This thesis explores the themes in the novels of Manuel Gálvez. The summaries deal with a considerable portion of his work which may be generally classified as sociological novels.

The Italian composer of operas, Giuseppe Verdi, relied heavily on plays of the Romantic Era as sources for opera librettos. Three such plays were from the Spanish Romantic School: El trovador and Simon Bocanegra by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez, and Don Alvaro o la fuerza del sino by Angel de Saavedra, el Duque de Rivas. The operas which Verdi composed using these plays as sources--Il trovatore, Simon Boccanegra, and La forza del destino--range in popularity from near zenith (Il trovatore) to near nadir (Simon Boccanegra). The study attempts to assess the suitability of the three Spanish dramas as source material for operas, and to determine if this suitability is correlated to each opera's popularity.

This thesis examines the themes in the work of Argentine novelist Gustavo Adolfo Martínez Zuviría, who wrote under the pseudonym of Hugo West.

In this exposition, the writer has attempted to give a clear idea of the origin, organization, and curricua of the three types of schools of the Mexican public educational system. The information was gathered from first-hand knowledge, from careful study and analysis or publications of the department of Education, visits to schools, Interviews with school pen, and from various earler works on the subject of Mexican education.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of analyzing and evaluating selected dramas and novelas of Juan Perez de Montalban. This study concludes that Montalban was not a writer of original works, but his familiarity with and utilization of certain literary devices, stereotyped situations, cliches, and popular themes, along with his notable talent in portraying women and rulers allowed him to produce works which met with great acclaim in his lifetime.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the merit of the works of the contemporary Spanish playwright Carlos Muñiz in the area of social drama.

This thesis studies the life and the novels of Vicente Blasco Ibanez, including his Valencian period and his Madrid novels

The type of alienation discussed in this thesis is not related to the famous Verfrenidungseffekt attempted by Brecht, where the audiences are prevented from identifying with the characters of the drama in the hope that the public will reflect on the ideas presented more rationally and objectively. "Alienation" in this thesis is a psychological force which acts divisively between the characters in the drama and thus contributes to the development of a tragic situation.

Until the time of Lope de Vega and the Golden Age of Spanish literature, women had always had secondary roles in the Spanish drama. There were two reasons for this: 1) Women were not fully appreciated in the society of the times. 2) Women were prohibited from appearing on the stage for many years, and boys usually took their parts. With the advent of Lope de Vega and his arte nuevo de hacer comedies, the situation was changed. The great genius, Lope de Vega, set the pattern for the drama of the Golden Age.

This thesis is a study of the development of the philosophy of Benito Pérez Galdós as revealed by his contemporary novels.

The primary purpose of this study is to demonstrate that the most consistent themes in the selected novels are love and happiness. The novels are: Bonjour tristesse, 1954; Un certain sourire, 1956; La chamade, 1965; Les merveilleux nuages, 1961; Un profil perdu, 1974; Aimez-vous Brahms, 1959; Le garde du coeur, 1968; and De guerre lasse, 1985. Sagan challanges her heroines, and her readers, to find happiness. Each of the heroines handles the individual search for love and happiness in her own specific way. Throughout the novels, love represents pain and suffering as Sagan describes the emptiness of life in modern society. Her works show the futility of love in a world preoccupied by superficial things.

The purpose of this thesis is to make an intensive study of the dramatic works of Max Aub in order to determine his significance as a playwright.

This study proposes to establish an intrinsic relationship between Valle-Inclán and Muñiz based on the theme of dehumanization in their theater. It examines (1) the stylistic techniques which each playwright uses to depersonalize his characters, (2) the manner in which these characters dehumanize each other, (3) the role of society as the agent of dehumanization, and finally, due to each author's preoccupation with one social convention in particular (4) the devastating effects on men of the vestiges of an outmoded code of honor. The principal works used for the study are Valle-Inclán's Martes de carnaval, Luces de Bohemia, and Divinas palabras, and El tintero, Un solo de saxofón, Las viejas difíciles, and El grillo by Carlos Muñiz. Such an analysis proposes to reveal a profound literary affinity between these two writers, a bond which unites Valle-Inclán and Muñiz in a common protest against the dehumanization of mankind.

This thesis presents a brief background of poetry in Mexico in the nineteenth century, along with a biography of Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera and a study of his three poetic periods: 1876-1886, 1886-1890, 1890-1895.

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the extent and nature of criticism in the plays of Jacinto Benavente. Source material included the writings of such prominent critics of Spanish literature as Walter Starkie, Federico de Onis, Richard Chandler, Kessel Schwartz, Emiliano Diez-Echarri, Jose Franquesa, Federico Sainz de Robles, and Valbuena Prat. Twenty plays which best exemplify Benavente's criticism of society were selected from the dramatist's 172.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the techniques through which Julio CortSzar presents and explores the literary concepts of temporal, spatial and identity displacement. The author's radical departure from the more traditionally structured view of these notions is certainly one of the most perplexing and controversial aspects of his literary style.

Although some of Zunzunegui's works are not so moralistic in intent as others, it will be seen that each one of them criticizes a particular bad trait in the protagonist which leads to unhappiness or defeat, either for the character himself or for someone close to him.

This thesis illustrated Gregorio Martinez Sierra's social philosophy: motherhood, marital relationships, relationships between parents and children, and the social even of spain.