SOURCE: "Theme and Structure in La colmena," in Forum for Modern Language Studies, Vol. VIII, No. 4, October, 1972, pp. 304-19.

In the following essay, Henn presents the themes Cela addresses in La colmena and how the structure of the novel supports these themes.

Discussions of Camilo José Cela's fourth novel, La colmena, have too often been centered around the structure of the work whilst thematic aspects have usually been subordinated to this formalistic emphasis. The formal complexities of the novel, the cinematographic technique, simultaneity of action, fragmentation, lack of chronological sequence, the large number of characters appearing in such a short period of time, have all been examined to the relative neglect of the introduction and elaboration of themes. Whereas the structure of La colmena has been generally regarded as testimony to the author's architectural skill, his use and treatment of themes has, by and large, received all too...