Research Context
This basic research project investigates the ‘letter form’ or ‘epistolary mode’, which was a favored choice by 18th and 19th century European authors to educate their readers. The literary-journalistic genre of the Spectator press made broad use of fictitious readers’ letters. Additionally to disseminating enlightened thoughts and concepts, it also contributed to familiarize authors and readers with the epistolary mode. It was repeatedly suggested that at the end of the century, when the Spectator press gradually disappeared, it transformed into other literary formats and, thus, prepared the emergence of the epistolary novel. In Spain, fictional literature of the 18th century in general continues to be an under-researched field. In contrast to the English, French, or German epistolary novel, its specific Spanish characteristic is hardly ever described.
Hypotheses & Research Questions
The first hypothesis is that the letter form in the Spectator press essentially contributed to the development of the epistolary novel.
The second, that the Spanish epistolary novel (like the Spanish Spectator press before it) spread Enlightenment thoughts and concepts.
To answer the first hypothesis, the guiding research questions are
- What are the formal-aesthetic characteristics of the letter form in the Spanish epistolary novel?
- How are specific Enlightenment thoughts and concepts, such as education, happiness, reason, economy or love, conceived and represented in the Spanish epistolary novel?
For the second hypothesis, the guiding research questions are
- What formal-aesthetic contribution does the letter form used in the Spectator press make to the letter in the Spanish epistolary novel?
- In what ways does the representation of specific Enlightenment thoughts and concepts change from one literary genre to the other?
The objective is to close the research gaps concerning (1) the contribution of the letter form in the Spectator press to the epistolary novel and (2) the Spanish epistolary novel itself.
Research Approach
This project represents a diachronic comparative study, using a pluralistic methodological approach. It draws on established concepts and methods from literary studies, such as narratology and discourse analysis for the identification and description of the formal-aesthetic and discursive transformations of the letter form. It also proposes an open access database of the Spanish epistolary novel from 1789 to 1840.
Scientific Contribution
- Digital inventorization of the Spanish epistolary novel between 1789 and 1840
- Systematic explanation and description of the evolution of the epistolary device from the Spectator press to the epistolary novel
- Description of how specific Enlightenment thoughts and concepts were (co-)constructed, preserved, and disseminated in and through the Spanish letters
