Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Decimonónica
Volume
20
Issue
2
Publisher
Decimonónica
Publication Date
2023
First Page
1
Last Page
16
Abstract
Chapter eleven of Lo prohibido (1884-5), “Los jueves de Eloísa,” presents a detailed description of a lavish Restoration era dinner party. As narrator-protagonist José María Bueno de Guzmán outlines the sumptuous dishes, elegant décor, and coy intrigues taking place among the elite society members present, Eloísa’s husband, Pepe Carrillo, lies dying in an adjacent room; his cries of agony cause the distinguished guests to drop their forks and run to his aid; that is, all but one. Colonial entrepreneur Don Alejandro Sánchez Botín remains seated and, as the obese man continues to eat, the sounds of his chewing loudly reverberate against the grief-filled silence (195-96). While this brief moment forms part of the novel’s larger critique of the hypocrisy and immoderate consumption of the rising middle-class in nineteenth-century Spain, Botín’s portrayal would have also resonated with contemporary readers well-versed in buen tono, the rules of polite social etiquette, comically undermined by the character throughout the novel.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Stacy L., "Imperial Anxieties and Urbane Transgressions: The Indianos of Benito Pérez Galdós’s Lo prohibido" (2023). Decimonónica. Paper 204.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/decimononica/204