Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Nalbone, Lisa J.
URN	etd-04092006-225217
Title	Power, Truth, and Knowledge in Modern Hispanic Narrative: Manuel Zeno Gandía, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, and Benito Pérez Galdés
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Modern Languages, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title José Gomariz Committee Chair Brenda Cappuccio Committee Member Ernest Rehder Committee Member Robinson Herrera Committee Member
Keywords	El Caballero Encantado La Barraca La Charca Foucault Caribbean Peninsular
Date of Defense	2006-03-29
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract The scope of power, truth and knowledge in multiple layers of society reaches the coffee plantation of La charca, the Valencian fields of La barraca, and the rural terrain of central Spain in El caballero encantado, written by Manuel Zeno Gandía (1894), Vicente Blasco Ibáñez in (1896), and Benito Pérez Galdós in (1909), respectively. The novels portray the protagonists as members of an oppressed marginality. Through their conflicts that challenge the hegemony, they witness a subversive discourse that questions the status quo in order to address the issues that hinge upon the shift from pre-modern to modern society. This dissertation examines the class disparity that considers the polarization between members of the privileged classes and the oppressed workers in the corresponding communities who are unable to rise above their circumstances due to Naturalistic constraints related to determinism or vulnerabilities (suppression of voice, illiteracy, dehumanized portrayal). These novels place the emphasis on the communities as pre-modern and underscore the difficulties in transitioning to a modern society. Because the authors present details of society as the observe them or as they believe them to be, their message refrains from offering concrete solutions. The protagonists conclude their movements through the narratives by counteracting with the hegemony. One of the common problems, the deficient educational systems, relates to the workers’ denied access to knowledge, which equals a denied access to the truths that may allow for reform to take place. Implications of the restrictions to gathering information relate to the silenced voice, a subset of which is the illiteracy that plagues the working members in the three novels of this study. Foucault’s concepts of power, truth, and knowledge reflect the balance or imbalance of socio-economic and political relationships. The hegemonic groups that benefit from the privileged position in society restrict the access to truth and knowledge. The authors’ portrayals of these societies indicate that the lower class members are not equipped with the tools to alter their circumstances, due to their vulnerabilities and weaknesses. The opportunities for reform or for improvements hinge on the direction of the transition from pre-modern to modern communities.
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