Wisdom of Eccentric Old Men: A Study of Type and Secondary Character in Galdós's Social Novels, 1870-1897

Bly's principal revelation is that Galdós deliberately and consistently used this secondary type to emphasize the significance of the major plot developments and to underline the strengths or weaknesses of principal characters. In filling these roles the eccentric old men develop from comic shallow types into more complex secondary characters, men of insight and wisdom, who occupy a pivotal position in the novels.