Juan Valera y Alcala Galiano
Encyclopedia
Juan Valera y Alcalá-Galiano (18 October 1824 – 18 April 1905), was a Spanish
realist
author
, writer
and political figure.
He was born at Cabra
, in the province of Córdoba, and was educated at Málaga
and at the University of Granada
, where he took his degree in law, and then entered upon a diplomatic career (1847). Over the next five decades, Valera filled a number of positions in a variety of various places. He accompanied the Spanish Ambassador to Naples. Afterwards, he was a member of the Spanish legations at Lisbon (1850), Rio de Janeiro
(1851–53), Dresden
and St. Petersburg
(1854–57). After his return to Madrid
, he became one of the editors of the liberal journal El Contemporáneo (1859), and was appointed Minister to Frankfurt
(1865). After the revolution of 1868 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State and (1871) Director of Public Instruction. During the reign of Alphonso XII he was Minister to Lisbon
(1881–83), Washington
(1883–86), and Brussels
(1886–88), and in 1893-95 Ambassador to Vienna
. He was elected to the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in 1900.
Throughout his diplomatic and political activity he produced works which rank among the highest that his country's literature contains. For purity of diction and beauty of style Valera has never been surpassed in Spain. Pepita Jiménez, which appeared as a serial in 1874, is probably his best known work; it has since been translated into many languages. It depicts the gradual realization by a young seminarian of the empty vanity of his vocation, culminating in a shattering denouement. Other novels are (1875), (1877), , and (1879). All of the foregoing novels were written around the time when he abandoned his political activities. He was also a supporter of Iberian Federalism.
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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...
realist
Spanish Realist literature
Spanish Realist literature is the literature written in Spain during the second half of the 19th century, following the Realist movement which predominated in Europe....
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and political figure.
He was born at Cabra
Cabra, Spain
Cabra is a municipality in the province of Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain. It is also the name of the former ruling family of that area. As of 2005 the municipality had a population of 20,940 while its seat, the town of Cabra had 19,523 .-Geography:...
, in the province of Córdoba, and was educated at Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and at the University of Granada
University of Granada
The University of Granada is a public university located in Granada, Spain that enrolls approximately 80,000 students. The university also has campuses in Ceuta and Melilla. Every year, over 2,000 European students enroll in the UGR through the Erasmus Programme, making it the most popular...
, where he took his degree in law, and then entered upon a diplomatic career (1847). Over the next five decades, Valera filled a number of positions in a variety of various places. He accompanied the Spanish Ambassador to Naples. Afterwards, he was a member of the Spanish legations at Lisbon (1850), Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
(1851–53), Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
(1854–57). After his return 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...
, he became one of the editors of the liberal journal El Contemporáneo (1859), and was appointed Minister to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
(1865). After the revolution of 1868 he was appointed Assistant Secretary of State and (1871) Director of Public Instruction. During the reign of Alphonso XII he was Minister to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
(1881–83), Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
(1883–86), and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(1886–88), and in 1893-95 Ambassador to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. He was elected to the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in 1900.
Throughout his diplomatic and political activity he produced works which rank among the highest that his country's literature contains. For purity of diction and beauty of style Valera has never been surpassed in Spain. Pepita Jiménez, which appeared as a serial in 1874, is probably his best known work; it has since been translated into many languages. It depicts the gradual realization by a young seminarian of the empty vanity of his vocation, culminating in a shattering denouement. Other novels are (1875), (1877), , and (1879). All of the foregoing novels were written around the time when he abandoned his political activities. He was also a supporter of Iberian Federalism.
Literature
- Juan Valera, Obras Completas (Madrid, 1905 et seq., 43 volumes to 1916)
- Juan Valera, The Illusions of Doctor Faustino, translated by Robert M. Fedorchek. Catholic University of America PressCatholic University of America PressThe Catholic University of America Press, also known as CUA Press, is the academic publishing house of the Catholic University of America. Founded on November 14, 1939, and incorporated on July 16, 1941, the Press is a founding member of the Association of American University Presses...
(2008) - Juan Valera, Juanita la Larga, translated by Robert M. Fedorchek. Catholic University of America (2006)
- Ferdinand Brunetière, La casuistique dans le roman de Juan Valera, in his series Histoire et littérature, volume i (Paris, 1884)
- Emilia Pardo Bazán, "Retratos y apuntes literaros," in Obras completas, volume xxxii (Madrid, 1891 et seq.)
- Conde de Casa Valencia, Necrologia de ... D. J. V. (Madrid, 1905)
- Conde de las Navas, Don Juan Valera (Madrid, 1905)
- J. D. Fitz-GeraldJohn Driscoll Fitz-GeraldJohn Driscoll Fitz-Gerald II was an American Hispanic scholar, nephew of James Newbury Fitz-Gerald, born in Newark, N. J., graduated from Columbia University in 1895 , and also studied Romance philology at the universities of Berlin, Leipzig, Paris, and Madrid...
, "Juan Valera," in The Bookman, volume xxi (New York, 1905) - Karimi, Kian-Harald (2007): Jenseits von altem Gott und ‘Neuem Menschen’. Präsenz und Entzug des Göttlichen im Diskurs der spanischen Restaurationsepoche. Frankf./M.: Vervuert. ISBN 3-86527-313-0
- F. Vézinet, Les maitres du roman aspagnol contemporain (Paris, 1907)