Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós
"Doña Perfecta" is a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós, set in the small Spanish town of Orbajosa, which is characterized by its strong religious atmosphere and lack of industrial activity. The story revolves around Doña Perfecta Rey, a wealthy widow who is intent on marrying her daughter, Rosario, to her nephew, Pepe Rey. Initially, there is mutual affection between Pepe and Rosario, but tension arises due to Doña Perfecta's devoutness and her desire to maintain the town's conservative values, heavily influenced by the Church and local canon Don Inocencio.
As Pepe's liberal views clash with the town's rigid beliefs, he is unjustly portrayed as a heretic, leading to a dramatic struggle for love and acceptance. The narrative explores themes of power, societal expectations, and the consequences of fanaticism. Ultimately, tragic events unfold as Doña Perfecta's actions lead to the death of Pepe and the mental collapse of Rosario, illustrating the destructive nature of dogmatism and the loss experienced by the community. The novel serves as a critique of the conflict between progressive ideals and conservative traditions in 19th-century Spain.
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Doña Perfecta by Benito Pérez Galdós
First published: 1876 (English translation, 1880)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Tragedy
Time of plot: Late nineteenth century
Locale: Orbajosa, Spain
Principal characters
José (Pepe) Rey ,Doña Perfecta Rey , his auntRosario , her daughterDon Inocencio , the canon of the cathedralMaria Remedios , his sisterJacinto , María’s son
The Story:
The city of Orbajosa, with its 7,324 inhabitants, is proud of its religious atmosphere. It boasts a cathedral and a seminary but possesses nothing else to make it known to the rest of Spain, having no manufacturing. Its only agricultural activity is growing garlic. The leading citizen of Orbajosa is Doña Perfecta Rey, a widow whose wealth is the result of legal victories her brother, an Andalusian lawyer, won over her husband’s family. Since her brother has a son, Pepe Rey, and she has a daughter, Rosario, the idea of marriage between the two young people seems a natural arrangement to their elders. It is for this purpose that Pepe is first sent to Orbajosa.
In his busy life as a road construction engineer, Pepe thinks little about matrimony, but he begins to do so after seeing the lovely Rosario. The girl, for her part, is attracted to her cousin, and in the beginning Doña Perfecta, too, is much taken with Pepe.
Doña Perfecta, like the other inhabitants of Orbajosa, is dominated by the Church, and as the town’s most exemplary citizen she feels it necessary to be especially devout. Don Inocencio, the canon of the cathedral, has other plans for Rosario. Urged on by his sister, María Remedios, who wants the Rey fortune for her son, Jacinto, Don Inocencio, who is far less innocent than his name implies, begins conniving to end all talk of marriage between the cousins.
Pepe, through his wide travels and training, is unorthodox, though not without regard for religion. Before long, Don Inocencio makes him appear a heretic, and Doña Perfecta, forgetting her indebtedness to his father and ignoring the feelings of her daughter, refuses to let him see Rosario. The girl, made meek by strict education and dominated by her mother, lacks the courage to assert herself in declaring her love for her cousin. Soon everyone in Orbajosa—from the bishop to the working man in the fields—becomes convinced that it is a matter of religious and civic necessity to rid their city of the heretic. The unsuspecting Pepe tries to explain that he has no intention of attacking religion, but his attempts to make his position clear only make matters worse.
Finally, after several stolen interviews with Rosario in the family chapel, Pepe and Rosario decide to run away together. At the very time, however, that the conscience-stricken Rosario is revealing the plan to her mother, María Remedios arrives to warn Doña Perfecta that Pepe is entering the garden. Knowing that Pepe is coming to take Rosario away, Doña Perfecta orders one of her acquaintances to shoot. Pepe falls, mortally wounded. His death drives Rosario insane. Don Inocencio feels himself cut off from the world, and Doña Perfecta dies of cancer. Nobody gains anything, but Orbajosa is convinced it won a victory for the faith.
Bibliography
Bell, T. E. Galdós and Darwin. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2006. Traces the influence of Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theories and other nineteenth century scientific concepts on Pérez Galdós’s literary works.
Cardwell, Richard A. “Galdós’ Doña Perfecta: Art or Argument?” Anales Galdosianos 7 (1972): 29-47. Discusses and questions the idea of the work as a “thesis novel.” Focuses on whether Pepe Rey is a liberal martyr to a progressive ideal in a backward rural society.
McGovern, Timothy Michael. Dickens in Galdós. New York: Peter Lang, 2000. Compares how Pérez Galdós and Charles Dickens criticize society by creating three types of characters—the religious ascetic, the miser, and the Lazarillo, a type of national savior. Includes bibliography and index.
Scott, Paddy. Women in the Novels of Benito Pérez Galdós and Ecá de Queiroz. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 2008. A feminist analysis of the depiction of women in Pérez Galdós’s work, describing how the wives and mothers in his fiction are affected by education, work, religion, and consumerism.
Shoemaker, William H. The Novelistic Art of Galdós. 3 vols. Valencia, Spain: Albatros Hispanofila, 1980-1982. Volume 1 offers a broad literary critique of Pérez Galdós’s novels in their entirety. Volume 2 discusses each of the novels, providing an overall critique of the specific works, including structure, style, symbolism, and critical consensus.
Varey, J. E. Doña Perfecta. London: Grant & Cutler, 1971. A good critical introduction to the novel. Includes a discussion of the novel’s situation and characters, as well as its social, moral, and political aspects. One chapter is devoted to the stylistic features of the novel.
Zahareas, Anthony N. “Galdós’ Doña Perfecta: Fiction, History, and Ideology.” Anales Galdosianos 11 (1976): 29-58. Focuses on the identification of certain moments in the history of Spain during the nineteenth century that might be related to Pérez Galdós’s fictional events. An interesting and enlightening study.