Essay Explorations in Literature, Monografías, Ensayos de Literatura

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Examine the portrayal of

deception in Lazarillo de Tormes.

Essay 1, Explorations in Literature.

Word count: 1506.

In ‘El Lazarillo de Tormes’, a novel published anonymously in 1554, we will see that Lazaro, the protagonist, presents the typical marginal family backgrounds of the ‘pícaro’ [rogue]: His father was a thief and his mother has “unacceptable” relationships for society and morality in those times. His precarious social situation leads him to earn a living by serving different masters in order to get some food and protection. As the story progresses, Lazaro abandons his initial innocence and, after all, he understands that good moral scruples do not feed; his priority will be to reach a comfortable social position and deceit and dissimulation or hiding will be the best way he will use to prosper. The term ‘deception’ , which we will be exploring in this essay focusing on narration and characters, is defined as ‘the act of hiding the truth, especially to get an advantage’ by the Cambridge Dictionary, something characteristic in the picaresque novel, a new literary genre whose precursor was this book. Some critics think that the characteristics of deception are mainly found in the fact that the narrator of the novel, Lazaro himself, is unreliable because of he is both narrator and protagonist, what gives him the chance to lie while telling his story. In his ‘ Hide-and-seek: Lazarillo de Tormes and the art of deception’ , Rodrigo Cacho Casal points that ‘the ambiguity of Lazarillo depends mainly on the relationship between the narrator and the author: Lázaro declares in the prologue that he will give a full and detailed account of his life.’ 1 This means that the narrator is tricking the author in some ways: The narrator influences by moving away from Renaissance rhetoric using a completely realistic way of speaking. Parallel that, the author seeks that the language of the character to be credible, that it corresponds clearly with the nature of an illiterate rogue, but that it also retains what the ancient Renaissance treaties called “decorum”. But these hints of “decorum” are what make the readers and, of course, the critics, think that Lazaro (as the protagonist and the narrator) is trying to distract them in order to make difficult the understanding of the work. The critic Rodrigo Cacho Casal also suggests that deception is related to the ridicule: ‘The art of ridicule is also combined with deception. The protagonist has made an accurate selection of the material that he wants to share […] as well as of the information he wants to (^1) R. C. Casal, "Hide-And-Seek: Lazarillo De Tormes And The Art Of Deception", Forum For Modern Language Studies , 44.3 (2008), 324 https://doi.org/10.1093/fmls/cqn013.

Besides that, it is also interesting the character of the priest, in the second chapter of the book. This clergyman was greedy and did not feed him decently. There came a time when Lazaro got tired and decided to rob him in order to eat: ‘The next day, when he left the house, I opened my breadly paradise, took a loaf in my hand and between my teeth, and made it invisible in the time it takes to recite de Apostles’ Creed twice. I didn’t forget to close the box.’ 6. Then, Lazaro makes him think that the perpetrators were mince, showing a new reflection of his wit and self- confidence. Nevertheless, as it is mentioned before, Lazaro is not the only one who tricks others, he is also cheated by his master during chapter three. In this part of the story, the rogue is employed by a nobleman: a man with a good appearance, described by him as ‘a squire reasonably well dressed, well groomed and with an elegant pace and bearing.’^7. He believed that good times were coming into his company, but this feeling did not last long. As soon as he arrived at his house, he realised that everything the nobleman had was mere appearance. Furthermore, he has to beg for food to feed them both, he and his master: ‘“So may it please God,” said my poor master. And, raising it to his mouth, he started to take the same wild bites out of it as I was doing out of the other piece. “By God, it’s very tasty bread”, he said.’ 8 , what represents the deception and hypocrisy shown by the nobleman to the society: He makes people think that he has money enough to feed himself and the boy that accompanies him when in fact is that little boy who feeds him. Moving into chapter five, the indulgence seller is presented to the readers. This new master is a man who sell indulgences, privileges in the beyond that the Pope granted to those who bought them, while Lazaro does not act as a protagonist, but merely contemplates what he does: ‘While people didn’t buy his indulgences readily, he sought ways to get them to do it. To that end, he made trouble for people, and other times he used crafty tricks. And, since it would take me too (^6) Appelbaum, p. 37. (^7) Appelbaum, p. 49. (^8) Appelbaum, p. 55.

long all the tricks I saw him play, I’ll tell you one very sly and funny one, with which I’ll fully prove his skill.’.^9 All things considered, we have reached three perspectives so far: Lazaro acting like a person who tricks others, Lazaro acting like a person who is cheated by others and Lazaro acting like an observer of how others cheat. But the climax of the art of deception in ‘ El Lazarillo de Tormes’ is not seen until the last chapter, when Lazaro confesses his situation: ‘But slandermongers, of whom there are plenty and always will be, don’t let us live; they say I-don’t-know-what and I-do-know-what when they see my wife go to make his bed and cook his meals. May God help them if they’re telling the truth!’. 10 His spouse is cheating him by “making the bed” of the archpriest who provides them with all kind of protection and help. He consents, becoming a young man who is able to deceive himself. And with this, we reach our fourth perspective: Lazaro acting like a person who cheats himself. There is a contrast in the way in which Lazaro uses the deceit and in the way in which his masters and other characters use it: Lazaro was a mocker and used deception, but he used it in order to survive and advance in a society where the most important thing of all was honor, while his masters used it in order to enrich themselves and live a more comfortable and easy life. Taking all of this into account, we reach a conclusion: The portrayal of deception in ‘ El Lazarillo de Tormes’ shows the reason why the Spanish Catholic church put this work in the index of forbidden books, because the novel itself is a direct critique of the people who lived during the century which was called the Spanish Golden Age , the century where it was written: A society full of hypocrisy and lies. (^9) Appelbaum, p. 83. (^10) Appelbaum, p. 101.