Lazarillo de Tormes: A Story of Survival and Social Critique
The Honor of the Impoverished Esquire
One day, after eating reasonably, he told me he was from Old Castile and had abandoned his city for not removing his hat to a neighbor.
“Sir,” I said, “if that neighbor had more than you, it was wrong not to remove his hat in greeting.”
“Yes, I had more, but as I always took off his hat, it was wrong for him not to do it before me at least once.”
“I think, sir, that’s not important since one must respect people who are better than oneself.”
“You’re just a boy,” he replied, “and do not understand the things of honor. I’ll tell you that although I am a squire, if I run into the count down the street and he takes off his hat, and again I haven’t seen him, I even pretend to be angry. Once I almost hit an officer because he always said, ‘May God take care of you,’ as if I was a nobody. Since then, when he saw me, he took off his hat and greeted me properly.”
“But what was so rude about telling him ‘May God take care of you’?” I asked.
“A lot of bad,” he said. “Only those who are worthless are told that. People like me, you should at least say, ‘I kiss your hands.’ So, I never agree that a man who is less than the king greets me saying, ‘May God take care of you’.”
“That’s why you do not care; they do not let anyone ask you,” I said to myself.
“In my country,” he continued, “I have several houses worth at least two hundred thousand pieces of silver. Also, a loft that would give two hundred babies each year and other things that I will not tell you. I came to this city for the reasons I told you, but here everything is going wrong. Gentlemen do not seek a squire but a servant to do any work and, moreover, they are overdue. If I could find a guy with a great title, it would end my misery. I would serve him well, know how to please him, and praise his habits and tastes, but I can’t seem to find anyone.”
Lazarus Supports His Master
I sat at one end and started eating my tripe and my bread, as my master did not look away from my food. I felt sorry for him because he knew hunger all too well. I thought I would invite him, but as he said he had already eaten lunch, I feared he would reject it.
“Lazarus, you eat with a grace that any man would enjoy watching,” he said. “Nobody sees you without feeling the urge to eat.”
“Because this bread is very tasty, and the cow’s leg is very well cooked and seasoned.”
“Obviously, it’s the best dish in the world. I don’t think any dish is like it.”
“Well, try it, sir, and see for yourself.”
I invited him to mine, and he ate so heartily that he chewed it to the bone.
“It has tasted so good as if I had not eaten today,” he said afterward. Then we drank and went to sleep happy.
It was eight or ten days when he was walking, and I was getting lazy and eating. I could not believe my misfortune because instead of falling in love with the best one, I found one that I must maintain. One morning, when he stood in his shirt and went to the bathroom, I took the opportunity to review his clothes to see if he had any money saved, but I only found a bag with no signs of having had a coin in a long time. “This one really is poor,” I thought, “not like the blind man or the cleric.” Since then, I feel sorry when I see someone dressed and walking confidently, as I think he must suffer on the inside like the squire. So, I had no enmity, rather some love.
The Priest: A Corrupt Clergyman
The Priest was Lazarus’s second master. He represents the theme of corruption of the clergy, as he is greedy and unscrupulous.
The Friar of the Grant: Promiscuity and Corruption
He is a corrupt and promiscuous friar. But since the only thing that Lazarus hungers for is food and not women, he decides to leave the Friar.
The Buldero: False Religion Personified
This is the fifth master of Lazarus. He is the most false and unscrupulous master of the whole novel. He represents false religion.
The Chaplain: An Opportunist
The Chaplain uses other people to receive benefits. He offered Lazarus his first job.
The Archpriest: Another Corrupt Clergyman
He also represents the corruption of the clergy, as there were stories in that area about relations between the wife of Lazarus and the Archpriest.