Fortunata y Jacinta
Encyclopedia
Fortunata y Jacinta was written by Benito Pérez Galdós
in 1887. It is, together with Leopoldo Alas y Ureña
's La Regenta
(The Judge's Wife), one of the most popular and representative novels of Spanish literary realism
. Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
, Canary Islands
, the author went to Madrid
, the capital, to study law at age 18. There he would create a literary world that was present in almost all his writings. The novel created a sensation upon its release because of its scathing critique of the Spanish middle class, and for its frank sexuality. While criticized by political and religious leaders, it was praised by peers of Galdós for its realistic depiction of life amongst all classes in 19th century Madrid.
His mother decides to marry him to his cousin Jacinta. During their honeymoon, he tells her about his experiences in the poor neighborhoods of Madrid and talks to her about Fortunata.
As time passes, Jacinta realizes she cannot have children and she and the rest of the family become obsessed with this.
Ido del Sagrario is a poor man whom Juanito invited to the house with the intention of humiliating him for his own amusement. He shows up at the Santa Cruz home one day and informs Jacinta that Juanito had a son with Fortunata. Jacinta becomes very excited about the idea of having her husband's child, laying aside any feelings she had of betrayal. After consulting with Guillermina Pacheco (a saintly neighbor), the two women go through the Pitusín neighborhood. The baby's guardian is José Izquierdo, uncle of Fortunata, from whom they wish to buy the baby.
When she talks to her husband, the discussion turns farcical. He tells her that the baby was not his. He is certain that he had a child with Fortunata, but that that baby died some time after he married Jacinta.
Meanwhile, Fortunata has been living with various men, and living badly. If one man did not deceive her, he beat her, or abandoned her at the first opportunity. She was in Barcelona for a time, and on her return she moved in with Feliciana, an acquaintance of hers. Feliciana's boyfriend usually came to her house to visit with a friend of his, Maximiliano ("Maxi") Rubín. It is there that Rubín falls hopelessly in love with Fortunata. Soon the young man proposes to maintain her, and Fortunata, seeing this as an opportunity to escape her situation, accepts his offer.
Maxi lives with his aunt, Doña Lupe. After a certain point he wants to marry Fortunata. He consults his aunt and brothers. Everyone agrees that Fortunata should spend some time in Las Micaelas convent in order to reform herself. After the prescribed time passed, they married.
However, a trap awaits Fortunata in her new home. Juanito Santa Cruz has bought the apartment next door, and he bribes the newlywed's servant to sow discord between the couple. It did not take long before Fortunata took the bait. Maxi returns to his aunt's house, and Fortunata moves into the apartment paid for by Juanito.
With time, Juanito grows tired of his vulgar desires. He tries to get far away from Fortunata to the point of abandoning her again, this time leaving her a small sum to live on for a while. Fortunata bumps into Don Evaristo Feijoo, friend of her brother-in-law Juan Pablo. Feijoo proposes a sexual relationship in which she will live well and see new faces. She stays with him for a time, though they do not live together. This works out until Feijoo begins to think he is too old and Fortunata finds herself once again in the gutter. Feijoo advises her to return to her husband's house, and, after pulling a few heart strings, she does.
During this time she meets Segismundo Ballester, a co-worker of Maxi's from the pharmacy. Ballester is crazy for her.
Seeing Fortunata reformed makes Juanito Santa Cruz want her once again by his side. Fortunata, without even fleeing from the house, falls for him once more. Maxi gradually loses his mind. One day, in his state of insanity, he discovers that his wife is pregnant. Meanwhile, Juanito begins to tire of Fortunata yet again. Fortunata is sure that she is pregnant, and rather than explain to Doña Lupe ("she of the turkeys") what has happened, she simply gets out of the house.
Fortunata returns to her Aunt Segunda, in the place she was raised. She had her second child, attended by a doctor who was a friend of the Rubíns and of Segismundo.
Maxi is told that Fortunata is dead. He refuses to believe this and is able to figure out where she is and even gets to know the baby. Fortunata is told that Juanito Santa Cruz was betraying her with Aurora, a family friend of the Rubíns and an intimate of hers. As soon as she finds herself alone at home, Fortunata plans to get even.
In a few days she dies during a blood-letting. Before expiring, she writes a note in which she gives custody of her child to Jacinta.
Maxi, who didn't know whether he was too sane or too crazy, was sent to the insane asylum at Leganés
. The same day as Fortunata's funeral, they also bury Feijoo.
Characters associated with Fortunata
Characters associated with Maximiliano Rubín
Characters associated with Jacinta
Characters associated with Juanito Santa Cruz
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito Pérez Galdós was a Spanish realist novelist. Considered second only to Cervantes in stature, he was the leading Spanish realist novelist....
in 1887. It is, together with Leopoldo Alas y Ureña
Leopoldo Alas y Ureña
Leopoldo García-Alas y Ureña , also known as Clarín, was a Asturian realist novelist born in Zamora. He died in Oviedo....
's La Regenta
La regenta
La Regenta is a realist novel by Spanish author Leopoldo Alas y Ureña, also known as Clarín, published in 1884 and 1885.-Plot:The story is set in Vetusta , where the main character of the work, Ana Ozores "La Regenta", marries the former prime magistrate of the city, Víctor Quintanar, a kind...
(The Judge's Wife), one of the most popular and representative novels of Spanish literary realism
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
. Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
, Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, the author went to 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...
, the capital, to study law at age 18. There he would create a literary world that was present in almost all his writings. The novel created a sensation upon its release because of its scathing critique of the Spanish middle class, and for its frank sexuality. While criticized by political and religious leaders, it was praised by peers of Galdós for its realistic depiction of life amongst all classes in 19th century Madrid.
Plot summary
The story revolves around Juanito Santa Cruz. The scion of a wealthy family, he goes around carousing and womanizing with his friends. In one of these episodes, he is taken with Fortunata, a young woman of the lower class. This encounter ends with Juanito growing bored of Fortunata and disappearing from her life.His mother decides to marry him to his cousin Jacinta. During their honeymoon, he tells her about his experiences in the poor neighborhoods of Madrid and talks to her about Fortunata.
As time passes, Jacinta realizes she cannot have children and she and the rest of the family become obsessed with this.
Ido del Sagrario is a poor man whom Juanito invited to the house with the intention of humiliating him for his own amusement. He shows up at the Santa Cruz home one day and informs Jacinta that Juanito had a son with Fortunata. Jacinta becomes very excited about the idea of having her husband's child, laying aside any feelings she had of betrayal. After consulting with Guillermina Pacheco (a saintly neighbor), the two women go through the Pitusín neighborhood. The baby's guardian is José Izquierdo, uncle of Fortunata, from whom they wish to buy the baby.
When she talks to her husband, the discussion turns farcical. He tells her that the baby was not his. He is certain that he had a child with Fortunata, but that that baby died some time after he married Jacinta.
Meanwhile, Fortunata has been living with various men, and living badly. If one man did not deceive her, he beat her, or abandoned her at the first opportunity. She was in Barcelona for a time, and on her return she moved in with Feliciana, an acquaintance of hers. Feliciana's boyfriend usually came to her house to visit with a friend of his, Maximiliano ("Maxi") Rubín. It is there that Rubín falls hopelessly in love with Fortunata. Soon the young man proposes to maintain her, and Fortunata, seeing this as an opportunity to escape her situation, accepts his offer.
Maxi lives with his aunt, Doña Lupe. After a certain point he wants to marry Fortunata. He consults his aunt and brothers. Everyone agrees that Fortunata should spend some time in Las Micaelas convent in order to reform herself. After the prescribed time passed, they married.
However, a trap awaits Fortunata in her new home. Juanito Santa Cruz has bought the apartment next door, and he bribes the newlywed's servant to sow discord between the couple. It did not take long before Fortunata took the bait. Maxi returns to his aunt's house, and Fortunata moves into the apartment paid for by Juanito.
With time, Juanito grows tired of his vulgar desires. He tries to get far away from Fortunata to the point of abandoning her again, this time leaving her a small sum to live on for a while. Fortunata bumps into Don Evaristo Feijoo, friend of her brother-in-law Juan Pablo. Feijoo proposes a sexual relationship in which she will live well and see new faces. She stays with him for a time, though they do not live together. This works out until Feijoo begins to think he is too old and Fortunata finds herself once again in the gutter. Feijoo advises her to return to her husband's house, and, after pulling a few heart strings, she does.
During this time she meets Segismundo Ballester, a co-worker of Maxi's from the pharmacy. Ballester is crazy for her.
Seeing Fortunata reformed makes Juanito Santa Cruz want her once again by his side. Fortunata, without even fleeing from the house, falls for him once more. Maxi gradually loses his mind. One day, in his state of insanity, he discovers that his wife is pregnant. Meanwhile, Juanito begins to tire of Fortunata yet again. Fortunata is sure that she is pregnant, and rather than explain to Doña Lupe ("she of the turkeys") what has happened, she simply gets out of the house.
Fortunata returns to her Aunt Segunda, in the place she was raised. She had her second child, attended by a doctor who was a friend of the Rubíns and of Segismundo.
Maxi is told that Fortunata is dead. He refuses to believe this and is able to figure out where she is and even gets to know the baby. Fortunata is told that Juanito Santa Cruz was betraying her with Aurora, a family friend of the Rubíns and an intimate of hers. As soon as she finds herself alone at home, Fortunata plans to get even.
In a few days she dies during a blood-letting. Before expiring, she writes a note in which she gives custody of her child to Jacinta.
Maxi, who didn't know whether he was too sane or too crazy, was sent to the insane asylum at Leganés
Leganés
Leganés is a city in central Spain. Part of the greater Madrid conurbation - mainly a satellite-city with a population of 186,066 it is located about 11 km southwest of the city centre....
. The same day as Fortunata's funeral, they also bury Feijoo.
Main characters
- Fortunata
- Juanito Santa Cruz
- Jacinta
- Maximiliano Rubín
Characters associated with Fortunata
- Juárez el Negro
- Camps
- Evaristo Feijoo
- Ido del Sagrario
- Nicanora
- José Izquierdo
- Rosita
- Juan Evaristo Segismundo
- Segunda
Characters associated with Maximiliano Rubín
- Olmedo
- Feliciana
- Juan Pablo Rubín
- Refugio
- Doña Lupe
- Nicolás Rubín
- Segismundo Ballester
- Torquemada
- Papitos
Characters associated with Jacinta
- Manuel Moreno Isla
- Isabel Cordero
- Gumersindo Arnáiz
- Guillermina Pacheco
Characters associated with Juanito Santa Cruz
- Aurora
- Don Baldomero Santa Cruz
- Doña Barbarita Arnáiz
- Estupiñá
- Jacinto Villalonga
External links
- Fortunata y Jacinta at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
in Spanish.