Benavente y Martinez, Jacinto

Born on August 12, 1866 in Madrid in the family of a doctor. The family was very educated and quite wealthy. His father loved the theater and had a good home library, treating many famous people of that time. Until the age of 16, Jacinto already knew several languages ​​and participated in amateur performances. In 1882, he entered the University of Madrid to study law. Two years after the death of his father left the university. He led a comfortable life and was a member of that bourgeois society, which he portrayed in most of his plays. He traveled to England, France and Russia. Returning to Spain, he organized the circus, but then devoted himself to the theater.

The first collection of plays by Benavente was released in 1892, the first production took place two years later. In 1899, under the direction of the playwright, the Art Theater in Madrid opened. In the same year he became editor of the journal Literary Life, which heralded the ideas of the “generation of 1898."

From 1908 to 1912 he led a column in the newspaper "Impartial" and was engaged in literary criticism.

In 1912, the playwright was elected to the Royal Academy of Spanish , and six years later - to parliament. Awarding the Nobel Prize caught the writer in the United States, where he lectured.

In 1920, he became the director of the Espanyol Theater in Madrid and is running for parliament, but fails.

In 1924 he was awarded the most prestigious prize in Spain - the Great Cross of Alfonso the Wise - and became an honorary citizen of Madrid .

In 1933, Benavente participated in the creation of the Association of Friends of the Soviet Union and even wrote a play from the life of Russian revolutionaries. During the Civil War, he remained on the republican side, after the victory, Franco left for Argentina, but returned a few years later and began to support the new regime ^[4] .

Benavente was not married. Although there were rumors about his youthful affair with a gymnast ^[5] , modern scholars are inclined to the version of the writer’s homosexuality ^[4] .

Benavente died on July 14, 1954 in Madrid at the age of 88, writing and staging 172 plays on stage. In Madrid's Buen Retiro Park , a monument was erected to him.

In his plays, Benavente rejected the romantic heritage of Echegerai and, like A.P. Chekhov , described the unremarkable life of ordinary people. The most famous work - “Game of Interests” - was created under the influence of comedy del arte .

In 1892, Benavente published his first work, Fantastic Theater, eight short sketches, written on the basis of dreams and fantasies. In the same year he wrote a collection of poetry “Versos” and a prose piece “Cartas de mujeres” (Letters from Women), in which he examines the behavior of women, while showing that he prefers the main characters. Moreover, in all his plays, only women have a character, not men who seem weak against their background.

In 1894, Benavente's first play “El nido ajeno” (Alien Nest) was staged. His dramatic manner contrasts with the eloquent style of Jose Echegaray. Benavente replaces the action with a masterly dialogue and shows the social and moral environment with the development of the play. Casting aside the traditional concept of honor, he focuses more on the thoughts and feelings of the main character.

The first play did not bring recognition to the author, but the second “Gente conocida” (Famous People) (1896) brought Benavente success. The Spaniards liked Benavente's innovations, and from 1896 to 1907 he directed 53 plays. Among them were La gobernadora (1901; Governor), about a corrupt provincial government; La noche del sábado (1903; Saturday evening), an allegorical play combining elements of the story and drama. The play La princesa Bebe (1906; Princess Bebe) satirically contrasts aristocratic and democratic ideals; "Los malhechores del bien" (1905; Evil intentions of good), a tough satire on the arrogance of some "respectable ladies"; and Los intereses creados (1907; Game of Interests), a pessimistic study of human behavior, which is considered Benavente's masterpiece. In this play, the main characters are dolls that act in their own interests, combining noble impulses with primary desires, so that the latter becomes the main one. The plot tells the story of a servant Crispin, who is trying to embody a rich girl for his master. Thus, he acts as a puppeteer, to whom puppets obey.

This play, together with La malquerida (1913; Passion-bearer), is a rural tragedy in the classical style of a naturalistic and psychological style about the love of a man and his stepdaughter. These plays brought worldwide fame to Benavente and played a large role in awarding him the Nobel Prize.

• Rosas de otoño (1905).
• Los Intereses creados (1907).
• Señora ama (1908).
• El Nietecito (1910).
• La malquerida (1913).
• La ciudad alegre y confiada (1916).
• Campo de armiño (1916).
• Lecciones de buen amor (1924).
• La mariposa que voló sobre el mar (1926).
• Pepa Doncel (1928).
• Vidas cruzadas (1929).
• Aves y pájaros (1940).
• La honradez de la cerradura (1942).
• La infanzona (1945).
• Titania (1946).
• La infanzona (1947).
• Abdicación (1948).
• Ha llegado Don Juan (1952).
• El alfiler en la boca (1954).

• Malinovskaya N. R. At the origins of the “soap opera” // Dramatists - Nobel Prize winners. - M. , 1998 .-- C. 193-197.