ABSTRACT
Benito Pérez Galdós wrote his best-known works, the novelas contemporáneas (Contemporary Novels), between 1880 to 1897, and these texts have begun to garner critical attention for their engagement with the themes of empire and colonial history (Copeland, Surwillo, Coffey “Un curso”). But throughout his literary career, which spanned from 1867 to 1918, Galdós was keenly aware of the way in which the connections between the metropolis and its colonies defined Spanish national identity and history. Indeed, texts from the author’s early and late career have much to tell us about the issue of Spain’s colonial history and its declining status as a global empire. In this article, I will examine two examples that illustrate a trajectory of thought on the relationship between metropolis and colony. Both involve the gendered trope of colonialism but in unexpected and innovative ways.
