Chapter 1
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Heath's Modern Language Series
TRES COMEDIAS
_SIN QUERER_
_DE PEQUEÑAS CAUSAS_...
_LOS INTERESES CREADOS_
POR
JACINTO BENAVENTE
EDITED BY JOHN VAN HORNE, Ph.D. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO
COPYRIGHT, 1918,
BY D. C. HEATH & CO.
2 B 3
Printed in U. S. A.
CONTEMPORARY SPANISH TEXTS
_General Editor_
FEDERICO DE ONÍS
Professor of Spanish Literature,
University of Salamanca and Columbia University
CONTEMPORARY SPANISH TEXTS
=1. Jacinto Benavente: Tres Comedias=, _Sin querer_, _De pequeñas causas_, _Los intereses creados_. Edited with notes and vocabulary by Professor JOHN VAN HORNE of the University of Illinois. xxxvi + 189 pages.
=2. Vicente Blasco Ibáñez: La Batalla del Marne= from _Los cuatro jinetes del Apocalipsis_. Edited with notes and vocabulary by Professor FEDERICO DE ONÍS of the University of Salamanca and Columbia University. xi + 201 pages.
=3. Gregorio Martínez Sierra: Canción de Cuna.= Edited with notes, direct-method exercises, and vocabulary by Professor AURELIO M. ESPINOSA of Stanford University. xxvi + 142 pages.
=4. Juan Ramón Jiménez: Platero y yo=. Edited with notes, direct-method exercises, and vocabulary by GERTRUDE M. WALSH of the North High School, Columbus, Ohio. xiv + 136 pages.
=5. Manuel Linares Rivas: El Abolengo=. Edited with direct-method exercises, notes, and vocabulary by Dr. PAUL G. MILLER, formerly Commissioner of Education of Porto Rico. xvi + 124 pages.
=6. Hill and Buceta: Antología de cuentos españoles:= Edited with direct-method exercises, notes, and vocabulary by Professor JOHN M. HILL of Indiana University, and Professor ERASMO BUCETA of the University of California. xvi + 257 pages.
ADVERTENCIA GENERAL
Con este volumen iniciamos la publicación de una nueva serie de textos para el uso general de las clases de español. Intentamos con ella responder a las nuevas necesidades creadas por el rápido y extraordinario crecimiento del estudio del español que a través de todo el país estamos en estos días presenciando. El caudal de textos utilizado para esta enseñanza necesita ser renovado y aumentado de acuerdo con las nuevas demandas.
No creemos equivocarnos al interpretar la transformación a que estamos asistiendo, no sólo como un aumento en el número de estudiantes y en la intensidad del estudio, sino como un cambio en la dirección y en los fines de éste. Hasta ahora dominaba una tendencia más bien literaria e histórica; desde ahora, aun continuada e intensificada ésta, el primer plano de interés en el estudio del español lo ocupa el interés práctico, político y comercial. Reconocido este hecho a él debemos ajustar nuestras normas y a sus necesidades tenemos que subvenir; pero hemos de apresurarnos a afirmar que entendemos grave error el considerar esos dos fines como antitéticos. El estudio práctico del español, para ser verdaderamente práctico y eficaz, requerirá en el mayor grado posible el conocimiento y el uso de las obras puramente literarias.
La lectura de textos literarios originales de autores españoles será siempre uno de los modos esenciales de llegar al conocimiento práctico de la lengua. Será además un insustituible medio de llegar a conocer la vida, las costumbres, el carácter y el espíritu de esos pueblos con los que nos ligan lazos múltiples. La transformación a que estamos asistiendo no deberá pues entenderse en ningún sentido ni en ningún caso como motivo de exclusión de los textos literarios en la enseñanza; pero sí habrá seguramente que escoger entre la literatura de esos países la que más se adapte a las nuevas necesidades. Parece evidente que el estudio del español se dirige ahora mucho más que antes a las realidades actuales de los pueblos hispánicos, y que por lo tanto la literatura que debe ser conocida y utilizada generalmente en las clases debe ser la literatura de hoy, la literatura actualmente viva, la que representa el espíritu y los ideales actuales de la gran comunidad hispana.
Se han utilizado con éxito hasta ahora (y se seguirán utilizando) ciertas manifestaciones literarias españolas pertenecientes sobre todo al siglo XIX; pero pueden contarse con los dedos de una mano las obras de autores rigurosamente contemporáneos y las de autores hispano-americanos que hasta ahora se han puesto en circulación. El gran caudal de la producción literaria contemporánea--que por otra parte tiene el interés de ser uno de los momentos más brillantes de la literatura española--permanece fuera de nuestras clases de español. Y esto es más grave si se tiene en cuenta que un cambio esencial se ha llevado a cabo en las postrimerías del siglo XIX en las tendencias y en los gustos literarios y por lo tanto en el espíritu colectivo, un cambio tal que significa la aparición de una nueva época claramente distinta y aun contradictoria de la anterior. Esta época es la que ahora se encuentra en su momento de plenitud y madurez. Los más de los escritores del siglo XIX han desaparecido ya, los que aun viven son escritores retardados en contradicción con el espíritu del tiempo, y la nueva generación de escritores que surgió a la vida literaria en los últimos diez años del siglo XIX se encuentra ahora, después de veinte o treinta años de labor, en la cumbra de su vida y con una gloriosa obra detrás.
El mérito y el valor relativo de los hombres de esa generación ha sido aquilatado por el público y la crítica españoles durante este tiempo y algunos de ellos han obtenido una consagración que les da, hasta donde el juicio contemporáneo puede llegar, el valor y la autoridad de escritores clásicos. Unos han visto abiertas las puertas de la Real Academia Española, otros ven sus obras publicadas en ediciones completas y en selecciones y antologías, todos ellos las han visto traducidas a las diversas lenguas europeas, y--lo que significa más que nada--todos ellos cuentan con la reputación, la autoridad y la influencia a través de la gran comunidad espiritual de los pueblos que hablan español.
Creemos llegado el momento de ofrecer a nuestros estudiantes lo mejor de este caudal literario, y para ello hemos concebido la publicación de una serie constituida por un número limitado de textos que sean ejemplos de primer orden de los diversos autores y de las diversas manifestaciones literarias modernas en España y en Hispano-América y que al mismo tiempo reúnan aquellas condiciones que los hagan aptos para la enseñanza práctica del idioma en nuestras escuelas y colegios.
La selección cuidadosa de los textos irá acompañada de ciertas innovaciones en la edición que tiendan a darle mayor eficacia práctica. Cada texto llevará una breve introducción escrita en español claro, puro y sencillo, destinada a ser leída en las clases por los alumnos mismos como parte del texto. Los profesores comprenderán la importancia que tiene preparar al alumno para la inteligencia de un texto y un autor que forman parte de las realidades actuales de los países cuya vida se pretende dar a conocer. El Sr. Onís, director de la serie, escribirá para ella dichas introducciones.
Las notas tendrán un carácter práctico; se pretenderá en ellas no sólo resolver las dificultades gramaticales y de significación, sino dar a conocer el valor que, respecto al uso de la lengua comúnmente hablada, tiene la lengua literaria empleada en el texto. Muchas de las obras irán acompañadas de ejercicios adecuados al grado de enseñanza a que la obra se considere destinada. En todo caso la obra irá acompañada de un vocabulario en el que se explicará suficientemente la significación y el valor usual del caudal lexicográfico, el cual, por su modernidad, ofrece muchas voces comunes que aun no han sido recogidas por los diccionarios.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
JACINTO BENAVENTE
SIN QUERER
DE PEQUEÑAS CAUSAS
LOS INTERESES CREADOS
NOTES
VOCABULARY
PREFACE
The text of this edition is taken from Benavente's _Teatro_, Librería de los Sucesores de Hernando, Madrid; _Sin querer_ comes from vol. 4, 2d ed., 1913; _De pequeñas causas_... from vol. 18, 1909; _Los intereses creados_ from vol. 16, 4th ed., 1914. A few obvious misprints are corrected; accentuation is made to conform to the regulations in the 1914 edition of the Spanish Academy Dictionary; punctuation is unchanged. The text proper is complete except for two slight omissions from _De pequeñas causas_..., both of which are mentioned in the notes. _Los intereses creados_ is chosen as one of the finest of Benavente's plays, and the one best suited to class use; the two shorter pieces are included to give an idea of the author's more normal manner. Although _De pequeñas causas_... was produced on the stage after _Los intereses creados_, it precedes it in this edition in order that the long play may stand at the end of the volume.
It is believed that these plays can be read to greatest advantage after students have had one year of Spanish. The Notes and Vocabulary have been prepared with that in mind, as much material as possible being placed in the Vocabulary rather than in the Notes. However, in the present dearth of good elementary texts, the book might be used toward the end of the first year; it is hoped that the vocabulary is adequate for such a purpose. The introduction aims to give as complete an account as space permits, of Benavente's dramatic career. Therefore, non-dramatic works, such as _De sobremesa_, are treated in much more summary fashion than they deserve.
The editor wishes to express his thanks to the author, Sr. D. Jacinto Benavente, for kind permission to edit these plays; to his father for careful reading and correction of introduction, notes and vocabulary; to Professor John D. Fitz-Gerald, and Dr. Homero Serís, of the University of Illinois, and to Mr. José G. García, of New York City, founder of the newspaper _Las Novedades_, for valuable suggestions on difficult points. Dean Roscoe Pound, of the Law School of Harvard University, kindly furnished suggestions as to the probable interpretation of Emiliano and Triberiano.
INTRODUCTION
=Benavente's Life.=--Jacinto Benavente y Martínez or Jacinto Benavente, as he is commonly known, was born in Madrid on August 12th, 1866. He attended school in his native city, studied law at the University there, and finally abandoned his thought of a legal career in order to devote himself to dramatic literature. Much intercourse with varied types of people has supplied him with the knowledge of human nature evident in his dramatic productions. Although he has traveled to a considerable extent, Madrid has been the center of nearly all his literary activity, and it is impossible to identify him with any other place. The principal events of his life have been associated with the theater, and are best reviewed in connection with the study of his dramatic career.
Mariano Benavente, the father of the author, was a physician and specialist in children's diseases, who came originally from Murcia. His influence upon his son is perhaps noticeable in the respect shown by the latter for the medical profession and in his fondness for children.[i.1]
=Devotion to the Stage.=--In an interview published in the Madrid periodical _La Esfera_ (in 1916) Benavente tells us that his affection for the theater was awakened at a very early age. He says that as a boy he took delight in fashioning little theatrical pieces in which he could act, and that his enthusiasm was aroused by the presentation rather than by the composition of such pieces. Even recently[i.2] he declared that he would rather have been a great actor than a writer of plays. In fact, he has been known to appear on the stage with the actress María Tubau and in some of his own productions, one of which was _Sin querer_.
Benavente is a peculiarly natural product of the stage. No one could give himself more whole-heartedly to his profession than he has done. He is interested in all theatrical matters: in the writing and presentation of plays, in actors, in the Madrid public which he praises and censures in turn, in the history and criticism of the drama, in aesthetic principles, in the relation between good art and financial success; in short, no detail escapes his notice. He likes to work with his audiences, to please and to amuse them, yet he does not lose sight of the serious mission of the drama. No outside interests have ever taken him for any considerable time from his true vocation. He is an excellent and well-rounded, but at the same time a delightfully spontaneous product of Spanish dramatic art.
=Minor Works.=--We are informed in the interview already mentioned that Benavente was forced to write several plays before he composed one that was accepted. In characteristically ironical style he asserts that it was not hard for him to gain a hearing, because his father was the physician of the theatrical manager to whom he made application. His earliest models, according to his own statement, were Shakespeare and Echegaray. Veneration for the great English dramatist is apparent in Benavente's entire career. The influence is perhaps most directly seen in the _Teatro fantástico_, the first in date of his published writings (1892). Short sketches and prose dialogues are contained in two other early volumes, _Figulinas_ and _Vilanos_. A fourth book containing youthful writings and entitled _Cartas de mujeres_ is a series of letters meant to illustrate the thoughts and the epistolary style of women. These letters have been much praised in Spain for their literary workmanship and for their insight into the feminine heart, a faculty which has always been considered one of the clearest manifestations of Benavente's genius.[i.3]
Other productions distinct from the central body of Benavente's dramatic works (the _Teatro_) are _De sobremesa_ and the _Teatro del pueblo_. The former, a collection in five volumes of weekly articles composed for _Los lunes_ of _El Imparcial_ (1908-1912), is the principal source for its author's views on dramatic criticism and on worldly affairs in general. The _Teatro del pueblo_ is a series of papers on subjects connected with the stage. Both these productions will be discussed after a review of the plays.
=List of Plays.=--The following titles are encountered, in the order here followed, in the twenty-two volumes of the _Teatro_. The date of the _estreno_ (first performance) and a brief description are given with each title.[i.4]
1894 October 6th. _El nido ajeno_ (comedy, three acts). 1896 October 21st. _Gente conocida_ (scenes of modern life, four acts). 1897 February 13th. _El marido de la Téllez_ (comedy sketch, one act). February 27th. _De alivio_ (monologue). October 31st. _Don Juan_ (translated from Molière). November 30th. _La farándula_ (comedy, two acts). 1898 November 7th. _La comida de las fieras_ (comedy, three acts). December 28th, _Teatro feminista_ (farce comedy with music, one act). 1899 March 11th. _Cuento de amor_ (from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night"). May 4th. _Operación quirúrgica_ (comedy, one act). December 7th. _Despedida cruel_ (comedy, one act). 1900 March 31st. _La gata de Angora_ (comedy, four acts). April 6th. _Viaje de instrucción_ (zarzuela). July 15th. _Por la herida_ (drama, one act). 1901 January 18th. _Modas_ (sketch, one act). January 19th. _Lo cursi_ (comedy, three acts). March 3rd. _Sin querer_ (comedy sketch, one act). July 19th. _Sacrificios_ (drama, three acts). October 8th. _La gobernadora_ (comedy, three acts). November 12th. _El primo Román_ (comedy, three acts). 1902 February 24th. _Amor de amar_ (comedy, two acts). March 17th. _¡Libertad!_ (translated from the Catalan of Rusiñol). April 18th. _El tren de los maridos_ (farce comedy, two acts). December 2nd. _Alma triunfante_ (drama, three acts). December 19th. _El automóvil_ (comedy, two acts). 1903 March 17th. _La noche del sábado_ (stage romance, five divisions). No date. _Los favoritos_ (adapted from episode in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"). March 23rd. _El hombrecito_ (comedy, three acts). October 29th. _Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle_ (translated from Dumas Pére). October 26th. _Por qué se ama_ (comedy, one act). November 20th. _Al natural_ (comedy, two acts). December 9th. _La casa de la dicha_ (drama, one act). March 16th. _El dragón de fuego_ (drama, three acts). 1904 March 15th. _Richelieu_ (translated from Bulwer-Lytton). No date. _La princesa Bebé_ (scenes of modern life, four acts). March 3rd. _No fumadores_ (farce, one act). 1905 April 13th. _Rosas de otoño_ (comedy, three acts). No date. _Buena boda_ (based on Augier). July 18th. _El susto de la condesa_ (dialogue). July 22nd. _Cuento inmoral_ (monologue). December 23rd. _La sobresalienta_ (farce with music). December 1st. _Los malhechores del bien_ (comedy, two acts). December 24th. _Las cigarras hormigas_ (farce comedy, three acts). 1906 February 22nd. _Más fuerte que el amor_ (drama, four acts). No date. _Manón Lescaut_ (adapted from the Abbé Prévost). 1907 February 8th. _Los buhos_ (comedy, three acts). February 21st. _Abuela y nieta_ (dialogue). No date. _La princesa sin corazón_ (fairy-tale). January 10th. _El amor asusta_ (comedy, one act). March 16th. _La copa encantada_ (adapted from Ariosto, one act zarzuela). November 7th. _Los ojos de los muertos_ (drama, three acts). No date. _La historia de Otelo_ (comedy, one act). No date. _La sonrisa de Gioconda_ (comedy sketch, one act). No date. _El último minué_ (comedy sketch, one act). September 21st. _Todos somos unos_ (farce with music). December 9th. _Los intereses creados_ (comedy of masks). 1908 February 22nd. _Señora ama_ (comedy, three acts). October 19th. _El marido de su viuda_ (comedy, one act). November 10th. _La fuerza bruta_ (comedy, one act). March 14th. _De pequeñas causas_... (comedy sketch, one act). December 23rd. _Hacia la verdad_ (scenes of modern life, three divisions). 1909 January 20th. _Por las nubes_ (comedy, two acts). April 10th. _De cerca_ (comedy, one act). No date. _¡A ver qué hace un hombre!_ (dramatic sketch, one act). October 14th. _La escuela de las princesas_ (comedy, three acts). December 1st. _La señorita se aburre_ (based on Tennyson, one act). December 20th. _El príncipe que todo lo aprendió en los libros_ (fairy-tale, two acts). December 20th. _Ganarse la vida_ (fairy-tale, one act). 1910 January 27th. _El nietecito_ (from Grimm's Fairy Tales, one act). 1911 November 9th. _La losa de los sueños_ (comedy, two acts). 1913 December 12th. _La malquerida_ (drama, three acts). 1914 March 25th. _El destino manda_ (from Hervieu). 1915 March 4th. _El collar de estrellas_ (comedy, four acts). No date. _La verdad_ (dialogue). December 22nd. _La propia estimación_ (comedy, two acts). 1916 February 14th. _Campo de armiño_ (comedy, three acts). May 4th. _La ciudad alegre y confiada_ (second part of _Los intereses creados_).[i.5]
It will be observed that the _Teatro_ includes nearly all varieties of dramatic output: one, two, three, and four act plays, monologues, dialogues, translations, adaptations, zarzuelas, farces, fairy-dramas, comedies, and tragedies.
=First Period.=--Between 1894 and 1901 Benavente produced eighteen plays on the Madrid stage. They represent, in a general way, the first phase of his dramatic career. The element that characterizes them most conspicuously is satire. Benavente holds up to scorn Spanish aristocratic society of the present day. He introduces to his audiences a succession of types whose failings and foibles are displayed with merciless precision. The author himself is concealed behind the array of personages whom he presents to the public.
Occasionally the reader will encounter a noble character isolated in the midst of selfish, amusement-seeking men, frivolous women, scheming parents and thoughtless sybarites. Such types, however, are comparatively rare; their function is to bring into stronger relief the general worthlessness of other characters. A woman is usually chosen to play the part of strength and virtue. This is by no means accidental. Study of Benavente reveals him as a defender of women; not at all their blind worshiper, it is true, but distinctly a sympathizer with their trials and problems.
It is to be noted that no character in any of these early plays is represented as utterly bad. That would be contrary to the author's conception of human nature. Benavente insists that no man or woman can be regarded as entirely perverse or entirely admirable. Although his attitude is nearly always objective, and his general method satirical or ironical, he evinces upon occasion the ability to sympathize with the very weaknesses of the persons whom he ridicules. If we will try to forget for a moment that Benavente is making fun of an idle aristocracy vainly seeking relief from boredom, we shall understand that we are brought face to face with individuals drawn from real life, whose principal attributes are a discouraging mediocrity and inability to rise above a certain level.
=Originality.=--Benavente has been accused of plagiarism in his early plays. The charge has been brought, particularly with reference to _Gente conocida_, that he borrowed the character of the strong woman from Ibsen. His reply to this censure argues that there was no conscious imitation. He declares that Henri Lavedan served as a model as much as any writer can be said to have done so. That is to say, Benavente wished to unfold a picture of life as it is, in a series of photographic scenes.[i.6] Such a species of play has always been preferred by him. In days of more mature power, when he was writing with a more obvious purpose, he lamented that he was no longer doing what was pleasing to him, but was catering to the desires of others.
It may be gathered from what has just been said that there is not a strong element of plot in these plays of Spanish society. The object is rather delineation of character. Among the longer plays _Gente conocida_, _La comida de las fieras_ and _Lo cursi_ have perhaps received the greatest attention. _Lo cursi_ is an excellent example of a skilfully constructed society comedy. Some of the shorter pieces, such as _Operación quirúrgica_, _Despedida cruel_, and _Por la herida_ are very effective. A glance at the list of plays shows that _Don Juan_, _La farándula_, _Cuento de amor_, and _Viaje de instrucción_ are unconnected in subject matter with the characteristic type just discussed.
It may not be amiss to call attention to Benavente's reason for choosing the aristocracy as a butt of ridicule. That he is not a mere vulgar reviler of rich and prominent people is shown by the following remarks, made in the course of a panegyric of the interest of the nobility in agriculture.
"If at times I have lashed our aristocracy, it was not on account of prejudice against it, but because, called upon to satirize, and considering the natural and roguish desire of the public to laugh at somebody's cost, it seemed to me more charitable to excite laughter at the expense of those who enjoy many advantages in life, rather than at the expense of the humble who toil and who suffer privations of all kinds. It has never seemed to me that hunger is a fit subject for laughter, and we know that in half of our comic plays hunger is the principal cause of merriment."[i.7]