four characters limited the deeper character development that was expanded in the fourth book of the series.
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
children's author, Elena Fortún. Originally published in the year 1934
1934 in literature
The year 1934 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The first Flash Gordon comic strip is published.*Boris Pasternak and Korney Chukovsky are among those present at the first Congress of the Soviet Union of Writers....
, the novel continues the adventures of Celia in a series now considered classic
Classic
The word classic means something that is a perfect example of a particular style, something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality. The word can be an adjective or a noun . It denotes a particular quality in art, architecture, literature and other cultural artifacts...
s of Spanish children's literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. In the fourth novel, Celia is taken away by her uncle from the convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
where she had resided in Celia en el colegio
Celia en el colegio
Celia en el colegio is the second in the series of Celia novels by Elena Fortún, first published in 1932 according to records. Considered classics of Spanish literature, the books told the stories of a little girl named Celia living in Spain during the 1930s...
(1932), and is brought to live with him and his servants, Basílides and Maimón. Celia spends quite a lot of time among grown-ups rather than with children her own age. Eventually, she befriends a young French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
girl named Paulette who becomes her constant companion throughout many adventures and misadventures. Like the previous novels, Celia en el mundo reflected a country slowly entering its civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
years, as well as the, often negative, general views people of those times had towards certain social groups, including the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, the Galicians
Galician people
The Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...
, and to a lesser extent, the French, as well as the religious communities
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, such as the nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s. Different editions and reprints of the book featured artwork from different illustrators; the most recent editions featured Molina Gallent's artwork, while older editions featured that of M. Palacios and Gori Muñox. This was the very first "Celia" novel to not be featured in its entirety or even partially in Televisión Española
Televisión Española
Televisión Española is the national state-owned public-service television broadcaster in Spain. TVE's activities were previously financed by a combination of advertising revenue and subsidies from the national government, but since it's been supported by subsidies only.TVE belongs to the RTVE...
's 1992
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
series, Celia
Celia (TV series)
Celia is a Spanish children's television series that was originally broadcast in 1992 through Spain's national public-service channel, Televisión Española...
, directed by José Luis Borau
José Luis Borau
José Luis Borau Moradell is a Spanish producer, screenwriter, writer, and film director. He has acted in some films.He won Goya Award as Best Director in 2000 for Leo....
.
Plot summary
Published after Celia novelista (1934), the book picks up the story that was left off in Celia en el colegioCelia en el colegio
Celia en el colegio is the second in the series of Celia novels by Elena Fortún, first published in 1932 according to records. Considered classics of Spanish literature, the books told the stories of a little girl named Celia living in Spain during the 1930s...
(1932).
Celia's uncle, Tío Rodrigo, had arrived at the school where Celia attended class with the nuns and had rudely taken her away, without her parents permission or consent, because he strongly believed that the nuns were a poor influence for Celia, and her mind would only be filled with uncultured foolishness rather than educational nourishment. Celia is taken to her uncle's home in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, to live with Basílides, Rodrigo's servant, and Maimón, a young Moor
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
boy; two characters who could hardly stand each other's presence. Rodrigo wants the nine-year-old girl to "see the world", but not the world as in "earth", the world as in "real life". Living with her uncle, Celia spends many days without the company of boys and girls her own age, but rather that of older people. Her uncle asks her to behave when he takes her out with his friends to restaurants or to the park, but Celia hesitates; the grown-ups she spends time with make such curious, sometimes silly, remarks that Celia feels she must have a say in their conversation. Rodrigo's rule for Celia in order for her to be a well-behaved little lady, is for her to speak only when spoken to and to remain still the rest of the time. At home Celia deals with constant arguments between her uncle and Basílides, as well as the latter's beloved pet owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, and the battling between the servant woman and Maimón. Celia, Rodrigo, Basílides and Maimón, as well as the animals, the owl Casimira and the cat Pirracas, spend their summer in a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
. Basílides has a hard time adapting to this strange place where no one can understand her Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, but Celia manages to make a couple of very good friends. The young girl Paulette becomes Celia's best friend and companion during the summer, visiting each other at their houses or spending time at the beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
. The two have another friend, a girl named Claude. Claude is from a poor family and has an older brother named Raymund that cannot join her during her vacation, because their family cannot afford to send them both on holiday to the beach. Celia comes up with a plan to help Claude's brother through numerous schemes to earn money from people, including the selling of Rodrigo's berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
and flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s as well as telling the people she meets at the beach about the sad situation of Claude's family, especially her brother's. Celia's aunt and Rodrigo's sister, Julia, arrives just in time to help Celia's cause, but soon the aunt contributes to a lot of bothersome hassle within the French villa. When summer's over, Tío Rodrigo bids farewell to Basílides and Maimón as he sends them back to Madrid, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on train. Rather than return home, Celia and her uncle and invited to spend Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
with Paulette's family in a grand castle, where Celia again stirs up plenty of trouble. When the two girls are severely punished over a series of mischief, Celia tries to escape with Paulette, who's being sent off to a school in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and manages to crash the car she had stowed away into against a tree. Unconscious and believing herself dead, Celia wakes up to the voice of her own father, who's come to return her to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, because he wants his daughter to bloom as a Spaniard, and believes the constant changing of culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
and language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
is too much for her young mind.
The book is told in first-person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
from Celia's perspective, like in all previous books, following a third-person introduction from author Elena Fortún
Elena Fortún
Encarnación Aragoneses Urquijo , Spanish author of children's literature who wrote under the pen name, Elena Fortún. She became famous for Celia, lo que dice the first in the series of children's novels which were a collection of short stories first published in magazines in 1929...
's.
Adaptations
Celia (TV series)
Celia is a Spanish children's television series that was originally broadcast in 1992 through Spain's national public-service channel, Televisión Española...
directed by José Luís Borau; only a very small part of the previous book, Celia novelista (1934) was adapted as the very last few minutes of the sixth and last episode, "¡Hasta la vista!" Some major characters from the fourth book played rather small roles in the series, including Tío Rodrigo, Maimón, Basílides and Tía Julia.
Tío Rodrigo, Celia's uncle and her father's brother, appeared only in the second episode of the series, "Doña Benita." He was introduced as Celia told her friend María Teresa about his uncle's arrival with Maimón. Tío Rodrigo, played by Spanish actor Fernando Valverde, was represented as a very loving uncle to Celia and a dear brother-in-law to her mother, also referred to as "very handsome" by the girl. His last appearance was in the very same episode, when he invites Celia to his quiet and boring birthday party, where the girl and her two snobby girl-cousins celebrated together as he retired due to a headache, as well as the pressures of aging. Maimón was introduced at the same time as Tío Rodrigo, and was immediately disliked by Doña Benita, who believed him to be a thief. Maimón is saddened by the dislike certain characters show against him, such as Basílides, Doña Benita and Celia's two cousins. The Moor
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
boy appeared again and for the last time in the fifth episode, "Ni santa, ni mártir", where he came to attend Celia's final examinations for her first schoolyear at the convent.
Both Basílides and Tía Julia had small roles in the series. Basílides, played by the Spanish actress Diana Salcedo, was introduced in Rodrigo's birthday party, where she tried to keep the three girls in peace with one another, and especially from upsetting their uncle. Basílides, just like Rodrigo, did not appear again the series. Finally, Tía Julia played a slightly larger role in the series, though she only appeared in two episodes. In the first episode, "Soy Celia", Tía Julia joined Celia's family for Christmas, and several times tried to convince her father to send the girl to school with the nuns, an option Celia's father, Pablo, did not find suitable. Tía Julia reappeared again for the last time in the third episode, "El verano", with the same purpose as before. The second time, however, she was successful in convincing Celia's parents as the girl's misbehaving gravely endangered the life of her little brother, "Cuchifritín". The short appearances of all four characters limited the deeper character development that was expanded in the fourth book of the series.
External links
- Elena Fortún: Su vida, su obra - Website dedicated to author Elena FortúnElena FortúnEncarnación Aragoneses Urquijo , Spanish author of children's literature who wrote under the pen name, Elena Fortún. She became famous for Celia, lo que dice the first in the series of children's novels which were a collection of short stories first published in magazines in 1929...
featuring her full biography. (SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
)