La comedia nueva. El sí de las niñas by Leandro Fernández de Moratín (review)

Jesús Pérez Magallón’s fine edition of La comedia nueva and El sí de las niñas presents the famous works of the early nineteenth-century dramatist Leandro Fernández de Moratín in a new light. Magallón first presents La comedia nueva and El sí de las niñas in their entirety with expansive commentary in notes, then furnishes a critical review of Moratín’s work. Anyone seeking a thorough interpretation of La comedia nueva and El sí de las niñas will find valuable material in Magallón’s edition. This edition would be an ideal textbook for first-time Moratín readers, as well as a useful resource for scholars researching the Spanish dramaturge’s work.

Magallón believes in the innovative and timeless nature of Moratín’s work and calls the playwright a true classic of Spanish theatre (xii, 277). He offers commentaries from renowned Spanish writers and critics—among them José Martínez Ruíz (Azorín), Mariano José de Larra, and Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo—that echo this acclaim, as well as compares Moratín’s work to that of his contemporaries. Magallón’s discussion of the plays highlights their reception in Spain, controversies that they created among scholars, and varied thematic interpretations the plays offer. He argues that the title of Moratín’s La comedia nueva is a well-contemplated product of long reflections on the current state of Spanish theatre. Although the play appears alternatively entitled El café in various editions, according to Magallón, we have no written proof to assume that this title was anything Moratín considered while writing, publishing, and presenting his work (4). La comedia nueva presents a number of commentaries and observations on literature through two characters with distinct views on literature who enter into conversation. According to various critics, La comedia nueva is all about the new drama that emerges from the lamentable decadence of Spanish theatre of the eighteenth century (206).

Similarly, El sí de las niñas exhibits new approaches to theatrical performances. For example, Moratín puts intimate spaces like living rooms on display, exposing the privacy of the characters. Throughout his work, Moratín presents the juxtaposition of reason and sentiments, thus following the convictions of the European movement called Illustration. El sí de las niñas is a great example of works in which reason and sentiments come together. Reason is personified by authority—whether it be familiar (Don Diego or Doña Irene), monarchical (The King), or divine (God)—while sentiments are presented in the light of love and family. For Moratín, it is important that reason and sentiment amalgamate in the form of happiness and prove that happiness is achievable (273). Moratín allows the spectators and readers to penetrate into the intimate consciousness of each protagonist of El sí de las niñas (Don Diego, Doña Francisca, and Don Carlos) by presenting them at certain scenes vocalizing certain thoughts, and by exposing their private conversations. El sí de las niñas is perhaps Moratín’s last work that observes the essence of Neoclassicism and Illustration, while opening doors for Romanticism.

Leandro Fernández de Moratín’s works of theater are original yet didactic. Moratín strongly believed that theater, aside from being entertaining, exerts an essential influence on social life, culture, and traditions. Therefore, Moratín’s convictions about the importance of educating society are prominently present in his works, for example in his criticism of contemporary literature in La comedia nueva, and of family relations in El sí de las niñas. Like Anton Chekhov, Moratín believed that every word played a crucial role in the formation of his work, and he carefully picked every setting, sentence, or exclamation to contribute to the progress of his plays...