Fuenteovejuna – Flashcards

the play has become a symbol of worldwide struggles against oppression

the duty to kill to defend honour was a major theme in Spanish plays. This and the fact that the plays were licensed and approved by the Church has led some to believe that the code expressed in the plays was accepted in ordinary life. Casuits agreed that honour and reputation were more valuable than property.

Tyrannical overlord of a village and leader of a military order (vowed celibacy!)

Overlord abducts and rapes women in the village. The villagers rise up and rebel against him, and refuse to name who killed him. Instead, they repeat "Fuenteovejuna lo ha hecho!" even under torture. They are pardoned by Ferdinand and Isabella.

1st published in 1619 but set in 15th century - civil war of succession and reconquista. Based on true event - realist play. Celebrated and reenacted in Fuenteovejuna each year.

eg Marcelino Mendendez y Pelayo viewed it as an example of Spanish patriotism and virtue (peasant appeal for protection of Crown seen as example of democracy) Line 665: "Catolico rey Fernando... en nombre de Ciudad Real a vuestro valor supremo humildes nos presentamos, real amparo pidiendo."

concerned with themes of peasant resistance and solidarity. They frequently cut the end (torture of 9 year old boy doesn't portray modern perception of democracy.)

The comendador is fighting for the losing side (Portugal). This subject comes up in the most exciting scenes so it seems unimportant. Line 630-635, Lope takes us from an attempted abduction to Isabella discussing the political situation. I.e. Lope de Vega didn't intend it to be an important theme.

Commander rebels at village level and thus the level of the King and Queen. Line 690: Fernan Gomez has a fief I.e he is a feudal lord and the village is entrusted to him. A feudal lord had a duty to the monarchy to protect and do his villagers justice. To abuse serfs is to rebel against monarchs.

Court papers show that women were involved in the real incident. This would have been shocking because women were not perceived to have the will to be violent. Lope's play: women even killed Gomez - adds to shock, exaggerates what happened. Women carrying weapons would have been astonishingly odd - reduces realism?

World is a machine held to together by an invisible force and divine love made it go round. This should be mirrored in society - it all revolved around the king. This harmony is ruined by human traits and disease. Women fighting (behaviour caused by commander) disrupts harmony, and it is restored afterwards when the commander is dead and the villages come together. Metaphor - commander disrupts harmony.

Represents corruption. Comendador is a townsman; he is corrupt and proposes treason. He is armed when he meets Laurencia,

Represents innocence. Laurencia is a country woman. She is a virgin and tries to maintain it. She is unarmed when she meets Gomez.

Power takes over and the commandor forgets to be polite. He as hunter, she as prey. He repeatedly uses this concept throughout the play. "No es malo venir siguiendo un corcillo temeroso y topar tan bella gama." She uses the polite form of address, he uses tu (offensive and over familiar, used less frequently than today). She thus offers to leave, thinking he finds her lowly presence offensive. He takes this as an insult. He becomes angry and threatening. She too becomes less polite, from su senoria to senor to vos. He ultimately gets so angry that he calls Frondoso a "perro villano."

Gomez is obsessed with honour and believes that this comes from his heritage. He believes that being a lord gives him rights. "perro villano"... "Vuestras mujers se honran," he both jibes the men and implies that the woman are fortunate and thus that he has the right to sleep with them. It is this that causes the village to revolt. Early in the 1st scene, he tells the master that the people of the countryside are "gentle humilde." Later, they revolt. He has transformed them into the opposite!

Scenes of torture (usually off stage) women tear apart comendador over honour.

Line 2240, Mengo is taken for whipping. Later, he refers back to this repeatedly - his pain becomes a joke! Even when drunk, he refers to his sore buttocks!

"sabe tambien que soy" hypocritical, talks about courtest but doesn't think it applies to him.

Comendador is in the 1st scene, then in the 2nd scene the people are talking about him

How does Lope create his character? NOT what is his character?

Modern day womanising is considered in a different way. If women were deflowered, they couldn't marry and had to go to a nunnery. It was considered that women were better off dead than deflowered. We have since lost our obsession with honour.

He can't accept when people don't follow his orders. Line 597: ¡Desdenes el otro día, pues, conmigo! ¡Bien, por Dios! There have to be reasons for his actions to make them convincing. Lope maintains that he is child-like i.e he can reason for things, but his logic is flawed, just like a child. eg line 1595. He thinks it's their fault that it happened on their wedding day because they picked that day. He has a reason, but it makes no logical sense.

Women carrying weapons would have been astonishingly odd, reduced realism? but: Many plays with corrupt crusaders had them die respectably because of the importance with which society regards their job. Interestingly in Lope's play he died as he actually did - realist.

In act 1, Mengo makes a speech in which he states that he believes love is entirely self-beneficial, which would make it selfish. His love makes the transition from selfish to unselfish when he is flogged and refuses to name the culprit. The comendador loves selfishly, he takes women for himself. Selfish love causes disharmony.

Frondoso buts himself at risk of death for his love of Laurencia, and is rewarded for it by Laurencia loving him. Unselfish love leads to harmony. Barrildo to Mengo: "Armonía es puro amor, porque el amor es concierto."

The characters call love what we would call gravity/respect. Comendador expects the villagers to love him. Today we would say we respect our bosses. They apply the term to things we wouldn't to reassert the theme.