Question 1

Who was Miguel de Unamuno and why is he a key figure of early 20th-century Spain?

Accepted Answer

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) was a Spanish writer and philosopher, a major figure of the Generation of '98, a group of intellectuals shaped by the loss of Spain's last colonies in 1898. What you need to remember is that he embodied the tormented conscience of the Spain of his time: as rector of the University of Salamanca, he explored existential anguish and the “tragic sense of life” in his work, setting reason against the longing for immortality. His famous clash with the Francoist general Millán-Astray in 1936, when he declared “You will win, but you will not convince,” remains a symbol of intellectual resistance in the face of violence.

Question 2

What is Unamuno's main work and why is it so important?

Accepted Answer

His essay The Tragic Sense of Life (1913) is regarded as his philosophical masterpiece. What makes it decisive is that it sets up an insoluble conflict: reason shows us that death is the end of everything, yet our heart yearns for immortality. Unamuno offers no solution, but he turns this contradiction into the very engine of human life. What is often forgotten is that this work draws directly on his “brother Kierkegaard,” the Danish philosopher he learned to read in the original. To understand this, you have to remember that the Spain of 1913 was in the midst of an identity crisis, and Unamuno answered this turmoil with a philosophy of anguish and faith.

Question 3

Why is Unamuno considered a forerunner of existentialism?

Accepted Answer

Unamuno is often seen as a forerunner of existentialism because he places the concrete individual – “the man of flesh and bone, the one who is born, suffers and dies” – at the center of his thinking, long before Sartre or Camus. What is striking here is that he is not interested in abstract ideas, but in the lived experience of anguish in the face of death. Unlike the atheist existentialists, Unamuno retains a nostalgia for God: he wants to believe, but his reason will not let him. His concept of the “tragic sense of life” sums up this rift between the desire for immortality and the recognition of finitude.

Question 4

What happened on 12 October 1936 at the University of Salamanca?

Accepted Answer

On 12 October 1936, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, Unamuno presided over a ceremony in the Paraninfo (great hall) of the university. When the Francoist general Millán-Astray shouted “Long live death!”, the old rector rose and replied: “You will win, but you will not convince.” What you need to remember is not so much the phrase itself as the context: threatened at gunpoint, Unamuno was placed under house arrest and died two and a half months later. The key to this episode is that it shows an intellectual ready to risk his life to defend reason and persuasion against brute force.

Question 5

What did a typical day in Unamuno's life in Salamanca look like?

Accepted Answer

In the morning, Unamuno taught his ancient Greek classes at the University of Salamanca, in the golden-stone halls. Between lessons, he wrote tirelessly — articles, essays and letters. In the afternoon, he read and wrote in his book-cluttered study, or walked through the city to observe the simple lives of ordinary people – what he called intrahistoria. In the evening, he took part in the tertulia, those lively café discussions where intellectuals and friends debated literature, religion and politics for hours. You have to imagine that this orderly life was also that of a tormented man, who endlessly folded pajaritas de papel (little paper birds) while pondering death.

Question 6

What objects are emblematic of Unamuno and what do they reveal about his personality?

Accepted Answer

Several objects are inseparable from Unamuno: his round glasses that gave him the look of a pensive owl, his rector's gown and cap worn during ceremonies, and above all his pajaritas de papel, those little folded birds he made constantly. What is striking here is that this seemingly trivial gesture was for him a form of meditation and a game, so much so that he devoted writings to them. These objects reveal a man both solemn (the rector) and playful (the bird-folder), always creating, even in moments of conversation or reflection.

Question 7

What does the word “nivola,” coined by Unamuno, mean?

Accepted Answer

Unamuno coined the word nivola (a play on novela, novel) to describe his very free novels, which break the rules of the genre. For example, in Mist (1914), the main character, Augusto Pérez, rebels against his author and tells him: “You too will die, Señor de Unamuno, you too!” What you need to remember is that the nivola allows Unamuno to blend philosophy and fiction, turning his characters into beings who struggle for their own existence. It is a way of raising the question of freedom and determinism, a central theme of his thought.

Question 8

What is Unamuno's concept of intrahistoria and why is it important?

Accepted Answer

Intrahistoria is a key concept of Unamuno's: it refers to the everyday, silent and enduring life of ordinary people, beneath the noisy surface of official history (battles, kings, dates). To understand this, you have to remember that Unamuno was marked by the Disaster of '98, which showed that official Spain was crumbling. What makes this concept important is that it invites us to look at history differently: it is traditions, customs and anonymous gestures that form the true continuity of a people. In his essay En torno al casticismo (1895), he contrasts this deep life with superficial politics.

Question 9

What is the connection between Unamuno and the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard?

Accepted Answer

Unamuno held a deep admiration for Søren Kierkegaard, whom he affectionately called “my brother Kierkegaard.” To read his works in the original, he taught himself Danish. What is striking here is the resemblance between their anguishes: both were torn between faith and doubt, between the longing for immortality and the demands of reason. Unamuno drew directly on Kierkegaard to develop his own “tragic sense of life.” What is often forgotten is that at the time Kierkegaard was still little known in Spain; Unamuno helped bring his work to light.

Question 10

Where did Unamuno live and which places shaped his life?

Accepted Answer

Unamuno was born in Bilbao (Basque Country) in 1864, where as a child he lived through the siege of the Carlist War. He studied in Madrid, then spent most of his life in Salamanca, where he was a professor and rector of the university. In 1924, the dictator Primo de Rivera exiled him to the barren island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands). He escaped aboard a French sailboat and stayed in Paris and then in Hendaye, just across the Spanish border, from where he could glimpse his country. You have to imagine that this geography of exile deepened his sense of being torn between the Spain he dreamed of and the Spain that really was.

Miguel de Unamuno(1864 — 1936)

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