The Spanish Picaresque Novel: Lazarillo de Tormes

Posted on Oct 1, 2024 in Latin

Fernando de Rojas and La Celestina

Authorship and Origins

Early 20th-century critics debated whether La Celestina had a single author, believing a work so masterful must be the product of one mind. Some even speculated that Fernando de Rojas was a pseudonym. However, modern criticism supports the authenticity of the author’s letter, which suggests a collaborative origin. The first act, written in short paragraphs and drawing on different sources of inspiration, differs from the rest of the play.

Fernando de Rojas, a converted Jew born in La Puebla de Montalbán, studied law at Salamanca and served as mayor of Talavera de la Reina. He possessed an impressive library, including Petrarch’s works written in Latin.

Themes and Significance

La Celestina‘s enduring significance stems from:

  • The intensity with which characters experience their unbridled passions, particularly physical love.
  • Calisto and Melibea’s embodiment of passionate love, defying social conventions.
  • The exploitation of their love and lust by Celestina, an old woman and cunning matchmaker lacking a moral compass.
  • The distinct language used by each character based on their social standing. Calisto and Melibea employ a lofty tone, sometimes to the point of mockery by their servants. Celestina’s interactions with servants and prostitutes are vulgar and direct.

Published in 1499, La Celestina is considered the most important work of Spanish literature after Don Quixote. It reflects a transitional period, bridging the medieval world and the early Renaissance. Written in dialogue form and intended for reading, it belongs to a medieval genre known as humanistic comedy, created by Petrarch in the 14th century. Cervantes praised the work, stating, “In my opinion, a book more divine than human.”

Editorial Issues

  • The first edition, published anonymously in Burgos in 1499, consisted of 16 acts.
  • Initially titled “Comedia de Calisto y Melibea,” the 1502 edition changed the title to “Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea” and added five more acts, bringing the total to 21.
  • The book begins with the author’s letter to a friend, recounting how he came across the first act written by an unknown author in Salamanca and, captivated by it, decided to continue the work.
  • An acrostic verse reveals the sentence: “El bachiller Fernando de Rojas acabó la comedia de Calisto y Melibea y fue nacido en la Puebla de Montalbán.”

Lazarillo de Tormes and the Picaresque Novel

Types of Novels

  • Chivalric: With medieval origins, this genre reached its peak during the Renaissance. The most famous example is Amadis of Gaul.
  • Pastoral: Originating in Italy, this genre depicts idealized shepherds in a beautiful, refined setting, experiencing love, jealousy, and sorrow. A notable example is Jorge de Montemayor’s Diana.
  • Byzantine: Flourishing in the second half of the 16th century, these novels are filled with adventures, travels, sentimental episodes, and chance encounters. Cervantes’ Persiles and Sigismunda and Jerónimo Contreras’ Selva de Aventuras are prominent examples.
  • Moorish: These stories are set in the border regions between Moors and Christians. A representative work is Historia del Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa.
  • Picaresque: A distinctly Spanish genre, it counters the idealism of earlier novels with realism, portraying a lower social environment.

Features of the Picaresque Novel

  1. First-person narration: The protagonist narrates their own life.
  2. Realistic events: The story depicts everyday occurrences.
  3. Dishonorable and ignoble origins: The protagonist is an antihero, often born to dishonorable parents.
  4. Roguish behavior: The protagonist is a thief and employs cunning tricks to survive.
  5. Inability to escape misery: Despite occasional successes, misfortune and hardship persist.
  6. Service to multiple masters: The protagonist works for various employers.

Publication and Authorship of Lazarillo de Tormes

  • The first known editions appeared simultaneously in several cities, including Alcalá de Henares, in 1554.
  • It is unknown if any earlier editions existed.
  • The date of composition is uncertain. Some critics believe it was written years earlier, around 1525, while others suggest it was written closer to 1554.
  • The author is unknown and remains anonymous.
  • Criticism has attributed the work to various authors, including Fray Juan de Ortega, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, and Sebastián de Orozco.

Structure and Content of Lazarillo de Tormes

The novel takes an autobiographical form. It begins with a prologue in the form of a letter to a character who asks Lázaro to clarify rumors circulating in Toledo about his wife. Lázaro responds by recounting his life from childhood.

Parts of the Work

  1. Lázaro describes his birth in the Tormes River, his father’s sentence to the galleys, and his mother’s relationship with a black man who cared for stable horses. Lázaro becomes a servant to a blind beggar who travels through towns reciting prayers and begging. With this first master, Lázaro begins to experience hunger.
  2. He serves a cleric in Maqueda, who treats him even worse than the blind man. Lázaro resorts to various tricks to obtain food.
  3. He serves a poor squire who maintains a facade of wealth. Lázaro takes pity on him and shares the food he obtains through begging.
  4. He serves a friar whom he quickly leaves.
  5. He serves a pardoner who deceives people by performing fake miracles.
  6. He briefly serves a chaplain and later an alguacil as a water carrier.
  7. He finally finds stable employment as a town crier in Toledo and marries the maid of the Archpriest of San Salvador. At the end of the novel, Lázaro enjoys a period of prosperity and considers himself fortunate.

Language in Lazarillo de Tormes

  • The novel depicts harsh realities in plain language, avoiding the artificiality of chivalric, Byzantine, or pastoral novels.
  • Characters express themselves according to their social status, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the time.
  • Fernando de Rojas had already employed this realistic dialogue in La Celestina, particularly in the speech of the servants Parmeno and Sempronio.
  • This linguistic polyphony would become a characteristic of the modern novel, notably used by Cervantes in Don Quixote half a century later.

Other Picaresque Novels

  1. Rinconete y Cortadillo by Cervantes
  2. Guzmán de Alfarache by Mateo Alemán
  3. La pícara Justina by Francisco López de Úbeda
  4. El Buscón by Quevedo