It is my purpose in this thesis to show any influence that Emile Zola's Naturalism had on the novels of Blasco Ibáñez.. Because the novels of the Spanish author contain many suggestions of the Zolaesque theory of Naturalism, many literary critics have assumed that he did obtain much of his inspiration from this source; they have even called him the "Spanish Zola." I shall try to determine how much he imitated Zola's Naturalism, and to show to what extent it is correct to call him the "Spanish Zola."

This study discusses the life and works of Larra and many of his beliefs and ideas. The chapters have been divided into three, traeting of Larra's social, literary and political satire that deals mainly with the high cociety of Madrid (Spain).

The purpose of this study is to determine the importance of characterization in the Quinteros in developing their characters into figures possessing human qualities which give them charm and reality. In nine of the twenty plays studied, the characters are used in emphasizing other elements such as love and atmosphere, or to prove a thesis. However, the importance of characterization is shown by the fact that eleven of the plays are concerned with the character development.