The technique of unpopularity : or the problematic reception of Francesc Trabal’s subversively modern fiction

Sauleda-Brossa, Nin and Thakkar, Amit and O'Donoghue, Samuel (2020) The technique of unpopularity : or the problematic reception of Francesc Trabal’s subversively modern fiction. Masters thesis, Lancaster University.

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Abstract

Catalan writer Francesc Trabal (1899-1957) had a problematic reception. While his works before the Spanish Civil War were generally applauded because of their modernity and freshness, after the war an important part of the readership rejected his last novel, Temperatura, because it was seen as a frivolity in transcendent times. This dissertation aims to establish the context of this rejection and try to prove it was caused by the fact that Trabal’s earlier reception was already problematic: an important part of Trabal’s readers refused to read the texts in their own terms. With a detailed survey on reviews and scholarly studies the terms and circumstances of the reception is established and clarified. With a literary analysis of Temperatura first and then of Trabal’s literature in relation to parody and intermediality. Trabal’s literature is radically modern and essentially metalinguistic and metaliterary both before and after the Spanish Civil War. While considered frivolous by critics Trabal was challenging current literary values and exploring the great topic: the relationship between literature and life, between art and life. In short, he devoted his art to explore how humans make sense of the world and themselves.