A study of the main comic elements in the "Sainetes" of González del Castillo

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A STUDY OF THE MAIN COMIC ELEMENTS IN THE SAINETES OF GONZALEZ DEL CASTILLO

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

by William Donald Mills June 1950

UMI Number: EP65441

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T his thesis, w ritten by

....... Willi^„Dpnald_Milla....... under the guidance of h%M... F a c u lty C om m ittee, and approved by a ll its members, has been presented to and accepted by the C o u n c il on G ra d u ate Study and Research in p a r t ia l f u l f i l l ­ ment of the requirements f o r the degree of

Master _af ...Arts

D ate

June.,195,0

Faculty Committee /

Chairman

TABIE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. II.

PAGE

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

1

CLASSIFICATION OF SAINETES . . ..................

17

COMIC ELEMENTS IN THE CHARACTERS

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

23

Social types and c o s t u m e s ...................

23

Other costume e f f e c t s .......................

45

Names of c h a r a c t e r s .........................

51

IV.

L A N G U A G E .........................................

54

V.

OTHER COMIC E L E M E N T S ............................

67

Avarice and g r e e d ...........................

68

B o r r o w i n g .......................

70

B u f f o o n e r y ...................

71

D r i n k i n g ......................................

76

F a n f a r o n a d e ..................................

80

False e r u d i t i o n ..............................

84

Fear and c o w a r d i c e ............

86

Fighting and s l a p p i n g .......................

88

H u n g e r ..................................

91

Ingenuousness and ignorance

........

93

False illness and f a i n t i n g ...................

96

Personal insults and name calling

98

III.

. . .

...........

Licentiousness..........

101

Pride and v a n i t y ..............................

104

iii CHAPTER VI.

PAGE

C O N C L U S I O N S ......................................

108

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................

110

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to bring to light the main comic elements and the manner in which Gonzalez del Castillo makes use of them in his forty-four sainetes* To our knowledge, there exists no study similar to this which treats the technique, characters, situations, language, and attendant elements which blended, go to complete a sainete.

Because Gonzalez del Castillo ranked second only

to Don Ramon de la Cruz as a saineteroof the eighteenth century, and because his sainetes have been neglected in comparison with those of Cruz, this study also proposes to accord him a share of the credit which those men who preached against the frenchified Spaniard deserve* In order to discover the origin of the sainete we must first look to the juglar of the Middle Age whose chief purpose it was to amuse people.

Menendez Pidal gives an accurate

description of what a juglar was: . . . los juglares eran todos los que se ganaba la vida actuando ante un publico, para recrearle con la rnusica, o con la literature, o con charlataneria, o con juegos de manos, de acrobatismo, de mimics., etc.^The main concern of the juglar was to furnish his audience with solace.

This is an aim which the sainetero also has in

1 Menendez Pidal, Poesia juglaresca y juglares (Madrid: Revista de Archivos, 1924), p. 5.

2

mind*

The principal means employed by the juglar were song

and music; however, the buffoon also played a role among those who called themselves juglares*

The juglares wore costumes

p of bright colored materials and were, as a whole rather showy.* The common conception of a juglar is that of a traveling poet-singer who played before royal and noble audiences.

There

was also the popular juglar who exercised his vile art in the streets and squares in an attempt to earn a few glasses of wine and a few copper coins.^

This is the forerunner of the bobo

or simple who performed practical jokes, made puns, and who was destined to appear in the popular theater of Spain in the thirteenth century. In the thirteenth century there existed side by side with the autos or religious theater sponsored by the church a profane theater which as Valbuena y Prat says? Segun los testimonies cbetaneos (era) burdo y grosero, al que perteneceria el genero de los juegos de escarnio , satirico seguramente: Los clerigos, dice el mismo Rey Sabio, no de.uen ser fazedores de juegos descarnios, porque los vengan a ver gentes, como se fazen. E si otros omes los fizieren non deuen los clerigos y uenir, porque fazen y muchas villanias e desaposturas. ^ None of these'juegos de escarnio have reached us in documents, but it cannot be doubted that this vulgar theater would offer us the first proof and sign of the Spanish theater which was 2 Ibid. , p. 5. 3 Ibid., p. 441. 4 Angel Valbuena y Prat, Llteratura dramatics espafiola (Bareelona-Buenos Aires! Editorial Labor, 1930), p. 15.

later to be the ancestor of the paso, the entremes, and the sainete. Juan del Encina,

(1469-1529), is traditionally called

the patriarch of the Spanish theater.

Though he wrote a

number of autos de Navidad and Representationes de la Pasion y Resurreccion, his profane eclogues are of more concern to this study.

Encina1s Antruejo and other dialogues and com­

positions which were destined to be represented during carnival, put on the stage shepherds who simply converse in the same way as those in his pieces written for the Natividad.

The difference

is that the subject of their conversations is not sacred.

He

uses the picturesque proverbs and sayings of the Sayago dialect, and the shepherds frequently allude to happenings contemporary to the time the piece was being

staged.^

Thus we find two elements appearing -here which are also to be found later in the sainete. popular and picturesque speech.

The first is the use of The second is allusions to

contemporary events. Encinafs Aucto de Repelon refers to the jests and prac­ tical jokes which some students play on some villagers who were going to market in the city.

Menendez y Pelayo says of this

playlet ? . . . por lo rudo y plebeyo del estilo, por la energies groseria de las burlas, anuncia, aunque toscamente, los

5 Valbuena y Prat, op. cit., pp. 27-28.

futures entremeses, a los euales hasta se parece en acabar a palos.6 Castillofs sainetes, as we shall see, are full of fighting and practical jokes which are not a great deal different from those found in the Aucto de Repelon. Bartolome de Torres Haharro (died after 1530) was probably the first to bring a sort of realism to the Spanish stage. While describing his dramatic theories, he states: Cuanto a los generos de comedias, a mi paresee que bastarian dos para en nuestra lengua castellanas Comedia a noticia y comedia a fantasia. A noticia se entiende de cosa nota y vista en realidad de verdad, como son Soldadesca y Tinellaria. A fantasia, de cosa que tenga color de verdad aunque no lo sea, como son Serafina^ y Ymenea.*7 In Comedia Soldadesca we find a variety of languages used to reproduce perfectly reality as seen by the author.

In the

sainetes of Castillo, we frequently find foreign words or phrases intercalated to attain the same end. Gil Vicente,

(1465-1539?) a Portuguese poet, brings

into full flower the Renaissance theme of love and wordly life which triumphs- over the asceticism of the Middle Ages.

In his

Farea clamada Auto das fadas, a singing and dancing friar sings forth with this Invititorio de Maitines: A1 temple Santo de Amor donde las almas perdemos, Venid todos, y adoremos® 6~Ibld. , p. 30. 7

> P*

46-

8

> P-

61*

5 The farces of Gil Vicente bring together in an ironic light almost all of the social types of the society in whieh Vicente lived.

They are a perfect genre of short comedy and

are incomparably superior to the pasos of Rueda or the sainetes of Cruz because they combine social satire with the most"fluent poetry.

The number of social types in his plays is astounding.9 And so, as Encina brings into the Spanish theater the

use of popular speech, crude jokes and allusions to contemporary events, as Torres Waharro carries a touch of realism to the boards, Gil Vicente emphasizes two more elements which are to become a part of the sainete.

He stresses worldly life tri­

umphing over the ascetic, and he presents a many-sided view of society as reflected by the characters who 'roam through his farces. Sebastian de Horozeo (1510?-1580) was apparently the first Spanish dramatist to create an entremes of outstanding form and grace.

The

Entremes que hizo el autor a ruego de

una monja parienta suya evangelista, para representarse, como se represento, en un monasterio de esta cibdad, dla de Sant Juan Evangelista Valbuena says of this entremesi La riqueza de figuras de esta obra (el pregonero, el aldeano, el bufiolero, ademas del fraile) la const!tuyen 5 Ibid.~ p. 66. 10 Ibid.. pp. 76-77.

6 en uno de nuestros mas vivos, pintorescos y graciosos entreme se s. . . Besides being the first to employ the term entremes, we can see from the characters listed above that Horozco believed, as did Vicente, in using characters from various strata of society. Lope de Rueda (1510?-1565) adds a vivacious and witty dialogue to the above listed elements* was something mental and cannot elements.

His other addition

be listed as easily

The element to which we are referring is

as other that of

considering the tastes and desires of his audience and basing his pasos on these tastes and desires. Menendez y Pelayo says of this dialogue: El merito positivo y eminente de Lope de Rueda no esta en la concepcion dramatica, casi siempre ajena, sino en el arte del dialogo, que es un tesoro de diccion popular, pintoresca y sazonada, tanto en sus pasos y coloquios sueltos como en los que pueden entresacarse de sus comedia s. 3-2 Lope de Rueda has the distinction of perfecting or creating a new genre; the paso which is a comic incident or witty scene which was inserted into an auto or comedy.

Since it is

treated as a separate entity, it may be shifted from comedy to comedy without loss of unity.

The important point con­

cerning the pasos, however, is that the characters are drawn 11 Valbuena y Prat, loc. ,cit. 12 Ibid., p. 90.

7 from the lower classes.

They were used to supply comic relief

or to serve as an introduction to the main play, in which case they replaced the earlier dramatic monologue.

13

There is very little available relevant to the first development of the entremes.

Jack says that they were first

employed in Catalonia and Valencia. entremes

The origin of the term

was connected with food served at banquets.

Por

example, the food of an ingenious nature which was served to celebrate the coronation of doha Silvia dy Pedro IV in 1381 was labeled entremes.

It consisted of peacock elaborately

prepared and bearing verses expressing loyalty to the queen. The Catalan word entremes given to this gastronomic triumph was apparently taken from the French entremets and the Latin intermissum.14

Some critics have accepted the statement of

Augustin de Rojas in his Loa de la comedia that the entremeses received their name, !tPorque iban entre medias de la farsa,n but this explanation rests only upon popular etymology. The earliest recorded use of entremes to denote a short play or playlet or comic scene is located in the prologue to 13 J. p. Wickersham Crawford, Spanish Drama before Lope De Vega (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1937), p. 111-117. 14 William Shaffer Jack, The Early Entremes in Spain: The Rise of A Dramatic Form (Philadelphias UniversiTiiy of Pennsylvania Press, 1923), p. 13. 15 Ibid., p. 61.

8

the comedy of Sepulveda in the year

1547.

Paso and entremes come to he used synonymously as evi­ denced by the use Sepulveda puts them to in his readaptation and translation of 11 Viluppo of Girolamo Parabosco. adaptation was published about 1553.1^ which bore the name entremes or paso a background or to study character.

This

These compositions made no attempt to form

There is no exposition

of plot because everything hangs from the action and dialogue. Some practical joke theme,

or deception of some sortwas

the usual

but reworked and put in countless new settings and

situations.

The time necessary to present these pieces was

the same, approximately, as it takes to read them. s or paso or this period was written in prose, and was invariably limited to scenes and incidents common to the laboring elasses. later period,

They are, like the sainetes of a

(i.e. the eighteenth century) mirrors of both

the life and customs of the times during which they were written. Although few manuscripts of entreme ses have reached us, manu­ scripts that is from the seventeenth century, the entremeses continued to be very popular in both religious and profane feasts and holidays.

The municipalities almost without

16 Crawford,

op. cit., p. 111.

17 Jack, op.

cit., pp. 60-61.

9 exception had a stipulation concerning the number of entremeses to be performed with each auto.

In a number of instances, the

words HAqul ha de haber un entreme stf

in the manuscript show

the independent nature of these compositions* Juan de la Cueva (1550-1610) is responsible for bringing to the Spanish stage the meter of the ancient romance, the meter which later was to become the accepted verse form for the sainete.

Though Juan de la Cueva would not have considered

writing entremeses, he did feel it necessary to cater to the public by using Spainfs most popular verse meter. The term entremes slowly gained in popularity over the word paso.

Thus we find that Cervantes cultivated this

genre with more skill and wit than he did his comedies.

The

Count of Schack, after considerable study, came to hold the entremeses of Cervantes as infinitely superior to his comedies. Even Lope de Vega found time to pen several entremeses, the entremes del letrado being the best known of his genero chico. However, the giant of this genre was Luis Quifiones de Benavente,

(died 1651).

Benavente produced more than a hundred

18 Emilio Gotarelo y Mori, Don Ramon de la Cruz y sus obras (Madrid: Imprenta de Jose Perales y Martinez, 1899) p. 7. 19 Gotarelo y Mori, op. cit., p. 8,

10 small theatrical pieces among which we find jacaras, bailes, loas, and entremeses.

He excelled Cervantes in the description

of contemporary customs and in his grasp of satire, but not in the use of language nor in the craft of achieving comic effect.

20

Quihones de Benavente was a contemporary of Lope and occupies the same place in respect to the genero chico as Lope does in respect to the comedy.

Hot until we arrive at the eighteenth

century do we find in D. Ramon de la Cruz (1731-1794) a sainetero who can match his dexterity.

Benavente is also credited with

popularizing the use of verse in the entremes. It should be noted at this point that the word sainete begins to be used with the same meaning as entremes.

Havarrete

y Rivera published his entremeses in 1640 under the title, FIor de Sainetes.

After this date it seems that the interlude

between the first and second acts of the comedy was filled by an entremes, while a sainete discharged the same office between the second and third acts or jornadas.

This usage held good

until the eighteenth century when the terms sainete and entre- ' mes again became confused with one another.

At times the

same piece would be given as an entremes between the first and second acts and at other times given as a sainete during the second or last interlude.2'** IbidT, pp. 6-9.

11 The best definition of the sainete is given by Cotarlo y Mori in his study of D. Ramon de la Cruz,

It appeared in

the early seventeenth century and was revived by Cruz 2 Drama sin argumento pero no sin atractivo, redueese a un simple dialogo en que predomina el elemento comico. Elige sus personajes muchas veces en las ultimas capas sociales, cuyo lenguaje y estilo adopta, y por tan sencillo medio lanza sus dardos contra los vicios y ridiculeces comunes, vini'endo a ser entonces una de las mas curiosas manifestaciones de la satira. La nota maliciosa es cualidad esencial en estas piececillas, . . .^2 The word sainete like entremes had its origin in the kitchen.

Sainete is the diminutive of sain which is the fat

of an animal cut in small pieces and fried until very crisp. It had the meaning of a f,delicious mouthful” or "tidbit” but on the stage and not on the table.

With the advent of

Cruz, the sainete was used as the dessert of the Spanish dra­ matic menu.

A dessert in the theater was sorely needed

because the translations from the French and the onset of neoclassicism had smothered all but the most intrepid authors and painters of the eighteenth century.

Imitation of the French

masters was the gospel for the neoclassicists, and the Spanish authors were not exceptions. this desire to imitate. 22 Ibid., p. 4

The Bourbon rule probably augmented

12 Don Ramon de la Cruz, together with Goya, was the spearhead of those who opposed the Frenchified Spaniard.

Cruz

took the word ’'imitation*1 and selected models from the society which surrounded him, then he imitated them.

He took the

types he saw in the street, took their speech and customs and jokes and put them on the stage using the sainete as his vehicle and thereby conserving, or rather, resuscitating the sainete. The whole sweep of Madrid flows through his work; nor did he omit the provincial altogether, for his characters from the provinces reflect perfectly their local environment and customs. It is to Cruz that Gonzalez del Castillo ,(1763-1800)^3 owes the elevation and perfection of the genre in which he was to distinguish himself in Cadiz by painting the Andalusian customs in the same manner as Cruz painted those of the Capital. After the demise of Castillo in 1800, the sainete fell into disrepute because of a lack of ingenious authors.

It is

Not a great deal is known about the life of Don Juan Ignacio Gonzalez del Castillo. He received no formal education and therefore it was up to chance to decide what reading matter would fall into his hands. However, it is known that he had read the classics, though without any particular direction or order since he had no teacher. He earned his livelihood as a prompter in the theaters of Cadiz, his native city. The com­ panies for which he worked were many times composed of such inferior actors that his food for the succeeding day was never certain. He never succeeded in having any of his works staged in Madrid during the span of his life. He died in utter poverty in 1800.

13 not until sixty-nine years have passed that the genero chico takes up again the cause of the sainete and of other short theatrical pieces.

In 1869, the genero chico was born, and

lasted forty-one years only to perish in 1910 with the rise of an inferior genre; the genero infimo. Cejador gives the reasons and circumstances of genero chico*s advancing hold on popularity: Tuvo su origen en la ocurrencia de haber remedado a los cafes-conciertos los teatros por horas con el intento de abaratar precios y dar lugar a que todas las clases sociales pudiesen asistir al teatro, como iban a los cafes-conciertos.^4 The advent once more of the sainete, paso, parodia, juguete, and other short plays carried with it, as always, the customs, music, language, laboring classes.

social types and character of the

These playlets must of necessity treat of

popular themes since their roots are embedded in the people whom they satirize or whom the authors place on the stage. The main difference between the genero chico and the theater of Cruz and Castillo is in the themes which permeate the two generations. serious plots.

The genero chico seems to elect more

Cesantes (government workers who, because of

political reasons, were jobless), political foibles, and casiquismo flow glibly and humorously from the pens of the 24 Julio Cejador y Frauca, Historia de la lengua y literatura castellana, (Madrid: Revista de Archivos,~"T9l8), p. 9, vol. 9.

14 authors of the genero chico.

They reduce these social problems

to a joke and a sneer without losing their equilibrium.

After

all, what else could be done about these problems? The principal defect of the genero chico, according to Cejador, is that:

*

La comezon por el chiste, que hace soltar el trapo de la risa a los oyentes, sin devanarse los sesos en tramar mejor la pieza.^5 Cejador, -in our opinion, is but partially correct, for this is the type of theater which demands little or no plot and which depends on the swiftness and lightness of the dialogue to amuse and entertain the audience.

Where the genero chico

failed was in the grotesque exaggeration it displayed thereby rendering it comparable at times to the farces of the sixteenth century.

But this is a question for another study.

About 1910, this insistence on jokes reached a point where the genero chico ceased to exist.

Birth was then given

to what is called the genero infimo which is similar to the French vaudeville or the variety show in which costumes, dances, singers, and the comedians occupy the main roles of importance.

In this kind of entertainment any attempt at

plot, no matter how slight, is repressed. 25 Ibid., p. 11. 26 Ibid., p. 12.

15 The appearance of the genero chico was prompted by circumstances almost identical to those of the eighteenth century when Gruz revived and renovated the sainete.

The

ultra-romanticism of Echegaray had stripped the Spanish stage of the verisimilitude which the Spaniard demands that his theater contain.

Leopoldo Alas (Clarin) and Juan Valera -both

recognized the genero chico to be an indigenous form which would result in a reform of the drama.

Both of these critics

were 'correct. The apogee of the genero chico is reached in the Apolo inaugurated in 1874. chef-d^cole.

P*7

Ricardo de la Vega was definitely the

There was, however, a host of talented play­

wrights of almost equal ability who cultivated these little playlets.

Constantino Gil, Miguel Echegaray, Vital Aza,

Javier de Burgos, Siniestro Delgado, Eusebio Blasco, Carlos Fernandez Shaw, Miguel Ramos Carrion should be included in the list of outstanding writers. In 1868 Jose Valles, Antonio Riquelme and Juan Jose Lujan, entertainers in a cafe-concierto, began to present a theater por horas in which they staged short musical skits. These skits rarely lasted more than an hour, and their popu­ larity was attested to by the attendance. 27 IbidT, p. 14.

They spread like

16 wildfire until in 1890 there were eleven theatres which pre­ sented nothing hut these short skits. The Quintero Brothers have until recently carried on the tradition of furnishing the laboring classes with theater which corresponds to their taste.

Again the Andalusian customs

are reflected with more skill and accuracy than those of Castile. Indeed, the Quintero Brothers have added sentiment to the sai­ nete, the sentiment which for so many years had been lacking.^9 It is believed that since the sainete has persisted in Spain for such a long period of time, that it will doubtless continue to hold a place in the hearts of Spanish theater-goers.

It

is also apparent that the authors of these pieces have been recognized as real parts of the literary and theatrical currents o.f their respective eras, and as a consequence they deserve our study.

Is it a small task to condense the life of highways and

byways, the theaters and the cafes into a twenty-five minute period and still preserve the very soul of Spain?

Hardly.

So long as there are talented authors and a diverse society in Spain, forms of the genero chico similar to the sainete are destined to appear because of the very nature of the Spanish people. 28 Ibid., p. 15. 29 y. s. Griswold Morley, Introduction to Doha Clarines y Maflana de sol (Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1915), pp vviir:

CHAPTER II CLASSIFICATION OF SAINETES In attempting to classify the sainetes of Gonzalez del Castillo, we shall consider them from two points of view.

The

first, from the point of view of what characters are to he found in the sainete.

The second is a classification according

to the plot employed. SAINETES IN WHICH THE CHARACTERS ARE PREDOMINANTLY FROM THE MIDDLE CLASS AND ARE TREATED SATIRICALLY 1.

cafe de Cadiz

2.

La casa nueva

3.

El cortejo substitute

4.

El chasco del manton

5.

El dia de toros in Cadiz

6.

El fin del pavo

7.

ii letrado desenganado

8.

La maja resuelta

9.

El medico poeta

10.

marido de sengahado

11.

La mujer corregida y el marido desengahado

12.

El aprendiz de torero

13.

El baile desgraciado y el maestro Pezuha

18 14#

Los oaballeros desairados

15.

El gato

16.

La ferla del Puerto £a inooente Dorotea

18.

El liberal

19.

Los literatos

20.

El lugareho en Cadiz

21.

Los palos deseados

22.

El recibo del paje

23.

El robo de la pupila

24.

El triunfo de las mujeres

en la feria del Puerto

SAIMETES IN WHICH THE CHARACTERS ARE PREDOMINANTLY MAJOS OR PROM THE LABORING CLASSES La bo da del Mundo Nuevo

26.

La cura de los deseos

to a •

25.

La casa de vecindad (First part)

28.

La casa de vecindad (Second part)

29.

Los jugadores

30.

El maestro de la tuna

31.

Los majos envidiosos

32.

Los zapatos

33.

El soldado fanfarron (First part)

34#

El soldado fanfarron (Second part)

35.

El soldado fanfarron (Third part)

36.

El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part)

19 SAINETES IN WHICH THERE IS A PREDOMINANCE OP PASTORES OR WHOSE SETTING IS PASTORAL 37.

Pelipa la chiclanera

38.

Los naturales opuestos

39.

El recluta por fuerza

40.

El payo de la carta

41.

El soldado Tragabalas

42.

Los nobles ignorados

This is but one main aspect of the above mentioned sainetes.

This classification does not necessarily mean that

no other elements enter into the sainete,as we shall see as we proceed with the study. The second division of this classification is as follows j SAINETES WHICH DEAL WITH THE TAMING OP A SHREW OR SHREWS 1.

La casa nueva

2.

El marido de sengahado

3.

La mujer corregida y marido desengahado

4.

El gato II®: Gu:ra de los deseos

6.

El triunfo de las mujeres

SAINETES IN WHICH THE GIRL IS WRESTED PROM* THE CLUTCHES OP AN AVARICIOUS TUTOR OR FROM SOME WATCHFUL RELATIVE 1.

La inocente Dorotea

20

2.

El liberal Hi r°to°

la pupila en la f eria del Puerto

l*°s palos deseados SAINETES IN WHICH THE DUPING OR TRICKING OP A CERTAIN CHARACTER OR CHARACTERS IS THE MAIN THEME 1.

El aprendiz de torero I*08 caballeros desairados M i ctiasco del manton Mi ^-n ^el

5.

Los jugadores

6.

El letrado de sengahado

7.

La maja resuelta

8.

KL recluta por fuerza FellPa lQ- chlicanera

SAINETES IN WHICH THE ELEMENT OP FANFARONADE IS THE MAIN THEME 1.

El soldado

fanfarron (First part)

2.

El soldado

fanfarron (Second part)

3*

El soldado

fanfarron (Third part)

4.

El soldado

fanfarron (Fourth part)

SAINETES WHICH DEPEND ON THE DIALOGUE WITH NO COMPLETED PLOT 1.

El cafe de Cadiz

2.

Los literates

3.

El medico poeta

The main purpose of the above three sainetes, other than to amuse the audience, is to satirize the characters presented therein.

The same holds true for the sainetes

listed below. 1.

La boda del Mundo Nuevo

2.

La casa de vecindad (First part)

3.

La casa de vecindad (Second part)

4.

El d£a de toros en Cadiz

5.

La feria del Puerto

6.

El lugareho en Cadiz

7.

El maestro de la tuna

8.

Los majos envidiosos

9.

El payo de la carta

10.

El recibo del paje

11.

El baile desgraeiado y el maestro Pezufta

12.

Los zapatos

SAINETES IN WHICH THE MAIN THEME IS CENTERED ABOUT THE THEATER k°s oomicos de la lengua 2.

El desafio de la Vicenta

There is one sainete omitted from the above mentioned classifications.

This sainete is Los naturales opuestos.

22

It concerns the stubborness of two rustics who disagree on the date of their daughter^ wedding, thereby depriving the girl of love; until, that is, a good neighbor comes along to remedy the situation.

CHAPTER III COMIC ELEMENTS IN THE CHARACTERS I.

SOCIAL TYPES AND COSTUMES

In order to present to his audience a variety of social types, Gonzalez del Castillo made frequent use of the garb worn by the Frenchified Spaniard of the day. to bedoubted the dress

Although it is

that he portrayed faithfully the minute details,

ofthe petimetre, the

majo, the sacristan,the

hair­

dresser, etc., we can reasonably assume that his costumes were not too different from what was being worn during the last quarter of the eighteenth century.

To emphasize the clothes

worn by these characters would result in a grotesqueness of which his audiences were most fond, a grotesqueness which could be attained with but slight exaggeration of contemporary styles* When Juanillo in the sainete, El maestro de la Tuna is found in the first scene dressed as the petimetre (Fr. petit maitre), he is probably dressed as follows: . . . small thin-soled slippers, the toes covered with huge buckles, so huge at times that one might have served 'as the framework of the Palace Arch.11 Usually he wore white silk stockings; cotton or woolen stockings for him were taboo. His knee breeches were so tightfitting that they seemed to have been put on with a shoehorn. Gilded buckles at the bottom of the trousers and a row of eight or ten buttons at the opening were considered very elegant. His coat (casaca) fitted rather snugly about the waist, then fell in folds like a

24 skirt, the length of which gradually decreased in the course of the century; his waistcoat (chupa or under­ coat with sleeves) was embroidered in bright-colored silk . . . a huge flowing cravat (corbata or paMuelo) containing yards of material . . . embroidered in various colors or adorned with lace . . About his wrists dangled long lace frills.i However, as he dresses to prepare himself for the lesson in majeza which Curro is teaching, he no doubt fits the descrip­ tion of: . . . close-fitting breeches, stockings, buckled slippers, waist-coat, short jacket, and a large sash (fa ja) with a navaja or folding-knife, concealed in it. His long hair was gathered into a hairnet (redecilia); his face was clean shaven; his head was covered with a round hat, sometimes high and pointed. He wore a long cape and often smoked a huge, black cigar.^ Both the majo and petimetre types are found in abun­ dance in Gonzalez del Castillo^ sainetes.3

They are as

1 Charles E. Kany, Life and Manners in Madrid, 1750-1800, (Berkeley: University of California Press, T§32), pp. 198-179. 2 Ibid., p. 222. 3 The social type of the majo or maja appears in the following sainetes. El baile desgraciado, La boda del Mundo Nuevo, Los Caballeros desairados, El cafe de Cadiz, La casa de vecindad (Both parts), El chasco del manton, El desafio de Ta Vicenta7 El dia de toros en Cadiz, La feria del Puerto, El Tin del pavo, El letrado desenganado, Los literatos, El maestro de la tuna, La imaja resuelta, Los majos envidiosos, E T -marldo cTesenganado,“El robo de la pupil a , El soldado fanfarron (All " four parts), ET triunTo cTe las mujeres, Los zapatos, Los jugadores. The petimetre or petimetra appears in the Tollowing sainetes: El baile desgraciado, La boda del Mundo Nuevo, ' k°s caballeros desairados, El cafe"~de Cadiz, La casa de Vecindad (Both parts), La casa nueva, Los comicos de la lengua, El cortejo substitufo, Ea cura de"™lds deseos,’“El*~chasco del manton, El de safio de la Vi cent a, El dia de toros en Cadiz, la feria~~deT~~puerto, El~fin del pavo, El gato, El Tetrado (Cont. )

25 language, or a flurry of personal insults any time there was a m a 3° or petimetre clad outrageously on the stage. The petimetre was continually being used by Castillo as the goat.

His satire of the petimetre would still raise

laughs today from any vulgar audience.

In Los jugadores,

this description of Don Marcos* costume is read: Sale DON MARCOS de militar; el vestido, aunque no sera de m o d a , tampoco sera muy afiguronado; eT sombrero muy grange; dos bucles colosales a cada 1 ado, y muchos pol'vos; dos cadenas de reloj muy largas; las vueTtas de la camisa le llegaran a las urias; en fin, de modo que aparente un peTXmetre de pueblo, en dondo las modas andan atrasadas. Su criado BLAS, vestido de payo, vendra a su lado con la montera en la m ano. A short while later, having been enticed into gambling his money away by a maja named Tecla, he begins to wager his clothes in order to recoup his losses: MARCOS.

TECLA.

Pues al seis Pongo el vestido. (Se lo quita) iQue tela tan famosa! (A TeclaT~^Ho es verdad? Un pufLal no lo atraviesa. Pero jque corte! Se ve que hay mucho gusto en su tierra. (Marcos pone el vestido sobre lamesa) El albardero de alia tiene una linda tijera. Vaya, llegue usted.^ PQtimetre was usually of the middle class and, as

a consequence had something of an income.

Many of them, however,

spent so much on frills and clothes, that they owed everyone from the hairdresser to the grocer.

They occupied themselves

5 (Cont.) desengariado, El liberal, Los literatos, El lugareho en Cadiz, El maestro de la” tuna, La maja resuelta, El marido desenganado , El medico poeta, La mujer corregida y marid~desengahado, Los palps deseados, El robo de la pupila en la feria del Puerto, Bi soldado Tragabalas, 3B1 payo He la carta, EX recibo del pa je , Los jugadores. 4 Los jugadores, vol. 3, p. 20.

26 solely with keeping up with the latest fashion and with courting the ladies.

Kany described the petimetre1s daily

routine as follows: . He arose at about ten o'clock, was shaved by a servant or the barber (few Spaniards ever shaved themselves), and then he prepared for the hairdresser1s visit, as the coiffure was the most important item of his toilet, . . . While the garrulous peluquero was engaged with his hairdress, the petimetre was wont to receive friends. After his head was properly dressed and powdered, he donned his French costume and went out to pay his usual daily visits. . . At about one o fclock he would appear at the Puerta del Sol to display his finery, mumble a few words of French, English, or Italian and then dis­ appear like lightening, perhaps by entering the church of the Buen Suceso. He lunched at two or three, took his siesta at four, strolled to the Prado at five. Later he attended some, tertulia (evening party) or theater, or he gambled until eleven. Then he supped wherever he could. At one he started for home, retiring at about two.^ Although this is a description of the petimetre of Madrid, there was, according to what is read in Castillo!s sainetes, very little difference between him and the petimetre found in Cadiz. The majo was in most cases employed in some trade.

He

was the blacksmith, locksmith, cobbler, innkeeper, butcher, calash-driver, turner, matweaver, cabinet maker, baker, smuggler, olive dealer, tanner, cooper or the dealer in old rags, paper, iron, or tallow.

For this reason, it is suspected that when

Castillo lists a character as a zapatero, tonelero, or herrero, 5 Kany, op. cit., pp. 182-183.

27 the character is probably dressed as a majo.

The majos were

as proud of their cult of majeza as the petimetres were of their changing fashions.

The majos usually were formed into

tight trade unions or gremios into which they would admit no one if he did not qualify as a full-fledged inajo.

In the

sainete, El marido desengahado, we witness the following scenes BARBERO. LAMBERTO. BARBERO. LAMBERTO.

Dios guarde a ustedes. Aqui tiene usted ya, don Lamberto, el barbero. Y vienes majo. Si es este nuestro elemento. . . A1 barbero que no es majo se le echa luego del gremio. iQue guitarrones sois! Vaya, afeitame.§

The -majos1 pride was always in the foregound.

They were

ready at the drop of a hat to whip out a navaja (a folding knife) to escupir por el colmillo.

The following scene from

Los majos envidiosos is a fair indication of how the ma jo *s pride functioned.

Pepe is engaged and does not want to be

coaxed into forsaking Carmen to attend a boisterous party with Perico s PERIOD. PEPE. PERICO. PEPE.

Pues mira; como hay San, que mas lo si-ento por ti que por mi. ^Por que? Ya sabes tu que Mateo y Blasillo son fachendas hasta no mas. Ya me aeuerdo cuando delante de mi no chistaban.

6 El marido desengahado, vol. 2, p. 171.

PERICO.

Por lo mismo queria yo que tu fueras; y porque estaban diciendo en casa de la Curilla Ciempe so s. . . Di que dijeron. Que te casabas porque todas las inozas del pueblo ya te iban dando esquinazo. ^Eso han dlcho los trastuelos? jA mi esquinazo, y hay moza que ha hecho ya su testament© para me case! jA que, si quiero, se mueren todos de envidia? Hazlo, Pepillo. Esto es hecho. Carmencita, hasta mafiana.^

PEPE. PERICO. PEPE.

PERICO.. PEPE.

The feminine counterparts of the majo and the petimetre, the petrimetra and the ma ja offer us costumes of somewhat simi­ lar color.

The

with the latest

petimetra was at all times profoundly concerned Paris fashions.

She could either spend

her

entire morning with the hairdresser, oils, pomade, powder, ribbon, and the other accessories necessary to attain a coif­ fure which, though ridiculous, was fashionable; or she could put on a coif, or hairpiece already made, and designed to cover a multitude of sins.

Her dress is as follows:

Her skirt,

called the guardapies or brial was covered with a saya or basquifia, usually black no matter what color the guardapies or brial was. shoulders.

A white veil or mantilla hung from the head or

Often a bata or wrapper was worn in the afternoon

and the cotilla, a bodice stiffened with whalebone, formed an Los majos envidiosos, pp. 135-136, Vol. 2.

29 essential part of the bata.

French hats of assorted sizes

and shapes were worn in place of the mantilla by the stylish. Sometimes a cape without sleeves, a cabriole was put on. There were then two sorts of dress; the evening dress which slavishly adhered to the styles current in France; and the morning dress or Spanish costume.®

It is the former which,

in extravagant form, causes smiles to emanate from the audience viewing Gonzalez del Castillofs playlets. The petrimetra1s day was wasted somewhat as was that of the petimetre.

She took chocolate in bed, arose late,

attended a late mass, then spent a couple of hours in her bedroom with the hairdresser.

She is then prepared to' receive

the dancing master, the doctor, and other guests who may stay, until eleven o*clock at night.

At times she takes a walk on

a popular promenade, goes to the theater, or pays visits herself.

The petimetras thought nothing of stuffing cotton

or wool inside their garments to ufill inlf or to perfect the symmetry of their figures.

A group of beauty patches turned

her face into another planetary system, the location of the patch being the key to the temperament of its wearer. petimetra was never without her fan.

The

There was a code, known

only to the fashionable, which, according to the way the fan was used, revealed the emotions of its user.9 8 Kany, op. cit., pp. 188-189. 9 Ibid., pp. 188-209.

30 Many times the petimetra had a cortejo who was supposed to eater to her every whim.

It is from the sainete, El cortejo

substitute that we find out that the petimetra is not always the demi-goddess she would have the world believe.

Jose reads

a diary of el cortejo substitute in the presence of the peti­ me tr as he has served: JOS£.

ANA. JOSfi.

ANA. T0D0S. JOSfi. TECLA. j o s £.

TECLA. ISABEL. J0S£.

ISABEL. J0S&.

El dia 22 de julio corteje a dofia Ana Claros; la mujer mas melindrosa que habran visto los humanos. IQue insolente! Escuche usted* Siempre lleva guantes biancos, porque las manos parecen unas suelas de zapatos. iQue infame! Si lo pillara. . . jVaya, que esta bueno el chasco! A dofia tecla Dominguez' corteje en el mes de mayo; la mayor tonta de Cadiz. iQue hable de ml el perdulario! He de sacarle los ojos. Oiga usteds En el calzado tiene toda su mania, y parecen los zapatos unas lanchas cafioneras, segun son anchos y largos. La colera me sofoca. jVaya, que el lance es pesado! De dofia Isabel de Parra, aunque no la he cortejado, tengo sobradas noticias de su mania. Veamos. Quiere parecer hermosa; y eomo en sus tiernos ahbs unas malignas viruelas el cuero la socavaron, se dio a la albanilerla, y su ejercicio diario es echar pellas de cal en hoyos y desconchados. . .

31 ISABEL.

A dofia Isidora Soto, aunque no la he cortejado, se que le apesta el sudor continuo de los sobacos.

One can understand today how such pretentious, gaudy, and ostentatious women would fit into the sainetes as a subject of humor and sarcasm. The maja, or the woman dandy of the lower classes was sometimes seen trying to imitate her more stylish compatriot, the petimetra.

The maja was, however, more conservative in

her dress, be it from lack of money or from sheer stubborness to be seduced by the styles from abroad.

Her costume can be

characterized by a rather full skirt, at times of bright colors, but more often dark, a low-necked embroidered bodice, and a scarf or small shawl thrown around the shoulders. low shoes. a cofla.

She wore

Her hair was as a rule done up in a long net called She was fond of wearing a high comb or peineta for

special occasions.

A poniard in a sheath held by a garter was

located on. the left leg, and always ready for action should the need a r i s e . H In the sainete, Los majos envidiosos, Pepe, a ma jo, gives us a good idea of what his bride will wear on her wedding day.

Even though he must borrow the clothes she will be wed

in from a petimetra. 10 El cortejo substituto, pp. 275-279, vol. 1. 11 Kany, op. cit., p. 222.

PEPE.

Eso corre por mi cuenta; porque a la mujer de Alejo le he pedido ya un vestido de tafetan, con revuelos de lama de plata falsa, y un relicario de aquellos en que se puede freir media docena de huevos.

Por himself Pepe has an even more ostentacious costume de currutaco; PEPE.

Y muy bueno Los calzones, de estamerla, llevan un galon, haciendo ringorrangos en figura de camaronesj y luego con cordones con borlas, que tendran lo menos, menos su libra y media de seda; el chalequito es de lienzo, bordado por la solapa de caracoles, de fleco azul y verde; la chupa, de Indiana, como diez dedos me tapara el espinazo; ella tendra sus doscientos botoncitos de metal; y luego, de cordon negro una escama, en cada uno; que estare, tio Nicudemos, lo mismo que un pejerrey.

The maja as a rule sought employment as a flower vendor, or she sold chestnuts, oranges, limes, sausages, fritters (buhuelos), or azarole (acerolas). seamstress,

At times she acted as a

(Gosturera) or made and sold stockings (calcetera).

Practically without exception she was in business for herself. Her bent for complete independence kept her from accepting

IS Los majos envidiosos, vol. 2, p. 151.

53 domestic service as a suitable means of earning her living. She detested the Frenchified Spaniard with a passion equi­ valent to that of the m ajo, and would not hesitate any more than the majo to enter into a fight or quarrel with her customers, and otherwise display her sharp tongue, wit and brazenness.^

Is it any doubt that audiences would roar at

her antics, and shriek with delight when she insulted a petimetre?

The following example of the maja in action is

taken from La feria del Puerto. Narciso

and Ignacio are

arguing while Lora,

and donaEufrasia

who is with Narciso,

who is with Ignacio look on: IGNACIO.

NARCISO. LORA. EUFRASIA. LORA.

EUFRASIA.

^Tu me tratas deimperfecto, so Arlequln? Mira, contempla tu figura, que este espejo (lo saca) lo traigo en la faldriquera para escarmiento de feos. (Se lo pone delante de la cara, y Narciso de un golpe se lo echa a rodar; "seamenazan con los bastones; las mujeres se meten^en medio; y doha Eufrasia agarra a don-*Narciso) jPor vicTa! T~~. . Narciso; deja, y no hagas easo de mandrias. Que usted, don Ignacio, sea tan estulto que propale con aquesa gentezuela. . . jHola, doha Remilgada! Cuenta lo que dice, cuenta; que si tercio la mantilla, ha de hacer con la paleta del espinazo un saludo a cuantos hay en la feria. Haga usted por inhibir esos modales; y advierta

13 Kany, op. cit., pp. 227-231.

34

TERESA. LGRA.

que dofia Eufrasia no es un gusarapo como ella. A ver; deja que le arranque los grifos. Quita, Teresa; que-ahora veras como barre el suelo con la peineta. (Lora embiste a dofia Eufrasia. . . ) "

The abate or abbe was the cleric who at times held a benefice, but often times did not.

He earned his daily.bread

by writing letters or by acting as a cortejo to some married lady.

He could often sing or write songs and play a guitar.

He chanted Latin whenever an occasion arose.

To facilitate

his profession of writing letters for the illiterates, he studied several languages, most of which he knew only super­ ficially.

Kany describes his costume with clarity;

Though he generally wore a simple black garb and a white powdered wig, the abate is usually depicted as being extravagant in frilled wristbands, brushes, shoes, powder, tobacco, perfumes, and the like.1® His type appears in six^® of Gonzalez del Castillo*s sainetes, the best description being in Los literatos.

The

abate, Toribio, is complaining about the pedantry of some critics who dared doubt the value of his masterpiece: BLAS. TOR.

que tltulo? Sepamos. Proyecto critico-quimicoeconomico-didactico,

14 La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, pp. 412-413. 15 Kany, op. cit., p. 218. 16 The sainetes in which the abate or sacristan appear are; La casa de vecindad (Second part), Felipa la chiclanera, Los TTteratos, El maestro de la tuna, la maja resuelta, El robo de la pupila.

35

PANT. TOR.

para viajar por el dia sin gastar siquiera un cuartoi Sera un libro muy eurioso. Como que enserio los varios disfraces que debe usar un viajante. En unos casos aconsejo la esclavina, en otros un pie de palo; mas lo seguro es llevar una demanda en un asno. Despues explieo las reglas para fundir en las manos los metales, y romper el hierro de los candados. En fin; es obra admirable; y, sobre todo, el tratado de falsificar las firmas descubre mi talentazo. ^

At the end of the sainete he is apprehended by a justice of the peace for having practiced what he preached. The beata or mogigata is the typical hypocrite of the era.’*-®

Though her costume did not differ a great deal from

that of the petimetra, because of her desire to keep up appearances, she was probably somewhat more conservative in her selection of clothes, and in the coiffure worn.

She

appears in three of Ca stillo^ sainetes, usually with a prayer book in hand and with blessings pouring forth in an almost uninterrupted flow.

These benedictions did, nonetheless,

stop

long enough for her to reap her share of worldly pleasure when she felt that the world would not be likely to uncover 17 Los Titeratos, vol. 2, pp. 35-36. 18 The beata appears in the following sainetes: La casa de vecindad (Second part), Los literatos, El soldado Traga’Ealas, El aprendiz de torero.

36 her sin.

In La. casa de vecindad (Second part), Marla, the

mogigata, is the cause of a murder when she toys with the affections of two menj

Tadeo, a crippled, lame-armed beggar

who is neither crippled nor lame armed; and Don Cirilio, an abate and singer.

As an example of her duplicity, the following

excerpt is offered} TADEO. MARlA. TADEO. MARlA. TADEO. C'IRILIO. MARlA. CIRILIO.

TADEO. MARlA. CIRILIO. MARlA. CIRILIO. MARlA. CIRILIO. MARlA.

(Mariquita! ^ ^Quien me llama? ^Cuando quieres que tratemos del casorio? Ahora no es hora. A retirarte corriendo, que viene gente. En pasando saldre entonces, y hablaremos, (Se retira) (Saliendo) Beatita; pues esta soTo todo el patio, entremos dentro de mi cuarto. Estoy ahora meditando en el infierno. Dejese de eso, y medite en le gloria de querernos. Venga usted. agarra por la mano, y Tadeo saca la caT5e za) iHola‘7 que quiere el musiquito bureo! IAy, que el Angel de la Guarda nos esta mirando! ^ Tengo amistad con el. Si siempre le estoy haciendo gorjeos. . . Yo quisiera. . . pero como soy doncella. . . Pensaremos en casarnos. jAy, abate de mi alma y de mi euerpo! Si hablara usted seriamente. . . Pues entre usted y hablaremos. Entremos. Bien sabe Dios que son buenos mis deseos.-^

19 La casa de vecindad (Second part, vol. 1, pp. 190-191.

The next character which appears with relative frequency in the sainetes of Gonzalez del Castillo is the Alcalde who along with the alguacil, partero, and the escribano was charged with the administration of a village, cuartel, or barrio.^0 was often made the butt of jokes of a village or small town.

In El aprendiz de torero we have ample proof of

this, because his honor, the Alcalde is forced to fight a bull; although previously he had only had contact with bulls by way of his knife and forkj CURRO. ALC. CURRO. ALC. TOMAS. ALC. GIL. ALC. CURRO. TOMAS. ALC. GIL.

Senor Alcalde; ahora es tiempo. fComo tiemblo! Santa Olalla! ^Donde me pongo? Aqud en medio. Cuidado, que no se vayan. Aqui estamos jAy que feo! IQue malditisima cara! Padre, las obligaciones. . . Hijo del demonio, calla! toro siempre corriendo) LTamaselo, Tomasillo. Ea, plantese con gracia. IAh toro indino! jAh borracho! i Que me pillo! iQue me mata! (Lo coge y le echa las tripas fuera) iQue el toro cogio a mi padre! iAy que gusto!21

As a rule, though, Castillo uses the character of the 20 The sainetes which have an alcalde, juez, alguacil, cabo or ministros are: El aprendiz de torero, Los comicos de la lengua, Felipa la chiclanera, La feria del Puerto, El roT5b~de la pupila, El triunfo de las mujeres, La casa de vecindad (Both parts), La casa nueva,’“El dia de toros en Cadiz, El maestro de la tuna, La maja resuelta, El soldado~Tragabalas,“El soldado fanfarron "(Fourth part), El triunfo de las mujeres, Los jugadores. 21 El aprendiz de torero, vol. 1, pp. 54-55.

38

Alcalde to render justice at the end of a sainete or to settle quarrels.

His somber garb lends itself to contrast with the

bright colored clothes of the majos and petimetres whom he must chastize or reproach. The soldier appears in eleven of the forty-four sainetes which Gonzalez del Castillo wrote during his lifetime.22 since Juan del Encina in his ecolgues brought forth the Renaissance theme of the soldier winning the girl1s love, the soldier has had a place in the popular drama of Spain.

However, we find

that his social position has changed somewhat.

In the Recluta

por fuerza he holds down the traditional role in which he wins a peasant girl away from her rustic sweetheart. resuelta he fulfills the role of cortejo.

In La maja

Although there were

regulations regarding his dress, and memoranda were constantly being issued to remind the officers that they were in the army and should dress accordingly, a great number of them preferred to model their uniforms after the petimetre, scorning anything which brought tradition to mind. watches, a cameo, and a snuff box. buckles of rock crystal.

The soldier carried two He wore silk stockings and

It was not unusual for him to carry

small flasks of toilet water. The sainetes in which the soldier appears are: El cafe de Cadiz, Los comicosde la lengua, El desafio de la Vieenta, El maestro de la tuna, La maja resuelta, El recluta por fuerza, ET~ soldado Tragabalas, El soldado fanfarron (All four parts). 23 Kany, op. cit., pp. 234-235.

39 His value to society is described by the Marques de Torre Gorda in La maja resuelta: MARQUfiS.

Don Tadeo es soldado de valor. Seis veces se ha visto a riesgo de perder la campanula; ha sostenido un bloqueo de seis malteses, tres sastres y dos o tres zapateros; y en fin, no ha much le puso a la Vizcondesa cerco y al punto capitulo en el primer parlamento.^

The gallego,^5 industrious, thrifty, and strong was usually the porter who carried all types of baggage, furniture, and water throughout the city.

His frugal character was one

which caused disdain in many of his contemporaries, contemporaries who leeched, borrowed, and stole in order to be able to afford the expensive lace, snuff, and powder.

His accent must have

been highly amusing when compared to that of Bruno in El Medico poeta g TORIBIO. BRUNO.

TORIBIO.

^

(Saliendo) Senur amu; prata para la despensa. Hombre, has llegado a buen tiempo. ^Conoces alia en la tierra, alguna que se llamase Dominga, de mucha fuerza? Si sehor; eu conoci a Domina de Ferreiras;

ia msija resuelta, vol. 2, pp. 182-183.

25 The sainetes in which the gallego appears are j El medico poeta, La casa de vecindad (Second part), Los majos envidiosos.

40 una mujer como un pinu que an&aba sus cuarto Xeguas con una pipa de vinu en las eustillas.^6 Perhaps we can compare the accent of the gallego and his rustic way of stating things with the accent of a farmer from Oaklahoma conversing with a gentleman from Boston, The doctor (cirujano, medico or b a r b e r o is an excel­ lent mirth-provoking character who was often the subject of satire in popular art of the eighteenth century.

It cannot

be doubted that he deserved much of this satire.

Besides, he

was a figure close to the people who laughed at him.

Why should

they not laugh at the person who was responsible for purges, bleeding, and a series of prescriptions which promised miracles and resulted only in nausea or a sweet taste in the mouth? There was also a great deal of superstition centered about the doctor.

Many feared him and his unintelligible Latin phrases

which he had memorized to duly impress his patients with his knowledge of medicine. The fact is, that the doctor many times took his poetry more seriously than he did his practice of medicine.

El medico

poeta bears witness to this, for it is based on the antics of a doctor who lets patients die, who gives incredible prescrip­ tions, and who spends his hours writing comedias of no value. 26 El medico poeta, vol. 2, pp. 182-183. 27 The sainetes in which the doctor appears are: El apren diz de torero, La casa de vecindad (Second part), Los literatos, El marido desenganado, El medico poeta, La cura de los deseos.

41 He often times was a cortejo of some lady and so his dress resembled that of the petimetre.

To display his medical eru­

dition, a doctor in La casa de vecindad (Second part) renders the following diagnosis of. a patient who has been stabbed: CIRUJANO.

CABO. CIRUJANO.

CABO. CIRUJANO.

Mi prognostico es mortal; pues como dice Galeno en el celebre tratado de afeitar, nula es redentio. con que especie de arma lo han herido? Segun creo, fue sin duda cuerpo duro, capaz de romper los nervios. la figura, en mi dietamen, era poligona, puesto que participa del cono, del cilindro, del. . . No entiendo esa jerga. ^Ha sido bala? Si, seftor; bala en efecto. Le entro rozando la quinta costilla falsa, hasta el hueso dorsal; rechazo al instante y penetro el mesenterio; de alll, por su gravedad, cayo al intestino recto; paso al femur, resbalose por la tibia, y se la dejo entre el cutis y la carne sobre el tobillo dereeho.^®

The payo^9 or peasant seemed* to be a favorite social type of Castillo., sainetes.

He appears in his rustic garb in ten of the

Most of the time, Castillo does not give him credit casa de vecindad, vol. 1, p. 196.

29 The sainetes in which the peasant appears are: El desafio de la Vicenta, Fellpa la chiclanera, La feria del Puerto, E l lugareho■en Cadiz, Los naturales opestos, El recluta por Tuerza, El roUo de la pupila, El soldado Tragabalas, El payo ^•e if: carta, Los nobles ignorados.

42 for having the brains the Good Lord gave a toad, and it is in this light that he is used by the author to extract laughs from an audience which placed little value oh a true picture of the peasant.

The p a y o *s crude language, his loose and drab

clothing, and his ingenuousness are ever present.

In the

Feria del puerto, however, he shows more intelligence than many of the regular residents of Cadiz: BENITO.

BLAS. ANSELMO. BENITO. ANSELMO. BENITO. ANSELMO.

BENITO.

BLAS. BENITO.

(Sale de payo) iJesus, cuanto figurin! ^Si sera la Nochebuena en este pueblo, que ponen tanto Nacimiento? ^ Espera; que este patan ha de darnos un buen rato. Hacia el te acerca. iQue hay, amigo? Me parece que aquesta es la vez primera que usted viene a esta funcion. En mi vida vine a ella. Pero, di^a usted, sehor: ^aqul que es lo que se reza? ^Rezar? jBuena devocion! ^Esta usted acaso en la iglesia? Pues diga: iQue significa tanto altario? jEsa es buena! No son altares; son puestos donde se venden diversas mercanclas. ^Mercanclas? &Y quien compra esas frioleras? Yo solo veo guitarras, figurines,' cornamentas, aventatores de cana, bunuelos y bagatelas buenas para los muchachos. Pues todas esas cosuelas se aprecian en tales dlas Vaya, vaya; que esta feria debe causar a las gentes como en mi pueblo a las viejas,

43 que a los ochenta anos t o m a n a jugar con las m u f i e c a s . There are twenty-one sainetes^

which contain the

characters of the criados or servants, and/or aprendiz or apprentice.

Though these servants had a sharp tongue and often

had it out with their masters about their pay or other matters,32 they were generally employed by Castillo to feed lines to their masters, to take a tongue-lashing from anyone who cared to offer it, or to act as a butt for the masters1 wounded pride or lack of money.

In El dia de toros en Cadiz, Simonea is the scape­

goat for dofia Clara who, in the process of selling her mattress to Ambrosio, a second-hand dealer, is caught in an interview with don Eusebio, and does not want him to know that she must pawn her mattress in order to attend the bullfights; AMBROSIO.

Con licencia de ustedes.

CLARA.

^

Ya estas pagada, hija mia; conque asl, ponte al instante tu saya y tu mantilla; y adios, que no quiero yo criadas respondonas. if* feria del Puerto, vol. 1, pp. 404-405.

31 The sainetes In which the servant appears are; Los caballeros desairados, El cafe de Cadiz, La casa de Vecindad, (Second part), La casa nueva, ET cortejo substituto, El chasco del manton, E T ~dia de toros en Cadiz, ~El fTri~Ttel pavo, La inocente Dorotea, El lugareho en Cadiz, El maesTro de la tuna, La maja resuelta, El marido desenganado, El medico poeta, La mujer corregida, Los palos deseados, E l s o l d a d o fanfarron TThird part}, El payo de la carta, El recibo del paje, Los jugadores. 32 Kany, op. cit., pp. 253-254.

44 SIMONEA. CLARA. SIMONEA. ICNACIA. CLARA. SIMONEA. IGNACIA. SIMONEA. EUSEBIO. CLARA.

On

(Hace que llora.) Pero yo No me llores. Si por nada se pone usted como un tigre. Pero, mujer, ipor que causa la despides? Porque tiene una lengua como un haeha. Pues diga uste £en que he podido ofenderla? Vamos, Clara no te sofoques. Sefior, suplique usted a mi ama que no me despida. Yo me empeho por la muchacha. No sabe usted quien es esta, Despues que tiene sobrada la comida, y que jamas su salario se le atrasa, no cesa de murmurarme*33

the other hand we have the impertinent servant who

qualifies

for the classification of plcaro.

After having

tried his

luck at making love to the maid, he is discharged,

and he leaves with this departing speech: PAJE.

TADEO. PAJE.

Ya me ire. Vamos despacio, no me trate uste asi, porque, aunque soy su criado, soy, tan bien nacido como fue la mujer de Pilatos; y no hay que meterme bulla; que si acaso yo me enfado, echare al ama y criada con cuatrocientos mil diablos; que aunque soy un pobre paje, es porque soy desgraciado. . . mude de conversacion o vayase de contado. ya me voy, porque yo quiero; no porque me lo han mandado*

33 El dia de toros en Cadiz, vol. 1, pp. 352-253.

45 CRIADA. ANA. PAJE. GRIADA. PAJE. CRIADA.

Del mundo fuera mejor. jBxcelente ha estado el paso! jAdios, cochina! jAdios, bruto! jAdios, puerca! iAdio s, marrano!

The page and the lackey were usually provided with livery by their owners. ornate and expensive.

The livery grew to be extremely Laws were passed in 1769 and reinforced

in 1790 in order to eliminate the silver and gold trimming, galloons, and the strap buckles on the liveries.

These laws

were enacted in order to prevent unnecessary waste of money; and also so that an officer’s uniform could retain the distinc­ tive features which had come to be copied in the liveries worn by lackeys and pages.^5 II.

OTHER COSTUME EFFECTS

In the sainete, La boda del Mundo Nuevo, Rafaela enters in her corset cover (corpino) and in her camisa which in the eighteenth century was an undergarment.

She is preparing for

her wedding, and has a great deal of trouble in dressing herself: RAFAELA. PECHUGA. RAFAELA.

/ / Mira, que rico esta este manteo. iA que lo meto en la fragua? Calla hombre, que su duerio nos sacaria los ojos. lY que se pone primero, esta cola o estas naguas?

35 Kany, op. cit., p. 260.

46 ANAST. RAFAELA. PECHUGA.

El diablo que entienda ©sto. Y este parche eon tres picos (por el peto) ^donde s© pega? Yo creo que eso se pone en la frente como gorra e Granadero.36

In La casa de veeindad (Second part), Tadeo is repre­ sented as a poor beggar who is so badly crippled that he needs crutches to walk, and he also has a maimed arm which is supposedly useless. can be deceiving.

However we find that first appearances Out of jealousy, when Tadeo spies Marfa

and Cirilo about to enter his room, the following stage directions are read: (Sale Tadeo sin muletas, con un euchillo en la mano que era manca, y cogiendo a don Cirilo por detras le hiere, volviendose a meter en su cuarto, a tiempo que Lora sale del suyo y vuelve a entrarse)^ Cosme, a strolling player, in the sainete Los comicos de la lengua, is forced, because the rest of the cast is in­ disposed for various reasons, to act all the roles of a play by himself.

In a 'matter of minutes he enters as a Turk, a

petimetre, a maja, an emperor with crown and sceptre, and finally as a drummer in the part of the program which requires dancing.

These quick changes never cease to amuse the audience.

Their enjoyment is heightened considerably when we observe the words which accompany these rapid changes of costume: 36 La boda del Mundo Nuevo, vol. 1, p. 87. 37 La casa de veeindad (Second part), vol. 1, p. 191.

47 Tocan an poco; y despues de las voces, sale COSME vestldo de turco, el alfanje de snudo. COSME.

TODOS. REMIGIO. MARQ.

(Dentro) iArma, arma; guerra, guerra! iEspanoles a las armas! iEl rey baja desperiado! iE;spafioles, a las armas! (Sale) aAdonde correis, cobardes? Volved, perrazos, que os llama vuestro general Gandulfo. IAh Mahoma! ^Ahora me faltas? Mas, ique miro? Por el monte la caballeria saltas alii braman los clarines; allf retumban las cajas; jtodo es horror, todo asombrol; ya se acercan, ya me agarran; pues a correr; y de aqui Tin la primera jornada (Vase.) IBravo, bravo! iSl habra, acaso, casamiento en esta pieza? Bien puede ser que se casen la izquierda eon la derecha,^8

We can deduce without too much trouble that this sainete is a satire of the theater contemporary to Castillo. Perhaps the most extreme use of costume for comic effect is that use in La inocente Dorotea. and not of a sainete.

It is typical of a farce

Don Jaeobo, the typical miser, has

become obsessed with the superstitution that Dorotea will fall madly In love with the first male she sees.

(Supposedly, she

has never laid eyes on a man before this scene, but the fact is that she has seen and talked to Narciso with whom she is in love.)

Jacobo, who desires to render his interview with

her as agreeable as possible, has decided to dress as an angel. 58 Los ~comicos de la lengua, vol. 1, pp. 252-253.

48 He uses Pedro, his servant, for contrast dressed as a devil: Salen JACOBO vestido de angel, con alas muy grandes, y PEDRO de diablo. JACOBO. DOROTEA. JACOBO. DOROTEA. JACOBO. PEDRO. JACABO. PEDRO. JACOBO. PEDRO. JACOBQ.

DOROTEA.' JACOBO. DOROTEA. As wenotice,

IBella nifta! jAy Dios de mi alma! (Retirandose.) Si acaso la donosura de mi presencia. . . jAy que cara tan horrorosa! jQue feo! (A Pedro) Retlrate, que la espantas. Quien la ha espantado es usted. £Un angel puede espantarla, gran borracho? No es el angel: es esa endiablada cara. $Que dices? Que aunque la mona se vista. . . Demonio, calla, que lo echas todo a perder. Si mi admirable y gallarda presencia, feliz doncella, te sorprende, y si te causa pavor, como es regular, la fiera y horrible traza de ese malvado enemigo de toda la especie humana, yo hare al punto que a mi voz a los infiernos se vaya, para que escuches sin susto mis celestiales palabras. iPero si usted me horroriza mas que esotro! £Por qu© causa? Porque me parece usted mucho mas feo.39 the dialogue is built around thecostumes

worn by theactors.

These

costumes add considerably

being to the

humor of the situation. Two incideints in which the young swain disguises himself 39 La inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, pp. 496-497.

49 in order to make off with the tutor1s charge can be noted at this point.

The first occurs in El liberal when Narciso,

who has bribed the Notario, enters with him to be a witness to the wedding of Bias and Clara, the innocent young thing. Salen DON PEDRO, (Bias’s brother), el NOTARIO y DON NARCISO, vestido de negro pobremente, el cual se queda retirado. NOTARIO.

BLAS. FELIPA. CLARA. FELIPA. NOTARIO. CLARA. NOTARIO. PEDRO. NOTARIO.

PEDRO. BLAS. PEDRO. BLAS. NOTARIO. BLAS.

NARCISO. BLAS.

Serior don Bias, a la orden; todo esta corriente; falta que firmeis, para que os eehen las bendiciones. Me agrada. iQue fortuna! Nunca, nunca he firmado con mas gana. (Firma) Mirad bien al escribiente. iMl amante? Si. Doha Clara, firmad aqul. Yo no acierto. (Firma) No esteis, sehora, turbada. Don Pedro,, como testigo. Yo firmo con vida y alma. Otro testigo sera mi Oficial; no importa nada. Firmad. (Mientras firma don Narciso, llama don Pedro aparte a don Bias para que no repare en don Narciso.) |Hermano! iQue quieres? Es menester que le hagas un buen regalo al Notario. Ya tengo aqul preparada media onza. Ya esta todo. Pues dame tu mano blanca. qu® don Bias va a tomar la mano £ don Narciso se adelanta, la toma y se descubreT) Llegais tarde, porque ya tiene esposo doha Clara. iQue miro! zSois don Narciso?

50 NARCISO. BLAS. NOTARIO. BLAS.

B1 mi smo. &Que zalagarda es esta, sehor Notario? Sehor don Bias; las plegarias de vuestro hermano, los ayes de don Narciso, y. . . La plata, direis major.

The second occurrence of a disguise being used to disarm the tutor and to allow true love to conquer is found in El robo de la pupila.

In this sainete, Narciso dresses as a

woman and manages his escape with Clarita, his sweetheart, during a fight which takes place.41 The final example of the use of costume which we shall examine is found in El soldado fanfarron (Second part).

Two

petimetres appear before a group of majos and the following scene takes places Salen don JUAN y don ANTONIO de cazadores, y un criado con unas alforjas. JUAN. TERESA. JUAN. TERESA.

JUAN.

jViva la gente morena! Don Juna, ^Adonde va usted con ese equipaje? IBuena Pregunta! ^No se esta viendo que voy a cazar? ; jCanela! No es eso lo que querla decir, sino ^cuantos leguas se retira usted de Cadiz? Yo no paso de la iglesia. Todas las mafianas vamos euatro amigos a la huerta; tiramos quinientos tiros; y luego que el sol calienta,

40 El liberal, vol. 2, pp. 27-28. 41 El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, pp. 320-329.

51

CURRA.

nos retiramos, trayendo en la cinta una docena de gorrioncitos y alguna gallina que se deserta. |Jesus, sehor! Yo pens© como llevan bayonetas, coletos, botas y tantos cachivaches, que se fueran a cazar osos y lobos dos meses por esas sierras.^ III.

NAMES OF CHARACTERS

Gonzalez del Castillo chose names for his caricatures which would fit their respective temperaments and yet allow him to form a good many puns or other plays on words, using the names as a basis for humor.

Many times the names have no

specific meaning, but simply sound strange in Spanish.

Among

the more unusual names we discover: Juan Anzuelos, ©1 Marques de Carnpo Claro, el Conde Bruno de Campo Obscuro, don Pedro Monte Claro, el Conde Rubarbo, el soldado Tremendo, Pedro Montefalco, doria Ines Mondonedo, Anton Golondrino, tio Becerro, tio Ginebra, don Toribio Lagarto, Curro Retranca, Juan Capis­ trano, el Marques de Torregorda, el Vizconde de Azalejos, Abate Fortepiano, dona Casimira, el Conde de Calemaco, El Cabo Martin Porras, don Liquido, don Estirado, tio Perejil, Beata, Tragabalas, a soldier, el soldado Poenco, Curro Frijones, el Cabo Sacatrapos, Zapateta, don Agapito,.Mariquita, don Pantaleon, don Panfilo, dorla Quiteria, don Pelegrin, el Abate Chiflon, Pepe Lombrijon, Nicudemos, don Policarpo, Ciriaco, Tizon, 42 El soldado fanfarron (Second part), vol. 2, pp. 383384.

52 t£o Peneque, Verruga, Berlanga, Panzacola, Pacorro, Juan el Pelao, don Luquete, don Cirilo, an abate, don Hilario, don Tesifon, Tiburcio, Canuto, don Lucio, Pedro Rechoncho, Chamorro, Vejarruco, Cascaranas, Peligrifo, Olalla Maritornes, Tetaco, Pezuna, Pechuga, Juanillo, Rabon, Tolondron, Frasquito, Clelia, el paje Periquito. Castillo dealt with few delicate shades of meaning when he selected these names.

Neither did he make his audience

work to understand any of the puns which occur so often.

In

order to clarify his method of employing these names, we cite the following examples: in El soldado fanfarron (fourth part) Poenco, master of fanfaronade, is attempting to attract Colasafs attention in order to arrange a rendezvous: Sale POENCO fumando, con fusil, como que acaba de llegar. POENCO. Dende lejos conocf que era precioso este paho. iY huele mucho un Poenco! iQue ensillalta! (Hace gestos a la Colasa) GOLASA. ^ i^ue trasto! POENCO. ^Me quiere uste hacer favor de chupar este cigarro? COLASA. Yo lo fumo p u r o . ^ A podenco is a hound whose sense of smell is extremely acute. The frequent loss of the intervocalic f,d ,! in Andalusia, and throughout Spain for that matter, makes this type of pun possible. -*-n E*03 caballeros desairados, two penniless nobles are discussing their respective ancestors.

In an attempt to outdo

4 5 El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 439.

53 one another the words below pass between them: CONDE* MARQUES. CONDE.

MARQUfiS. CONDE. MARQUfiS. CONDE. MARQUfeS.

Pero no hay comparacion con mi preclara y antigua nobleza. ^Como? ^Que dice? Que mis mayores hablan conquistado medio mundo cuando andaba todavla Hercules con chichonera. No hable ya mas herejlas, que esta hablando con don Pedro de Campo Claro. Y usla sepa que habla con don Bruno de Campo Obseuro. Hidalgula nocturna. No es. Pues sera apellido con neblina.4^

CHAPTER IV LANGUAGE Gonzalez del Castillo is necessarily restricted to the use of popular expressions or the language of the man on the street.

Not only does he use popular speech because his

audience demands this type of language, but also because the majority of the characters he puts on the boards could scarcely speak in an elevated, truly rhetorical manner. We should add also that this language of the man in the street is the most colorful and expressive to be found in Spain. The author, therefore, can draw on innumerable proverbs, meta­ phors, similes and other figures of speech which are based on the common experiences of his audience.

There are very few

agonistic words or phrases of erudite nature to be found in the sainetes, with the exception of the scenes which treat of false erudition; and then it is not necessary that the audience understand the points in question, but only that the author is satirizing the false erudition.

There are, however, many

popular agonistic words and phrases as will be noticed in play on words. The sainetes are full of phrases, words or quotations from Latin, French, and Italian.

These are put in the

1 Examples of foreign words or phrases may be found in the following sainetes: Los caballeros desairados, vol. 1, p. 113, La casa de vecindad, (Second part), (Continued)

55 mouths of eruditos a la violeta, petimetres, beatas, process servers, and soldiers.

We can expect almost any of the char­

acters to use a word or phrase strange to Spanish. A representative example of how Latin is used in the dialogue is found in the sainete, La casa nueva.

Narciso

lacks the money to pay the bills of the new house: NARCISO. LORENZO. NARCISO. LORENZO.

^Quien es quien entra? ^Esta en casa den Narciso Peranzules? ^Que me ordena? Caballerito; el sehor canonigo, a usted le besa la mano; le hace presente que hasta el dia de la fecha van dos meses y dos dlas que tiene usted por su cuenta la casa; que cuatro veces (y cinco seran con esta) urbaniter le ha pedido los mil quinientos y treinta reales, y un maravedl, que importan ratiohem certam los alquileres; que usted mirum in modum desprecia sus peticiones. Por tanto ipso facto, le amonesta que se sirva de pagarle en numerata moneda statem et~Tnmediate aliter, que usted se atenga facto seguestro, a los dahos y a las costas, etcetera.

I (Continued) vol. 1, p. 176; La casa nueva, vol. 1, pp. 219-220; El fin del pavo, vol. 1, p. 443; Los literatos, vol. 2, p. 39; El lugarefio en Cadiz, vol. 2, p. 68; El maestro de la tuna, vol. 2j p. 89; La maja resuelta, vol. 2, p. Ill; El marido desenganado, vol. p. 165; La mujer corregida, vol. 2, p. 206; Los palos deseados, vol. 2, p. 262; Si robo de la pupila, vol. '2, p. 311; 11 soldado Tragabalas, p. 358, vol. 2; El soldado fanfarron (First part), vol. 2, p. 446; El payo c[e la carta, vol. 2,p. 517; Los jugadores, • vol. 3, p. 22.

NARCISO.

Amigo, usted con su idioma me ha deshecho las orejas. Senor; habeo tibi gratiam del afecto que me muestra. .

LORENZO.

We can make note of several points concerning this Latin (?).

The first is that it need not be used by Lorenzo,

for there are perfectly good Spanish words to express the thoughts.

The second is that the Latin is a hotch-potch

which proves that even Lorenzo does not realize what he is saying.

The third is that these expressions are so common

that even the most uninitiated can untangle them and see through Lorenzo *s pretense.

Finally, it is a poor imitation

of the Latin used by his employer, the canon. In Los palos deseados, an even worse contamination of Latin is found.

Pedro is giving Perico, his servant, a lec­

ture concerning form and matter: PERICO. PEDRO. feiq) PEDRO.

por que materia se hizo? jQue pregunta tan discreta! Por el golpe de la forma. Pues, siendo de esa manera, pruebo: ^Conque zapaterus tirabit formam in testam et cirujanis sacabit cum ferro materiam meam? Luego primero es la forma, y despues es la materia.3

This also acts as a satire against the method of discussion and argument which the seminary taught. s ka casa nueva, vol. 1, pp. 219-220. 5 Los palos deseados, vol. 2, pp. 262-263.

57 Contaminations of French greetings are often combined with low bowing

and courtesy to cause jeers andlaughter

the mosqueterla.

In El maestro de la tuna,there

in

is acommon

example of thi s : (Sale doha PAULA y CHIFL6N saca un anteojo.) CHIFLON. PELEGRIN. PAULA. CHIFLON. PELEGRIN. CHIFLON. PAULA. PELEGRIN.

Echo el monoculo. jTomal; si es doha Paula Galandria. seffora; beso sus pies. Votre servitor,madama. Sefiores; be so os las manos. (Cortesia a la francesa.) Os prese'nto, doria Paula, a don Pelegrin Rabiche. Votre servitor, madama. (Cortesia) Ha viajado ochenta afios por la Europa y por el Asia. Yo celebro conocerlo. Votre servitor, madama (Cortesia)^

Not only is the French expression employed here, but the affec­ ted articles are added to Europa and Asia to further frenchify the language. Italian enters into the picture in La mujer corregida y marido desengahado.

The Count is explaining to Policarpo

how a husband should comport himself with his wife; and to fortify his stand he brings an excerpt from Italian literatures POLIC. CONDE.

Eso es muy cierto. Yo era un leon euando muchacho, y ahora soy un cordero. Los hombres han de ser mansos; pues como dijo el Petrarca,

4 El maestro de la tuna, vol. 2, p. 89.

en el capltulo cuatro; bisogna che sia 11 marlto plu best!a que un assinasso.® It is to be doubted whether Petrarch ever in his life used this combination of words.

Another expression in Italian is

found in El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part).

It is used to

express delight, similar to the French, Oo la la! which is used in English. COLASA. POENCO.

(Enfadada) |Ea, sehor; que me atufo! \Aj churrini, y gue momento para uno que este expirando! Nifilta, £me chere usted?®

Other Italian words appear in sougs and seem to have no particular meaning.*^ The figures of speech® which Castillo puts into the mouths of his puppets vary from the common simile to extreme 5 La mujer corregida, vol. 2, p. 207. 6 El soldado fanfarron, vol. 2, p. 440. 7 El truinfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, pp. 473-474. 8 Examples of figures of speech may be found in the following sainetes: El baile desgraciado, vol. 1, p. 64; La boda del Mundo Nuevo, vol. 1, p. 85; Los caballeros desairacfos, vol. 1 , pi 114; La casa de vecindad, vol. 1, p. 188; La casa nueva, p. 223, voT. 1; Los comicos^de la lengua, v o l . T , p. 244; El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, pp. 221-282; La cura de log cTeseos, voll 1, p. 286; El chasco del manton, vol. 1, pi 3*13; EL desafio de la Vicenta, vol. 17 p. 3&0; El dia de toros en 'Cadiz,vol. 1, p. 356-357; Felipa la chiclanera, vol. 1, p. 386; La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, p. 592; El fin del pavo, vol. 1, p. 440; El gato, vol. 1, p. 465; El leTrado desengahado, vol. 1, p. 515; El liberal vol. 2, pp. 7-8; El lugareno en Cadiz, vol. 2, p. 63; ET~maestro de la tuna, vol. 2, p. 82; El marido desenganado, vol. 2, p. 166; El medico poeta, vol. 2, p. 194; La mujer corregida, vol. 2, p. 218; Los naturales (ContinuedT""

59 hyperbole.

His figures of speech verge at times on the vulgar,

if not obscene.

The common denominator among them is their

being readily understood by the audience, though to a foreigner they are sometimes difficult to fathom. -*-n to the taste

chasc° del manton, a typical metaphor which alludes of Pedro gives

llo can do with the Spanish PEDRO. TESIFCN. PEDRO. TESIF6N.

us a clear example of what Casti­ of the street:

Tengo dolor de cabeza. Si lleva sobre el celebro una cola de caballo, £Uo ha de dolerle? ^ IQue necio! £Por que no se mira usted con ese gorro? Confieso, que el gorro ya no esta en moda; pero traigo el casco fresco.9

The longest series of metaphors to be discovered in the sainetes is in El recluta por fuerza.

The sargent is

giving a lesson to Lucas concerning how to conquer the heart of a young maiden: SARG-ENTO.

No tengo algun embarazo. Oiga usted: euando la moza esta atenta, comenzamos a decirle': Senorita; desde que vi esos ojazos,

8 (Continued) opuestos, vol. 2, p. 236; Los palos deseados, vol. 2, p. £67; Bl~recluta por fuerza, vol. 2, pp. 284-285; El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, p. 309* El soldado Tragabalas, vol. 2, pp. 350-351; El soldado fanTarron, [First part;, vol. 2, p. 371; El soldado“Tanfarron, (Secondpart), vol. 2, p. 395; El soldado fanfarron (Third part), vol. 2, p. 428; El soldacTo fanfarron (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 436; El triunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, p. 447; El recibo del paje, vol. 2, pp. 529-530; Los jugadores, vol. 2, p. 12; Los nobles ignorados, vol. 2, p. 168. 9 El chasco del manton, vol. 1, pp. 314-315.

60 tocaron la generala mis potencias; y si alcanzo que hagan brecha mis finezas en su pecho^ de un asalto me subire a la muralla de su casa, tremolando la bandera de mi f e , sin que puedan eafionazos de inconveniantes rendir mi nunca vencido brazo; pue como quereis, senora, ni obus, ni bala, ni taco, H T foso, H T terrapTen, ni fortin, ni emballestado, ni reductor, ni trinchera ~ me detendran, pues me llamo salchichon, cartucho, espeque, y sobre todo, soldado.XU This use of military terms is adroitly done, and may still be enjoyed today. A hyperbole which hinges on the vulgar is seen inocente Dorotea, Jacobo

has just found outthat

in La

Dorotea is

to marry Narciso and is disgruntled as Pedro tells him to fly to hell: PEDRO. JACOBO.

Ea; vuele uste al infierno, pues ya se acabo la farsa. Yo volaria si a todos conmigo me los llevara. Despreciarme por ser viejo. . . No siento las calabazas, sino largar las talegas; y es precis© que al largarlas me den el ultimo ataque la gota y las almorranas.

Almost no portion of the human anatomy was safe from the

10 El recluta por fuerza, vol. 2, pp. 284-285. 11 La inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, pp. 502-503.

61 jokes which Castillo1s characters constantly made about the body. In Los jugadores, a simile is used which strains to attain an air of literary worth.

This does not mean that the

author aspires to any pedestal, but that he does this to heighten the satire of the character upon whom it is used. A pretense of seriousness always opens the threshold to con­ trast, and results in a much larger laugh from the audience. This is the example.

Don Marcos is being flattered into

becoming a pauper by some gamblers.

In order to divert his

interests, they have Tecla appears SIRINEO. MARCOS. MATEO. MARCOS. PASCUAL. MARCOS.

^De donde es esta azucena? De Antequera, caballeros. |Bien haya, amen, la maceta! Fue una sehora muy noble. ^Ve usted las bocas abiertas? iSi esta todo el mundo lelo! jEh! Ya viene aqul una hembra. jMiren que linda! Saltando como una perdiz se acerca buscando a este perdigon.*^

The simile is mot likely to arise during a quarrel or a fight.

They are also connected more with personal insults

than with any other one comic element.

In El soldado fan­

farron, (Fourth part), Poenco says to Paco who has just called his bluff: POENCO;

Paquito, ^Que ha jecho usted? Poenco, £que ta pasao? jMira que tienes la fila como pimiento encarnado,

12 Los ""Jugadores, vol. 3, p. 12.

62 y que te duele bastante! In El baile desgraciado y el maestro Pezuna: PEZUNA. RETACO.

i?or San Pito, que estoy sudando de miedo! IRetirese, o lo despanzo! Lo ensarto como un buhuelo.14

In Los caballeros desairados: MARQUES.

. . . Al tirar la cabezada me ensarto por la pretina; yo vole como una pluma; mas, como una lagartija, me arrastro el toro;. . .***5

The above examples should be a fair indication of how Castillo employs figures of speech as comic elements. There are a great number of plays on words or puns to be found in the sainetesJ®

The double-entendre has been in

15 El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 454. 14 E l ,baile desgraciado, vol. 1, p. 78 15 Los caballeros desairados, vol. 1, p. 115* 16 Examples of play on words may be found in the following sainetes: La boda del Mundo Nuevo, vol. 1, p. 96; Los caballeros desairacEos, voTI 1, p. 123; El cafe de Cadiz, v o l , 1, pi Is?; La casa de vecindad (Second part), vol. 1, p. 163; Los comicos de la lengua, vol. 1, p. 252; El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, p. 275; La cura de los deseos, vol. 1, p. 291; El desafio de la Vicenta, vol. 1, p. 333; El dia de toros en Cadiz, vol. 1, p. 350; La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, pi ¥20; El fin del pavo, vol. 1, p. 441; El gato, vol. 1, pp. 461-462;“La Inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, p. HJ2; El letrado desengahado, voT. 1, pp. 512-513; El liberal, vol. s pal os deseados, another type of buffoonery is employed to stimulate laughter from the audience.

The frequent

loss of some part of the apparel by the sweet, young thing in order to delay her departure from Pedro is an example.

Don

Anastasio, her tutor and uncle is attempting to hasten her: ANAST. ROSAURA. ANAST. ROSAURA. ANAST. ROSAURA. PEDRO.

Ven muchacha. Poco a poco, que este zapato me aprieta. No vuelvas atras la cara* jDale con la impertinencia! Vamos, anda. iAy, mi abanico! Senorita; pues mi estrella me proporciona esta dieha, vuelva uste1 a tomar su prenda de la mano de un criado que desea complacerla.

9 El gaTo, vol. 1, pp. 467-468.

74 ROSAURA. ANAST.

Conozcame usted tambien por su servidora, y crea que estoy tan agradecida. . Calla, y no digas simplezas. •

ROSAURA.

•

ROSAURA.

•

•

•

iQ.ue se me caen las medias! •

ROSAURA. ANAST.

•

IMi mantilla, mi mantilla!

•

•

iAy, mi zapato! ^Tu quieres aeabarme la paciencia?10

This is a type of buffoonery which has never worn out its welcome as far as a popular audience is concerned. In El desaf£o de la Vicenta, Vicenta is graciosa who

has been denied a role in the play to be presented: Sale VICENTA por el patio, a caballo. VIGENTA. ORTEGA. VALDIVIA. IBANEZ. TIBURCIO. VIGENTA.

Quedo con esas palabras; pues ha llegado ya el fin de todas vuestras bravatas. IQue miro? ^Suerio o deliro? ^Que haces ah£, buena alhaja? El diablo de la fachenda. . . Esta es la' mo sea que ara. Yo me yoy a la platea, para ver en lo que para. (Vase.) A espacito y buena letra, dice un adagio; cachaza. Boquigrande sotautor, cuya reluciente calva es un plato de natillas, por lo lisa y jaspeada; y vosotros, turba infiel de comicales fantasmas, atended a mis acentos, escuchad las bocanadas que este corazon furioso por el aire desparrama. Yo soy la Vicenta, yo.

10 Los palos deseados> vol. 2, pp. 257-259

75 iNo sabeis que sin graciosa es el teatro una plasta? Ignorais que, cuando lloro, se rlen a carcajadas al paso que, a vuestro llanto, son todos unas estatuas?H The entrance astride a horse coupled with a mixture of highflown language and common expressions is the device used here for humor*

This type of thing, however, is extravagant even

for Castillo, and can only be considered as an isolated example of comic elements. More representative of Castillofs sainetes is the example taken from El cortejo substituto*

Don Pedro, a cortejo,

enters a room where doha Isabel and her regular cortejo, don Hilario are seated: ISABEL. PEDRO. ISABEL. PEDRO. ISABEL. PEDRO. HILARIO. ISABEL. PEDRO. ISABEL PEDRO.

|Don Pedro! ^ Con ,tu licencia desempenare mi encargo. iDueno m£o (Se arrodilla.) Con mas gracia se requiebra. jDuefio amado! Sere tierno, sere dulce, sere. . . Vaya uste en un salto, y traigame un alfiler. Ire lo mismo que un rayo. (Entra corriendo.) Mujeres, todas son falsas. Los hombres son unos santos* (Saliendo) Aqul esta, mi bien. Mas pronto se ha de hacer lo que yo mando. (Le tira un pellizco.) mi bTeh] que esta es mi carne!

11 El desaflo de la Vicenta, vol. 1, pp. 338-339. 12 El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, pp. 271-272.

76 Other similar examples of this type of horseplay and buf­ foonery are encountered frequently. The final example of buffoonery which we will present is found in La maja resuelta.

The accident which happens if

not, of course, the only element found here.

The abate and

Flora are present at a gathering when: PEDRO. VIZCONDE. PEDRO. VIZCONDE. ABATE. VIZCONDE. ABATE. FLORA. ABATE.

Lealo uste. No lo entiendo. El Abate lo podra traducir; que es un sujeto muy sabio. Sefior Abate. Mande usted. ^Quiere uste hacernos el favor de traducir este Monitor? No puedo, porque tengo que ponerle un vejigatorio al perro. jAy de mi, que se accidenta Lucerito! Abate; presto saque uste el porno de olor. Si no se alivia, recelo que me haga echarle una ayuda a su maldito Lucerito.13

The high esteem in which the dog, Lucerito, is held recalls the sainete, El gato, where a cat was prized above the family itself. IV. DRINKING14 Gonzalez del Castillo used drinking in several ways. 13 La maja resuelta, vol. 2, p. 113. 14 Examples of drinking may be found in the following sainetes: El aprendiz de torero, vol. 1, p. 43; El dia de toros en Cadiz, vol. 1, p. 359; El fin del pavo (Continued)

H© uses it simply to loosen the tongues of his characters. He has his characters partake freely of wine or mixtela there­ by giving them a freedom of expression which would otherwise be repressed.

This is not only good psychology, but it adds

considerably to the comic result of whatever scene he places on the stage. Por example, in the sainete, El maestro de la tuna, this use of liquor is found: PASCUALA. CURRO. JUANITQ. PASCUALA. CURRO. PASCUALA. JUANITO. PASCUALA. CURRO. PASCUALA.

. . . Dem© usted un poco de agua. Mejor es mixtela. # Si. deje uste el miedo. (Le echa) iQu® ansia! (Bebe) Vaya por ml otro gotita. (Le echa.) Ya que usted se empena, vaya. (Bebe.) No, pues yo no he de ser menos. iJesus; saldre mareada! (Bebe.) Vaya por aquel sujeto que usted mas quiera, mi alma. iAy, don Juan; por su salud! (Bebe.)

This drinking continues and they begin to dance.

Lora hears

them (They have hidden her in the closet) and wants to get out of the closet: (A los primeros pasos da LORA eoloes a la ouerta. v se------------------- ---LORA.

(Dentro) senor cantarln!

jAbra uste.

14 (Continued) vol. 1, p. 425; El gato, vol. 1, p. 464465; El lugarefto en Cadiz, vol. 2, p. 68; El maestro de la tima vol. pi 85; El soldado fanfarron (First part) vol. 2, p. 367 501dado f a n f a r r o n (Second part), vol. 2, p. 385; El solcTado fanfarron (Third part), vol. 2, p. 411; El triunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, p. 464; Los zapatos, vol. 2, p. 492.

78 PASCUALA# JUANITO. CURRO. LORA. PASCUALA. LORA. PASCUALA.

LORA. PASCUALA.

^Quien llama? No es nadie. Prosiga usted. (Vuelve a tocar Antonio) (Dentro) jAbran ustedes, so mandrias! Veremos a esta leona. (Abre, sale Lora. ) Perdone uste, so madama, que no pense que era usted una sefiora tan alta. Ni yo que era uste tan chioa. iSobre que me imaginaba ver salir por esa puerta lo menos una elefanta! IComo jiede uste a bebida! Desde que esta uste en la sala, me he m a r e a d o . ^

Castillo also uses drinking foonery.

In El lugarexlo en Cadiz,

to pave the way forbuf­ we find a typical drunk who

weaves all over the street and who can scarcely speak because his stupor is so heavy.

Pedro, the rustic, is holding what

he believes to be a baby when the drunk enters: BORRACHO.

PEDRO.

(Saliendo) iJesus; cuantas luminarias en toditas partes veo! ^No le he dicho que me deje? jHaya demontre de perro; que se mete entre las piernas! jArre, chucho; estate quedo! iAchist iDominus vobiscuml (Tropezando, va a caer encima de Pedro; y es'be se levanEa acelerado, reservando el nino.l Poco a poco, ^ran jumento, que despertara al Vizconde del Timbal. . .

Drinking also serves as a basis for personal insults and name calling.

It is used In this manner in El gato.

15 El maestro de la tuna, vol. 2, pp. 82-84, 16 El lugareflo en Cadiz, vol. 2, pp. 68-69.

79 There are present at this gathering Pablo, friend of Nicolas, who is the husband of Rita.

R ita’s brother is also present

in order to see that she receives just treatment from Nicolas; but: RITA. n i c o l As . ATANASIO.

PABLO.

ATANASIO. PABLO.

RITA. ATANASIO. PABLO. n i c o l As .

PABLO. RITA.

Dejemos conversaciones, y cargue usted con sus trapos. ^Pero es posible, mujer?. . . Si no te marchas te arrastro, y aljofifo con tu cuerpo los ladrillos. Atanasio; ^conque cuando yo venla (Saca botella y vaso.) a que tomases un trago de mi pipa, ahora te extremas? lYo podia adivinarlo? ^Que tal es? Si yo en mi vida he bebido vino malo. . . Vaya una uvita. (Le echa, y Atanasio bebe.) Por cierto que tengo yo un buen hermano. IQue buena boca! Es un nectar. Yo no tengo por pecado emborracharme con el. Que quiero paladearlo. Dos deditos. Ya no sufro tales inf a m i a s . ^

Not only does Atanasio become apathetic toward his sister, but actually he is converted to Nicolas’s cause.

17 El Gato, vol. 1, p. 464-465.

80 V.

FANFARONADE18

Fanfaronade is the chief theme of five of Castillo’s sainetes.

In El soldado Tragabalas , and in El soldado fan­

farron (All four parts) there is little else to divert the audience or the reader.

If these sainetes were presented a

month apart, boredom on the part of the observer would be precluded, and the sainetes would doubtless maintain their power of amusement.

As it is they resemble a loosely woven

serial such as Hollywood produces in such productions as Mr . Belvedere,

A typical example of fanfaronade is also found

in El baile desgraclado.

A huzza has been raised at the

party which Jose and Pezufia were attending} ROQUE • p e z u Sa

.

^Quien llamara? (Mira por el ojo de la H a v e ) Lo sabremos en abrTenUo. Otra vez el de lo verde viene; y con el, cuando menos, otros cuatro verderones; pero nadie tenga miedo, que aqui esta un hombre; al instante vengan mi capa y sombrero, que yo voy a salir fuera (Se la pone) a eomerme a ese mufteco. iQuien de ustes quiere prestarme un trabuco naranjero?

However, when the lights go out and ]£l de lo verde enters: JUAN. FEZUHA.

iTunantes, esto querfa! jPero si yo naa tengo con ustes!

(Palo)

18 Examples of fanfaronade may be found in the following sainetes; El baile desgraciado, vol. 1, p. 75; El soldado Traga­ balas, ~~vol, 2, pp. 341-342; El soldado fanfarron (First part), vol. 2, pp. 371-372; El soldado fanfarron (Second part), vol. 2, pp. 389-390; El soldado fanfarron (Third part), vol. 2, p. 415; El soldado fanTarron (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 442.

81 MUJEKES. TODOS. RETACQ. PEZUfiA.

IAy, que se matan! Huyamos todos adentro (Vanse.) |A la guardia! (Grita, temblando) Esta es la mesa; aqul debajo me meto, no venga un palo y me romba la cofaina de los sesos. (Metese.)

Fanfaronade is different from cowardice and fear in that the character always makes a point of bragging of his past deeds and what he intends to do in the present situation; but he never fulfills his pledges and invariably beats a hasty verbal retreat.

An excellent example of the verbal retreat is found

in El soldado Tragabalas.

A smuggler has just entered the

room; JUAN. BASILIA. JUAN. GRANAD.

CONT. GRANAD. CONT. GRANAD. GONT. GRANAD.

Seor Tragabalas; usted que es tan guapo, venga y traguese uste ese hombre. jPor Dios; que usted no se pierda! Levantese, amigo mio, por la gloria de su abuela. En mi vida hice yo caso de medios dias; mas ea; pues usted lo quiere, voy a que de verme se muera. Sentarse todos, que yo aqu£ hare lo que convenga. (Saca el sable, y se va a la punta del teatro a hablar al GontrabandistaTJ Mocito; mTreme usted. Ya le miro. . .! Que friolera! ^Me ha visto usted bien? Y mucho. Pues se acabo la pendencia. £A que ha entrado usted aqu£? A bailar en esta fiesta. ^Usted sabe que yo soy conocido en esta guerra por mal nombre, Tragabalas?

19 El baile desgraoiado, vol. 1, pp. 75-77.

82 CONT. GRANAD.

CONT#

No, serior.

.

GRANAD.

CONT. GRANAD.

CONT. GRANAD.

Usted lo sepa. y le digo que al Instante corriendo tome la puerta, antes que con este nifiLo le eche al suelo la cabeza. Le digo no me da gana. y que todo eso es fachenda, y usted es un baladron que no tiene mas que lengua. No le mato a uste aqui mismo porque me causa vergUenza emplearme en su persona; que es uste un pobre trompeta. ^Reriimos o no? Rifiamos. ££ por una friolera hemos aqui de matarnos? Digame uste: &Y de que tierra es usted? Soy andaluz. Yo tambien, compadre; venga esa mano; siempre amigos y muerase el que se muera. Don Juan; ya esta usted servido. ese hombre ya es de manteca.^O

The.very size of the lies which a fanfarron tells can add a great deal of humor to a sainete.

In El soldado fan­

farron (Second part), Poenco, the protagonist tells almost the opposite of what had actually occurred in the first part of the soldado fanfarron series: POENCO.

... Pues el caso fue que el dia de su santo, estando llena de vesita toa la casa, salio detras de una estera un majo muy estirao. . . Hazte cargo de la flema con que yo le miraria; largue entonces la botella que tenia entre las manos,

Mi soldado Tragabalas, vol. 2, pp. 354-355.

83 la di a la gorra dos vueltas, me la puse, y fuime a el haciendo la mosca rauerta. Desde que yo me estire y le di sobre la jeta, con la barba, conocio mi poer y se echo a tierra, rogando que le dejase salir vivo. iSi-tu vieras aquel hombre alii templar! Vaya; si fue una vergUenza* Entonces le dije: Marcha, so fflona; toma la puerta. Mira, pico; ni hice mas que tocarlo, y la mollera la refrego en los ladrillos. Vino entonces la casera dando gritos; y el casero entro con mucha fachenda; yo lo agarre asi, y rompio seis platos con la cabeza. Vaya; era too griteria; no se ola en la azotea mas que jLa guardia, la G-rardia! Catate que el Rondln llega, la patrulla, seis Ministros, todos entran de priesa, y yo, en medio de la salaj Venga gente, venga, venga, que aqui esta un hombre ; cerre, as! que entraron, la puerta, y sacando el alfiler, les dije jBandera negra; un acto de contricion, porque ninguno lo cuenta! iAy, Pico! iQue terremoto se armo allli Mira; con estas manazas, de tres en tres por el balcon iban fuera; de modo que, en un instante, deje limpia la vivienda, y baje pisando gente como por una escalera. Such a long quotation has been included in order to communicate the full flavor and exaggeration of the braggadocio of Castillo. 21 El soldado fanfarron, vol. 2, pp. 389-390.

84 It is perhaps the type which he presents better than any other of his caricatures. VI.

FALSE ERUDITION22

False erudition is another element which rears its head so often in the sainetes of Castillo that it merits separate treatment.

It is possible that Castillo used

Cadalso’s Los eruditos a la violeta, or some of the sainetes of D. Ramon de la Cruz for examples of his false erudition. On the other hand, this pretense of knowledge was so common in the eighteenth century that careful observation in the cafes and restaurants would have yielded the examples found in his sainetes.

A prize example of this element is found

in El cafe de Cadiz. Sale FRASQUITQ con la cafe ter a , ^ le da la G-aceta. FRASQ. BLAS. SEBASTIAN. BLAS^ ANTONIO. BLAS l ANTONI0. BLAS. ANTONIO.

Aqui esta. (Saliendo) Don Sebastian, £tan temprano en la palestra? Como siempre, a buena hora. jAntohitol iQue me ordena? Trae le Gaceta de leiden. La e stan leyendo. Pues sea la de Lugano. Tambien esta ocupada.

22 Examples of false erudition may be found in the follow­ ing sainetes: El cafe de Cadiz, vol. 1, pp. 134-137; La casa de vecindad (SeconcT part), vol. 1, p. 196; La casa nueva, vol. 1, pp. 219-220; La cura de los deseos, vol* 1, pp. 295-296; Los literatos, yoTT 2, PP* 56-57; SI maestro de la tuna, vol. 2, pp. 58-89; El medico poeta, vol. 2, pi 184; La mujei* corregida, vol. 2, p. 2UB; Los palos deseados, vol. 2, pp. "262-863; El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, pp. 531-332.

85 BLAS. ANTOSlO. BLAS.

iQue pelmas son estas gentes! SefSor, si usted no sabe esas lenguas, ^para que las quiere usted? Pero conozco las letras; y es fuerza para citarlas, haber leido siquiera los t i t u l o s . ^

The doctor and his loquacious diagnosis again appear in El robo de la pupila. M&DICO. ABATE. MEDICO.

ABATE. LIQUIDO. ABATE. LI QUIDO. ALCALDE. MEDICO.

Acudamos a esta dama primeramente. Veamos el pulso. ^Gomo se halla? jLance grave! El esternon le le ha oblicuado y le amagan unas pandiculaciones que las fiebres le desgarran. Veamos el otro enferno. 4 Conque dime: ^aquella moza te cito para su casa? iHombre! Dejame, que estoy hecho un veneno. Y la cara, *que tal era? No me pudras. iQue os parece? Hay mucha causa. La bills va relajando las linfas y las substancias escreticias. Al momento conduzcanle a su posada;^^

23 El cafe de Cadiz, vol. 1, pp. 133-134. 24 Canofs note: Falta un verso que no aparece en los ejemplares. 25 El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, pp. 331-332.

86 VII.

FEAR AND COWARDICE26

Since the servants of Himeneo ran off in time of danger, in Torres Naharrofs Comedia intitulada Himenea, fear and cowardice have been used for comic effect in the Spanish theater.

Now, however, fear and cowardice are not limited

to the servants, but enter into the ranks of the gentlemen who are entitled to place a don before their name: TERENCIO. ABATE.

TERENCIO.

Si no fuese atrevido, no escuchara lo que no quisiera oir. Si mi enojo no mirara que sois un pobre vejete, os romperla en la calva el baston. lA ml? iPor vida, que os dare, seis estocadasl (Don Terencio saca la espada y _se pone en una punta del teatro; el Abate con el baston se retira a la otra; desde esta distancia se amagan y tiran golpes al aire; don Terencio, a cada cuchillada que tira, se extrafla gritando: Justicia; Don Llquido da brinebs de contento y anima al Abate. Al ruido acude gente; sale la Justicia. .)27

The pretense of a fight with all the grimaces, waving of weapons, and the screaming would, although it is a lower type of humor, appeals a great deal more to an audience who like plenty of action with and in its theater. 26 Examples of fear and cowardice appear in the following sainetes: El aprendiz de torero, vol. 1, p. 53, El baile desgracia&o, vol. 1, pp. 7?t78; La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, p. 44; El recluta por fuerza, vol. 2, p. 298; El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, p. 329; El soldado Tragabalas, vol. 2, p. 355; Los jugadores, vol. TiJ pi 27;'~Los nobles ignorados, vol. 2, p. 183. 27 El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, pp. 328-329.

87 In La f eria del Puerto, another example similar in nature to the one cited above occurs.

This time, however,

the gentlemen manage to control their tempers and do not quite come to the point of* blows.

Anselmo tries to stir up

a duel between Ignacio and Narciso who have just quarreled? No impidan que le rompa la cabeza. Detenganse. TODOS. jVive Dios! IGN. y NAR. Dame tu espada. ANSELMO. iQue intentas? BLAS. Divertirme. ANSELMO. Tomalo. BLAS. (Toma la espada de don Bias; a sus voces se ANSELMO. contienen; II se pone en medio; y todos hacen clrculo.T~~ Sehores; todos atiendan. Bntre seriores de honor, sin duda es una bajeza pretender darse de palos; y, asi, para que esto sea en forma de duelo, aqui estan dos espadas. Ea; yo soy padrino de entrambos; a combatir; hagan rueda. NARCISO. De modo que yo, en pasando el primer impulso. . . IGNACIO. Fuera refiir asi, desafio; y las leyes lo condenan. NARCISO. Yo perdono las ofensas como noble. IGNACIO. Yo no guardo rencor. 28 IGNACIO.

Such a disgrace to the nobility of these gentlemen!

There was,

apparently, little of the honor left which was portrayed in coraedias de capa y espada of the Golden Age. 28 La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, pp. 413-414.

88 VIII.

FIGHTING AND SLAPPING29

Fighting and slapping are almost as prevalent in the sainetes of Castillo as buffoonery.

This fighting and slapping

is, of course, a type of buffoonery, but it is different enough in nature from the type of example presented in the section entitled Buffoonery to require a distinct classification of its own. It need hardly be mentioned how much a tussle, a fight or a slap adds to the action of a sainete.

It may be debated,

though, whether it adds to the humor of a situation.

With

the representative examples set forth below, it will be demon­ strated how Castillo uses them for comic effect* In La casa de vecindad (First part) a proud landlord is the victim of a drubbing: 29 Examples of fighting and slapping and other similar action may be found in the following sainetes: El aprendiz de torero, vol. 1, pp. 54-55; El baile desgraciado, vol. 1, p. 74; Los caballeros desairados, vol. 1, p. 125; La casa de vecindad, '{Firat part), Vol. 1, p. 170; La casa nueva, vol. 1, p. 215; El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, p. 282; La cura de los deseos, vol. 1, p. 301; El chasco del manton, vol. 1, p. 318; El desafio de la Vicenta, vol. 1, p. 342; El dla de toros en Cadiz, vol. 1, p. 366; Felipa la chiclanera, vol. 1, p. 389; La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, pp. 412-413; El lugareflo en Cadiz, vol. 2 p. 59; El maestro de la tuna, vol. 2, p. 84; La ma ja re sue1ta, vol. 2, p. 121; LosTmaJos envidiosos, vol. 2, p . 130; Los naturales opuestos, vol. 2, p. 239; Los palos deseados, vol. 2, pp. 271-272; El recluta por fuerza, vol. 2, p. 291; El robo if* pupiia J vol. 2, pp. 329-330; El soldado fanfarron, TFirst part) vol. 2, p. 376; El soldado,fanfarron, (Second part), vol. 2, p. 397; El solcTado fanfarron^ (Third part), vol. 2, p. 420; El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 454; Los jugadores, vol. 2, p. 21; Los nobles ignorados, vol. 2, pp. 182-183.

89 SIME6N#

CURRO#

SIMEON. CURRO. SIME6 n # CLELIA. ANDRES y TERESA. BLASA. RONDlN. SIME6N.

Contengase usted; si no, don Simeon de las Cuevas la pondra como raerece. Don Simeon o don Pelma; mire usted que esa casaca no esta bendita, y me tienta el diablo por sacudirle en los lomos una felpa. L o pondre yo en un presidio# Yo le abrire la cabeza. Mire que soy el easero. (Salen Clelia y todos los vecinos.) iQuien grita? gresca es esta? jQ,ue ma tan a Simeon I (Salen Rondin ^ disfrazados.) Aqui suena la pendencia* ^Que es esto? Tenganse todos. Justicia, si hay en la tierra. Serior Ministro, oiga usted# jAtreverse a la cabeza de un caserol Pronto, pronto; amarrarlo con cien cuerdas#3G

Everyone enjoys seeing a pretentious and vain person get his just desserts#

The very fact that Simeon felt himself above

a fight makes the situation more humorous. Mistreating a character gives rise to a form of fighting# We find this in Los jugadores#

Bias, the rustic servant of

Marcos, wants Marcos to preserve his faithfullness to Monica: TECLA.

BLAS. TECLA.

*Que esperas? Sientateaqui, dueho mio. (Lo agarra del brazo para irse con el a la mesa, y Bias se arroja en medio para dl~vidir lo s# J Eso no; las manos quietas. Mi re usted que con la higa le he de revolver las grefias. lA mi, picaro?

50 La casa de vecindad, (First part), vol# 1, p. 170#

90 MARCOS# PASCUAL. TODOS. BLAS. MARCOS.

iInsolente! iSo tunante! |Vaya fuera! Si la novia me lo manda. . . jVete noramala! lArrea! •(^° echan a empujones, cierran la puerta y £© van a sentar.)51

The desire of Marcos to make use of the time away from his fiancee heightens the humor here; otherwise the expulsion of Bias would not create as much laughter and suspense. Women also enter into physical combat in order to amuse the public.

It is much more amusing to see women fight than

it is to watch two men.

The tangled hair, the kicking and

scratching, the tearing of clothing is not found as frequently in a fight between men. In the sainete, El chasco del manton, a typical example of women in the heat of a quarrel is found.

Ines refuses to

pay for a coat which has been stolen from her* IlflSlS,. NICOLASA.

INfiS. NICOLASA.

Advierte que estas hablando con dona Ines Mondonedo, viuda de un Capitan. . . • . .de gallinas. Pu6 un sujeto muy conocido en su casa. jPuf, como apesta un regueldo de nobleza de averia! Por Dios, nina; que doblemos esa hoja, que esta puerca; y hablemos de mi dinero. ^Quien me paga? Yo no pago; y asi, ve a un juez. ^ Ya estoy viendo que el manton se ha de volver sotana.

31 Los jugadores, vol. 3, p. 21

91 PEPA. INfiS*

ik mi ama? Presto; vete a la calle.

NICOLASA.

La trenza he de cortarla primero. (Se agarran.

IX.

HUHGER33

The comic treatment of hunger by Castillo in the sainetes, though it does not appear with the frequency of the other elements, deserves a special description because one whole sainete is based on it.

El fin del pavo is a running

dialogue in which a viejo verde (an amorous old man) with a turkey under his arm picks up several parasitic friends and attempts to make a conquest by using the bird as a lure.

The

eagerness to eat is reflected humorously in the following passage.

Agapito, the owner of the turkey, is rather finical

about the kind of girls Agapito and his friends choose to share the bird: TOMASA. AGAPITO. TOMASA# AGAPITO. TOMASA.

iQue dice usted caballero? Que usted no comera el pavo. *Por que no suben? iEs gana? Porque estamos despachados. jBuena frescura! Otra vez no venga con tales trapos si quiere usted que le abran. iEl demonio de los trastos! (Vase.)

El cKasco del manton, vol. I, pp. 317-318. 33 Examples of hunger may be found in the following sainetes: La casa nueva, vol. 1, pp. 223-224; La cura de los deseos,'~voTT 1 , p. £90; El fin del pavo, vol. 1 , p. 432; La inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, p. 477; El marido desengahado, vol. 2, pT 1 6 8 ; El triunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2 , p. 466.

92 AGAPITO. ANTONITO. AGAPITO.

PEPITO. AGAPITO. PEDRITO.

jCaramba y que culebronl De buena te has escapado, pavito de mis entrahas. Pero ya ves que es un chasco para el otro. Calla, tonto. £Nq le viste sucio el bianco de los ojos? Pues es hambre. lo menos habra dos anos que esa no come caliente. iCuerniquiquis, que lagarto! (Saliendo) iHombre; vaya, que bochorno mayor jamas lo he pasado! ^Bochorno porque esa tonta se atufo? iQue simplonazo! iTodas son tontas, son feas para ti! ^Quieres acaso alguna d i o s a ? ^

Frequently we find exclamations or a continuous series of allusions to hunger.

It is truly amazing that the Spanish

can laugh and make fun of hunger in this way. threat to many,

It was a constant

so perhaps if made fun of, it would seem less

of a problem. In the sainete, La casa nueva, we find that Bias is nothing more than one great hunger pang: BLAS.

NARCISO.

BLAS. NARCISO.

Cuando pase por la puerta de la cocina, sent! un olorcillo a pimiento. que vivificaba. ^Acaso se estrena la casa nueva con algun banquete? Vienen a comer unas parientas de mi mujer, y unos cuantos amigos. Usted me tenga por uno de los mas finos. As! lo creo.

34 El fin del pavo, vol. 1, pp. 431-432.

93 BLAS*

Yo fuera un hombre ingrato si no lo 'acompahase en la mesa*

As the day progresses and the crises mount: BLAS.

Vamos a comer, que luego podra contarnos sus penas. •

•

*

No lo despechen ustedes. Vamos a ver si nos prestan las vecinas los cubiertos, el mantel, las servilletas, los platos,y . . . •

•

•

Esto va malo; yo voy a tomar alguna presa en la cocina. . . •

•

•

No; mire usted que es mal si sterna, antes que todo es el vientre35 X.

INGENUOUSNESS AND IGNORANCE36

As we have already seen (cf. Characters: the peasant) Castillo is particularly fond of placing a simple peasant on the stage and letting him commit a series of stupidities and blunders.

He is also fond of having the sweet young thing

interpret literally some figurative meaning.

This evokes a

35 La casa nueva, vol. 1, pp. 209 ff. 36 Examples of ingenuousness and ignorance may be found in the following sainetes: La boda del Mundo Nuevo, vol. 1, pp. 100-101; Felipa la chiclanera, vol. 1, pp. 375-379; La feria del Puerto, voTT T~, pp. 405-408; El gato, vol. 1, p. 460; La Inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, p. 492; El liberal, vol. 2, p. 25; E T lugareho en Cadiz, vol. 2, p. 60; ET recluta por fuerza, vol. 2, p. 287; El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, p. 373; El soldado Tragabalas, vol.~l?, p. 345; El triunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, p. 474; El payo de la carta, vol. 2, p. 512.

94 mixture of pity and comedy in the audience which at times approaches pathos.

Castillo, however, is not a master of

pathos as are the Quintero Brothers.

Castillo invariably

stresses the comical thereby reducing the situation to pathetic humor. In El robo de la pupila a typical case of this type of ingenuousness and ignorance is found#

Two peasants, fresh

from their farm, pay a visit to the fair in Cadiz.

They fail

to realize that it is necessary to pay for what is offered them:

BENITO. BLASA• BENITO.

BUNOL. MIST, y ROSQ. BENITO.

BUNOL* LOS OTROS. BLASA. TODOS* BENITO.

(Mientras hablan don Terencio y don An­ tonio , Benito y Blasa se levahtan limpiandose la boca, el uno con la montera y la otra con Xas enagua s.1 Vaya; me he puesto la panza como un tinajon. Y yo reviento con tanta masa. Dios se lo pague a usted, tia; amigo, hasta otra Pascua; y muchos anos de vida. A mas ver. jComo! 6^o pagas? Dame el dinero, so payo. ^Que dinero ni que haca? ^Pues ustes no me dijeron que si queria? jCanastas! jTras que les he hecho el favor de tomarlosl. . . Si no pagas te he de dar un sartenazo que te caliente las barbas. Paganos. Si no tenemos Pues da nos alguna alhaja. Con aquesta cachiporra les dare cosa que valga.

95 TODOS* BLASA.

Ahora lo veras, patan. iJusticia de Dios, que matan a mi maridol37

In the sainetes, El triunfo de las mujeres, the ignor­ ance takes the form of an inability in men to accomplish the tasks which women ordinarily take care of. exiled the women.

The mayor has

Bias is attempting to rock his baby to

sleep, Pedro is doing some washing, Juan is mending; Diego is trying to cook soups BLAS.

DIEGO, BLAS.

JUAN.

DIEGO, PEDRO,

^Si se habra dormido? Nada; parecen un par de estrellas los ojos. zQ,ue me enfado y se los tapo con brea para que jamas los abra? SMas que veo? \Santa Tecla; otro boton se ha mamadoI iPobre casacal De esta, se chupa botonadura, pafLo, forro y entretelas. Sefior don Bias; me parece que usted tambien se impacienta. ^No tengo de impacientarme si el nifio tiene una lengua como un puflal de Albacete, que destroza cuanto encuentra? Vean ustes que agujero me ha hecho en la casaca nueva. jDuermete, demonio! Creo que hoy no podre abrir la Escuela. (Tira la almohadllla.) jAnda con einco mil diablos; que, aunque descalzo me vea, no vuelvo a tomar la aguja! (Tira todo) Reniego de la condela, del puchero y del carbon; y reniego de mi abuela. (Idem) Ea; se acabo el fregado. jSobre que tengo desheehas siete costillas, de hacer corteslas a las piedras!

57 El robo de la pupila, vol. 2, pp. 322-323.

96 BIAS*

(Tira el nifio. ) iMaldito! ^Quieres sacarme las entraflas? Anda fuera, que yo no tengo que darte.^8 XI.

FALSE ILLNESS AND FAINTING39

False illness and fainting are to be included in the main comic elements because of the repeated use Castillo makes of them.

How many times have we seen this element used

in contemporary comedy, and used with no little success! This fainting is unusually effective when the other side of a person’s character is revealed to the audiences e.g. a more or less ferocious nature.

In El cortejo substituto, we un­

cover a character (a petimetra) who is the prototype of the fainting female s ISIDORA.

ISABEL.

Deten el labio y.no leas. . Pues del pecho. . . el corazon. . . a pedazos. . . quiere salirse. . ., y no tengo animo para escucharlo. Denme un succino, sehoras, porque el mio no lo traigo. (Se desmaya sobre el hombro de don Pedro.) En leyendo estas dos lineas acudire a su desmayos A doria Isidora Soto, aunque no la he cortejado, se que le apesta el sudor

Si triunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, pp. 474-475. 39 Examples of false illness and fainting .may be found in the following sainetes s El baile desgraciado, vol. 1, p. 65; El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, p. 279; La cura de los deseos, voll IT pT 294; El dia de toros en Cadiz, vol. 1*7 p* 357-358; La maja resuelta, vol. 2, p. 121; El marido desengahado, vol. 2, p. 158; La mujer corregida, vol. 2, p. 203; El robo de la pupila, vol. S', p^ 330#

97 ISIDORA. PEDRO. ISABEL. ISIDORA.

continuo de los sobacos. (Vuelve en si y embiste a don Pedro.) IA ml, perro? Due ho mlo, ^tiene usted dedos o garflos? Detente, Isidora. Tengo, con las unas, de sajarlo. ^Olerme mal el sudor? |Miren que embustero!^0

In El marido desengafiado, doha Casimira is the wife who uses false illness to plague her husband and to achieve her caprices. Sale DOHA CASIMIRA haciendo ademanes de males. CASIMIRA. LAMBERTO. CASIMIRA. LAMBERTO. CASIMIRA.

No puedo parar. iQue ansias! IAy, querido don Lamberto, que me ahogo! (Aparte) Cuanto antes, Virgen de los Recoletos. ^Que tienes, tortola amada? Yo no se lo que me tengo; estoy muy mala. Hija mia, sosiegate y deja extremos. Vaya, mona; di, £que tienes? Despues de comer me he puesto muy mala. Me muero, hijo.

The real cause of Casimira1s illness is revealed by the maid, Basilia, and the pagej LAMBERTO.

BASILIA.

Oye; tu ama, como tan mala se ha puesto, @s regular se haya echado la pobrecita. \Que bueno! Vaya; es usted un pobre hombre, y la cree muy de ligero. Cantando y bailando queda, por alii fuera, el bolero.

40 El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, p. 279

98 ISi se iba a morir!

LAMBERTO. PAJE.

De risa. IQue poco sabe usted de eso! Le engana a uste en todo. Guando al mediodia no hay medio de que coma, es que se ha echado antes cuarto o cinco almuerzos.^

BASILIA

.

PERSONAL INSULTS AND NAME CALLING42

As has no doubt been observed by this time, Castillo puts a great many insults and depreciatory names on the lips of his characters. ^

Mi

They usually occur during a quarrel or desengahado, vol. 2, pp. 158-163.

42 Examples of personal insults and name calling may be found in the following sainetes: El aprendiz de torero, vol.. 1, p. 43; La boda del Mundo Nuevo, vol. 1, p. 104; Los caballeros ~desairados, vol. 1, p. 129; Elf cafe de Cadiz, vol. 1, p. 142; La casa de vecindad, (First part), vol. 1, pp. 183-184; La casa nueva, vol. 1, p. 215; Los comicos de la lengua, vol. 1, pp. 235-236; El cortejo substituto, vol. 1, p. 276; La cura de los Deseos, vol. 1, p. 287; El chasco del manton, vol. 1, p. 322; El desafio de la Vicenta, vol. 1, p. 341; El dia de toros en Cadiz, vol. 1, p. 365; Felipa la chiclanera, vol. 1, p. 391; La feria del Puerto, vol. 1, p. 413; El fin del pavo, vol. 1, p. 431; El gato, vol. 1, pp. 452-453; La inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, p. 497; El letrado desengariado, vol. 1, p. 522; El lib­ eral, vol. 2, p. 8; Los literatos^ vol. 2, p. 48; El lugarerlo en Cadiz, vol. 2, p.~6Sg Ell maestro de la tuna, voT7 2, p. §"¥; La maja resuelta, vol. 2, p. 104; Los majos envidiosos, vol. 2, p. T4§7 El marldo desengahado, vol. 2, pp. 156-157; El medico poeta, vol. 2, p. 194; La mujer corregida, vol. 2, pp. 212-213; Los naturales opuestos, vol. 2, pi 254; Los palos deseados, vol. 2, pp. 268-272; El recluta por fuerza, vol. 2, p. 289; El robo de la pupila, voTT 2, p. 319; El soldado Tragabalas, vol. 2, pp. 5F9-351; El soldado fanfarron, (First part), vol. 2, p. 376; El soldado fanfarron^ (Second part), vol. 2, p. 395; El soldacTo fanfarron (Third part), vol. 2, p. 419; El soldado fanfarron7 (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 441; El triunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, p. 464; Lojs zapatos, vol. 2, p. 49§; El payo de la carta, vol. 2, p. 595; El recibo del paje, vol. 2, p. 534; I^s~Tugadores, vol. 2, p. 27;~~Eos nobles ignorados, vol. 2, p. 160.

99 fight*

This need not, however, necessarily be true.

In

El soldado Tragabalas, the Granadero disgusted with the amorous tactics of Beata decides to let her know that he is aware of her game with the Sacristan: GRANAD.

BEATA. GRANAD. BEATA.

Oiga usted, madre Beata; mire que presente tenga que es pedernal la ocasion; que es el diablo la pajuela; el fuego es el Sacristan; usted, santita, la yesca; la tentacion da un chasquido, y luego el beaterio vuela. Haga lo que yo le digo, y en lo que hago no se meta. |Quitese de ahl la gazmoha, hipocrita y embustera! (Se levanta enfadada. ) Como”usted, plcaro, infame. . . Voto a San, que si tuviera. . .! Pero £que digo, Jesus! Soy muy mala; soy perversa. Vuestra voluntad se haga en los cielos y en la t i e r r a . ^

In El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part) an example common to those encountered on almost every other page of Castillofs sainetes is found.

Poenco is about to be enlightened once and

for all as to his bravery: PICO. BERLANGA. TODOS. POENCO.

Seo embustero; as! respondo a los hombres mal hablaos. (Le pega) Dale, Juan Pico. (Saliendo) iQue es esto? Seriores; todos a un lao; no se me acerque nenguno si no quiere al otro barrio ir ahora mismo; que estoy lo propio que un condenao. i-Ay, que indina ealia el Serior a ml me ha dao!

45 El soldado Tragabalas, vol. 2, pp. 350-351.

RAMON.

iQ,ue te ha de dar, fanfarron! •

*

*

Fanfarron, mandria,

p e l a o . 4 4

In Los literatos, a group of the townspeople come to complain to the author of a play that he has insulted them in his comedy.

This is unusually well done, since Castillo has

the characters insult themselves? JUANITO.

MARIQ.

TORIBIO. MAJA I.a CURR I.° CURR I.° MAJAS. CURR.

I.°

^Adonde esta ese bribon que se atreve a criticarnos la maquina calzonaria? (Salen Mariquita y otras majas) ^Cjulen es ese deslenguado y indinote, que se atreve a tomar en boca al barrio de la Viha? iLinda gresca! Seftores; ese es el guapo que ustedes buscan. |So mandria, saiga usted fuera! Este palo que usted critica, ha de ser el que le rompa los cascos. Si sale, con las correas del calzon tengo de ahorcarlo. |So indino, saiga usted fuera! Hable usted, so p o e t a s t r o . 4 5

In La mujer corregida we find another series of insult which, like the majority of C a s t i l l o ^ insults have little originality, but which strike up laughter because of surprise their incongruity, or because of the way they are said by the actors. CONLE.

Un marido muy poltron, muy bonazo y muy paciente, con dos bultos en la frente.

. .

44 El soldado fanfarron, (Fourth part), vol. 2, p. 436 45 Los literatos, vol. 2, p. 48.

101 POLIO. CONDE.

lYo bultos? Uste es el diablo. No quiero yo decir bultos, sino un poqulto elevado por las entradas del pelo. Bi hubiera un espejo a mano, viera con que exactitud lo voy a usted retratando.46 XIII.

LICENTIOUSNESS47

Almost everyone likes a joke which is on the shady side. Almost everyone enjoys seeing the erring husband or swain caught in an act of infidelity.

Gonzalez del Castillo was

prompt to recognize these facts, and he capitalized on them. As previously pointed out, the eighteenth century was a period of moral laxity, particularly among the middle class and the nobility; and these are the characters, along with the majos of the city, who take part most frequently in licentiousness as found in the sainetes. In El soldado fanfarron, (First part), we find an example of the wife v$iose husband is in Lima; and so to 46 La mujer corregida, vol. 1, p. 212* 47 Examples of licentiousness may be found inthefollow ing sainetes: La boda del Mundo Nuevo, vol. 1, p. 94; La casa de vecindad, (Second part), vol. 1, p. 180; El cortejo substi­ tuto, vol. 1, p. 270; La cura de los deseos, vol. 1, pp. 292293; El gato, vol. 1, p. 461; H o s l i t e r a t o s , vol. 2, pp. 40-41; El maestro de la tuna, vol. 2, p. 95; La maja resuelta, vol. 2, p. 123; Los majors envidiosos, vol. 2, p. 149; Eil maricTo desengafiado, vol. 2, pp. 167-168; El soldado fanfarron (First part), vol. 2, p. 363; El soldado fanfarron (Third part), vol. 2, p. 396; El triunTo de las~mujeres, vol. 2, p. 464; Los zapatos, voll 2^ p . T 8 7 ; El reclbo del paje, vol. 2, pp. 529530; Los jugadores, vol. 3, pi 9; Los nobles ignorados, vol. 3, p p . 168-169.

102 prevent boredoms JUANA. TOMASA. JUANA. TOMASA. JUANA. TOMASA. JUANA. TOMASA. JUANA.

(Se sienta) Tomaremos un polvo. ^Conque esta noche tendra uste en casa jaleo? Como es dia de mi santo. . . Ya me hago cargo. Me alegro. lY su marido de usted, cuando viene? Ha poco tiempo que se embarco para Lima. ?Y tiene usted parentesco con ese sehor soldado que esta aqui siempre de asiento? Ese hombre es un amigo de mi marido. Yo vengo a darle a uste un consejito. Mejor fuera algun dinero, que me hace falta. Conmigo no valen soflamas, icuerno!, que soy la casera.48

In El triunfo de las mujeres an accusation by Diego concerning his w i f e ’s faithfulness appears to be a good laugh provokers DIEGO.

Sehor Alcalde; quisiera no mover los labios; pero, pues es preciso, usted sepa que es mi dichosa mujer la mas solemne coqueta de toda la Andalucla. En mirandola siquiera un mozo, pone los ojos lo mismo que candilejas. Entonces sigue la risa, el arqueamiento de cejas, los gesticos, las guihadas y otras doscientas mil muecas. Luego que entra un Regimiento en el pueblo, a la hora y media saben mi casa el Tambor, el Sargento, y la caterva

48 El soldado fanfarron (First part), vol. 2, pp. 362-363.

103 de oficiales, que me gastan los umbrales de la puerta; pero lo que siento es que no salen los que entran; pues aunque yo al despedlrse paso lista, se me cuelan por las rendijas, de modo que una noche, entrando a tientas, halle a un sehor Capitan alojado en la de s p e n s a . ^ A case of the wife who discovers her husbandfs affair with another come to

woman is found

in

La

casa de vecindad. Shehas

look for a room and discovers Curro quite by accident. Sale CURRO despidlendose de JUANA y tia MARIA, a la puerta del cuarto.

CURRO. JUANA. PEPA. CURRO. PEPA.

SIMEON. JUANA.

PEPA. TIA.

PEPA.

49

Adios, Juanita. Curro mlo, hasta la vuelta. ^Quien ha de volver, sefiora? Se vino la casa a cuestas. Hombre mal entretenido £tu en visitas de mozuelas? ^No te dije el otro dia que sabria la huronera donde te metes, indino? Doha Blasa, abrid la oreja para hacer luego justicia. Oiga usted, dona Espetera: si es alguna pelandusca que anda tras de las pesetas, sepa usted que el sehor Curro en un dla solo piensa ponerse en gracia de Dios. 2,Es usted la penitencia? Si, sehora; que es su novio, y estan las cosas dispuestas para, de aqui en tres semanas, irse juntos a la Iglesia. Sehor Currito, ?que es esto? ^Ha sacado usted licencia del Gran Turco para hacer algun serrallo? . . .50 trlunfo de las mujeres, vol. 2, pp. 464-465.

50 La casa de vecindad,

(First part), vol. 1, p. 168.

104 XIV.

PRIDE AND VANITY51

Gonzalez del Castillo is truly a master at creating, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say reproducing, characters whose pride and vanity lead them into comical situations.

These characters frequently expose their own

foibles through dialogue with others.

Sometimes they are

exposed by the others and come to be the butt of satire or of some practical joke* In Los literatos, we discover a man who is proud of his family and the way in which he manages it: LORENZO*

No hay que negarlo. Usted me ha pintado en ella corao un padre descuidado lY por que? ^Porque permito que carguen tanto la mano mis nihas en el afeite, que hay dia que si no saco los espejuelos no puedo

51 Examples of pride and vanity may be found in the following sainetes: El aprendiz de torero, vol. 1, p. 42; La boda del Mundo nuevo, vol. 1, p.~TQ4; Los caballeros desairados, vol. 1, pp. 121, 127; La casa de vecindad (Second part), vol. lj p. 183; El cortejo substituto, void T] pp. 275-276; La cura de los deseos, vol. 1, p. 292; El fin del pavo, vol.~T, p. 439; La inocente Dorotea, vol. 1, pp. 479-480; El letrado desengahado, vol. 1, pp. 520-524; El liberal, vol. 2, p. 8; La maja resuelta, vol. 2, pp. 109-110; Los majos envidiosos, vol. 2, p. 136; El medico poeta, vol. 2, p. 198; La mujer corregida, vol. 2, p. 218; Los naturales opuestos, vol. 2, pp. 233-234; Los palos deseados, vol. 2, p. 274; Si robo de la pupila, vol. 2, p. 312; El soldado Tragabalas, vol. 2, p. 338; El soldado fanfarron (l?ourth part), p. 456, vol. 2; Los zapatos, vol. 2, pu 496; El payo de la carta, vol. 2, p. 516; El^recibo del paje, voTT 2, p.“326; fcos jugadores, vol. 2, pp. 12-13; Los nobles ignorados, vol. 3, pT 165.

105 conocerlas; porque pago un maestro de boleras para que, a fuerza de saltos, se libren de opilaciones; porque parece mi estrado siempre un cafe, donde pasan las inocentes el rato, en medio de una caterva de incroyables, conversando sobre materias de honor en un nuevo castellano? Ea, pues: digame usted si hay en esto algo de malo. si las dejo de todos estrados, es porque no sean Quijotas; en fin, si van a saraos; si por las mafiana.s corren todas las calles y plazas con mantones estrellados, sayas de tres baterias, haciendo alarde del garbo, son muchachas y desean pescar un marido al paso; pues el padre que no quiera ver en su casa un retablo de doncellas .pollanconas, ha de hacer lo que yo hago.^ As we have already noticed,

there were a great many

nobles, both of high rank (counts, marquis) and of low rank (hidalgo) who were fiercely proud of .their lineage, although they may have had nothing to eat for several days.

In the

sainetes of Castillo, they attempt to maintain appearances of nobility and wealth while at the same time they sponge a meal or attempt to borrow money so that they may attend the gambling parlors of Cadiz.

This contradiction in a character

is one of which the audience that viewed the sainetes approved, for it offered them an opportunity to laugh at their supposedly 52 Los literatos, vol. 2, pp. 39-40.

106 social superiors.

A marquis resorts to blackmail in order to

get enough money to prolong his existence: MARQUES. LUIS. MARQUES. LUIS. MARQUES. LUIS. MARQUES.

Escucha un secreto. ^Sabes que tienes sarao en tu casa? No. Bien hecho. ^Ni sabes lo de la boda que tu padre te ha propuesto? Tampoco. Lindo. Por Dios, no lo digas. Ni por pienso. lYo hablar? Seguro. ^Me prestas cinco o seis onzas, a premio, o comp quieras?

Later he says to Ines: MARQUES.

Ustedes deben buscar oro y plata; por ejemplo, un Marques de Torregorda, que solo en arena cuento un tesoro; y eomo abraza mi senorio un gran trecho de fondo de mar, no se ciertamente lo que tengo.

This pride of family and nobility is not limited to men.

The following example will amply prove that women were

also infected by false pride and uncontrolled vanity: MARTA. SACRIS. MARTA.

Mi ejecutoria se empaha, si no la saco de aqul. iSacristan! iQue es lo que mandas? Ponte de rodillas, tomav^ con reverencia esta lata y colocala en un nicho hasta que a la calle saiga.

55 La maja resuelta, vol. 2, pp. 108-109. 54 Can o 1s note: En ejemplar de Castro dice de ropillas

SACRIS. MARTA.

&Son reliquias? No, salvaje; que es la ejecutoria rancia de mi familia, en la cual han florecido, a Dios gracias, hombres que con la cabeza un castillo derriban#

55 El aprendiz de torero, vol. 1, p. 42.

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS The sainete is a distant relative of the earliest popu­ lar entertainment of Spain: that of the juglares.

With the

onset of the thirteenth century there is notable evidence of a popular drama.

Out of this popular drama, grew the paso and

the entremes of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

The

entremes which is the older brother of the sainete reached its height in the sixteenth century with Luis Quifiones de Benavente.

Romon de la Cruz revived the sainete during the

second half of the eighteenth century and set up the models for the sainetes which Gonzalez de Castillo wrote.

After

Castillo died the sainete fell into disrepute until the authors of the genero chico in the late nineteenth century again revived this form of playlet. This study of the main comic elements of Castill o ^ sainetes reveals that the characters are drawn from a contempo rary society, that the language, social types, costumes, plots and the basis for humor are all closely identified with the people who compose the audience.

It also reveals that the

use of human foibles is the largest single element of humor* This study also serves to suggest that there has been no momentous change in the tastes of the popular Spanish audience for almost nine hundred years.

It would be of

109 interest to compose a longitudinal study of this point, bringing examples to bear upon the yet unstudied fact that all the writers who catered to the popular taste have used the same elements for producing humor.

A study of this

nature would include, if the writer so desired, a study, not only of Spanish literature, but of the literature of Europe since the end of the Middle Age to the present motion picture and radio which are now the chief vehicles of the above studied comic elements. It is felt that as long as man remains man these same comic elements are certain to reproduce themselves.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

111 BIBLIOGRAPHY Cejador y Frauca, Julio, Historla de la lengua y literatura castellana. Tomo IX; Madrid? Revista de Archivos, 1918* 781 pp. Cotarelo y Mori, Emilio, Don Ramon de'1& Cruz y sus obras. Madrid? Imprenta de Jose Perales y Martinez, 1 8 9 ^ 6X2 pp. Crawford, Wickersham J. P., Spanish Drama before Lope de Vega. Philadelphia? University of Pennsylvania Press, 1937. 211 pp. Gonzalez del Castillo, Don Juan Ignacio, editor, Leopold© Cano, Obras completas. 3 Tomos; Madrid? Liberia de los Sue. de Hernando, T^14. 1582 pp. El aprendiz de torero El baile desgraciado y el maestro Pezuria La boda del Mundo Nuevo Los caballeros desairados El cafe

de Cadiz

La casa

de vecindad (Firstpart)

La casa de vecindad (Second part) La casa

nueva

Los eomicos de la lengua El cortejo substituto La cura de los deseos El chasco del manton El desaflo de la Vicenta El dla de toros en Cadiz Felipa la Chlclanera La feria del Puerto

El fin del pavo El gato La inocente Dorotea El letrado de sengafiado El liberal Los literatos El lugareflo en Cadiz El maestro de la tuna La ma ja resuelta Los majos envidiosos El marido de sengafiado El medico poeta La mujer corregida y marido de sengafiado Los naturales opuestos Los palos deseados El recluta por fuerza El robo de la pupila en la feria del Puerto El soldado Tragabalas El soldado fanfarron (First part) El soldado fanfarron (Second part) El soldado fanfarron (Third part) El soldado fanfarron (Fourth part) El triunfo de las mujeres Los zapatos El payo de la carta

113 El recibo del paje Los jugadores Los nobles ignorados Jack, William Shaffer, The Early Entreme s in Spain; The Hi se of a Dramatic Form." Philadelphia: Publications of the University of Pennsylvania, 1923. 136 pp. Kany, Charles E . , Life and Manners in Madrid 1750-1800. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1932" ¥83 pp. Menendez Pidal, Ramon, Poesia juglaresca y juglares. Revista de Archivos, 1924. 488 pp.

Madrid:

Morley, S. Griswold, Introduction to Doha Clarines y Mahana de sol. Boston: D. C. Heath and Company, 1916. Valbuena y Prat, Angel, Literatura dramatica espanola. Barcelona-Buenos Aires: Editorial Labor, 1930. 336 pp.

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