New reading of Niebla: Kierkegaard and love

Abstract

Unamuno’s Niebla [translated into English as Mist] has been the object of many critical interpretations. Few critics have linked Mist to Kierkegaard, contending that the narrative plot of Mist was mainly influenced by Kierkegaard, and randomly pointing out coincidences between Unamuno’s novel and Kierkegaard’s works. This article quantifies the influence of Kierkegaard’s Diary of a Seducer on Mist and concludes that Kierkegaard’s novel has strong bearing on Unamuno’s The Tragic Sense of Life and Mist. The main thesis posited by Unamunuo in Niebla is here identified and found to be inspired by Kierkegaard’s Diary of a seducer: spiritual love is the true sense of life. Kierkegaard’s Diary must be regarded as the literary and philosophical source of Mist.