La identidad determinada por la narración en Muntaner, 38 y El vendedor de rosas de J A Garriga Vela.

Barbera-Farran, Frederic (2005) La identidad determinada por la narración en Muntaner, 38 y El vendedor de rosas de J A Garriga Vela. In: La cultura catalana de expresión castellana. Estudios de Literatura, teatro y cine . Edition Reichenberger, Kassel, pp. 105-121. ISBN 978-3-937734-20-0

Abstract

This study deals with cultural identity in two novels by a Catalan writer in Castilian. Through the critical analysis of these two works, this chapter establishes, on the one hand, the extent to which narrative techniques contribute to constructing an identity. On the other hand, this study also identifies the specifics of a cultural identity that transcends narration. Thus, it is shown how the apparent absence of Catalan identity in the text is due to the construction of an identity that takes as its reference the ways of seeing generated by Catalan anarchism, defeated in the Spanish Civil War (the narrator's father in 'Muntaner, 38' being on the losing side). In 'El vendedor de rosas', these ways of seeing acquire a subtly ironic dimension which results in a socio-political critique of the contemporary way of life. In this novel, cultural identity is constructed by contrast, as happens in the paradigmatic essay 'Campos de N'jar', by the renowned writer Juan Goytisolo. This comparison allows us to further understand the concept of country and periphery as established in the texts by Garriga Vela. The assessment of the literary language coined by Garriga Vela, as compared to that of other Catalan writers in Castilian in their particular socio-cultural context allows a more complete understanding of cultural identity and its link to literature. The study of Garriga Vela's use of memory further clarifies the relationship between these two novels and the cultural context where they were produced.