Lo prohibido de Benito Pérez Galdós, o la historia de las traiciones encadenadas
The Forbidden by Benito Pérez Galdós or the Story of Chained Betrayals

Summary/Abstract: Benito Pérez Galdós; Spanish literature; realism; The Forbidden; betrayal.Benito Pérez Galdós is the most illustrious representative of Spanish realism. In his acceptance speech on his reception into the Royal Spanish Academy, the author says that the novel is an ‘image of life’ and that in all of his work, he forces himself to show the most faithful reflection of the real life. The Forbidden tells the story of José María, a man who falls in love with Eloísa, his married cousin, and, because of this, he betrays her husband’s friendship. He seduces the woman with expensive gifts and makes her accustomed to luxury. The husband dies and the hero is filled with remorse, and he no longer feels attracted to the senseless woman who is able to ruin him. So it is her turn to betray, and she replaces him with an older man. She goes to Paris with her new lover and when she returns, she visits José María to say that it is him whom she loves. However, José María doesn’t love Eloísa anymore, but instead he loves her sister, who is married. José María is always attracted by ‘the forbidden’.

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