masks and costumes, and often fixed names, that occur, with additions,
omissions, and variations, in all the plays. Some of them--notably the
braggart soldier, the crafty servant, the lovers, the deceived parents,
and the intermediary--are traced through the Renaissance to the comedies
of Plautus and Terence and to the New Comedy of Athens, nearly all of
which is lost. Others have a later origin. Benavente has achieved
remarkable success in preserving the conventional traits of his figures,
and at the same time in investing them with modern qualities. The more
important masks in _Los intereses creados_ are listed below, with very
brief notes designed to point out the usual characteristics of each,
and, where necessary, certain modifications introduced by Benavente. It
must not be forgotten that each character is carefully delineated both
from the old and from the modern point of view.
THE CHARACTERS IN _LOS INTERESES CREADOS_
SIRENA--the elderly woman who lives by her wits and acts as a go-between
in love affairs.
SILVIA--the typical heroine.
SEÑORA DE POLICHINELA (Punch's wife)--frequently at odds with her
husband; rather a colorless figure in _Los intereses creados_.
COLOMBINA (Columbine, fixed name)--a fairy-like dancer, represented as
wooed by Harlequin.
LEANDRO--the typical hero.
CRISPÍN--the crafty servant.
EL DOCTOR--the pompous, showy, corrupt man of the law.
POLICHINELA (Punch, fixed name)--one of the most prominent puppet
characters, whose general qualities are hard to define; sometimes
described as essentially ridiculous; very often represented as deformed
and as a knave.
ARLEQUÍN (Harlequin, fixed name)--a graceful and acrobatic character,
sometimes supposed to be invisible and a spirit of the air; Benavente
makes him a poet.
EL CAPITÁN--the braggart soldier, considerably toned down in _Los
intereses creados_.
PANTALÓN (Pantaloon, fixed name)--a silly old man (frequently a
merchant) considered a butt of ridicule and fair game for all.
EL HOSTELERO (the Innkeeper)--generally an object of ridicule in all
literature; not particularly connected with the _commedia dell'arte_.
EL SECRETARIO--a fit companion for the Doctor; not particularly
connected with the _commedia dell'arte_.
[39.1] =primer término.= See the following diagram for this and other
stage directions.
(The directions =derecha= and =izquierda= are given from the standpoint of
the actors, not from that of the audience; they are feminine to agree
with =mano=, understood.)
C F
________________________
/ \
/ \
B / \ E
/ \
A / \ D
A--D: =proscenio= = front. (The part of the stage between its outer edge
and the curtain.)
A--B: =primera derecha= = front, right.
B--C: =segunda derecha= = back, right.
D--E: =primera izquierda= = front, left.
E--F: =segunda izquierda= = back, left.
A--D--E--B: =primer término= = foreground.
C--F: =foro= = rear, back.
[39.2] =el tinglado de la antigua farsa=. In general, the language of _Los
intereses creados_ is modern; but by the use of well-chosen archaisms
Benavente imparts to this play something of the spirit of the period in
which the events are supposed to take place. The action of the piece is
assigned to the beginning of the seventeenth century.
[39.3] =el Puente Nuevo= _le Pont-Neuf_ (literally 'the New Bridge'). One
of the oldest and most famous bridges in Paris; for a long time the most
frequented spot in the city.
[39.4] =Tabarín.= Assumed name of Jean Salomon (c. 1584-1633), a
celebrated street actor who gave performances in Paris, thereby winning
lasting fame and attracting the attention of famous French authors; the
name is adopted as a type of farcical comedian.
[39.5] =que.= Used instead of =porque= to mean 'for' or 'because'; it occurs
repeatedly in this sense in _Los intereses creados_, and is, in general,
common in all sorts of language, particularly in poetry; but =porque= more
strongly expresses the idea of cause, whereas this =que= expresses an
additional fact without stressing that fact as a cause.
[40.1] =que.= See preceding note.
[40.2] =Lope de Rueda.= A famous itinerant actor-manager and playwright of
the middle of the sixteenth century; he is regarded as the founder of
the modern Spanish theater.
=Shakespeare.= Linked with the old farces by such works as _A Midsummer
Night's Dream_.
=Molière.= Influenced, particularly in his early plays, by the _commedia
dell'arte_.
[40.3] =guiñolesca=. An adjective formed from the Spanish =guiñol= derived
from the French _guignol_, meaning 'Punch' or 'the theater of Punch.'
[40.4] =comedia del Arte.= See page 118.
[40.5] =italiano.= We should expect =italiana=, in agreement with =comedia=;
either =italiano= is a misprint, or it is attracted by the gender of the
masculine =Arte=.
[40.6] =niñerías.= See page 7, note 3.
[41.1] =diga.= Subjunctive on account of the general command involved in
the stage directions, which makes the relative clause indefinite.
[41.2] =en... dado.= The vocabulary should be examined whenever =dar en=
occurs. Not only does this idiom mean 'hit upon,' 'chance upon,' or
'strike,' but it may also signify 'take a notion to.'
[41.3] =Picardía.= A noun of double meaning; as a common noun =picardía=
denotes 'knavery' or 'roguery,' and as a proper noun =Picardía= is the
name of an old province in Northern France centering in the valley of
the Somme, and called Picardie (Picardy). In the thirteenth century
there sprang up in Picardy a sect of heretics who became known as _les
picards_, which came to mean 'rogues,' 'oath-breakers,' etc. François
Villon alludes to them, and they were widely known.
[41.4] =asiento.= Another play on words, for =asiento= means 'seat' or
'bench'; hence the reference to the hardness of a seat in the galleys;
=hacer asiento= is 'make a stop' or 'halt'; the pun is scarcely
translatable.
[42.1] =que=, =malvendiéndolos= (freely translated) 'when, by selling them
(even) at a loss.' Here =que= may be taken as a relative pronoun, direct
object of =malvendiendo=; in this case =los= repeats =que=. Or we may assume
that =que= is a relative pronoun having no grammatical connection with
what follows (_i.e._ the phenomenon known as anacolouthon). This =que=
might also be considered a conjunction introducing an additional
statement that amounts to an objection ('but,' 'for,' 'when'). In any
case the general meaning of the sentence is clear.
[42.2] =desabrido.= See page 11, note 4.
[42.3] =Somos los hombres= 'We men are'; see page 31, note 4.
[42.4] =así.= Used as a conjunction; see vocabulary.
[44.1] =Que ella... sea.= 'May it be.' A modified imperative expressing a
wish. Cf. page 3, note 2.
[44.2] =llamasteis.= As the modern form would be either =llamaste= or =llamó=
(according to whether the speaker uses =tú= or =usted=), =llamasteis= is an
archaism and properly corresponds to the archaic form of address =vos=.
Here living Spanish requires (=usted=) =llamó=, or (=tú=) =llamaste=, if the
speaker may appropriately use =tú=. =Vos= is confined to poetic style, and
to solemn addresses, for instance, to God, to royalty, or to high
dignitaries, etc.
Everywhere in _Los intereses creados_ we find =vos= instead of =usted=
and, consequently, =vuestro= etc. instead of =su= or =de usted=. With
=vos= the verb must of course be in the true second person plural
(_e.g._ =llamáis=). See the note on =la antigua farsa=, page 39, note 2.
See Bello-Cuervo, §§ 234, 235.
[44.3] =fue= is intentionally archaic and is used for emphasis. See page
8, note 1.
[44.4] =llamáis.= See note 2 (just above).
[44.5] =se.= The reflexive makes =estar= connote stopping or delaying or
standing.
[45.1] =que.= This =que= is elliptical. A natural English rendering is made
possible if we use 'or.'
[45.2] =a lo que.= See page 10, note 3.
[46.1] =soy con vosotros= 'I'll attend to you presently.' A special
locution; for, in general, we should expect =estoy=; but for this meaning
=soy= is the correct living form. This phrase has usually a future sense.
Here, the exact time expressed by =soy= may be present and may be future.
This idiom must not be confused with =estar con= denoting locality.
[46.2] =¡Buena la hicisteis!= (Ironically) 'That's a fine thing you've
done!' For the feminine, see page 32, note 3.
[46.3] =Ordenanzas.= Ordinances or police regulations that required (and
still require) Spanish innkeepers to report to the authorities within
twenty-four hours of the arrival of a guest, his name, the place from
which he comes, his business, and other details. A satisfactory
statement of the law is to be found in the _Novísima recopilación, Lib.
III, Tit. XIX, Ley XXVII, 4_. The _Novísima recopilación_ is published
in fairly convenient form in Alcubilla's _Códigos antiguos de España_
(page 1011). Of course the date assigned to the action of _Los intereses
creados_ is anterior to 1805, the year of the formulation of the code
just mentioned; but the legal requirement was approximately the same in
the earlier time.
[46.4] =¡Veníos!= The reflexive with intransitive verbs of motion is
borrowed from a similar construction with transitive verbs (_e.g._
=moverse=, =arrojarse=, etc.) and does not appreciably change the meaning of
the verb; it is probably to be regarded as a mere sign of spontaneity.
See Bello-Cuervo, note 102.
[47.1] =Aretino.= Pietro Aretino (1492-1566), the most notorious literary
blackmailer of the Italian Renaissance; also an author of ability. He
was born in Arezzo (whence Aretino), but is more closely associated with
Venice.
[48.1] =¡Pobres de ellos...!= "When adjectives are used as interjections
before personal pronouns =de= is interposed." Ramsey, § 1431. Translate
'Woe to them...!' Cf. page 15, note 2.
[48.2] =por melancólico.= Supply =ser= and translate 'because it is sad.'
[48.3] =¿Sois vosotros?= In English the verb is in the third person
singular: 'Is it you?'
[49.1] =hagan merced.= An archaism corresponding to the modern =hagan
(ustedes) el favor=.
[49.2] =tengo dedicado.= =Tener= and =llevar= are sometimes used instead of
=haber= with the past participle, after the manner of auxiliaries; but
they are not true auxiliaries, because the participle is treated as an
adjective and therefore agrees with the object in gender and number.
=Tener= really denotes possession and is more emphatic than =haber=.
[49.3] =he menester.= This expression, with =haber= as principal verb, is
not unknown even in modern prose. In general, however, the use of =haber=
as an independent verb is archaic.
[50.1] =¡No miraré nada!= 'I shall not stop at anything!' Cf. page 22,
note 2.
[50.2] =ha= (=más de un mes=). In this sense =hace= is much more common than
=ha= in modern Spanish.
[50.3] =un.= Very commonly used for =una= before a feminine word beginning
with stressed =a= or =ha=; for this apocopation see Bello-Cuervo, § 156.
[51.1] =mírese.= Cf. page 22, note 2; the reflexive adds nothing that can
be rendered into English; it is scarcely more than an ethical dative.
[51.2] =¿Cómo conocidos?= 'How known?' 'What do you mean by known?' An
elliptical expression, not impossible in colloquial English.
[51.3] =Olvidados los tengo.= Note agreement of =olvidados= with =los= and see
page 49, note 2.
[52.1] =vos.= The conventional form of address; see page 44, note 2.
[52.2] =¿Cómo si sabemos?= 'What do you mean by asking if we know?' See
page 51, note 2.
[52.3] =vosotros... vos.= An illustration of the distinction between the
two pronouns; =vosotros=, the real plural, refers to the company
attacking, while =vos=, the artificial plural, refers to the captain; for
the singular form =espada=, see page 4, note 3.
[52.4] =hará que se os trate= 'he will have you treated.' =Hacer= followed
by =que= and the subjunctive, meaning literally 'make that,' 'bring it
about that,' is translated like =hacer= with the infinitive; =que= is
suppressed.
[53.1] =No he librado de mala= 'I've had a narrow escape.' =Librarse de
buena= means 'escape from danger.' The omission of the reflexive makes
the expression briefer and more forceful. For the feminine =mala=
(originally followed, perhaps, by =ventura=), see page 32, note 3.
[53.2] =Agradeceros.= Supply some verb such as =puedo= before the
infinitive; the construction is permissible in English in certain cases;
it makes it appear that the infinitive replaces the indicative. The
statement thereby seems less personal.
[55.1] =hay para.= See vocabulary under =haber= (=hay=).
[55.2] =¡Que una dama se vea!= 'To think that a lady should see herself!'
Another elliptical sentence dependent upon some such expression as =es
posible=.
[56.1] =hasta emplearlo yo= 'until I employed him.' Note that =emplear= is
governed by =hasta= and that =yo= is its subject.
[56.2] =Triste de.= See page 48, note 1.
[56.3] =ser llegado.= A relic of the auxiliary =ser= with intransitive verbs
of motion. This construction is common in Old Spanish, rare in
Cervantes, and almost non-existent now. A few survivals occur even in
prose, and of such survivals =es llegado= is perhaps the most common. See
Bello-Cuervo, § 1119.
[56.4] =no sería= 'could not have been.' Conditional of probability in the
past.
[56.5] =la doña Sirena de mis veinte= 'the doña Sirena that I was at the
age of twenty.' =Años= must be supplied, as is clear from the succeeding
speeches. Colombina pretends to suppose that some other word (_e.g._
=amantes=) might be intended.
[57.1] =creyera.= Imperfect subjunctive, substituted occasionally for the
pluperfect when negation is strong.
[59.1] =Con ser tal.= Equivalent to 'although' and a dependent clause.
With the infinitive =con= denotes means, cause, condition, or concession.
In translating we use sometimes the present participle, and sometimes a
dependent clause.
[59.2] =no anduviera= 'would not be.' When substituted for =ser=, =andar=
usually implies continuance or permanence, and strengthens the
statement.
[59.3] =a no fiar tanto= 'if he did not rely so much.' =A= + infinitive is
commonly equivalent to a conditional clause.
[60.1] =Ya me iréis conociendo= 'you will learn to know me gradually.' See
page 7, note 2.
[61.1] =con ser= 'being.' See page 59, note 1.
[61.2] =¡Si así fuera siempre!= 'If it were only always thus!'--a wish
that cannot be realized.
[62.1] =referidos= 'if told,' 'if they were told.' See page 3, note 6.
[64.1] =se entró.= For the reflexive see page 46, note 4.
[65.1] =anduvimos.= See page 59, note 2.
[66.1] =Ya se me tarda en verle.= This idiom has a very archaic flavor.
See vocabulary, under =tardar=.
[66.2] =vendríais.= An unusual construction; the subjunctive is the normal
form after =temer=. It would appear that in this instance the verb has
lost its emotional character, and has become almost equal to a verb of
believing. The Dictionary of the Spanish Academy admits =sospechar=
('suspect') as a secondary meaning of =temer=.
[66.3] =cómo vengo de sofocada= 'how out of breath I come.' The use of
=cómo= causes the insertion of =de=.
[66.4] =con que.= See page 3, note 1.
[68.1] =habéis.= This is a real plural, referring to Silvia and Leandro.
=Que= may be taken as a conjunction meaning 'so that' or 'for.' If we
consider =que= a relative pronoun, there is no proper antecedent for it;
such a construction, however, would not be impossible in conversation.
[68.2] =jorobas.= Punch is usually represented as a hunchback.
[68.3] =por esos mares= (freely translated) 'on the high seas.' =Ese= at
times assumes a peculiar meaning that defies literal translation. It
refers in a vague way to something on a large scale familiar to
everybody, but particularly familiar to the person addressed. Note the
expression =por esas calles de Dios= and the name of the periodical =Por
esos mundos=.
[69.1] =haciéndole que mire= 'making him look.' See page 52, note 4.
[70.1] =llevo remado.= Note the use of =llevar= as an auxiliary. See page
49, note 2.
[71.1] =lo que me hago.= Ethical dative. See page 15, note 1.
[72.1] =no me importó menos perderme= 'I cared less about being lost,' 'I
didn't even mind being lost.' The preceding clause is in itself
negative; =menos= makes the succeeding negative even stronger. Cf. the
English 'I don't know and care less.'
[72.2] =algo que fuera.= Subjunctive in a relative clause with an
indefinite antecedent.
[74.1] =que= 'until.' A conversational use of =que= for the full =a que=
(_i.e._ =hasta que=).
[75.1] =sigo.= This verb frequently means 'follow,' but when used with the
present participle, it should be translated 'continue' or 'go on.' In
this use it emphasizes, even more strongly than ir, continuity of
action.
[76.1] =decirme.= See page 53, note 2.
[79.1] =como.= Note the use of =como= with the subjunctive in a conditional
sense; see vocabulary.
[80.1] =hayas.= Archaically and poetically used for =tengas=. See page 49,
note 3.
[80.2] =Decidme lo que sea.= 'Tell me what has become.' The subjunctive is
due to the indefiniteness of the relative clause (cf. English 'what may
have become'), because Colombina is uncertain as to Leandro's fate. When
followed by =de= the verb =ser= often takes the meaning 'become of.'
[83.1] =todo lo enamorado y lo fiel y lo noble que tú quieras y ella
pueda desear= 'just as much in love and just as faithful and noble as you
like and she can desire.' =Lo= is used idiomatically before an adjective
followed by a clause with =que=; the adjective agrees with a following
noun or pronoun. The usual translation ('how') is impossible here. =Todo=
intensifies =lo=. For examples see Ramsey, § 1358.
[84.1] =me acusó más de torpe.= If, after =de=, we supply =ser=, the sentence
becomes clear.
[85.1] =¿Piensas... son para olvidarlas?= 'Do you think that the deeds of
Mantua and Florence are (of a nature) to be forgotten?' Note that
Spanish has the active infinitive (literally 'to forget them') where the
passive is used in English. =Las= is superfluous in translation.
[85.2] =Bolonia.= The Italian city of Bologna, especially famous as a
center of legal studies.
[85.3] =considerandos... resultandos.= Typical terms in legal documents
(cf. the Doctor's speech, page 104, lines 1-7). Crispín, making fun of
lawyers' language, uses the words as substantives and in the plural.
[89.1] =haceos del doliente.= An archaism; the modern idiom is =hacerse el
doliente=.
[89.2] =sabré.= Supply =hacer=.
[93.1] =summum jus, summa injuria.= A Latin saying found in Cicero, _De
Officiis_, 1, 10, 33, where it is quoted as proverbial. It means
literally "extreme law (justice) is extreme injustice," and refers to
cases where law is rigorously applied without regard to equity or to
circumstances. As Cicero puts it (in _De Officiis_, just before the
proverb quoted): "Injuries often exist through a certain chicanery and
an over-adroit but malicious interpretation of the law." A similar
phrase is found in Terence, _Heauton Timoroumenos_, vs. 796: =jus summum
saepe summa est malitia=.
[93.2] =Barbara, Celare, Dario, Ferioque, Baralipton.= Terms invented by
medieval scholastic logicians to help in remembering the various forms
(technically, moods) of syllogisms. The words in themselves are
meaningless. Their vowels represent different types of logical
propositions. This jargon (possibly familiar to a few university
graduates) is put in the Doctor's mouth for humorous effect; he is
depicted as fond of displaying learning. A similar legal speech occurs
in _le Bourgeois gentilhomme_ by Molière, Act 2, Scene 6.
[94.1] =¡Ésta es buena!= 'That's a good one!' As to this feminine see page
32, note 3.
[94.2] =las doce tablas.= The twelve tables constituting the first written
compilation of Roman Law, said by Livy and others to have been prepared
in two sections (first ten tables, then two) in the fifth century B. C.
(452 and later) by a decemvirate of which the principal member was
Appius Claudius.
[94.3] =Justiniano.= Justinian (483-565) the best known of the rulers of
the Eastern Roman Empire; he ordered the compilation of the great code
_corpus juris civilis_ ('body of the civil law').
=Triboniano.= Tribonian, a famous jurist, minister under Justinian and one
of the leading compilers of the _corpus juris civilis_.
=Emiliano y Triberiano.= These names are used humorously. Benavente may
have invented them, or he may have meant them as mistaken references of
the Doctor to eminent jurists. Thus Emiliano might be Aemilius
Papinianus, a Roman jurist who lived about 200 A.D., while Triberiano
might relate to the _senatusconsultum Trebellianum_, ascribed to
Trebellius Maximus, a consul in Rome under Nero.
[97.1] =Quedaron suspensos...= This speech, which may or may not be taken
as incomplete, seems to refer to the accusers of Crispín and Leandro,
and to mean 'They are taken aback.' It might also refer to the
suspension of court proceedings. For the preterit, see page 8, note 1.
[98.1] =Ved.= A slight change has to be made in the translation, as is
sometimes the case when =ver= is semi-exclamatory; translate 'look out' or
'be careful about'; cf. the English 'see to.'
[98.2] =hayáis.= See page 80, note 1.
[100.1] =talión.= A word existing also in English; it comes from the Latin
_talio_ and means 'retaliation,' or more precisely a penalty that
consists in making a guilty man suffer the same injury that he caused.
[100.2] =Equitas justicia magna est.= The Latin form of the Spanish
sentence immediately preceding.
[100.3] =las Pandectas= 'the Pandects.' The name given to the compendium
or digest, the most important part of the _corpus juris civilis_,
compiled by Justinian's orders.
[100.4] =Triboniano con Emiliano Triboniano.= The Doctor does not seem
particularly clear in his references. He is, however, true to his
dictatorial and showy character; see page 94, note 3.
[104.1] =¿De ley?=--=Oro de le=y is gold approved by law and therefore
standard; cf. 'legal tender.' Crispín makes a joke by assuming knowledge
of such a thing in a man versed in the law.
_Attention is called to the following remarks_
1. The vocabulary is meant to give English equivalents of words and
locutions as found in this book, and its scope is therefore limited.
Only meanings actually encountered in the text are given except when the
definition illustrates a rare or perplexing usage from which the student
might be led to infer a general usage.
2. The aim has been to combine clearness and consistency, but when a
choice between them has been necessary clearness has been preferred.
Thus, if two or more parts of speech are represented by the same word,
they are sometimes noted separately, and sometimes put under one
heading.
3. When a word found in the text is used both as an adjective and as a
substantive the meanings are placed under one heading (the adjective) if
the English translation can be made by adding such a word as 'man' or
'person' to the adjective. Otherwise separate headings are allotted. If
the word occurs only in the substantive sense, though ordinarily
employed in Spanish as a well-known adjective, both meanings are stated.
4. Where abstract nouns are used in the plural an effort has been made
to indicate possible translations both in the singular and in the plural
if the literal translation does not admit a plural in English.
5. If the same word is used as an adjective and as an adverb separate
entries are generally made. But in the case of such words as =más=, =mucho=,
=poco=, =tanto= and =todo= the meanings are grouped under one heading, because
the distinction between the parts of speech in idiomatic phrases is at
best a shadowy one, and because the list of idioms is lengthy.
6. Proper nouns are translated only when the same or similar names exist
in English.
7. The language to which a foreign word belongs is indicated by an
abbreviation unless a reference to the notes follows.
8. References to the notes are limited to certain stage directions and
to cases where for special reasons the meaning is not given in the
vocabulary.