From Harpist to Biographer of Shadows: César Muñoz Arconada and Vida de Greta Garbo

De arpista a biógrafo de sombras: César Muñoz Arconada y Vida de Greta Garbo

Abstract

The article analyzes Vida de Greta Garbo (1929) by César Muñoz Arconada (1898–1964), a fundamental, yet forgotten, figure of the Generation of '27. The study places the work within the context of the European biographical boom of the early 20th century, characterizing it as an "avant-garde biography" that fuses factual reality —typical of life writing— with narrative strategies characteristic of the prose of the Generation of '27. Through a comprehensive analysis, the three fundamental dimensions that shape its avant-garde nature are broken down: its character as a lyrical novel, its intellectual or essayistic aspect, and its self-referential or meta-novelistic dimension. Likewise, it highlights the incorporation of cinematographic techniques to provide the prose with a modern and fragmentary visuality. The paper also explores how this work marks a turning point in Arconada's career, evidencing a transition from dehumanized aestheticism toward an incipient social awareness, anticipating his political commitment in the 1930s. It concludes that the work constitutes an exceptional model of generic hybridity and technical modernity in the Spanish literature of the Generation of '27.