This thesis, then, has evolved out of the need for such study and will deal specifically with the novels of the first two series of the Episodios Nacionales. It will be an attempt to present a preliminary survey of the most important characters, both major and minor, to present a composite picture of the story and plots within the two series of novels, and to indicate the relation of the influences pointed out in the preceding pages.

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