Lazarillo de Tormes: Origins of Realism

Lazarillo de Tormes: An Introduction

Lazarillo de Tormes was first published in 1554. Its author is unknown. The work consists of a prologue and seven parts, or treaties.

Structure and Narrative

It tells the story of a poor boy who, from various hardships, spends his childhood serving different masters.

The last of the treaties is a letter-response that explains a case: the talk about Lázaro's relationships with women and the Archpriest of San Salvador.

Lázaro's Experiences and Survival

The six other treaties can be divided into two parts:

• The three most extensive first parts show Lázaro learning in adversity.
• In the other three, Lázaro starts to improve his living standards. He has learned enough to survive, which explains his consent to his wife's relationship with the Archpriest, as this has provided him with a modest position.

Themes of Learning and Adaptation

Many elements of the work are from the folk tradition; episodes and characters like the blind man and the groom are common in popular folklore. All elements gain meaning because they are part of the history of a character's life as told by himself (autobiography), using the model of a long letter (epistle) addressed to an acquaintance: "Your Honor".

Literary Style and Features

Lazarillo is considered the starting point of the European realist novel. Another feature of the enormous importance of this novel in the modern novel is that its characters grow and change according to the circumstances of their life.

Realism and Language

Style: Unlike sentimental, pastoral, or chivalric narratives, which use a refined language, the language of the work (except in the prologue) is flat and spontaneous, which is consistent with the realism of the novel.

Characters and Social Commentary

Characters: Far from the idealized characters of other stories of its time, the work considers the learning process of an individual towards their integration into 16th-century society.

Critique of 16th-Century Society

It is a harsh critique of that society, highlighting the hypocritical and self-interested behavior of the characters, as well as the social system that forces them to act that way.

Influence and the Picaresque Genre

The novel's model was so innovative that it was difficult to continue directly. It was in the 17th century when the work had numerous sequels and imitations, resulting in the so-called picaresque novel.