Benito Pérez Galdós, the author of the following drama, was born May 10,
1845, at Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands. Through modesty, or reserve,
he has withheld every biographical detail concerning his early life. In
fact his biographer, Leopoldo Alas, tells us that it was only with the
greatest difficulty he obtained from him the admission that he was born
in the Canary Islands. He studied there in the State College, and came
to Madrid in 1863, for the purpose of reading law. This profession held
but little interest for him, and he did not follow it further. He was
already dreaming of a literary career, and after a brief trial of
journalism, his first novel, _La Fontana de Oro_ (1871), was published.
In 1872 his next book, _El Audaz_, was completed. Then taking as a model
the historical novels of Erckmann-Chatrian, he began his _Episodios
Nacionales_, which alone fill twenty volumes. Add to this number some
thirty volumes of _Novelas Contemporáneas_, and one sees the monument
that Galdós offers us of the wonderful persistence and fertility of his
talent.
It is upon the _Novelas_ that his wider literary reputation rests, for
in the narration of contemporary Spanish life, in the reflection of the
ideas and the sentiments of the people, he has no rival.
Comparatively little has been written by him for the theatre, but he has
always been a welcome contributor and when, during the year 1900, the
Director of the _Teatro Español_ asked him for a piece for the next
season he seized the opportunity of advancing, in _Electra_, his liberal
ideas.
This drama was represented at Madrid, January 30, 1901, and made a deep
impression on the Spanish people. "At the end of the first act," says
the _Imparcial_, "the applause was frantic."
The last word of the play, "resucita," is not only the key note of the
drama, but the summing up of Galdós' desires, and the expression of his
ambition for his country and his countrymen.
The purpose of the play and the spirit of the author are accurately
voiced by Lopez Ballesteras, in the _Heraldo_, January 31, 1901. "Last
night," said he, "will mark a great date in history for the Spanish
theatre and for liberty. It is a movement of social and political
renovation, Spain demands light and liberty; she demands the right to
live under modern, European conditions; she is coming to life."