A Comparison Between Andrés Neuman’s El viajero del siglo and (Part of) the Literary Work of Santiago Ramón y Cajal

Abstract

In 2009, ten years after the publication of El viajero del siglo, by Andrés Neuman, was fulfilled. On October 17, 2019, the eighty-fifth anniversary of the death of Santiago Ramón y Cajal was commemorated. At the juncture of these two ephemerides, this article compares Neuman’s novel with part of Cajal’s literary production to reveal some common points that they have and the importance for them of their literature as an instrument of communication of their philosophic approaches. Special attention will be given to the importance of changing space and the use of wonderful elements in its production, as well as to a metaphorical reading that both have of travel and translation. In addition, Neuman read the nineteenth century in his novel, a reading marked by the inclusion of current notions such as liquid identity, as opposed to that of Cajal, influenced by the idea of scientific progress and patriotisms.