The traditional and the element of fear in the legends by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: bonds and poetics

Abstract

Since Rubén Benítez offered the classification of Bécquer’s texts into prose divided in three, in 1971,–depending on their relationship with the traditional–, there have been eminent studies that have dealt with the fantastic in his legends. However, this study analyses the relationships between fear and the very poetics of his legends, and establishes their bonds with the traditional oral folklore. To this end, this article is going to make a brief presentation of the legends of Bécquer, and the elements that influenced his peculiar conformation of fear, terror and horror, afterwards, relevant theories concerning fear will be analysed and applied pertinently. Special attention deserve two legends, which present the fear to the Freudian sinister. Such stories are: “El monte de las ánimas” and “La corza blanca”.