''Doña Perfecta'' (1876) is a 19th-century
realist novel by
Benito Pérez Galdós
Benito María de los Dolores Pérez Galdós (; 10 May 1843 – 4 January 1920) was a Spanish Spanish Realist literature, realist novelist. He was a leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Mi ...
from what is called the first of Galdós's three epochs in his novels of social analysis.
Plot summary
The action occurs in 19th century Spain, when a young liberal named Don José (Pepe) Rey, arrives in a cathedral city named Orbajosa, with the intention of marrying his cousin Rosario. This was a
marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...
arranged between Pepe's father Juan and Juan's sister, Perfecta.
Upon getting to know each other, Pepe and Rosario declare their eternal love, but in steps Don Inocencio, the cathedral canon, who meddles and obstructs the marriage as well as the good intentions of Doña Perfecta and her brother Don Juan. Over the course of time, several events lead up to a confrontation between Pepe Rey and his aunt Perfecta (supposedly based on Galdós's difficult relationship with his mother),
which is caused by her refusal to allow Pepe and Rosario to marry, because Pepe is a non-believer. The novel ends up with the death of Pepe Rey due to his aunt Perfecta. Rosario turns mad and ends up in a madhouse.
The novel illustrates the great power that the church wielded. It also describes the differences between the traditional, provincial outlook, and the modern, liberal outlook of
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, the capital.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The
lost 1918 American silent film ''
Beauty in Chains'' was adopted from the novel.
In 1951,
Alejandro Galindo directed a
film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
written by
Gunther Gerzso set in Mexican sites and times with
Dolores del Río as Doña Perfecta.
In 1977, the film version was written and directed by César Fernández Ardavín.
Julia Gutiérrez Caba played Doña Perfecta. The cast included other actors such as
José Luis López Vázquez, Manuel Sierra,
Victoria Abril,
Emilio Gutiérrez Caba,
Fernando Sancho and
Mirta Miller.
In 1985, there was a TV version made in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
by
Venezolana de Televisión with
Lupita Ferrer as Doña Perfecta.
References
External links
Doña Perfecta(bilingual e-book with Spanish and English versions side-by-side).
1876 novels
19th-century Spanish novels
Realist novels
Novels set in Spain
Spanish novels adapted into films
Spanish novels adapted into television shows
Novels by Benito Pérez Galdós
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