In this commentary Dr Kania leads us through the intriguing and ingenious plot of the Spanish writer, Miguel de Unamuno's book, Niebla. Andrew entitled the essay "The Master Knot of Human Fate" and draws our attention to the following passage from Genesis: "So Yahweh God expelled him from the Garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the Garden he posted cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life." (3: 23-24, The Jerusalem Bible). In short summary, this is a fascinating way of exploring the nature of our own adult relationship with God…

A series of simple and mundane life events…

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936), academic, essayist, poet and novelist, is the author of the acclaimed work, Niebla (Eng. Mist, 1914), a story that takes a series of simple and mundane life events and explores the many conundrums that arise from them. The focus of Niebla is on a young law graduate Augusto, a man who has been the dutiful son of now deceased parents. With no siblings, Augusto's only family in this world are his family's two long-serving devoted servants, Domingo and Liduvina, a middle-aged married couple, who are keen for Augusto to find a wife, so as to fulfil his mother's dying wish.

Original Spanish edition cover of Niebla

With little to no experience in things romantic, Augusto rapidly falls in love with a piano teacher, Eugenia, having seen this young lady briefly in-passing. After this dawning of love in his life, Augusto recognizes that previous to the day that love awoke him he had not really noticed women, but now, he sees that women are beautiful; that is they all are, or a lot of them in any case. Thus begins Augusto's dilemma, if Eugenia reciprocates his love, then what would become of the little maid, Rosario who is also quite pretty; or for that matter, even though she is older, Liduvina, whom he has also begun to look upon as fetching.

Augusto becomes as caught as Buridian's fabled ass, starving to death between equally delicious bales of hay, not knowing which one to take, for fear of forsaking the other. In the end, Augusto is duped by Eugenia; he frightens away Rosario and hasn't the gumption to turn his fancy toward Liduvina. In despair – there is only one solution for Augusto in his crisis – he decides to kill himself. This thing known as love has become all too much for him.

A deliciously beautiful twist in the story…

At this point Niebla takes an incredible twist – a powerful journey into the world of the meaning of life and death – as Unamuno writes: "The storm in the soul of Augusto ended in a terrible calm: he had resolved to kill himself. He wanted to put an end to that self which had been the cause of all his misery. But before carrying out his plan it occurred to him, like a drowning sailor who grasps at a straw, to come and talk it over with me, the author of this whole story. Augusto had read an essay of mine in which I made a passing reference to suicide and this, together with some other things of mine that he had read, had evidently made such an impression upon him that he did not wish to leave this world without having met me and talked with me for a while."(Unamuno, 2000, p. 295)

Now the question of self-destruction is explored, the scenario of being placed in a corner where the only option is to either reach with one's hands for heaven or to dig a grave immediately below one's feet. As a last resort, Augusto, a mere character in a story, seeks out his Creator, the very author of the tale, Miguel de Unamuno. But the answer which Unamuno gives his character is far from consoling, he tells Augusto:"I think, then, that since you do not exist except in my imagination – as I tell you again – and since you neither ought nor are you able to do anything but just what I please, and since it does not really suit me that you should kill yourself – well, you are not going to kill yourself. And that settles it." (Unamuno, 2000, p. 297)

Augusto is shocked by Unamuno's reply, so shocked that he denies Unamuno's very existence, by saying to the author that in the reader's mind, Augusto is far more real to them than Unamuno. In Augusto's mind: who in fact cares about the Creator when the characters in the novel are doing all the living and dying? Augusto even begins to threaten Unamuno, by posing the question as to what would happen if Augusto was able to destroy Unamuno, by making Unamuno irrelevance in the reader's mind – Unamuno would then cease to exist! Soon Unamuno, loses his patience:"'Very well, that will do – enough!' I cried, bringing my fist down on the sofa, 'Hold your tongue! I don't wish to hear any more impertinence! And from a creature of mine, too! And since I have had enough of you and I don't know, moreover, what more to do with you, I have now decided, not that you may not now kill yourself, but that I shall kill you. You are to die, then, but soon! Very soon!'" (Unamuno, 2000, p. 299)

Knowing now the harsh reality of his own demise to be a matter not open to conjecture, Augusto understands the curious law of human nature that an in-grown toe-nail soon loses its painful significance for a man after he has been kicked sharply in the groin. A moment ago Augusto had sought to kill himself, but now realizing that his death will occur prior to Niebla's ending, he begs Unamuno for life; his pleas fall on deaf ears. He has tried his Creator's patience for too long, and in his pride, has lost everything. Had he but loved his Creator, his Creator would surely have shown him mercy. What began as a self-destructive response to a poor love-life, has now cost him everything, and what is more he realizes the breadth of his loss.

Miguel de Unamuno creator or Augusto

Augusto had wanted to kill himself for the love of a woman, but now as he takes the train ride home from Unamuno's house, he has come to the reality that life is indeed precious – and he had squandered his, on little parts of a much bigger picture. His life was not only, Eugenia, or Rosario or Liduvina, his life was a panorama of parents, friends, studies, buildings, birthdays, Christmas, Easters, and all types of highs and lows; and now it will soon be over. Unamuno had given him two great gifts, the first, life, the second, the ability at the close of his life to appreciate the richness of this gift, and the gravity of what he was willing to do, not only in turning on himself, but turning on his Creator. It is a bitter-sweet end to Niebla, for in this his sadness, he has in fact been saved, he has learnt but the lesson has been harsh.

Each human being who comes to adulthood can see in Niebla aspects of their own life, Pride may seek to distort Reality, by persuading us that our freedom of will in some way determines our personal existence – but this existence was given to us a long time before we had the power to fully exercise our freedom of will; and That which gave us our existence, has also set the parameters by which we can exercise our freedom of will. In his pride Augusto had not wished to defer to his Creator – he wanted the right to choose his life and death, without the restraints of any responsibilities that he may owe to anyone or anything else.

Truth is that Reality in life that completely answers the nature of human living and dying…

Niebla raises questions about the human condition and the relationship we have with God, as well as the sacredness of our lives. Augusto learns at the end of his life that God does not cease to exist the day we seek to destroy him, rather the human person does; he learns that Truth does not cease being the Truth, because the individual seeks to transform a Lie into a half-truth, no more than a prostitute becomes a virgin bride by the mere donning of a white veil. In the final analysis, Augusto discovers that Truth is that Reality in life that completely answers the nature of human living and dying; and that anything else is but a phantom spoken as a unsure whisper, a Lie fabricated in one man's image, for one man's particular needs, for one man's minute Age, but not for all time.

Image Credits: Click on the images for the original source.

©2008 Dr Andrew Thomas Kania

[Andrew Kania's Archive]