The dictatorship of General Franco in the memoirs of Adolfo Marsillach Tan lejos, tan cerca. Mi vida [So far, so close. My life]

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to analyze Adolfo Marsillach’s vision and interpretation of the Francoist epoch in his autobiography Tan lejos, tan cerca. Mi vida (Tusquets, 1998). Though being a panoramic chronicle of the Spanish theatre in the second half of the twentieth century, this opus magnum also provides interesting details on many aspects of the political and social life under the regime, observed by one of the most significant contemporary Spanish artists in permanent opposition to the dictatorship. Therefore, it seems crucial to investigate how this intellectual, who throughout his life struggled to remain faithful to the principles of democracy, liberty of creation and freedom to every citizen, depicts four decades of Franco’s government, beginning with his difficult childhood in Barcelona during the Civil War until the last days of the senile Generalísimo, in which fear mixed with hope for the future. Our study concentrates on the most disputed peculiarities of the Francoist system, such as the governmental censorship, ideological coercion on artists, omnipresent sanctimoniousness and imposed decency, viewed with a spoonful of irony by Adolfo Marsillach, who devoted his artistic creation to fight against them.