The Epistemology of Olfaction: Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta

Author(s): Alrick Clauson Knight, Jr.

Source: Hispania, Vol. 92, No. 3 (September 2009), pp. 430-438
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
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The Epistemology
ofOlfaction:
Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta
AlrickClausonKnight,
Jr.
Loyola University
Chicago

Abstract:This articlearguesthatEduardoLpez Bago's La prostituta

evidencesa deprivileging
of a "visual"apand of the sensorialpredominance
of sight.Rather,Lpez Bago harnessesodorsand deploys
proachto narration
themas an important
device and a centralgeneratorof meaning,permitting
his novel to be judged
structuring
- an
on its abilityto evoke strongemotionalresponsesin the reader by regularlyencouraginga sensorial
identification.
holds
a
scent
to
be
fertile
source
for
the
that
olfactory
Lpez Bago
imagination,
something can
be aimed,divertedor eliminatedand, morebroadly,serveas a potentialresponseto the time-honored
question
of how to most effectively
mediateexperience.I attemptto show thathis aestheticsrelies on a perceptible,
consciousshiftof emphasisthatunderscores
the olfactory
as a creatorof meaning,and not simplya supplement
to thatmeaning.The effectiveness
of scentas mediatorof experienceis also closely linkedto his artisticand
aims: "to emphasizelife's mostsordidaspectsand, crucially,to finda crudeexpressionof that
epistemological
same sordidness,"as one criticremarks.The broadercontextof this articlesuggeststhatso-called Naturalist
worksmightbest be understood
of the presenceand function
of odors.Anothergeneral
througha consideration
thoughimplicitquerythatunderpinssuch issues is how the questionof "Who smells?"(in boththe activeand
passive verbalsense) has been thematizedor embodiedin literature.
Key Words: aesthetics,epistemology,La prostituta,Lpez Bago (Eduardo), Naturalism,nineteenth-century
Spain, [the] olfactory,scent,senses
"The firstconditionof understanding
a foreigncountryis to smell it."
RudyardKipling

auralqualities,
inthecase ofpoetry,
arecentral
toitsevaluation
and
particularly
understanding,
just as few readerswould denythatthe visual dimension,famously
Literature's
pursuedin psychoanalytical
approachesto thetext,has becomea sinequa nonconcept
in theanalysisofbothliterature
andaesthetics
Whileitis truethat,in literature,
the
generally.
ofthesenseshasalwaysbeencentraltothegeneration
ofmeaning,
itis no lesscertain
figuration
thatcertain
senseshavelongheldswayoverothers.
Myaiminthisarticleis toarguethat,forreasonsexploredbelow,one veinof late-nineteenth-century
is bestunderstood
Spanishliterature
a consideration
ofthepresenceandfunction
ofodors.Thisis certainly
nottosaythatan
through
is alwaysthemostappropriate,
even whenscentmakesan
approachrootedin theolfactory
WhenRosaliade Castrowritesofa "dulceyperfumado
/Calorprimaveral"
appearance:
("Adivnasedulceyperfumado"
106),orwhenBenitoPrezGalds' s Fortunata
shieldshernosefrom
the
"olordesagradable"
ofan irasciblepriest(544); whenValle-Incln'sConchamemorably
whips
theMarqusde Bradomnwithan "ondanegra,perfumada
y sombra"(108), scentis important
andfigures
tohelpdefinethemood.By contrast,
inEduardoLoyetarguably
secondary,
briefly
theroleofscentintheconstruction
of
pez Bago's La prostituta
(1884),1thefocusofthisarticle,
theoretical
endeavor,whilealso posingdistinct
meaningbecomescrucialto theinterpretative
oftheabove,moreconventional
modesofliterary
challengestothereaderwhois morecognizant
analysis.
- andquitedifferent
inventive
olfaction
andliterature
from
Other,
waysofbringing
together
theexamplesmentioned
above takeus beyondtheaboveexamples,suchas thepopularity
of
scentedtheatreprogramsand perfumefountainsin nineteenth-century
theatre.To these
Knight,AlrickClauson,Jr.
"The Epistemologyof Olfaction:Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta"
Hispania 92.3 (2009): 430-438

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Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta

43 1

admittedly
disparateandrandomexamplesofthepresenceofodor,thepicaresquegenremight
also be added.Yet forall thepronounced
distinctions
betweentheseliterary
texts,theallusionto
resonancebecauseitis,tovarying
scentacquiressymbolic
tothe
degrees,organically
important
that
actionsand emotionofthetext.As a starting
we
scent
has
point, mightsuggest
longcona centralcomponent
ofliterature,
bothSpanishandnon-Spanish,
modernandclassical.
stituted
The questionthisarticleendeavorsto answercan be distilledfurther:
How has thequestionof
or embodiedin
"Who smells?"(in boththeactiveand passiveverbalsense)beenthematized
withinliterature
ofhow we
The storyof theolfactory
is one of humanexperience,
literature?
It
andthe
the
world
around
us.
is
also
the
of
how
the
writer
the
sensorial
story
captures
perceive
in
the
into
a
this
the
of
the
text,trussing story
solidity
meaningful
shape.Specifically,
fleeting
as
a
of
therepresentation
ofsmells generator
articlesetsouttoanswerthisquestionbyexploring
1
1
in
within
thenineteenth-century
MadridthatEduardoLpezBago ( 855-193 ) portrays
meaning
Attheriskofslighthyperbole,
one mightsuggestthatLpez Bago's novelis an
La prostituta.
of theworkdemandsthatthereadernavigatea
indexof odors,and thata firmunderstanding
worldgravidwithperfumed
aristocrats,
sweatylaborersandfetidprostitutes.
ofnineteenth-century
La prostituta
forms
Spain,a
partoftheso-called"radicalNaturalism"
scornbycriticsbothpastandpresent,
a modeofliterature
genreproneto dismissaloroutright
and warrant
pedigreeand aestheticprestige.The reasonsarewell-known
lackingbothartistic
A chiefcause ofradicalNaturalism's
is thatsuch
poorcriticalreception
onlya briefrehearsal.
a predictably
views
project,onestultified
bythematerialist
engagworksconstitute
moralizing
Darwinianevolution,and the scientificapproachit
it inherited
frompositivistphilosophy,
areperfectly
Thatis,whileLpezBago's interests
thephysiologist
ClaudeBernard.
adaptedfrom
withsufficient
art.Anotherreasonrelatesto
clear,theyare,formanyreaders,notpresented
ofLpez Bago's critics,
Whenthemostesteemedandstrident
socialpropriety:
LeopoldoAlas,
bothSpanish
denouncedthose"cosas feas,vilesy miserables"("Prlogos"134) thatinformed
he
treatment
ofsexuality),
as wellas Frenchwriters
radicalNaturalists
(suchas Zola andhisfrank
sentiment
oftheperiod.2
was givingvoicetothepredominant
by
Lastly,thereis thesuggestion
was tooscientific
Alas inhisprologuetoPardoBazn's La cuestinpalpitantethatNaturalism
topass forscience("Prlogos"134).In oureraofabundant
andtooliterary
tobe literature,
postanditsilkshowfewsignsofenlisting
toliterature,
thelikesofLa prostituta
Marxistapproaches
broadacclaim.
criticsofourday
theabovehostofcharges,andwhileliterary
Itis notdifficult
tounderstand
it
the
o La prostiethics
aesthetics
to
overlook
its
be
(tendentious
though maybe),
may willing
inordertopursueitshigher,
scientific
itseagernessto sideline"literariness"
tuta- specifically,
be
for
which
works
of
this
sort
are
less
to
the
cardinal
sin
remains
pardoned.
likely
calling
oninveighing
andintent
mindful
ofitsrecentliterary
However,radicalNaturalism,
predecessors
bothto challengeand to expandtheRealistretrato(hereI have in
againstthesame,attempts
inthe1880s)and
mindthesortofworksLeopoldoAlas andBenitoPrezGaldswereproducing
of
the
of a robustthoughimperfect
theirseemingaffirmation
bourgeoisie.Rather, corruption
in
a
with
the
of
odors
life
becomes
the
urban,cosmopolitan
prevalence
target
singularway,
thanthe"high,"andengagetheuglyinstead
toconnectwiththe"low"rather
allowingtheartist
andwithsimilar,
ofthebeautiful.
(In a waythisis akintostudiesofthescatological,
paradoxical
AntoninArtaud'smemorable
Whileourbasenessmayseembothalienand alienating,
effects:
that"[w]herethereis a stinkof shitthereis a smellofbeing"[qtd.in Esslin 105]
observation
ofthatbaseness).
humanness
andtherefore
us oftheprofound
reminds
familiarity
of thenovelmaybe a consciousshiftaway fromand evenan attackon
The odorization
- an ideologicalrepositioning
in whichGalds (Miau,
middle-and upper-classrespectability
took
means
Alas
and
havinglittleto do withthe
(La Regenta,1884-85)
part,thoughby
1888)
take
a
broaderview of theissue,
Howes
and
of
the
Classen,
Synnott
olfactory.3
incorporation
discourse
that
came
to
the
equatesightand smellwiththosewho
clarifying nineteenth-century
andthosewhoweredegenerates,
wereEnlightened
respectively:

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432

2009
Hispania 92 September
Because the valuationof odor in societyand culturehas undergoneshiftsin the modernperiod,it seems
usefulto firstplace this notionwithina broadercontext:The devaluationof smell in the contemporary
West is directlylinked to the revaluationof the senses which took place duringthe eighteenthand
nineteenth
centuries.The philosophersand scientistsof thatperioddecided that,while sightwas the preeminentsense of reasonand civilization,smell was the sense of madnessand savagery.In the course of
humanevolution,
itwas arguedby Darwin,Freudand others,thesenseof smellhad been leftbehindand that
of sighthad takenpriority.
Modernhumanswho emphasizedthe importance
of smellweretherefore
judged
to be eitherinsufficiently
evolved savages,degenerateproletariat,
or else aberrations:
lunaticsor
perverts,
idiots. (Aroma 3-4)

Inthecultural
andartistic
totherelevance
of
realm,manycontemporary
examplessimilarly
testify
thistime-honored
as
well
as
to
its
and
nature.
sensoryfaculty,
contingent shifting
Referring
to the late-nineteenth
Hans
specifically
centuryand the firsttwo decades of thetwentieth,
Rindisbacher
maintains
that:
In
[i]n thisperiodtwo contrary
stylesunitein reactingagainstthe bourgeoisrepressionof the olfactory.
writerssuch as Zola go farbeyondbourgeoisrealismand introduce
olfactionas a new aesthetic
naturalism,
elementin literature.
Decadence and fin-de-sicle,
too, react to bourgeoisrealismwith a vengeancein
writerssuch as Huysmans,Wilde,Hofmannsthal,
and Rilke. It is as if theyfelta need to infusethepurged
smells back into literaryreality,(viii)

Boththefiguration
andfunction
ofsmellas wellas theoretical
approachestothesamehave
receivedincreasing
criticalattention
inrecentyears,withPatrickSskind'snovelPerfume:The
Storyof a Murderer(1985) constituting
perhapsthemostmemorableexample.4Giventhe
"deodorized"natureoftheliterary
thissortofapproachis theoretically
While
medium,
slippery.
we mayarguethatan excessofolfaction
to
a
in
a
interest
mimetic
and
corresponds heightened
mode
of
the
sociallyengaged
representation, necessary
challenge critically
speaking is togo
ofthefrequency
ofscent-related
andotherstatistical
models
beyondmeretabulation
vocabulary
ofinquiry.
Another
andculturegenerally,
is theexperience
ofodors
obstacle,inbothliterature
andthedifficulty
we havein namingthemwithout
recourseto similes("It smellslike.. .") and
historians
andanthropologists
havebeenunable
{Aroma3). Yetjustas sociologists,
metaphors
toresistexploring
thefascinating
ofliterature
whoreadsLa prostituta
topicofscent,thestudent
cannothelpbutnoticethesustainedrecurrence
ofodorand,byturns,
itseffectiveness
as a signifier
ofmoralintegrity
anddegeneracy.
(As onecriticpointsout,"theSpanishwordforwhore,
'
'
theLatinfor'putrid'" [Aroma162]). More
'puta,alongwiththeFrench'putain,arederivedfrom
as a discursiveelementthatbothinspectsandconstitutes
a discourseofsociety,5
the
generally,
oftheolfactory
ideopredominance
emergesas an important
subjectduetoitsepistemological,
forceinthistypeofliterature.
modalities
ofperception
andthe
logicalandaesthetic
Specifically,
beenplaced in
waysin whichtheyshapetheoriesof knowledgehave not,to myknowledge,
consultation
withthe radicalNaturalismmode withwhichLpez Bago's La prostitutais
associated.Suchan approach,howevertentative,
conventionally
mayallow fora modestrehabilitation
ofthislanguishing
genre.Perhaps,too,itwillallowus a moresophisticated
exploration
oftheworkings
ofideologyandepistemology,
a writer
whois cognizant
ofthesemiotic
through
of scent.
possibilities
Whileitmayseemwe arequitea distancefromliterature,
I hopetoshowthatworkssuchas
La prostituta
demonstrate
thewriter's
interest
inlendinga solidity,
or"bodiliness"to
materiality
- a sortofanthropologizing
thetext
orhumanizing
oftheliterary
text,so to speak,thatcanthen
be manipulated
andobjectified
viathetropeofscent.Theperspective
thatinterests
mehereis the
notionofsmelling
as a modeofknowing,
anepistemological6
mechanism
whichstandsapartfrom
- andperhapsevenquestions
- thelong-standing
ofthevisualwithin
theliterary
predominance
text.Although
heremphasisisprimarily
ontherepresentation
ofthevisual,tactileandacoustical,
HarrietTurner'sintriguing
discussionofwhatshe calls the"mimesisof sensorialperception"
illustrates
similar"gaps"betweenthetextandthesenses(150). La prostituta
a
de-emphasizes
"visual"approachtonarration;
sortofengagement
withitssubject,
instead,itseeksa different
odorsanddeploying
themas an important
deviceanda centralgenerator
harnessing
structuring

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Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta

433

ofmeaning.
streetsof nineteenth-century
EduardoLpez Bago's novelis locatedin thebrothel-lined
in
Madrid.Herewell-to-do
malemembers
ofsociety,
on
sexual
desires,cometotraffic
spurred by
In Naturalist
of prostitutes.
Madrid'smoraldecadence,as symbolizedby the proliferation
andtheauthordwellson unsavorymedicalconditions,
venerealdiseasesarerampant
fashion,
Thenineteen-year-old
Estrella(Star)
theirdiagnosesand,ifpossible,theirremedies.
protagonist,
to
the
brothels
to
extreme
conditions
from
like
of
her
driven
due
is,
stemming
many
companions,
into
Madrid's
underThe
novel
traces
her
evolution
her
descent
herwretched
upbringing.
luxuriousclothesprovidedbyherpimpsdevolve
world:Dashingbeautybecomesdecrepitude;
- is changedtola Plida(thePale Girl).Herphysicalappearintorags.Evenhername- Estrella
thatcharacterize
her
theinnocenceandperfection
ance,herclothes,hername,all symbolizing
it
intosomething
lesssightly,
lessmorally
aretransformed
palatable.And,ultimately,is
identity,
evil: Years earlierhe had contracted
thenoblemanDon Jos,a Marquis,who emblematizes
ittoher.Now,unabletoresisttheyoung
wifewhenhetransmitted
whichkilledhisfirst
syphilis,
as well,
he infects
theyoungprostitute,
toa psychological
murder,
Estrella,andinwhatamounts
androbsherofall optionsthatmightlead outofthebrothels.
of thenovel,the
such as theabove contribute
to our understanding
Whiledescriptions
thenovel gives to odorsis whattrulyawakensthereaderto a new experienceof
attention
class-consciousness.
The
Madridduringan eraofrapidchangeandrampant
nineteenth-century
and
novel certainly
categorizes,politicizesand adjudicatesa worldtaintedby punitiveness
marredbyindigence.Butthatitdoes so bywayofa sustainedindexingofodorsis perhapsits
encounter
withsmellstakesplaceafter
Thereader'sfirst
feature.
mostremarkable
only
significant
as her"protectora"
a timethatis described
richindetail:Itis a darknight,
a fewpages,ina context
becausetheycanroamrelatively
fortheprostitutes
unnoticed,
"invadiendo]
( 124) andliberating
la vapblica"(124-25).7
Lpez Bago is carefultopointoutthatsocietyis toblamefor"aquellosseres[. . .] degradadarkness,thatthey"tomabansu
dos," (125) and thatit is now,envelopedin theprotective
con el fuerteolorde que estabanimpregadassus
revancha"(125): "[M]areabanal transente
hacindolevolverla cabeza al ruido
baratoscompradosen la droguera,
ropas,olora perfumes
lascivode caderas"[. . .] (125).8The
seco de susenaguas[y]exagerabanal andarel movimiento
manwhohappensbythebrothelsat thishouris, accordingto theauthor,a victimizer-turnedandinescapably
victim,unwittingly
beingtakenin bytheverypeoplewhomhe and societyat
a
anddissoluteexistence.
had
slated
to
nocturnal
large,byday,
butofmorallassitude
as a marker
notonlyof social standing
Scentshereclearlyfunction
and decadence,withthe cheap perfumesignalingthe povertytypicalof groupsthatare
statusmakespossibletheirexploitation,
andvilified.Thissubterranean
alwayscarried
repressed
- Estrellaand
andyetalso allows fortheabove reversal-into-the-opposite
outsurreptitiously,
andenactedthissamecontamination.
hercohortspoisona societythathas permitted
howarethenewarrivals
marksand setsoffprostitutes,
Butifthissmellofcheapperfume
is theownerofthemainbrothel
ofthenovel,as well
a centralcharacter,
codified?MariaJosefa,
of
"la vida,"
in
when
she
is
on
the
herself.
Yet
her
as a retired
verge beginning
youth,
prostitute
and
as
a
flower
of
to
she
is
described
as itis euphemistically
vice,ready grow
called,
openher
sin
de
hermoso
color
"adelfa
de
exuberante
she
was
an
desarrollo,
perfume
alguno"
y
petals;
andservesto foreshadow
ofherbirthorofherparents,
(136; myemphasis).She knowsnothing
thelifeEstrellacanexpect.
lifeis marked
contact
withbrothel
Estrella's first
Forherpurposes,
"Respiraba
byambiguity:
olorde humode tabacoy de emanacioneshumanas,que erael que dominaba
la jovenun fuerte
en toda la casa, olor repugnante
y afrodisacode alcobas cerradasdondeduermencuerpos
desnudos"(198). "Repugnante"and "afrodisaco":These are thekey wordsthatcreatethe
thisatmosphere
as onethatbothrepelsandexcites,a
Estrellaexperiences
paradoxicalsituation.
herown naivete;she experiencesthe
as underscoring
tensionthatis perhapsbestunderstood
atbotha physical
anda nascentcuriosity.
She findsherself
twinimpulsesofa nativereluctance

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434

2009
Hispania 92 September

mutate.
As mentioned
markers
anda figurative
above,hername- Estrella
threshold;
identitary
willbecomela Plida; she willbe givennew clothes;andthesmellsshe exudeswill likewise
a completeexternal
sheundergoes
revamping.
change.In effect,
ofpast
thethematization
ofodorintheseworksalso caughttheattention
Notsurprisingly,
of Lpez Bago, AlejandroSawa applaudedwhathe describedas a
critics.A contemporary
"claroscuro"
(359); Sawa was equallyquicktonotein"lo feoylo bonito
styleinhisfellowwriter
combinados"(358) thepresenceand impactof scent:"Porqueesa sociedadque estudiaLpez
fea,monstruosa,
y huelemsal pusy a
yLa Plida es fea,esencialmente
Bago enLa Prostituta
de
indistinto
de las salas clnicasque al aromade los camposy que al perfume
los desinfectantes
la verdadera
belleza"(357). At itsmostfetid,theworldofEstrellais one ofphysicalandmoral
suchas thechargesomeonelevelsat herfather:
decadence,aptto promptoutbursts
"Vaya un
oliendo
a
vino
muchacha.
Estaba
que apestaba"(222). To be
y aguardiente
padreque tienes,
a rejection
ofthepast,a past
are
tied
to
allure
of
the
of
the
sure,part
present
opportunities closely
malsanos"
saturated
"consusoloresacres,fuertes
thatincludedan environment
(230), as well
y
with
fetid
fathers.
as history
replete
we mightpause to proposea variationofthenarraon an above observation,
Elaborating
as theorized
byGrardGenette(186) andMiekeBal (19), in
tologicalconceptof"focalization"
divided thatis, itnotonly"speaks"but"sees." While
whichthenarrative
voice is inherently
of theissue,theabove quote
of thisessay allow foronlya cursorytreatment
theparameters
Whenwe readthat
an aspectthatmightwell warrant
further
demonstrates
scholarlyattention.
omniscient
"[r]espirabala joven un fuerteolor de humode tabaco" (198), thethird-person
"smells."Whatis centralaretheeffects
tothereaderwhatEstrellaherself
narrator
is mediating
whensomeonetellsEstrellathatherfather
Laterinthenovel,however,
thatEstrellaexperiences.
bya smellingobject,
"[e]stabaoliendoa vinoy aguardiente
que apestaba,"meaningis generated
viewmayenhanceour
odor.A broadernarratological
thatis,thefather
whogivesoffaparticular
ofLa prostituta
andallowus tospeculatenotonlyabout"whospeaks"and"who
understanding
sees,"butalso to add to itthequestionof"whosmells."In hisbrilliant
studyon whathe terms
and twentieth-century
the"denigration
of vision,"MartinJayarguesthatmanynineteenthin [... this]hitherto
'noblestofsenses'"(588). On
thinkers
betray"a palpableloss ofconfidence
suchremarks
terrain
ofrepresentation
andliterary
theshifting
Mieke,
discourse,
byJay,Genette,
thatintellectuals
andliterary
critics
oftheauthority
Classenandothersencouragea questioning
to sight(andblindness)anditsrelationto thedesireforknowledge.
havehistorically
granted
theissuebecause,forexample,Estrellaboth
suchreadingsnaturally
Nonetheless,
simplify
herself
scentsaroundher.
exudesvariousscentswhilealso orienting
bywayofthe"objectified"
andknowledge
be
likened
totheconnection
Inthisway,therelationship
betweenolfaction
might
of thevisualregimeand knowledge:The self,as bothsubjectand object,bothknowsand is
or epistemology
can
knownthrough
smells,justas theselfwhorelieson a visualorganization
thequestionofknowledgeis pursuedvia theeyeorthenose,the
bothsee andbe seen.Whether
An
selfas bothsubjectand objectcomesto forman integral
partof theprocessof narration.
the
La
s
for
olfacbears
distinction,
however,
prostituta'
repeating:
abiding
preference
important
a departure
fromtraditional
notionsofhow
toryoverthevisual,is an emphasisthatconstitutes
in
marshaled
the
instantiated.
is
and,
text,
acquired,
literary
knowledge typically
It seemsclearthatLa prostituta
emphasizesolfactory
experienceinorderto conveysocial
a
uses
smells
to
andperhapsmoreampleknowledge
that
is,
unique
Lpez
Bago
posit
experience;
an understanding
abouttheindividual.It wouldbe takingthings
of societyand,consequently,
- Galds'sMisetexts
is absentorminimalinotherliterary
toofarto suggestthattheolfactory
ricordia(1897) oftenincludespassagessuchas thefollowingin orderto signalpovertyand
"El local erauna tabernaretocada,con ridiculaseleganciasentrepuebloy seoro;
suffering:
de marinasy paisajes;ambienteftido,
doradoschillones;las paredespintorreadas
y parroquia
mixtade pobretera
delRastro,locuaces,indolentes,
algunosagarradosa losperiyvendedores
dicos,y otrosoyendola lectura,todosmuya gustoen aquel vagarbullicioso,entresalivazos,
is clearlyoneofdegree,andit
humode maltabacoyoloresde aguardiente"
(136). Thedifference

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Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta

435

modesingeneral
andother"mimetic"
tosuggestthatinNaturalist
seemsuncontroversial
literary
in
this
difference
of sensoryengagement.
thereis an intensification
However,
degreebetween
inPuraFernandez's
is manifested
theabovepassagebyGaldsandwhatwe findmLa prostituta
in orderto
thatradicalNaturalism
remark
pursuesan "estticade la fealdady el tremendismo"
relevant
tothe
1
of
a
totalized
text
is
1
The
notion
shockandmovethereader( 995, 22-25).
certainly
and
we
the
conventions
of
Realism
ofnineteenth-century
literature
Naturalism,
Spain:Through
it
without
remainder.
The
destocapture
morecompletely,
tomediate"reality"
sensean attempt
makesitlogicaltostrivetoconveynot
impulsethatabidesbothRealismandNaturalism
criptive
butsoundsandsmells,as well- a sortofbidto capturetheworldin all itspuzzling
justsights,
a "Naturalist"
ButifLa prostituta
work,itclearlybelongsmore
is,bythisreckoning,
multiplicity.
as wellas tothe
"radicalNaturalism,"9
whathasbeentermed
totwoothercategories:
specifically
declineand thepeculiarlyEuropeanaestheticsof Decadentist
Europeancontextof historical
literature.
- thenoseas an analytical
tool- is an intriguing
Thenotionofsmellas a modeofknowing
accordedtothevisual,orwhatStephenConnorterms"the
tothepriority
alternative
historically
in
regimeof theeye" (54). The imageryof sight,of who sees,predominates
epistemological
betweenpolitics
Western
discourse.Here,however,itis scentthatis centraltotherelationship
Not
andindicts.
intheideologyLpez Bago underscores
andsemiosis,thepredominant
signifier
itsimporwhohavelongrecognized
themeforpsychologists,
is a central
olfaction
surprisingly,
seemsodd,
ofodor,inthecontextofliterature,
Andyetthefiguration
tanceincuingmemory.10
turns
the
written
and
to
the
in
we
are
bound
literature
because
word,
necessary
question
perhaps
thequestionseemsjust
intotext.Ultimately,
translates
onthesubtlemeansbywhichperception
Afterall, can
to mediateanysensoryexperience.
as odd whenwe thinkof literature's
attempt
what
we
smell?
than
more
we
see
or
hear
what
literature
successfully
any
convey
social and moralepisteseeksto providea distinctive
In anycase, it seemsLa prostituta
mode
also
has itsown historicity;
in
scents.
This
a
mode
of
knowingthrough, part,
mology,
thenarrative,
scents,as we have pointedout,evolvethroughout
beginningwitha relatively
of the
The resultis a particular
inodoratePlida to one drenchedin perfume.
understanding
in
a
shift
thanks
to
and
others
in
which
Estrella
Madrid
move,
emphasisand
nineteenth-century
In
of
what
do.
of
that
the
function
odors,
is,
general,theyfiguresymbolically
they
perspective
Afterall,
ofcivilization.
as a meansofalternately
concealingandrevealingthedarkunderside
do
the
and
in
smells
seduce
father
bathed
smellscanthreaten
(as
expensive
alcohol);
intoxify
(a
Estrellawearsafterher"conversion");
theycan endorseanddenounce,as do
Englishperfumes
to prostitution,
Paco' s sawdustyhands,which,in contrast
signifyhonestwork;theycan do
toherthedevil's
with
infects
Estrella
the
as
when
such
violence,
syphilisandtransmits
Marquis
of
the
A
is
the
death
moment
aliento"
ftido
Marquis,
syphilis-stricken
(302). key
y
"repugnante
olora inis describedas having"un fuerte
whentheroomwherehe spendshis finalmoments
conlos oloresacresde las medicinas"(3 14). Here,
ciensoy a ciriosapagados[que]se confunda
bothGod andprogressareabsent.Thereare also reasonsto
scentremindsus that,seemingly,
and divine- have flednotjust thenobleodors- bothscientific
suspectthattheever-fainter
man'spalacebutthecivilizedworld,as well.
an exploration
ofwhatmightbe considered
These,then,aretheimagesofsmell,affording
indeedseem to ask to be
does
La
the nineteenth-century
olfactory
imagination. prostituta
to
in
the
emotional
to
evoke
on
its
reader,an effectitattempts
responses
strong
ability
judged
holds
identification.
an
a
sensorial
achievebyregularly
Lpez Bago
olfactory
encouraging
orelimithatcan be aimed,diverted
sourcefortheimagination,
scenttobe a fertile
something
how
to
most
of
the
timeless
to
a potential
natedand,morebroadly,
effectively
question
response
ofemphasisthat
consciousshift
His answer,itseemstome,is a perceptible,
mediateexperience.
tothatmeaning.
andnotsimplya supplement
ofmeaning,
as a creator
theolfactory
underscores
andepisteis closelylinkedtohisaesthetic
ofexperience
ofscentas mediator
Theeffectiveness
to
find
a
crude
most
sordid
life's
aims:
to
expression
aspectsand,crucially,
emphasize
mological
"Moral"83; Bieder276). GeorgeOrwellstatedthatthe"real
ofthatsamesordidness
(Fernndez,

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436

2009
Hispania 92 September

intheWest"couldbe "summedup infourfrightful

ofclassdistinction
secretofclassdistinctions
thatwouldlikelyhave
words. . . ThelowerclassessmelF(quotedinClassen136),an assertion
andinsufficient
itisbothinaccurate
ledLpezBagotocallfora morenuancedview.Forthelatter,
La prostituta
toclaimthatthelowerclasses"smell"andtheupperclassis fragrant.
is,afterall,a
- withscents.Perfume
- all socialstrata
doesnotjustconnotethe
novelthatendowseverything
a cover-upforthingsthatmight
privilegedclass; just as oftenit is themaskof aristocracy,
ForLpez Bago,
"un-aristocratic."
otherwise
as
quite
altogether
pass improprietiessomething
linkedtoa broad,
smelllikenoother,
forexample,carriesa pestilent
moraldecrepitude,
something
the
and
La
and
lower
classes
meet
where
the
realm
mingle. prostituta
regards
upper
inhospitable
in whichodorssuchas perfumes
areemployed
as thestenchofhypocrisy,
scentofaristocracy
inaninsincere
orartificial
as toolsofmanipulation,
way.
maskingorchanging
people,frequently
James
defined
a
act
as
also
Itis literally
a masking
symbol,a castingof
yet
figurative or, Henry
long shadows.
ofa "visual"approachtonarration;
a deprivileging
Inpractice,
thisimpliesinLa prostituta
deviceanda
them
as
an
harnesses
odors
and
rather,
structuring
important
deploys
Lpez Bago
withodor
ofmeaning.Arewe justifiedin speakingofa dramaof sensations,
centralgenerator
Modern
theories
of
role?
Modalities
of
the
society
shape
knowledge.
perception
playing starring
of
triggers
recognizestheswayof smell,andreadilyacceptstheviewthatscentsarepowerful
that
a
more
cultural
A
York
Times
article
offers
current,
example,reporting
memory. recentNew
thesmellofchocolatechipcookiesatSanFrancisco
some"GotMilk?"billboards
beganreleasing
busstops.Butwiththewritten
as,
work,we'reata remove;scentcan'tworkinas directa manner
thesenseofsmelldoes seemto
ploy.Andyet,ontheleveloffiction,
say,thecleveradvertising
thewayinwhichthemodernsubjectreflexively
graspsboth
providea meansofcomprehending
as sentient
theworldandhisorherplace init.We orientourselvessensorially,
beingsalive,on
to
andscent-bound.
levels,totheworldaroundus. We arebothsight-bound
Returning
multiple
a "radicalNaturalLpez Bago: Ifwe canacceptthisview,thenwe alsomanagetoaccommodate
criticalapproaches,butthatinstead
ist"workin a way thathas littleto do withconventional
- whilestillbeingsocialall crucialto modesof knowing
an amplitudeof signifiers
proffers
bound.
In short,La prostituta
remindsus of thefactthattheexperienceof modernity
poses disroleofodorbothreflecting
tinctive
it,withthepredominant
challengestoourabilitytorepresent
thestructures
discussedabove.We havealso seenthatitalso encouragesa cerandcritiquing
- sensorial,in thiscase- to sense-making
reminds
or storytelling:
La prostituta
tainapproach
to whiffsof thedivine,thegoal of representational
us that,fromthefunkof thewhorehouse
ifitis tobe approached,
absentor
mustperhapsswerveto sensesconventionally
completeness,
tothe
In theend,interpreting
a novelas an indexofodorsmaybe unsatisfactory
de-emphasized.
andmodesofknowing.
literature,
engagproject,butusefulforunderstanding
representation,
NOTES
'The popularnovela de folletnor novela por entregaswas a novel publishedseriallyin newspapersand
of which appeared in 1884, was the firstof a tetralogywhich
journals. La prostituta,the firstinstallment
includedLa plida (1884), La buscona (1885) and La querida (1885).
Lpez Bago and Sawa," StephenMiller
2Referring
specificallyto the "little-remembered,
never-popular
and recentcriticsand
indictment
of the two novelists,by both contemporary
points out the time-honored
novelists (423).
3Recentstudiescenteringon the likes of Lpez Bago, AlejandroSawa and Jos Zahonerohave largely
in
emphasizedsociologicaland genderissues. Pura Fernndez("Moral") has discussedtheperiod'skeen interest
s desireto rehabilitate
the female'spublicand privatestanding;in
social and sexual normsand theabove writers'
ertico"in her analysisof Lpez Bago, Sawa and
a similarvein,MercedesEtrerosuses the term"naturalismo
featureof "radical"Naturalism.Miguel ngel Lozano
Zahonero,arguingthatthiseroticcurrentis a distinctive
Marco offersa good summaryof the genre,foreigninfluencesand the atmospherethat gave rise to the
Naturalist narrative.
4In the above novelists,the representation
of sight(mirrors,telescopes,photographs,
blindness,and so
forth) predominates.

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Eduardo Lpez Bago's La prostituta

437

5Basedon the novel,the 2006 filmby of the same name prompteda seriesof movie reviews.Aside from
the wide divergenceof criticalvaluation,the chieftensionin manyreviewsrelatesto the challengeof visually
the olfactory:"[...LJustyvisuals and lusty,rhapsodiclanguagebringPerfumeas close as cinerepresenting
an elusive sense" (Biancolli); "Exploitingthe lush,luridtonesof FrankGriebe's
maticallypossibleto capturing
he rubsour noses in Grenouille'sworldby assaultingour eyes withwhathe smells.Thus the
cinematography,
cameralingerson rottingfish,on animalskinsat the tannerywhereGrenouilleservesan earlyapprenticeship,
and thenon thelissomeladieswho becomehis victims.But theonlysmellproducedby theselong,breathycloseone, a foul,stale odor traceableback to the movie itself (Scott); "There's also thematter
ups is a metaphorical
of evokingJean-Baptiste's
sense of smell in a mediummade forsightand sound.Twyer[...] has no choice but
to conveyit visually.Thus,we are forevershootingin and out of nostrils,thencuttingto extremeclose-upsof
whatever'sbeing smelled:a lusciousvirginalgirlor the writhing
maggotsinsidea dead rat"(Thomson).
codes and the ways in whichtheybothrepresent
and
6Classen,Howes and Synnotthave studiedolfactory
constructsocial categoriesin variouscultures.
7The aforementioned
novel Perfume,whose protagonistpossesses a supematurally
developed sense of
smell,is one recentexampleof smell as both a generatorof meaningand a mode of knowing.Similarly,La
prostitutarelies on the overlappingof sensorialexperienceand valuativeimplication.This and all subsequent
quotes are takenfromPura Fernandez'sedition.
8Thebook-length
studyAroma: The CulturalHistoryof Smell establishesa taxonomyof whatthe authors
a "dynamicsof smell" and "implicationsforthe fragranceindustry."
terman "olfactory
In this
classification,"
last categorytheystudythe developmentof olfactoryand symbolismin relationto the fragranceindustry.
In
a curiousinversionof values, Socratesopposed the use of perfumeby men in ancientGreece,arguingthatit
distinctions"
he feltexistedbetweenfreemenand slaves (Classen, citingLindsay,
"maskedthe naturalolfactory
of meaningare inevitablynormative,
136). Althoughsuch discourseson scentand class as generators
surprising
thatre-createbody odors:The French
extremescan be foundin, forexample,the growingmarketforfragrances
tat Libre d'Orange recentlymarketed"ScrtionsMagnifiques,"designedto evoke (in additionto
perfumer
maximal bombast) a mix of blood, sweat, semen and saliva, a "[v]ritable cot olfactif (http://
www.etatlibredorange.com/fr/index.html).
9Fernndez,
citingSobejano, also pointsto Goya's caprichosas a similarattemptto upset and mock the
finisecular
whenhe writesthat,in his
bourgeoisie(RomeroTobar 754). Lpez Bago himselfadducesthiseffort
opinion,Zola "no despliega en sus obras toda la fuerzaque caracterizasus ataques" (quoted in Fernndez,
"Naturalism"752). This goal of greaterinsightand completenessis presentin the novel's subtitle,"Novela
mdico-social,"an unapologeticattemptat a scientistic
graspof its subjectmatter.In thisNaturalistvein,Lpez
- the literaryspiritof Zola, Pardo Bazn, Clarn and othersocially conscious
Bago writesin- and extends
withnew structures.
The
writerswho look forevidenceof new formsof consciousnessarisingout of encounters
firstline of the novel justifiesthe work's inclusion into both the "Decadentist"and radical Naturalism
ms moderna,
movements:"Desde la calle vease, entredos edificiosde mayorelevacin y de construccin
aquella fachadaruinosa,de color gris,en la que el tiempodej impresala marcade cansanciocon que al pasar,
apoyndoseen los muros,los manchcon sus manosy su cuerpode atletaenvueltoen andrajos;el cuerpobaado
de sudor,los andrajoscubiertosde fangoy polvo" (119). The passage providesa vivid imagewhichsymbolizes
theestablishedorder.A rapidperusalofjournalsrevealeda study
thesocial decaythat,forLpez Bago, threatens
entitled"OlfactoryCuing of Autobiographical
Memory,"publishedin The AmericanJournalof Psychology
thecelebratedexampleof Proust'stea and madelaine
(Rubin,Groth,and Goldsmith).In thedomainof literature,
seems to be that,forProust,scentand taste(in the
come to mind.For thepurposesof thisstudy,thedifferences
insights.While the bitterodor of medicineallows Lpez
example) serve as stimulifor other,more important
it seems thatodor itselfcarrieswith it a greaterimportance,
figuringboth more
Bago a similaropportunity,
and witha greatersymbolicvalue.
frequently
10Anotableexampleappearsin Leopoldo Alas "Clarn's" La Regenta,when Alvaro Mesa, fearingimpowithAna, he writesher a hyperbolicand error-ridden
letterthathe
tence,can no longersustainhis relationship
perfumesbeforesending(780).

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