Social Satire in Lazarillo de Tormes, Coursework Example

Introduction

The character of the narrator in Lazarillo de Tormes is depicted as a naïve, uneducated person. However, he is aware of the situation at every point of the narration, and his way of explaining the events as if they were righteous and innocent make him unbelievable. Indeed, the author of the book is depicting a person who has plenty of “common sense” and an instinct for survival. In this view, it can be said that the satire that is represented in this Spanish epic is the foundation for future books, such as Moll Flanders. The goal is to depict a grotesque image of the society; something that several authors have used since; including the English Chaucher in Canterbury Tales. The below essay is focusing on the character of Lazarillo de Tormes; his faults, false naivety and trustworthiness. The narrative style, social aspects and vivid nature of scene descriptions will be analysed in order to find a connection between the narration and the intentional criticism of the Spanish society through the book.

Narrative

Picaresque is the new writing style that is represented by Lazarillo de Tormes. According to Fernandez (n.d.), “the picaresque as a generic category originates in the Spanish Siglo de Oro, with the two novels that constitute the core of its canon—the anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes (1554) and Mateo Alemán’s Guzmán de Alfarache (1599, 1604)”. The most important features of this form of writing are: satirical tone, social realism, comic scenes and grotesque. Indeed, there are several other forms of literature that use the same stylistic tools; such as the previously mentioned “Canterbury Tales” and Boccaccio’s Decameron. The 16^th Century changes of Europe have resulted in social unrest, lack of order and the movements to question the authority of the church. While in Lazarillo de Tormes, the authority of the King is not questioned, clergymen are depicted in a way that nobody would feel respect for them.

The narrative of the novel goes through the life of Lazarillo de Tormes: the son of a 16^th Century prostitute, whom he calls “widow”. Indeed, she was not a widow; she had a bastard son of the mill owner who – to support his offspring – stole grains and was sentenced. The social changes of the Spanish society are depicted through the description of marginalized individuals: Lazarillo himself is a bastard son, sent away by his mother to serve a “master” who is a common conman, making money of his disability: blindness. Religion is mentioned several times in a comic way in the novel, and it seems like none of the characters have any moral norms to follow. The explanation the narrator gives the reader is that all of them are driven by poverty and hunger; however, this statement is far from being believable. Even the priest hits Lazarillo when he finds out that he was stealing the bread. There are no boundaries and moral considerations in the book; characters are vulnerable, determined to survive and even harm each other. The tone of the book is based on a masterful use of simple vocabulary. Language is adjusted to the character of the speaker.

The tone of the narration is satirical, still down-to-earth. It portrays the life of the lower classes, contrasting their poverty and oppression with the unbelievable richness of high classes. The novel is a call out for a social change in the 16^th Century feudal Spain through the caricature it depicts of the society. Lazarillo is a beggar; his name means “little Lazarus” in Spanish; a biblical reference to the beggar called the same name. He is a true survivor. From an innocent boy, who helps his mother in the inn when he meets the blind conman, he transforms into a mischievous character. Fernandez (n.d.). however, also notes that the credibility of the narrator can be questioned on the grounds that “While posing as a sincere autobiographical narrator providing his narratee with a true account of his own personal and subjective experience, the first-person protagonist of the picaresque appears before actual readers as an unreliable storyteller”. (Fernandez, n.d.) This theme that is present throughout Lazarillo de Tormes does not only question the reliability of the narrator, but also the social norms, expectations and old values of feudalism. When money gains importance in the society, rank, personality, moral standing and virtue lose their standing. The only purpose of the oppressed is survival through mischief, trickery and dishonesty.

The method of depicting the society and writing a novel is based on cruel reality. Indeed, the author (while anonymous), goes against the idealization of characters that is present in contemporary literature. In the world of books, in the 16^th century, every character is perfect, beautiful, and close to being a saint. The writer of Lazarillo de Tormes is far from idealizing his characters. He sees with the eyes of the thousands who share the sad reality of poverty in the country. That might be the reason why the book sold so well in shops in Spain and got translated to several languages.

Grotesque

There are several grotesque scenes found in the novel.  Some are related to religion, others are depicting pride, greed and vanity. No matter which human characteristic the author is depicting: he finds a way to make the reader smile on human weakness.

He also uses grotesque to comment on the teachings of the feudal Church: he is questioning it through the statement below: “Because I think that the Lord must have seen my own endless and awful dying, and He was glad to kill them so that I could live.” (Anonymous, 1554: 47)

The realistic description of the events when Lazarillo eats the sausage and the blind man finds out is a clear example of using grotesque to criticize the society. The man, trying to get the sausage back goes so far that he sticks his nose down Lazarillo’s throat, who almost chokes and dies. People, instead of taking the matter seriously, just laugh at the events. Life of the poor has no value to others; it doesn’t matter. When, as a revenge, Lazarillo makes the blind man jump against the wall, he makes an ironic remark, asking him why he could not smell the wall if he could smell the sausage. Life seems to be a survival game for the marginalized and alienated class of 16^th Century Spain.

Death is further depicted in an ironic way, when Lazarillo thinks that they are taking the dead man in their house. He is scared of the man and runs home to his master, the squire to lock the bolts. The reaction of the master is depicted as follows: “And I tell you that when my master heard that, even though he didn’t have any reason for being very cheerful, he laughed so hard that for a long time he couldn’t even talk.”(Anonymous, 1554: 34)

There are also several grotesque depictions of Church officials and sacramental objects used to criticize the order of the society ruled and maintained by the Catholics. He fantasizes about the “breadly-paradise” that lies in the chest of the priest. He also calls bread “the ‘face of God’, indicating that while serving the Eucharist for people is an important role of the church, there are more important, earthy needs of humans to be fulfilled as well. The author mixes biblical scenes with real events, and one good example of making a mockery of Bible is when he gets into the bread cabinet, believing that an angel was sent to him to relieve his hunger. Lazarillo states: “by chance there came to my door a tinker, who I think was an angel sent to me by the hand of God in that guise. He asked me if I had anything to mend“((Anonymous, 1554: 35).

Lazarillo: The Character

Reed (1984: 20) states that “the pícaro of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries is a novel fictional character not unrelated to a novel social type that emerged in the burgeoning cities of Spain”. This indicates that Lazarillo is the manifestation of a class that is born into poverty at an age when money started to matter more than any time before. He is a son of a dishonoured, status-less woman who abandons him at an early age. When he parts his mother, he is told that they would not meet again. He is left to his own resources to survive. He has to fend himself in a world of poverty that is full of dishonesty and trickery. The rise of the middle class did not mean that poor were better cared for. In cities of Europe, there were many homeless children and people, and while Lazarillo finds several “masters” during his early life, none of them are able to keep him at a standard that is fit for humans. They are cruel, vain, poor, proud and greedy creatures. Lazarillo’s only method of survival left is to steal and beg.

The reliability of the character is more than questionable in the book; the reader has the impression that he knows more than he writes down. In the beginning chapter, he insists that his mother was a widower when his father died, however, he knows very well that he was born outside of wedlock. He also knows how that his brother was born a bastard child and his stepfather stole items to support his mother, but he sees this as a virtue of caring for one’s family, not a sin. Sin, in this moral form does not exist in the dictionary of Lazarillo de Tormes: he indicates that people are forced to commit them to survive. The reader, however, has a feeling that he is trying to explain his actions with his situation. He insists that his motivation was survival and he only wanted good for other people. This, evidently, is not true in all cases.

Social Criticism and Reliability

Rico (1984) states that the real form of the book “Lazarillo de Tormes” is a social satire. The appearance of the economic troubles associated with the imperialistic movement of Europe and the breakdown of ethical, moral and social values are indeed in the centre of the book. The corruption of social forces is depicted through the actions of the characters: injustice of the blind man and cruelty is use to depict the cruel nature of imperial Spain. Still, it would be a mistake to say that Lazarillo is depicting the events in an impartial manner. He is trying to appear an outsider, but he also makes several attempts to get the reader to sympathise with the poor and neglected. He takes a stand for the poor explaining himself when he uses trickery during his time with the blind man: “I would have died of hunger lots of times. But with all his know-how and carefulness I outwitted him, so that I always—or usually—really got the better of him.” (Anonymous, 1554:13) This explanation does not only try to justify the actions and lack of morality of the character but also tries to create a sympathy in the reader. The church is depicted as a place for cheating people, stealing and priests are dishonest, greedy and weak people. As the man says to Lazarillo: “I came here with this swindler who’s preaching” ((Anonymous, 1554: 40). The church is greedy and dishonest, as it is depicted in the events as follows: “my master sold a good thousand indulgences in each place without even preaching a sermon”. Spirituality has lost its meaning, people are easy to influence and the author is revealing the discrepancies of the society in a way that in a world of Imperial Spain, nobody is able to survive without dishonesty.

Conclusion

The collapse of order, moral and ethical values, virtue in the late Renaissance of Spain during the Imperial era is in the centre of Lazarillo de Tormes. While the anonymous author claims that the narrative is an honest account of the “matters”, it is evident that euphemism is used throughout the book to justify the actions of the character and create sympathy in the reader for the disadvantaged, poor and neglected. This is how the novel becomes one of the first social satires, laying the road for future works using grotesque and irony to highlight injustice and discrepancies of contemporary society.

Reference List

Anonymous (1554) Lazarillo de Tormes.  Project Gutenberg. 2014.

Fernandez, J. (n.d.) The Picaresque, Translation and the History of the Novel. Retrieved from: http://digibug.ugr.es/

Reed, Helen H. The Reader in the Picaresque Novel. London: Tamesis Books Limited, 1984.

Rico, Francisco (1984) The Spanish Picaresque Novel and the Point of View. New York: University of Cambridge Press,