EL CALEIDOSCOPIO DE EXISTENCIAS INFANTILES EN LAS NOVELAS CONTEMPORÁNEAS DE BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS
THE KALEIDOSCOPE OF CHILDREN'S EXISTENCES IN THE CONTEMPORARY NOVELS OF BENITO PÉREZ GALDÓS

Summary/Abstract: In his eagerness to reveal the lives of his contemporaries accurately and faithfully in his novels, a realist novelist like Galdós could not ignore the most tender members of the society. His Contemporary Novels recreate with great objectivity the existence of the nineteenth-century children, in all their moments and circumstances. The existence of children mimics the existence of the adults. Children are born and die, since the infant mortality rate was high at the end of the 19thcentury.There are rich children and poor children, happy children and unhappy children, healthy children and sick children... The children in Galdós’s literature, like real children of all ages, sometimes seem to turn the world of adults into a kaleidoscope, discover details of their actions and imitate what they see. They often also add a touch of exaggeration and mischief. They try to dress and behave like adults, imitate gestures, make use of objects discarded by their parents to play... In this way, they give lively and joyful nuances to the adult’s stern actions.

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