Miguel de Unamuno

Miguel de Unamuno (Bilbao, 1864 - Salamanca, 1936) was a Spanish novelist, playwright, and humanist philosopher. Coming from a middle-class Catholic family, he studied philology and philosophy at the University of Madrid and was appointed professor of Ancient Greek at the University of Salamanca, where he also served as rector between 1900-1914 and 1930-1936. In 1914, he was dismissed from his position due to his opposition to the conservative government policies and his doubts about the deeply rooted Catholicism in Spain, which he expressed through his works. In 1923, the dictatorial regime of Primo de Rivera exiled him to the Canary Islands, from where he escaped to France. He stayed there until the fall of Rivera's dictatorship in 1930, after which he returned to the university. A modernist and member of the so-called "Generation of '98" (alongside Antonio Machado, Azorín, Pío Baroja, Ramón del Valle-Inclán, among others), Unamuno is considered one of the most important Spanish writers of the 20th century. His work depicts the struggle of a man who wants to believe in God but cannot, while simultaneously distrusting science and reason. His most famous novel, "Abel Sánchez: A Story of Passion," a modern retelling of the story of Cain and Abel, is an anatomy of envy. In his novel "Mist," the protagonist rebels against the author who plans to kill him, much like a condemned man rebels against God for his fate.