The Tree of Knowledge (novel)


The Tree of Knowledge is a novel written by Pío Baroja. It was published in 1911, although the action takes place between 1887 and 1898. It is a semi-autobiographical work divided into two symmetrical parts separated by a long philosophical conversation between the protagonist and his uncle, doctor Iturrioz.

Plot summary

The first part of the novel deals with the life of the medicine student Andrés Hurtado. Through his family, teachers, classmates and diverse friends, Baroja draws a merciless painting of the bourgeois and proletarian 19th century inhabitants of Madrid.
The second half of the novel tells the stay of Hurtado in Alcolea, a fictitious town in Castilla-La Mancha, his return to Madrid and, finally, his unfortunate marriage to Lulú, a young woman he met when he was a student.
IV is in direct dialogue and contrasts the English pragmatism to the German idealism that Andrés Hurtado defends.