Torment

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

4.2

Word count: 478K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

Tormento is a major work by the Spanish realist novelist Benito Pérez Galdós, one of the novels in his series, offering through fine psychological portrayal and social observation a picture of urban middle-class life in nineteenth-century Spain. Galdós excels at depicting inner conflict with a restrained yet warm touch, interweaving individual destiny with social environment, so that readers feel the atmosphere of the age and its moral dilemmas while following the plot. This is the original Spanish edition, suitable as reading material for Spanish literature and for readers interested in nineteenth-century European realist fiction. Read slowly, attend to subtext in dialogue and to the narrator's subtle attitude toward family, marriage, and social status. As a free public-domain eBook, it is easily obtained and suitable as classroom supplementary reading or for self-study, but readers need some Spanish reading ability.

Editor's review

Tormento is a major work by the Spanish realist novelist Benito Pérez Galdós and one of the novels in his series. Through fine psychological portrayal and social observation, it presents a picture of urban middle-class life in nineteenth-century Spain. Galdós excels at depicting inner conflict with a restrained yet warm touch, interweaving individual destiny with social environment, so that readers feel the atmosphere of the age and its moral dilemmas while following the plot. This is the original Spanish edition, suitable as reading material for Spanish literature and for readers interested in nineteenth-century European realist fiction. Read slowly, attend to subtext in dialogue and to the narrator's subtle attitude toward family, marriage, and social status. As a free public-domain eBook, it is easily obtained and suitable as classroom supplementary reading or for self-study, but readers need some Spanish reading ability.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Spanish majors using it as selected reading for nineteenth-century fiction
General readers interested in Spanish realist literature
Intermediate and advanced learners seeking to improve Spanish reading through original texts
Comparative literature researchers concerned with the genealogy of European realist fiction

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Spanish who can read only Chinese translations
Genre-fiction readers who prefer fast plots and strong suspense
Beginners who need heavily annotated teaching editions or guided introductions

Reading tips

First learn about Galdós's historical context and the general landscape of Spanish realist literature, then begin the text.
After each chapter, summarize the characters' relationships and psychological changes in one or two sentences to help clarify the narrative threads.
For long sentences, first identify subject and predicate before interpreting; use a Spanish dictionary and grammar reference.
Read alongside other novels in the same series to appreciate the author's sustained portrayal of the same social environment.

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

What level of Spanish is needed to read this book?

Intermediate to advanced Spanish reading ability is recommended, enough to handle long complex sentences and literary expression. Beginners may first read a Chinese translation or a bilingual edition before attempting the original, so that vocabulary and syntax do not impede understanding.

Is this the full text or an excerpt? Are there notes?

This edition comes from Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain eBook, usually presenting the main text without modern editorial notes or introductions. Check the table of contents and opening remarks to confirm completeness.

Why is it said to be suitable for classroom supplementary reading?

Its length and language difficulty suit it as selected reading for Spanish literature courses and can complement lectures on realist features. Teachers may choose chapters for close reading and guide students to analyze the relationship between characters' psychology and social environment.

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.