El doctor de Cestona : antropología racial, criminología y eugenesia en los tipos novelescos de Pío Baroja

Abstract

Known as one of the most important Spanish novelists of the first half of the 20th century and a distinguished member of the '98 Generation, Pío Baroja (1872-1956) wrote a vast work. His books, including his non-fiction, open a window to the cultural landscape of his times, reflecting (but also interpreting) the deep sociopolitical transformations in Spain and broader European tendencies. This contribution examines how racial ideas are intertwined with heredity, health, and character in Baroja's novels. Trained as a physician before becoming a writer, Pío Baroja became passionate about anthropological sciences when he was a student, and this is evident throughout his work. Ultimately, his case is representative of the Spanish and European worries about collective degeneracy interpreted from pathology and ethnicity at the dawn of the 20th century. The usage of fin-de-siècle tropes in his work is, however, original.