SOURCE: Pattison, Walter T. “Short Stories and Criticism.” In Emilia Pardo Bazán, pp. 92-7. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1971.

In the following essay, Pattison offers an overview of Pardo Bazán's short fiction, asserting that “it was she who acclimated the short story and made it an important part of the Spanish literary scene.”

Short Stories

Pardo Bazán is the outstanding short story writer of Spain in the nineteenth century. Before her, only Pedro de Alarcón attained mastery over the genre; during her prime only Clarín had some of her competence, and in her later years Blasco Ibáñez was her only rival. Yet none of these competitors produced with the abundance and high quality as did the Countess. It was she who acclimated the short story and made it an important part of the Spanish literary scene.

The short story, as created by Edgar...