Date of Award
Spring 6-11-2023
Document Type
Thesis (Master's)
Department or Program
Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
First Advisor
Alan Lelchuk
Second Advisor
Barbara Kreiger
Third Advisor
Saul Lelchuk
Abstract
Farewell to Franco: A Short Story Collection
Farewell to Franco, a short story collection, is an effort to explore the literary form of costumbrism—an interpretation of everyday life, mannerism, and customs in XIX century Spain. In this collection, I attempt to bring this form too life through five stories of fiction set in the XX century, during the years surrounding Franco’s death in 1975.
After winning the civil war in 1936, Generalísimo Francisco Franco, set forth a dictatorship that would last almost forty years. During Franco’s fascist regime, liberties in Spain were curtailed and economic opportunity was limited. Religion was compulsory in all levels of education, university was difficult to access, and women were denied many rights. As someone who grew up in Madrid, Spain, during the last years of the Franco regime and the transition to democracy, my main goal with this collection of short stories is to capture the mood surrounding the end of a poignant chapter in Spain’s modern history as well as the years that closely followed; a challenging yet hopeful turn of events that affected the different layers of Spanish society. Through these five fictionalized stories, I hope to dramatize the political and social environment of common Spanish life during and after Franco’s dictatorship.
Recommended Citation
Iriondo, Maria, "Farewell to Franco: A Short Story Collection" (2023). Dartmouth College Master’s Theses. 103.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/masters_theses/103