National Catholicism in "Juegos de la edad tardía", by Luis Landero

Abstract

Religion, in the particular form it took in Spain during Franco´s dictatorship, the so called nacionalcatolicismo / National Catholicism, constitutes the main framework to understand Landero´s Juegos de la edad tardía. Religion determines the plot, reveals the hidden meaning of many unspoken messages from the implied author, affects the vocabulary, the world conception, the way of thinking and feeling, the personality and the behavior of the characters. Nacionalcatolicismo, imposed by the Church and the State, becomes the repressing force that crushes the self-esteem of the characters, condemns them to an absurd and unimaginative life, immerses them in a world of guilt, sin and penance, restricts or annihilates their freedom, anathematizes their sexuality, criminalizes their erotic impulses, demonizes their loving feelings and castrates their dreams.