The “rivalry” between Isidora Rufete and Juan Bou: reflections on the “good guy” from La desheredada

Abstract

This study focuses on one of the least analysed figures in La desheredada, Juan Bou, a character who has always been considered secondary, whose sole purpose is to be the maximum representative of the working class in this novel by Pérez Galdós. However, a detailed analysis of the character, also carried out by means of a comparison with Isidora Rufete, the main protagonist of the novel, is intended to question this consideration. And the fact is that, despite appearing in full only in the Second Part of La desheredada, not only does he reveal a complex psychology and moral depth, but it will also be shown how he becomes a fundamental link in the second section of the work, even being its co-protagonist. Does Pérez Galdós really end up condemning the two characters, as critics such as Sotelo Vázquez claim?