Gloria

Pérez Galdós, Benito, 1843-1920Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.2

Word count: 340K words
Chapters: 35

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Gloria (primera parte) by Benito Pérez GaldósAuthor: Pérez Galdós, Benito, 1843-1920,Language: Spanish, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: May 12, 2015

Editor's review

Gloria is the first part of a long novel by the Spanish realist Benito Pérez Galdós, belonging to his early sequence of problem novels. The story revolves around the titular heroine, torn between her traditional family, religious discipline, and personal feelings, and focuses on two major themes: conflict of faith and the situation of women. Galdós advances the narrative through delicate psychological description and extensive dialogue; the characters are no mere mouthpieces for ideas but carry complex layers of hesitation, struggle, and self-justification—this is what makes the book most worth reading closely. This public-domain ebook edition, released by Project Gutenberg, presents the original Spanish text and is suitable as supplementary reading on the realist novel in Spanish literature courses, as well as for readers interested in nineteenth-century Spanish society and religious issues. When reading, it is advisable to understand the characters' choices in light of the historical context rather than judging them hastily by contemporary standards.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Spanish majors who need to broaden their reading of nineteenth-century Spanish novels
General readers interested in realist literature and psychological description
Humanities readers studying social issues such as religious conflict and the situation of women
Spanish learners who wish to encounter Galdós's work in the original

Not a good fit for

Readers unaccustomed to reading original Spanish and dependent on Chinese translations
Readers who prefer fast-paced plots and lack patience for psychological and dialogue-heavy description
Readers seeking a complete story resolution; this edition is only the first part

Reading tips

First learn about the nineteenth-century Spanish church-state background before entering the text; character motivations become easier to understand.
Read chapter by chapter and note each shift in the heroine's attitude to follow the psychological thread.
When encountering long dialogues, read passages aloud to appreciate Galdós's technique of portraying character through speech.
After finishing, consult other works in the author's sequence of problem novels for a fuller picture.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a complete story?

No. This ebook is the first part of Gloria; the story does not conclude at the end of the part, and the main relationships and conflicts are still developing. To follow later developments, you need to find the second part of the novel separately.

Can I read it without any Spanish?

It is difficult. This edition is the original Spanish text, without notes or translation. Readers with no Spanish are advised to first read a Chinese translation to grasp the plot, then read the original alongside it, or use it only as supplementary language-learning material.

What themes does the book mainly discuss?

At its core are the conflict between religious faith and personal feelings, and women's situation within family and social norms. Through the characters' hesitations and justifications, the novel presents ideological conflict rather than offering simple conclusions.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

It is a free public-domain ebook whose text comes from the public domain, easy to download and search, and usually contains no modern scholarly introduction or notes. Readers need to supplement the background material themselves.

Comments

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About the author

Pérez Galdós, Benito, 1843-1920 Author

Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920) is a major representative of Spanish realist fiction, with 39 of his works held in this collection. Public information is limited, so biographical details are kept brief, but the character of his work is clear: he generally sets his stories against everyday life in Spanish cities and villages, portraying society through themes such as marriage, family, poverty and shifts in class. Representative works including Fortunata y Jacinta, Misericordia, Marianela, Tormento and La de Bringas reflect this direction. His style combines realism with irony, with careful psychological portrayal and vivid dialogue; historical works such as Trafalgar show his ability to handle broad settings. His writing has had a lasting influence on later Spanish fiction.