A preliminary study of the traditional Figura del Donaire and the gracioso of Juan Ruiz de Alarcón

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A PRELIMINARY STUDY OP THE TRADITIONAL FIGURA DEL DONAIRE AND THE GRACIOSO OP JUAN RUIZ DE ALARCON

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Spanish The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts

hy Joseph H. Silverman February, 1950

UMI Number: EP65436

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Dissertation Puoiisning

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This thesis written by

Jo sepJti..JL*..Silverman......... under the guidance of h. JLs_.Faculty Committee, and approved by a ll its members

,has

been

presented to and accepted by the Council on Graduate Study and Research in p a rtial fu lfill­ ment of the requirements fo r the degree of

Master..of Arts.

Dnt, January 2», 1950

F a c u lty Com m ittee

fk?._ Chaipman

For R* A. Becerra City College of Rev York

TABLE OP CONTENTS CHAPTER

PAGE

INTRODUCTION .......................................

vi

I. THE TERM G R A C I O S O ............................

1

The gracioso in lexicons and in Golden Age

II.

III.

literature ...............................

1

The l a c a y o .................................

11

Criado and l a c a y o .............

14

Lacayo and g r a c i o s o .......................

16

Summary

. . . . . '.........................

18

THE ORIGINS OF THE G R A C I O S O .................

20

Conclusion.................................

28

THE MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OP THE TRADITIONAL GRACIOSO . . . . .

....

. . . . ‘

1 . .

31

Biographical characteristics ...............

31

Moral and physical characteristics ..........

32

The gracioso and l o v e .....................

33

I**1® gr&cio.s.o and his m a s t e r ...............

34

The gracioso1s linguistic and literarytraits

IV.

35

Discussion.................................

39

Summary

...........................

45

THE CRITICS OP ALARCON’S G R A C I O S O ............

48

The Spanish and foreign c r i t i c s ............

48

The Mexican c r i t i c s .......................

51

CHAPTER

PAGE

V.AN ANALYSIS OF ALARCON1S G R A C I O S O ..............

55

First p e r i o d ...............................

57

La culpa busca la pena, £ el agravio la venganza . ........ . ...................

57

Quien mal anda en mal a c a b a ..............

65

El desdichado en f i n g i r ..................

70

La manganilla de Me l i l l a..................

j8

La cueva de S a l a m a n c a ...................

81

El semejante a si mis m o ..................

85

La industria £ la s u e r t e ..................

92

Second period

.............................

95

Todo es v e n t u r a .........................

95

Los favores del m u n d o ...................... 101 Los empenos de un e n g a n o .........

107

Las paredes o y e n ............................ 116 La verdad sospechosa . . . . .

............

12J

Ganar a m i g o s ................................ 156 Third p e r i o d .................................. 145 La crueldad por el h o n o r .................... 145 Fourth period

.............................

150

No hay mal que por bien nov e n g a ............. 150 VI.C O N C L U S I O N S ...................................... 156 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................

164

INTRODUCTION The gracioso is, without doubt, one of the most im­ portant figures in the comedia of the Spanish Golden Age. He appears with systematized frequency in the plays of all the renowned dramatists of the time. Despite his unquestioned importance and versatility, very few works of more than article length have been de­ voted to him. critics.

He has been mentioned in passing by many

Specialists on the Spanish comedia have managed

to catch him,on the fringes of their microscopic scrutinies. Yet scarcely a handful of them have attempted to adjust their focus so as to give us more than a blurred, distorted, and conveniently generalized image. There have been a few attempts made to trace the or­ igins of the personage through the stages of dramatic de­ velopment in Spain, and a sparse number of monographs have appeared on the figure in the comedlas of individual play­ wrights.

The gracioso, however, still awaits adequate por­

trayal . The present study will present an analysis of the gracioso in fifteen comedias of Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n and a preliminary consideration of his relationship to the tradi­ tional figura Idel donaire. N ■■ I !!■ 1HI..!,!-■■.. The scarcity and inaccessibility of studies on the

v ii

figura del donalre made it necessary to present the lengthy and detailed material of the first three chapters, so that the reader might follow intelligently the analyses of the fifth chapter and the conclusions to he drawn from chapters three, four, and five. The schematization of gracioso characteristics pre­ sented in chapter three may prove of assistance to the student of the Spanish Golden Age Theater. The idea for the present work grew out of a term paper presented to Professor Antonio Heras in a seminar on the Theater of Lope de Vega.

CHAPTER I THE TERM GRACIOSO The noun gracioso, which Ludwig Pfandl holds to have heen born of an ellipsis of the phrase "lacayo gracioso,”^ requires a large number of adjectives and substantives to reveal with some measure of certainty its many aspects.

A

clear statement of the numerous meanings contained within the word and its component parts will be helpful in the delineation of the gracioso, in the understanding of his personality, and in the establishment of a basis for com­ parison between the traditional gracioso and that of Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n. The Gracioso in Lexicons and in Golden Age Llterao ture. The Diccionario de Autoridades^ was the first dictionary, of those I have studied, to assign a basic theatrical connotation to the word gracioso. It defines the personage as "el que en las comedias y autos tiene el papel festivo y chistoso, con que divierte y entretiene.f*

^ Ludwig Pfandl, Historia de la literatura nacional espanola en la edad de oro (Barcelona: Sucesores de Juan Gili, S. A., 193377 P* ^19> footnote 1. 2

Diccionario de la lengua castellana compuesto por la Real Academia Espanola (Madrid: T 7 2 6 -17 3 9 }, 6 vo1s .

2 In the 1817 and 1822 editions of the Royal Academy dic­ tionary the phrase "el comediante que ejecuta siempre el papel del criado" is added to the definition.

Subsequent

editions of the Academy dictionary and others of general use have reproduced these words in almost exact fashion. It is of interest to note that the word is not defined in its theatrical acceptation in the Tesoro de la Lengua Castel1ana of Covarrubias, since the word appears frequently in the prose writings of the time.

Quevedo in

"El entremetido y la duena y el sopl6 n" interrogates, "Fuera mejor matar de hambre a todos los graeiosos. . .?"^ Suarez de Figueroa, in his most famous work El pasajero, used the word in a theatrical sense in the elliptical and non-elliptical forms.

Don Luis, a soldier and dilettante

in the arts, speaks of the manner in which he intends to compose a comedy so as to receive applause equal to that accorded Lope de Vega and states among other things, "sacar al tablado una dama y un galan, este con su lacayo gracioso . . . " and "el gracioso y la criada, de suyo se estan casados:

con esto aeabarA la c o m e d i a . " Q u e los

2 Francisco de Quevedo, Obras satiricas y festivas (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S. A., Ciasicos Castellanos. 5 6 , 1 9 5 7 ), p. 2 2 8 . if Crist6 bal Suarez de Figueroa, El pasajero (n. p.: Biblioteca Renacimiento, 1913)* PP* 79-^0*

3 lacayos graciosos no se entremetan con las personas reales si no es en el campo, o en las calles de noche . . .,f^ or­ dains Velez de Guevara. The meaning attributed to the word gracioso in the specific vocabulary of the comedia may have been in the mind of Mateo Aleman when one of his characters says, “Yo era su gracioso; aunque otros me 11amaban truhan chocarrero. 110 And Cervantes, who took pleas­ ure in an occasional dig at Lope de Vega and the technique of the “comedia nueva," speaks of the difficulties encoun­ tered by a certain dramatist in the composition of a come­ dia, “Pero lo que mas le fatigaba era pensar como podrla encajar un lacayo consejero y gracioso en el mar ©ntre tantas islas, fuego y nieves; y con todo, no se desespero de hacer la comedia y de encajar el tal lacayo, a pesar de todas las reglas de la poesla y a despecho del arte cdmico."7 The Spanish-English lexicons offer as equivalents for the noun gracioso a rather extensive list of all the

5 Luis Velez de Guevara, El Diablo Co juelo (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, Clasicos Castellanos. ^8 . 1922;, p. 2 8 5 . 6 Mateo Aleman, Vida del pfcaro Guzman de Alfarache (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, Clasicos Castellanos, 3 , 1928), p. 13. 7 Miguel de Cervantes, Historia de los trabajos de Persiles y; Sigismunda (Angel Valbuena Prat, editor; Obras Completas, Madrid: M. Aguilar, 1946), p. I7 7 3 .

4 comic types which have disported at one time or another on the stages of the world and which may or may not have con­ tributed to the personality of the gracioso: merry-andrew, Q

buffoon, harlequin, mime, low comedian, fool.

The defi­

nition of the substantive gracioso as given in the diction­ aries of the Spanish Royal Academy, i. e., f,el que en las comedias y autos tiene el papel festivo y chistoso, con que divierte y entretiene” is, to all intents and purposes, one that merely limits the character as a class within the phylum of the comedia1s dramatis personae.

It is, in

effect, the skeletal outline which must be covered with flesh and infused with vitality. In general the lexicons and the Golden Age writers have over-emphasized the propinquity existent among the comic figures that have supposedly merged to form the gracioso.

J. P. Wickersham Crawford points out that in

the dramas of the sixteenth century, lffour names were used to designate the same character, Pastor, Villano, Bobo, Simple, the first three occurring more frequently than the

Q

^

° Arturo Cuyas, Appleton1s New English-Spanish and Spanish-English Dictionary (revised and enlarged by Anto­ nio Llano; D. Appleton-Century Co., 19^8) and; Mariano Velazquez, A New Pronouncing Dictionary of the Spanish and English Languages,,in Two Parts (revised and enlarged by Edward Gray and Juan L. Iribas; New York: D. AppletonCentury Co., 1900).

5 last.

These names seem to have been used indiscriminately

and in some plays we find the same character called by all these n a m e s . " W h e r e a s in Covarrubias we read that the bufdn is a Mtruhan, chocarrero o bobof< in the Diccionario de Autorldades he is defined as "truhan, juglar o gracioso.”

Don Quixote in conversation with Sanson Carrasco as­

serts that ftLa m&s discreta figura de la comedia es la del bobo, porque no lo ha de ser el que quiere dar a entender que es simple.”^ been more fitting.

The word gracioso would certainly have Hendrix -- who established two general

types of comic characters in Spain -- includes the bobo within the ^stupid1* type.H to as the

11gracioso de lasfarsas, autos o en trernes es.

To add tothe confusion, the says that

Still, the bobo is referred

Diccionario de Autorldades

Harlequin Mviene a ser como el Gracioso que hace

el papel del que no

sabe . . .n

In this case, it seems,

bobo would have been more appropriate.

And although the

9 James P. Wickersham Crawford, f,The Pastor and the Bobo in the Spanish Religious Drama of the Sixteenth Cen­ tury, ,f Romanic Review, 1911, p. 3 8 0 . 10 Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quijote de la Mancha (Buenos Aires: Espasa Calpe Argentina, S. A., 19^5), p. 3 6 8 .

V. S. Hendrix, MSome Native Comic Types in the’ Early Spanish Drama, ,1 Ohio State University Bulletin, Vol. I, No. 3 , 1924, p. 4. 12 Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-America­ na (Barcelona: Hijos de J. Espasa, n. d.), Vol. 8 , p. 1,225.

6 Italian zannl have most often been connected with the gra­ cioso t Covarrubias mentions, in passing, that they were "como en Espana el bobo Juan.11 The interchanging use of these comic terms and the manner in which they are fused, make it difficult to re­ capture isolatedly the components of the gracioso1s nature. In the Diccionario Enciclopedico and in the Diccionario de Sin6nimos Castellanos,^

however, we come upon the "inmen-

so numero de palabras que tiene nuestra lengua para desig­ ner las cosas placenteras, festivas, risuenas y aun risibles . . . aunque varias de ellas sean bastante semejantes unas a otras en su significado, se diferencian, sin embar­ go, en algunas ligeras circunstancias,11^

and rather

detailed discussions of the personality types that enter into the conception of a gracioso.

The attempt in these

lexicons has been to pry apart the comic terms that have been welded together into synonymy and to point up the differences between them.

The Diccionario Enciclopedico

treats of the substantivized adjectives jocoso, gracioso, chlstoso and the nouns chancero, burlon and truhan;

^ Roque Barcia, Diccionario de sinonimos Caste­ llanos (third edition; Buenos Aires: Joaquin Gil, 1 9 4 9 . 14 Diccionario enciclopedico ✓ de la lengua castellana (fifth edition; Paris: Garnier Hnos., n. d7), 2 vols.

7 El buf6 n ©s por lo comun un hombre despreciable o d© poco valer por su conducta y lenguaje, y sus bufonadas no s6 lo conslsten en palabras, slno tambien en obras, ambas regularmente groseras, recargadas y pesadas. El buf6 n no tiene moderaci6 n alguna, ni naturalidad; ni hay verdad, ni aun veroaimilitud en lo que dice, much© menos decencia, ni decoro, pues su objeto es s6 lo excitar con sus chocarrerlas y necedades una risa inmoderada en los circunstantes, por lo eomftn tan poco^finos y delicados como el; para esto no repara en enganar y chasquear a las gentes sencillas, con tal que logre su objeto. Clemencln, in his edition of Don Quixote, calls the gracioso the "buf6 n del protagonists11 and states that "Tanto los bobos como los graciosos fueron para el p&blico lo que eran para aquellos tiempos los truhanes y bufones en los palacios y en las

casas de los grandes."^

Suarez de

Figueroa lets some of

the bile of his irascible character

pour out over the buf6 n, joining his voice to the general •j denunciation of that personage. u The discussion in the Diccionario Enciclopedico continuess El jocoso de las personas finas ©s el buf6 n de la plebe; por lo tanto esta palabra viene a ser denigrativa y de desprecio. Decir a uno es Vd. un buf6 n, es casi una injuria, pues pocas o ningunas veces se toma esta palabra en buen sentido.

® Cited by Marjorie E. C. Bradford, "The Gracioso of Lope de Vega," (unpublished Doctor*s dissertation, Radcliffe College, 1929“30)> P- 1^4. Don Quijote (Madrid: 1 8 3 6 ); notes in Chapter V, p. 131 and Chapter IV, p. 6 5 .

16 Su&rez de Figueroa, op. cit., p. 254.

8 Peor lo tien© aun la palabra truhan al que podemos mirar no solo como un buf6 n exagerado y extremado en sus patranas, embustes, enredos, chocarrerias, sino como un haragan, vagabundo, y enganador y estafador a veces, trapalista y capaz de las mayores bajezas. La palabra burl6 n se entiende m&s bien hablando del que chasquea o engana, del que a tltulo de chanza mortifica pesada y neciamente a otro u otros con sus acclones y gestos, del que los remeda o ridiculiza, del que hace mofa o esearnio s6 lo con sus palabras y discursos. Para que se puedan tolerar las burlas es menester que estas sean finas, dellcadas, disimuladas y, sobre todo, ligeras; pero pocas veces sucede asl, pues regularmente el bufon, el truhan y el burIon, animados con los aplausos que reclben de la gente maligna, convierten su habilidad o mas bien descaro, desverguenza y arrojo, casi en permanent© oficio, muy arriesgado por cierto, pues por las tales truhanadas, burlas y bufonadas, suelen acabar por volverse veras, serias, pesadas y aun tragicas. Gustase en general de las biifonadas y a veces agradan las burlas, cuando se dirigen a otros: pero se huye bufon y del burl6 n como de gentes perjudiciales: se les aplaude por^sus ocurrencias y originalidades: pero nadie se acompana con ellos, ni los ampara y defiende en cualquiera de los malos lances, que ellos mismos acarrean. A muy diferente genero pertenece el hombre jocoso, designando mas bien este adjetivo un elogio que un vituperio. La persona jocosa, puede ser y lo es regularmente fina, delicada, de buena educaci6 n: sus jocosidades, por lo comun disfrazadas con la mascara del agrado, elo­ gio o lisonja son bien recibidas, todos las aplauden y aun a veces el mismo contra quien se dirigen. Cuando el hombre jocoso guarda templanza y decoro en sus finas chanzas, todos le buscan y complacen, pues en el fondo no se dirige a ofender, sino solo a excitar, con sus sa­ les y agudezas, una ligera y placentera sonrisa. El hombre jocoso es regularmente alegre, regocijado, gozoso, festivo . . . . El gr&cioso se acerca al jocoso, aunque su significaci6 n no es tan delicada y fina como la de este. El

9 jocoso lo es s6 lo en las palabras, y el gracioso en es­ tas y muchas veces en obras: al gracioso le podrlamos mirar como un medio entre el jocoso y el burIon, y aun el truhan. Cuando el gracioso hace consistir su merito en s6 lo el gracejo se acerca mas al jocoso; pero cuando procura, como a menudo sucede, excitar y aumentar la risa con patochadas, o con sus gestos y contorsiones, entonces se asemeja mas al bufon y al burIon hasta llegarse a confundir con ellos. El gracioso de nuestras comedias pocas veces es jocoso, la jocosidad en ellas se halla por lo comun en personas de otra cate^orfa; y el gracioso es s6 lo un bufon y a veces un truhan ridlculo y chocarrero. It is important to understand that the noun gracioso, in its theatrical acceptation, does not, of necessity, con­ tain any of the connotations of the adjective gracioso, nor does it coincide in meaning with the substantivized adjec­ tive just considered.

In fact, the gracioso of the “come­

dia nueva" is not necessarily comic or wjTtty.

Montesinos

affirms that "La figura del donaire no es exclusivamente donairosa. Again in the Diccionario Enciclopedico we read of the chancero and the chistoso: chancero, bien asl como el chistoso, se limita en sus gracias a s6 lo las palabras; pero se diferencian estos dos adjetivos en que las chanzas consisten en ciertos chascos, enredos, y en expresiones de dos o mas sentidos para burlarse de las personas: cuando se hacen fina y ligeramente, las llamaremos chanzonetas, y con exceso chanzas, burlas pesadas que los buenos sentimientos del corazdn y la buena educacion prohiben se gas ten

josd F. Montesinos, "Algunas observaciones sobre la figura del donaire en el teatro de Lope de Vega," Homenaje a Menendez Pidal, Vol. I (Madrid: Casa Editorial Her­ nando, 1 9 2 5 ), p. 5 0 3 .

10 eon nadle . . . . El caracter y ©1 merit© del chistoso, consist© en clertas sales, agudezas, originales oeurrencias, festivas alusiones, oportunas compareelones, imagenes naturales y animadas pinturas: por lo comun no se dirigen los chistes a persona o personas determinadas, sino ©n gene­ ral a todas, a las cosas, a las oeurrencias y clrcunstancias del momento. El chistoso merece y logra aplausos, si tiene ingenio y chispa, como se dice en estilo comun: ©1 chancero pocas veces, a menudo sufre desprecios: por lo que esta @xpresi6 n no se acostumhra usar como elogio. The Diccionario de Sin6 nlmos Castellanos treats principally of the gracioso and the chistoso and presents discussions similar to those in the Diccionario Enciclopedico. Any one of the personality types just considered is a possible element in the characterization of a gracioso.

If

we add to this list the large number of epithets^ that are aimed at his personality traits and activities it will be­ come possible for us to produce a synthetic compound which will represent the traditional gracioso. More or less of each element -- chistoso, chancero, buf6 n , etc. -- is used to give Individuality to the gracioso within an outwardly stereotyped and immutable formula.

The innumerable oppor­

tunities for diversity and varied combinations that these -jO

Among these epithets are: majadero, necio, picaron, ignorant©, insolent©, atrevidp, grosero, hablador, mulo, socarron, borracho, bellaco, desvergonzado, bestia, sa­ tiric©, astuto, filosofo, maldito, etc.

11 elements provide make identical twins almost an impossibil­ ity in the large family of graciosos. The Lacayo Since the social position of the gracioso was for the most part that of a criado -- specifically a lacayo -- even if there were, at times, superimposed upon him the charac­ teristics of a student,^*9 rustic, sacristan, page or squire, and since the word lacayo formed an inseparable combination with gracioso, finally understood as the missing word in an ellipsis of the term “lacayo gracioso,” it will be well to study the meaning and uses of the noun lacayo as given in the dictionaries and in some of the writings contemporary to the period that is being considered. Covarrubias states that he is “el mozo de espuelas que va delante del senor cuando va a caballo.“

The Diccio­

nario de Autorldades agrees that he is “el criado de escalera abajo y de librea” but continues “cuyo ejercicio es seguir a su amo.”

It cites El Cardenal Alvaro Cienfuegos

from his Vida de San Francisco de Borja, “Segulanle muchos

^9 flEi estudiante pobre, el criado de los que son mas ricos o mas nobles que el, siempre es el gracioso en las comedias donde apareeen estudiantes o ex-estudiantes.. Sarah Wemtsow, “El Estudiante en la Comedia del Siglo de Qr o >n The Modern Language Forum, XXXI (September-December, 19^6)9 P* 60.

12 lacayos, y acompanabanl© algunos camaradas suyos.”

The

discrepancy with respect to the position of the lacayo, i. ©., wva delante del senor” or "seguir a su amo,“ is made apparent by the satirists of the day.

Quevedo in ”La pre-

matica del Tiempo” speaks of ,flas varias presunciones de medio escuderos y lacayos, atrevidos hombrecillos, que por verse que van delante y dejan atr&s sus senores, como si fueran de mas importancia . . .

In the prologue to ME1

entremetido y la duena y el sopl6 nfl he ingeniously calls its first lines "lacayos de molde11^^ because they precede the body of the work, just as the lacayo supposedly walked before his master.

And in El Busc6 n we hear the picaresque

don Pablos explain that "como no llevaba lacayo, por no pasar sin el, aguardaba a la esquina, antes de entrar, a que pasara algun hombre que lo pareciese; y en entrando partla detras de el, haciendole lacayo sin serlo."^ In Alarc6 n* s El semejante a al mismo we hear the following conversation between a lackey and maid:

20 Quevedo, op. pit., p. 59. 21

Ibid.„ p. 1 8 7 . 22 _______ , El Busc6 n (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, Clasi­ cos Castellanos, 5 , 1 9 2 7 ), p. 2 5 7 .

13 Sancho —

^Para qu£ buscas la pinta Si s© va todo ©n la presa?

Ines

^Quien es la pinta?

—

Sancho —

Yo lo soy, Pues siempr© delante voy. (I, 6)

And in Alonso, mozo de muchos amos we read, nAcu 6 rdome que un dla iba un letrado con su mula y gualdrapa, con un laca­ yo delante y dos pajes detras.**^

The three cases cited

from Quevedo, the one from Alarc6 n, and the one from Alcala Yanez y Rivera would indicate that it was common practice for the lacayo to walk before his master. The citation from Alvaro Cienfuegos, however, and a passage from El pasajero, Mesta vida Cde lacayo] me tenia descontent©, sintiendo sobremanera estampar las huellas de un coche o seguir el paseo d© un caballo . . .”24 strength­ en the opinion presented in the Diccionario de Autoridades♦ We may conjecture, as on© possible explanation for the dif­ ference of opinion, that the dictates of social etiquette demanded of the lacayo that he follow his master*s coach or horse; but the lacayo, pricked by the desire to appear im­ portant, as Quevedo keenly observes, walked before his

^ J. de Alcala Yanez y Rivera, Alonso, mozo de mu­

chos amos, B_. A. E ., Vol. XVIII, p. 495. ^

Suarez de Figueroa, ££. cit., p. 4l.

14 master whenever possible. Criado and Lacayo The Diccionario Enciclopedico explains the differ­ ence between the criado and lacayo: Criado tiene un sentido general, que se aplica a todos los que sirven. Lacayo tiene un sentido particu­ lar, que no conviene mas que a una clase domestica. Criado designa propiamente un hombre de servicio, y la­ cayo un hombre que por lo general va detras de la perso­ na a quien acompana. El criado expresa una idea de utilidad; el lacayo una idea de ostentacion. This last point is found in Velez de Guevara, **£Quien es este caballero y gran senor que pasa agora con tanto lucimiento de lacayos . . .

^italics not in the original.]

And a lacayo whose master would feign wealth far beyond his means, asks, ^Tan gran senor te suenas, ’ "*■ var lacayo The fine differences between the lacayo and the criado, with regard to utility and ostentation, are not clearly maintained in the outstanding writers of the Golden Age.

To their minds, any servant, but especially one that

Velez de Guevara, op. cit., p. 228.

26

Lope de Vega, Quien ama no haga fieros (Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles. Vol. XXIV; Madrid: Imprenta de los Sucesores de Hernando, 1 9 1 7 ), p. 435a.

15 made contact with the outer world, was more than a mere em­ ployee.

Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Ruiz de Alarc6 n, and Sua­

rez de Figueroa are as one on this matter.

The latter in

his role of "doctor” in El pasajero sagely comments, "es muy necesario el lucimiento deste £el criado^ porque como es dicho comun, por el hilo se saca el ovillo, y del lustre del criado se infiere y rastrea la liberalidad del dueno." And later he asserts, "Ya que s6 lo pueden los prlncipes servirse de gente bien nacida, busquense, por lo menos, hijos de pobres, aunque humildes, virtuosos, de buena fama y opini6 n . " ^

Cervantes adheres strongly to the same ideas

as is indicated by this passage from Don Quijote; wherein the protagonist reprimands his squire: Mira, pecador de ti! que en tanto mas es tenido el senor cuanto tiene mas honrados y bien nacidos criados, y que una de las ventajas mayores que 1 1 ©van los prlncipes a los dem&s hombres es que se sirven de criados tan buenos como ellos. $No adviertes, an^ustiado de ti y malaventurado de ml, que si ven que tu eres un grosero villano, o un mentecato gracioso, pensaran que soy algun echacuervos, o algun caballero de mohatra?^o It is observed succinctly in one of Lope's comedias. "Que los criados . . .

27

Son portada del senor.

Suarez de Figueroa, op. cit., pp. 322-23.

28 -_

Cervantes, op. cit.. p. 5 0 3 .

29

Lope de Vega, op. cit., p. 439b.

16 We may conclude that all servants —

principally the

lacayo and the escudero who were constantly brushing against the upper levels of society -- reflected the social and financial standing of their masters and were considered measuring-rods by which the wealth and prestige or the pov­ erty and humility of the master were computed. Lacayo and Gracioso The noun lacayo, from its constant association with the word gracioso, and possibly because of the connection between the lacayos of the Tragicomedia de Calisto jr Melibea, those of Torres Naharro and the gracioso of Lope de Vega, has been used oftentimes in its place within the realm of theatrical allusions.

When Ricardo del Turia as­

sures that ”la introducci6 n de los lacayos en las comedias no es porque entiendan que la persona de un lacayo sea para comunicalle negocios de estado y de gobierno, sino por no multiplicar interlocutores . . . y asl hace el lacayo las figuras de todos los criados, ” ^ 0 we can substitute the word gracioso for lacayo without altering at all the sense of

^ ”Apologetica de las comedias espanolas,” B. A. E., Vol. XLIII, p. xxv (Madrid: l8 8 l), M. Rivadeneyra, editor. Hendrix observes that ”0 ne of the weaknesses of the staged plays which imitate the Ceiestina too closely is the tenden­ cy to have too many servants.” This would tend to strength­ en del Turia*s contention and,vouch for his critical talents. 0£. Cit., p. 67.

17 the citation.

In El pasajero we find a facile and sponta­

neous interchange of the two terms.

The doctor asserts

that f,la satira escenica consistla en introducir algun sileno o s&tiro, no s6 lo en el coro, sino tambien en los razonamientos y discursos, atentos siempre a mezclar donaires y burlas entre las veras, oficio ahora propio del lacayo.” After the doctor finishes his long discourse on the comedia ”el maestro” feels it his duty to remind Don Luis, the prospective author of a comedia, of the escudero, "Advertid, con todo, que habeis dejado de introducir una figura, no poco importante, que es el vejete o escudero, natural enemigo del lacayo.”

And Don Luis answers enthusiastically,

exchanging with ease and no apparent encumbrance to meaning, the word gracioso for lacayo, ”Bueno fuera que se me quedara en el tintero tan donosa circunstancia!

Pondre particu­

lar cuidado en sacarle a menudo a motejarse con su conten­ der.

Preciarase el viejo de muy hidalgo, por cuyo respeto

y por su mala catadura tendra el gracioso larga materia pa­ ra los apodos . . .*31

Cervantes, who fought vainly against

the innovations that Lope de Vega introduced into the Span­ ish theater, asks, ”^que mayor jjdisparate^ que pintarnos un viejo valiente y un mozo cobarde, un lacayo restrico . . .?” ^2

^

Suarez de Figueroa, o£. cit., pp. 80-81. Don Quijote, pp. 322-22.

18 And finally in the "Visita de los chistes” we read on© of Quevedo1© many criticisms of the inevitable marriage of the gracioso

to the criada at the end of the comedia, "Y en una

comedia,

porqueno s© casasen todos, le pedl que el lacayo

. . . no se quisiese casarse . . . siquiera porque saliera un lacayo soltero.1* ^ It is obvious that all these quotations, which deal with the lacayo as a theatrical personage, allude to him in his role

of gracioso and thatthe two nouns are used inter­

changeably within the universe of discourse of the Mcomedia nueva . 11 Summary.

We have seen, briefly, how the term _gra-

cioso has been treated in old and modern dictionaries and by outstanding writers of the Golden Age.

It has been easy

to detect the excessively flexible significance that the word has taken on through its continuous association with other comic types. We have also noted the list of comic characteristics that may enter into -- with other characteristics to be discussed in a later chapter —

the formation of a gracio-

so’s personality and which in the hands of a gifted play­ wright may be used in a great diversity of combinations.

33 B. A. E., Vol. XXIII, p. 546a.

19 It has been ascertained that the gracioso usually bears the vocational label of lacayo and disports about the stage with a braggadocio that reveals his awareness to the fact that he symbolizes, to some degree, the actual or bo­ gus wealth of his master.

He thrives best in the secular

plays, in an urban setting, and particularly in those plays that are termed 11de capa y espada” or 11de costumbres. 11 At times he is found in the vestments of a student, squire, sacristan, page or rustic, but in any environment and en­ dowed with any social standing he is connected to a master he usually follows with unswerving loyalty.

CHAPTER II THE ORIGINS OF THE GRACIOSO An investigation of the opinions expressed by the Historians and critics of Spanish literature on the origins of the gracioso discloses a great variety of observations and theories.

I have considered it best to present them

all briefly and individually rather than joined together in the usual over-all generalization, convenient but inexact. Cesar Barja.

Cesar Barja assures with certainty

that the gracioso is the evolution of the simple or bobo which already existed in the theater of Torres Naharro and Lope de Rueda.

He does not consider any of the possibili­

ties of other than Spanish affiliation for the character. ^ Rennert and Castro. matter with less insistence.

Rennert and Castro present the They maintain:

Entre las innovaciones introducidas por Lope de Vega en la comedia figura el episodio c6 mico, es decir, la intervenci6 n del gracioso y la graciosa, cuyos actos son como la parodia de los del galan y la dama. No es esto decir que los personajes c6 micos no hayan aparecido en el teatro antes de Lope: son casi tan viejos como el mismo teatro espanol, y se encuentran no solo en las

^ Cesar Barja, Libros % autores clasicos (Vermont: The Vermont Printing Company, 1922), p. 419.

21 comedias de Torres Naharro y en las farsas de Lope de Rueda, sino qua ya se hallan ejemplos de el en el simple de Juan del Encina. Wo obstante, el gracioso no ocurre en las obras de los inmediatos predecesores de Lope, tales como Cervantes, Juan de la Cuevapo Miguel Sanchez, ni en las primitivas comedias de Lope. Ludvig Pfandl.

Pfandl does not consider the problem

of the gracioso1s evolution or spontaneous generation, but contrary to the assertion of Rennert and Castro, claims that ”el esplritu del gracioso ya alienta en algunas de las ocho comedias de Cervantes. Karl Vossler. Vossler mentions that Lope, in his youth, vas profoundly influenced by the Italian comedy and vas quite familiar vith the old Spanish farces.

However,

he prefers to think ”que el estrecho contacto con el publi­ co

y con los empresarios Velazquezy Porres

y la practice

de

la escena fue, tan s6 lo, lo quemovi6 a

la introduccion

del gracioso,” despite the fact that there were ”modelos £of gracioso typesj en la poesla pastoril i t a l i a n a , t h a t Lope knew so well.

^ H. A. Rennert and A. Castro, Vida (Madrid: n. p., 1 9 1 9 ), p. 3 7 6 .

de Lope de Vega

^ 3 Ludvig Pfandl, Historia de la literature nacional espanola en la edad de oro (Barcelona: Sucesores de Juan Gili, S. A., 193377 P^ Karl Vossler, Lope de Vega su tiempo (Second edition; Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1 9 ^-0 ), p . 331.

22 George Ticknor.

One detects two opinions in Ticknor

with respect to the nebulous evolutionary background of the gracioso or his creation by Lope de Vega.

On one occasion

he speaks of slight traces of the gracioso on the-Spanish stage as far back as the servants in the Serafina of Torres Naharro:

nBut the variously witty gracioso is the work of

Lope de Vega.”

And later he concludes that ”the gracioso

of Lope was like the rest of his theatre, founded on what existed before his time; only the character itself was fur­ ther developed, and received a new name.f,5 Angel Valbuena Prat. Valbuena Prat unites the two opinions of Ticknor into one: Entre los tipos que Lope asigna, fijos, a su comedia, esta el del gracioso, cuya intervenci6n determinada y sistematica puede considerarse como creacion suya. Con Lope alcanza categorla estetica permanent©, de prlmera fila, el antiguo pastor, bobo o parvo, lentamente desarrollado a traves del siglo XVI.” Lord Holland. Lord Holland points an accusing fin­ ger at Lope: He is, however, answerable for the introduction of a character, which in all Spanish plays is the same person under different names, viz. the Gracioso. This innova­ tion, if it is indeed to be ascribed to him, must be

5 George Ticknor, History of Spanish Literature (fifth edition; Boston: Houghton-Miff lin & Co.', 1882), p. 310 and p. yil , footnote. 1 5 . ^ ^ A. Valbuena Prat, Historia de la literature espanola (Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 1957)> II t 2 2 5 .

23 acknowledged to be an abuse, and not an improvement.7 J. _P. Vickersham Crawford. He contends that the Celestina, with its braggart servants, who frequently aided in the love intrigues of their master, "furnished certain elements in the creation of the gracioso, a n d

intimates

that the influence of the Plautine Miles Gloriosus in the Spanish comedia has been overestimated.

In another study

of the pre-Lope drama Crawford attempts to prove that the pastor and bobo of the Spanish religious drama of the six­ teenth century and its predecessor the shepherds1 plays, which were performed in the church on Christmas day, also helped "prepare the way for the creation [italics not in the original.] of the gracioso by Lope de Vega. "9 Villiam Shaffer Jack.

It is Jack’s contention that

in the entremes we find "the early traces of the movement that culminates in the gracioso with his humorous, but 7 1 Lord Holland, Some A ccount of the Life and Writ­

ings of Lope Felix de Vega Carpio (London; Longman, Hurst, etc., 1806)7 p. 1 8 9 . o J. P. Wickersham Crawford, "The Braggart Soldier and the Rufian in the Spanish Drama of the XVI Century," Romanic Review (1911), p. 189. 9 » _______, The Pastor and the Bobo in the Spanish Religious Drama of the Sixteenth Century,11 Romanic Review, (1911), p. 401.

,

24 integral, part in the play.,l‘L0 M. Menendez _y Pelayo.

In a study of Torres Naharro,

Menendez y Pelayo writes more clearly than Ticknor on the appearance of a gracioso-type in the Serafina: No hay duda que la Serafina aunque sea la mas infor­ me y menos clasica de las piezas de Torres Naharro, es tambien la que indica mayor fuerza c6mica y una fantasia mas libre, que llega hasta burlarse de sus propiascreaciones. Tecnicamente ofrece la novedad del personaje gracioso, entendiendo por tal, no precisamente el lego (que es de la misma familia que el bobo de las eglogas y de los autos), sino el criado de Lenicio, maligno y sentencioso, valent6n de fingidas pendencias, y astuto confident® en las empresas amatorias de su senor Florist&n, a quien sugiere ingeniosos arbitrios para cautivar la voluntad de las mujeres . . . Claro est&, pues, que cuando Lope de Vega, en la dedicatoria de La Francesilia, se preci6 del haber introducido en el teatro la que 11ama figura del donaire, ha de entenderse esto del empleo continuo y sistematico de la persona del gracioso, pero no de su primera aparici6n en escena, que es mucho mas antigua. Later in the study he states that Torres Naharro was under the influence of La Celestina in the creation of his lack­ eys and other servants.

In his brilliant study on La

Celestina, he deals directly with the servants of the tragicomedia, and recognizes before Crawford their contri­ bution to the formation of the gracioso:

^ William Shaffer Jack, The Early Entremes in Spain; The Rise of a Dramatic Form (Philadelphia; Publications of the University.of Pennsylvania, Number 8, 1 9 2 3 ), p. 7 9 . ^ M. Menendez y Pelayo, ”Bartolome de Torres Naha­ rro y su Propaladia1* included in Estudios de crltica literaria (Madrid; Revista de Archivos, 1900T. pp. 1 5 5 -6 .

25 Los &os criados de Calls-to tlenen particular importancia en la historla de la comedia moderna, porque en ellos acaba la tradici6n de los Davos y los Siros, y penetra en el arte el tipo del f&mulo libre, consejero y confidante de su senor, no s6lo para estafar a un padre avaro con que adquirir una hermosa esclava, sino para acompanar a su dueno en todos los actos y situaciones de la vida, alternando con el como camarada, regocijandole con sus ocurrencias, entremetiendose a cada momento en sus negocios, adulando o contrariando sus vicios y locuras, haciendo, en suma, todo lo que hacen nues tros graciosos y sus similares italianos y franceses, derivados a veces de los nuestros . .• . Rojas, gran adivinador de las combinaciones esc&nicas, ha presentado por primera vez el paralelismo entre los amores de amos y criados, repetido luego hasta la saciedad en nuestras comedias de capa 2L espada.12 W. S. Hendrix. Hendrix

who clearly disavows

all

intentions of implying that Torres Naharro*s confidential servant is the prototype of Lope de Vega*s gracioso -- men­ tions, however, that little was added to the type of criado confidente created by Torres Naharro "out of material from the Celestina" ^ to arrive at the comic personality of the gracioso. Edwin B. Place.

Edwin B. Place attempts to develop

Northup^ suggestion that the zanni of the commedia dell1ar­ te and particularly Harlequin, a possible remnant of the

12

M. Menendez y Pelayo, Origenes de la Novela (Bue­ nos Aires: Editorial Glem, 1944), XIII, 155-5?. ^ V. S. Hendrix> "Some Native Comic Types in the Early Spanish Drama*" Ohio State University Bulletin, I, No. 5, 1924, p. 52.

26 Latin Mimus, influenced Lope de Vega in the creation of the gracioso. Place would adduce that the gracioso "was not the product of slow groping experimentation on the part of Lope” and that the Italian actor Ganassa, who performed the Harlequin role in Spain, greatly influenced Lope in the conception of the gracioso.

Place*s study borders on the

negative when he concludes that Lope de Vega “did not copy the type; at best he received a flash of inspiration for the creation of a criado gracioso

. ..

Miguel Herrero. Miguel Herrero, the most recent critic to theorize on the genesis of the figura del donaire would put aside all the studies that have delved into the literary past in search of the ingredients that make up the gracioso.

In his opinion we cannot discover the real mani­

festations of the gracioso*s complex personality upon lit­ erary terrain.

"La teorfa que explica su genesis,” accord­

ing to Herrero, ”se forma de tres elementos o ingredientes, todos tres tornados de la realidad hist6 rica de la epoca de los Austrias, y ensamblados en lafigura Vega.”

creada porLope de

These three elements are:

14 M Edwin B. Place, Does Lope de Vega*s Gracioso Stem in Part from Harlequin?", Hispania (1934), p. 270.

27 . . . un tipo de criado confidente y camarada de su senor, ppoducto especial de las clrcunstancias his tori cas, . . . e l hombre de placer, otra realidad de la alta socledad de aquel entonces . . . y el sentldo prosalco, econdmico y positivista del vulgo, que Lope ha concentrado cons clentemente ©n la figura del gracioso, para dar m&s realce, por contraluz, al sentido caballeresco de la figura central d© la comedia: el gal&n.^S Herrero*s article, the first in a projected series, treats of the "criado confidente y camarada de su senor" vhich, he avers, "fud un tipo real de criado, que verdaderament© existid en la sociedad contemporanea de Lope."

To

strengthen this assertion he quotes a passage from Salas Barhadillo*s El sagaz Estaclo which alludes to the exces­ sive dependence of many masters on their servants.

And on

the basis of this citation Herrero concludes that "el amigo confidente al que el senor comunicaba sus m&s intimos secretos y al que pedla consejo en todo, era tan corriente, tan blen visto, tan normal, que el mlsmo Salas Barbadillo lo aprueba . . .*

Herrero then proceeds to prove that the

gracioso was of "indiscutible ralz universitaria* by numer­ ous citations from Golden Age dramas.

His proofs are

divided into four main categories: 1.

The numerous servants who appear on the stage ”en

servicio activo en la Universidad.”

Miguel Herrero, "Genesis de la figura del donaire," Revlsta de Fllologia Espanola (194-1), XXV, 4-6-78.

28 2.

The many servants who confess 11que su oficio a-

rranca dela Universidad, donde entraron

al servicio de su

senor.M 3.

Allgraciosos speak Latin.

4.

The large number of graciosos who pretend

to be

students, with f,pleno conocimiento del lenguaje y costumbres de estudiantes . 11 Herrero*s conclusion is that the criado confidente “era un hecho real de la sociedad espanola del seiscientos; que este hecho se producla originariamente en la vida estudiantil . . . 11 Conclusion.

In brief, I have attempted to display

the array of opinions and theories that have been conceived to effect the anatomical and spiritual reconstruction of the gracioso. A discussion of the truth or falsity of these theories does not fall within the range of this study. Nor is it within its scope to trace backwards into the passages of literary history to evolve a theory of origin for the gracioso. The trip through time and space from the Homan Mimus, the slaves of Plautus, the Stupidus of the Fabulae Atellanae, the jongleurs, buffoons and Italian zanni into the sphere of Spanish comic figures like the bobo, the simple, tlle lacayos of Torres Naharro and Lope de Hueda and finally

9

29

to the gracioso of Lope de Vega is long and arduous. An attempt to connect the gracioso of the Golden Age to the Roman Mimus would imply a relationship reaching roughly from the second century B. C. to the late sixteenth century.

Most critics see no more than a vague connection

between the comic figures of antiquity and the gracioso. The roads do not lead straight and certain toward the gra­ cioso .

There exist blind alleys, sudden gaps and unfore­

seen mergings between the gracioso and his ancestors. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, however, it is possible to speak of Spanish translations and adapta­ tions of Roman comedies which unite classical traditions to the preferences of the time.^

Many Spaniards witnessed

performances of literary 11 and ‘’improvised11 Italian come­ dies in Italy and in Spain.

It becomes possible at this

time to perceive comic characteristics converging in one general direction.

And once we enter into the realm of

Spanish comic figures we are hot on the trail of the gracioso. Above all, one can recognize an amorphous heritage of universal comic characteristics and talents that have been handed down to him by his predecessors -- from within

^ R. L. Grismer, The Influence of Plautus in Spain before Lope de Vega (New York: Hispanic Institute, 1944).

30 Spain and abroad -- that have been tempered to the tastes of the times, to the milieu in which he was to perform, by the dramatist-puppeteer who manipulated the strings of his tongue and extremities.

CHAPTER III THE MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OP THE TRADITIONAL GRACIOSO Prom the dramas of Lop© de Vega and from many crit­ ics of the Golden Age theater that I have studied, the fol­ lowing characteristic elements have heen gathered from which may be synthesized an ideal image of the traditional gracioso, of the figura del donaire that Lope claimed to have Introduced for the first time in La Prancesilia.^ Since one usually finds these characteristics dif­ fused among the comic characters of many plays and since the critics usually limit their treatment of the gracioso to a small group of frequently repeated characteristics, it was considered advisable and helpful to this study to pre­ sent as complete a list as possible.

These characteristics

have been grouped into five subdivisions which will make his background, spheres of action and dramatic uses more evident. Biographical Characteristics. 1.

The gracioso is recruited for the drama from

J. H. Arjona, "La lntroducci6 n del gracioso en el teatro de Lope de Vega," Hispanic Review, VII (January. --- ----------1939), No. 1, pp. 1-2.

32 among the lover classes, "entre gente hampona" says Montesinos. 2 2.

The gracioso is a "cristiano viejo" and most

often asserts this fact hy his contempt for the Jevs and Moors, who do not eat bacon or drink vine. 3.

He is a fervent patriot, nationally and provinci-

ally. Moral and Physical Characteristies. 1.

He is, by nature, a covard and his pusillanimity

is one of his most important comic aspects.

In the face of

any danger his knees quake and move his feet to flight.

He

never displays the noble capacity to overlook the fact that he is mortal. 2.

He unsuccessfully dissembles his covardice vith

outbursts of vocal bravery and factitious provess.

His

idle boasts are so common that they become one of the dis­ tinctive characteristics of the figure.

Fear or covardice,

hovever, rarely leave the gracioso devoid of “donaire.” 3.

If the gracioso does not appear drunk upon the

stage, he is notorious for his proclivity to drink or, at

2

J©s6 F. Montesinos, "Algunas observaciones sobre la figura del donaire en el Teatro de Lope de Vega,w Homenaie a Menendez Pidal (Madrid: Casa Editorial Hernando, 1925).

33 least, brags of his great love for wine. 4.

The gracioso is exceedingly mercenary, continu­

ally harping on the theme of money, and ”el regocijado cinismo con que ese amor al oro se confiesa, obra como ele­ ment© comico. 5.

his purse.

The stomach of the gracioso is as insatiable as And indeed amid the poverty and hunger of the

times, there must have been a trace of tragicomedy to the stylized jests on this theme. 6.

In general, the satisfaction of his bodily needs

and the maintenance of his comfort constitute the major preoccupation of the gracioso. 7.

The gracioso is the personification of practical

intelligence and bon sens. He is the realist of the comedy, the satirist of life 13 universal themes.

His comments are

often free and cynical, widespread if not profound. 8.

The gracioso is wont to be a fibber, but his

lies are generally inoffensive. The Gracioso and Love. 1.

His classification of women has undoubtedly

grown out of empirical methods and his dealings with *iavanderas, domesticas y mozas de partido.,,J* In his opinion, 2 Montesinos, 0£. cit., p. 4 7 6 . ^ Ibid., p. 483.

34 mostwomen are mercenary, fickle and unworthy man of his sleep.

He believes that

of robbing a

love must be reciprocal

and that to persist in an impossible or excessively ideal­ istic love is to miss the meaning of love itself. 2.

Consequently, he will dissuade his master from

pursuing "dichas i n a s e q u i b l e s a n d will suggest that he undertake "un amorlo sobre seguro.11^ 3.

The gracioso1s love affair with the criada is a

parody and a miniature of his master1s relationship with the dama. His love life runs a parallel course to that of his master.

If the latter marries, then he will marry the

criada of his master*s lady.

If there is a rupture in the

relations of the more noble pair, he is obliged to fall out of love, and this he quickly does. The Gracioso and His Master. 1. One cannot think long onthe personal

character­

istics of the gracioso without noticing the relationship between him and a master.

"For the gracioso*s activity is

around, for and with, his master . . .

5 Montesinos, op. cit., p. 48l. ^ hoc- cit. 7 Marjorie E. C. Bradford, "The Gracioso of Lope de Vega," (unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Radcliffe College, 1929-30), p. 6 0 .

35 2.

The gracioso is a loyal and a trustworthy servant

who will follow his master with "perruna lealtad”® through the vicissitudes of life. complaint —

He will endure -- not without

hunger, ill treatment and lack of remuneration.

But as Arjoma wisely observes, the gracioso*s loyalty is not unlimited.

When his cowardice conflicts with his loyal­

ty, it is usually the latter that succumbs.

”B1 instinto

natural prevalece en 6l como human©, y muy humano, que __ •»9 es 3.

The gracioso is quite unaware of his low station

in the social hierarchy.

He is indiscreet and impertinent.

At times he is disrespectful to his master and is even un­ restrained in the presence of royalty. 4.

He is his master*s adviser.

He is worldly-wise

and a genius in the solution of the problems and sufferings that come of love. He is constantly in front of his master, pulling from beneath his feet the obstacles that he would stumble over while lost in some utopian dream of love and honor. The Gracioso*s Linguistic and Literary Traits: Dramatist* 3 Panacea. 1.

The gracioso has an especial fondness for

® Montesinos, op. cit., p. 472.

9

J. H. Arjona, op. cit., pp. 7-8 .

The

36 proverbs, fables, anecdotes, maxims and fragments of bal­ lads to instil raciness, color and piquancy in his speech. 2.

He may brag of great erudition and of a polyglot

background, interpolating macarronic Latin and mispro­ nounced “culteranismos” into his discourses. 3.

He takes a great pleasure in alluding to mytho­

logical, classical, historical and literary figures and incidents to strengthen and give luster to an argument or discourse. 4.

The play on words in his mouth, on his name, on

anything available, is a favorite trick.

Although his

speech is nurtured from a vast storehouse of comic devices and tricks we recognize too often his unsuccessful comic efforts. 5.

The sonnet which was supposedly for "los que

aguardan**1^ was a form often recited by the gracioso in or­ der to burlesque the estilo culto, as well as to parody the heroes and heroines. 11 6.

his times.

The gracioso alludes to persons and events of Life in Madrid is a favorite subject.

Though

10 Lope de Vega, Arte nuevo de hacer comedias, B.A.E. xxxviii, 2 3 2 . 11 Lucile K. Delano, f,Lope de Vega*s Gracioso Ridi­ cules the Sonnet,” Hlspania (1 9 3 4 ), and "The Gracioso Con­ tinues to Ridicule the Sonnet,” Hispanla.(1935).

37 he revels in detailed descriptions of its turmoil, hypocri­ sy and discomfort, he is a product of an urban environment and thrives best in the metropolis. 7.

Many graciosos are found disguised as doctors,

lawyers, priests, peddlers, necromancers and ”indianos.” 8.

Very often he recites the last lines of the play,

and at times those at the end of the first two acts. 9.

Not only is the gracioso allied to the destiny

of his master but he also involves himself into the lives of the other principal characters of the drama.

Very often

it is he who solves the intricate problems of the plot and deftly leads the play toward its accustomed Mhappily ever after** termination. Lord Holland considers the gracioso a panacea for all the dramatist* s difficulties, for example,

**at the con­

clusion of a complicated plot, when the author is unable to extricate himself from the embarrassments he has created, in any probable manner, the buffoon steps forward, cuts the Gordian knot, explains away the difficulties, discloses the secret, and decides upon the fate and marriages of all who are p r e s e n t . I n

short, he moves freely and uninhibited-

ly through the entire performance.

12 Lord Holland, Some Account of the Life and Writ­ ings of Lope Felix de Vega Carpio (London: Longman, Hurst, etc., 180577 P* 19^*

33 10.

The gracioso was considered a source of comic

relief to dispel the heavy clouds of passion and tragedy that hung over the stage.

He was a concession that the

dramatist made to the demands of the vulgo for laughter and wit. 11.

The gracioso is, very often, the portavoz

through which the playwright voices his most personal thoughts and emotions. 12.

At times the gracioso steps out of the world of

the comedy and becomes its critic, laughing at the short­ comings of the plot, at himself and at the excesses of passion in the hero.

This tends to destroy what Carmen

Bravo-Vi 11 as ante has termed ”la realidad de la ficci6 n”l^ of the comedy. Long before Montesinos, Leavitt,^ Rosenberg

Vossler

and Bravo-Vi11asante, Lord Holland, who wrote

12 Carmen Bravo-Villasante, ”La realidad de la ficcion, negada por el gracioso,” Revista de Filologla Espanola., XXVIII (19^4), p. 264. I1* S. E. Leavitt, "Notes on the Gracioso as a Dra­ matic Critic,” Studies in„Philology, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Vol. 28, 1931. 15 Karl Vossler, Lope de Vega y su tiempo (second edition; Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1940), p. 2 5 2 . 16

S. L. Millard Rosenberg, editor, Las burlas veras Lope de Vega .(Philadelphia: Publications of the University of Pennsylvania, Department of Romanic Languages, extra se­ ries, no. 2 , 1 9 1 2 ).

39 with a chip on his shoulder when dealing with the gracioso, recognized the critical talents of the character: He seems, indeed, invented to save the conscience of the author, who after any extravagant hyperbole puts a censure or ridicule of it in the mouth of his buffoon, and thereby hopes to disarm the critic, or at least to record his own consciousness and disapprobation of the passage. This critical acumen is the only estimable quality of the Gracioso. His strictures on the conduct of the characters, the sentiments, expressions, and even the metre, are generally just, though they would better become the pit than the stage.^7 Discussion.

It is vitally important to remember that

the list of characteristics just presented are not the property of every gracioso, or of any one gracioso, nor does the possession of several of these traits make a comic personage a full fledged figura del donaire. Miss Bradford, who wrote an excellent yet rarely cited dissertation on the gracioso of Lope de Vega, observes that within the theater of Lope there are graciosos that are "valiant, cowardly and in-between.

Par more numerous are those whose courage re­

mains untested, who move a shrewd but noncomittal path through this intrigue and that one."1® Indeed, the cowardice, boastfulness, avarice, hunger, fear, etc., of the gracioso are overt characteristics of

17

' Lord Holland, op. cit., p. 193*

18

Bradford, op. cit., p. 57.

his personality.

But by themselves, outwardly imposed on

his personage, they are conventional, stylized and merely accepted

as part of the nature ©f comedy.

In effect,

these characteristics may remain undeveloped in a true fi­ gura del donaire. All these elements would not and do not distinguish the gracioso from other comic figures of the stage, nor do they breathe life into his strangely unreal and inconceivable existence. It is precisely this that Montesinos is getting at when he explains that **De un examen de las caracterizaciones de la figura del donaire debidas a los distintos tratadistas y crltlcos de nuestro Teatro, obtenemos, sin duda, certeramente puestos de relieve, aspectos esenciales de aquel tipo d r a m a t i c © . Y e t he is tired of the continual repetition of these same peripheral characteristics and diplomatically continues:MQuisieramos, con todo, una ma­ yor profundidad y precision . . . ,f20 For Montesinos, the figura del donaire and his mas­ ter are two branches bifurcating from one trunk.

Through

them, the two basic elements that throb in every heart — flesh and spirit —

find expression.

According to Monte-

Montesinos, o£. cit.» pp. *1-6 9 -7 0 . Log. cit.

41 sinos, the whole secret of the contrast "between master and lackey resides in the blood.

wLa sangre heredada hace al

heroe.”^

The master has it, the servant does not. It is ♦ the possession of noble blood, knowingly or unknowingly,

that will orient the life of the galan toward the ideal, toward the great deed, toward the true sensibility for love. The absence of this blood in the circulatory system of the gracioso is like the absence of hydrogen in a balloon; it keeps him rooted firmly to the ground, it renders him in­ capable of greatness and of romantic dreams.

It pushes his

eyes toward the ground, toward the quotidian, the practical, the shopworn and lusterless experiences of life.

This ge­

netic deficiency creates in him a love for the material over the spiritual, the base over the noble. Montesinos points out that the gracioso is 11la intelligencia practice, active de la comedia,

who finds

ways of fulfilling the dreams of his master, who represents "el espiritu perdido en la contemplaci6 n . . .,,25

He is

the conscience of his master, pacifying his impulses,

21 Montesinos, o£. cit., pp. 469-70. 22

Ibid., p. 499* 23 Loc. cit.

42 assuaging him in his romantic and irrational outbursts. Many critics have written of the dissociation of idealism and realism in the figures of the galan and the gracioso.

They have observed the manner in which the gra­

cioso draws his idealistic master down to earth and how his advice, responses, objections and jests give expression through contrast to all the facets of his master1s charac­ ter and innerself. Federico de Onls, in an introductory essay on Los intereses creados of Benavente, speaks of Leandro and Cris­ pin -- in reality a master and lackey in the seventeenth century manner -- as one person that has been unfolded into two, "de tal modo que el uno sin el otro no tendrian existencia . . ."24

^ at^ Montesinos states it this way:

"El

sentido del gracioso esta en la contraposici6 n de dos visiones de la vida que un psic6 logo moderno consideraria como complementarias, mientras Lope las daba como exclusivas la una de la otra."^5 From out of the antithesis of these two personages

24 Jacinto Benavente, Tres Comedias, introduction by Federico de Onis and edited by vJohn Van Horne (New York: D. C. Heath and Co., 1918), p. xxxv. 25

Montesinos, op. cit., p. 5O3 .

43 grows the personality of the gracioso, the realistic and parodied echo of the idealist and dreamer.

Separated from

his master, we may study him as a dead specimen.

But tied

to the coat-tails of his master1s existence, enmeshed inex­ tricably in his destiny within the realm of the comedia, we can study him as a vital organism.

For it is the relation­

ship between master and servant -- the connection between them and their mutual share in the comedia1s intrigue -and not the oft-repeated characteristics that makes the true figura del donaire. In agreement with Miss Bradford, I find that the gracioso who is fabricated of the stuff of reality, whose thoughts, actions and expressions are the very substance of realism, is strangely unreal himself.

Schevill suggests

the unreality of the gracioso when he mentions that he be­ longs to a form of society raised above actual life and that he is a "character to the flexibility of which there are no bounds."2^

And we constantly read of the general

psychological weakness of the dramas of Lope de Vega.

To

my mind, much of this emptiness, this unreality, this psy­ chological weakness results from the excessively sharp con­ trast between master and lackey -- the absolute division of

26 Rudolph Schevill, The Dramatic Art of Lope de Vega (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 191bj, pp. 23-24.

44 flesh and spirit. The gracioso has no soul.

There is no sentiment, no

tenderness, no real devotion within his loyalty to his mas­ ter.

We can perceive in him flashes of the cynical huffoon

or picaro who pricks and wounds and knows no real friend. His yearning after money, food and drink, his fears and un­ just punishments stir up little pity within us. There is much justification for Lord Holland*s crit­ icism of the gracioso as a mere convenience of the drama­ tist to help along the plot and to give him "a frequent opportunity of displaying his talents for sprightly and burlesque poetry.*^7

Miss Bradford has keenly observed*

that the gracioso*s spiritual detachment is so complete that "having performed his duties to plot, to the objective viewpoint and to pure clownship, he may disappear from the comedia as might any interested but untouched observer. In truth, we cannot even create a picture of him in our minds. And all we know of his appearance may be found in the stage direction "de graciosidad" which undoubtedly alludes more to his antics than to his outfit. It is hardly possible to think that behind the mask

^ 28

Lord Holland, op. cit., p. 194. Bradford, aj>. cit., pp. 114-15.

45 that the chameleon-like gracioso wears, there lives a man who can plunge himself into the life of home and family that he so often mocked.

It is difficult to speak of him

as growing old in the service of his master, who is no longer the impassioned and irrational youth, but is married and long past the need for an intriguing servant to clear the path of obstacles toward the object of his love.

And

it is equally inconceivable to imagine him skipping from one master to another, as the plcaro was wont to do. Sancho Panza was a figura del donaire,^

h© was

saved for immortality by contracting the illness of his master -- spirituality.

But our gracioso is scarcely human;

for we cannot conceive of human beings made of flesh alone. The gracioso1s past is unknown, despite his many comic references to his ancestry. ent.

His future is non-exist­

And his present endures throughout the relative

length or brevity of the role he plays in the comedia. Summary.

In the present discussion the attempt has

been made to derive the gracioso1s personality from the spiritual and physical environment in which he thrived.

^9 Montesinos, ££. cit., p. 476, and M. S. Hendrix, ”Sancho Panza and the Comic Types of the Sixteenth Century,” Homenaje„a Menendez Pidal, Vol. II (Madrid: Casa Editorial Hernando, 1925), pp. 485-94.

46 Whereas in the past the gracioso was studied as a mass of immutable characteristics that led inductively to his por­ trayal, Montesinos has suggested a method of explaining genetically the reasons for these characteristics and their motivations.

And I have extended the issue still more to

demonstrate that although the dualism between master and lackey, the split personalities they possess, help to enno­ ble the master and enhance his character, they divest the gracioso of life and humanity. Prom out of the arbitrary groupings that have been made to categorize the characteristics of the traditional gracioso certain basic truths have emerged.

Above all,

there is a strain of consistency that ties together all the characteristics that have been assigned to the five sub­ divisions.

Practicality, self-interest and unreality are

the dominant themes. In the realm of the moral and physical, the monotony of his self-interest, practicality and robot-like earthi­ ness penetrates the fringes of unreality.

His love life

must be termed earthy but also quite unreal, since it is similar to a monetary system that has been pegged against a stronger currency and fluctuates into degrees of ecstasy or despair in conjunction with its superior, and with no will of its own.

He is a shadow of reality, dwarfed behind the

47 ethereal image of his master, with whom he is forever con­ trasted. As the dramatist’s portavoz» he becomes an instrument of dehumanized practicalitys

the jokester, philosopher,

critic, satirist and in short the panacea for all the dif­ ficulties that must be overcome before the play is ended.

CHAPTER IV THE CRITICS OP ALARCON1S GRACIOSO In this chapter the opinions of the critics who have dealt with the gracioso of Ruiz de Alarcon will he pre­ sented.

Since their views are all so closely allied, it

will not he necessary to establish separate schools of thought.

The two divisions established, separate arbitrar-.

ily the Spanish critics and critics of other nationalities from those of Mexican descent. Ever since Perez de Montalban mentioned the 11extraneza” of Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n fs comedias in his Para todos, critics of many nations have sought to discover wherein might reside this exoticism or novelty.

One critic, Abreu

G6 mez, considered the Alarconian gracioso as a possible ex­ pression of this Mextraneza.ft And many critics, since Hartzenbusch, have pointed to Alarc6 n*s gracioso as a devi­ ation from the norm established by Lope de Vega and adhered to by his contemporaries. The Spanish and Foreign Critics J. E. Hartzenbusch.

In the discourse that serves as

an introduction to the plays of Alarc6 n, Harzenbusch paved the way for future studies of his theater and represented

49 the first serious attempt to set down its principal charac­ teristics . In regard to the gracioso, Hartzenbusch is of the opinion that in the comedia of Alarc6 n he ceased to be a buffoon and was shorn of the philosophic-buffoonesque nature he ordinarily possessed in the plays of the time. He had become simply "un sirviente de confianza. ** Hartzen­ busch deduced that since Alarc6 n*s dramas were basically of a philosophic nature, there was no reason to express ele­ vated thoughts through the mouth of an inferior personage. He believed that the traditional figura del donaire was conventional, impertinent, excessively witty and offensive, while Alarcon* s gracioso was a true image of the servants of the time. Cesar Barja.

In Barja*s discussion of Alarcon we

find an intensification of Hartzenbusch1s views.

Barja

finds the gracioso in Lope and Tirso, in the main, unbeara­ ble.

In agreement with Hartzenbusch, though he does not

mention him, he claims that Alarcon made the gracioso a mere servant and companion to his master, by limiting his

J. E. Hartzenbusch, "Caracteres distintivos de las obras dramaticas de don Juan Buiz de Alarcon,,f included in Comedias de don Juan Ruiz de Alarcon, B. A. E., XX, xiiixxvi.

50 role and minimizing his "gracia." Ludvig Pfandl.

In essence, Pfandl defends the same

point of view as Hartzenbusch and Barja, and clings closely to the thought that Alarc6 n would not express high-sounding words and concepts through a buffoon.

Pfandl feels that

Alarc6 n fs graciosos lack luster and become "con mayor frecuencia de lo que conviene" mere servants.-^ Peter Ortiz. As one facet of Alarc6 n*s "democratic spirit," Ortiz offers the dramatist*s treatment of the gra­ cioso . He echoes the words of Hartzenbusch when he de­ clares that Alarc6 n made improvements on the traditional philosopher, buffoon-like gracioso, creating In his stead a "semi-cultured, clear minded confidant and friend" which represented something "totally new in the Spanish theatre."^ Hurtado and Palencia.

The authors of the widely

used Historia de la literatura espanola also remain within the current of Hartzenbusch*s contentions.

2

They point out

*

Cesar Barja, Llbros y autores clasicos (Vermont: The Vermont Printing Company, 1922), pp~ 484-85. 3 ^ ^ Ludwig Pfandl, Historia de la literatura nacional espanola en la edad de ore (Barcelona: Sucesores de Juan ■Gill, S, A., 1933)7 P. 1£5T. ^ Juan Ruiz de Alarc6n, Las paredes oyen, with in­ troduction, notes and vocabulary by Peter A. Ortiz (Mexico: Editorial Seneca, 1942), pp. xxxv-xxxvi.

51 the especial character that Alarcon gave the gracioso by repressing his buffoonesque aspect and limiting his role to that of "criado de confianza.”

In this way, they observe,

”gan6 su teatro en buen gusto y en verosimilitud. The Mexican Critics J. Jimenez Rueda. After a brief discussion of the characteristics and antecedents of the traditional figura del donaire, Jimenez Rueda focuses his attention on the servants in the comedlas of Alarcdn.

He asserts that his

compatriot successfully achieved the ennoblement of the servant.

Speaking for Alarcdn, he asks, ”Must the gracioso

always be a coward and a mercenary devil?

Must he always

be devoid of distinction, nobility of soul and integrity?” And for Alarcdn he answers, ”No.” Jimenez Rueda claims that the graciosos in Alarcdn* s theater are not impertinent or licentious, that they have studied, and that only through reverses in fortune ”han parado en servir.”

In this, their lives run a parallel

course to that of our playwright, as is revealed in vAzquezAr jona *s s tudy.^ c ^ J. Hurtado y de la Serna and A. GonzAlez Palencla, Historia de la literatura espanola (fifth .edition; Madrid; Saeta, 19?5), p . 647• ^ C. Vazquez-Arjona, ”Elementos autobiogrAficos e ideoldgicos en el teatro de Alarcdn,” Revue hlspanique, LXXIII (No. 164, August, 1928), 557-615.

52 Jimenez Rueda leads us to believe that many of the servants in Alarc6 n fs dramas were impoverished caballeros, since he terminates his discussion by stating that many Alarconian graciosos were called Tristan Mcomo si el autor hubiera querido en el nombre, expresar la condicion de tristeza, de pena que implica el servir a otro cuando se tiene condicion de

c a b a l l e r o .

Abreu G 6 mez.

”7

Abreu G6 mez has written the only

study of any real significance on the gracioso of Ruiz de Alarcon that has come to my attention.

At the outset of

the study, he states that the morals of Alarcon were not a mere elaboration of the social and religious principles of the age, but grew out of the inner tragedy of his life, out of the poverty, suffering and disillusionment he bore in Mexico and in Spain.

This tragedy suffused his works with

melancholy and rancor, and a recondite pain and creole re­ sentment, undoubtedly related to his physical defect and unsuccessful pretensiones at the Corte pervaded them. For Abreu Gomez, the gracioso better than the prin­ cipal characters of the play, gives voice to this resent­ ment, since he is, in a way, Mel desdoblamiento del mismo

7 Julio Jimenez Rueda, Juan Ruiz de Alarcon y su tiempo (Mexico: Jose Porrua e hijos, 193^7, PP* 219-2TT

53 ♦

Ruiz de Alarcon.11 When the gracioso speaks ill of women it is Alarc6n reacting against their indifference to him as a man.

He voices the author1s opinions on love, honor, fi­

delity, etc.

He speaks the grief and pain that exacerbate

the hunchback1s soul. When we draw near to his graciosos we discover that they lack gracia.

Their wit is not innate but acquired,

and is heavy and academic rather than sprightly and conta­ gious.

Abreu G6mez states that the graciosos of Alarcons

contemporaries were ”iguales en sangre y color a sus amos” and that the differences between them were generally eco­ nomic.

But, continues Abreu G6mez, the Alarconian gracio­

sos are not equal to their masters: raza y de categorla distintas."

”son de sangre y de

Later in the study he as­

serts that Alarcons graciosos are not of any definite race, but oscillate between the timidity of the Indian, the re­ sentment of the Creole, and the audacity of the Spaniard. The gracioso is an expression of the indefinite part, the blind spot in Alarc6n*s personality. ”En ellos ha puesto Alarcon,” continues Abreu G6mez, ”tal vez de modo inconsciente, empujado por su situacion hlbrida: mexicano en el destierro espanol y espanol en el vacio de su arraigo mexicano, un complejo laberinto espiritual.”

In them we can perceive no definite Mexican

5^ personality but a tacit “no espanolismo.n

They reveal the

ambiguous nature of the society from which they were pro­ jected into the theater, and their words and actions diSCi close "lo que quieren ser y no lo que pueden ser.tfQ It is hardly necessary to stress the obvious repeti­ tion of Hartzenbusch*s ideas and words about Alarc6n*s gra­ cioso by all the critics except one, Abreu G6mez.

In the

final chapters of this thesis these opinions and the stere­ otyped image of the Alarconian gracioso that has been passed from one generation to thenext since Hartzenbusch will be carefully weighed, and their validity substantiated, refuted or amended.

8 E. Abreu Gomez, "Los graciosos en el teatro de Ruiz de Alarc6n," Investigaciones Lingtiisticas, Mexico, Vol. 3, 1935, PP* 1 8 9 -2 0 1 7

CHAPTER V AN ANALYSIS OF ALARCON1 S GRACIOSO In this chapter it is my intention to consider indi­ vidually the graciosos in fifteen of Alarc6 n fs comedias. For the analysis I have deemed it most useful to follow the chronological divisions that Castro Leal established for the Alarconlan theater. 1

In his excellent book on the life

and works of our dramatist, Castro Leal recognizes four ar­ bitrary divisions in the Alarconlan theater. To the first period which extends from 1601 through 1612 belongs

La culpa busca la pena,

el agravlo la ven-

ganza; Qulen mal anda en mal acaba; La manganilla de Mell­ ila; La Industrla ^ La suerte; El serne.1ante a s£ mismo; El desdlchado en fingir; and La cueva de Salamanca.

During

the years contained within this period, Alarcon lived in Salamanca, Mexico, and Seville.

Castro Leal affirms that

Alarcon’s dramatic productions of these years were clearly within the moulds and techniques of the time. In 1613 Alarc6 n returns to Spain from Mexico. time he goes to Madrid to seek his fortune at Court. plays of this second period -- 1 6 1 3 -1 6 1 8 —

This The

represent the

1 A. Castro Leal, Juan Ruiz de Alarcdns su vida su obra (Mexico: Cuadernos Americanos, 19^3), PP« 7 3 -7 6 .

56 beginning of the **comedia de caracteres.w

Included in this

period and representing exemplary character delineation are:

Todo es venture; Las paredes oyen; Mudarse por mejo-

rarse; Los favores del mundo; Ganar amigos; La prueba de las promesas; and La verdad sospechosa.

Castro Leal in­

cludes El Anticrlsto, Alarcon* s only religious drama, and Los empenos de un engano within this temporal division although they do not display the same dramatic excellence or mature character portrayal as the others. The third period which Castro Leal establishes ex­ tends from 1 6 1 9 through 1622 and is characterized by the author* s desire to deal with the conventional themes of love, honor and jealousy, with depth and humanity.

La

crueldad por el honor; El dueno de las estrellas; Slempre ayuda la verdad; El tejedor de Segovia (segunda parte); La amistad castlgada; and Los pechos privlleglados bear the stamp of this period. The last period, which is the shortest and least productive, runs from 1623 through 1 6 2 5 .

The comedlas en1

closed within it — por M e n no venga — theater.

El examen de marldos and No hay mal que are the most human and real of his

^En ellas la pintura de caracteres es mas suelta

y expreslva y no se recorta ya sobre paisajes morales.”^

2

Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 75.

57 Alarcon lias absolutely ceased to cater to the public.

At

the moment when he reaches the highest point of personal expression he drops his pen forever. It must be understood, of course, that these periods are not separated one from the other by precise boundaries. There are transitional works and within one period there is not always a uniformity or continuity of movement that con­ verges smoothly on the next one.

This general framework,

however, is helpful for an orderly presentation of my observations and for an over-all view of the Alarconlan gracioso.^ First Period La culpa busca la pena, ^ el agravlo la venganza This play undoubtedly represents one of Alarc6 n fs first dramatic efforts.

We do not find in it the concise­

ness and the clearly defined characterizations for which he was later to become famous.

The plot of the comedia is

weakened by an excess of detail. And his personages are not

3

All allusions to the comedies of Alarcon are made from volume twenty of the Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles. In a footnote the play will be cited first, then the number of the act In Roman numerals and finally the number-of the scene in Arabic numbers. When the play is not divided into scenes, I will state the page on which the citation appears. In the text itself only the act and scene will be cited.

58 motivated to act by internal forces and emotions, but by rather obvious proddings from the author and by convention­ alized codes of behavior.

Long soliloquies and continual

asides are necessary to reveal the thoughts and intentions of the players.

In effect, there is very little in this

drama, except for a few pearls of versification, that indi­ cates the talents of its author. Motin is the gracioso of the drama and is, with no room for doubt, a brother to the traditional figura del donaire.

In the very first speech of importance that is

given to him he displays three outstanding characteristics of the traditional gracioso. 1

He is his master*s sentinel,

guarding his lady day and night.

In return for "escasa ra-

ci6 n" and miserable recompense —

the perennial complaint

of all graciosos rendered so eloquently by Beltran, the gracioso of Las paredes oyen^ —

he must even act as "alca-

huete" for his master. Abreu G6 mez, in his efforts to make obvious the dif­ ferences between the Alarconlan gracioso and the tradition­ al comic figure, states that the latter feels himself capa­ ble of approaching his master on equal footing, even to the

^ La culpa busca la pena, I, 11. ^ Las Paredes oyen, I, 6 .

point of becoming his alcahuete, because they are alike in blood and color.

Alarcon’s graciosos, claims Abreu G6 mez,

"no son iguales a sus amos; son de sangre y de raza y de categories distintas.

Evidently he has overlooked the

fact that "la alcahueterla11 is part of Motln’s job. In Act I, scene 11of the play, Alarc6 n steps tile gr&cioso1s shoes —

into

a customary procedure among the

playwrights of the day —

and expresses his opinions on the

customs and styles of dress in Madrid.

The sharp, inquisi­

tive eyes of the young playwright, who may have been seeing Madrid for the first time, recognizes the ridiculousness and hypocritical intent behind the baroque fashions and cumbersome ways of dress.

It Is in one of Alarc6 n*s last

productions that we find his most brilliant and subtle criticism of styles and customs in Madrid.

Don Domingo de

Don Bias, the protagonist

of

No hay mal que por blenno

venga, Is the incarnation

of

this criticism, this protest

against the chains of convention.

And what audacity and

disinterest in success and in public acclaim such a move required, when dramatic precedent demanded of the gal&n strict adherence to the codes, customs and styles of the

E. Abreu G 6 mez, "Los graciosos en el teatro de Ruiz de Alarc6 n ,n Investigaciones Lingulsticas, III (Mexico 1935), 189-201 .

60 times!

If tile author was to protest against them, his

graciosos had to he his portavoz and rarely, if ever, were "radical1* ideas given voice through the galan.

In La culpa

husca la pena, however, Alarc6 n does 'make use of the gracio­ so to express his opinions in exactly the same fashion as the other stellar dramatists of the Golden Age. Motin is a coward and we learn this through his own admission.

We are given to understand in one of his

piquant conversations with the maid Ines that a short time before, his master was nearly drowned In the Guadalquivir River.

Instead of jumping in to save him, he remembered

the proverb:

“el buen nadador guarda la ropa.”

However,

he assured her, and here we come upon another of the common gracioso traits, if the river had been of wine he would have drunk It up completely. have been rescued very easily.

In this way his master would To top off the conversation

and to enclose himself completely within the circle of the family of traditional graciosos. he mentions a struggle that he and his master had with "cuatro feroces gigantes.** In the course of the battle, Motin avers with the requisite braggadocio: valiendome, como En la ventajosa lid Del gigante hizo David, De otras armas, quite el porno A mi espada, y de una liga HIce una honda, y tire A1 uno, y le revente Un ojo . . .

61 Of course the inoffensive and mirthful lie is quite obvious, but the manner of relating it and the accompanying vivid motions must have stimulated much laughter. Soon we recognize Motln’s impertinence, sarcasm and lack of true sentiment for his master. Motin’s master —

Don Sebastian --

has promised a gold chain to Ines, as al-

bricias for having brought the glad tidings that Dona Ana loves him.

A short time later Don Sebastian sees Dona Ana

in the company of another gentleman and naturally suspects the worst.

Motln, instead of pacifying his master’s jeal­

ous rage, angers and goads him with a reminder of the chain he promised to Ines while he was sure of Dona Ana’s loves iDoyle la cadena a Ines? To which Don Sebastian impatiently replies, Necio estas. I, 14 Motln, in a manner somewhat similar to that of Zamu4 M dio of La cueva de Salamanca, speaks of the dos horas y media de pasatiempo" (II, 7 ) that he spent at the presenta­ tion of a comedia.

Our gracioso is in the company of a

friend, "que por ser ducho en la corte, y yo de los m£s bisonos" (II, 7 ), gives him some spicy morsels of gossip about

4 II, p. 8 9 .

62 the women present at the performance.

Through Motln our

young dramatist seeks to find favor in the eyes of Lope de Vega.

The "mesurada protesta contra Lope"^ has not yet

crystallized and the vary and aspiring Alarc6 n observes that La comedia felizmente Aplaudida . . . Que era de Lope de Vega . . . II, 7 Motln, like most graciosos. enjoys the game of words and plays with the proper name Vasconcelos and his master's jealousy: Pues los celos, Vasconcelos, Son furia de Barrabas, Y barrabasada vas, Sin duda que Vas con celos. Ill, 4 And later with all the flower and embellishments of a culterano he refers to the coach of Dona Ana: Ya ©1 coche del sol camina Por la ecllptica empedrada De la calle celebrada De Atocha, y ya por la esquina De San Sebastian la noche Amenaza en el ocaso . . . Ill, 6 Tristan of La verdad sospechosa (I, 3) makes a similar ref­ erence.

5

Alfonso Reyes, Capltulos de literatura espanola: Primera Serie (Mexico: La Casa de Espana en Mexico, 1939), p. 2 0 1 .

In a scene that finds him alone on the stage, Motln pronounces a soliloquy that gives us further insight into his character.

We come to understand that he, like the

typical gracioso, lacks the finer stuff, the mettle and al­ truism that would lead him to sacrifice himself for his master.

Self-interest, bodily comfort and security are his

major preoccupations. pity than blame.

And yet, perhaps Motln deserves more

Although he seems completely unmoved by

the woes of his master, there is an undeniably tragic truth in his defense of the servant that must be recognized before we condemn his actions or those of other graciosos. y un criado Que se arriesga, &en que se fla, Si es fuerza que saiga mal Be todo, pues en rinendo, Para en la carcel hiriendo, Y herido en el hospital? Y en efeto, el servir yo Is por ganar la comida, Para asegurar la vida, ^ Que para arriesgalla no. Ill, 8 As the finishing touch to his personality, we ob­ serve that in the last scene of the play when the emotional

*

Tristan of Quien mal anda en mal acaba expresses a similar complaints Pues tan sin dicha nacl, Que siendo el m&s inocente, Se es capara el delincuente 7 “ P” "4“ 4“ * ml- I, IT Cf. La Industria £ la suerte, III, 5 .

64 threads of all concerned are most strained, he Interpolates veak jests and asides to the audience amid the tenseness and tragedy experienced hy a woman who has just learned that her brother has been killed by her future husband.

Ve

are sure now that Motln Is either soulless or detached from the drama, alien to its intrigues, complications and emotional entanglements.

Pfandl noted, in dealing with the

traditional figura del donalre that he "hace que una sltuaci6 n tragiea degenere en farsa o que la patetlca sobreabundancla de sentlmientos se convierta en ostentosa trivial!dad . . .“7

Perhaps Motln, in his capacity of gracioso,

does dispel the clouds of grief and relieves the heaviness on the spirit of the vulgo but at the expense of dramatic unity, good taste and reality. There is only a slight intimation of a secondary plot in the comedla (II, j) and Motln and Ines do not du­ plicate the love pattern set by their masters. Many critics would seize upon this fact to assure that Motln is differ­ ent than the .traditional flgura del donalre.

Yet Miss Brad­

ford in her study of the gracioso in Lope de Vega's theater states that the underplot between gracioso and graciosa is

7 Ludwig Pfandl, Historia de la literatura espanola en la edad de oro (Barcelona: Sucesores de Juan Gili, S. A., 19337, P. ^20.

65 generally suggested and seldom developed.

Q

Motln recites the last lines or the first act and in customary gracioso manner terminates the play with a solici­ tation of pardon for the dramatist. Quien mal anda en mal acaba It is undoubtedly true that the audiences that at­ tended the comedia eagerly awaited the appearance of the gracioso on the stage.

Catering to their desires, Alarc6 n

introduces Tristan to the public at the very beginning of this "comedia de magia y

enredo."9

His first words of importance deal with eating and drinking which, if necessary, he can accomplish "como gru1 1 a, en un pie" (I, 2 ).

Like the traditional gracioso he

makes classical allusions (I,

J;

III, 13 ), he resorts to

macarronic Latin (III, 9)> he enlivens his speeches with notable comparisons and anecdotes that reveal his worldly wisdom (I, 8 ; II, 9) and is impertinent and meddling enough to be called "necio" and "atrevido" by his master (I, 1 1 ; I, 17)*

His opinion of women is typical of the gracioso.

They are fickle, he assures, and he prays that

Q Marjorie E. C. Bradford, "The Gracioso of Lope de Vega," (unpublished Doctor’s dissertation, Radcliffe Col­ lege, .1 9 2 9 -3 0 ), p. 1 1 2 . 9 Castro I*>al, 0£. cit., p. 82.

66 Nunca . . . me de Dios Otro mal que no casarme. I, 11 Tristln is a timorous and covardly individual and though he is very faithful to his master he does not find it at all difficult to leave him when there is a fight at hand (111,1; III,9; 111,10).

His fears culminate in a man­

ner similar to those of Zamudio in La cueva de Salamanca (II, p. 95)> those of Sancho Panza in the episode of the “molinos de b&tanes" and those of Salom6 n in La manganilla de Melilla (II, p. 515) •

Montesinos observes that ”la co-

bardla del lacayo . . . se extiend© a pormenores harto sucios y nada aromaticos. He displays a great love for wine and a wealth of experience in the wiles of tavern-keepers (III, 9)*

Tris-

t&n becomes even more firmly entrenched within the ranks of the traditional gracioso when he assures us that he is Un cat6 lico cristiano, Testarudo aragones. I, 17 When he exclaims, Que siendo el m&s inocente, Se escaparS el delincuent© Y me prenderan a m£. I, 17 10

J o s e f . Montesinos, nAlgunas observaciones sobre la figura del donalre en el Teatro de Lope de Vega,” Homenaje a Menendez Pldal, I (Madrid: Casa Editorial Hernando,

1925), W51

67 we remember the similar ironic words of Motln in La culpa busca la pena (III, 8 ).

Like Motln, he is the sentinel of

his master*s lady (II, 9)*

He boasts of great strength and

claims that no tlene el mundo aceros Igu&les a mi coraje. I, 17 He relates to Leonor the details of a fight between his master and Bon Felix, but in doing so his imagination distorts the details, and in his version the struggle ends when he heroically intervenes and kills Bon Felix in an ex­ traordinary manner*

Leonor, naturally, has her doubts (III,

11 ). V&zquez-Arjona claims that wen el Tristan de Qulen mal anda, quiso autobiografiarse Alarc6 n.

Por eso hace el

poeta que el gracioso le pregunta a la Fortuna *^cuando he de ser ventures©?*

Tal vez nunca, porque es *mi ventura

tan avara.*"^ (I, 8 j)

This critic, zealously engrossed in

his search for autobiographical elements in Alarcdn* s thea­ ter, tends to exaggerate the importance of certain fragments that are impressive out of context.

One statement, however,

does not necessarily indicate the desire to portray one* s

^ C. V&zquez-Arjona, "Elementos autobiograficos e ideol6 gicos en el Teatro de Alarc6 n, ** Revue hlspanique. LXXXIII (No. 164, August, 1928), 612.

68 self through a certain personage.

We already know that the

gracioso was used throughout the entire Golden Age theater as the author*s portavoz for the expression of his personal thoughts and emotions, literary concepts and criticisms of contemporary life, without becoming a portrait of the dram­ atist.

The particular quotation cited by Vazquez-Arjona

may be taken as one of Alarc6 n*s many bitter protests against the injustices of fate, since it is repeated by a character named Don Juan in No hay mal que por bien no mammmmJ U

venga: lAh vil fortuna! ICon otros Tan liberal, y conmigo Tan avarat I, 3 and elsewhere.

And yet if we return the citation to con­

text it could easily be construed as the customary complaint of the gracioso with the insatiable purse and stomach, be­ moaning his poor luck in a rather entertaining fashion (I, 8 ).

Prom out of this particular incident, wherein his mas­

ter promises him a suit of clothes, grows a comical preoc­ cupation about the receipt of this garment, and Tristan does not fail to mention it as often as possible (I, 8 ; I, 9; I, 11; I, 12). In classic gracioso fashion he injects his material­ ism amid the sadness and amorous confusions of his master, with little sympathy or consideration for him (I, 9; I, 12;

I, 13).

H© counsels his master and tries to make him un­

derstand that his lady is like other women, Y se ha mudado, y perdido Cuanta afici6 n te tenia! I» 11 He tries to bring his master down to earth by pull­ ing no punches and stating bluntly that his lady no longer loves him.

The answer Trist&n receives is one too often

directed against the gracioso;

Mt& quieres matarme” and

"gustas de mi pesar" (I, 11). Through Tristan, Alarc6 n criticizes the gentlemen who would feign great valor although in reality they are "gallinas” (III, 13) and also digs at the quack doctors of the day (I, 13; I, 17)* There is a well developed secondary plot and the duplication of love between masters and servants is exact. When Don Juan and Dona Aldonza are in love, Trist&n and Leonor are also in love; but when master and mistress no longer love each other, the servants must also separate. The conversation between Tristan and Leonor at the moment of separation is strongly reminiscent of the lines of the traditional gracioso and maid in several of Lope's plays:^ 12

La mayor vlrtud de un rey, I, 8 (B. A. E . ); La hermosa £ea, III, 4 (B. A. E*TT El ausente en el lugar, II, 8 ; III, 11 (B. A. E.); Los milagros del despreclo. Ill, 19 (B. A. E.); Los Comendadores de c6 rdoba, I, p. 268 (Obras de Lope de Vega publicadas por La Real Academia Espanola

TO Tristan —

£Haste mudado tambien?

Leonor

Forzoso ha de ser mudarme SI no se casen los dos. I, 10

—

When Don Juan and Dona Aldonza effect a reconcilia­ tion, the servants respond accordingly,

Tristan, like most

graclosos, loathes the bonds and responsibilities of matri­ mony, but discreetly follows his master’s example in the expected manner (III, 19)• Tristan is most certainly a brother to the tradition­ al figura del donaire and throughout the entire drama is found in "convencionales situaciones, El desdlchado en finglr This comedia is one of Alarc6 n*s first dramatic ef­ forts.

As Castro Leal clearly states, "no hay el menor in­

dicia de que a nuestro poeta se le haya oeurrido la posibilidad de hacer algo distinto de la comedia de enredo de entonces.

El desdlchado en finglr es el producto tipico del

g&nero en los albores del siglo XVII. Tristan, the wsemi-fil6sofo”^5

1"5

generally accepted

y Clotilde E. Quirarte, Personages de Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n (Mexico: El Libro Espanol, 1938), p . 5 3 . 14. Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 8 3 .

^

Quirarte, 0£. cit., p. 43.

71 as the gracioso of the drama.

A careful study of the play

discloses that in the second and third acts Sancho, Arseno's lackey, speaks more lines than Trist&n and possesses a num­ ber of important gracioso attributes. In the first act Sancho*s personality remains very sketchy, but Trist&n emerges as the typical gracioso.

When

he appears on the stage for the first time, he displays a satiric and impertinent nature. He is completely familiar with the secrets of his

master's life, treats him with

little respect and plays the part of his conscience.

He

attempts to dissuade his master, Persio, from a rash and dangerous plan he has conceived to obtain the favor of a lady he blindly loves.

But his advice and meddling are re­

buffed with: Slgueme, ayudame y calla. I, 7 The usual "necio11 is not long in coming.

Tristan gives out

the conventional view on the powers of money and in a short but clever anecdote he conveys Alarc6 n's criticism of quack doctors to the audience

(I, 2). This anecdote is repeated

in Qulen engana a quien

(I, 2). Trist&n seems to have in­

herited the proclivity for sleep from the pastor and bobo (I, 6 ) and Sancho, who in the second and third acts helps with the comic relief, also alludes to sleep (III, 2; III, 3).

For Alarcdn, Tristan mentions jokingly the meager

72 pecuniary rewards that poets received for their works.

The

allusion is a commonplace in the works of Cervantes, Quevedo, Suarez de Figueroa and Lope de Vega.

16

In El examen de

maridos, the position of the poet is succinctly evaluated by the shrewd, husband-seeking Dona Ines: Buena parte, Cuando no se toma el serlo Por oficio. II, 14 In the realm of love, Tristan experiences the same ill fortune as his master, Persio.

The latter is coldly

rebuffed by Ardenia and Tristan is similarly rejected by her maid, Ines (I, 12; I, 1 3 ).

His jesting with Ines Is In

bad taste, vulgar and Indicative of the gracioso^ in "facil amor .n

belief

When Ines questions his presumptuousness

with: ^Que mas que un criado eras? Trist&n replies with the expected condemnation of women, Poco sabels las mujeres and continues, Mas por ser criado, ^estoy De la estimaci6 n privado? I, 13 This remark will later evolve into Encinas* moving defense

16

M. Herrero-Oarcfa, ”Una clase social del siglo XVII,n Boletln de la Blblloteca Menendez y; Pelayo (Numero extraordinario en homenaje a Miguel Artigas), 1931, I, 92111 .

73 of tlae servant.^

It is undoubtedly on statements like

these that Jimenez Rueda bases his conclusion that "Don Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n intenta el ennoblecimiento del criado y lo c o n s i g u e . Y e t we must remember that his actions, his cowardice, vulgarity, audacity and sarcasm render him unworthy of esteem. Tristan is the realist who tempers with practicality the wild fancies of his master, and fears that when the latter builds castles in the air, Como no es firme el cimiento, Verlas todas en el suelo . . . II, 6 He shows profound wisdom in the ways of love.

He knows Ov­

id by heart and attempts to school his master in the tech­ niques of amorous conquests.

Fersio, amazed by his lackey’s

knowledge, states, que invidio, Lo que de arte de amar sabes. II, 6 Like Beltran of Las paredes oyen, Tristan can boast that aunque en servir he parado, Mi latincillo he estudiado. II, 6 17

Gamar amigos, III, 8 .

18

Julio Jimenez Rueda, Juan Ruiz de Alarcon y su tlempo (Mexico: Jose Porua e HiJos, 1939), PP. 219-24.~~

74 Jimenez Rueda affirms that Mlos crlados de Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n han pasado por la eseuela, han estudlado algunos de ellos sus latines • . ,n^-9

This, however, does not set the

Alarconian gracioso apart from the traditional flgura del donaire.

Miguel Herrero —

who has collected an impressive

amount of quotations from all the outstanding playwrights of the Golden Age -- observes that “todos los graciosos de nuestro teatro han estado en la Universidad.

The allu­

sion to study by Trist&n does not seem quite so obvious an allusion to Alarc6 n*s own student career as Vazquez-Arjona would ins1 s t , ^ Tristan follows the currents of gracioso technique with bantering asides to the audience amid the romantic ex­ cesses of his master, and in a detached manner comments to the audience jokingly on the actions of the enamoured gen­ tleman (II, 7 ), In scene seventeen of the first act, Persio finds himself in a hazardous position and fears that Trlst&n,

Jimenez Rueda, ©£. cit., pp. 219-24. 20 Miguel Herrero, “Genesis de la figura del donaire,“ Revista de Pllologia Espanola, XXV (1941), 74.

21 VAzquez-Arjona, op. cit., pp. 612-13.

through cowardice or to save his own hide, will disclose his secret.

Persic whispers to him, Tristan, hoy has de mostr&r Cuanto por amarme pones.

And we are surprised to hear Trist&n reply that "Aunque muera, seran nones." (I, 18)

Later in the play, though, he

blurts out all that he swore to maintain in absolute secre­ cy; and when he fears punishment from Ardenia’s father he protests his innocence and claims that his only sin has been fidelity to his master

(III, 9) *

We cannot help

feeling that his pleas of Innocence are more common to a cringing coward than to a stoic and valorous servant. In defense of Trist&n we may conjecture that Alarcon found in him the solution for the numerous involvements and complicated intrigues of the drama and that only through his disclosure of Persio*s plans could he bring the play to its climax.^

This, of course, destroys the logical devel­

opment of Tristan*s personality. Miss Bradford has observed that "the vein of humor in the comic figure frequently ’peters out* noticeably in the third act"2^ and that once the intrigue of the drama is

22

Lord Holland, Some Account of the Life and Writ­ ings of Lope de, Vega Carplo (London: Longman, Hurst, et al, T8o5), p. 194 ^

Bradford, ©£. cit., p. 82.

76 clearly moving toward the denouement, the gracioso may drop from sight.

This is precisely the case with Trist&n who,

after he reveals the secret of his master to Justino, Arde­ nia’s father, thus pushing the drama toward its inevitable conclusion, disappears entirely from the stage. We have seen that Tristan in his speeches, actions and relationship with his master does not evince any traits that would establish him as a mutant from the family of traditional graclosos. Let us study now, Sancho*s role in El desdlchado en flngir to determine how closely he approximates the figura del donaire.

Sancho makes his first appearance in the

ninth scene of the first act in the company of his master, Arseno.

With the same freedom and intimacy as Tristan (II,

7 ), he tells his master that he has acted as a coward.

Arseno agrees with his servant, asks his advice and praises his intelligence (I, 9;

10).

We are reminded of Motln2^

when Celia calls Sancho an ”alcahueteM (I, 10). Sancho begs his master to forget about his apparent­ ly impossible love and think of other things, since it has gotten them into a sorry fix:

La culpa busca la pena, I, 11.

77 LLeve el diablo el cieguecillo, Hijo de la vil rameras ^Tienete desta manera, Y porflas en seguillo? A1 demonio es parecido El que vive enamorado, M&s perdido y mas penado, Y menos arrepentido . . . Da en pensar en otra cosa. II, 2 Arseno asks of what he might think and this gives Sancho a chance to censure wittily for Alarc6 n the murmuraci6 n so frequent in the Gorte and so often condemned by Alarc6 n and his contemporaries.

Arseno> steeped in melancholy over his

ill-fate in love, replies to the jests of his lackey, iAy, Sancho, que de ml mal Divertirme en vano quieres! II, 2 And Sancho —

an experienced lackey —

exclaims bitterly,

»LLeve el diablo a las mujeres . . . Y aun a quien las quiere malV II, 2 Sancho*s love affair with In6 s conforms with the fluctuations of his master*s relationship with Ardenia.

He

and his master are broken-hearted when their respective loves leave them in anger (II, 3; II, *0 •

Iu the manner of

the traditional gracioso, ever ready to pour out his dis­ content, Sancho chooses Celia as his mark.

He blames her

for the misery that he and his master endure during their stay in an insane asylum.

Of course his plaints do not

soar to the emotional and impassioned heights of his master's

78 grief. love.

He bemoans the absence of money, good food, and Although he pities his master, his own plight is the

greater (II, 5)« Sancho helps carry the weighty plot to its termina­ tion (III, 19; III, 2 0 ), and is his master*s sentinel, cap­ able of jest, impertinence (III, 2), and condemnation of women (III, 20).

But Sancho does not possess enough of

that subtle synthesis of donaire, traditional characteris­ tics, share in the intrigue and relationship to master that make the traditional figura del donaire♦ Tristan Is the drama*s figura del donaire, although one of the lusterless examples to which Pfandl referred.25 And Sancho, Arseno*s lackey, shares the burden of donaire and Intrigue with Tristan in this drama "recargado de incidentes"2^ and carries on for him in its final scenes. La manganilla de Melilla La manganilla de Melilla Is, like Quien mal anda en mal acaba, Muna comedia de magia y enredo."2^

It Is the

only play of Moorish setting that Alarc6 n wrote.

25 Ludwig Pfandl, op. cit., p. 46l. Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 8 5 .

27 Ibid., p. 89.

79 There is not complete accord on the part of the critics who mention this drama, with regard to its figura del donaire.

Castro Leal observes that "el gracioso Pi­

mienta, a quien acompana en sus burlas el judfo Salomdn, divierte y se divierte mas de lo justo" [italics not in the original]}.2®

Miss Quirarte claims that "en La manganilla

de Melilla el judlo Salomdn, que es el gracioso por oficio, en verdad cumple su cometido, y mas que el criado Pimienta tiene mostaza."29

And Vazquez-Arjona also maintains that

Salom6 n is the gracioso of the comedia. ^ mmmmmm—

ii

i

i

I believe, however, that this play does not have a truly delineated figura del donaire.

It belongs quite ob­

viously among that group of plays established by Miss Brad­ ford in Lope 1s theater, which divides the traits and actions common to the gracioso among two or more characters.^ 1 Neither Pimienta nor Salomdn has the spiritual or material bond to a master, the importance to plot or that combina­ tion of comic characteristics that make the true figura del qQ

Castro Leal, 0 £. cit., p. 91* 2^ Quirarte, o£. cit., p. 49* V&zquez-Arjona, oj>. cit., p. 5 8 7 . 31 »» There are plays which having one true figura del donaire distribute what might be his foibles and tricks, usually to two characters, sometimes to more." -- Bradford, op. cit., p. 7 1 .

donaire. Pimienta is a soldier, but unlike the gracioso he is brave and in no way servile.

He is a fervent advocate of

"facil amor,” although, unlike the gracioso the women he chooses to seduce are the wdamas principales" of the drama. Pimienta is very astute and cunning and owes allegi­ ance to no master, whom he advises or whose lovelife he di­ rects.

At the end of the play he is made a captain for his

great valor. It is Salom6 n, a Jew, who provides the laughs for the vulgo.

He is avaricious, cowardly and fond of wine.

He makes use of Pimienta* s name for his jokes and is used by Alarc6 n to express personal opinions and criticisms.

We

suspect that the serious and reserved author has identified himself momentarily with Salom6 n before his laughing audi­ ence to ridicule the physiognomy of laughters El hombre solo merece, Siendo severo, ese nombre, Porque en ri&ndose un hombre, A mi no me lo parece. No hay propla pasiSn que menos Se conforme a la raz6 n: Si gusto o admiraci6 n Me dan donalres ajenos, &Qu6 tiene que ver que quiera Yo alaballos o aplaudillos, Con arrugar los carrillos Y echar las muelas defuera? i, p. 306 When critics like Jimenez Rueda believe that Alarc6 n

"intenta el ennoblecimlento del criado1* because among the speeches of his servants we find words like these: Muchos criados £no han sido Tan nobles como sus duenos?^ it is not completely unsound to suggest that our author, whose "democratic spirit**^ Ortiz stresses, dares to defend the continually persecuted and ridiculed Jews with one fleeting statement lost among the satire: *Ay desdlchado! No puede ser un honrado En estos tiempos judlo. II, p. 313 Salom6 n is not on the stage at the end of the drama and has had little to do with its final denouement. It' is my contention, then, that La manganilla de Me1 1 1 1 a does not have a true figura del donaire» but that his

duties have been divided between two characters in the play Pimienta and Salomdn. La cueva de Salamanca Zamudio is the gracioso of this early Alarconlan comedia of magic and student life in Salamanca.

We must

32 Ganar amigos» III, 8 . 33 Juan Ruiz de Alarcdn, Las paredes oyen. With in­ troduction, notes and vocabulary by Peter A. Ortiz (Mexico: Editorial Seneca, 19*1-2), p. xxxvi.

prepare ourselves for the doings of the traditional figura del donaire, when In the first moment of the play he tears onto the stage wildly pursued by a "ganapan" who calls him a thief.

There Is a struggle between them, but Zamudlofs

master, Don Diego, comes to his rescue and drives off his opponent.

Some Corchetes arrive on the scene and a free-

for-all ensues, from which Zamudlo prudently keeps himself aloof, while vainly looking for stones he might throw. iQue no haya podido hallar, Ya que espada no trala, Una piedra por aquf! {Que blandura! \Pese a m£t &De ahito? A fe que no es mla. I, p. 84 Later, when the battle Is over and he and his master have narrowly escaped, he dares to boast of having won the bat­ tle for Don Diego and his friends: £por que no dejas nada A los demas, de la gloria? Que este brazo la vitoria Te di6 con una pedrada? I , p . 86 Zamudlo1s life and all his actions are entwined with those of the comedia1s principal characters.

His ears are

receptors for his mas ter1s most intimate secrets.

Like Don

Diego, he has been wounded by an arrow from Cupid1s quiver. Both he and Don Diego seek to enjoy the pleasures of married life without formal marriage.(II, pp. 90, 9 3 , 9 5 ).

He par­

odies the actions and speeches of his master (l, p. 8 7 ) and

83 the course of his experiences in love flows complacently parallel to that of his master’s love pursuits. Like Salom6 n of La manganilla de Melilla (I, p. 3 0 6 ), Zamudio recognizes the importance of wla lisonja y el gracejo* to be successful in life (II, p. 90)*

He loses no

opportunity to censure the life of the Corte and the end­ less stream of gossip that runs there (II, p. 90).

He

describes piquantly and with metaphoric skill the flirta­ tions that take place during the presentation of a comedia and the great preoccupation of the women in attendance with money and gifts (II, p. 8 9 ) . ^

He alludes to the custom

prevalent at that time among the vulgo to whistle off the stage those plays that did not meet with their approval (II, p. 9 2 ), and has the gracioso*s talent and irrepressible de­ sire to criticize all about him. Zamudlo is very much the jokester and remembers that he was called “buf6 n. "

His insolence and continued banter­

ing cause him to be branded a "grosero hablador1* and "majaderow (II, pp. 8 9 , 90, 91)*

He brags of his university

background and speaks in Latin (II, p. 9 0 ).

Quirarte

There is a great similarity between Zamudio*s al­ lusion to Dona Flor and the other women present at the per­ formance as platos and Quevedo’s statement: "Aquella mujer, aunque principal, fu6 juglar, y esta entre los truhanes porque por dar gusto hizo plato de si misma a todo apetlto«n Los zahurdas de Plut6 n , B. A. E., XXIII, 3 H * In a romance

84 observes that ”nos choca a veces en La cueva de Salamanca Zamudlo, por sus chlstes groseros o descaradament© picantea * . . With the religiosity of a good gracioso he proclaims, "Yo creo en

Jesucristo” and when in danger, he invokes the

saints for protection (II, p. 91)*

Also in the tradition

of the gracioso is his great love for vine (II, p. 91)• His speech is spiced vlth classical allusions and anecdotes (II, pp. 92, 93; III, p. 96) and he appears on the stage in disguise (II, p. 93)*

He is a coward and com­

pletely aware of the frailty of his life (II, pp. 92, 93)* lijhen his master tells him of his unsuccessful attempt to seduce Dona Clara and that he feels "avergonzado y vencido,” Zamudlo replies with one of Alarc6 n*s favorite conclusions, ^Que llamas, senor, vencido? Que llamas avergonzado? ^Qulen tan gran honra ha ganado? iQui&n tal vitoria ha tenido? Si cas&ndote pudlste Gozalla, y no te casaste, La mayor palma alcanzaste; ^ Que a ti mis mo te vends te.^ Ill, p. 96

included in Flor nueva de romances viejos of R. Menendez Pidal, ”La dama y el pastor,* 1 a woman sayss Comis, pues te convido, de mi misma te hago el plato. ^ Quirarte, op. cit., p. 5 3 . ^ k ?8 favores del mundo, I, 3 ; Los pedros prlvile** giados, I, 4; Las paredes oyen, I, 8 .

65 At the close of the comedia Don Diego resigns himself to the sweet fate of marrying Dona Clara and Zamudio asks for the hand of Lucia, Dona Clara's maid: Vusla pues le conceda A Zamudlo que le de La mano a su caraarera; Que pues casable se ha hecho, No es mucho que yo lo sea. Ill, p. 100 As Castro Leal justly affirms, "Zamudio, aunque pre­ sume de bachiller, es todavfa el gracioso tradiclonal, entre buf6n y bellaco.”27 El s ernejante a si. mis mo This comedia, which according to Castro Leal, varies in no way from the typical Spanish play of the epoch, seems to have been written shortly after Alarc6n*s return to M e x i c o . W e find a freshness and vividness in his descrip­ tions of Seville and the drainage of the valley of Mexico that indicate the proximity of these occurrences to the date of composition of the work. Sancho, the gracioso of the comedia, excels as a critic whose mordant tongue darts out at the favorite

37

Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 9 5 .

58 Ibid., 97 -9 8 .

86 targets of the figura del donaire.

In the play’s first

scene he rolls off in rapid succession a series of marvels he would like to see, principally:

”una mujer que no pide”

or one who does not wish to get married, a young hushand at peace with his mother-in-law and a contented soldier (I, l).59

His dream of Judgment Day is crammed full of pene­

trating criticisms, cynical and humorous descriptions of the hackneyed themes of his day:

women, tailors famous for

their curiosity, gossip, gluttony, etc. (Ill, 8 ),

With fa­

cility and zest he holds up mankind’s weaknesses and con­ ceits to ridicule throughout the entire play. He is an ardent, almost hysterical defender and lov­ er of wine (I, 1; I, 4; III, 8 ), which he refers to as his only weakness.

His master, however, reminds him of his in­

clinations toward love and gambling (I, 1).

In defense of

the latter pastime, Sancho poses these questions to his master:

In El pasajero

39

£Que ha de hacer un hombre honrado Mientras a su amo aguarda? ^No es peor ponerse en corro Con la euadrilla lacaya A no dejar honra en pie De sus amos ni sus amas ? I, 1 we find a similar reference to the

Cf. El semejante a si mismo, III, 6 ; III, J; III, 8 .

Cristobal Suarez de Figueroa, El pasajero (n. p.: Biblioteca Henacimiento, 1 9 1 3 ), p. J22.

87

*

activities of the "cuadrilla lacaya” and also in Las para­ des oyen (II, 1). Our gracioso is taken aback when his master, Don Juan, asks him to leave his presence while he discusses "secretos de importancia" with Leonardo. confianza?” he asks.

**£De mi no haces

And Don Juan replies,

Parecidome has lacayo ^ De comedia, pues extranas Que yo no te comunique Los secretos de iraportancia. I> 1 This is, of course, accepted as an Alarconian criticism of the unlifelike lackey of the comedia. in Salas Barbadillo *s El sagaz Bstacio

Still, we may read it-i

of gentlemen who

confide the most intimate and personal matters of their lives to their servants.

And in Alarc6 n ,s theater there is

certainly not a scarcity of lackeys who are the advisers and secretaries of their mas ter1s souls.

It is also impor­

tant to remember that within the plot of the drama it is not precisely a lack of confidence in Sancho that motivates Don Juan’s actions, but rather a desire to include him in a grand deceit that is supposed to take in his own father, sweetheart and several friends.

41 Salas Barbadillo, El sagaz Estaclo (Madrid, Bspasa-Calpe, St A.. Clasicos Castellanos, LVII, 1924), p. 245.

Sancho Is the impertinent and insultingservant 5 ) who has recourse

(II, l).

(I,

to anecdotes (I, 5 ) and vulgarjests

Instinctively, he invokes the aid of a multitude

of saints when in danger (III, 8).

He is Alarc6n's porta-

voz for the description of contemporary events and for the praise of Important figures of the period (II, 1). Bon Juan* s love for Bona Ana is distortedly mirrored in Sancho's love for In&s.

In a lover's quarrel with her

we find one of the most expressive and clearly written con42 damnations of the materialistic and mercenary woman (I, 6). In the same scene Sancho refers to his ambulatory position in relation to his master and corroborates the opinion I maintained in Chapter I of this study:^ Sancho —

^Para que buscas Si se va todo en

Ines

^Quien es la pinta?

—

Sancho — Ines

—

Sancho --

la la

pinta, presa?

Bon Juan. iY la presa?

Yo lo soy, .. Pues siempre delante voy. ^

Miss Quirarte notes that Sancho is wuno de los tres

42

Cf. Los favores del mundo, I, 1 ; III, 9 . Pp. 13-14.

44

Italics not in the original.

89 unicos sirvientes que en las comedies de don Juan Ruiz traiciona a su amo."^5

And to back her point of view she

cites a speech by Sancho wherein he shows his weakness be­ fore the inexorable temptations of money and the ease with which he supposedly leaves Don Juan to serve another master (II, 4).

It seems that Miss Quirarte has not grasped the

full Intentions of our author.

Sancho*s actions fit into a

larger, more important pattern of behavior than his indivi­ dual infidelity to his master.

We must bear in mind that

both his masters are one person with two names: Don Diego.

Don Juan,

If we can find justification for the conduct of

Dona Ana, who is in love with Don Juan de Castro as himself and falls desperately in love with him as Don Diego de Lu­ jan: Que Diego o que Juan te nombres; Que las mudanzas de nombres No varlan el sujeto, Ese cuerpo y alma ha sido El que quiero, y el que ame, II, 16 we must, by the same reasoning, forgive Sancho for serving his master faithfully as his real and feigned self.

In the

long run Sancho has the gracioso*s philosophy of selfinterest, convenience and unsentimental attachment to his

4^ Quirarte, op. cit., p. 47.

master or to people in general: 0 seas Castro o Lujan, Te airvo, pues por ti niego A don Juan si eres don Diego, A don Diego si don Juan. Pero si en sirviendo al uno En otro has de convertirte, Por ninguno he de servirte Por no ofender a ninguno. II, 4 Castro Leal, who has tried to remove the emphasis in Alarconian studies from our author’s desire to moralize, notes that Sancho, "como es desvergonzado dice que las mujeres que van a misa los domingos no lo hacen por cristianas, sino para que el galan las vea, y que La que ves m&s recatada, Es crlstiana solament© Aquello que es convenient© Para no morir quemada. Ill, 6 Este, que en cualquier otro autor de la ©poca hubiera pasado, como lo ©s, por un chiste de que un crltico moderno nos

gracioso, ha dado lugar a

diga, exagerando la intencidn

moral del poeta, que Alarcdn 'se asoma a ©njuiciar la religiosidad de su tiempo. 1 I believe that bothcritics have tended to exagger­ ate the situation.

Castro

Leal, who maintains that the

cited passage Is “un chiste d© gracioso11 and Valbuena Prat,

46 Castro Leal, oj>. cit., p. 100.

91 the unnamed target of Castro Leal's criticism, who feels that Alarc6 n is judging the religiosity of his times, have both overlooked the fact that this criticism is a common­ place of the period. read:

In the De spectaculis of Mariana we

,fLos templos se ensucian con conversaciones torplsi-

mas de mujeres y mozos con tanta libertad que no basta diligencia para enfrenallos.

And in Alarc6 n's Los favores

del mundo the gracioso again censures mercenary and hypo­ critical women who feign devoutness: Que si el Padre nuestro rezan, Es porque piden con el. I, 1 We may suppose, then, that Alarc6 n used the gracioso —

the

accepted portavoz of the comedia —

to rebuke a vice often

criticized by his contemporaries,

and that the citation

is more than a mere jest, but less serious and personal than Valbuena Prat would lead us to believe. In Chapter 1 1 1 ^ 9 of this study I indicated as char­ acteristics of the traditional figura del donaire, his abil­ ity to escape from the plot of the comedia, the capacity to

47

Pfandl, 0 £. cit., p. 4l6.

48

~ Juan de Zabaleta, El dia de fiesta por la manana, a critical annotated edition.by George Lewis Doty"~(rsprint­ ed from Romanisehe Forschungen, LXI, 2 (n. d.), 171. 4Q

Pp. 37-58.

turn upon it and laugh at its illogical and excessively emotional incidents.

Karl Vossler says that Lope de Vega

”provee a sus personajes dramaticos de la sensaci6n mas o menos clara y semiconsciente de encontrarse en plena come­ dia. "5°

Sancho displays the same critical acumen often at­

tributed to the figura del donaire, and an awareness of the comedia within the limits of which he exists.

Amid the ex­

traordinary complications and successive revelations of true identity that lead to the play’s finale, Alarc6n, regarding no doubt the labyrinthian detail of his drama, remarks through Sancho, Parece, por Dios, comedia. Ill, 23 Castro Leal has observed that ”aunque don Juan [of the comediaj critica a los lacayos de comedia, el ingenioso Sancho pertenece a su especie.M51

And indeed Sancho, who

marries the maid of his master’s lady and recites the drama’s last lines, is a very presentable member of the family of traditional graciosos. La indus tria

la suerte

This early Alarconian drama which contains numerous

50

.

Karl Vossler, Lope de Vega y su tlempo (Second edition; Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 19^0), p. 2 5 2 . Castro Leal, op« cit., p. 100.

93 references to the difficulties and disadvantages of poverty has no true figura del donaire.

The gracioso characteris­

tics that are found in the play are distributed among Jineno, Sancho and Agiiero.

However, not one of these person­

ages displays the personality traits, the close attachment to a master and Importance to plot that are requisite to qualify as a figura del donaire. Jimeno, the servant of Don Juan, the play•s protago­ nist, is Alarc6n,s portavoz on occasion (II, 6; II, 10). He and Sancho are both advocates of ”facil amor” (I, 9; II, 11; III, 7).

Jimeno speaks in Latin (ill, 10), makes a classi­

cal allusion (II, 8), resorts to the anecdote (II, 6) and with the imagination of an inveterate dreamer he creates for us a series of remarkable pictures of what life in Ma­ drid would be like for him if he owned a carriage (II, 10). Although he does not wear a disguise, Jimeno poses success­ fully as a humble and devout blindman (III, 12).

He re­

veals the emotional aloofness of the gracioso to the prob­ lems and sadness of his master.

Don Juan, who recognizes

Jimeno^ indifference, remarks sarcastically,

*

iQuien tuviera un buen vestido 0 una joya para ti! Jimeno

—

Don Juan --

^Por que? Por esa frialdad. II, 10

94 Through Jimeno Alarc,6 n ridicules the involved style of algun presumido En cuyos humildes versos Hay cisma de alegorlas Y confusi6 n de concetos, Retruecano de palabras, Tiqui-miqui y embeleco, Patarata del ofdo Y enganifa del ingenio; Que bien mirado, senor, Es rausica de ins trumentos Que suena y no dice nada. II, 6 Vazquez-Arjona affirms that "aqul ya empieza nuestro poeta a morder al Fenix de los

i n g e n i o s

,”^2 but he offers no ac­

ceptable proof to substantiate his claim that this section alludes directly to Lope de Vega, who in many of his own plays criticized the culteranlstas with equal enthusiasm and skill. Both Jimeno and Sancho are faithful servants and advisers to their masters, although Sancho1s faithfulness does not cater to all the whims or cruel ambitions of his master, Arnesto (I, 16 ).

Through Agiiero, an old squire,

Alarc6 n expresses one of his favorite themes: Yo slrvo, .y dieiendo sirvo Digo que soy desdichado.53 III, 5 e g

^

V&zquez-Ar jona, ££. cit., p. 598.

53

"Pobre que has de vivir de servir . . .*' — Juan de Zabaleta, El dia de fiesta por la tarde: A critical an notated edition by George Lewis Doty (Jena: 1938), p. 109*

In Agiiero w© find the gracioso1a preoccupation about his own welfare and a clear understanding of life's frailty: No quiero arresgarme tanto, Porque no hallar© otra vida Y podre hallar otros amos. Ill, 5 The comedia offers very little comic relief, no sec­ ondary plot and a dispersion of gracioso characteristics among three servants.

In the list of dramatis personae

that precedes the play, no character bears the label of gracioso. Second Period /Todo es ventura Todo es ventura is one of the first plays that Alarc6 n composed after his arrival in Madrid (1614-1615).

Its

gracioso, Trist&n, according to Miss Quirarte is Muno de los eriados mas simpaticos^^^ in the theater of the Mexican dramatist. As is frequently the case with the traditional figura del donaire, Tristan is found upon the stag© in the comedia's first scene, conversing with his master.

His in­

itial speech seems to presage the misfortunes of Alarc6 n,

^

Quirarte, op. cit., p. 46.

the humble pretend!ente.

When Don Enrique, his impoverish­

ed master, confesses that Ya ha logrado La fortune su intenci6 n, Pues mi larga pretensidn Me ha traido a tal estado, Que no puedo sustentar Los criados que solia. Tristan, with mingled sadness and irony, replies: Negocio que cada dla Sucede en este lugar. I, 1 In response to the fears of his master that he may not be able to maintain his services, Tristan exclaims with the "perruna lealtad"55 that Montesinos found in the gracioso of Lope de Vega: Que aunque despedirme quieres Por pobre, donde tu raueras Hemos de morir los dos. I, 1 In what may be a dig at the typical boasting and swaggering attitude of the gracioso, or a mere revelation of this characteristic in his own personality, Tristan re­ marks, while prudently standing to the side in a duel between his master and an unnamed gentleman,

55 Jos6 P. Montesinos, 0 £. cit., p. 472. 56 Gf. No hay mal que por M e n no venga, I, 10 and Ganar amigos, III^ 5. Tristan's words are strongly remin­ iscent of the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi.

97 ^No hubiera aqul otro criado Con quien me matara yo? I, * Through Tristan, Alarc6 n lashes out against the "maldiciente poeta” (I, 9) and in reply to Tristan's comparison or his master to this poet, a comparison couched in suc­ cinct and penetrating style, the perennial question is posed to the soulless, untender gracioso: En lugar de consolar, ^Es bueno, Tristin, renir? I, 9 In the same scene Tristan makes use of an anecdote to illus­ trate a point in his argument and though Don Enrique is moved by his servant's conversation to say A fe Que es tas de gracia, we can also sense the presence of our playwright injecting his Idealism and worldly wisdom amid the ephemeral and pro­ saic jests of the gracioso: Que estaba mal Con su vecino; que veo Huchos desta condici6 n. Mas segin lo que imaglno, Nadie tendra mal vecino Si el mlsmo no da ocasiin. Vivir bien engendra amor; El pecado se aborrece. — Pero ^que es esto? parece Que doy en predicador. I, 9 Tris tin indicates that he loves foodmorethan liber­ ty (I, 10)

and confesses freely that he is abuffoon

(I, 10).

98 H© is an expert at disguise (II, 3 ), brags of his talents as a spy and sentinel (II, 2), and reveals a polyglot back­ ground (III, 9).

Wo doubt his experience as a tippler fa­

cilitates his remarkable impersonation of a drunkard.

The

squire of one of the leading ladies feels that ninguna (burla] puede dalle Tanta pena [a Tristan] como agualle A un punto el sueno y el vino. II, 8 Like Sancho of El serne.1ante a sjt mis mo (III, 8), Tristan has a nightmare and awakes invoking the names of saints for help (II, 11). Tristin mentions an incident from an entremes that he had apparently witnessed quite recently.

The "gracioso

de 01medon he speaks of as a real person who acted in the company of Ana Munoz (III, 4). Tristan has the glib tongue of the traditional gra­ cioso and a panorama of festivities, excitement and pleas­ ures unfolds before us as he entices Belisa to forget her sadness and desire for seclusion with a word picture of all that will ensue at the bull fights in Alcala de Henares that afternoon.

Belisa begs him to leave off insisting

that she attend the spectacle and asks, &c6mo no has ldo T& a los toros? Tristin replies at length in a speech that discloses the

99 spirit of the real flgura del donaire and which has such compactness and nicety of expression that it might serve as a credo for the family of traditional graclosos: iEso es bueno! Si tu reclusi6 n eondeno, Esa la ocasi6 n ha sido. Seguirte es mi ocupaci6 n, Y como no est&s en ellos, Me he quedado yo sin vellos Por gozar desta ocasion; Que como los viera yo, Soy de condici6 n tan buena, Que en mi vida me di6 pena Que el otro se huelgue o no. Que no es de aquellos Tristan, De vanafineza llenos, Que estiman su gusto en menos Que el que a sus ninfas les dan. lAgudas impertinencias, Sutilezas insufribles, Buscar en gustos sensibles Mentales correspondencias! Yo m&s a lo material Califico el mal o el bien: Lo que me sabe esta bien, Lo que me duele esta mal; Y para con Dios remito Las finezas; que en mi son Cat6 lica la raz6 n Y epicureo el apetito. Ill, 9 Abreu G6 mez observes that “si Alarc6 n, al trav6 s de sus graciosos, no pierde sus miras generosas, en cambio, al juzgar a las mujeres se muestra rudo, cruel, con huellas inconfundibles de que en la feria no le ha tocada buena parte.it

is quite true that Alarc6 n is very critical

Abreu Gomez, op. cit., pp. 189-201.

100 of women, but perhaps not more so than his contemporaries. And through Tristin -- who criticizes the poets who are continually speaking ill of womanhood —

he presents one of

the most fervent, realistic and sincere defenses of womanhood that one may find in the drama of the Golden Age and which anticipates the famous quatrains of Sor Juana Inis de la Cruz, "Hombres neclos que acusais . . ,*58

^ subtle

criticism of the clergy is also interpolated amid this lyr­ ic defense of women: Cercano ya de su fin Un monje santo, decla Que s6 lo mejorarla Oyendo el son de un chapln. ;Y era santo! Ill, 9 Miss Bradford noted that very often the comic vein dissipates toward the end of the drama and that the gracio­ so becomes a 11conventional servant without donaires so far as his speech is concerned."59

Such is the case with Tris­

tan, who is not paired off with any maid and has but two whispered lines in the comedia1s last scene.

Yet, because

of his importance to the plot, his intimate relationship with his master and other principal characters of the play, and his philosophy of life, Tristin is a true fig'ura del donaire. 58 sor juana ines de la Cruz, Poeslas Completas (Me­ xico: Idiciones Botas, 19^1)* p. 132. ^

Bradford, op. clt., p. 82.

101 Los favores del mundo This play, which is one of Alarc6 n*s best, repre­ sents "la primera que traduce una actitud personal frente a la vida y frente a la comedia de su t i e m p o . I t s

gracio-

so, claims Castro Leal, "no se parece ya al gracioso tradicional y hasta critica la conducta que este hubiera seguido en sus relaciones con los senores. In the manner of the traditional gracioso, Hernando, the figura del donaire of the play, is found on the stage as the play begins.

In fact, he recites the first lines of

the play in which he reveals the customary gracioso incli­ nation for city life, in this case for Madrid.

He begs his

master to stay in Madrid since he feels Que moleran a un diamante Sels anos de camlnar De un lugar a otro lugar, Hecho caballero andante.

I, 1 From the outset he follows the pattern of the tradi­ tional gracioso. censuring loose and mercenary women (I, l). And to his master, steeped in the sadness of offended honor, he offers the gracioso*s usual balsams

^

Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 112. 1 Ibid.. p. 1 1 5 . U n fversity o f SJouthern O a ljfo rn fa

102 Deja esa pena lnhumana No pienses en tu contrario. Diviertete . . .

I, 1 When a lady erroneously calls Hernando Mcaballero,w he finds an opening to ridicule the false gentlemen of the Corte and to play again on the themes of money, poverty and love so obviously involved in the personal tragedy of our author, and also to show his familiarity with the Metamor­ phosis of Ovids Extrane la nueva forma, Cuando me vi caballero: Si bien no soy el; primero Q u e e n la corte se transforma. Mas son vanas Intend ones Cuando con pobreza lidio; Que es el dinero el Ovidio Be tales trasformaciones.

I, 7 Abreu G6mez mentions the first.four lines of this citation on assuring us that Hernando is a ^ m e s t i z o , a n d offers one other substantiation for his claim. With the usual presumptuousness of the gracioso, he Imagines that a lady he mistakes for a servant has fallen in love with him, and joining his apparent conquest to that of his master, remarks, Las armas de amor trajlmos; Que un hombre a matar venlmos, Y hemos muerto dos mujeres. I, 8

62 Abreu G6mez, op. cit., pp. 189-201.

Hernando appears on the stage in disguise accompan­ ied by the maid In&s, whom he professes to love and to whom in an ingenious way he explains the illness of love: Enfermo es quien tiene amor, Y es el doctor el amado: Pues, £eomo sera curado Quien su mal calla al dotor? I, 11 He plays with the words "pedir11 and "despedir11 (1,7) and puns on the words "condo" and "escondo": ^Este es conde? Si; este es-conde La calidad y el dinero. I, 12 Hernando acts as sentinel to his master’s lady but does not accept the assignment without first complaining of the fact that he will be robbed of sleep (II, l). In the second scene of act two, Hernando soliloquizes before the audience and declares: no ha de haber cosa en ml De lacayo de comedia, and in a long speech he criticizes the foolishness and un­ reality of a lackey who is the intimate friend and adviser of royalty and who solves the most difficult of problems with a silly story, fable or anecdote. This soliloquy has been pointed out many times in order to accentuate Alarc6 n ’s rebellion against the appear­ ance of the traditional gracioso in his comedia. And yet, it is difficult to aecept Hernando’s words at face value,

104 since they do not agree with his behavior.

Hernando and

the graciosos whose personalities we have already deline­ ated are not very different from the lacayo he has held up to ridicule.

Hernando —

through his gracioso —

or Alarcon in this case, speaking

might indeed have liked to thrash

out of his personality all those traits that reveal his propinquity to the traditional figura del donaire, but he was not successful.

Hernando's actions and personality are

still those of the typical gracioso. Hernando ridicules the servant who advises a king. However, such criticism is also found in the Comedias of Lope de V e g a . A n d many are the servants in the plays of Alarc6 n who do advise their masters and members of the nobility. 64 We may read in Mudarse por mejorarse an opinion exactly opposite to that of Hernandos para un senor El consejero mejor Es un criado discrete. II, 12

6^5

Lope de Vega, El acero de Madrid, II, p. 372; Porfiar hasta morir, II, 9> porffa hasta el temor, II, 4. In La Porfia hasta el.temor,.II, W, we find a humorous. criticism of the intimate relationship between servants and royalty in the Comedia. In Ricardo del Turia's Apologetlco de las comedias espanolas we are given a theatrical explanation to support the necessity of this intimacy within the limits of the play.

64 Jimenez Rueda, o£. cit., pp. 219-24.

Hernando's criticism of the use of fables and anec­ dotes by the lacayo is incongruous with the image of the figure that we have gleaned from Alarc6 n* s dramas.

In them

we have noted a frequent use of fables, anecdotes and max­ ims by several of his graciosos * Soon after this soliloquy we find Hernando vacillat­ ing between valor and cowardice and showing the gracioso1s proclivity for exaggeration: Dieron tras mi a cuchilladas Y mil montantes y espadas Llovid el cielo sobre ml. Don Garcia —

Dos solos diviso yo.

Hernando

£Dos?

—

Don Garcia —

No mis. II, 5

In the following scene he trembles for the welfare of his master, who feels ashamed of his servant's fears and sends him home to bed.

Hernando, completely faithful to his mas­

ter, leaves. As the play begins to show signs of moving smoothly toward the required finale, the role -of Hernando becomes les3 and less important.

From scene six of the second act

until scene nine of the third act his role is limited to ten colorless lines.

In the latter scene, however, he at­

tempts to make up for his absence from the stage with a long speech to his master.

He runs the gauntlet of the

106 gracioso1s favorite themes:

women who prefer money to in­

tellect, the hapless position of the poor pretendlente at court, the hypocrisy of life in Madrid and the innumerable annoyances of the “jerarqula servil“ with which he must come in contact.

According to Vazquez-Arjona, Alarc6 n "se

65

autobiografla“ in this speech. Hernando is on the stage as the drama ends, and with the skepticism of the figura del donaire and his irrepress­ ible desire to destroy "la realidad de la ficcl6 n "6 6 of the comedia, asks the audience, because of the numerous quirks of fate and exaggerated coincidences that merge toward a happy ending, Tantas vueltas en un dla, ^Cuando fortuna las di6 ? Ill, 23 It Is vitally important to note, In conclusion, that Hernando has not succeeded in quitting himself of the per­ sonality traits of the traditional figura del donaire and that his criticism of the lacayo1s position In the comedia, does not stand alone as a brilliant example of individual audacity, but simply finds its place among similar criti­ cisms expressed by Quevedo, Suarez de Figueroa, Tirso de

6*D5 Vazquez-Ar ■* jona, crp. cit., p. 584. 66 carmen Bravo-Villasante, “La realidad de la ficcl6n, negada por el gracioso,“ Hevista de Filologia Espanola, XXVIII (1944), 264. “

107 Molina, Velez de Guevara and Lope de Vega. Los Empenos de un engano Los empenos de un engano is one of those comedias the action of which languishes under the weight of excess­ ive complication and detail.

Too many long explanatory

asides are necessary to lead the play to the final scene of marriage and happiness.

It is, to the mind of Castro Leal,

a detailed sketch or outline of a play that was never given the finishing touches of the master and in which Alarcon f,no logro . . . ese doble juego dramatico en que el personaje sirve al mismo tiempo al argumento y a su individual expresion . 11^7 Campana, the gracioso of the comedia is not long in appearing on the stage.

The conversation centers about him

in the play*s final scene and during the second scene we find him talking with Leonor, who has apparently fallen in love with his master, Don Diego.

When Campana answers the

query 11Como os llamais” with the inevitable play on his name (I, 2) we must prepare for the antics of the traditional figura del donaire.

Before he tells Leonor his master*s

name and place of birth, we are submitted to mediocre jest­ ing under which even the playwright*s own creation grows

Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 121.

108 impatient, and when it continues, Leonor shrewdly says to Campana, Ya me obligais a pensar Que oculta prendas mayores. Campana -- &Por que? Leonor Traer conoxgv uu jugxax* I, 2 From the outset we observe Campana*s extreme loyalty to his master and his persistent and sincere efforts to clear the brambles from the path that leads his master to­ ward happiness.

Miss Quirarte naively maintains that Mpor

su ingenuidad . . . se distingue Campana . . .

La simpleza

de este criado da lugar a que las cosas se compliquen . . . No posee una inteligencia clara ni gusta de filosofar, como otros criados.

It seems to me that Miss Quirarte had in

mind the type of gracioso whose advice and decisions always prove to be right and so was mislead by the fact that the real life of the comedia upset the wonderfully laid plans conceived by Campana to better his master’s position.

The

failure of his plans, however, like the failure of the loft­ iest and wisest plans at any time in life, does not make

68 Cf. Ganar amigos, II, 6q

13.

^ Quirarte, o|>. cit., p. 51.

109 him a simpleton.

Miss Quirarte was nearing the truth when

she suggested that all might have worked out well "si . . . no estuviera |bampanaT cargado con una tan mala suerte que le echa a perder todas las cosas."?^ Indeed we find Campana*s speeches studded with spar­ kling bits of wisdom, mature experience, and clear thinking. His plans are. thwarted, of course, but only by the illogi­ calities and ups and downs of life as portrayed in the play, which barely manage to keep the plot entangled for three acts.

If Campana*s plans would have been realized sooner,

the entire plot would have disintegrated. Campana*s wisdom and logic are exhibited in his first conversation with Leonor and she compliments him for his words and actions (I, 2). Miss Quirarte judiciously observes that Campana is the "eje del argumento”?! of the comedia, which is one of the characteristics of many traditional graciosos. When Campana comes upon Don Diego after his meeting with Leonor he demands "albricias" for the glad tidings about Leonor*s love for him.

V o m Diego, who is really in

love with Teodora, has promised the marquis, who is In love

70 ^

Quirarte, ojj>. cit., p. 5 1 . Loc. cit.

110 with Leonor, that he would have nothing to do with her any more.

To Campana, who has created this dangerous confusion,

Don Diego exclaims, Echado me has a perder; Ya no es posible tener En mi afiei6 n buen suceso . . . I, 6 to which Campana replies with a gracia that controverts Miss Quirarte1s statement: en sus decires. 11^ 2

“tampoco es [campanaj gracioso

It is not uncommon, however, to find a

gracioso lacking in donaire. Campana offers another exquisitely involved and dan­ gerously circumstanced plan to help his master fulfill his desires and concludes with a word in favor of the carpe diem way of life and a jibe at the Corte: Que mientras los casos dan Remedio mas importante, Vivir y trampa adelante, Es en la corte refran. I, 6 Don Diego accepts his plan.

We see, then, that although

Alarc6 n is capable of criticizing the “lacayo de comedia, who is constantly advising his master and meddling in his affairs, Campana is the director of his master1s life and

72 ^

Quirarte, o£. cit., p. 5 1 . Montesinos, £p. cit., p. 5 0 3 .

74

El semejante a

mismo, II, 2.

Ill forms the strategy that vill lead to the consummation of marriage between him and Teodora. In a scene of numerous characters and great confu­ sion, Campana, to carry out a plan he has in mind, con­ vinces Leonor that Don Diego still loves her.

And when she

believes him, Campana remarks to the audience from out of his store of experience on human nature, iYa ha quedado persuadlda: _ Lo que el proprio amor engana! I, lb The first act closes in a swirl of passion, jealousy, and intrigue, and in a duel between Don Diego and Don San­ cho in which the former sustains a serious wound, quickly magnified by Campana: Un confesor le llamad; Que est& espirando. I, 15 As the second act opens we find the jealousy theme of the noble protagonists duplicating itself in burlesque fashion within the universe of discourse and concepts of the gracioso and the criada (II, 1).

When Don Diego reap­

pears on the stage for the first time since the duel scene, we are given to understand by Campana

that some time has

passed and that his master has completely recovered.

The

disconsolate and amorously involved Don Diego is not overly pleased by his rapid recovery and cries out remorsefully:

112 iAl clelo pluguiera Que el piadoso lecho hubiera Si do fiinebre ataud! iAy, Campana, cual me veo En un proceloso mar De inconvenientes .* II, 2 In Campana*s reply to Don Diego we discover the true mettle of our gracioso, the real solid stuff of which the pueblo is made.

Here we find the stoicism of the Spanish people,

mixed with a tremendous perseverance to live on despite enemiga suerte, with a profound understanding of the final­ ity of death. With a little imagination, the humble servant Campana can be transformed into the immortal Sancho Panza, standing next to the bed of his master and saying in a tearful voice:

#**Ay!

No se muera vuesa merced, senor m£o,

sino tome mi consejo, y viva muchos anos; porque la mayor locura que puede hacer un hombre en esta vida es dejarse morir, sin mas ni mas, sin que nadie le mate, ni otras manos le acaben que las de la melancolia.M75

And if we like, the

free rein of our imagination can find another channel In the life of Alarc6n, comforting himself and bolstering his own deflated aspirations with the hope that en la empresa mas perdida Le resta imperio a la suerte, Y a la fortuna mudanza: II, 2 75 Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quijote de la Mancha, Second Part; Chapter LXXIV.,

113 It is worth while to cite the speech in its entirety and to remember at the same time that Miss Quirarte has assured that this gracioso "no posee una inteligencia clara . 11 Nadar Al puerto de tu deseo, Mlentras durare la vida, Con sufrlmiento y valor, Es lo que importa, senor; Que en la empresa mas perdida Le resta imperio a la suerte, Y a la fortuna mudanza: La vida todo lo alcanza, Todo lo acaba la muerte. Y si te causa impaciencia El vivir, cosa es morir Que se puede conseguir Con muy poca diligencia. Pero vive, aunque no aguardes Veneer tu enemiga suerte, Que valerse de la muerte Es remedio de cobardes. Animate, y ve diciendo Uno y otro inebnveniente, Y veras *»que f&cilmente Voy a todos respondiendo! II, 2 The last lines of the citation reveal once more Campana*s position as self-appointed adviser to his master. Campana gives a running commentary in asides to the audience on all that happens on the stage.

As the action

becomes more intense, his remarks become funnier, to coun­ terbalance the excessive passion. 8 ), plays with words

He uses metaphors (II,

(II, 17), makes classical allusions

(III, 2), uses refranes (II, 2) and tells a story from his own life in order to justify his actions (III, 2).

114 Campana displays the requisite cowardly traits of the traditional gracioso and in the face of danger says, De ese modo, si yo fuera Don Diego de Luna, huyera. to which Don Diego replies with words that are in exact concordance with Montesinos * theory of wsangre noble,”7^ Y tambien huyera yo Si fuera Campana . . a la ley de caballero Paltara yo, si volviera Las espaldas. II, 8 In essence Don Diego is saying, "if my blood were not pure and noble I too could flee.*

The juxtaposition of the two

statements serves, of course, to contrast the two visions of life, to ennoble the protagonist in our eyes at the ex­ pense of his lackey. When the marquis promises to help Don Diego win the hand of Teodora, our protagonist blesses the marquis in the manner we expect of a gentleman: Dos mil anos tus biasones Aumentes, noble marques, Porque a los senores des Un espejo en tus acciones; and Campana blesses the marquis with words that reveal a closeness to everyday life, its deceits and disillusion­ ment s :

'

Montesinos, op. cit., pp. 470-71.

115 Vivas, si llegan a verse Premiados tantos cuidados Por ti, mas que dos casados Que dan en aborrecerse. Vivas, Marques, m&s edades Que una sisa, y que un paves En casa de un montanes Preciado de antiguedades. It is difficult not to think of Alarc6 n himself, the pre­ tend! ente for so many years, waiting for the death of some minister to create a vacancy for him, when we read Campa­ na *s last wish, Y vivas, en conclusi6 n, Mas que un ministro cansado, De quien tiene un desdichado La futura sucesi6 n. Ill, 4 The play ends happily with a marriage between Don Diego and Teodora.

Castro Leal concludes his observations

on the play by stating that "para que todo termine en regia, la criada casa con el

g r a c i o s o . ”77

But this statement is

not precisely true, since Campana does not marry Teodora* s maid Constanza, but rather Leonor* s maid Ines. Miss Quirarte concludes, "es Campana una especie de proyecci6 n de Don Diego . . . pues Campana, como don Diego, es amado por dos mujeres y, como su amo, en el desenlace tambien se casa con aquella a quien mas quiere.

77

Castro Leal, oj>. cit., p. 121. 7® Quirarte, op. cit., p. 52.

This

116 final duplication of love places Campana even more firmly amid the ranks of the traditional

figura

del donaire.

Las paredes oyen Las paredes oyen, which Castro Leal terms "una de las obras representatives del teatro clasico espanol,"79 ± a not hampered by an excess of intrigue or complexity of ac­ tion.

Its plot is central and its main characters move

about as radii of a single circle.

It Is to be expected,

then, that with a unified plot the role of the gracioso would pale and lose variety.

In fact, the role of Beltran,

tke comedia1s gracioso, suffers such fate. did not need a panacea on this occasion.

Gur dramatist The plot moves

along swiftly and surely with no help needed from the figu­ ra del donaire.

There is no impossibly twisted Gordian

knot that he must sever In order to bring about several happy marriages.

There are no excesses of passion that he

must temper and contrast with ill-timed and hollow jests. The figura del donaire has ceased to be a comic instrument­ ality and has become important to the plot as his mas ter*s spiritual companion and adviser. In the first scene of the play we are introduced to

79 Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 125.

117 Beltran, who hastens to notify us that "aunque sirviente... a ratos escribo y leo” and tosses off classical allusions with great ease. Miss Bourland in the introduction to her excellent edition of Las paredes oyen, states that Beltran differs from the traditional gracioso in being, like Trist&n of La verdad sospechosa, "something of a scholar and in having less of the wag than the typical Spanish v a l e t . I

would

not question that "having less of the wag than the typical Spanish valet” might tend to make Beltran different from the traditional gracioso.

Miguel Herrero, however, insists

that the comedia is almost ”una especie de registro de matrlcula por el que se comprende que todos los graciosos de nuestro teatro han estado en la U n i v e r s i d a d , s o that Beltran*s scholarly background would not be an exotic char­ acteristic with respect to the figura del donaire.

We even

find precedent for the learned gracioso in the Comedia Jaclnta of Torres Naharro, in which the gracioso Pagano remarks,

80

Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n, Las paredes oyen, edited with introduction and notes by Caroline B. Bourland (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1914), p. xxi.

81 Herrero, o£. cit., p. 74.

118 No te enganes si t© enganas que si tengo algun saber prime ro hu ba chi H e r ^ que pastor de las montanas ... Learned graclosos were not uncommon in the comedies of Lope de Vega.

It seems apparent from the advice that Zabaleta

gives to the would-be servant, that learned servants in real life were not uncommon: Los poderosos se sirven de los criados como de unos brutos. Ninguno hubiera que se sirviera de bruto que hablara: ninguno se slrve de buena gana de criado que no es mudo. El que habla quiere dar a entender ciencia. Los amos quleren obediencia. Como le quieren menor en la fortuna, le quieren menor en las habilidades. El que se halla mas que ellos, juzgan que juzga, que le deblan servir ellos; por esto aborrecen criado que hable muy en raz6 n. Pobre que has de servir, desposeete del entendimiento con uno, ser&s bruto codiciado de muchos.°3 Miss Quirarte, in her chapter on the Alarconian serv­ ant, mentions how often in "muchas de las comedias cl&sieas espanolas,,®1,■ we find educated servants.

Beltran* s scholar­

ly background, then, does not necessarily set him apart from the family of traditional graciosos. In the discussion of Los favores del mundo I pointed out that Alarc6 n —

through the gracioso -- criticized the

intimacy of the servant with his noble master and his pure82

Propalladia and other works of B. Torres de Naharro, edited by Joseph E. Gillet, Bryn Mawr: 19^6, II, 3 3 6 . Zabaleta, El dia de la fiesta por la tarde, p. IO7. 84

Quirarte, ojp. cit., p. 43.

119 blooded associates, his impudence, and his audacious manner of setting himself up as his master's adviser. Hartzenbusch readily admits that many writers recognized the falsity of the relationship between lackey and master, but Hartzen­ busch would have us believe that Alarcon was the only one to do something about changing the situation.

Today the

falsity of this relationship between master and servant is not accepted so dogmatically as by Hartzenbusch and his followers.

The entire study of Herrero is based on the

fact that ”en la sociedad del siglo XVII se daba un tipo de criado confidente, allado con su senor por lazos de intima camaraderla, dentro de la cual el criado hace funciones de elemento directive, de cabeza pensante, dejando al senor el

85

papel de elemento ejecutivo, de acci6 n y responsabilidad.,f

Beltran of Las paredes oyen and Tristan of La verdad sospechosa are perhaps the two graciosos in the Alarconian theater who most differ from the traditional figura del donaire; nevertheless they continue to mirror Alarc6 n's contradictory attitude about the relationship of master and servant.

They continue to represent the same intimate re­

lationship between master and lackey as that of any figura del donaire and gentleman.

85 Herrero, o£. pit., pp. 47-48.

120

If ve study carefully Las paredes oyen we may detect that Alarc6 n was conscious —

within the limits of the dra­

ma -- of the attack he had made in Los favores del mundo against the supposedly false and spurious relationship be­ tween master and lackey; consequently he tries to avoid contradicting himself by calling Beltran "mas amigo que criado1* and by saying of Tristan in La verdad sospechosa: No es criado el que te doy Mas consejero y amigo. I, 1 And in Los pedros privileglados a master exclaims to his servant, who announced previously "hidalgo soy," Dame los brazos; £que esperas? Amigo ya, no criado. I, 14 That is to say, Alarc6 n, aware that he was going counter to his own beliefs about the relationship between master and servant, finds this rather slipshod method of falling into the mould of Lope* s treatment of master and servant by calling the servant "amigo."

But amigo was a favorite epi­

thet for the gracioso. And when Beltr&n is called "bajo criado” and a ”villano” by Dona Ana (ill, 6 ), we cannot help thinking of him as a servant despite his intellectual­ ity and the denomination "amigo." We may, however, give still another interpretation defend the logicality of the intimate relationships

between Beltran and his master in Las paredes oyen and be­ tween Tristln and Don Garcia in La verdad sospechosa.

Dur­

ing the reign of the Catholic Kings and all through the following two centuries a tremendous emphasis was placed on education and much prestige was to be gained through a uni­ versity degree.

In Cervantes' El licenciado Vidriera we

read of the brilliant student Tomas Rodaja, who was not of noble blood, that wno era criado de sus amos, sino su com­ parer o,

and Bell revealed in his study of the Spanish

Renaissance that any graduate of the University of Salaman­ ca automatically entered the ranks of n o b i l i t y . Conse­ quently, Beltr&n and Tristan, both products of Salamanca, considered themselves as nobles and could thus be treated by their masters as friends.

Their low station in life was

simply a result of frustrated pretensiones in the bureauc­ racy of the court and a lack of money.

Dona Ana's choleric

accusations of ”bajo criadow and "villano" would refer, then, to Beltran's position on the economic scale and to his family background, but not to his real social status.

86 Cervantes, El licenciado Vidriera (Buenos Aires: Editorial Sopena, 194TJ, I, l£8 . 87

A. P. G. Bell, Luis de Le6 n (Barcelona: n. p., 1928),

pp.

26-27.

-

“

122

In scene sixteen of the first act we come upon a wonderfully human speech by Beltrim in which I find —

con­

trary to the opinions of Miss Bourland, parroted by Ortiz-not a criticism of the rapacity of women, but an actual de­ fense of their position, by democratically presenting their supposed rapacity against a background of varied types of men who also seek money.

This speech is a more subdued ex­

pression of the speech presented by the gracioso in Todo es ventura (III, 9)* Templin has noted that Mboth romances artisticos and old ones are recalled in the drama, the important factor being the catchiness of the lines, whether they stand at the beginning or in the body of the ballads.

Continuing

the practice of the sixteenth century, they are ordinarily placed in the mouth of the gracioso . . .

Alarc6 n has

also used this technique in Las paredes oyen on two and possibly on three occasions.

Beltran recites the final

line of act one: La que a nadie perdona^9 which is the first line of a romance viejo dealing with the death of the Cid.

And in the eleventh scene of the third

88 E. H. Templin, "Carolingian Heroes and Ballad Lines in Non-Carolingian Dramatic Literature," Hispanic Re­ view, VII, No. 1 (January, 1939)> ^7* Qq

^ Duran, Romancero General, I, 5 6 7 .

123 act he recites the first lines of the famous Romance del prisionero.9°

Alfonso Reyes believes that Beltran*s lines Amarrado al duro banco Sin poderte entretener I, 16

recall Gongora* s romance Amarrado al duro banco De una galera turquesa . . . The sonnet recited by Don Juan (I, 6 ) is rendered more effective by contrast with the gracioso*s burlesqued recitation of the estrambote.

Don Juan concludes his ha­

rangue against the misfortunes of life with: ; Triste, donde es el no esperar forzoso, Donde el desesperar es la victoria, Donde el veneer da fuerza al enemigo! And Beltran echoes in the key of the traditional gracioso: ITriste, donde es forzoso andar contigo, Donde hallar que comer es gran victoria, Donde el cenar es siempre de memorial I, 6 This technique was frequently used by Lope de Vega. Beltran reveals the traditional gracioso*s love of ease and wine in a very witty criticism of the game of pelota in which he refers to Seneca in defense of his views (II, l). Zabaleta, in El dla de fiesta por la tarde^l

Duran, Romancero General, II, 449. ^

0 £. cit., pp. 8 2 -8 8 .

124 deals with the game similarly.

Beltran also criticizes the

craze for hunting (II, 1) which is supposedly -- in the words of another gracioso, Zaratan —

Mviva imitaci6 n de la

guerra.n Beltran ridicules the maldiciente for Alarc6 n (II, l) in the manner of Su&rez de

F i g u e r o a ^

and not unlike

several graciosos we have already considered.

When Beltr&n

compares his master to a tahur, Alarc6 n ,s description of the gambler brings to mind the tahur depicted by Cervantes in El Licenciado Vidriera^

and by Zabaleta in El dia de

fiesta por la manana.95 Although it has not been noted by the critics who studied this play -- Bourland, Ortiz and Castro Leal —

I

believe that Alarc6 n was subtly deriding the technique of love duplication between the master and lady and the gra­ cioso and criada found so frequently in the comedia, when Beltran responds to Celia*s query,

Suarez de Figueroa, o|>. cit., p. 3522. 93 La crueldad por el honor, I, 1. 94 Cervantes, El Licenciado Vidriera, p. 142. 95

Zabaleta, o£. cit., p. 207.

Pues ^amas tambien? Beltran --

Yo amo Por s6 lo hacer companla.

And again in answer to Dona Ana*s question within the same scene, ^Quereis algo? Bertran replies, Servirte s6 lo quisiera Aquf a Celia le decla Que amo por companla. Ill, 5 Of course, Alarc6 n was not alone among the playwrights of his time in criticizing the technique, and he certainly did not shun its use.

The use of the technique and the criti­

cism of it were coexistent in Alarc6 n, as in the other play­ wrights of the Lope school. Beltran is the adviser of his master and his plans are generally accepted: £bon Juan to Beltran]

Al jardln ir& esta tarde; Alii la tengo de ver, Y seguir tu parecer. Ill, 9

Among the various traits that are common to the fi­ gura del donaire which we find in Beltr&n of Las paredes oyen are:

an especial fondness for the refran (X, 1; I, 3;

I, 18; III, 5 ), a play on words (II, 1), the use of anec­ dotes and stories from his own personal experience (I, 1; II, 1; II, 2), the allusion to a contemporary figure (II, 2),

to a historical personage (ill, 9 )> to the comedia (1 1 ,2 ; III, 6 ), and to a biblical incident (III, 11) which appears in identical fashion in Quien engana mas a quien (I, 6 ). As is the case with several Lopean graciosos, Bel­ tran's role dwindles in the second and third acts of the play.

Although he recites the final lines of the comedia

he does not marry the maid of his master's lady. Ludwig Pfandl maintains that the graciosos of Alare6 n: palidecen hasta convertirse con mayor frecuencia de lo que conviene eh simples criados, porque segun el elevado criterio de Alarc6 n, nunca la sana inteligencia humaha, y lo normal y natural s6 lo accidentalmente y como por compensacion, podlan brotar^de la boca de un proletario, de un pat&n o de un b u f o n . 9 & And Hartzenbusch, who set the pattern for Alarconian criti­ cism, believes that "como en las obras de Alarcon entraba la filosoffa por base, no habla necesidad de ponerla en bo­ ca de un personaje inferior . . .”97 As I indicated in the first paragraph of this dis­ cussion Beltran* s role and personality offer fewer facets than those of the average figura del donaire.

It is, how­

ever, mainly on the level of purely comic traits that Bel­ tran differs from the traditional gracioso.

^

BeltrAn does

Pfandl, o£. cit., p. 46l.

97 t# J. E. Hartzenbusch, Caracteres distintivos de las obras dramaticas de don Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n, B. A. E., XX, xvi.

127 not strive for laughter.

He does not seek to inject ridic­

ulous jests amid the moments of emotional tenseness.

But

can we say of this servant, for servant, "proletario" and "personaje inferior" he is, as Alarc6 n has proved to us through Dona Ana,98 what Pfandl and Hartzenbusch have said of Alarc6 n*s gracioso?

Can we repeat about Beltr&n, the

supposedly typical Alarconian gracioso, the servant who quotes Seneca and Martial, the real portavoz of Alarc6 n, what Hartzenbusch and Pfandl have written of the Alarconian gracioso?

I would reverse exactly the words of Hartzen­

busch and say that the servant Beltran is the clearest, most logical, and philosophic of all the characters in the play. In conclusion, then, Beltr&n has many of the charac­ teristics of the traditional figura del donaire, but he is scarcely a comic figure. La verdad sospechosa comedia, which in the words of Castro Leal "es

98

Mas esto no da licencia Para que un bajo criado, (Beltrail] De hombre tan calificado . Hable mal en mi presencia; Que no por la enemistad Que entre dos nobles empieza, Pierden ellos la nobleza Ni el villano la humildad ... -- Las paredes oyen, III, 6

128 el primer campo de batalla donde triunfa definitivamente la comedia de caraeter sobre la comedia de enredo,"99

un­

doubtedly the work which has brought the most posthumous glory to our author.

Its construction is admirable and it

flows along, eddying momentarily about the poetically con­ ceived lies of Don Garcia, with a smoothness and sophisti­ cation scarcely equalled in the drama of the Golden Age. gracioso, Tristan, is indeed "un personaje indis­ pensable para el desarrollo e inteligencia de la aeci6 n, but not because the play weighs heavy on the audience and the customary comic devices had to be employed to enliven matters.

TristAn differs from the traditional gracioso in

that he is hardly a comic character at all, but rather a sober, sceptic, and mordacious individual.

He has all the

traditional figura del donaire1s ability for criticism and satire, but like Beltran of Las paredes oyen he has become the "secretary of his master’s soul" (III, 8 ). Tristan is on the stage as the play begins and is presented to his new master, Don Garcia, as a "consejero y amigo"(I, l).

We have noted a similar relationship between

master and servant in Las -paredes oyen (I, 1).

QQ

Castro Leal, op. cit., p. 136.

100 Ibid., p. 159.

129 Miss Quirarte leads us to believe that the erudite Tristan is not unlike many traditional graciosos when she declares: Vemos frecuentemente en muchas de las comedias clasicas espanolas cu&n pulida suele ser el habla de los criados y cuan remirada aun la de las criadas. Unos y otras, de pronto, cuando menos se espera, sorprenden con su sabidurla greco-latina y con el refinamiento insospechado de la parla. Que algunos de esos criados no sea gente burda sino culta, porque se trata de personas de cierta categorla social venida a menos, es cosa natural. Y as! no choca nunca la erudici6 n de Tristan en La verdad sospechosa. Alarc6 n speaks out through Tristan in a satiric f.

anecdote against the affected styles of the time, and in the same scene Tristan elaborates on one of the gracioso1s favorite themes, women and their avarice.

He unfolds be­

fore Don Garcia, in brilliant metaphoric fashion, an entire celestial system of women wherein some have been designated as stars, others as planets, and others as comets. At the end of his dazzling discourse his master asks, ^Eres astr6 logo? To which Tristan responds, 01

El tiempo que pretendla En palacio, astrologla.

I, 3 101

Quirarte, o£. cit., p. ^3 .

130

Most critics believe, as does Arthur Owen, that this sec­ tion simply means, "I studied astrology while I was seeking iop a government post*” Professor Antonio Heras has sug­ gested another meaning to me that fits well with the obvi­ ously autobiographical intent of the statement.

We may

imagine that Alarc6 n during his long years as a pretend!ente at court had to learn to discern the good or bad humor of the court officials through their facial expressions, as an astrologer studied the aspects and arrangements of the heavenly bodies.

Alarc6 n uses a similar idea in Los favo-

res del mundo: iPuerte caso, dura ley, Que haya de ser el privado Un astr6 logo, colgado De los aspectos del rey! II, 10 In the Eplstola moral a Fabio we read: Triste de aquel que vive destinado a esa antigua colonia de los viclos augur de los semblantes del privado. So that, superficially playing along with his master’s allusion to his astrological description of women, Tristan admits to having studied astrology at the court, but beneath

102

Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n, La verdad sospechosa, edit­ ed with introduction, notes, and vocabulary by Arthur L. Owen (Boston: D. C. Heath Company, 1 9 2 8 ), p. 125. 103 The Oxford Book of Spanish Verse (Oxford: Claren­ don Press, 19 2 0), p . 1 6 3 .

121

this meaning resides the deeper, more bitter meaning for the pretend!ente, i. e., "augur de los semblantes del privado" or "un astr6logo, colgado de los aspectos del rey." Tristan*s sad allusions to the fate of the pretendiente and to the servant (I, 3 ) are echoed many times in the dramas of Alarc6n: Servir es ser desdichado.1°^ Yo sirvo; y diciendo sirvo, Digo que soy desdichado.1 0 5 Si en Madrid se ha de alcanzar Hasta el servir por favor.10® Zabaleta seconds our playwright*s opinions:

"Siendo el

servir la mayor desdicha, es menester dicha para hallar a quien servir.ttl°7 Tristan reveals the fickle nature of the traditional gracioso in his love affairs and confesses unashamedly,

Quien engana mas

a quien, III, 6 .

industria y 1& suerte, III, 4. 10 6 _ , - _ _ Todo es ventura, I, 2. Zabaleta, El dia de fiesta porla manana, p. 2 6 3 . In Cervantes* El coloquio de los perros ve read: "Porque, -segun lo que se usa, con^gran dificultad el dla de.hoy ha­ lls. un hombre de bien senor a quien servir. Muy dif©rentes son los senores de la Tierra del Senor del cielo: aquellas, para recibir un criado, primero le espulgan el linaje, examinan la hdbilidad, le marcan la apostura, y aun quieren saber los vestidos que tiene . . .

132 Yo nunca he tenido aqul Constant© amor ni deseo; Que siempre por la qu© v©o Me olvido de la que vi.

I, 3 When his master asks if he Is acquainted with a very beau­ tiful woman they have just seen, Tristan Ironically replies, No humanes Lo que por divino adoras; Porque tan altas senoras No tocan a los Tristanes. 1, 3 One feels continually the age and maturity of Tris­ tan at the side of the young, headstrong and Irresponsible Don Garcia.

Even in his choice of women Tristan appears

superior to his master, for in deciding between Lucrecia and Jacinta he decides, Pues a ml la que call6 Me pareci6 mas hermosa. To which his presumptuous master responds, »Que buen gusto! And the shrewd, subtle, humbled and embittered Tristan re­ torts, Es cierta cosa Que no tengo voto yo; Mas soy tan aficionado A cualquier mujer que calla, Que bast6 para juzgalla Mas hermosa, haber callado. I, 6 Time and again we must linger over the wealth of ex­ perience and facility for expression that we find in Tristan.

133 Perhaps disillusionment or unrequited love has taught him what he discloses to his young and rather unreceptive mas­ ter in brilliant comparisons and extravagant metaphors. Tristan's reference to his master* s "juveniles ©piniones" (I, 8 ) gives insight into his own mature state. When Don Beltran asks Tristan for his opinion of Garcia, the faithful gracioso feigns ignorance of his mas­ ter* s faults.

Don Beltr&n insists that Tristan knows his

son* s weaknesses because of his great perspicacity.

Tris­

tan* s subsequent description of his master*s personality shows us his thorough knowledge of student life in Salaman­ ca (II, 5 ). Camino, the servant of Lucrecia, alludes to Don Gar­ cia’s confidence in Tristan (ill, 1).

This confidence is

justified by Camino in the manner typical of the Golden Age. The fact that Tristan "es muy bien nacido" is what makes possible his master’s confidence in him.

In short, it is

the idea that only the possessor of noble blood is capable of being confided in, etc.

In Alarcon, as in Cervantes,

this idea is defended and combated with confusing frequency. Trist&n, like other graciosos, frequently refers to classical figures and as Beltran of Las paredes oyen (II, 2) and Don Domingo de Don Bias of No hay mal que por bien no venga (II, 9) he makes use of an epigram from Martial to

134 give more conviction and vitality to his arguments (III, 3)* Tristan ends the second act with a warning that his master does not heed: quien en las burlas miente, Pierde el credit© en las veras. II, 16 Tristan calls himself his masterfs ”secretario del alma” (III, 8 ) and ”seeretario me has hecho del archivo de tu pecho," he reminds Don Garcia (ill, 7 ).

He is involved

in all of Don Garcia* s doings. Don Garcia reprimands Trist&n for having delayed in telling him that his love is returned: iDulce alivio de mi pena! &Con ese espacio me das Nuevas que me vuelven loco? And Tristan, the wise, sober, and paternal servant who knows the ephemeral and fragile quality of happiness, re­ plies , Doytelas tan poco a poco Porque dure el gusto m&s. Ill, 3 He is on the stage as the play ends and in tradi­ tional gracioso fashion recites its last lines. The same questions that were posed at the end of the discussion about Beltran of Las paredes oyen might be posed with respect to Tristan.

There is no doubt that Tristan

has ceased to be the comic figure that the name gracioso

135 brings to mind, but he has not degenerated into a mere “sirviente de confianza" colorless and unphi 1 osophic, as the Hartzenbusch school of critics would imply.

Tristan, no

less than Beltran, is a deep and logical thinker.

Rather

than a “personaje inferior,”1 °^ the contrast between him and Don Garcia presents him as ethically superior to his master.

It is Trist&n who must tell his master, Tu tienes la culpa toda; . Que si al prineipio dijeras La verdad, esta es la hora Que de Jacinta gozabas. Ya no hay remedio, perdona, Y da la mano a Lucrecia. Ill, 14 Tristan* s personality -- in its differences from the

traditional figura del donaire —

may be explained in the

same manner as that of Beltran, i. e., by his university background and leek of money.

Of Tristan, too we must say

that he was “muy bien nacido“ (ill, 1 ). Tristan, and Beltran of Las paredes oyen, would fit comfortably within the fourth and most elevated category that Pfandl delineated for the figura del donaire in which IOC

the hero and his servant constitute a real dramatic unity.

This category was established for the figura del donaire of

Hartzenbusch, ££. cit., p. xvi. 109 pfajarii,

cit., p. 420.

136

no specific dramatist and only a comparative study of the figure would reveal if there exist graciosos in the comedias of Lope, Tirso and Calder6 n similar to Tristan of La verdad sospechosa and Beltran of Las paredes oyen. Ganar amigos Eneinas is the figura del donaire in this excellent comedia, almost unequalled in the Spanish drama of the Golden Age for its nobility of spirit and action.

The dev­

il would have had a sad time among such virtue, self-sacri­ fice, loyalty, and devotion.

Don Pedro e^L Cruel has become

unrecognizably el Justiciero and even Eneinas "se da el lujo de rivalizar con los senores en sentimientos de lealtad. " 1 1 0 Don Fernando and his lackey are introduced to the audience together in the third scene of the first act.

The

episode that ensues is vaguely reminiscent of Don Garcia* s first encounter with Lucrecia and Jacinta at Las Platerias in La verdad sospechosa.

Don Garcia asks Jacinta to take

any article she might desire: Por lo menos os servid Que esta tienda que os franqueo D 6 senal de mi deseo. I, 5 110

Castro Leal, 0£. cit., p. 1^7.

137 In Ganar amigos Don Fernando makes a similar offer: Si lo merezco, tomad Lo que os sirvais de la tienda. I, 3 The discreet and mature Tristan of La verdad sospechosa does not reveal his mas ter1s inability to back up his offer, but Eneinas, on the other hand, in true gracioso fashion blurts out that the beauty of the ladies present has wrought a great miracle, sinee it would loosen the strings of his mas ter1s purs e : ^Que es esto? Nunca te vi Ser galan tan de provecho. Senora, milagro han hecho Vues tras deidades aqu£; Pero seg&n tus estrellas Que nunea des han dispuesto, Hoy, que tu quieres, apuesto Que no lo reciben ellas. I, 3 Ines, the maid of one of the ladies present, remarks in an­ swer to Eneinas* apparently s trained jest, ^no tiene Gracia el buf6 n? And he retorts, obviously piqued, No me 11 amo Sino Eneinas. I, 3 In the following scene we are lead to believe that Eneinas must be excessively talkative since to keep him quiet about a previous love affair Don Fernando must hang a threat of death over his head (I, 4).

Don Fernando1s threat

138 to Eneinas is out of keeping with the elaboration Eneinas1 personality is later given; since we come to know him as an extraordinarily faithful servant and as a person of good birth.

Eneinas is a paradox of gracioso characteristics

and noble outbursts.

"Es Eneinas,” states Miss Quirarte,

"un ejemplar interesante de criado mitad rufian y mitad caballero.'"111 In the following scene we eome in contact with Ri­ cardo, a servant of Don Fadrique.

He is that type of serv­

ant who represents the mature, practical, and conservative adviser of his master.

Like Tristan of La verdad sospecho­

sa he may say to his master, »Oh quien te viera, senor, Libre destas mocedades! He is of that genus about which Montesinos wrote, "criados y lacayos andan por el teatro de Lope que tienen todos los rasgos fison6micos del graeioso, y no son graciosos propiamente.” Rare is the comedia in which Alarcon does not employ the gracioso as a portavoz through which to unbosom some ill-feeling against, or ciiticism of the court, or of city life.

In a soliloquy recited by Eneinas, he attributes the

111

112

Quirarte, op. cit., p. 50. Montesinos, op. cit., p. 505.

159 disappearance of his master to the customary "manas11 of Seville.

He makes clear the meaning of "manas** with a

rather unflattering parallel of his master*s disappearance to the disappearing techniques of a tahur, a personage fre­ quently mentioned by Alarc6n. Don Fernando, disguised as a "peregrino,ft accosts his lackey, who soon recognizes him and exclaims with obvi­ ous sincerity and loyalty, ISenor! iSenor de mi vida! &Es posible que te veo? II, 7 Eneinas continues vehemently in a long romance to tell his master of the worriment and privations he has undergone during his absence.

Like the traditional gracioso, loyal

to the Catholic faith, he says, Sail a buscarte, ofreciendo A Dios en hallazgo misas. II, 7 To make up for the hardships of the previous days Don Fer­ nando gives his servant a gold chain he has received from the marquis.

Eneinas is naturally taken aback by his mas­

ter* s show of generosity and inquires foxily and incredu­ lously, Senor, ^es fina? II, 7 and he is not sure of its true value until he has learned that Don Fernando did not receive it from a woman.

(II, 7)

140 During Don Fernando*s period of concealment Eneinas "desesperado . . . y apretado . . . de la pobreza enemiga" (II, 7) becomes the lackey of Don Diego with whom he in­ dulged in several "garzonerfas" during their youth.

His

friendship with a person of noble blood and the reference to his "hidalgo nacimiento" (III, l) lead one to believe that he, like the graciosos of La verdad sospechosa and Las paredes oyen, has been forced to serve through misfortune and lack of money.

Eneinas does not display any great

learning but with an ambivalent personality can seem at once a picaresque, buffoonesque gracioso and then an impec­ cable noble. As Don Diego*s servant he has easy access to his house and manages to get Don Fernando in to speak with Dona Flor.

While Don Fernando is in the house, Don Diego returns

unexpectedly.

This gives Eneinas a chance to flaunt the

practicality and ingenuity with which the gracioso must be endowed.

He hurriedly attempts to separate Dona Flor and

Don Fernando, who are in the midst of a heated argument: Senora, mira Que viene tu hermano. Dona Flor ;Ay triste! Vete, Fernando. Don Fernando Enemiga, Mi muerte y la tuya espero. Eneinas - Pues duelete de la mla. II, 9 When the argument continues, Eneinas finally exhorts,

14! Acaba; que a todLa ley Es bueno guardar la vida. II, 9 Such words may seem to be filled with self-interest and cowardice, but most probably they are in consonance with Montesinos1 concept of Lope’s gracioso:

"La cobardla de!

iacayo . . . tiene, a veees, otro aspecto, por el que cobra su mas profundo sentido.

No es ya propiamente cobardla,

sino cautela e industria. f,H 3 Eneinas, a thorough gracioso in his ever-flowing fountain of ingenuity and astuteness, adjusts his talents to the needs of Don Diego, his new master, with great ease. We might question Don Diego’s absolute faith in his new servant and label it a forced theatrical recourse, necessa­ ry to meet the circumstantial needs of the play, were it not for the fact that they had been friends in Cordoba in previous years. In the thirteenth scene of the second act we witness the sprightly wit of Eneinas as he slithers out of a diffi­ cult situation, giving the audience a good laugh, no doubt, with his air of importance.

Ines is surprised to see him

outside of Dona Ana’s house and asks what brings him there. He replies that he is now in the employ of the marquis and

113 Montesinos, oj). cit., p. 475.

142 brags that he is '’quien priva mas en su pecho.”

Dona Ana

asks if Eneinas knows what has become of Don Fernando. This question is, of course, a dangerous one, since he has prom­ ised to shroud the whereabouts of his former master in absolute silence.

He avoids an answer by pretending, with 11 4 the.identical shrewdness of Quevedo’s Don Pablos, that the marquis is calling for him: ^Que? ^Me llama el Marques? Si, Ya voy. \Que pres to me ech6 Menos! Jur&ralo yo: No vive un punto sin ml. II, 13

Dona Ana, who has been pleased with Eneinas from the start of the comedia (I, 3)> remarks that the marquis possesses good taste in his choice of servants.

Ines, on the other

hand, who has tagged Eneinas a buf6n at their first meeting, notes that, Siempre con senores es Feliz la bufonerla. II, 15 In the third act we become aware of new aspects In Eneinas* personality, which are in marked contrast to the attributes of a traditional gracioso and of the Eneinas we have known in the first two acts.

Eneinas vacillates

114 Francisco de Quevedo, El Busc6n (Madrid: EspasaCalpe, Clasicos Castellanos, 5, 1927), p. 184. OIL* kos empenos de un engano, I, 2.

143 between the actions and comments of a gracioso and those more likely to be found in a gentleman.

As he stands on

the stage humorously disguised as a Franciscan lay brother, he gives us to understand that ”de hidalgos padres naci11 and that Don Diego can have absolute faith in him.

His as­

sertions of nobility and bravery, unlike those of the tra­ ditional gracioso, are not mere "bravuconerla,,f as his lat­ er actions prove (ill, 7 )♦

Miss Bradford reveals, however,

that there are graciosos who are both boastful and brave in the theater of Lope de Vega. n 6 The reader experiences a remarkable spiritual affin­ ity with Alarcon through Encinas, when in the next scene he finishes some coarse jests and ttpesadas burlas” of feigned disloyalty, avariciousness and cowardice that satisfy the groundlings, and steps forward to a central position on the stage to aim this sharpened dart at the audience and at the playwrights of the day: Senor, Tienen los pobres criados 0pini6n de interesados, De poco peso y valor. iPese a qulen lo piensa! ^andamos De cabeza los slrvientes? £Tienen almas diferentes En especie nuestros amos? Muchos criados £no han sido Tan nobles como sus duenos? El ser grandes o pequenos, El servir o ser servido, 116

Bradford, 03?. cit., p. 57.

144 En mils o menos riqueza Consist© sin duda alguna, Y en distancia de fortuna, Que no de naturaleza. Por esto me cansa el ver In la comedia afrentados Siempre a los pobres criados . . . -Y por Dios que ha visto Encinas En mas de cuatro ocasiones Muchos criados leones Y muchos amos gallinas. Ill, 8 One loses sight of Encinas during this speech and sees hid­ den behind the grotesque disguise of the gracioso, the bent but exalted figure of Alarc6n himself.

The loyalty of

Tristan in Todo es ventura (I, l) and of Beltran in No hay mal que por bien no venga (I, 10) is repeated in Encinas, who assures Don Diego ^donde murieres, hemos de morir los dos.w

(III, 8.) Still, Encinas is a gracioso and as such he has not

lost his respect for the powers of money (III, l), nor has he lost the psychology of the cynical and buffoonesque lack­ ey.

When Don Diego, who has revealed his lascivious de­

sires to Encinas, enters the house of Dona Ana to seduce her, her squire assures him: No hay hombre En esta casa que 'por vos no muera. To which Encinas answers in the undeceived and schooled voice of the cynic, in an aside to the audience, iQue enganado se hallara quien lo hiciera! Ill, 2

1^5 The comedia ends with all personages -- Encinas among them -- rewarded for their extreme valor, loyalty, and self-sacrifice.

Encinas does not duplicate his mas­

ter1s marital venture, hut it is he who speaks the last words of the play for Alarc6n, returning the audience to reality. Third Period La crueldad por el honor La crueldad por el honor is one of Alarc6n* s "comedias heroicas* the source of which is, as our dramatist informs us, Mariana’s Historia general de Espana. Zaratan, its gracioso, is a remarkable example of the philosopher, realistic satirist, cynic, comedian, and jovial servant we have come to think of as the archetype for the traditional figura del donaire. He is the first one to appear on the stage and his ludicrous hunting outfit, his limping and his condemnation of hunting must have surely delighted the boisterous ele­ ments of the audience.

The essence of his critical dis­

course on hunting is strikingly similar to one made by Beltr&n in Las paredes oyen (II, 1).

Several scenes later he

still harks back to his distaste for hunting, and in a man­ ner that might imply personal experience, for Zarat&n knows

146 the world despite Miss Quirarte*s assertion that he is "de alma sencilla,

he asks: ^Por que condenan los hombres A galeras, si los pueden Condenar a cazadores? I, 6

Early in the comedia he informs us of his station in life, "soy escudero,” and is surprised when a beggar cannot smell his poverty (I, 2).

Like Trist&n of Quien mal anda

en mal acaba (I, 2), Zarat&n compares himself to a crane (I, 6) and with the involved fluency of a culteranista he informs his master of nightfall: Ya el caballo ha descansado, Y precursora la noche, Corona de negras sombras Las cabezas de los montes. I,.5. We find Zaratan, from the outset of the play, in close association with his master and also with Nuno Aulaga, who will successfully pass, until the last scenes of the play, as King Alfonso of Arag6n.

The type of absolute fa­

miliarity between Zaratan and Nuno is completely the reverse of the relationship advocated by Alarc6n for serv­ ants and royalty in Los favores del mundo (II, 2).

Zaratan,

in the manner of the traditional gracioso, is completely unrestrained in the presence of royalty. 117

,« u Quirarte, oj>. clt., pp. 4o-49-

147 Zaratan is an extraordinary braggart and assures Nu­ no, Dicen que a la Reina bella Tu cabeza proraeti6 , Y a no defenderte yo, No diera un cuarto por ella. II, 1 He reveals a preoccupation about personal comfort and also about the frailness of life (I, 1; II, 2).

He reminds Nuno

in a very ingenious manner that he is forced to travel about without a horse: que era mi posta Tan lerda, larga y angosta, Que por mas que he procurado Picar, fue vano trabajo, Porque mis pies no la hallaban, Y uno a otro se picaban Mis talones por debajo.

II, 1 This subtlety may have been born of the fact that earlier in the play his horse was borrowed for Nuno*s use (I, 6 ). Zarat&n also displays his love for life in a short speech that alludes to some of its constant evils: iPlega a Dios! que es el vivir Linda joya, y barbarism© Buscars© un hombre a si mismo Aderezos de morir; Que sin la guerra hay contraries Para quieii morir desea, Pues hay meldn y lamprea, Mujeres y boticarios. II, 8 It is also quite obvious that he is a coward (II, 4; II, 5 ; II, 7) and very interested in material rewards.

He relates

148 an anecdote to Nuno, who has promised him a reward, that says, in essence, “del dicho al hecho hay much© trecho” (II, 1).

Fragments of this same anecdote will he repeated

through the play in subtle fashion to remind Nuno of his promise (III, 3)« Zaratan makes excellent use of a fable to Illustrate the danger of having inferior men in important positions (II, 5 ).

This fable is also repeated, in part, on other

occasions during the play.

In scene eleven of the second

act, one of those scenes similar to Italian opera, wherein five separate conversations are carried on in furtive asides, but in unison, Zarat&n sings the fable theme against a background of jealousy, passion, and political intrigue. Perhaps the most enjoyable scene of the play is one in which Zaratan sets himself up as an arbitrista, and re­ cites a series of festive and satiric prematicas, strongly reminiscent of Quevedo*s talents.

He assures us first that

his life has been directed towards Minerva — intelligence -- rather than towards Mars.

the symbol of

Then, with dev­

astating logic, refreshing modernity, and prophetic vision, he proceeds to poke at the fundamental Ills of Spain in the seriocomical tone all dramatists had to assume when they spoke through their graciosos.

How clearly Alarc6 n foresaw

the decadence that would come to Spain through what Profes­ sor Marcos Morinlgo termed “la devalorizaci6 n del trabajo,“

1^9 and through Zaratan he advises, Item, porque haber pocos oficiales Mecanicos y pocos labradores Encarece las obras y labores, Wo se admitansus hi jos al estudio De letras, ni por ellas a las plazas De jueces . .. Ill, 3 There is. great humanity in Zarat&n* s suggestion que no se impongan los tributes En cosas a la vida necesarias, Mas solo en las que fueren voluntaries, En coehes, guarniclones de vestidos, En juegos, fiestas, bailes y paseos, Pues ninguno podr& llamar injusto El tributo que paga por su gusto. Ill, 3 The entire discourse reveals the truth in Castro Leal*s as­ sertion that wZarat&n, el gracioso, es, como despues lo se­ ra Don Domingo de Don Bias, un humanista a fuerza de logica. Zaratin is a lover of drink, like the traditional figura del donaire. An overindulgence in wine which con­ tains a purgative results in a physiological embarrassment so frequently mentioned in the writings of the Golden Age as to constitute a Mlugar comun. **

(ill, 1 1 )

®ur gracioso evidently aspires to be unique among the family of graclosos when he proclaims in the last speech

118 Castro Leal, oj3. cit., p. 175.

150 of tli© comedia, Y yo, pues soy tan dichoso, Que entre tantos no me casan, Dare fin a la comedia . . . Ill, 23 It must be remembered that his master does not marry either. Consequently, Zarat&n is duplicating his master*s actions, which is the normal procedure in the case of marriage. There is even a precedent for his statement in Los indicios de la culpa of Lope de

V e g a . ^

9

Zaratan is, without doubt, the traditional figura del donaire par excellence. Fourth Period No hay mal que por bien no venga No hay mal que por bien no venga is, perhaps, the last comedia that Alarc6 n composed before dedicating him­ self completely to his newly acquired position in the Consejo de Indias. Beltr&n, the comedia*s gracioso, is on the stage with his master, Don Juan, as the play begins, and is well

^ Cited by Miss Bradford, 0£. cit., p. 8 3 . Cf. Lope de Vega, Los mllagros del desprecio, III, 19; Velez de Guevara, La luna de la sierra. In the final scene of the first act.Velez de Guevara presents, through his gracioso, a subtle criticism of the numerous comedias that end in marriage.

151 aware of all his affairs: financial, love, etc. His mastei*^ despair over a frustrated love brings a "graciosa historia1* to Beltran’s mind, the moral of which directly condemns Don Juan* s profligate spending and numerous debts. Beltr&n creates a humorous play on words with the morpheme cidat which was evidently capable of transference to many words at the time:^2(^ 56 su dama con 6 l, Y en un cuello que trafa Ajeno, como solfa, Hizo un destrozo cruel. El dueno cuando entendi6 La desdicha sucedlda* A la dama cuellecida121 Fue a buscar . . . I, 1 Montesinos has observed that the gracioso Mde una parte admira a su senor, pero cuando la realidad se venga del desden del sonador, se echa de ver en su modo de hablar y proceder cierta alegrfa del mal ajeno.

Es su venganza.

Con toda su lealtad, que le lleva a compadecer a su senor, no puede menos de gozarse en su derrota.”122

120

This attidude

Quinones de Benavente, Entremes del avantal, B. A. E., XVIII, 648a: ~ La bolsa me han pillado. I Oh, bolslcida perversa! 121 122

Italics not in original. Montesinos, 0£. cit., p. 40^.

152 is found in several Alarconian graclososf ^ and to the taunts of Beltran in this comedia Don Juan exclaims, iQue M e n sabes discurrir Contra ml!

I, 1 Prom the outset of the play we are aware of the close rela­ tionship between Don Juan and Beltran and the parallel vir­ tues and vices of their modes of living.

When Beltran

remarks to his master, ^Puedes culpar, Pues que te ayudo a pecar, Que te ayude a arrepentir?

I, 1 and later reminds Don Juan, who mistakes his advice for

que yo no soy Tan necio, que predicando Culpare tus vicios cuando De la misma tinta estoy . . . I, 10 it becomes difficult to accept Abreu G6 mez1s hypothesis that Mlos graciosos que maneja Alarc6 n, no son iguales a sus amos; son de sangre y de raza y de categorla distintas.”124 We come to understand that Beltran is the continual

123

i®: de Salamanca, II, p. 8 9 ; To do es ventura, I, 9 ^ Quien mal anda en mal acaba, I, 11. 124

Abreu G6mez,

gjd.

cit.,

pp.

189-201.

adviser of his master, when the latter alludes to a plan he has not as yet revealed to his lackey, Beltran says, Dilo todo si te he de ayudar, Como en lo demas, en el, I, 10 Like the typical gracioso, Beltran is a model of fi­ delity (I, 10).

However, still within the frame of tradi­

tional characteristics, he shows an especial interest in his personal safety and well-being (I, 10; II, 8 ).

We may

imagine that Beltran is not cowardly when he is ready to draw his sword against Don Domingo, but it is obvious at this point that he is sure there will be no danger involved for him since Don Domingo, the acomodado, is looked upon with scorn and is evidently considered a coward.

When Bel­

tran sees how valorously and brilliantly Don Domingo duels against his master, he remarks later to Don Juan, no doubt with knees quaking and voice quivering: Huelgome que hayas sacado Mi blanca deste concierto. II, 12 Vazquez-Ar jona is of the opinion that the ancient fable of the crow that dresses in the feathers of other birds, recited by Beltran, may have been Intended as an in­ dignant protest by Alarc6 n against the imitation of his El Tejador de Segovia that was presented at the time he was composing No hay mal que por bien no venga .^ 5 Vazquez-Ar jona, o£. cit., pp. 601-02.

Beltran closes his recitation of the fable with these words: Que yo se bien que advirtieran Menos falsos mas de cuatro Que con ajeno vestido El aplauso han merecido Del pulpito y del teatro. II, 8 In the Prologue to the Segunda Parte of his comedias pub­ lished in 1634, Alarcon angrily reminds the reader that "las ocho Comedias de mi-primera parte, y las doce desta segunda son todas mias, aunque algunas han sido plumas de otras corne jas . . ." 1 2 6 ^Italics not in original J ■'"X

Beltr&n alludes to hunger (III, 1), to money (II, 55 III, l), to sleep (III, l); recites the title of the play (III, 8 ), and successfully passes disguised as an escribano (I, 1 5 ).

Following the credo of the traditional gracioso,

he scorns the yoke of marriage and reminds Don Domingo: MIrad que no se acomoda, Don Domingo, quien se casa. Ill, 11 He asks the king for a reward for his services (III, 8 ), and in the last scene of the play he reminds the king

that he has said, "No me olvidare de ti." Abreu Gdmez maintains that "la mas notable caracterlstica de los graciosos de Alarc6 n estriba en la sobriedad de su expresidn c6 mica . . . A1 mirarlos de cerca se

126 B. A. E., XX, xlviii.

155 observa que carecen, precisamente, de gracia.

^he

analyses of the plays I have presented thus far reveal the error of such a broad generalization. For Montesinos the major function of the gracioso resides not In gracia but in 11la contraposici6 n de dos visiones de la vida,”1 2® i . e., that of the galan and that of the gracioso.

The last speech of the comedia reveals the

truth of this statement and makes clear Alarc6 n*s awareness of the juxtaposition of these ”dos visiones de la vida" portrayed by the lackey and gentleman.

The king, after re­

warding the nobles according to their social status and "vision de la vida, 11 asks Beltran what reward he might want according to his status and "vision de la vida"s Plensa tu lo que te Importa Segun tu es tado . . .1^9 Despite the "sobriedad de su expresi6 n comica," Bel­ tran is a traditional figura del donaire. ~

~T

--- ------

-| t

- -

-

127 Abreu G 6 mez, o£. cit., pp. 189-201. 128 Montesinos,

Q£.

cit.,

p.

129 Italics not in original.

503.

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS Implicit in the fifteen analyses presented in Chap­ ter Five is the conclusion that the Alarconian gracioso is essentially identical to the traditional figura del donaire. This, of course, differs radically from.the opinions of the scholars cited in Chapter Four . 1 In general, Hartzenbusch and his follovers main­ tained that the gracioso of Alarcon was a mere servant, not excessively vitty, not offensive, not conventional, not buffoonesque nor philosophic, but a true Image of the serv­ ants of the time.

But where have these critics discovered

this true image?

Upon what literature of imagination, upon

what historical treatises, and upon what contemporary ref­ erences to customs and traditions has this statement been established?

What investigations have they made into the

reality of those times? It does not seem possible to me, from the research

The ideas of Hartzenbusch are also upheld in No hay mal que por bien no venga in Cuatro comedias, edited with notes and vocabulary by John Hill and Mabel M. Harlan (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 194l), p. 1 8 3 ; and The Structure.of the Alarconian Comedia, unpublished Doctor’s Dissertation by Thomas E. Hamilton (Austin, Texas, 1 9 ^ 0 ), pp. 1 0 , 1 2 2 , 1 7 0 .

157 that has been done so far, for anyone to be certain about the real nature of the servant of the sixteenth and seven­ teenth centuries.

Consequently, there is no basic proof

for the statement that Alarc6nfs servant and not the serv­ ants of Lope de Vega*s comedias was "en las tablas como venla a ser en el mundo. And what of the exactness of the image that they have presented of the Alarconian gracioso? it is narrow, misleading, and contradictory.

I believe that It seems to

me that the critics under consideration have constructed an image of Alarcon*s gracioso on the basis of his most famous comedias: La verdad sospechosa and Las paredes oyen^ and that they have generalized this image to represent the gra­ cioso in all of Alarcon*s works. It is true that a writer is generally judged by his productions of greatest artistic content, but nevertheless we cannot overlook his other works, or attribute to them the characteristics of his masterpieces. Alarcdn.

And so it is with

We cannot define the gracioso of his entire thea­

ter through the grades os of his finest comedias. 2

J. E. Hartzenbusch, ’Caracteres distintivos de las obras dramaticas de don Juan Ruiz de Alarcdn," included in Comedias de don Juan Ruiz de Alarcdn, B. A. E., XX, xvi. Consult the discussions of these comedias in Chap­ ter Five, especially Las paredes oyen, pp. 119, 126-27, and La verdad sospechosa, pp. 1 3 4 -3 6 .

158 In the analyses of Chapter Five I pointed time and again to the similarities between the gracioso of Alarc6 n and the traditional figura del donaire.

The usual assev­

erations of the Hartzenbusch school, je. g . , that Alarc6 n fs servants do not advise their masters, that they are not philosophic, impertinent, buffoonesque, etc., have been proven false. The statement that Alarc6 n fs gracioso does not marry the criada may reveal a difference between him and a rather large percentage of traditional graciosos; but it places him in another group of traditional graciosos who do not marry.

The fact that several of Alarc6 n's graciosos

have university training is also considered an individual­ izing trait by many critics.

But the recent work of Miguel

Herrero, discussed in Chapter Two, reveals this character­ istic to be very common among traditional graciosos. Hartzenbusch and Pfandl assured that Alarc6 n would not express elevated or philosophic thoughts through the gracioso.

And yet Alarc6 n used the gracioso in many plays,

including his two most famous ones, to express lofty ideas^ Abreu Gomez maintained that the gracioso, better than the other characters of the Alarconian comedia, expressed the

4

Alfonso Reyes observes that the lacayos of Alarc6 n wdejan denser graciosos para eonvertirse en fi16sofos y eonse jeros, maestros del sentido comun. ** -- Capitulos de literature espanola: Segunda serie (Mexico: El Colegio de Mexico, 1*945), p. 2 5 9 .

159 author*s personal beliefs and emotions.

And we know that

the traditional flgura del donaire was very often the portavoz for the dramatist's own ideas and emotional states. It would be possible to go through all the charac­ teristics of the traditional figura del donaire listed in Chapter Three and find their likenesses in the comedias of Alarc6 n.

In fact, that has been accomplished in the anal­

yses of his comedias. We may safely say, then, that the opinions of Hart­ zenbusch and his followers on the gracioso of Alarcon are inexact and must undergo thorough revision. The ideas of Abreu G 6 mez deserve separate treatment, since they represent an individual approach to the Alarcon­ ian gracioso. Abreu Gomez maintains that Alarcon is a for­ eigner in Spain, that he is unable to Interpret "lo nacional

e s p a n o l M5

which he sees with the eyes of a foreigner.

Alarc6 n, claims Abreu G6 mez, is a model of the indefinite­ ness of the Mexican temperament of his times.

He could not

be more Mexican than the amorphous Mexican!sm that existed then. silent.

He could not be the echo of a voice that was still Paradoxically, Abreu Gomez believes that the per­

sonality of Alarc6 n is ”mexlcana en tanto que no es

5 E. Abreu G6 mez, Ruiz de Alarc6 n, bibliografia critica (Mexico: Ediciones Botas, 1939)/ P* ^3*

l6o

e s p a n o l a , b u t this Mexican personality was still undefin­ ed and groping for expression.

It is through the gracioso

that Alarc6 n expresses this ambiguous nature.? The theory of Abreu G6 mez is brilliant and presented with the attractive technique of the literary artist that he is.

It is almost like a religion in that one must ac­

cept a primary, unproven credo in order to believe his con­ clusions.

If we can accept, without definite evidence, the

premise that Alarc6 n cannot express "lo nacional espanol” and that he is striving to give voice to the nascent Creole spirit in his theater through the gracioso, then it will be easy to believe his persuasive arguments.

But If one can

not accept this major premise, as I cannot after a systema­ tic study of Alarcon1s theater, then all the citations which attempt to prove that Alarcon* s graciosos belong to some indefinable race, different from that of their Spanish masters, will be futile.

The many quotations that Abreu

Gomez brings from ten comedias of Alarc6 n become mere

6 Abreu G6 mez, o£. cit., p. 48. 7

There is an elaborate literature, defending and denying Alarc6 n*s possible literary and spiritual Mexicanism, to which writers like Henrlquez Urena, Castro Leal, Gonzalez Pena, Alfonso Keyes, Jimenez Rueda, Bonilla y San Martin and Fernandez MacGregor.have contributed.

161

statements of traditional gracioso characteristics like faithfulness, social criticism, practicality, the author*s portavoz, etc. It may be asked, finally, if there is any difference between the gracioso of Juan Ruiz de Alarc6 n and the tradi­ tional figura del donaire.

The answer is, to my mind, yet

to be ascertained. Lope de Vega, in La Prancesilia, gave definite form to the figura del donaire, a form which was to be imitated by all the playwrights^who wrote comedias nuevas.

These

writers, Alarcon among them, took over the mold of the gra­ cioso and modified It according to their Individual needs. But it must also be remembered that the gracioso is more than a comic instrument, more than a mass of conventional activities and well-defined expressions.

He is the voice

of the author himself on many occasions.

He is the social

critic and philosopher of the comedia.

It is in these

aspects of his character, I believe, under the mask of com­ ic uniformity, that the gracioso reflects the individuality of his creator. Yet we cannot possibly know which aspects of the gracioso*s character represent the individuality of a dram­ atist until we have made a careful comparative study of the personage in the comedias of several playwrights.

162

The preliminary comparison made in this thesis between the gracioso of Alarc6 n and the traditional figura del donaire revealed that they were essentially alike, and that many characteristics attributed exclusively to the Alarconian gracioso were also found in the traditional gra­ cioso. Further investigation may reveal other similarities. And graciosos not unlike Beltran of Las paredes oyen and Tristan of La verdad sospechosa may very well be found in the vast, untapped treasures of Lope de Vega* s theater. I intend to undertake this comparative study in order to discover the ideological differences and similari­ ties that exist in the graciosos of the Lope school and also to compare the comic devices and techniques of the au­ thors to be studied.

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

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