Miguel de Cervantes and Lazarillo de Tormes: Life and Works
Miguel de Cervantes: Life and Literary Career
Early Life and Military Service
Born in Alcalá de Henares in 1547, Miguel de Cervantes, initially a barber-surgeon, experienced a difficult childhood marked by frequent moves between Cordoba, Seville, and Madrid. He became a disciple of Lopez de Hoyos. In 1569, Cervantes traveled to Italy to serve Cardinal Acquaviva before joining the army. He participated in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. In 1575, while returning to Spain, he was captured by Barbary pirates. His family paid a ransom, along with his brother, after five years of captivity. Despite attempts to escape, he faced a rigid imprisonment until his release in 1580.
Literary Beginnings and Personal Life
Back in Madrid, Cervantes struggled to find success. He applied for positions in the Indies without success. In 1584, he married Catalina de Salazar and Palacios. They lived in Esquivias until 1587, when he moved to Seville as a commissioner. He faced imprisonment twice: in 1592 in Cordoba for selling wheat without authorization, and in 1597 in Seville due to the bankruptcy of the bank where he deposited funds. It is believed that he began writing Don Quixote during this period. In 1604, he moved to Valladolid and was imprisoned again with his family in 1605. He finally settled in Madrid in 1606 and died on April 23, 1616.
Cervantes’s Works
Cervantes’s works can be divided into two groups: those influenced by the Renaissance models of Garcilaso and those considered more traditional. He incorporated poetry into his prose, as seen in La Galatea, which includes 60 interspersed poems. His extensive verse work includes Journey to Parnassus (1614), written in triplets, which depicts a naval battle between good and bad writers and offers a critical trial of authors. He also wrote traditional and burlesque poems.
Theatrical Works
Cervantes’s theatrical career can be divided into two stages:
- **First Stage:** Many works from this period are lost. In *Eight Comedies and Eight New Interludes Never Performed* (1615), he mentions having written 20 to 30 works around 1580. Notable plays include *The Treatment of Algiers* and *The Siege of Numantia*.
- **Second Stage:** Influenced by Lope de Vega, his plays reflect Moorish themes and popular customs. Examples include *Pedro de Urdemalas*, *The Labyrinth of Love*, and *The Lucky Ruffian*. He found more success in short pieces, often in verse or prose, inspired by Lope de Rueda. These works are known for their humor, vivid characters, and lively dialogues, offering a portrait of the society and customs of the era.
The Picaresque Novel: Lazarillo de Tormes
Origins and Characteristics
The picaresque novel genre began in 1554 with Lazarillo de Tormes. This genre flourished during Spain’s Golden Age, presenting an antihero and a realistic document reflecting the life of the time. It is autobiographical, with the rogue narrating his life in an open structure. The narrative consists of loose scenes in different places, unified by the presence of the pícaro (rogue). Determinism plays a role, as the rogue’s parents and social origins shape his destiny.
Lazarillo de Tormes: Authorship and Structure
Lazarillo de Tormes was first published in 1554 in three editions (Burgos, Antwerp, Alcalá de Henares). Its authorship has been debated: in 1605, Fray Juan de Ortega was suggested by José de Sigüenza, and in 1607, Andrés Taxandro attributed it to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza in his Catalogus Clarorum Hispaniae Scriptorum. The work comprises a prologue and seven treatises. Lazarillo writes his story to “Your Grace,” relating a “case” involving his wife and another man. He justifies his life, reflecting on the societal pressures that shaped him. The novel is considered the beginning of the realistic novel, set in real locations like the Tormes River and Toledo. Lazarillo provides coherence and verisimilitude to the narrative, portraying his educational process from childhood to maturity.
Themes and Style
The novel features characters from 15th-century Spanish society and incorporates folk songs and traditional anecdotes of deception. Lazarillo writes to achieve literary fame and to present his life as an example of virtue, despite achieving prosperity through dishonor. Five of his masters are ecclesiastics, reflecting anticlericalism: a greedy cleric from Maqueda, a libertine friar, and the Archpriest of San Salvador, among others.
Style and Language
The style is colloquial, using a “humble” and simple language. It adheres to the standards of Valdés’s dialogue: sobriety, lexical selection, avoidance of neologisms and affectation, and economy of expression. The language reflects the speech of Toledo. Lazarillo de Tormes marked a high point in the novel’s development, not surpassed until the emergence of the picaresque novel Guzmán de Alfarache half a century later.