Novel
Pepita Jiménez
Juan Valera · 1874
Synopsis
A village in Andalusia, in the 1870s. Luis de Vargas, a seminarian, comes back to spend a few weeks at his father's house before taking his vows. He writes to his uncle, a cathedral dean, letters in which he gives an account of his days and of his soul. His father, don Pedro, is about to marry Pepita Jiménez, a widow of twenty. Luis at first judges her severely; he accompanies her on walks in the countryside, frequents her house, and the letters reveal, better than he sees it himself, that his vocation is wavering.
Context
The author's first novel, it appeared in 1874. The narrative presents itself as a manuscript found among the papers of a cathedral dean, a bundle bearing as its title the Latin motto “Nescit labi virtus”, for which the supposed editor says he substituted a woman's name. The first part is made up of the seminarian's letters, the second turns to narrative. The irony is gentle, and the psychological novel here contains a defence of the natural against affectation. Grégoire Polet retranslated it into French in 2007.
Who it is for
A short novel, mostly epistolary, in a clear language; it is best to read the letters with some distrust of the one who writes them.
Prizes and reception
Favourably received by the public and critics, it was translated into ten languages; Isaac Albéniz drew an opera from it in 1895.