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La esfinge, La venda, Fedra
ESFINGE. LA VENDA. FEDRA
- GenresDrama
236 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1998
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Miguel de Unamuno
932 books1,062 followersMiguel de Unamuno y Jugo was born in the medieval centre of Bilbao, Basque Country, the son of Félix de Unamuno and Salomé Jugo. As a young man, he was interested in the Basque language, and competed for a teaching position in the Instituto de Bilbao, against Sabino Arana. The contest was finally won by the Basque scholar Resurrección María de Azcue.
Unamuno worked in all major genres: the essay, the novel, poetry and theatre, and, as a modernist, contributed greatly to dissolving the boundaries between genres. There is some debate as to whether Unamuno was in fact a member of the Generation of '98 (an ex post facto literary group of Spanish intellectuals and philosophers that was the creation of José Martínez Ruiz — a group that includes Antonio Machado, Azorín, Pío Baroja, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Ramiro de Maeztu and Ángel Ganivet, among others).
In addition to his writing, Unamuno played an important role in the intellectual life of Spain. He served as rector of the University of Salamanca for two periods: from 1900 to 1924 and 1930 to 1936, during a time of great social and political upheaval. Unamuno was removed from his post by the government in 1924, to the protest of other Spanish intellectuals. He lived in exile until 1930, first banned to Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), from where he escaped to France. Unamuno returned after the fall of General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship and took up his rectorship again. It is said in Salamanca that the day he returned to the University, Unamuno began his lecture by saying "As we were saying yesterday, ...", as Fray Luis de León had done in the same place four centuries before, as though he had not been absent at all. After the fall of Rivera's dictatorship, Spain embarked on its second Republic, a short-lived attempt by the people of Spain to take democratic control of their own country. He was a candidate for the small intellectual party Al Servicio de la República.
The burgeoning Republic was eventually squashed when a military coup headed by General Francisco Franco caused the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Having begun his literary career as an internationalist, Unamuno gradually became a convinced Spanish nationalist, feeling that Spain's essential qualities would be destroyed if influenced too much by outside forces. Thus for a brief period he actually welcomed Franco's revolt as necessary to rescue Spain from radical influence. However, the harsh tactics employed by the Francoists in the struggle against their republican opponents caused him to oppose both the Republic and Franco.
As a result of his opposition to Franco, Unamuno was effectively removed for a second time from his University post. Also, in 1936 Unamuno had a brief public quarrel with the Nationalist general Millán Astray at the University in which he denounced both Astray and elements of the Francoist movement. He called the battle cry of the rightist Falange movement—"Long live death!"—repellent and suggested Astray wanted to see Spain crippled. One historian notes that his address was a "remarkable act of moral courage" and that he risked being lynched on the spot. Shortly afterwards, he was placed under house arrest, where he remained, broken-hearted, until his death ten weeks later.[1]
Unamuno worked in all major genres: the essay, the novel, poetry and theatre, and, as a modernist, contributed greatly to dissolving the boundaries between genres. There is some debate as to whether Unamuno was in fact a member of the Generation of '98 (an ex post facto literary group of Spanish intellectuals and philosophers that was the creation of José Martínez Ruiz — a group that includes Antonio Machado, Azorín, Pío Baroja, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Ramiro de Maeztu and Ángel Ganivet, among others).
In addition to his writing, Unamuno played an important role in the intellectual life of Spain. He served as rector of the University of Salamanca for two periods: from 1900 to 1924 and 1930 to 1936, during a time of great social and political upheaval. Unamuno was removed from his post by the government in 1924, to the protest of other Spanish intellectuals. He lived in exile until 1930, first banned to Fuerteventura (Canary Islands), from where he escaped to France. Unamuno returned after the fall of General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship and took up his rectorship again. It is said in Salamanca that the day he returned to the University, Unamuno began his lecture by saying "As we were saying yesterday, ...", as Fray Luis de León had done in the same place four centuries before, as though he had not been absent at all. After the fall of Rivera's dictatorship, Spain embarked on its second Republic, a short-lived attempt by the people of Spain to take democratic control of their own country. He was a candidate for the small intellectual party Al Servicio de la República.
The burgeoning Republic was eventually squashed when a military coup headed by General Francisco Franco caused the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Having begun his literary career as an internationalist, Unamuno gradually became a convinced Spanish nationalist, feeling that Spain's essential qualities would be destroyed if influenced too much by outside forces. Thus for a brief period he actually welcomed Franco's revolt as necessary to rescue Spain from radical influence. However, the harsh tactics employed by the Francoists in the struggle against their republican opponents caused him to oppose both the Republic and Franco.
As a result of his opposition to Franco, Unamuno was effectively removed for a second time from his University post. Also, in 1936 Unamuno had a brief public quarrel with the Nationalist general Millán Astray at the University in which he denounced both Astray and elements of the Francoist movement. He called the battle cry of the rightist Falange movement—"Long live death!"—repellent and suggested Astray wanted to see Spain crippled. One historian notes that his address was a "remarkable act of moral courage" and that he risked being lynched on the spot. Shortly afterwards, he was placed under house arrest, where he remained, broken-hearted, until his death ten weeks later.[1]
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 23, 2023
Cuando leí la versión de Fedra de Sarah Kane dije que no me había gustado, ahora creció en mi estima esta sí que es la versión del mito que MENOS me ha gustado.
En ningún momento me logró conmover o transmitir la gran tragedia de Fedra e Hipolito. Ya sea víctima, victimaria o villana Fedra siempre es un personaje interesante de leer pero en esta versión me pareció patético y muy vano todo.
En ningún momento me logró conmover o transmitir la gran tragedia de Fedra e Hipolito. Ya sea víctima, victimaria o villana Fedra siempre es un personaje interesante de leer pero en esta versión me pareció patético y muy vano todo.
December 14, 2016
Amiguito Unamuno, lo tuyo no era el drama.
September 8, 2025
Qué voy a decir, si es que no puede gustarme más Unamuno. Como buen espíritu derrotista que soy, siempre acabo volviendo a él en busca de rayitos de luz y fe.
Las 3 obras son geniales, especialmente "La esfinge". Condensa a la perfección su crisis existencial, la exquisita forma de reflejar la angustia por el afán -o el deseo de no tener afán- de trascendencia, la necesidad desesperada de salvarse en Dios o en una esposa-madre que lo devuelva a la infancia perdida y ensalzada. Lo maravilloso de esta obra es que algunos personajes cuestionan desde otros puntos de vista más racionales o prácticos esa crisis de fe o de identidad. Ángel es, a ojos de la mayoría, un hombre henchido de orgullo, vanidad y perdido en las abstracciones. Es difícil, para una alma de una sensibilidad tan compleja, exponer ese sufrimiento (abstracto, sí, pero no por ello menos real) sin parecer un ser cuyo dolor no es más que el resultado de una desconexión de la vida real y concreta. Puede que esa sea una síntesis un poco acertada de muchos de los males que nos aquejan (o al menos eso concluye el mismo Unamuno en otros relatos), y sin embargo, si tantas vueltas damos alrededor de los mismos males es porque el ser humano no se ve capaz de erradicarlos y arrancarlos de sí.
Las 3 obras son geniales, especialmente "La esfinge". Condensa a la perfección su crisis existencial, la exquisita forma de reflejar la angustia por el afán -o el deseo de no tener afán- de trascendencia, la necesidad desesperada de salvarse en Dios o en una esposa-madre que lo devuelva a la infancia perdida y ensalzada. Lo maravilloso de esta obra es que algunos personajes cuestionan desde otros puntos de vista más racionales o prácticos esa crisis de fe o de identidad. Ángel es, a ojos de la mayoría, un hombre henchido de orgullo, vanidad y perdido en las abstracciones. Es difícil, para una alma de una sensibilidad tan compleja, exponer ese sufrimiento (abstracto, sí, pero no por ello menos real) sin parecer un ser cuyo dolor no es más que el resultado de una desconexión de la vida real y concreta. Puede que esa sea una síntesis un poco acertada de muchos de los males que nos aquejan (o al menos eso concluye el mismo Unamuno en otros relatos), y sin embargo, si tantas vueltas damos alrededor de los mismos males es porque el ser humano no se ve capaz de erradicarlos y arrancarlos de sí.
August 16, 2023
La peor adaptacion de Fedra que he leido.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews