Theater had always been the love of José Echegaray's life. Although he had written earlier plays (
La Hija natural and
La Última Noche, both in 1867), he truly became a dramatist in 1874. His plays reflected his sense of duty, which had made him famous during his time in the governmental offices. Dilemmas centered on duty and morality are the motif of his plays. He replicated the achievements of his predecessors of the
Spanish Golden Age, remaining a prolific playwright. His most famous play is
El gran Galeoto, a drama written in the grand nineteenth century manner of
melodrama. It is about the poisonous effect that unfounded gossip has on a middle-aged man's happiness. Echegaray filled it with elaborate stage instructions that illuminate what we would now consider a hammy style of acting popular in the 19th century.
Paramount Pictures filmed it as a silent with the title changed to
The World and His Wife, and it was the basis for a later film
The Great Galeoto. His most remarkable plays are
O locura o santidad (Saint or Madman?, 1877);
Mariana (1892);
El estigma (1895);
La duda, 1898; and
El loco Dios (God, the fool, 1900). Among his other famous plays are
La esposa del vengador (1874) (The Avenger's Wife);
En el puño de la espada (1875) (In the Sword's Handle);
En el pilar y en la cruz (1878) (On the Stake and on the Cross); and
Conflicto entre dos deberes (1882) (Conflict of Two Duties). José Echegaray maintained constant activity until his death on 14 September 1916 in Madrid. His extensive work did not stop growing in his old age: in the final stage of his life he wrote 25 or 30 mathematical physics volumes. At the age of 83 he commented: I cannot die, because if I am going to write my mathematical physics encyclopedia, I need at least 25 more years. ==Honors==