The course aims to deepen the knowledge of Spanish culture and literature of the late nineteenth century, through the reading of what is considered the novel par excellence of Spanish Realism: La Regenta by Leopold Alas Clarín. In particular, the student will reflect on the presence of European literature and philosophy of the period and on the connections between La Regenta and the previous literature in the Spanish language, basically with the work of Cervantes, to arrive at the idea of Clarín as a precursor of writers such as García Lorca and Cela. The student should also be able to apply the main tools of literary text analysis and relate the work under study to its historical and literary context.