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byBamber Gascoigne

One of the most important Spanishdramatists of the 20th century and the winner of the Nobel Prize forLiterature in 1922. Jacinto Benavente wrote over 170 plays. In his early workshe exposed prejudices of the upper middle class and society's defects,without being a social reformer. Benavente's second, conservative halfof his literary career, is considered a long decline. His supportof Franco's regime cast a shadow over his internationalreputation.

Jacinto Benavente y Martinez was born in Madrid. He was the youngestof three children of Venancia Martinez, and Mariano Benavente, a notedpediatrician, who admired Shakespeare's works and transferred hisinterest in plays to his children. Benavente was educated at theprestigious San Isidore Institute, where he started to perform playletsand puppet shows. Benavente wanted to become an actor, but his fatherdid not approve it. In 1882 Benavente went to the University of Madridtostudy law. After his father's death in 1885, Benavente dropped hisstudies and started to write essays, sketches, and contributions tojournals. In 1890 he joined a theater company, but he never became a aprofessional actor. For a period he travelled with a circus inprovincial towns. His firstpublished work wasTeatro fantástico (1892), eight sketches based on dreams and fantasies.

An aristocrat and a conservative, Benavente began with plays that broke the moribund neo-Romantic tradition ofJosé Echegaray (1832-1916), whom he has admired. His first dramatic work, El nido ajeno(1894, Another's Nest), was dismissed by the majority of critics as afailure, but two years later Benavente established his reputation as aplaywright withGente conocida. At the same time Echegaray'spopularity began to wane. In the following years Benavente created overforty dramas with astonishing versality. He removedrhetoric from theatrical language – from verbal language to thesetting. Typical for his work was understated style and technicalperfection. The emphasis is not on the action but on dialogue andthe psychological twists and turns of the human psyche. In life as uponthe stage, says Princess Bebé, one of his characters, the realentertainment goes behind the scenes.

Benavente's plays, which deeply influenced Spanishtheater, differed greatly from the romantic tradition of JoséEchegaray (1832-1916). (Coincidentally, Echegaray had been a client ofBenavente's father.) His witty dialogue had much in common with theironical tone of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. He once said:"The public demands that serious things be treated frivolously, andthat nonsense be taken seriously. What it will not tolerate is serioustreatment of serious things, or speaking flippantly of nonsense."

Especially Benavente satirized the Spanish bourgeoisie. Amongthese pieces wereLa comida de las fieras (1898), an attack on aristocrats,Lo cursi (1901), an analysis of the traditional and the counterfeit modern,La Gobernadora (1901), about corrupt provincial politics,La noche del sábado (1903, Saturday Night), set on the Riviera,El dragón del fuego (1904), a satire on imperialism, Los Malhechores Del Bien (1905), about religious hypocrisy, andLa princesa Bebé(1906), in which the heroine seeks truth from the pretentioussurroundings of the Court to the theatre and the underworld. Many playswere set in Madrid, among themAutumnal Roses (1905), or in Moraleda, a fictitious provincial town in Castilia, the setting ofLa gobernadora (1901, The Governor's Wife),El primo Román (1901),El marido de su viuda (1908, His Widow's Husband),Pepa Doncel (1928), and others.

In the late 1890s Benavente joined the innovative group of modernist writers known as theGeneration of '98,which sought to revive Spain's prestige after its defeat in theSpanish-American war. He was named in 1899 editor of the journalVida literaria, a voice of the Generation of '98. Later he also wrote for the Madrid newspaperEl Imparcial. In 1913 became a member of the Spanish Academy.

DuringWWI, Benavente sympathized with the German cause, whichalienated him from some of his friends, who supported the AlliedForces.  Benavente criticized France's and Britain's infludence onSpain and argued that Germany and Spain shared the same interests,while at the same time he emphasized Spanish neutrality. His positionBenavente defended inEl año germanófilo(1916), but it has been said that "he was never able to articulate a coherent rationale for his Germanophilism."The German embassy invited Benavente to visit Germany. The embassysecretary von Stohrer knew that the playwright had the habit of saying"yes" to an invitation, but he often would not show up if he had something else to do. In his report he describedBenavente as anoddball, shy and reserved. (In 1920 Benavente was named director of the Teatro Español,Spain's national theater. Sometimes he acted on the stage. When theSpanish Civil war broke out in 1936, Benavente declared his support tothe Republican cause and left Madrid. He was captured in Valencia andtaken back to his home town where he was set under house arrest. Afterthe war he "made his peace" with the Francoregime, which had regarded him as too liberal. In an article entitled'Al dictacto,' published in the conservative newspaper ABC, he defendedMarshall Pétain's role in the Vichy government, and in a later articlehe said that Pétain had been both a sword and a shield to his country.

Saturday Night, which ran for two years in NewYork, established Benavente's international fame. Anotherinternationally acclaimed play wasLa malquerida(1913,The Passion Flower). In the rustic drama incestuous hate and lovebetween stepfather and stepdaughter lead to violence and murder. Inspite of being mostly faithful to his own themes and style, Benaventefollowed contemporary European drama and introduced themes and dramaticconventions employed by other famous playwrights. He alsoexperimented with fantastic, symbolist, and surrealistic trends.

Benavente published nearly 200 works during his career. "He is arare example of a born dramatist, one whose imagination, by itself,creates in accordance with the laws of the stage, but yet avoidsanything theatrical as fully as all other false conventions."

One of Benavente's most acclaimed plays isLos intereses creados(1907, The Bonds of Interest), which resembles a puppet drama andutilizes the conventions of the commedia dell'arte. The hero of thestory is Crispín, a crafty servant, who manipulates a group of peoplewith invisible strings. He dupes the respectable citizens of asixteenth-century city into believing that his impecunious master is afabulously rich nobleman traveling incognito on a secret diplomaticmission. Benavente himself occasionally played the role of the puppetmaster in subsequent revivals.La ciudad alegre y confiada, the sequel forThe Bonds of Interest,was written in 1916. La malqueridadraws from classical mythology, and was later made into a Broadwayproduction and a film. In the English speaking world, thisplay is best known asThe Passion Flower. The ruraldrama tells of a woman, whose guilty love for her stepfather leadsto the killing of her suitor and her mother.

Benavente lived with his mother until her death in1922.  Henever married but devoted his life primarily to travel and to thetheater. His laterworks tended toward sentimentality and conservatism, and some youngwriters, such as as the novelist Ramón Pérez de Ayala, protested whenBenavente was honoured with the Nobel Prize. At the time ofthe announcement in 1922, Benavente was on a tour of South Americaand the United States as artistic director in the theatre company ofthe actress Lola Membrives – he was in a remote Argentine railroadstation when the news about the honour reached him. The academy passedover James Joyce, whoseUlyssescame out in February 1922. Benavente did not attend the ceremonies, and theprize was accepted by the Spanish ambassador to Sweden.

Benavente's major works after World War I include La vestal de Occidente (1919), a study of Queen Elizabeth I and her love for Essex, La noche iluminada (1927), inspired by Shakespeare, Pepa Doncel (1928), a psychological study of social climbers, and La Infanzona(1945), about incest. Between 1920 and 1924 he produced no newplays. In addition to his dramatic work, Benavente wrote literary andsocial criticism, and founded his own movie studio, the Sociéte desFilms Benavente. It produced to pictures,Pour toute la vie/ Para toda la vida (1923) andMás allá de la muerte (1924), both directed by Benito Perojo. Benavente died in Madrid on July 14, 1954.

Selected works:

• Comedia italiana (written before 1892)
• El criado de don Juan (written before 1892, prod. 1911)
• La senda del amor (written before 1892)
• La blancura de Pierrot (written before 1892)
• Cuento de primavera (written before 1892)
• Amor de artista (written before 1892)
• Modernismo (written before 1892)
• El encanto de una hora, 1892
• Teatro fantástico, 1892 [Fantastic Theater]
  
• Vilanos, 1893 [The Down of the Thistle]
  
• Versos, 1893 [Poetry]
  
• Cartas de mujeres, 1893 [Women's Letters]
  
• El nido ajeno, 1894 [Another's Nest]
• Gente conocida, 1896 [Eminent People]
• El marido de la Téllez, 1897 [Mrs.Téllez'shusband]
• De alivio, 1897 (monologue) 
• Don Juan, 1897 (based on Molière's play)
• La farándula, 1897 [The Company of Comedians]
• Figulinas, 1898
• La comida de las fieras, 1898 [The Wild Beasts' Banquet] 
• Teatro feminista, 1898 (farce comedy with music) 
• Cuento de amor, 1899 (based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night)
• Operación quirúrgica, 1899
• Despedida cruel: comedia en un acto, 1899
• La gata de ángora, 1900
• Viaje de instrucción, 1900
• Por la herida, 1900
• Modas: sainete en un acto y en prosa, 1901
• La gobernadora, 1901
  - The Governor's Wife (in Plays: Second Series, translated by J.G. Underhill, 1919)
• Sin querer, 1901
• Sacrificios, 1901
• Lo cursi, 1901
• La gobernadora, 1901
• El primo román, 1901
• Amor de amor, 1902
• ¡Liberdad!, 1902 (based on a play by Santiogo Rusiñol y Prats)
• En tren de los maridos, 1902
• Alma triunfante, 1902
  - film: De mujer a mujer, 1950,prod. Compañía Industrial Film Español S.A. (CIFESA),dir.  Luis Lucia, adaptation by Antonio Abad Ojuel
• El automóvil, 1902
• La noche del sábado: novela escénica en cinco cuadros. Lo cursi, comedia en tres actos, 1903
  - Saturday Night (in Plays: Third Series, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1923)
  - filmadaptations:  La noche del sábado, 1950, prod. Suevia Films -Cesáreo González, dir. Rafael Gil, screenplay Antonio Abad Ojuel andRafael Gil; La noche del sábado, TV play 1970, starring CarmenBernardos, Jaime Blanch, Luis Dávila, Andrés Meiuto, Tina Sáinz 
• El hombrecito, 1903
• Los favoritos, 1903
• Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle, 1903 (translation, based on a play by Alexandre Dumas pére)
• Por que se ama, 1903
• Al natural, 1903
• La casa de la dicha, 1903
• No fumadores, 1904
  - No Smoking (in Plays: SecondSeries, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1919; translated by JohnGarrett Underhill, in Adventures in World Literature, edited by ReweyBelle Inglis and William K. Stewart, 1936)
• El dragón de fuego, 1904
• Richelieu, 1904 (translation, based on a play by Edward Bulwer-Lytton)
• Los malhechores de bien, 1905
  - The Evil Doers of Good (in Plays, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1917)
• Rosas de verano, 1905
• Rosas de otoño, 1905
  - Autumnal Roses (in Plays: Second Series, tr. John GarrettUnderhill, 1919)
  -film adaptations: Rosas de otoño, 1943, dir. Eduardo Morera, Juan deOrduña, starring María Fernanda Ladrón de Guevara, Mariano Asquerinoand Marta Santaolalla; Rosas de otoño, TV play 1979, in Estudio 1, dir.Manuel Aguado, starring Amparo Rivelles, Francisco Piquer and Ana MaríaVidal  
• Manon Lescaut, 1905
• El susto de la condesa, 1905
• Cuento inmoral, 1905
• La sobresalienta, 1905
• Las cigarras hormigas, 1905
• Buena boda, 1905 (based on Émile Augier's Un beau mariage)
• La princesa bebé, 1906
  - Princess Bebé (in Plays: Second Series, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1919)
• Más fuerte que el amor, 1906
• El amor asusta, 1907
• Los búhos: comedia en tres actos y en prosa, 1907
• Los intereses creados: comedia de Polichinelas en dos actos, tres cuadros y un prólogo, 1907
  -The Bonds of Interest (tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1921; in Plays,translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1917; Stanley Appelbaum, 2004)
  -film: Los intereses creados, 1919, prod. Cantabria Cines, dir. JacintoBenavente, Ricardo Puga, with Ricardo Puga, Raymonde de Bach and TeresaArroniz
• Abuela y nieta, 1907
• La copa encantada, 1907
• La princesa sin corazón, 1907
• Todos somos unos, 1907
• La historia de Otelo, 1907
• Los ojos de los muertos, 1907
• Señora ama: comedía en tres actos, 1908
  - A Lad (in Plays: Fourth Series, tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1924)
  -film adaptations: Señora ama, 1955, prod. Diana Films, Unión Films,dir. Julio Bracho, starring Dolores del Rio, José Suárez and María LuzGalicia; Señora ama, TV film 1980, in Estudio 1
• La sonrisa de Gioconda, 1908
  - The Smile of Mona Lisa (translated by J.A. Herman, 1915)
• La fuerza bruta, 1908
  - Brute Force (translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1936)
  - filmadaptations: La forza bruta, 1941, prod. Lux Film, dir. Carlo LudovicoBragaglia, starring Juan de Landa, Rossano Brazzi and Germana Paolieri;La fuerza bruta, TV play 1980, in Teatro breve, starring  JaimeBlanch, Rafael Castejón, Yolanda Farr, Antonio Iranzo,  MarisaLahoz
• El marido de su viuda, 1908
  -His Widow's Husband (in Plays, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1917; TheNobel Prize Treasury, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1948; translated bySidney and William-Alan Landes; edited and introduction by William-AlanLandes, 2006)
• De pequeñas causas, 1908
• Hacia la verdad: escenas de la vida moderna, en tres cuadros, 1908
• Ganarse la vida, 1909
• El último minué, 1909
• La escuela de las princesa, 1909
  - The School of Princesses (in Plays: Fourth Series, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1924)
• El príncipe que todo lo aprendió en los libros: comedia en dos actos y siete caudros, 1909
  - The Prince Who Learned Everything out of Books (in Plays: Third Series, translated by John Garrett Underhill, 1923)
• Por las nubes, 1909
  - In the Clouds (in Plays: Third Series, tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1923)
• De cerca: comedia en un acto y en pros, 1909
  - At Close Range (tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1936)
• ¡A ver qué hace un hombre!, 1909
• La señorita se aburre: comedia en un acto, basada en una poesía de Tennyson, 1909
• De sobremesa; crónicas, 1910-1916 (6 vols.)
  
• El nietecito, 1910
• Caridad, 1911
• El criado de Don Juan, 1911
  - Don Juan's Servant (tr. 1957)
• La rosa de los sueños: comedia en dos actos en prosa, 1911
  -TV play: La rosa de los sueños, 1968, in Teatro de siempre, starringConcha Cuetos, Fernando Delgado, Estanis González, Lola Herrera, LuisaSala
• El rey lear, 1911 (translation, based on Shakespeare's King Lear)
• La malquerida, 1913
  - The Passion Flower (in Twenty-five Modern Plays, 3d ed., tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1953)
  - Väärä rakkaus (suom.)
  -film adaptations: La malquerida, 1914, dir. Ricardo de Baños; PassionFlower / Love or Hate, 1921, dir. Herbert Brenon, starring NormaTalmadge, Courtenay Foote, Eulalie Jensen, Harrison Ford; Lamalquerida, 1939, dir. José López Rubio; 1949, dir. Emilio Fernandez,starring Dolores del Rio, Pedro Armendáriz, Columba Domínguez; Lamalquerida, TV play 1963, dir. Pedro Amalio Lópwez; TV play 1977, dir.Enrique Diosdado; La malquerida, TV play 2006, in Estudio 1, dir. BelénMolinero, starring María Jesús Hoyos, Mercedes Sampietro and MaríaElena Flores
• El destino manda, 1914 (translation, based on Paul Hervieu's Le destin est maître)
• El collar de estrellas, 1915
• La verdad, 1915
  - The Truth (in Plays: Third Series, tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1923)
• La propia estimación, 1915
• El Año germanófilo, 1916
• La ciudad alegre y confiada: comedia en tres cuadros y un prólogo, considerados como tres actos. 2. parte de "Los intereses creados, 1916
  -TV play 1966, in Estudio 1, starring Tomás Blanco, Margarita Calahorra,Nuria Carresi, José María Escuer, Claudia Gravy, Francisco Piquer,Manuel Torremocha, Paco Valladares
• Campo de armiño: comedia en tres actos, 1916
  - Field of Ermine (in Plays: Fourth Series, tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1924)
• La túnica amarilla, 1916 (translation, based on the play by George C. Hazelton and Harry Benrimo)
• El mal que nos hacen, 1917
• Plays, 1917-24 (4 vols.)
• Los cachorros: comedia en tres actos, en prosa, 1918
• La mefistófela, 1918
• La Inmaculada de los Dolores, 1918
• La ley de los hijos, 1918
• Por ser con todos leal, ser para todos traidor, 1919
• Plays: Second Series, 1919
• La vestal de Occidente, 1919
• El audad, 1919 (based on the novel by Benito Pérez Galdós)
• La honra de los hombres, 1919
• La Cenicienta, 1919
• Y va de cuento, 1919
• La fuerza bruta, 1919
• Una señora, 1920
  - A Lady (in Plays: Fourth Series, tr. John Garrett Underhill, 1924)
• Una pobre mujer, 1920
• Más allá de la muerte, 1922
• Teatro, 1922 (35 vols.)
• Por que se quitó Juan de la bebida, 1922
• Plays: Third Series, 1923
• Plays: Fourth Series, 1924
• Lecciones de buen amor: comedia en tres actos, 1924
  - film 1944, prod. Rey Soria, dir. Rafael Gil, starring Juan Calvo, Félix Fernández and Milagros Leal
• Un par de botas, 1924
• Alfilerazos, 1924
• La otra honra: comedia en tres actos, 1924
• La virtud sospechosa: comedia en tres actos, 1924
• Nadie sabe lo que quiere, o el bailarín y el trabajador, 1925
  -film: El bailarín y el trabajador, 1936, dir. Luis Marquina,starring Roberto Rey, Ana María Custodio, Antoñita Colomé, JoséIsbert, Irene Caba Alba, Antonio Riquelme 
• ¡Si creerás tú que es por mi gusto!, 1925
• El suicidio de lucerito, 1925
• Los nuevos yernos, 1925
• La mariposa que voló sobre el mar: comedia en tres actos, 1926
  - film 1948, prod. Obregón, dir. Antonio de Obregón, screenplay Eugene Deslaw and Antonio de Obregón
• La noche iluminada, 1927
• El hijo de Polichinela: comedia en un prólogo y tres actos , 1927
• A las puertas del cielo, 1927
• El demonio fue antes ángel: comedia en tres actos y en prosa, 1928
• Pepa doncel: comedia en tres actos y dos cuadros, 1928
  -film adaptations: Pepa Doncel, 1969, dir. Luis Lucia, starring AuroraBautista, Juan Luis Galiardo and Mercedes Vecino; Pepa Doncel, TV play1981, in Teatro estudio, dir. Alfredo Castellón 
• Para el cielo y los altares: drama en tres actos, divididos en trece cuadros, y un epílogo, y en prosa, 1928
• ¡No quiero, no quiero!; comedia en tres actos, 1928
  -film: No quiero, no quiero, 1940, prod. Sindicato de la Industria delEspectáculo (SIE), dir. Francisco Elías, screenplay Francisco Elías andLope Martínez de Rivera
• Vidas cruzadas: cinedrama en dos partes, dividida la primera en diez cuadros, y la segunda en tres y un epílogo, y en prosa, 1929
  -film: Vidas cruzadas, 1942, prod. Compañía Industrial Film Español S.A.(CIFESA), UPCE, dir. Luis Marquina, starring Ana Mariscal, EnriqueGuitart and Luis Peña
• Los amigos del hombre, 1930
• Los andrajos de la púrpura: drama en cinco actos, 1930
• De muy buena familia: comedia en tres actos y en prosa, 1931
• Literatura: comedia en tres actos, 1931
• La melodía del jazz-band: comedia en un prólogo y tres actos, 1931
• Cuando los hijos de Eva no son los hijos de Adán: comedia entres actos, 1931 (based on Margaret Kennedy's novel The Constant Nymph)
• La moral del divorcio: conferencia dialogada, dividida en tres partes, 1932
• Santa Rusia: primera parte de una trilogía, 1932
• La duquesa gitana: comedia de magia en cinco actos divididos en diez cuadros, 1932
• Le verdad inventada: comedia en tres actos, 1933
• El rival de su mujer: comedia en tres actos y en prosa, 1933
• La novia de nieve: comedia en un prólogo y tres actos, 1934
• El pan comido en la mano: comedia en tres actos, 1934
• Ni al amor ni al mar: drama en cuatro actos y un epílogo, 1934
• Memorias de un madrileño: puestas en acción en cinco cuadros, 1934
• "No juguéis con esas cosas"; comedia en tres actos y en prosa, 1935
• Cualquiera lo sabe: comedia en tres actos y en prosa, 1935
• Teatro de Jacinto Benavente, 1937 (introduction by Gregorio Martínez Sierra)
• Obras completas, 1940-58 (11 vols.)
• Lo increíble, 1940
• Aves y pájaros, 1940
• Abuelo y nieto, 1941
• Y amargaba, 1941
• La última carta, 1941
• La honradez de la cerradura, 1942
  - The Secret of the Keyhole (tr. 1957)
  -film adaptations: La honradez de la cerradura, 1950, prod. PECSA Films,dir. Luis Escobar;  La honradez de la cerradura, TV play 1964, inPrimera fila, dir. Gustavo Pérez Puig
• La culpa es tuya, 1942
• Al fin, mujer, 1942
• ¡Hija del alma!, 1942
• La enlutada, 1943
• El demonio del teatro, 1943
• Don margin él de las magias, 1944
• Los niños perdidos en la selva, 1944
• Espejo de grandes, 1944
• Nieve en mayo, 1945
• La infanzona, 1945
• La ciudad doliente, 1945
• Titania, 1945
• Obras completas, 1942-46 (11 vols.)
• Al servicio de su majestad imperial, 1947
• La infanzona, 1948
• Abdicación, 1948
• Divorcio de almas, 1948
• Adoración, 1948
• Al amor hay que mandarlo al colegio, 1950
• Su amante esposaA, 1950
• Tú una vez y el diablo diez, 1950
• Mater imperatrix, 1950
• La vida en verso, 1951
• Ha llegado Don Juan, 1952
• El lebrel del cielo, 1953
• El alfiler en la boca, 1953
• Servir, 1953
• Almas prisioneras, 1953
• Caperucita asusta al lobo, 1953
• Hijos padres de sus padres, 1954
• El marido de bronce, 1954
• Por salvar su amor, 1954
• El teatro de Benavente en el siglo, 1954
  
• El bufón de Hamlet, 1958
  
• Jacinto Benavente: antología, 1966 (edited by Juan Emilio Aragones)
  
• El príncipe que todo lo aprendió en los libros, 1970
  
• Los intereses creados, 1974 (edited by Fernando Lázaro Carreter)
• Four Plays, 1978 (in English versions with an introd. by John Garrett Underhill ; and a critical essay by Jacinto Benavente)
• Comedias escogidas, 1978 (foreword by Arturo Berenguer Carimoso)
• Obras completas, con una nota preliminar, 1958 (11 vols.)
• La noche del sábado: novela escénica en cinco cuadros, 1991
  
• Teatro fantástico; La sonrisa de Gioconda, 2001 (eds. Javier Huerta Calvo, Emilio Peral Vega)
• Comedias y dramas, 2007- (eds. Luis Tomás González del Valle and José Manuel Pereiro Otero)
• Los intereses creados: 1907-2007, 2008 (foreword by Santiago Fisas Ayxelá, ed. Antonio Castro Jiménez, Javier Domingo)
  
• El príncipe que todo lo aprendió en los libros, 2016 (ilustraciones de Zuzanna Celej)