Azorín and the “historia menuda” of Spain: a Reading of Los pueblos (1905)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose a reading of Los pueblos (1905) from the point of view of the historian, specifically from the perspective of two historiographical trends – microhistory and history from below –, which emerged in Europe during the 1970s with the fundamental objective of reinstating the anonymous individual as a historical subject, paying attention to the “subaltern classes” of society. By analyzing this work, my intention is to show that Azorin’s conception of the history of Spain meets a fundamental idea: the need to give due attention to small events and episodes of everyday life featuring anonymous individuals who are not recognized as part of history.