In the later half of the 20th century, objectivismo was a movement in Spain that was closely related to the French new novel and particularly to the writings of Alain robbe-grillet and Jose Camilo cela. Objectivismo, or objectivism, refers to the attempt to write novels that were completely free of subjective material and, therefore, closer to material reality. This involved the rejection of all conventional modes of narrative literature such as plot, chronological progression, and metaphorical description. The novels of objectivismo would, for example, feature extravagant, long descriptions of a piece of furniture or a geographic location and then repeat the same descriptions periodically throughout the book. Cela’s La Colmena (The Hive, 1951) is a prime example.
Strongly influenced by existential philosophy of Heidegger, the main point of objectivismo is that reality, before human interpretation, is just there. Before any of the narrative meaning that human beings give to it, the most important feature of reality is its simple presence.
By refusing to concentrate on action or meaning, objectivismo texts have a sort of physical presence, in the philosophical sense of the word physical. More important, the texts imply that the author and human personality are essentially illusions. By an aesthetic act of will, the author may overcome these illusions and present a text free of his presence. The novels of Rafael Sanchez Ferlosio (1924- ), such as El Jarama (1956; translated as The One Day of the Week, 1962), and the early work of Juan Marse, are examples.
Literary critic Roland Barthes was a major influence on both the New Novel and objectivismo. He believed that too much importance had been given to the author’s intentions in interpreting literature. He argued that, in fact, meaning, specifically the intentional meaning of the author, was an impermanent and changing thing based more on cultural context than anything else. Objectivismo is a literary style that supports and is supported by this idea.
The novels of objectivismo are texts that push the reader to supply interpretations. They are presented with compressed and repetitive events that are explained only in glimmers so that any meaning the reader gleans will not be definitive.
A Work about Objectivismo
Robbe-Grillet, Alain. For a New Novel: Essays on Fiction. Translated by Richard Howard. New York: Grove Press, 1966.
