The parable of the prodigal son in Catalan literature: the 20th century

Abstract

This work is a part, the one corresponding to the 20th century, of a more extensive paper whose objective is to study the different ways in which the parable of the prodigal son has been adapted in Catalan literature. Over the past century, the story told in the gospel of Saint Luke (15: 11-32) has been rewritten in various literary genres: poetry, prose, theater; its argument has been transformed and expanded, and has lost the didactic and moral purpose it had centuries ago. During the post-war period, writers such as Carles Riba and Jaume Vidal Alcover used this character to express an interior and personal adventure.