Lazarillo De Tormes

By Ashton Lackey

In 1554, a short novel became popular in Spain. Known as “Lazarillo de Tormes,” Lazarillo is the protagonist. This poor boy cleverly lives by his wits and outsmarts a long string of apprentices or “masters”, who represent offices in Spanish society: Lazarillo represents the lowest stratus of Spanish society but cleverly survives despite the corruption that he must overcome.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ashton Lackey
• Release date: Nov 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005961961

Ashton Lackey

Ashton Lackey (Harrington A. Lackey) has been a Spanish instructor, translator, tutor and writer for the past 30 years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Anthropology from Eckerd College, a Master of Arts degree in Hispanic Literature from Auburn University, PhD candidate in Hispanic Literature at the University of Kentucky, and an Associate of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Nashville State Technical Institute. Ashton has taught Spanish classes at Auburn University, Louisiana State University, University of Kentucky, Columbia State Community College, and Belmont University. He started a successful tutoring business- "Learning Strategies," but is now retired.Ashton has completed 10 years of studying French from grammar school to high school. Also, he completed a semester of advanced French in Angers, France at the l’Université Catholique de l’Ouest.He has written three novels, based on historical fiction: "Rare Gold," "Disciple's Curse," and "The Admiral's Signature." He has also published over 150 articles on various subjects and short stories. Ashton is now retired and currently lives in Bluffton, SC with his wife, Diana, and one furry daughter.Ashton has translated over 10 novels from Spanish to English, ("La Celestina", "Lazarillo de Tormes") and from English to Spanish: ("The Healing Of Gala"). I have recently been translating into English: "La Primera Catedral", "Surreal (Y otros relatos), and "MainCastle: La leyenda del caballero blanco".His hobbies are: collecting coins, comic books, books and metal detecting.

Book preview

Lazarillo de Tormes

by

Anonymous

Translated into English by

Ashton Lackey

Published by Ashton. Lackey at Smashwords

Copyright © 2022 Ashton Lackey

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Prologue

Chapter One: Lázaro tells of his Life, and whose Son he was

Chapter Two: How Lázaro Took up with a Priest and the Things That Happened to Him with That Man

Chapter Three: How Lázaro Took up with a Squire and What Happened to Him

Chapter Four: How Lázaro Worked for a Friar of the Order of Mercy and What Happened to Him

Chapter Five: How Lázaro Worked for a Pardoner and the Things That Happened to Him

Chapter Six: How Lázaro Worked for a Chaplain and what happened

Chapter Seven: How Lázaro Worked for a Constable and What Happened to Him

INTRODUCTION

In 1554, a short novel by an unknown author became popular in Spain, called La Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes y de sus fortunas y adversidades (The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes, and of His Fortunes and Adversities). Today, it is popularly known as El Lazarillo or, just Lazarillo de Tormes. This novel offers an original type of literary genre – the picaresque novel. Lazarillo, the protagonist is a poor boy from Salamanca Spain who cleverly lives by his wits and outsmarts his long string of apprentices or masters, who represent common offices in Spanish society: a blind beggar, a priest, a squire, a seller of indulgences, a chaplain and a constable, Lazarillo represents the lowest stratus of Spanish society. It is an entertaining story in which Lazarillo cleverly survives his own childhood despite the corruption that he must continually overcome.

Lazarillo de Tormes is the first of many picaresque novels which represents Lazarillo’s lowly status in society who must use his ideas to cleverly manipulate the seven masters to gain an increasing niche in Spanish society. Lazarillo is a rogue- a kind of anti-hero who communicates his experiences of overcoming deception, hypocrisy, and falsehood in Spanish society through his writing to an unknown audience. He is an improbable hero of his time because he comes from a poor and multiracial family who desperately gives him to a blind beggar as a servant after committing a crime. The boy soon proves himself to be resourceful and resistant to the corrupt men he must serve.

The novel was likely published anonymously due to what was considered at the time to be heretical content, due to its highly critical portrayal of both the aristocracy and Catholic Church of the 16th century, Lazarillo is a satirical criticism of the aristocracy and of what was at the time the most powerful organization of Europe, the Roman Catholic Church. Exploring themes of injustice, the unfairness of the prevailing culture, and the triumph of the underdog, Lazarillo is a genre usually focusing on a well-meaning rogue of lower class who outfoxes the elites in a corrupt society. The young poor boy who is employed by a variety of people in Spain after his thief stepfather is arrested, follows his rise through the ranks as he becomes a skilled trickster and rogue.

It was banned by the Spanish Inquisition and was not fully legalized in Spain until the 19th century. Today Lazarillo de Tormes is an entertaining story of a boy who cleverly survives his own childhood and makes something of himself despite the corruption that he must continually overcome. Today it is considered a classic of Spanish literature. It has influenced many future writers up to today such as: Guzman de Alfarache, El Buscon, Don Quixote de la Mancha, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five and Candide.

Prologue

I hold it to be good that such remarkable things as have happened to me, perhaps never seen or heard of, should not be buried in the tomb of oblivion. It may be that someone who reads may find something that he likes. For those who do not go very deep into the matter there is a saying of Pliny that there is no book so bad that it does not contain something that is good. Moreover, all tastes are not the same, and what one does not eat another will. Thus, we see things that are thought much of by some, less by others. Hence no circumstance should be omitted, however insignificant it may be, but all should be made known, especially if it doesn’t do any harm, they might get some good from it. If it were not so, very few would write for one reader, because it is not done without work, and they want, since they go ahead with it, to be rewarded, not with money, but with seeing and reading their works, and if there is what, they praise them; and in this regard Tullius says: Honor promotes the arts.

Who believes that the soldier who is first on the front line, hates to live? No, but the desire for praise puts himself in danger; And so, in the arts and letters it is the same. A preacher gives a very good sermon and is really interested in the improvement of people's souls but ask him if he minds when they tell him, Oh, what an excellent sermon you gave today, Reverend! And So-and-so was terrible in jousting today, but when some idiot praised him for the way he had handled his weapons, he gave him his armor. What would he have done if it had really been true?

And everything goes like this: that confessing I am not more holy than my neighbors, from this little story, that in my crude style I write will amuse to all those who in it find some taste and see that a man lives with so many fortunes, dangers and adversities.

I beg you to accept this poor service from