Menéndez Pelayo and the creation of the myth of Pereda, the natural genius

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to analyze the speech given in 1911 by Menéndez Pelayo at the inauguration of the monument in honor of Pereda and explain the relationship between the two authors. In the speech, Menéndez Pelayo mentions the lack of literary culture, the absence of preparation and studies of Pereda; however, he adds that these deficiencies turn the writer into a primitive artist, in other words, that he does not take origin of anything. This condition implies for Pelayo that Pereda was destined to be the poet of the Cantabrian race and homeland. Pelayo insists that innate inspiration, intuition and enlightenment are attributes of genius, as happens to Pereda. He also makes a comparison between the poet Ossian and Pereda and concludes that Pereda is for the Cantabrians what Ossian is for the Scottish. Finally, despite the age difference, Pereda was considered a disciple of Pelayo. For these reasons, Pereda could be seen as an unconscious and automatic interpreter and Menéndez Pelayo as his creator, in terms of the conceived image of Pereda.