Cela’s “cognitive map” in "La colmena": Madrid, 1942

Abstract

This article analyses the spatial configuration of La colmena, Camilo José Cela’s key work, from the perspective of the literary cartography. The author describes a great deal of perfectly recognizable sites in 1942 Madrid. Thus, the route of one of the characters, Martín Marco, is traced on an actual map of the Spanish capital in the forties. Therefore, the map becomes an important critical analysis tool that enables us to think about the narrative structure of the literary work. Furthermore, Kevin Lynch’s five elements (paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks) are useful when analyzing the particular perception that Cela has about the city reflected in his novel.