Luis Martín Santos
Encyclopedia
Luis Martín-Santos Ribera (11 November 1924 - 21 February 1964) was a Spanish
psychiatrist
and author
of Tiempo de silencio (Time of Silence), considered one of the greatest Spanish novel
s of the twentieth century.
, Morocco
in 1924. Son of the military doctor Leandro Martín-Santos, at five years of age his family moved to San Sebastián
, where he would ultimately spend most of his life. He studied medicine
in Salamanca
and received his doctorate
in psychiatry
in Madrid
, where he developed friendships with specialists like doctors Juan José López Ibor, Pedro Laín Entralgo
, and Carlos Castilla del Pino. At the same time, he became interested in literature
and spent time at the Café Gijón, where he met many prominent writers of his generation like Ignacio Aldecoa
, Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio
, and Juan Benet
. He also spent time with Alfonso Sastre
.
As a journalist, he published Tauromaquia (Bullfighting) and Noticia del coloquio sobre realismo y realidad en la literatura contemporánea (News from the Colloquy on Realism and Reality in Contemporary Literature). As a poet, he wrote Grana Gris which was published in 1945. His most important work was done as a narrator, an area in which he is considered to have initiated the technical revolution of the Spanish social novel during the sixties.
In 1951 he became director of the psychiatric hospital of San Sebastián and subsequently reintegrated into the life San Sebastián. He participated in the so-called "Academia Errante," a debate forum created by restless Spanish intellectuals in the sixties who were searching for new forms of expression. He read Jean Paul Sartre extensively and became interested in existentialism
.
He married a woman named Rocío in 1953 and later wrote a thesis entitled Dilthey, Jaspers y la comprensión del enfermo mental (Dilthey, Jaspers, and Understanding the Mentally Ill) in 1955 and also the essay Libertad, temporalidad y transferencia en el psicoanálisis existencial (Freedom, Temporality, and Transference in Existential Psychoanalysis) in 1964. He labored in the then-clandestine Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and was thrown into prison on three occasions. He became a member of the Executive Committee and became friends with the socialist
leader Enrique Múgica Herzog
.
Near the end of 1960 he finished writing the novel Tiempo de silencio, which was published in 1962 with twenty censored pages. An uncensored edition was not published until 1981. In this novel he makes innovative use of interior monologue, second person
, indirect free style, stream of consciousness, desrealización, and mythification, narrative devices that had been pioneered earlier by James Joyce
.
His wife Rocío died the following year. He wrote Tiempo de destrucción (Time of Destruction), that was left incomplete when the author died in a traffic accident in Vitoria, Spain
on 21 February 1964. Nevertheless, it was published in 1975. The same publisher also released a posthumous collection of his short stories, entitled Apólogos, in 1970.
Tiempo de silencio
is also a movie based on the book and directed by Vicente Aranda
.
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...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
and 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:...
of Tiempo de silencio (Time of Silence), considered one of the greatest Spanish novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s of the twentieth century.
Biography
Martín-Santos was born in LaracheLarache
Larache is an important harbour town in the region Tanger-Tétouan in northern Morocco. It was founded in the 7th century when a group of Muslim soldiers from Arabia extended their camp at Lixus onto the south bank of the Loukkos River.In 1471, the Portuguese settlers from Asilah and Tangier drove...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in 1924. Son of the military doctor Leandro Martín-Santos, at five years of age his family moved to San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
, where he would ultimately spend most of his life. He studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
in Salamanca
Salamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
and received his doctorate
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
in 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...
, where he developed friendships with specialists like doctors Juan José López Ibor, Pedro Laín Entralgo
Pedro Laín Entralgo
Pedro Laín Entralgo was a Spanish medical researcher. He won the Prince of Asturias award in 1989 for Communication and Humanities.In 1964 he entered the Royal Academy of History...
, and Carlos Castilla del Pino. At the same time, he became interested in literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and spent time at the Café Gijón, where he met many prominent writers of his generation like Ignacio Aldecoa
Ignacio Aldecoa
Ignacio Aldecoa was a Spanish author.-Biography:José Ignacio de Aldecoa was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz on 24 July 1925, the first child of Simón de Aldecoa and Carmen Isasi. He had a sister called María Teresa, born in 1927...
, Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio
Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio
Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio is a Spanish writer. His father Rafael Sánchez Mazas, a minor writer himself, was a founder and leader of Falange....
, and Juan Benet
Juan Benet
-Early life:Benet was born in Madrid. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, his father died, and he left for San Sebastian with his family to find refuge. They stayed there until 1939, when they returned to the capital. In 1944, he completed his high school education and in 1948 he entered into...
. He also spent time with Alfonso Sastre
Alfonso Sastre
Alfonso Sastre is a Spanish playwright, essayist, and critic. He was an outspoken critic of censorship during the reign of General Francisco Franco...
.
As a journalist, he published Tauromaquia (Bullfighting) and Noticia del coloquio sobre realismo y realidad en la literatura contemporánea (News from the Colloquy on Realism and Reality in Contemporary Literature). As a poet, he wrote Grana Gris which was published in 1945. His most important work was done as a narrator, an area in which he is considered to have initiated the technical revolution of the Spanish social novel during the sixties.
In 1951 he became director of the psychiatric hospital of San Sebastián and subsequently reintegrated into the life San Sebastián. He participated in the so-called "Academia Errante," a debate forum created by restless Spanish intellectuals in the sixties who were searching for new forms of expression. He read Jean Paul Sartre extensively and became interested in existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
.
He married a woman named Rocío in 1953 and later wrote a thesis entitled Dilthey, Jaspers y la comprensión del enfermo mental (Dilthey, Jaspers, and Understanding the Mentally Ill) in 1955 and also the essay Libertad, temporalidad y transferencia en el psicoanálisis existencial (Freedom, Temporality, and Transference in Existential Psychoanalysis) in 1964. He labored in the then-clandestine Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and was thrown into prison on three occasions. He became a member of the Executive Committee and became friends with the socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
leader Enrique Múgica Herzog
Enrique Múgica Herzog
Enrique Múgica Herzog is an attorney and Spanish politician. A historical member of the PSOE, former Justice Minister , former congressman and former Ombudsman ....
.
Near the end of 1960 he finished writing the novel Tiempo de silencio, which was published in 1962 with twenty censored pages. An uncensored edition was not published until 1981. In this novel he makes innovative use of interior monologue, second person
Second-person narrative
The second-person narrative is a narrative mode in which the protagonist or another main character is referred to by employment of second-person personal pronouns and other kinds of addressing forms, for example the English second-person pronoun "you"....
, indirect free style, stream of consciousness, desrealización, and mythification, narrative devices that had been pioneered earlier by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
.
His wife Rocío died the following year. He wrote Tiempo de destrucción (Time of Destruction), that was left incomplete when the author died in a traffic accident in Vitoria, Spain
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...
on 21 February 1964. Nevertheless, it was published in 1975. The same publisher also released a posthumous collection of his short stories, entitled Apólogos, in 1970.
Tiempo de silencio
Tiempo de silencio
Tiempo de Silencio is a 1986 Spanish film directed by Vicente Aranda adapted from a well-regarded novel written by Luis Martín-Santos. It stars Imanol Arias, Victoria Abril and Francisco Rabal...
is also a movie based on the book and directed by Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda
Vicente Aranda , is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Due to his refined and personal style, he is one of the most renowned Spanish filmmakers. He started as a founded member of the Barcelona School of Film and became known for bringing contemporary Spanish novels to life on the...
.
Works
- Dilthey, Jaspers y la comprensión del enfermo mental 1955
- Libertad, temporalidad y transferencia en el psicoanálisis existencial 1964
- Tiempo de silencio
- Tiempo de destrucción
- Apólogos 1970