Lazarillo de Tormes: Origins of the Picaresque Novel

Lazarillo de Tormes inaugurates a new literary subgenre: the picaresque novel. It takes the form of a pseudo-autobiographical story. The protagonist, of miserable origins, abandons his family environment and serves several masters. The main character has a picaresque character (astute, prudent, suspicious) and a strong desire to prosper. The story aims to explain a final state of dishonor.

Date and Authorship

The first editions kept are dated 1554, and all manuscripts are missing. No author is listed.

Literary Sources

• The Golden Ass, where the work of Apuleius influences the nature of the main character.
• Boy with Many Masters, a fourth book about the brave knight Rinaldo de Montalban, influences the autobiographical narrative process.
• Carat Loves influences the epistolary model.
• Folktales and oral sources from folklore.

Narrative Structure

Lázaro is forced as a child to leave his family. He is placed to help several masters and develops different trades. The narrative is structured around three periods: infancy, adolescence, and youth.

• First Period: Infancy

  During this period, Lázaro is taught by a blind man to help in the mass, which facilitates his entry into the service of a clergyman.

• Second Period: Adolescence

  This period initiates an erotic practice. He learns new arts of deception and falsehood and continues accumulating suffering.

• Third Period: Youth

  He becomes a man who has a paid occupation, first as a water carrier, then as a sheriff's assistant, and finally as a town crier. He gets married and finally has a home.

Unlike other novels, the protagonist is configured as a character who goes through different lives and fortunes. He also lives immersed in a world without love. The play's space is located in an urban area, which makes it easy to practice irregular behaviors.

Narrative Discourse

The work is structured as a letter or epistle written by its protagonist. It is a first-person monologue. Lázaro, as an adult, tells his story to "Your Grace," who has asked him to explain the "case." Lázaro writes the letter as an act of obedience. In the letter, Lázaro begins by telling his childhood in order to explain and justify his adult life.

Types of Speech

Several types of speeches are used: referential, descriptive, evaluative, and dramatic. The universal stands out.

Expressive Resources

The use of puns, irony, diminutives, and antithesis are prominent.

Themes

• Honor

  Honor depended on the consideration others had about someone.

• Religion

  Five of Lázaro's masters belong to the ecclesiastical establishment.