[1] His critics considered it obscene and irreligious, as well as accusing him of plagiarising Flaubert's Madame Bovary,[1] and the novel was largely forgotten until the end of the twentieth century, when it was recognized as a classic of Spanish literature.

To complete the circle, Don Fermín de Pas (Ana's confessor and canon in the cathedral of Vetusta) also falls in love with her and becomes Mesía's unmentionable rival.

A great panorama of secondary characters, portrayed by Clarín with merciless irony, completes the human landscape of the novel.

With these forces in tension, the Asturian writer narrates a cruel story of Spanish provincial life in the days of the Restoration.

A musical, written and composed by Sigfrido Cecchini, premiered in July 2012 at the Campoamor Theatre, in Oviedo, hometown of La regenta.