Els codis socioculturals de la «viuda desheretada» a "Pilar Prim" de Narcís Oller i a "Middlemarch" de George Eliot

Abstract

The motive of the «disinherited widow» has found until now little consideration in literature. Therefore it is interesting to study two novels published within a few decades of each other and which address this problem: Middlemarch (1871/1872), one of the well-known novels by George Eliot, and Pilar Prim (1906) by Narcís Oller. Although it has not been proven, it seems plausible that Oller knew the English novel, because he read a lot of contemporary literature and, besides this, maintained close contact with French literary circles, where the French translations of Eliot’s novels were familiar. This article studies the socio-cultural differences, analogies and consequences of the forced renunciation of the deceased husband’s fortune of two wealthy widows, because a codicile in testament hinders a second marriage. The main problem is not this renunciation, but that the sec ond husband is poor, and so the widow must choose love, poverty and social isolation or wealth, loneliness and social appreciation.

Keywords: Disinherited widow ; Oller, Narcís: Pilar Prim; Eliot, George: Middlemarch; English novel; influence on Catalan novel; socio-cultural codes in English novel 19. c.; socio-cultural codes in Catalan novel 19. c.