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Hero or coward? The effects of individual decision making in post -war Spain.

“Venceréis, pero no convenceréis. Venceréis porque tenéis sobrada de fuerza bruta,

pero no convenceréis porque convencer significa persuadir”. That was the famous quote by

Miguel de Unamuno in a speech given at the University of Salamanca on the 12th of October

1936 during a celebratory Columbus Day meeting. This phrase by Unamuno is significant not

only because it required great courage to utter it but because it personifies what would

happen during the war and in the subsequent years.

The end of the Civil War in Spain would start a dictatorship spanning almost four

decades and that would cause Spanish society to essentially question its identity. Many

articles published on the subject of the Civil War have focussed on the silence that resulted

from it and how memory is being recovered (Labanyi, 2009; Davis, 2005; Richards, 2006).

Silence has been evidenced in the way in which those who lost the war suffered physically

and emotionally. Not only did they suffer in silence but they were unable to talk about their

experiences for fear of reprisals. It truly was a time of fear. Only in recent years has there

been emphasis on documenting the horrific events of that time period and attempting to

retrieve the memories from those who were directly involved in one way or another. A

pertinent example of this silence was noted in Labanyi’s (2009) article where she details the

experience of a forensic anthropologist who found out about his mother and aunt’s

involvement in the war only after his mother’s death. She comments:

Neither his mother nor his aunt had ever talked about having taken part in the war.

When Exteberria telephoned his aunt to find out more, she snapped back, ‘How did

you find out?’ When Exteberria asked why she and her sister had never talked about

this in the family, her immediate reply was ‘To protect you’. (23-24)

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This quotation highlights the difficulty faced by many trying to understand and

remember what it would have been like for those who suffered during the war. Many people

simply did not talk about their experience. However, the focal point of this paper is not to

examine silence or recovering memory as this area has been researched at length. This essay

will explore the concept of a hero and scrutinise why certain characters were classed as such.

Moreover, the paper will focus on the repercussions for these characters within post-war

Spanish society as a result of their hero or non-hero status. The analysis of this task will

principally cover the following novels set during the post-war period in Spain:

Soldados de Salamina (Javier Cercas) Los Girasoles Ciegos (Alberto Méndez) La Voz Dormida (Dulce Chacón) Presas (Tomasa Cuevas) El Lector de Julio Verne (Almudena Grandes) Before embarking upon this study, it is important to understand the new identity that

the Franco dictatorship tried to impose upon the Spanish people, that is, Catholic,

conservative, and perhaps most importantly, obedient. In other words, Franco’s aim was to

eradicate individuality and replace it with a new national identity. The question that must be

posed and, in turn, analysed is, how did Spanish society respond to this new form of identity

imposed upon them? Did they conform? If so, did they do so willingly? If not, how did they

react and what were the consequences? However, the ironic nature of this new identity is

documented in the movie adaptation of Mendez’s novel Los Girasoles Ciegos when the

Catholic priest declares “no soy buen cristiano, pero soy buen español” .

Many facets could be discussed in order to answer these questions, however, this

paper shall limit its scope to the following concepts: the hero vs. the coward and how either

stance included or excluded them from society, solidarity and unity, and finally, the results of

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a survey undertaken by the author in order to gauge the feeling of Spaniards today about the

post-war period and compare it with the narrative of the novels.

As previously stated, the portrayal of hero vs. coward is an important common theme

throughout the works being analysed in this paper and, as such, shall be examined.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a hero as someone “distinguished by the

performance of courageous or noble actions” and a coward as someone “who displays

ignoble fear or want of courage in the face of danger, pain, or difficulty”. The conclusions are

apparent: someone considered a hero portrays altruistic qualities and is capable of putting

his own feelings to one side in order to do what is best for the majority. A coward, on the

other hand, does exactly the opposite. Their focus is on themselves and their own well -

being. On the subject of hero and coward, one of the characters in Grande’s (2012) novel El

Lector de Julio Verne, doña Elena, provides the reader with a particularly thought provoking

definition of heroes and cowards:

“En las personas valientes, el miedo es sólo consciencia del peligro – añadió –, pero en

las cobardes, es mucho más que ausencia de valor.” (196)

From that description, it is clear that a hero is someone who is capable of reasoning,

weighing up all the options, and then deciding what their plan of action will be. However,

another important piece of information relating to a hero is mentioned in Cercas’ (2001)

work Soldados de Salamina. In Cercas’ interview with Roberto Bolaño, the latter highlights a

pertinent difference between a good person and a hero: there are many good people but few

heroes. Interestingly, while that may be the case in today’s society, the post-war period in

Spain, especially from a Republican standpoint in the texts under review, suggests that

heroes are in abundance. The texts outlined at the outset of this paper are littered with

potential heroes, people who were willing to sacrifice themselves for their beliefs or for the

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greater good of society. I desire to analyse the texts and identify characters displaying those

qualities in order to see why they chose to act the way they did and how that affected their

position within society.

Javier Cercas’ novel Soldados de Salamina, presents an interesting dichotomy for the

reader: Rafael Sánchez Mazas and Antonio Miralles. The former, considered by Cercas to be

one of those responsible for the uprising of the Civil War, was lucky enough to escape from a

mass shooting and, following the war, became a prominent writer and politician. In the

novel, the idea of Sánchez Mazas’ cowardly status is first put forward by Andres Trapiello, a

writer who had previously edited some of his work. In Trapiello’s own words, Sánchez Mazas

“era tan cobarde (y todo el mundo sabía que era tan cobarde) que debió de pensar que ese

episodio le redimía de algún modo de su cobardía” (37). Why was he considered a coward?

Perhaps because, as mentioned previously on the characteristics of a coward, Sánchez Mazas

was more concerned with his own well-being than of those around him. After the war was

over, he was a prominent figure of the new Falangist government and lived a very

comfortable life, whereas, those who saved his life were more or less forgotten by him. In

addition, on talking about the role he played in the Civil War, Cercas quotes a famous saying

from one his books “ni me arrepiento ni olvido” (133). This underlines his selfishness

especially after we learn that Sánchez Mazas became disillusioned with the newly-formed

government.

Miralles, on the other hand, became one of the many ‘forgotten’ people of the Civil

War which seems to fit in to his own definition of a hero. In spite of Cercas’ obsession to get

Miralles to confirm he was indeed the soldier that spared Sánchez Mazas, Miralles was more

concerned about his fallen colleagues:

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“Nadie se acuerda de ellos, ¿sabe? Nadie. Nadie se acuerda siquiera de por qué

murieron, de por qué no tuvieron mujer e hijos y una habitación con sol; nadie, y,

menos que nadie, la gente por la que pelearon”. (198-199).

Albeit lamenting the loss of his friends, in my opinion, Miralles is, unintentionally,

confirming his own hero status as he is deflecting attention from himself and praising his

comrades. This sentiment is backed up by Breen (2010), in her work on resistance and

remembrance in 21st century Spain, as she depicts Miralles and his friends’ war struggles:

“Though Cercas travelled to meet Miralles with a pre-established image of him as a

hero, he finds a battle-scarred veteran who rejects the idea. Sixty years before,

Miralles had fought in wars in Spain, Africa, and France. He and his comrades were

soldiers fighting their own war, and then for other countries, in order to prevent the

spread of fascism in the world”. (169)

However, that hero status did come with a price. Just like thousands of others, he

had to flee the country at the end of the Civil War and lived the rest of his life alone and in

France. Therefore, whilst being depicted as a hero by Cercas, and not forgetting that he is

indeed a hero, the reader is left with a melancholic memory of Miralles. Sánchez Mazas,

however, in spite of being disillusioned with the government, never really did anything to

help others in spite of his lofty position. This would probably have been the result of not

wanting to jeopardize his position. Again, the act of a coward. One sign of a hero is doing

the right thing irrespective of the circumstances. Soldados de Salamina portrays various

political groups, previously Falangist sympathisers and whose members included two of

Sánchez Mazas’ sons, trying to undo their wrongs, that is, speak out against the new regime.

Of Sánchez Mazas, however, we are told that “en todo caso, aparte de la secreta actitud

desdeñosa con que contemplaba el regimen, ni un solo dato de su biografía la avala” (p.134).

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His lack of courage permitted him to enjoy the millions that he inherited and retain his

position within society.

In the works under scrutiny in this paper, the hero never seems to have the happy

ending. That said, their tragic fate effectively becomes the making of them. Hutman (1972)

provides a rather appropriate overview of the hero’s situation:

“Theirs in an ironic vocation: called to destruction, they are not, however, called to

greatness. They are scapegoats who suffer from and in society a disproportionate

doom”. (199, italics added).

This is evident in La Voz Dormida by Ducle Chacón. In addition to the term scapegoat,

the characters in this work could easily be referred to as sacrificial lambs as that accurately

reflects the series of events that unfolded in the prisons during that time period. This novel

takes place in the Prisión de Ventas, a well-known prison during the Civil War. Whilst

reference could be made to various characters in the work, the present study will analyse

Hortensia and her role.

The concept of hero can be applied in a slightly different manner in the case of

Hortensia. Whereas she did participate in the Civil War, her hero status can be related to her

resilience inside of the prison and being a rock for the other women that were suffering

there. What impacts me most of all about the story of Hortensia is that her political views

seemed to be more important than anything else, although this is not a trait unique to

Hortensia but rather to most Republican sympathizers such as another character in the story,

Paulino. On his political stance he tells Pepita, “tienes que saber que soy un hombre político

y que nadie podrá cambiar mis ideas” (191). Regarding Hortensia, we find out that she is

pregnant in prison and that her life will be spared until after she has given birth to her child.

While it can never be known if her death penalty would have been reduced, the question

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that springs to mind is this: is standing up for something, your political belief in this example,

no matter the consequence, more important than trying to do your all to be spared in order

to be able to raise your child? It is clear that Hortensia, and others like her, will always be

remembered as heroes, and rightfully so, however, would she have been a coward for

renouncing her political beliefs in order to be with her new-born child? Was the concept of

hero when applied to a Republic only true if you were prepared to suffer for the cause?

Nino, in El Lector de Julio Verne, plants an extremely interesting concept surrounding the

choices a hero faces:

“Cuando empecé a subir la cuesta, pensé que aquella tarde sería fácil encontrar a

Elena en el cortijo, porque a ella también le habría afectado la resaca de los dos

entierros sucesivos, pero ni siquiera sentí la tentación de cambiar de rumbo, porque

había decidido servir a otro amor, y en aquel momento comprendí que era más

fuerte.” (334, italics added).

There is no doubt that a hero ultimately has to sacrifice something he/she loves in

order for the greater good and the outcome, in the case of Hortensia, was that the greater

good here was to defend her political ideology irrespective of the outcome. It is rather

fitting, then, that her last words before being shot were “Viva la República”.

If we compare that to the actions, or lack of, by some of the funcionarios in the

prison, it is possible to witness a stark contrast. The narrative portrays starving inmates

whilst they are playing cards and when asked what they are doing their response is simply

“nada” (226). Again, the image is conveyed that being a Nationalist meant you were self-

centred and, to some extent, a coward. It is unclear, however, if people lacked compassion

for fear of reprisals. This negative/cowardly Republican notion of the Nationalist could not be

any clearer than in the following section of La Voz Dormida. When describing the difference

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in Tomasa’s countenance after recovering from a heavy beating we are told that “ya no tiene

en la cara la bandera nacional” (234).

Continuing along the lines of hero vs. coward, this is never more evident in Grandes’

novel El Lector de Julio Verne. There are heroes littered throughout this literary work,

however, for the present time, I would like to contrast the difference between the main

character Nino and Michelín, one of the leaders of the Guardia Civil. The latter decides to

send Nino to do a job that he could easily do but fears that his life will be in jeopardy by going

himself. Here, Michelín hides behind his power as is evidenced when he declares to Nino’s

mother, “Yo también sé chillar y yo soy el que manda aquí”. (359). When reading about these

accounts, it is difficult to imagine that people could treat others in this way and feel okay with

themselves. On the other hand, Nino displays, not only in this moment but at various points

of the novel, a great deal of courage to go and do what is asked of him. For all of the things

that Nino does in the book, it is hard to believe that he is only a child and others could

certainly learn from his example.

Thus far, we have discussed the different ways in which heroes and cowards have

been portrayed in the novels mentioned. It would be reasonable to deduce from the analysis

that being a hero automatically meant that you were excluded from society or had to

sacrifice something important in your life. Moreover, not only did being a hero exclude these

characters from society, it also had serious ramifications for their family: Hortensia left a

newborn baby, Miguel Sanchís, in El Lector de Julio Verne, although not explicitly mentioned

in this essay, committed suicide and left his wife Pastora widowed and her life took a tragic

turn for the worse as a result. Even in the case of Antonio Miralles, all he had left were his

memories and no family. However, does that mean that the only way to be a hero is to

sacrifice yourself for the greater good? Is it not possible for a hero to put his family and

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others first but also conform to the unfortunate circumstances in which they find

themselves? Whilst potentially not a hero in the traditional sense, Nino’s father conforms to

societal norms, he is a member of the Guardia Civil in spite of his Republican background, to

protect his family and give his son the best possible chance of a good life. Is he any less of a

hero?

Having documented various heroes and cowards in the works, I would like to discuss

another way in which heroes were portrayed, not only in the texts, but during that time

period in general. As referred to previously, one of the issues surrounding the time period is

the fact that it was not as black and white as is sometimes portrayed in the novels and in

research relating to the time period. The fact that some people were Nationalists or

Republicans did not mean that they were completely at ease with the new political regime.

One such example can be found in the work of Mainer (2011) who highlights that even some

Francoist sympathisers were opposed to some of the restrictions imposed after the

introduction of the Ley de Prensa in 1938, most notably Dionisio Ridreujo, a prominent

member of the Falange (74). The mere introduction of the law shows the extremes that the

Franco regime went to in order control the people and even alienated some of their fervent

supporters in the autonomous communities such as Barcelona. Mainer explains that such

people “had to imagine new ways of dissension within the system” (77). One of those ways

was to publish Robert Burns’ poetry which would have been heavily censored due to what

Burns represented politically. Much care had to be taken in order to portray potentially

contentious subjects in a non-threatening way as doing so could have placed the translators

in danger. This information is important as it shows that heroes existed on both sides;

although people agreed with Franco’s regime at the beginning, they did not agree with

everything that he did and, therefore, were prepared to push the limits in an attempt to have

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their culture incorporated into the new Spanish identity imposed by Franco. The following

excerpt reinforces this sentiment:

“In a place where silence was imposed and disagreement severely repressed, Burn’s

poetry could thus be regarded as the voice of plurality. The Scottish poet is

transculturalized and his words are assimilated to make him significant to the target

culture and Spain’s political anxieties. Discontent with specific aspects of the

dictator’s actions brings about resistance from with the system” (Mainer, 81-82).

In addition to underlining discontent among Francoist sympathisers, this quote also

highlights unity between Republicans and Nationalists and helps to eradicate the binary black

and white division that had previously been conveyed. Interestingly, we learn of an instance

in which Félix Ros and José Janés, two of the dr iving forces behind the publication of Burns’

poetry and of differing political ideologies, showed loyalty to one another rather than their

political belief. Ros helped to spare Janés’ life after he had received the death penalty

because, for them, at that point “personal friendship became more important than political

affiliations in a Spain which did not offer what the Catalan Falangists had expected” (Mainer,

82).

Examples similar to this are in abundance and in the texts we are given a glimpse. In

Presas, a novel composed by Tomasa Cuevas comprised of numerous women’s testimonies

who were imprisoned during the war, we learn of thirteen French nuns who were shot dead

by Francoist troops because “se negaron a declarer que habían sido violadas por los rojos”

(46). While it cannot be sure if those nuns shared the same political belief as the typical

Spanish nun, it certainly did require courage to do what they did in those circumstances.

Furthermore, in La Voz Dormida we learn of another heroic act. While Reme explains

to her imprisoned comrades what happened to her daughters, she mentions that thankfully

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nothing happened to them because of a “good Falangist” who “no consintió que raparan a

mis hijas, ni que les dieran a beber guarrerías. No lo consintió.” (65). The simple act of

stopping her daughters having their heads shaved may not be considered as heroic as other

aforementioned examples, however, it did require courage as the norm would have been not

to show compassion to a “rojo”. It is fair to conclude that a hero does not always have to

sacrifice himself/herself but they should possess courageous characteristics. In this section,

in addition to reinforcing the idea that the concept of a hero is visualised through

marginalisation in society, the examples provided show the possibility of displaying heroic

qualities but still being able to function properly within society.

For the final part of the current paper, I wanted to ascertain the thoughts of

Spaniards nowadays and compare their opinions to those provided in the literature to see if

they align themselves more with a Republican or Nationalist perspective. The novels under

scrutiny, to one degree or another, convey the perception that the Republicans were the only

ones marginalised from society in the post-war period. Whilst this is not incorrect, the

black/white division between Nationalist and Republican can also be applied here. Even

factions supportive of Franco felt repressed to a certain extent as has been documented

previously. Given the image portrayed by the hero in the works, the overarching impression

is that a hero, during this time period at least, is someone willing to compromise their own

life/freedom to show their disapproval of the current regime. The intention of the hero vs

coward idea is to promote that heroes existed on both sides of the political divide.

Out of all the people who participated in the survey, 75% did not live during the

Franco dictatorship and 86% stated that they consider the country divided as a result. In

addition, 86% thought that the events that transpired during the Civil War should be

remembered. That train of thought goes hand in hand with the authors’ purpose for writing

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the novels, that is, to remember those who suffered and died during the war. Faber (2006)

documents Dulce Chacón’s thoughts on her decision to write La Voz Dormida:

“Yo quiero rendir homenaje a estas mujeres, que perdieron la guerra y la posguerra.

Recoger sus voces, que han sido condenadas al silencio, y hablar de las protagonistas

que lucharon por un mundo mejor” (145).

The fascinating result of Franco’s death is that modern-day Spain is the complete

opposite from what he originally envisioned. Responses from the survey detailing the way in

which the war divided the country included that it “caused rebellion, people went from one

extreme to another due to the lack of freedom” and that “people have become very atheist

and have gone to the other extreme, not liberal but libertine”.

In conclusion, referring to Unamuno again, the importance of his quote “venceréis

pero no convenceréis” is clearly shown to be the case in Grande’s (2012) work El Lector de

Julio Verne when Catalina’s feelings are described after the war had ended:

“Porque no era que Catalina siguiera siendo roja, sino que ahora era más roja que

antes, más roja que nunca, roja de verdad, tanto como Cuelloduro, o más”. (p.171, italics

added).

As shown in the survey, Catalina was not alone in her feeling post-war. By attempting

to eradicate and marginalise individuality, Franco inadvertently created the exact opposite

effect from what he intended. While they may have lost the war, it may only have served to

strengthen and unify Republicans after the war was over. The survey showed that the

majority are of the opinion that the war divided the country and, while this is evident even till

this day, it possibly strengthened certain political factions within the country. It is clear that

Spain still feels the effects of the Civil War and that much work remains to be done in order

to create a more unified country, however, the works analysed in this essay have, at least,

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shown that the Civil War created heroes on both sides and that the best way to learn from

the past is remember the sacrifices made by them and press forward.

Bibliography

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