LA FAMILIA DE PASCUAL DUARTE / THE FAMILY OF PASCUAL DUARTE
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Autor:
Camilo José Cela Trulock
Country:
Spain (ES)
Book Theme:
The books of the Nobel prizes
Publisher:
DEBOLSILLO
Publishing Year:
2020
He was born in the Galician town of Iria Flavia, Padrón (A Coruña) He settled with his family in Madrid in 1925, after a childhood spent in Galicia and other parts of Spain. He was a member of the Spanish Royal Academy from 1957 until his death. A master of language and a great innovator of narrative in Spanish, he also wrote poetry and travel books; he is considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century and the only Spanish novelist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
In 1942 he published his first novel “La familia de Pascual Duarte” Another of his great successes was “La colmena” (1951) which he was unable to publish in Spain due to censorship. Most of the manuscripts of his extensive literary work are preserved in the Camilo José Cela Foundation. He died in Madrid.
National Award for Children’s and Young People’s
Abstract
Pascual Duarte is a peasant from Extremadura who tells us all about his life, while awaiting execution, as he is in the cell of prisoners condemned to death.
Pascual Duarte has been a victim of his own life full of misfortunes and events that have brought him to the point where he is now. He was a child brutally beaten by his father, exposed to his mother’s alcoholism, in short, raised in the hostile climate of his home where violence and misfortune reign.
When his brother Mario was born, a rabid dog bit Pascual’s father, who spent the last hours of his life locked in a room by his own family. In the face of this terrible event, much of the family despised Mario who grew up among the dogs and pigs that one day ate his ears and since then the family has tried to ignore him.
Don Rafael, the village cacique and possibly his father, kicked Mario until he was unconscious and blood gushed from his ears. Pascual, faced with such a pitiful act, asked him to stop hurting Mario, but not even his mother could support him and he ended up hating her too.
After some time, Mario was found drowned in a vat full of oil, and everything pointed to Rafael having murdered him.
His whole life is full of misfortunes, the death of his brother Mario, his mother’s bastard son, his sister’s prostitution, the murder of Estirao, his sister’s pimp, with whom his wife Lola cheats on him.
The play ends with Pascual Duarte being taken to prison to serve a death sentence for the murder of his wife and mother-in-law. Pascual accepts his fate and blames his own violent and ruthless nature for his misfortune. At the end of the story, Pascual reflects on his life and his behaviour, recognising that his destructive attitude and lack of empathy have led him to a miserable and meaningless existence.
