The plot of La piedra angular (1891) revolves around a crime: the brutal murder of a man by his wife and her lover. The novel is didactic, and attacks capital punishment, the "corner stone" of the title. On the issue of capital punishment, the author presents the reader with a variety of attitudes and ideologies. Emilia Pardo Bazan studies the executioner (Juan Rojo) and his family environment. In this way, La piedra angular analyzes the penal laws and criminal anthropological studies throughout its plot. The writer shows in her narrative the debate between legislators, philosophers,...