The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) is the culmination of political struggles between the left-wing Popular Front, consisting of communists, socialists, anarchists, and republicans, and the right-wing National Front, consisting of fascists, monarchists, and the Landowners’ Party. Due to the dissolution of the monarchy and the establishment of a Republican government in the early 1930’s, a lot of complaints came from conservatives, the Church, and landowners because they felt that they were being unfairly trampled on. With the new government, the role of the Church was severely diminished due to secularization and the government could seize private property. This disapproval of the new government led to an attempted coup d’état and, later on, strikes by rural workers who “demanded that the Republic bring about the improvements in living and working conditions that they had been promised”, writes Nicola Garcia. Because of these strikes, a significant amount of the population thought that the government was not following its own constitution, which led to the winning of 11 seats by Fascists and monarchists in 1933. Three years later, the Popular Front won the election against the National Front, causing a rebellion led by General Francisco Franco to take over the government. Although El espinazo del diablo is seen as a horror film about a ghost at first glance, Guillermo del Toro takes an allegorical approach to convey how the Spanish Civil War was started by Spanish politics and society by mirroring it in the events that occur in the orphanage.

In El espinazo del diablo, the orphanage represents Spain and the children and caretakers represent Spain’s population during the civil war. Although it is made clear that the members of the orphanage side with the left-wing due to the reason why the children are there in the first place, not everyone has the same motive to help the children of those who fought for social reform. Jacinto, one of the employees at the orphanage, represents the right-wing and actively oppress the left-wing; he constantly physically abuses the children, whether it be hitting them, slashing them with knives, or even killing them. Although it is not assumed that he actually sides with the fascists, his agenda does not include caring for the children – instead, it includes stealing the gold that is kept in the orphanage safe, and in order to obtain it, Jacinto cheats on his girlfriend and develops a sexual relationship with the headmistress, Carmen. Each time they have sex, Jacinto steals a key in the hope of choosing the right one that unlocks the safe. Anyone who gets in his way will most likely end up like Santi who accidentally stumbled upon Jacinto trying to open the safe – dead. Guillermo del Toro successfully depicts the elements of the Spanish politics and society that lead up to the civil war through the orphanage and its inhabitants by placing a divide between Jacinto and everyone else in the orphanage, displaying Jacinto’s greed and what he is willing to do for gold, and giving strength to the orphans to take down Jacinto.

As mentioned, the orphanage in El espinazo del diablo is run by supporters of the left-wing and houses children of people who are fighting or have fought for democracy in Spain. Although everyone who works and lives in the orphanage supports the left-wing (including Jacinto) due to obvious reasons, the divide between Jacinto and the others in the orphanage is due to personalities and motives. Like the republicans, communists, socialists, and anarchists of Spain, Carmen along with Dr. Casares, Carlos, Jaime, Gálvez, Búho, and the rest of the orphans belong to the left-wing. Their shared interests include general social reform, which includes equality among the population and democracy. Furthermore, Dr. Casares displays the belief that the Church should have less of an influence in government and education by avoiding superstition and using rational thought to explain things. Contrastingly, Jacinto belongs to the right-wing along with the fascists and monarchists. Their shared interests include social inequality in terms of social hierarchy. The divide and clashing beliefs and motives in the orphanage eventually led to the forced removal of Jacinto from the orphanage. This mirrors the Popular Front’s success in the elections of 1936 because they became the dominant government power in Spain.

Jacinto is kicked out of the orphanage because he demands Carmen to give him the gold that is kept in the safe. Despite the actual purpose of keeping the gold, which is to support the orphanage and the left-wing’s cause, he wants it for himself. His greed for the gold aligns with the right-wing beliefs of economic liberalism and social hierarchy because instead of using the gold to benefit everyone in the orphanage like it is intended to, Jacinto wants it for personal gain. His demand for the gold reflects the plan concocted by army rebels and local fascists to take over the government and replace it with a right-wing government. Furthermore, Jacinto has gone as far as murdering a child to make sure he gets what he wants. When Santi, a former orphan, sees him trying to unlock the safe, Jacinto hits him multiple times and puts him in a chokehold. Eventually, he pushes Santi head-first into a wall, killing him. In addition to killing Santi, Jacinto’s return to the orphanage led to a fiery explosion that killed many of the orphans and all of the employees except for Dr. Casares. His greed for power, essentially, places his value for gold above human life, and that further mirrors the lengths that the fascists went to in order to establish their government. This reflects the White Terror, which was the mass extermination of people who opposed General Francisco Franco’s political agenda. Additionally, the support received by General Franco from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany represents Jacinto’s two accomplices who assist him in finding the gold.

The courage of the remaining boys to fight against Jacinto comes from wanting to get justice for the damage he has caused to the orphanage. Jacinto’s actions cost lives and a place to live, and the orphans wasted no time in making him pay. This climactic part of the film shows the two parties are fighting to the death with the orphanage as the battlefield. Although the boys defeat Jacinto, they are still left without a place to live and are forced to leave the orphanage and look for help. This represents the actual civil war because just like the left-wing became fed up with the right-wing, the boys has enough with Jacinto’s violence.

In conclusion, Guillermo del Toro successfully conveys how the Spanish Civil War was fulled by Spanish politics and society by reflecting it in the events that occur in the orphanage, specifically with the divide between Jacinto and everyone else in the orphanage, the display of Jacinto’s greed and what he is willing to do for gold, and the strength of the orphans to take down Jacinto.