Meandros del odio y de la admiración en Fortunata y Jacinta de Benito Pérez Galdós
Meanders of Hatred and Admiration in Benito Pérez Galdós’s Fortunata y Jacinta

Summary/Abstract: Fortunata y Jacinta is Benito Pérez Galdós’s masterpiece, the novel in which the writer’s artistry reaches its peak. Beyond the documentary and anthropological value of the novel, critics have pointed out the depth of the characters. Galdós unravels in a very fine way the most intimate thoughts of his characters, especially of the two women. Fortunata and Jacinta are two great rivals, due to their love for Juan Santa Cruz, a wealthy bourgeois young man who seduces them both. Fortunata hates Jacinta and envies her status as the honourable wife of the man whom she loves. She does not hesitate to slander her. However, throughout the novel, the jilted mistress has the opportunity to observe the wife and, much to her regret, she cannot help but admire her. She considers herself superior to the sterile wife, but she acknowledges the woman’s virtues. The appreciation that Fortunata comes to have for Jacinta is so great that, when she understands that she is going to die, Fortunata asks for her new-born son to be given to her rival, so that Jacinta could raise him.

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