Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to trace the interrelationships between Krausist philosophy and the essays and novels of Juan Valera. ;Chapter I includes a discussion of the important events of the Spanish Krausist period. It also describes the metaphysical and ethical concepts in the Analitica and Ideal of Julian Sanz del Rio, as well as the pedagogical and aesthetic theories of Francisco Giner de los Rios. ;Chapter II is a biography of Juan Valera which indicates the points of contact between Valera and the Spanish disciples of Krause. ;Chapters III and IV compare Valera's philosophical and religious ideas with those of Julian Sanz del Rio, Francisco Giner, and other disciples of Krause. The similarities in their way of thinking, their metaphysical methods, and their concepts of man and God are demonstrated in the third chapter. The fourth chapter, which relates the reformist and aesthetic ideas of Juan Valera to those of the Krausists, reveals their faith in the perfectibility of man and the improvement of society through the cultivation of all the faculties of reason as well as the care of the human body. ;The next two chapters demonstrate the presence of Krausist themes in Valera's novels. Chapter V shows that in Pepita Jimenez, Valera applies Krausist theories for spiritual improvement to the life of Luis de Vargas. Chapter VI indicates that Valera's seven subsequent novels shed light upon the Krausist paths to an ideal society: education, self-knowledge, love, faith, strength of will, and moderation