Servitude and Tragedy in Rural Extremadura
Life on the Estate: Servants and Masters
The story centers on the life of a family of servants on a rural estate in Extremadura, framed by the daily routine. The narrative masterfully uses language adorned with local idioms. The background features the power embodied by the ‘Master’, Iván, and his feverish passion for hunting. We also see the scatterbrained wife of Don Pedro Perito, an unhappy puppet, almost another servant within the established hierarchy, highlighting the limits of power.
The Servant Family
Those who obey and serve form a family subjected to conditions reminiscent of a medieval world. Key members include:
- Paco, ‘the Low’: Reduced to the status of a hunting dog, retrieving game with his nose for the unbearable ‘Master’, who is fiercely competitive during hunts.
- Nieves: Paco’s daughter, bright and alert, serves as a teenager.
- Régula: Paco’s wife, also destined for servitude, mother to Nieves and Charito.
- Charito, ‘the Little Girl’: Régula and Paco’s disabled child.
- Azarías: Régula’s simple-minded brother, who finds solace and purpose in caring for a domesticated jay (‘Milana’). He shares moments of tenderness with Charito.
Power, Submission, and Fate
In this powerful work, winners and losers exist on the same plane. Ancestral suffering, submission, and the humiliation of the servants seem irrevocably chained to the designs of power. The days languish under the established order. Within this routine, a seemingly inconsequential event triggers a drama of devastating proportions, raising questions about the human condition when faced with unfamiliar and unpredictable situations.
Narrative Structure and Key Events
Chapters One to Three: Azarías and Family Changes
The initial parts focus on Azarías, his nature, and his relationship with the jay. Meanwhile, Paco, ‘the Low’, and his family must move by order of the ‘gentlemen’. This change brings new chores. This section also shows how Paco tries to educate his children, hoping they can escape poverty. Later, Azarías is fired from his previous job and goes to live with his sister, Régula. Furthermore, Don Pedro deals with his wife’s inappropriate behavior around Master Iván. During this time, Azarías becomes a nuisance around the farmhouse due to his lack of hygiene. Paco suggests taking him to the fields to relieve himself.
Chapters Four and Five: Paco’s Role and Accident
Paco becomes Master Iván’s secretary, earning appreciation for his usefulness during hunts. Paco is proud of this trust and accompanies him on all hunts. Master Iván even boasts about his secretary’s keen sense of smell and skill. The landowners also use the servants to show off to guests, making them demonstrate basic literacy.
The arrival of the Marquesa brings false joy; she distributes coins to celebrate her arrival. When hunting season begins, Iván and Paco are constantly busy, especially preparing for a major hunt involving important guests. However, Paco, now older, suffers an accident, falling from a tree while setting up bird lures. The resulting injury incapacitates him for a long time, angering Iván who needs him for the hunt. Iván desperately tries using other members of Paco’s family, but they are insufficient. So, on the day of the big hunt, Iván forces Paco to participate, disregarding the risk of further injury. During the hunt, Paco inevitably re-injures his leg, leaving him permanently disabled.
Chapter Six: The Tragic Climax
After Paco’s injury, Iván has no choice but to take Azarías hunting. The hunt does not go well, and Iván grows increasingly angry. Returning to the house in the afternoon, Azarías’s beloved jay appears. In a fit of senseless anger, Iván shoots and kills the jay, deeply shocking Azarías.
Later, they go hunting again, but Azarías is distant, quiet, and serious. Master Iván tries to ease the tension, mentioning flocks of birds nearby. Azarías climbs a tree, ostensibly to set up lures. Suddenly, he drops a noose around his master’s neck from above, hanging and killing him.
Setting and Atmosphere
The entire story unfolds on a farmhouse in Extremadura, Spain. It’s set in a stark, vast landscape that evokes feelings of sadness, nostalgia, and resignation, reflecting the lives of the characters.