Lazarillo de Tormes: Themes and Structure

Ideas and Sense of the Work

This is the story of a character whose features are close to those of a human being of flesh and blood, far from the figures of idealistic accounts. This character is developed in a particular social environment that conditions and adjusts him decisively. The work describes the learning process of an individual and, at the same time, his adaptation to a complex social environment to complete his final integration.

But this assimilation comes at the expense of human dignity. Having understood the world in which he lives, he adopts its rules and forms.

This novel offers an acute and severe criticism of the society of its time, targeting both the individual behavior of the characters—hypocritical and self-interested—and the social system that forces them into such behavior. Two myths are central objects of criticism: the obsession with honor and religion. Most of Lazarillo's masters are clerics, and all exploit him ruthlessly. The anticlericalism of this work is evident.

Other social classes do not escape criticism, including justice and military life. In Lazarillo de Tormes, the values that are central themes are ambition, greed, and money.

The author thus exposes, often with irony, the cruel reality of Spanish life in the mid-16th century.

Structure

• Treaty I: The Blind Man

  Here, Lazarillo realizes his isolation. He learns cunning. By overcoming the blind man, he proves he has nothing more to learn from him.

• Treaty II: The Priest

  Lazarillo continues his learning but must develop more wit than was needed to deceive the blind man.

• Treaty III: The Squire

  The Squire teaches Lazarillo that honor is a purely external and contemptible 'something.' Another lesson is the difference between appearance and reality.

• Treaty IV: The Friar of Mercy

  This treaty depicts Lazarillo's sexual initiation.

• Treaty V: The Pardoner

  The Pardoner's deception teaches Lazarillo that it is possible to build a comfortable life based on appearance.

• Treaty VI

  Lazarillo accepts integration into society, saving money and wearing the clothing typical of a respectable man.

• Treaty VII: The Sacrifice of His Honor