At present writing it seems to be a fact that no Spanish comedy written
within the last thirty years, perhaps fifty, and making any pretense to
literary worth, is available for use as a text in the United States.
With the intention of filling part of the gap, as well as of introducing
to students two contemporary Spanish dramatists, very well known in
their own country, and very well worth while, I have selected these two
short plays of the brothers Álvarez Quintero. While they are not the
most important works of these authors, they are probably the best
adapted to school use. The many Andalusian forms in most of the Quintero
comedies debar them wholly, and in others continental plainness of
speech is an obstacle. _Doña Clarines_ and _Mañana de sol_ are
not too difficult, are written in bright and idiomatic Castilian, are
entirely fit for class use, and are reprinted without the alteration or
omission of a word in the original. They may well be read in the first
year of a college course in Spanish, or in the second year of the high
school. The editing has not been done with an eye to the needs of absolute
beginners.
As no critical writing worth mentioning has yet been directed toward the
brothers Quintero, notwithstanding their great popularity in Spain and
Italy, the introduction is perforce in the nature of pioneer work.
I wish to express my very sincere gratitude to the authors of these
comedies, who first gave their courteous authorization to reprint, and
then extended their generosity so far as to furnish information which
would have been wholly inaccessible otherwise. Without their graciously
manifested kindness, this book could obviously never have appeared.
Various colleagues have helped in the interpretation of difficult
idioms; to all of them I convey my hearty thanks, and in particular to
Professor Schevill and Professor Bransby of the University of
California.