introduccion

At the end of the XVII century a voracious interest for the daily thing, for the concrete thing, for the objective thing wakes up in the artistic English environment such as our senses present it to us. The great cultural change that is taking place is exemplified by many of the writings of the time, although perhaps one of the most representative is The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan, allegory published in 1678 that springs from the medieval tradition, but that is adjusted almost to the requirements of the gender of the picaresque novel. This change of interests is the result of other deep political, ideological and, mainly, religious transformations that take place in England during the second half of the XVII centuryand during the whole following century. In fact, England models during this period its future image and establishes the foundations of what it wants to end up being. As Ortega¹ says on purpose of every State,the groups that now integrate the English society begin to be a community of purposes, of yearnings, of big utilities.When we talk about Robinson Crusoe we cannot stop to refer to its contextual aspects because this bookis in fact the myth and the most exact example that we possess of modern man's project in the Englisharts. Robinson Crusoe largely summarizes the "orteguianos" purposes, yearnings and utilities of the English society of the XVIII century. And as the project of the XVIII century, in fact has not been even substituted by another that absorbs completely our imagination, Robinson Crusoe continues being also in great measure a very current model.

NOTES:
1- Ortega y Gasset, José, España invertebrada, Revista de Occidente, Madrid, 1959.

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(The original text is in Spanish.
The translation is done by Ana Aroa Alba Cuesta).