Hero or coward? The effects of individual decision making in post-war Spain.
Transcript of Hero or coward? The effects of individual decision making in post-war Spain.
Hero or coward? The effects of individual decision making in
post-war Spain.
“Venceréis, pero no convenceréis. Venceréis porque
tenéis sobrada de fuerza bruta, pero no convenceréis porque
convencer significa persuadir”. That was the famous quote by
Miguel de Unamuno in a speech given at the University of
Salamanca on the 12th of October 1936 during a celebratory
Columbus Day meeting. This phrase by Unamuno is significant
not only because it required great courage to utter it but
because it personifies what would happen during the war and in
the subsequent years.
The end of the Civil War in Spain would start a
dictatorship spanning almost four decades and that would cause
Spanish society to essentially question its identity. Many
articles published on the subject of the Civil War have
focussed on the silence that resulted from it and how memory
is being recovered (Labanyi, 2009; Davis, 2005; Richards,
2006). Silence has been evidenced in the way in which those
who lost the war suffered physically and emotionally. Not
only did they suffer in silence but they were unable to talk
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about their experiences for fear of reprisals. It truly was a
time of fear. Only in recent years has there been emphasis on
documenting the horrific events of that time period and
attempting to retrieve the memories from those who were
directly involved in one way or another. A pertinent example
of this silence was noted in Labanyi’s (2009) article where
she details the experience of a forensic anthropologist who
found out about his mother and aunt’s involvement in the war
only after his mother’s death. She comments:
Neither his mother nor his aunt had ever talked about
having taken part in the war. When Exteberria telephoned
his aunt to find out more, she snapped back, ‘How did you
find out?’ When Exteberria asked why she and her sister
had never talked about this in the family, her immediate
reply was ‘To protect you’. (23-24)
This quotation highlights the difficulty faced by many
trying to understand and remember what it would have been like
for those who suffered during the war. Many people simply did
not talk about their experience. However, the focal point of
this paper is not to examine silence or recovering memory as
this area has been researched at length. This essay will
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explore the concept of a hero and scrutinise why certain
characters were classed as such. Moreover, the paper will
focus on the repercussions for these characters within post-
war Spanish society as a result of their hero or non-hero
status. The analysis of this task will principally cover the
following novels set during the post-war period in Spain:
Soldados de Salamina (Javier Cercas)Los Girasoles Ciegos (Alberto Méndez)La Voz Dormida (Dulce Chacón)Presas (Tomasa Cuevas)El Lector de Julio Verne (Almudena Grandes)
Before embarking upon this study, it is important to
understand the new identity that the Franco dictatorship tried
to impose upon the Spanish people, that is, Catholic,
conservative, and perhaps most importantly, obedient. In
other words, Franco’s aim was to eradicate individuality and
replace it with a new national identity. The question that
must be posed and, in turn, analysed is, how did Spanish
society respond to this new form of identity imposed upon
them? Did they conform? If so, did they do so willingly? If
not, how did they react and what were the consequences?
However, the ironic nature of this new identity is documented
in the movie adaptation of Mendez’s novel Los Girasoles Ciegos when
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the Catholic priest declares “no soy buen cristiano, pero soy
buen español”.
Many facets could be discussed in order to answer these
questions, however, this paper shall limit its scope to the
following concepts: the hero vs. the coward and how either
stance included or excluded them from society, solidarity and
unity, and finally, the results of a survey undertaken by the
author in order to gauge the feeling of Spaniards today about
the post-war period and compare it with the narrative of the
novels.
As previously stated, the portrayal of hero vs. coward is
an important common theme throughout the works being analysed
in this paper and, as such, shall be examined.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a hero as someone
“distinguished by the performance of courageous or noble
actions” and a coward as someone “who displays ignoble fear or
want of courage in the face of danger, pain, or difficulty”.
The conclusions are apparent: someone considered a hero
portrays altruistic qualities and is capable of putting his
own feelings to one side in order to do what is best for the
majority. A coward, on the other hand, does exactly the
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opposite. Their focus is on themselves and their own well-
being. On the subject of hero and coward, one of the
characters in Grande’s (2012) novel El Lector de Julio Verne, doña
Elena, provides the reader with a particularly thought
provoking definition of heroes and cowards:
“En las personas valientes, el miedo es sólo consciencia del
peligro – añadió –, pero en las cobardes, es mucho más que
ausencia de valor.” (196)
From that description, it is clear that a hero is someone
who is capable of reasoning, weighing up all the options, and
then deciding what their plan of action will be. However,
another important piece of information relating to a hero is
mentioned in Cercas’ (2001) work Soldados de Salamina. In Cercas’
interview with Roberto Bolaño, the latter highlights a
pertinent difference between a good person and a hero: there
are many good people but few heroes. Interestingly, while
that may be the case in today’s society, the post-war period
in Spain, especially from a Republican standpoint in the texts
under review, suggests that heroes are in abundance. The
texts outlined at the outset of this paper are littered with
potential heroes, people who were willing to sacrifice
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themselves for their beliefs or for the greater good of
society. I desire to analyse the texts and identify
characters displaying those qualities in order to see why they
chose to act the way they did and how that affected their
position within society.
Javier Cercas’ novel Soldados de Salamina, presents an
interesting dichotomy for the reader: Rafael Sánchez Mazas and
Antonio Miralles. The former, considered by Cercas to be one
of those responsible for the uprising of the Civil War, was
lucky enough to escape from a mass shooting and, following the
war, became a prominent writer and politician. In the novel,
the idea of Sánchez Mazas’ cowardly status is first put
forward by Andres Trapiello, a writer who had previously
edited some of his work. In Trapiello’s own words, Sánchez
Mazas “era tan cobarde (y todo el mundo sabía que era tan
cobarde) que debió de pensar que ese episodio le redimía de
algún modo de su cobardía” (37). Why was he considered a
coward? Perhaps because, as mentioned previously on the
characteristics of a coward, Sánchez Mazas was more concerned
with his own well-being than of those around him. After the
war was over, he was a prominent figure of the new Falangist
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government and lived a very comfortable life, whereas, those
who saved his life were more or less forgotten by him. In
addition, on talking about the role he played in the Civil
War, Cercas quotes a famous saying from one his books “ni me
arrepiento ni olvido” (133). This underlines his selfishness
especially after we learn that Sánchez Mazas became
disillusioned with the newly-formed government.
Miralles, on the other hand, became one of the many
‘forgotten’ people of the Civil War which seems to fit in to
his own definition of a hero. In spite of Cercas’ obsession
to get Miralles to confirm he was indeed the soldier that
spared Sánchez Mazas, Miralles was more concerned about his
fallen colleagues:
“Nadie se acuerda de ellos, ¿sabe? Nadie. Nadie se
acuerda siquiera de por qué murieron, de por qué no
tuvieron mujer e hijos y una habitación con sol; nadie,
y, menos que nadie, la gente por la que pelearon”. (198-
199).
Albeit lamenting the loss of his friends, in my opinion,
Miralles is, unintentionally, confirming his own hero status
as he is deflecting attention from himself and praising his
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comrades. This sentiment is backed up by Breen (2010), in her
work on resistance and remembrance in 21st century Spain, as
she depicts Miralles and his friends’ war struggles:
“Though Cercas travelled to meet Miralles with a pre-
established image of him as a hero, he finds a battle-
scarred veteran who rejects the idea. Sixty years
before, Miralles had fought in wars in Spain, Africa, and
France. He and his comrades were soldiers fighting their
own war, and then for other countries, in order to
prevent the spread of fascism in the world”. (169)
However, that hero status did come with a price. Just
like thousands of others, he had to flee the country at the
end of the Civil War and lived the rest of his life alone and
in France. Therefore, whilst being depicted as a hero by
Cercas, and not forgetting that he is indeed a hero, the
reader is left with a melancholic memory of Miralles. Sánchez
Mazas, however, in spite of being disillusioned with the
government, never really did anything to help others in spite
of his lofty position. This would probably have been the
result of not wanting to jeopardize his position. Again, the
act of a coward. One sign of a hero is doing the right thing
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irrespective of the circumstances. Soldados de Salamina portrays
various political groups, previously Falangist sympathisers
and whose members included two of Sánchez Mazas’ sons, trying
to undo their wrongs, that is, speak out against the new
regime. Of Sánchez Mazas, however, we are told that “en todo
caso, aparte de la secreta actitud desdeñosa con que
contemplaba el regimen, ni un solo dato de su biografía la
avala” (p.134). His lack of courage permitted him to enjoy
the millions that he inherited and retain his position within
society.
In the works under scrutiny in this paper, the hero never
seems to have the happy ending. That said, their tragic fate
effectively becomes the making of them. Hutman (1972)
provides a rather appropriate overview of the hero’s
situation:
“Theirs in an ironic vocation: called to destruction,
they are not, however, called to greatness. They are
scapegoats who suffer from and in society a
disproportionate doom”. (199, italics added).
This is evident in La Voz Dormida by Ducle Chacón. In
addition to the term scapegoat, the characters in this work
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could easily be referred to as sacrificial lambs as that
accurately reflects the series of events that unfolded in the
prisons during that time period. This novel takes place in
the Prisión de Ventas, a well-known prison during the Civil War.
Whilst reference could be made to various characters in the
work, the present study will analyse Hortensia and her role.
The concept of hero can be applied in a slightly
different manner in the case of Hortensia. Whereas she did
participate in the Civil War, her hero status can be related
to her resilience inside of the prison and being a rock for
the other women that were suffering there. What impacts me
most of all about the story of Hortensia is that her political
views seemed to be more important than anything else, although
this is not a trait unique to Hortensia but rather to most
Republican sympathizers such as another character in the
story, Paulino. On his political stance he tells Pepita,
“tienes que saber que soy un hombre político y que nadie podrá
cambiar mis ideas” (191). Regarding Hortensia, we find out
that she is pregnant in prison and that her life will be
spared until after she has given birth to her child. While it
can never be known if her death penalty would have been
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reduced, the question that springs to mind is this: is
standing up for something, your political belief in this
example, no matter the consequence, more important than trying
to do your all to be spared in order to be able to raise your
child? It is clear that Hortensia, and others like her, will
always be remembered as heroes, and rightfully so, however,
would she have been a coward for renouncing her political
beliefs in order to be with her new-born child? Was the
concept of hero when applied to a Republic only true if you
were prepared to suffer for the cause? Nino, in El Lector de Julio
Verne, plants an extremely interesting concept surrounding the
choices a hero faces:
“Cuando empecé a subir la cuesta, pensé que aquella tarde
sería fácil encontrar a Elena en el cortijo, porque a
ella también le habría afectado la resaca de los dos
entierros sucesivos, pero ni siquiera sentí la tentación
de cambiar de rumbo, porque había decidido servir a otro amor, y
en aquel momento comprendí que era más fuerte.” (334,
italics added).
There is no doubt that a hero ultimately has to sacrifice
something he/she loves in order for the greater good and the
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outcome, in the case of Hortensia, was that the greater good
here was to defend her political ideology irrespective of the
outcome. It is rather fitting, then, that her last words
before being shot were “Viva la República”.
If we compare that to the actions, or lack of, by some of
the funcionarios in the prison, it is possible to witness a stark
contrast. The narrative portrays starving inmates whilst they
are playing cards and when asked what they are doing their
response is simply “nada” (226). Again, the image is conveyed
that being a Nationalist meant you were self-centred and, to
some extent, a coward. It is unclear, however, if people
lacked compassion for fear of reprisals. This
negative/cowardly Republican notion of the Nationalist could
not be any clearer than in the following section of La Voz
Dormida. When describing the difference in Tomasa’s
countenance after recovering from a heavy beating we are told
that “ya no tiene en la cara la bandera nacional” (234).
Continuing along the lines of hero vs. coward, this is
never more evident in Grandes’ novel El Lector de Julio Verne. There
are heroes littered throughout this literary work, however,
for the present time, I would like to contrast the difference
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between the main character Nino and Michelín, one of the
leaders of the Guardia Civil. The latter decides to send Nino
to do a job that he could easily do but fears that his life
will be in jeopardy by going himself. Here, Michelín hides
behind his power as is evidenced when he declares to Nino’s
mother, “Yo también sé chillar y yo soy el que manda aquí”.
(359). When reading about these accounts, it is difficult to
imagine that people could treat others in this way and feel
okay with themselves. On the other hand, Nino displays, not
only in this moment but at various points of the novel, a
great deal of courage to go and do what is asked of him. For
all of the things that Nino does in the book, it is hard to
believe that he is only a child and others could certainly
learn from his example.
Thus far, we have discussed the different ways in which
heroes and cowards have been portrayed in the novels
mentioned. It would be reasonable to deduce from the analysis
that being a hero automatically meant that you were excluded
from society or had to sacrifice something important in your
life. Moreover, not only did being a hero exclude these
characters from society, it also had serious ramifications for
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their family: Hortensia left a newborn baby, Miguel Sanchís,
in El Lector de Julio Verne, although not explicitly mentioned in
this essay, committed suicide and left his wife Pastora
widowed and her life took a tragic turn for the worse as a
result. Even in the case of Antonio Miralles, all he had left
were his memories and no family. However, does that mean that
the only way to be a hero is to sacrifice yourself for the
greater good? Is it not possible for a hero to put his family
and others first but also conform to the unfortunate
circumstances in which they find themselves? Whilst
potentially not a hero in the traditional sense, Nino’s father
conforms to societal norms, he is a member of the Guardia
Civil in spite of his Republican background, to protect his
family and give his son the best possible chance of a good
life. Is he any less of a hero?
Having documented various heroes and cowards in the
works, I would like to discuss another way in which heroes
were portrayed, not only in the texts, but during that time
period in general. As referred to previously, one of the
issues surrounding the time period is the fact that it was not
as black and white as is sometimes portrayed in the novels and
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in research relating to the time period. The fact that some
people were Nationalists or Republicans did not mean that they
were completely at ease with the new political regime. One
such example can be found in the work of Mainer (2011) who
highlights that even some Francoist sympathisers were opposed
to some of the restrictions imposed after the introduction of
the Ley de Prensa in 1938, most notably Dionisio Ridreujo, a
prominent member of the Falange (74). The mere introduction
of the law shows the extremes that the Franco regime went to
in order control the people and even alienated some of their
fervent supporters in the autonomous communities such as
Barcelona. Mainer explains that such people “had to imagine
new ways of dissension within the system” (77). One of those
ways was to publish Robert Burns’ poetry which would have been
heavily censored due to what Burns represented politically.
Much care had to be taken in order to portray potentially
contentious subjects in a non-threatening way as doing so
could have placed the translators in danger. This information
is important as it shows that heroes existed on both sides;
although people agreed with Franco’s regime at the beginning,
they did not agree with everything that he did and, therefore,
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were prepared to push the limits in an attempt to have their
culture incorporated into the new Spanish identity imposed by
Franco. The following excerpt reinforces this sentiment:
“In a place where silence was imposed and disagreement
severely repressed, Burn’s poetry could thus be regarded
as the voice of plurality. The Scottish poet is
transculturalized and his words are assimilated to make
him significant to the target culture and Spain’s
political anxieties. Discontent with specific aspects of
the dictator’s actions brings about resistance from with
the system” (Mainer, 81-82).
In addition to underlining discontent among Francoist
sympathisers, this quote also highlights unity between
Republicans and Nationalists and helps to eradicate the binary
black and white division that had previously been conveyed.
Interestingly, we learn of an instance in which Félix Ros and
José Janés, two of the driving forces behind the publication
of Burns’ poetry and of differing political ideologies, showed
loyalty to one another rather than their political belief.
Ros helped to spare Janés’ life after he had received the
death penalty because, for them, at that point “personal
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friendship became more important than political affiliations
in a Spain which did not offer what the Catalan Falangists had
expected” (Mainer, 82).
Examples similar to this are in abundance and in the
texts we are given a glimpse. In Presas, a novel composed by
Tomasa Cuevas comprised of numerous women’s testimonies who
were imprisoned during the war, we learn of thirteen French
nuns who were shot dead by Francoist troops because “se
negaron a declarer que habían sido violadas por los rojos”
(46). While it cannot be sure if those nuns shared the same
political belief as the typical Spanish nun, it certainly did
require courage to do what they did in those circumstances.
Furthermore, in La Voz Dormida we learn of another heroic
act. While Reme explains to her imprisoned comrades what
happened to her daughters, she mentions that thankfully
nothing happened to them because of a “good Falangist” who “no
consintió que raparan a mis hijas, ni que les dieran a beber
guarrerías. No lo consintió.” (65). The simple act of
stopping her daughters having their heads shaved may not be
considered as heroic as other aforementioned examples,
however, it did require courage as the norm would have been
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not to show compassion to a “rojo”. It is fair to conclude
that a hero does not always have to sacrifice himself/herself
but they should possess courageous characteristics. In this
section, in addition to reinforcing the idea that the concept
of a hero is visualised through marginalisation in society,
the examples provided show the possibility of displaying
heroic qualities but still being able to function properly
within society.
For the final part of the current paper, I wanted to
ascertain the thoughts of Spaniards nowadays and compare their
opinions to those provided in the literature to see if they
align themselves more with a Republican or Nationalist
perspective. The novels under scrutiny, to one degree or
another, convey the perception that the Republicans were the
only ones marginalised from society in the post-war period.
Whilst this is not incorrect, the black/white division between
Nationalist and Republican can also be applied here. Even
factions supportive of Franco felt repressed to a certain
extent as has been documented previously. Given the image
portrayed by the hero in the works, the overarching impression
is that a hero, during this time period at least, is someone
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willing to compromise their own life/freedom to show their
disapproval of the current regime. The intention of the hero
vs coward idea is to promote that heroes existed on both sides
of the political divide.
Out of all the people who participated in the survey, 75%
did not live during the Franco dictatorship and 86% stated
that they consider the country divided as a result. In
addition, 86% thought that the events that transpired during
the Civil War should be remembered. That train of thought
goes hand in hand with the authors’ purpose for writing the
novels, that is, to remember those who suffered and died
during the war. Faber (2006) documents Dulce Chacón’s
thoughts on her decision to write La Voz Dormida:
“Yo quiero rendir homenaje a estas mujeres, que perdieron
la guerra y la posguerra. Recoger sus voces, que han
sido condenadas al silencio, y hablar de las
protagonistas que lucharon por un mundo mejor” (145).
The fascinating result of Franco’s death is that modern-
day Spain is the complete opposite from what he originally
envisioned. Responses from the survey detailing the way in
which the war divided the country included that it “caused
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rebellion, people went from one extreme to another due to the
lack of freedom” and that “people have become very atheist and
have gone to the other extreme, not liberal but libertine”.
In conclusion, referring to Unamuno again, the importance
of his quote “venceréis pero no convenceréis” is clearly shown to be
the case in Grande’s (2012) work El Lector de Julio Verne when
Catalina’s feelings are described after the war had ended:
“Porque no era que Catalina siguiera siendo roja, sino
que ahora era más roja que antes, más roja que nunca, roja de verdad,
tanto como Cuelloduro, o más”. (p.171, italics added).
As shown in the survey, Catalina was not alone in her
feeling post-war. By attempting to eradicate and marginalise
individuality, Franco inadvertently created the exact opposite
effect from what he intended. While they may have lost the
war, it may only have served to strengthen and unify
Republicans after the war was over. The survey showed that
the majority are of the opinion that the war divided the
country and, while this is evident even till this day, it
possibly strengthened certain political factions within the
country. It is clear that Spain still feels the effects of
the Civil War and that much work remains to be done in order
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to create a more unified country, however, the works analysed
in this essay have, at least, shown that the Civil War created
heroes on both sides and that the best way to learn from the
past is remember the sacrifices made by them and press
forward.
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