Critical Essay | Critical Essay by Gene M. Hammitt

Critical Essay by Gene M. Hammitt

SOURCE: Hammitt, Gene M. “Unamuno's Peña del Buitre and Valverde de Lucerna.” Romance Notes 25, no. 1 (fall 1984): 30-4.

In the following essay, Hammitt discusses the names of the fictional locales of Saint Emmanuel the Good, Martyr—the mountain Peña del Buitre and the village of Valverde de Lucerna—and how they reflect Unamuno's philosophies.

The nivolas de Miguel de Unamuno generally place little importance on locale and geography. Rather, they emphasize the spiritual and psychological agony of the characters.¹ Accordingly, we observe in these works a notable paucity of place names and topographical references. Consequently, our interest is aroused when we do encounter the names of places, especially those invented by the author himself, as is the case with Peña del Buitre, the mountain, and Valverde de Lucerna, the village, in San Manuel Bueno, mártir. Much of a convincing nature has been written about the possible symbolism of the characters'...
(read more)