The Representation of Natural Space and New Rurality in the Spanish Contemporary Narrative: An Ecocritical Approach

Abstract

This article proposes an ecocritical approach by analyzing the interactions between nature and the social configuration of characters in some of the most representative works and authors of the New Rurality in contemporary Spanish literature. Our aim is to highlight the existing contradictions between the economic and social development that has occurred since the beginning of Modernity and environmental sustainability. During Franco’s dictatorship, rural narrative was a highly pursued subgenre, but it declined with economic development and the arrival of democracy by relating urban space to modernity as an inevitable reflection of the evolution of Spanish society. However, since the beginning of the 21st century, and especially in recent years due to the economic crisis that Spain has suffered through for almost a decade, a number of writers has emerged who propose a return to rural areas in order to restore life, regain environmental balance, and find ethical principles that keep individuals away from the dehumanization of big cities.