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PITFALLS FOR THE MORALIZER IN'LAZARILLO DE TORMES'

Since Bruce Wardropper's article on 'El trastorno de la moral en el Lazarillo',1much attention has been given to the moral implications of Lazaro's account of hisprogress, the general consensus being that his career is not an unqualified success.Opinions range from L. J. Woodward's forthright condemnation of Lazaro as ascoundrel2to Francisco Rico's suggestion that through the very ambiguity of thisnovel the author is saying that there are no universal criteria forjudging the pro-tagonist'smorals,and that reactions will vary according to the arbitrarystandpointof the individual.3In this article I aim to show the dangersawaiting the reader whoseeks to criticize Lazaro's conduct, and also to raise objections to some of thecriticismsthat have been levelled at him. I conclude by showing how the reader'sreligious as well as his moral attitudes are put to the test by the author.Since I shall be agreeingwith Rico that the author deliberately exploits the moralambiguity of his novel, it is worth indicating at the outset some ways in which ourviews diverge. First, I believe that Rico's view, outlined above, confusessocial andmoral judgement. Although it is uncertain from which social standpoint, if any,we are expected to view Lazaro, Christian morality is largely applicable withoutreferenceto social status.Arbitrary though it no doubt is, it remainsthe only logicalyardstick by which to judge the characters initially, if only because they are allnominally Christian,and because one universal moral test is to see how far a personmeasuresup to standards he would claim to accept. Second, Rico sees the novel'sirony and ambiguity as products of 'un amplio escepticismo (de tejas abajo, si node tejas arriba) sobre las posibilidades humanas de conocer la realidad' (p. 53).But his approach fails to distinguish between two quite different kinds of doubt. Itis one thing to be in doubt as to the facts of a situation one is seeking to judge; it isquite another to be in doubt as to what standards to apply. When, for example,Lazaro draws a moral comparison between his own wife and the other wives ofToledo, the alternative readings of his words turn far more on what behaviour wethink is being attributed to these ladies than on any disagreement as to what wouldor would not constitute reprehensible behaviour on their part. In this novel, therecurrent problem for the would-be moralist is to determine not so much whatgeneral criteria to apply, but what situation the author's words refer to.Turning now to Lazaro's story, is it one of moral decline? Is he, as one criticputs it, 'a hypocrite grovelling in his inverted cumbre'4 Most critics seem to sharethe view that Lazaro is a hypocrite, and he is often condemned in termswhich, like'grovel', have a strong emotional tone ('squalid', 'degradation', 'scoundrel','morally bankrupt', etc.). In the face of this onslaught it is worth reminding our-selves of Lazaro's sheer harmlessness.At the end of the novel, his activities, unlikethose of thieves, thugs, and tricksters, nconvenience nobody. Basicallyhe has been1 NRFH, I5 (i96i), 441-47.2 'Author-Reader Relationship in the Lazarillo de Tormes',Forumor ModernLanguageStudies, I

(I965), 441-47.3 La novelapicarescayel puntode vista (Barcelona, I969), pp. 45-55.4 Norma L. Hutman, 'Universality and Unity in the Lazarillo de Tormes',PMLA, 76 (196I),469-73 (p. 473).


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M. J. WOODSattacked for the following apparent faults, each of which I shall discuss in turn:his pride in his career, his cowardice in the face of danger, and his dishonesty inrelation to the nature of his marriage.Analysing pride along lines suggested by Aquinas,1 one could describe it as animmoderate craving for recognition which can take the following forms:I. Thinking that one deservessuccess,though recognizing the part played by Godor good fortune in that success.2. Attributing one's success entirely to oneself.3. Regarding oneself as superior to others.4. Boasting of qualities one does not possess.I have placed these in what I regardas orderof increasinggravity. Of the firstthree,each in turn represents an increasing degree of arrogance, until one reaches thefourth, which involves not simply self-deception, but the deception of others.In considering the nature of Lazaro's pride it is instructive to note the contrastbetween his attitude and the Squire's. Clearly the Squire does regard himself assuperior,and does boast of qualities which he does not possess.For example, havingquite rightly praised Lazaro's efforts in begging rather than stealing food ('Tuhaces como hombre de bien en eso, que mas vale pedirlo por Dios que no hurtallo'),thereby salving his conscience sufficiently to be able to eat it, he neverthelessshrinks from the thought of being publicly associated with the hand which feedshim ('Solamente te encomiendo no sepan que vives conmigo, por lo que toca a mihonra').2 Similarly, he deceives Lazaro by constantly informing him of his dis-satisfactionwith the house they live in, with the air of one who can pick and chooselodgings to suit his fancy: 'Yo te prometo que acabado el mes, no quede en ellaaunque me la den por mia. Ya deseo que se acabe este mes por salir della' (3.376).'He alquilado otra casa, y en esta desastrada no hemos de estar mas que encumpliendo el mes' (3.390). The true situation is revealed only by the Squire'sfinal hasty retreat. There is no chance of him staying on beyond the end of themonth because he has not the wherewithal to pay the rent. It is a rather sorrycaseof 'engafiar con la verdad'.By contrastwith the Squire, Lazaro's attitude to honra eems much more positive.He is not desperately trying to avoid being found out for what he really is, butrather is seeking recognition for his actual achievements: his social and materialadvancement, and his literary skills. Far from being a hypocrite about this, he isdisarmingly frank about his desire for recognition, confessing in the prologue toa pride which makes him, as he puts it, 'no mas santo que mis vecinos'. And herewe have the perfect trap for the critic who commits himself to print withoutrecognizing his own kinship with those vecinos, nd who publicly attacks Lazaro'spride yet cannot refrainfrom appending his own name to what he has written. Theauthor of Lazarillocan smile knowingly from behind his own anonymity at thesupreme hypocrisy of the finger pointed at his hero's self-confessedfault.Thus far there is no evidence of Lazaro succumbing to the two most serious kindsof pride, though, of course, if one denies that he has in fact made progressmaterially

1 SummaTheologica,2a 2ae q. I62 a.5.2 3.263-66. I use the edition of R. O. Jones (Manchester, 1963) in giving chapter and linereferences to the text.

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'Lazarillode Tormes'or socially then his pride will seem ridiculouslydisproportionate,and we may thenconclude that he is boasting of qualities he does not possess.Let us consider, then,the extent of his progress.Bearing in mind the extreme deprivation from which Lazaro suffersin the earlychapters, it is scarcely open to us to deny that he has made substantial materialprogress by the end. One can get some idea of the kind of remuneration that apregonero f the time could expect from the printed municipal regulations forSeville (1527) and Valladolid (1562).1 The details are worth specifyingin view ofthe misleading impression often given that the Archpriest would have beenLazaro's main source of income. Such seasonal work, begun as the new winebecame available, could be expected to last for only a brief period, and if heearned the same as his counterparts in Valladolid would have brought him intwelve maravedisor each barrel auctioned.2But basically it was as a salesman andauctioneer of all kinds of second-hand goods that a pregonerobtained much of hisincome, retaining a commission of from two to three per cent on all sales.3In addi-tion, from each person requiring him to make a lost-property announcement hewould have taken a couple ofmaravedis.4or eachpregdndelivered in the administra-tion ofjustice the princely sum of one real (34 maravedis) as recoverable from theculprit, provided he had the funds to pay.5 In Seville, the practice was for thetwo seniorpregoneroso allocate duties at the start of each week to ensure that eachday of the town's fourteenpregonerosne attended the casa delajusticiaand anotherthe corraldelos alcaldes.6The suggestionhas been made that the final sentence of the novel ('Pues en estetiempo estaba en mi prosperidady en la cumbre de toda buena fortuna') impliesthat at the time he is writing, Lazaro's fortunes are in decline again.7 But theargument is rather thin, since of the two tenses available, the imperfect and thepreterite, the author has in fact avoided the very one which would have entitled us

1 Ordenanfas e Seuilla. Recopilacion elasordenafasdelamuynobley muy eal cibdadde Seuilla .. Fechapor madadode los muyaltos... reyesy sefiordoFernado dofa rsabel (Seville, I527). The compilationwas made between 1515 and 1519. Ordenanfasonquese rigey gouiernaa republica e la muynobley muyleal villa de Valladolid Valladolid, 1562). The text shows that these regulations were promulgated inI549. I shall subsequently refer to these two books as O.S. and O.V.2 0.V., 0.56.3 'Otrosi como quiera que los dichos pregoneros fasta agora han lleuado treynta y tres marauedisy medio de cada millar por su salario delas cosas que vendian: assi enlas almonedas delos difuntoscomo enlas gradas y enlas otras placas publicas desta cibdad. Y porque este salario es muy excessivo.Mando que de aqui adelante los dichos pregoneros lleuen por su salario delas cosas que vendieren enlas dichas almonedas o fuera dellas veynte marauedis de cada millar fasta en contia de cient maraue-dis y dende ayuso al respecto' (O.S., fol. 134). 'Ningun pregonero en esta villa pueda lleuar en feriani en ningun tiempo del ano mas derechos por lo que le dieren a vender de a razon de treynta vnode lo que despues de vendido rematare' (0. V., 0.43, c.4).4 'Otrosi mando que quando alguno de los dichos pregoneros ouiesse de pregonar algun esclavoo cauallo o mula o otra cosa que anduviere perdida sea obligado ala pregonar en las gradas y enlasplaCasde sant francisco de sant saluador y dela alfalfa y de sancta catalina y de la feria y en otroslugares publicos do le fuere pedido por la parte: y que lleue por cada pregon: por el primero quatromarauedis y por cada vno delos otros a dos marauedis y no mas' (O.S., fol. 134). Dissatisfaction withthe perfunctory way in which pregonerosended to perform this not very lucrative work led toalternative arrangements for lost property being set up in a regulation of 1493: 'Que todas las cosasperdidas de qualquier calidad o condicion que sean: sean traydas y puestas en el meson que se llamadel herrado, de que es mesonero francisco goncalez prieto' (O.S., fol. 76v).6 At least this applied to pregonerost Court. See Ordenan;as el ConsejoReal (Valladolid, 1556),fol. 25.6 O.S., fol. 133.7 See L. J. Woodward, op. cit., 50-5I.

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M. J. WOODS 583to conclude that this prosperitywas now over. The only valid inference to be drawnis that Lazaro has progressedno further. His words do not imply that by the timeof writing he has come down from his peak. He is in the samejob which there is noreason for him to lose, and, as the word siempren the passage below makes clear,he continues to receive regular gifts from the Archpriestvia his wife: 'Y siempre enel afio le da en veces al pie de una carga de trigo, por las pascuassu carne, y cuandoel par de los bodigos, las calzas viejas que deja' (7.32-35).To the rich, such simple perquisites may seem comically unimpressive. Yet theymark a substantial improvement in Lazaro's living standards, and are thereforeless a sign of his ridiculousness in finding them acceptable than they are of theniggardliness of the Archpriest. From the fact that they are given directly to hiswife we are probably intended to link them with her constant services as house-keeper and mistress rather than with Lazaro's seasonal work for the Archpriest.But even if these gifts are rewardsfor her services alone, they are far from magnifi-cent. Apart from the Christmas and Easter gifts which any good employer ofmeans might be expected to give a personalservant, the most substantial item is thewheat, collected in dribs and drabs in the course of the year. Like the meat, thiswould have come to the Archpriestin tithesin a quantity far in excessof his personalneeds.' If Lazaro's wife is indeed his mistress, then he is certainly getting her on thecheap. Although he must be a rich man, his total expenditure is nil. He apparentlydoes not even pay the rent of the cottage, and instead of buying her personal giftsof finery, merely passeson his discarded clothes to her husband. There is an addedhint of meanness, in that the Archpriest may be avoiding his obligations towardsthe poor by giving to his own servantsgiftswhich he had a charitable duty to distri-bute to the destitute of the parish.2It may well be that Lazaro is being ironic when he says 'Tengo en mi seinoracipreste todo favor y ayuda', bearing in mind his recollection of the Squire'sdisparaging remarks about the stingy clergy3 and caballerosde media talla whonever pay their servants cash: 'Ya cuando quieren reformar conciencia y satis-facerosvuestrossudores, sois librados en la recamara, en un sudado jub6n o raidacapa o sayo' (3.5II-I2). Yet despite his awareness of this meanness, Lazaro isnevertheless satisfied with a standard of comfort which is denied to the Squire,who is too proud to settle for anything less than cash.Some attempt has been made to detract from Lazaro's social progress byemphasizing that the post of pregonerowas a particularly vile one. According toWoodward, the job was 'so loathsome and treated with such contempt by thepublic that only the most seedy and squalid character could be asked to acceptit'.4 No doubt there were more illustrious occupations, but those of water-sellerand blind-man's boy do not number among them. The reputation enjoyed by thelatter is evident from the Priest's remark when he discovers that Lazarillo is the

1 For some facts and figures about the operation of tithes, see B. Bennassar, Valladolid au siecled'or (Paris and The Hague, I967), pp. 395-98.2 Note Hurtado de Toledo's remark on the charity received by widows: 'Aun en las obras pias eldemonio pone sus adalides para que unas limosnas se den por particulares respetos por ser miconocido o mi criada o mis deudos o maestra a mi labor'; quoted by A. Blecua in his edition ofLazarillo (Madrid, 1974), p. I74, n. 336.3 'Can6nigos y sefiores de la iglesia, muchos hallo, mas es gente tan limitada que no los sacaran desu paso todo el mundo' (3.504-505). As Rico notes in his edition, Covarrubias gives 'poco liberal' asequivalent to 'limitado'.4 Op. cit., 50.


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584 'Lazarillode Tormes'culprit who has been stealing his bread: 'No es posible sino que hayas sido mozo deciego' (2.380). And as Rico has noted, there was no status in being a water-seller,a post often occupied by conversos.1Nor were constables' servants particularlyhighly regarded, to judge by a petition renewed by the Madrid Cortes in 1552,seeking to debar them from giving testimony, 'porque los tales criados suelen serde poco credito'.2 The post of pregonero,unlike the more important public posts,was also open to conversos,but this does not mean that it was a step down forLazaro. A proper appraisal can come only from an examination of the variousfacets of the job.The role of the pregoneroas a custodian of other people's property is the featurewhich is mocked in what is probably the least distasteful of a number of oftencrudely anti-Semitic poems in the CancioneroGeneral, n which Ribera pokes fun at thefather of the converso,Juan Poeta, alias Juan de Valladolid, crying 'Quien hallovn asno perdido ?' as he plies his trade as a pregonero.The concluding stanza givesthis delightfully comic description:Tornemos al despediry dezir de vuestro padrede como le vi venirque no hay perro que nol ladre.Y desque mire por elyo le vi tan adornado:tres espadas, y vn broquel,y vnas botas, y vn fardel,y vn almayzar colorado,(Fin)un casquete, y tres cerrajas,

y vna ballesta de ca?a,con dos pares de touajas,passeando por la pla?a.3To a courtier, the indignity of acting as a walking shop-cum-lost-property officeand of dealing in such plebeian items as asses seemed highly comical. But this isnot in itself sufficient for the post to be considered any more despicable thanhundreds of other jobs which involve the handling of everyday objects. Moreover,the joke in this particular case is as much directed against the abuse of thepregonero'sposition as it is to the nature of the job itself, as the Ordenanzas or Sevillemake clear:Algunosde los dichos pregonerosse visten y cobijan y arreany se atauian de algunas ropas ojoyas o armas o otras cosas que les son dadas a vender: y porque esto es en gran dano yperjuyzio dela dicha cibdad y de su republica. Mando que ninguno ni alguno delos dichospregonerosno vsen ni se aprouechen ni se vistan ni atauien ni cobijen ni arrean en maneraalguna de ninguna ni algunas cosas que se les fueren dadas para vender: saluo que lastengan bien tratadas sobre sus bracos o enlas manos o enlos tableros y tiandas [sic]. (O.S.,fol. 133v.)4

1 Page76, n. 2 in hiseditionof the text in Lanovelaicarescaspanola,(Barcelona, 967).2 Petition34, Capitulosyevesdiscedidasn las Cortes... deMadrid,tc.(Valladolid,156I).3 Fol. 229 in A. Rodriguez-Mofino's facsimile edition (Madrid, 1958). I have expanded theabbreviations, nd addedpunctuationand accentuation,both absentfrom the original.4 Note thesimilardetail in a storytold in Villalba'sElperegrinouriosoMadrid, 886), I, 290,of anobleman'servantwhowent to seekout a man who on a pilgrimagehadpersuaded imthat hewasthesonof an importantpersonage:Y el primerhombreconque top6fuea estebellaco,queeraunpregonero,queconropaal pescuezoandabapregonandoporla ciudad, que es el oficiomasinfameque hay.' Noted by F. de Haan, 'Picarosy ganapanes', n Homenaje Menendezelayo Madrid,I888), II, I86.


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M. J. WOODSDoubtless it was the recitation of the offences of criminals being taken in

procession to their place of punishment, whether for an execution, a flogging, orvergienzapublica, hat was regarded as the most sordid duty, though, by the sametoken, the job of prison chaplain, or of sentencing judge, ought also to have beenconsidered degrading. But at least the pregonero'sask of public speaking was lessdistasteful than that of the executioner.Despite the more unpleasant aspects of a pregonero'sob, if we look at the totalityof activities it entailed, therecan be little doubt that the post representsa substantialsocial advance for Lazaro. Not only does he enjoy greater security than before, buthe now has an official status, is called on to demonstrate new skills, and enjoys

regular contact with people of a higher social class.Such municipal regulations concerning pregoneross I have seen certainly do notsupport the view that theirs was an infamous position for which there was nocompetition. In Seville, efforts were made to reduce the number of pregonerosynatural wastage to the city's traditional number of fourteen, consisting of twopregoneros ayores,ppointed by the cabildo,and twelve pregoneros enores,lected bytheir seniors, because 'agora nueuamente el numero de los dichos pregoneros seha quebrantado y se ha rescebido por pregoneros muchos mas que conuenia'(O.S., I32v.). Similarly, the ordenanzasor Valladolid emphasize the official natureof the post, and imply that it was one for which there was no shortageof volunteers:'Que ningun pregonerovse del dicho officio sin auer sido primero recebido para elpor la justicia y regidores desta villa, y auer dado fiancas como es obligado antevno de los escribanos mayores del ayuntamiento' (O.V., fol. 23). It seems that thesureties required were substantial, so that Lazaro is not being ironic when he sayshe acquired the post 'con favor de amigos y sefiores'.He needed to find people ofsufficient means and with sufficient confidence in him to back him financially.In Seville, the pregoneroad to find sureties to a total value of Ioo,ooo maravedis(O.S., fol. I33).As for the post being appropriateforonly the vilest characters,this same ordenanzafor Seville gives a ratherdifferentpicture: 'Y que estospregonerosassi los mayorescomo los menores sean hombres buenos y de buena vida y fama y no viles personasni mal infamados: abiles y pertenecientes para vsar del dicho oficio que tenganbozes altas y claras y elegibles a vista y examinacion delos mayores'. Entailingas it did the handling of other people's property and money, the job obviouslyrequired a responsibleperson to carry it out. And despite its seamier side, it wasnot without its moments of glory. A pregoneromight find his name entered in thestatute books, as in the case of those promulgating the ordenanzasor Valladolid thatI have been citing, of which it is written: 'En los dichos quatro dias con trompetasy atabales le pregonarony fueron pregonadas estas ordenancas fechas por los muymagnificos sefiores justicia y regidores desta dicha villa, y confirmada por susmagestades como en ellas se contiene por alonso de ?amora, y por juan de santi-llana, y por adan, y pablo gonsalez pregoneros publicos desta dicha villa, a altasvozes.' There could have been nothing inglorious for Alonso de Zamora and hiscolleagues in finding their names recorded for posterity in this way, particularlywhen juxtaposed with those of their majestiesand other august personages.Even in the more sordid world of crime, legal judgements involving persons ofstature did sometimes find their way into print, which again resulted in therecording of some pregoneros'ames, as in the case of the sentences passed against a

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586 'Lazarillode Tormes'number of men judged to have preferred false and malicious charges against thecomendadorf Jerez, Sancho Bravo de Acufia, where the escribano,uan de Carri6ntestifies: 'En la ciudad de Xerez de la Frontera a siete dias del mes de Agosto demil y seyscientos y seys afios. Estando en la placa publica desta ciudad, de losescriuanos della, por voz de Iuan de Vargas, pregonero publico, se pregono ladicha sentencia de verbo ad verbum de que doy fee.'As for Lazaro's new skills, his new job presupposes the ability to read, whichimmediately places it in a category above his previous employments. Playing thebugle was another accomplishment that might have been expected of him. Hisduties as an auctioneer and salesmanwould have enabled him to display additionaltalents. In addition to the officialauctions, there were private auctionswhich wouldhave brought Lazaro into contact with the owners of estates with wine and otherthings to sell, and there was also the private sale of second-hand goods brought tohim by people from all walks of life who were in need of ready cash.2 To attractregular work of this kind a pregonero ould have to impress others with his ability.Lazaro gives the impressionthat he has built up a virtual monopoly of such work,saying of his office: 'Hame sucedido tan bien, yo le he usado tan facilmente, quecasi todas las cosas al oficio tocantes pasan por mi mano: tanto que en toda laciudad el que ha de echar vino a vender o algo, si Lazaro de Tormes noentiende en ello, hacen cuenta de no sacar provecho' (7.19-23). Although it isamusing to see here how superior Lazaro feels he is to the otherpregonerosn town,there is no reason to doubt that he is endowed with a sharp-wittednessand a com-mand of patter gained from his previous experience which gives him a lead over hisrivals. He is a big fish in a small and slightly muddy pond.

From the foregoing analysis, then, we can conclude that as far as his job isconcerned, Lazaro is seeking recognition for his actual achievements rather thanindulging in the pride of the hypocrite who boasts of qualities he does not have.There is nothing to support the view that he thinks of his post as at all gentlemanly.His motives for seeking it were 'tener descanso y ahorraralgo para la vejez' (7.8).His awarenessthat the job has its sordid side emergesfrom his use of the humorouseuphemism 'los que padecen persecuciones por justicia' to refer to convictedcriminals.Materially and socially, then, Lazaro has made sufficient progressfor his self-satisfactionnot to seem grotesquelyinappropriate, which is not to say that it is not

a deliberatelycomic element in the book. But the readerwho takesup the invitationto laugh at this apparent pride should not delude himself into thinking that hisresponsehas a moraljustification. To moralize here is to run the risk of falling intoa number of traps, the most spectacular of which is the hypocrisy of displaying thevery fault one is criticizing - pride. If we find Lazaro's modest standard of livingand his relatively lowly position laughable, we are victims of the third type of1 Copiay trasladoquese dieron or ... losJuezes deComission, or su Magestad,para tomar a residenciaa Don S. Brauode Acura (Xerez de la Frontera, I606?), fol. 7v.2 'Otrosi por quanto la mayor parte delas personas que dan a vender algunas cosas alos dichospregoneros las venden con necessidad y con voluntad de auer mas prestamente dineros para sesocorrer: Porende mando a todos lo dichos pregoneros y a cada vno dellos que cada vn dia queferiado no sea esten y residan publicamente cada vno en su poyo o tablero que tiene enla calle de lasgradas dela dicha cibdad desde saliendo el sol fasta las diez horas antes de medio dia porque lasperonas que los buscaren los fallen y puedan auer sus dineros delo que ouieren vendido: porque assise ha acostumbrado enla dicha cibdad' (O.S., fol. I33v).


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M. J. WOODSpride - that of the snob. Similarly, the reader who in laughing at Lazaro tacitlyfinds himself admitting to the proposition that had our hero achieved great wealthand rank this would have justified his pride, again reveals a flaw in himself, andaligns himself with the ambitious materialist or the boastfulnouveauiche.Looked atfrom another point of view, Lazaro's satisfaction with a modest standard of livingand his lack of ambition are virtues rather than vices. A final danger for themoralizer is that if, as has been attractively argued by R. W. Truman, some ofLazaro'sexpressionsof pride are but examples of ironic, self-deflatinghumour, hisattack may seem rather pompous.1Beforemoving from the topic of Lazaro's pride, it remains for me to consider theepisode of his purchase of clothes and his abandonment of water-selling in thepenultimate tratado, ince this has been constructed as a hypocritical attempt todeceive others into thinking him a gentleman, or as an indication of his aspirationsto nobility and his contempt for manual work. The facts relied upon here are: theornatenessof the clothes, the detail of the sword,2Lazaro'sreference to himself asbeing dressed 'muy honradamente' (6.13), and his concluding remark 'Desque mevi en habito de hombre de bien, dije a mi amo se tomase su asno, que no queriamas seguir aquel oficio'. But this interpretation of the facts leads to some seriouscontradictionswhich must call into doubt the assumptionson which they are based.The picture of Lazaro attempting like the Squire a sustained exercise in deceptionconflicts with the fundamental attitude which led him to tell his story: his pride inhaving 'got on'. Lazaro cannot at one and the same time attempt to conceal fromothers his lowly origins, pretending to be what he is not, and yet be keen to sharewith others his delight at having progressed from those origins. There is also acontradiction between the picture of Lazaro the man of great social pretensions,and Lazaro the lad who marries a servant-girl, and accepts with delight, becauseof the material comforts it brings him, a post which nobody could have thoughtof as gentlemanly, not to mention the supreme indignity of wearing the cast-offbreeches of the man reputed to be his wife's lover. There is a strikingcontrastherebetween Lazaro and the Squire, who chose to move to Toledo rather than raise hishat to another man. Nor is the view that Lazaro has become contemptuous ofhumble worklike begging, or water-selling, compatible with his subsequentattemptto show the reader just how good he was at these activities. We must thereforereinterpret the evidence if the novel is to make sense.

Doubtlessone reasonwhy Lazaro bought some better clotheswas that he thoughtthem a necessaryprerequisiteof getting a more remunerative ob. A ragged appear-ance did not inspire potential employers with confidence, as was recognized by theMadrid Cortesof I552 in a petition which noted that 'muchos mocos de estar malvestidos y mal tratados ninguno se quiere seruir dellos por miedo que no hurten'(Petition I22). There is, of course, nothing immoral in Lazaro seeking to leave thedead-end job of water-selling after four years. Indeed, the biblical parable of thetalents suggeststhat he had a duty to make better use of his abilities, particularlyif,as is suggested in Villalba's Elpelegrino urioso,here was a surfeitof water-sellersin

1 'Parody and Irony in the Self-portrayal of Lazaro de Tormes', MLR, 63 (1968), 600-605.2 'Quiere adquirir nobleza, simbolizada por la espada'; Alberto del Monte, Itinerariode la novelapicaresca spanola Barcelona, 1971), p. 49.

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588 'Lazarillode Tormes'sixteenth-century Toledo.1 If Lazaro wishes to persuade people by his garb thathe is now a hard-working, thrifty, law-abiding citizen rather than a parasite whorelies on begging or stealing for a living, then there is nothing hypocritical aboutthat, for that is what he now is for the first time in his life. In this respect it is notinappropriate that he should be 'decently', 'respectably', or 'presentably'dressed,i.e. 'en habito de hombre de bien', rather than in rags. But why the unnecessarysplendour? Why the sword ? Certainly there is an element of vanity here, but not,I would claim, of deception. Nobody can have been under any illusion that theclothes were anything other than second-hand. Lazaro is too young to have wornthem out himself. He makes no attempt to conceal their shabbiness from thereader, and seems to contemplate it with an ironic detachment, referringto one ofhis acquisitions as 'una capa que habia sido frisada'. He comically attempts tomake a virtue out of the venerable antiquity of his purchases,when in the world ofhigh fashion it is precisely novelty which usually commands admiration.

The existence of an established trade in second-hand clothes in the sixteenthcentury suggests that those from the lower ranks of society would have beenunlikely to contemplate buying new clothes. One of the cheapest sourcesof clothingwas the pregonero'stall. The roperos,r second-hand clothiers, could be expected toretain a higher profit on goods given to them to sell, as the ordenanzasf Valladolidexplain, though they seem to have made up for the deterrent effect of the higherprices by adopting more aggressive sales tactics.2 From one of these sourcesLazaro purchasessome clothes which, although they are a little out of the ordinary,are not likely to have been amongst the most expensive items. It is not particularlyrealistic to see him as attempting to vie with the bourgeoisie, let alone with thearistocracy, in that, even if his clothes had been brand new, they would not havebeen regarded as extraordinarilylavish or as peculiarly aristocraticby the contem-porary bourgeoisie, many of whom spent a great deal of money on clothes.The two essential ingredients for any garment which really sought to impress,neither of them present in Lazaro's doublet of cotton drill, and his sayowith itsbraided sleeves and front flap ('puerta'), were gold brocade and silk. The numerousineffectual sumptuarylaws which were passed during the century sought in vain toplace curbs upon the use of these materials. But even where, as often happened,heavier restrictionswere placed on those of the artisan class and below, at least thewearing of some silk was permitted for everybody, as, for example, in QueenJuana's disastrouslycomplicated law of 1515, which provided interalia thatlos officialesmenestrales e manosde qualquierofficioquesean:y obreros labradores opuedantraerni traygan os dichossayonesni sayosde sedani alcorquesni capatonesnivaynasni correasde espadani guarniciones e mulasni de cauallos:ni caparacones imuchillasni papahigos e sedani cintasde ningun ilode oroni deplatani de sedani cofiasni camisas abradasde oroni de hilo de oro:saluo ubonesy caperugas gorrasde seda siquisieren: vn ribeteo vnapestania e sedaen lossayonesy capasde panio chamelotedelana que traxereny no mas.3Certainly the artisansneeded no second bidding, to judge by the kind of remarksbeing made in the Cortes in mid-century. 'Los officiales y hombres que tienen

1The eponymouspilgrimtells an old man of Toledo,'Osveo tenersubidas,rebentones, uestas,faltarosagua, sobraraguadores';B. de Villalbay Estafia,El pelegrinourioso grandezaseEspana(c. I577) (Madrid, I886), Vol. I, p. I98.2 See O.V., fol. 23r., and O.S., fol. I70v., where roperos re forbidden to molest passers-by.3 Laspragmaticasdel reyno Seville, I520), fol. 173.


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M. J. WOODStiendas visten a si y a sus mugeres & hijos tan excesivamente que no puede ser sinoque han de ganar mucho para poderlo sustentar', complains one petition.1 Thepreamble to another law notes how the ingenuity of the bourgeoisie led them tospend ever larger sums in devising new stratagems for circumventing the existinglaws.2 There was obviously a sound factual basis for Antonio de Torquemada'scomment in his Coloquiosatiricos,Y lo que a ml se me toma gana de reir es de verque los officiales y hombres comunes andan tan aderezados y puestos en ordenque no se diferencianen el habito de los caballeros y los poderosos'.3Without evena second-hand garment of silk, Lazaro is clearly way behind in this race, and hemust know it. If he simply bought these particularclothes because he thought theywere fun to wear he would not have been the last young man to behave in that way.But it seems likely that he is trying through them to demonstrate his new economicstatus, and is trying to impress not so much society at large as the young lads ofhis own age and of similar social background, who covet the goods in the ropave-jeria, but who have no cash to spend on them.As for Lazaro's sword, given that the bourgeoisiewere in the habit of aping thearistocracy as far as their finances permitted, it is hard to see how the wearing ofswords could have been restricted to the nobility unless there were a law to thateffect. In England, servantswore swordsup to 170I, when the practice was bannedbecause of the threat to the peace which it caused. In Spain, the situation was thatthe law of I467, 'que ningunos hombres de pie trayan armas', was not properlyenforced. There was pressureto relax the law in the Cortesof 1515 in Burgos,aftercomplaints about the corruption of the police in applying it.4 Ultimately, inresponse to a petition of the Cortes of 1523 in Valladolid, the following provisionswere passed: 'Cadavno pueda traervna espada excepto los nueuamente conuertidosdel reyno de Granada: con tanto que los que assi la truxeren no puedan traeracompafiamiento con armas de mas de dos o tres personas: ni trayan las dichasarmas en la mancebia: y que en la corte no trayan ningunas armashombresde pieni mocos despuelas como esta mandado'.5 Hence it was only at court that thepresence or absence of a sword would have been a reliable sign of social rank.In the street and in the brothel it had less social significance. In any event, as aconstable's servant Lazaro would almost certainly have been equipped with asword, witness the following instructions to constables on the beat, taken from aseventeenth-century treatise: 'No ronde el alguazil con musica, ni acechando a losque pasan, ni con lebreles de ayuda, ni de ocasiones a resistencias en las rondas,poniendo el, 6 sus criados mano a las espadas.'6 So it may well be that whenLazaro buys a sword he already has in mind his next job, in which he will be calledupon to wear one.Lazaro's pride, then, does not seem to be that of the hypocrite or the snob. It isnot even that of the man who fails to acknowledge the part others have played inhis success. Indeed, some of the book's humour derives preciselyfrom his readiness

1 Capitulosy leyesdiscedidasn las Cortes .. de Madrid de 1552, Petition I31.2 Declaracionde la pragmaticaquesu magestad.. mandohaceren las cortes . . de Valladolidel afo dequinientosy reinta siete: acercade los tragesy vestidosdesus subditos Valladolid, i538?).3 As quoted by Carmen Bernis, Indumentariaspafiolan tiemposde CarlosV (Madrid, I962), p. I .4 See Las pragmaticas del reyno (1520), fol. I76v.5 Quaderno e las cortesqueen Valladolid uuosu magestad.. el anode 1523.8 Alonso de Vila-Diego Vascuinanay Montoya, Institucidnoliticayprdcticaudicial (Madrid, I641),fol. 103v.

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'Lazarillode Tormes'to acknowledgedivine intervention in activitieswhich are far from holy, as when hedeclares himself 'alumbrado por el espiritu santo' in hitting upon the stratagemof acquiring a duplicate key for the Priest'sbread-chest (2.1 I 1). We may read thisparticular example as an instance of deliberate irony on Lazaro's part, but it ishard to detect any ironic overtones in his statement that his final revenge on theblind man was possible 'porque Dios le ceg6 aquella hora el entendimiento (fuepor darme del venganza)' (I.402). His account of how he acquired the post ofpregonerouggeststhat reallyhispride is of the least serious kind: that of the man whoattributeshis successto the intervention of God and to the help of other people, butwho thinks that he has earned his successthrough his hard work and long suffering:'Quiso Dios alumbrarmey ponerme en camino y manera provechosa; y con favorque tuve de amigos y seinores, odos mis trabajosy fatigas hasta entonces pasadosfueron pagados' (7.8-II).Turning now from the question of Lazaro'spride to that of his cowardice, he hasbeen criticized for his lack of moral fibre in fleeing when he and his master, theconstable, are pursued by a band of criminals armed with sticks and stones. Thecriticism seems a little harsh because there is no evidence to suggest that anythingwas to be gained from a display of heroics on that occasion. Presumably thecriminals would not have left their sanctuary to go on the attack unless they hadfelt fairly confident of victory. A volley of stones is not particularly easy to ward off,and the police of that time were not equipped with riot shields. There is no realevidence that the alguacilwas any braver than Lazaro, for we are not told that hewas doing anything other than taking cover. The implication of the words 'noscorrierona mi y a mi amo' (7.3) seemsto be that both of them were fleeing from theonslaught in the firstplace. It is difficult to condemn Lazaro's flight as particularlyimmoral, and the last thing he reveals in talking about it is hypocrisy. He shows arefreshinghonesty throughout the book in admitting to a frailty which no doubtmany of his readersshare, telling us how frightened he was in his early encounterswith the law: 'A mi con amenazas me preguntaban, y como nifio respondia, ydescubria cuanto sabia con miedo' (I.56); 'Yo hube mucho miedo, y llorandoprometile de decir lo que preguntaban' (3.573). Now that he is on the other side ofthe law he discovers to his dismay that he is still exposed to physical threats, andtherefore leaves for a less dangerousjob.We come now to the question of Lazaro's marital situation, and to what we areto make of the fact that despite rumour about his wife's infidelity with the Arch-priest, he permits her to continue in his service and to receive gifts from him. Inaddition he forestalls the jibes of his friends by defending his wife in vehementterms. Making a profit from condoning one's wife's adultery was apparently notan uncommon practice in the sixteenth century, and was regarded increasinglyseriously by the authorities. One observer of the time noted a marked differencebetween the attitude of the husbandsof Valladolid and those of his native Portugaltowards their wives' infidelities, noting that some were only too delighted to seetheir spousestaken out by gallants if a gift ofjewellery resulted,and concluding that'em Castella nao pesam tanto os cornos'.1 The passing of the following slightlydesperatelaw by Philip II in 1575,bringing the penalty imposed on such behaviour

1 Thome Pinheiro da Veiga, Fastigimia(Oporto, 191), Colleccao de manuscriptos ineditos agoradados a estampa, III, p. 357.

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M. J. WOODSup to that meted out to pimps, suggests that there was some substance in theseremarks:A los maridosque porprecioconsintieren ue susmugeres ean malasde su cuerpo,o dequalquiermanera as induxereno traxerena ello,de mas de las penasacostumbradas,esseapuesta a mesmapenaquepor leyesde nuestros eynosestapuestaa losrufianes, ue espor primeravez, verguen?a ublicay diezafiosde galerasy por segundavez ciena?otesygalerasperpetuas.The preamble notes the ineffectiveness of previous legislation: 'La experiencia loha mostrado no ser castigo, ni remedio, bastante para estoruar tan grandeexcesso'.lIn one of his engravings of Seville, Joris Hoefnagel, another contemporaryvisitor, depicts the fascinating spectacle of a cornudolpacienteeing beaten as he ispublicly paraded on the back of an ass. He is wearing huge antlers, decked withbells and bunting, and is followed by the pregonero,arryinghis bugle in one hand,and the pregonheld high in the other, while onlookers give the mocking gesturereserved for cuckolds.2The parade is headed by a procuress, seated on anotherass, and surrounded by a swarm of flies.Did Lazaro merit this kind of punishment? Is he, as has been suggested, apimp, living off his wife's earnings?3Although such a view might accord with thecanonists who regardedall condonation of a wife'sadulteryas a form of pandering,4it hardly fits any generally acceptable definition of what procuring is. Lazaro'smarriage procures for the priest nothing which he could not enjoy before. More-over, it is the priest who takes all the initiative and does whatever exploiting thereis to do, taking advantage of his superiorsocial rank. For Lazaro, the fruits of theliaison hardly constitute a living. His living comes from a post whose acquisitionis not related by the author to his marriage, and whose tenure is not dependentupon his continuing to be on good terms with the Archpriest. If Lazaro is pleasedto receive gifts of food, this in itself is no more evidence of his immorality than washis glad acceptance of the food brought by his mother's lover. There is simply noway to demonstratethat these simplegifts are directly attributableto sexual servicesrendered by Lazaro's wife rather than to the other quite legitimate serviceswhichboth of them perform as employees of the Archpriest.What does the Archpriest himself gain from arranging the marriage? Had thenovel been set a few decades earlier, his action would have ensured the immunityof his partner from legal penalties, and the story would have satirized a stratagemwhich was in fact adopted by some priestsat the turn of the century. A law of 1491,which ruled that married women could not be deemed mancebas e clerigosn theabsence of their husband's determination to prosecute, had to be modified in I503,'porque algunas de las mancebas de los dichos clerigos y beneficiados no contentasde estar por mancebas publicas de los tales clerigos por encobrir el delito que en

1Pragmaticadeclaracionobreosquepermitenue usmujereseanmalas Seville,1577).2 In the final book of G. Braun and F. Hohenberg, Ciuitates rbis errarumCologne, I572), of whichI have seen the French translation (Cologne, 1575). P. Herrera Puga, Sociedad delincuencian el siglodeoro(Granada, 1971), p. 268, reproduces a detail from this engraving. Two more of the spectatorsare to be seen in the foreground of the plate at p. 184.3 See H. Mancing, 'The Deceptiveness of Lazarillo de Tormes',PMLA, 90 (I975), 230; L. J.Woodward, op. cit., 44.4 'Patronus turpiditudinis et lenocinii reus maritus habebitur, nisi eam adulterii ream facerevoluerit', Dictionnaire uDroit Canonique,dited by R. Naz (Paris, I935), I, p. 236.

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592 'Lazarillode Tormes'ello cometen se casan con algunos criados suyos y con otras personas tales que secontenten de estar en casa de los mismos clerigos que antes las tenian de la maneraque antes estauan'.1 The marriage itself, then, would not have afforded theArchpriest's servant freedom from the usual penalty of a fine of a mark of silver,and of a fine plus exile for a second offence. But the fact that she was living nextdoor, and not in the same house, and also had legitimate business with him as ahousekeeper, meant that in practice the two of them were unlikely to have theirrelationship disturbed by the legal authorities. On the whole, society took a remark-ably indulgent view of such liaisons, which were almost institutionalized. It wasapparently only blatantly public concubinage that was frowned on. A minimum ofdiscretion was all that was required.2 One extraordinary law, apparently still intheory operative in Lazaro's time, actually helped priests to find an appropriatesexual partner:Deshonesta, y aun reprouada cosa es en derecho, que los clerigos ... ensuzien el temploconsagrado con malas mugeres, teniendo mancebas conoscidamente. Porende por escusarque las buenas mugeres se aparten de hazer peccado con los dichos clerigos, ordenamos ymandamos, que todas las mancebas de los clerigos ... trayan agora, y de aqui adelantecada vna dellas por serial vn prendederode pafio bermejotan ancho como tresdedos encimade las tocas publico, y continuamente: en manera que se parezca: y la que no traxere ladicha serial,y fuere tomada sin ella, que pierda todas las vestiduras que traxere vestidas,y gelas tome el alguazil .. y se partan en tres partes: la vna parte para el acusador: y laotra parte para el alguazil... y la otra terceraparte para el reparo de los muros del lugar.3How the naked mancebas then fared is left to the imagination. But presumablywomen would break this law rather than draw attention to their liability to thenormal fine, except when advertising their availability to priests. In the meantimejealous husbands could feel more secure in sending their wives to confession.The Archpriest does not gain quite as much as one might have expected from thearranged marriage, then. But he does save himself the inconvenience of providinghis mistress with accommodation by getting Lazaro to pay the rent. At the sametime he saves himself any embarrassment that might arise from the continual birthof illegitimate children to his servant.To get a proper picture of Lazaro's part in the proceedings we need to lookcarefully at the discussion between the three protagonists which figures prominentlyin the last chapter. It has been claimed that 'Lazaro and the Archpriest are intacit agreement, a conspiracy of hypocrisy, to deny the true nature of Lazaro'smarriage'.4 I do not believe that the evidence supports this view.One thing to emerge from the conversation is that this is the first time that thewhole subject has been broached. What Lazaro and the Archpriest say to each otheris not compatible with the latter having already made a deal offering food inexchange for sex. Whatever the parties have been thinking up to now has beentacit. If it had constituted an agreement between them already, then there wouldhave been no point in the Archpriest raising the whole embarrassing question. He

1 Laspragmaticas el reyno I520), fol. 79v. As developments in the law in this field at around thistime offer a fascinating social document I have provided further extracts from this source in anappendix to this article.2 See P. Herrera Puga, op. cit., 406, and the appendix to this article.3 Ordenanfaseales de Castilla,recopiladas or AlonsoDiaz de Montaluo,nueuamentelossadospor DiegoPerez (Salamanca, I56o), cols I60-6i.4A. D. Deyermond, Lazarillode Tormes London, 1975), p. 90.


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M. J. WOODS 593has obviously sensed that Lazaro is not happy about the constant gossip, andbegins by saying that he is not surprisedthat there is gossip, but promisesthat it isuntrue ('Ella entra muy a tu honra, y suya, y esto te lo prometo'). He thereforetells Lazaro to ignore it if he wishes to thrive. Lazaro, despite using polite formulae,gives a very spirited reply, accusing his wife of promiscuity. The bluntness of thephrase 'habia parido tres veces' contrasts with the Archpriest'sdelicacy in failingto specify what the gossip is about. It suggests that Lazaro is not yet content toleave the matter there, but wishes to probe a little further. However, the hystericalintervention of his wife puts an end to the confrontation. In a scene of delightfulcomedy Lazaro caves in, and, assisted by the Archpriest (a superb touch by theauthor), pacifies her by promising never to mention the matter again, saying thathe is convinced of her virtue, and telling her that she can visit the Archpriestwhenever she wishes.This, then, is the 'agreement', explicit rather than tacit, not between threehypocritical conspiratorsof like mind, winking at each other as they conclude adeal - a pointless charade without an audience - but between two lying con-spirators, the Archpriestand the wife, and a husband whose immediate thought ashe accepts their denials is not how rich it will make him, but how much he hatesdomestic quarrels and ranting women. One can envisage Lazaro winking at thereader, though not at the Archpriest,when he says that he accepts the promisethatthe Archpriest is not bringing dishonour on him ('Me ha prometido lo que piensocumplira). 'Afterall', implies Lazaro sarcastically, 'the promisemust be true if it isgiven by an Archpriest, one of the buenos'.But I see nothing in this or in any otherof his commentson the discussionwhich showshim to be hypocritical. It is the othertwo who attempt to conceal their vices. If Lazaro's weakness is a love of comfortand descanso,hen this is not something which he makes any attempt to hide. Itmay be that some of the contempt felt for Lazaro as a husband derives from socialrather than moral considerations.With cuckoldry, as with bastardy, much of thestigma which might have been expected to attach to the couple guilty of the sexualmisdemeanour is transferredfor no good moral reasonto the thirdparty. No doubtthere are those who would find Lazaro less contemptible if he were in turn todeceive his wife by having an adulterous affair of his own instead of passivelyaccepting his situation. Needless to say, the foundation of such a view is not a moralone.

But how should one regard Lazaro's defence of his wife ? Not unnaturally, he isirkedby the constant barrageof insulting remarksfrom people who are supposed tobe his friends.Whether their comments are true or false, there is nothing immoralin him wanting to put an end to them. Basically he is saying, 'Shut up!' But is hismethod of saying it immoral? When he says of his wife 'Es la cosa del mundo queyo mas quiero, y la amo mas que a mi. Y me hace Dios con ella mil mercedes ymas bien que yo merezco' (7.71-72), the reader may doubt the genuineness ofthese uncharacteristicexpressionsof love and humility. But even if false, they arenot hypocritical unless Lazaro intends his listeners to take them seriously andhopes by them to enhance his own reputation as a humble man. But their realfunction in the context, if we take them seriously, is rather to enhance his wife'sreputation, which is under attack.Lazaro now goes on to make an offer and a threat. The threat is of physicalviolence ('Yo me matare con el'). The offer is to swear 'sobre la hostia consagrada38


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594 'Lazarillode Tormes'que es tan buena mujer como vive dentro de las puertas de Toledo'. These areritual gestures, neither of which the speaker expects to be tested, and neither ofwhich is in fact tested ('No me dicen nada'). The careful wording of the vow is,however, worth noting. It does not take the form of a denial of his wife's adultery,and is not automatically shown to be false if she is in fact guilty. At the seriouslevel,it could give rise to observations that his wife does have her good qualities whichneed to be balanced against her weaknesses,and that other women are all sinners,albeit with different faults. Who are we to judge between them? At the comiclevel, we can regard this as a good-humoured attempt by Lazaro to put an end tothe leg-pulling, in which he makes a joke about the lax morals of Toledan women,expecting the reply, 'I can't deny that, Lazaro: you're on fairlysafe ground there!',but at the same time expecting the topic of conversation to be changed.So far, my argumentshave been based on the assumptionthat Lazarois a cuckoldand knows it. Yet the likelihood is that he knowsno more than his friends. What hesees is what they see: his wife's comings and goings from the Archpriest'shouse -enough to provide suspicion, but not proof. The reader is not even told that thesevisits fall outside the hours when a servant might normally be required.' Withoutproof, Lazaro has no right to a separation from his wife. Yet if they continue tolive together, from what we have already glimpsed of his wife's character it seemscertain that if Lazaro were to challenge her protestations of fidelity in any way,such as by going back on his promise that she may continue in the Archpriest'sservice, the result could only be a life of constant and violent domestic quarrelling.Lazaro prefersto opt for the quiet life and to keep his promise.It is in this lack of firm evidence of adultery that the subtlest trap for thewould-be moralizer lies. We assumethat the Archpriestis guilty because this makesfor the funniest reading and is consistent with the anticlericalism of the rest of thenovel. But if we then go on to condemn Lazaro on this basis, when the onlyinformation we have is gossip, then once more we reveal our own moral weakness:our readiness to criticize others. We become no better than scandal-mongersourselves.The irony of this situation is that the very person we accuse is our moralsuperior.Whatever faultshe may have, Lazaro is remarkablyslow to passcommenton the moral defects of others, as Alberto del Monte has noted.2In the final tratado, believe that the author quite deliberately rations the factsthat he gives the reader, and invites him to enjoy the joke of Lazaro's consequentimmunity from criticism. Even on the assumption that the Archpriest is guilty,Lazaro is hardly the moral reprobatehe has been made out to be. But that assump-tion, if we make it, is ours alone. If on the basis of it we seek to point the finger atLazaro, then he can tease us much in the same way that a culprit might taunt thepolice by informally confessing to a crime, but laughingly challenging them toprove it, knowing full well that there is not a scrapof evidence which could providelegal proof of guilt. The policeman who in such circumstancesreacts by plantingfalse evidence to catch the criminal becomes a criminal himself.Before leaving the issues raised by Lazaro's behaviour, I turn finally to thequestion of the prologue, which has been regarded by some critics as an invitationto pass moral judgement on Lazaro. It is hard to see how this view could have

1 Except in the inferior text of the Alcalt edition, given in the appendix of Jones's edition.2Op. cit., 47.


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M. J. WOODS 595gained currency. After all, the speakerin the prologue is Lazaro himself. Whatevermoralisticconstructionwe put on his words there, it is hardly conceivable that he isencouraging us to criticize him more rigorously than he is prepared to criticizehimself. But in any case, the language of the prologue, with its constant stress onenjoyment, goes a long way towards denying any moral purpose. The obviousformula for any prologue was to admit to a desire to give both pleasure andprofit. Yet this book offers the reader 'algo que le agrade', or, for 'los que noahondaren tanto' - an ironic use of ahondar,ince one does not have to go deep togain pleasure- '(algo que) los deleite'. Unless we perversely see delight as lessinviting than pleasure,' there is no way that these words can be taken as a literalinvitation to probe the book's implications, moral or otherwise.As for Lazaro's comment that no work should be discarded 'siendo sin perjuicioy pudiendo sacar della algun fruto', this is part of a comic argument which placesthe book's qualities at their very lowest, and which quite deliberately talks in themost general terms possible. Provided somebody somewhere gets some benefitfrom something, even from a near disaster of a book, then that something ought notto be denied to the public. This is hardly the kind of argument that would beespoused by an author who is saying that his book has some specific moral pointsto put across. The stance Lazaro takes is close to that adopted by GregorioGonzalez in the prologue to his recently published picaresque novel, El GuitonHonofre I604). Despite criticizing those who recklesslyjustify publication of theirworkson the grounds that no book can be all bad, Gonzalez goes on to suggest thatsuch profit as the discretosmay gain from his book is not to be credited to theauthor: 'Si acaso hallaren en 1ealguna cosa que pueda ser de fruto la estimen comosalida a caso'.2But in Lazaro's case, thefruto is not even identified as a moral one. Taken in itscontext,fruto may even be ajocular referenceto the benefit which the author ratherthan the reader will gain from publication: 'Ninguna cosa se debria ... echar a mal... pudiendo sacar della algun fruto; porque si asi no fuese, muy pocos escribirianpara uno solo... y quieren ser recompensados, no con dineros, mas con que veany lean sus obras, y si hay de que, se las alaben.' Here Lazaro states that to refuse topublish a work is to deny its author the public acclaim which was his motive forwriting. No violence is done to the logic of this passage if we identify thefruto withthe recompensa.

The reader who seeks to moralize about Lazaro's behaviour, then, does souninvited by the prologue, and runs the risk of revealing flaws of his own in theprocess. In an analogous way, the reader's reaction to some of the religious situa-tions in the book may unwittingly lead him to display religious attitudes which,certainly judged from the Erasmian point of view, are suspect. For example, inconsidering the episode of the Pardoner'sfake miracle, a natural first reaction is tobe impressed by the scandalousnessof the Pardoner'sconduct, and to be amused bythe gullibility of the people who allow themselves to be deceived by him. Yet weerr if we assumebecause the Pardonerhas trickedhis congregationthat he wins andthey lose. Further consideration shows that the welfare of the congregation isdetermined not by the fraudulence of the Pardoner, but by the effectiveness or1 H. Mancing seems to do so in his discussion of the prologue, PMLA, go (I975), 426-32.2 Edited by Hazel Genereux Carrasco (Chapel Hill, I974).


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596 'Lazarillode Tormes'otherwise of indulgences. Supposing that the alguacilreally had been seized by afit: what then? From an Erasmian point of view, those same purchasers of in-dulgences would have been no less gullible: 'What am I to say about those whoenjoy deluding themselves with imaginary pardons for their sins? They measurethe length of their time in Purgatoryas if by water-clock, counting centuries,years,months, days and hours as though there were a mathematical table to count themaccurately.' Thus speaks Folly in Erasmus's Praiseof Folly.l On the other hand,from a traditionalist point of view, what again is the relevance of the Pardoner'strickery? If the Bulls themselvesare genuine, then their efficacyis not affected bythe subterfuge used to sell them. The priest has in fact done his congregation afavour.No doubt the fact that such a situationlooksmorallysuspectis an encourage-ment to call into question the belief that pardon can be mechanical. The episodeof the Pardoner makes the Erasmian point of view seem much more tenable.Another challenge to the reader's religious beliefs is set by Lazaro's descriptionof the Blind Man's prayers:En su oficioera un aguila;cientoy tantasoraciones abiade coro;un tonobajo,reposadomuysonablequehacia resonara iglesiadonderezaba,un rostrohumildey devotoque conmuybuencontinente oniacuandorezaba, in hacergestosnivisajes onboca ni ojos,comootros suelenhacer.Allendedesto,tenia otrasmil formasy manerasparasacar el dinero.Decia saberoraciones aramuchosy diversos fectos:para mujeresqueno parian,para asqueestabande parto,paralasqueeranmalcasadas, uesusmaridosasquisiesen ien....Con todoestoandabase odo el mundotras61,especialmentemujeres,quecuanto es deciacreian. (I. II3-28)Once again we have a satirical attack on the gullibility of the populace. Once againwe are tempted to relate gullibility and fraudulence. But supposing the BlindMan's prayers were genuine? Supposing the people get what they pay for -prayers directed towards the remedy of particular ills- what then? Suppose,even, that the Blind Man actually believed himself in the efficacy of his prayers?Would the people have been any less gullible? Let Erasmusspeak again:Couldanythingbe so foolish .. as thosewhopromisehemselvesupreme liss orrepeatingdailythosesevenshortversesof the holyPsalms the magicverseswhichsomedemon isbelieved ohavepointedout to St Bernard ... It ismuchthe samewhenseparatedistrictslay claimto theirownparticularaints.Eachone of these s assignedhisspecialpowersandhashisownspecialcult,so that onegivesrelief rom oothache,another tandsbywomen nchildbirth,a third returns tolenobjects,a fourthwill appearas a saviour orshipwrecks,anotherwill protect he flocks,and so on.2Even if the Blind Man's prayerswere genuine, would they not have been 'formasy maneras para sacar el dinero' ? It is a descriptionwhich many Erasmians wouldhave thought applicable to many of the rites of the Church, and relates to theissues raised by the sale of indulgences.Finally, when in the second tratado he Priest has the effrontery to tell Lazaro'Mejorvida tienes que el Papa', in concentrating quite naturally on the outrageous-ness of his remark we may be trapped into accepting in passingthat it is appropriatethat the Pope's life should be held up as the supreme example of luxury. If so, wewould have been caught in an attitude radically opposite to that of, say, that mostpowerful of Spanish Erasmians, CardinalJimenez de Cisneros,whose attempts to

1 As translated by Betty Radice, Penguin Books (Harmondsworth, 1971), p. 127.2 Op. cit., 128.


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M.J. WOODS 597discard the courtly trappingswhich traditionallywent with important ecclesiasticalposts met with a remonstration from the then Pope that he should maintain ahigher standard of living if his post was not to fall into disrepute.1These three examples provide subtle evidence of the possible Erasmiansympathies of the author of Lazarillo.What they have in common with the otherexamples of pitfalls for the unwary in this book is that they tempt the reader intomaking certain quite natural assumptions, assumptionswhich could only be madeby a person with flaws in his moral or religious attitudes. We make these assump-tions easily because our attention is diverted by our readiness to laugh at others,particularlywhen invited to do so. If we then recognize that we have been trappedinto accepting views which we would not normally have admitted to, then we canenjoy laughing at ourselves.

APPENDIXThelaw affectingriests'concubinesn thereignofFerdinand ndIsabella

The following extracts from legislation appearing in Las pragmaticasdel reyno (Seville, 1520),folios 78-79, give an interestingpicture of how dissolute priestsand corrupt police pursuedtheir various interests. Finding themselves obliged in I480 to reinstate the traditionalpenalties for mancebaseclerigos f a fine of a mark of silver,plus exile in the case of a repeatedoffence, Ferdinand and Isabella recall how only two years previously these penalties hadbeen lifted after representations from the clergy: 'Y despues aca somos informados quemuchos clerigos han tomado osadia de tener las mancebas publicamente: y ellas de sepublicar por sus mancebas desque no temen la pena de la dicha ley'.Subsequently a cartaof I487, issued in Zaragoza, forbade the police to enter priests'houses in pursuit of mancebas,n responseto a petition from the clergy of Segovia, 'diziendoque los corregidoresy alcaldes y los alguaziles y otrasjusticiasdessadicha cibdad: a causa delos fatigar y desonrraren sus casas: las catan y estan en assechancasdiziendo que tienenmancebas publicas: no seyendo ello assi: y biuiendo ellos casta y honestamente y comodeuen: y que so esta color los amenguan y desonrrany prenden algunas mugeres: y enlacarcel diz que las fazen confessarque son mancebas publicas delos dichos clerigos no loseyendo segun que mas largamente dixeron que parecia por vna pesquisa que por nuestromandado fue fecha en la dicha cibdad.'The alleged over-zealousnessof the police was furthercurbed by another cartaof I49I:E agora somos informadosque vos las dichasjusticias o alguno de vos queriendo executar ladicha ley prendays y aueys prendido y hazeys prender muchas mujeres casadas y otrasmujeres solteras, diziendo que son mancebas de clerigos y flayres, no lo seyendo publica-mente segun la dicha ley lo quiere. E que las dichas mugeresviendo se presas,vnas por nose ver diffamadas y otras por temor delas justicias confiessanque es verdad todo lo que lesquieren preguntar: y condenanlas enel marco de plata: y aun lo que peor es: que las dexanestar en su pecado alas que en el han incurrido. Otrosi nos es fecha relacion que si saben sialgun clerigo tiene acesso con alguna muger casada o soltera aunque sea secreta y oculta-mente: le aguardan y procuran dele tomar conella: y prender a ella y la cohechan y assimismo al dicho clerigo: el qual por no ser infamado diz que se dexa cohechar: alo qual dizque da causa la codicia que algunas de las justicias tienen por lleuar para si los marauedisque montan los dichos marcos: y por escusar los dichos inconuenientes y porque la dicha leyse guarde como y segun de derecho se deue guardar: mandamos que ninguna muger casadano pueda ser ni sea dicha manceba de clerigo para que por ello pueda ser ni sea penada nidemandada en juyzio ni fuera del: saluo si su marido la quisieseacusar. E otrosi mandamosque ninguna muger pueda ser dicho manceba de clerigo: saluo aquella que fuere mujersoltera: y que el tal clerigo la tenga publicamente por manceba: y que estas tales cada yquando ouieren de ser penadas por la primera y segunda vez pues no han de lleuar segunla dicha ley pena corporal saluo de marco y de destierro, que no puedan ser presas sin ser

1 See M. Bataillon, Erasmoy Espana(Mexico, 1956), p. 4.


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598 'Lazarillode Tormes'primeramente emplazadas y llamadas... y que no sean catadas ni buscadas sobre esto lascasas de los clerigos fasta tanto que las dichas mujeres sean condenadas como dicho es.E por quanto se dize que algunos casados consienten y dan lugar que sus mugeres estenpublicamente en aquel pecado con clerigos: mandamos a vos las dichas justicias: que caday quando esto supieredes, llamadas y oydas las tales personasy condenados como dicho es:executedes enellos las penas en que fallaredesque segun derecho han incurrido,para lo qualsi necessarioes, vos damos poder cumplido.The threat of action against complaisanthusbands in the concluding part of this law wasnot however sufficientto restrainthe clergy from taking full advantage of the relaxationsinthe law. Further modifications became necessary, the next announced in a carta of I502,issued in Seville:E agora somos informadosque despues que la dicha nuestra carta se dio: como algunos delos dichos clerigos estauan ciertos que aunque tuuiessen en sus casas sus mancebas: lasnuestrasjusticias no auian de entrar en ella gelas buscar y prender: han tomado y tienenmas osadia de tener publicamente mancebas de la que tuuieren si supieran que cada yquando las tuuieren en suscasas: las nuestras usticiasauian de entrara gelasbuscary prenderenellas. y porque assi como los que biuen honestamente es razon que sean honrradosy bientratados: assi es razon que alos que desta manera no biuieren no les de lugar a que se atrevana fazer lo que no deuan. en el nuestro consejofue acordado que deuiamos mandar dar estanuestra carta enla dicha razon. Por la qual declaramos y mandamos que cada y quando anoticia de vos las dichas nuestrasjusticiasveniere que algun clerigo tiene manceba publica yesta en sus casa: ayays [sic] vuestra informacion dello: y si la dicha informacion fuerebastante para que por ella segun las leyes de nuestrosreynosy lo que por nos esta mandado:la tal manceba de clerigo deua ser presa.Finally, a carta ssued in Madrid in 1503sought to stop abuses arisingout of the legislationof 1491, noting that some mancebasought immunity through marriage to complaisanthusbands (see above, p. 591):Y porque esto es cosa fea y de mal exemplo: y las tales mugeres casadasno pueden estar encasa de los dichos clerigos: ni ellos segun derecho las pueden ni deuen tener enellas: puessaben cierto que son personas sospechosas: y que tal sospecha no se quita por ser ellascasadas:por remediar lo susodicho y quitarocasion assi alos dichos clerigoscomo alas dichasmugeres que no biuan deshonestamente y como no deuen ... mandamos a vos las dichasnuestras usticias que cada y quando algunas de las mugeressusodichasestuuieren en casadelos dichos clerigos y beneficiados: que auida la informacion dello las punays y castigeysconforme al capitulo de las ordenansas por nos fechas en la villa de Madrid este presenteaniode mill y quinientos y dos afnos.que cerca desto disponen bien assi como si las talesmugeres no fuessen casadas: aunque sus maridos no las acusen y digan que no quieren:que vos las dichasjusticias las punays y castigueys. E porque esta prohibido que los clerigosno ayan de tener ni tengan en sus casasmugeressospechosas:mandamos que ninguna mugersospechosa desque se deua tener sospechaeste en casa de clerigo alguno aunque sea casada:y si lo estuiere: mandamos alas nuestrasjusticias que en sabiendo lo amonesten apartada-mente als tales mugeres que se salgan y aparten dela casa del tal clerigo: y si no lo fiziere:que les ponga termino y pena paraque lo fagan. TIVIJ. VVOODSKING'S COLLEGE, LONDON

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