Analysis Of Travelers In Spain By Triana Acedo
How travellers have seen Spain along four centuries and what their impressions about the “clichés” are –review by Triana Acedo.
Have you ever thought about what impressions, opinions and feelings travellers have once they leave Spain? Will it be positive or negative? What did it impact them the most? Travellers in Spain is an anthology by which David Mitchell compiles the impressions that distinguished personalities such as Lord Byron or Virginia Woolf among others, had of Spain from the 17th until the 20th century. A truly comprehensive book with “outrageous and bigoted” opinions accompanied with references and illustrations, but mostly focused on clichés.
The book is well organised with eleven chapters in which Mitchell talks about peninsular …show more content…
Between the 17th and 18th century, the image that travellers had of Spain it wasn’t really positive but more like an “estate one of the most confined and disordered in Christendom”. A country immersed in the poverty “Madrid [...] the dirtiest, smelliest town in Europe”, where visitors “could not wait to get back to England”.
As the story unfolds, 19-20th century, the economic and living conditions also improve, as well as the image of Spain “oft have I sighed that my fate did not permit me to reside in such an Eden for the remainder of my days”. However, in this second part, Mitchell focuses mostly on Spanish clichés like bullfight, nap, food, women or weather ―Spain is much more than that― and on Andalusia. Such is the case that we could have named the book Travellers in Andalusia, because Mitchell makes so much more emphasis on it, than in other communities which are barely or not even mentioned like La Rioja or …show more content…
Besides, the vocabulary ―as well as the impressions― suffers an evolution at the same time that epochs change (the archaism ‘thou’ is used when he is writing about the 17-18th century but not in the following centuries) and Mitchell makes a huge use of Spanish words: sometimes he gives an explanation or translation “gatera (cat-hole”), and other times he doesn’t as happens with “fandango” or “mesa camilla”. So, if readers really want to understand the book wholly, they should look for their
Have you ever thought about what impressions, opinions and feelings travellers have once they leave Spain? Will it be positive or negative? What did it impact them the most? Travellers in Spain is an anthology by which David Mitchell compiles the impressions that distinguished personalities such as Lord Byron or Virginia Woolf among others, had of Spain from the 17th until the 20th century. A truly comprehensive book with “outrageous and bigoted” opinions accompanied with references and illustrations, but mostly focused on clichés.
The book is well organised with eleven chapters in which Mitchell talks about peninsular …show more content…
Between the 17th and 18th century, the image that travellers had of Spain it wasn’t really positive but more like an “estate one of the most confined and disordered in Christendom”. A country immersed in the poverty “Madrid [...] the dirtiest, smelliest town in Europe”, where visitors “could not wait to get back to England”.
As the story unfolds, 19-20th century, the economic and living conditions also improve, as well as the image of Spain “oft have I sighed that my fate did not permit me to reside in such an Eden for the remainder of my days”. However, in this second part, Mitchell focuses mostly on Spanish clichés like bullfight, nap, food, women or weather ―Spain is much more than that― and on Andalusia. Such is the case that we could have named the book Travellers in Andalusia, because Mitchell makes so much more emphasis on it, than in other communities which are barely or not even mentioned like La Rioja or …show more content…
Besides, the vocabulary ―as well as the impressions― suffers an evolution at the same time that epochs change (the archaism ‘thou’ is used when he is writing about the 17-18th century but not in the following centuries) and Mitchell makes a huge use of Spanish words: sometimes he gives an explanation or translation “gatera (cat-hole”), and other times he doesn’t as happens with “fandango” or “mesa camilla”. So, if readers really want to understand the book wholly, they should look for their