Chapter 6

PEPA _y_ LUISA _también vestida para la reunión_

PEPA.--¡Digo! ¡Quién fuera señora para poder llevar todos esos perifollos! (_Viendo á Luisa._) ¡Anda! ¿También usted está compuesta?

LUISA.--¿Qué te parezco? ¿Me encuentras bien?

PEPA.--¡Ya lo creo! Parece usted Santa _Fislomena_, 20 la de la iglesia de mi pueblo.

LUISA.--¡Qué ocurrencia!

PEPA.--Que sí señora; que está usted pintiparada.

LUISA.--¿Cómo? ¿Pintada? ¿Se conoce mucho el colorete? 25

PEPA.--¿El _clorete_?

LUISA.--¿Se ve mucho?

PEPA.--Pero ¿_aonde_ tiene usted eso?

LUISA.--¡Aquí, en la cara, mujer!

PEPA.--¡Ah! Ahí no se conoce nada. Parece una rosa.

LUISA.--¡Qué susto me has dado! 5

PEPA.--Yo quisiera vestirme así.

LUISA.--¡Buena estarías! ¿Has visto al señorito Felipe?

PEPA.--Sí; volvió hace poco; pero se fué otra vez.

LUISA.--¡Ah! ¿Hablaría con mi madre, eh? 10

PEPA.--Creo que sí. Voy... (_Contestando á la voz de Carmen, que llama á Pepa._) Que sí, que está usted muy guapa, vamos. (_Sale primera izquierda._)

ESCENA XII

LUISA, _después_ PEPA

LUISA.--Si no fuera por el pobre Felipe, esta noche era ocasión de coquetear un poco con el teniente y darle 15 una lección. Pero Felipe es de los que se casan, y el otro es un trucha.

PEPA.--Bueno; en su cuarto, ya sé.

LUISA.--¿Dónde vas?

PEPA.--Á dejar el pantalón negro del señor en su 20 cuarto.

LUISA.--¡Ah! (¡Qué trabajo me cuesta darle gusto!) Yo lo llevaré. Allí habrá tijeras. (_Vase por el foro._)

PEPA.--¡Oh! Todas se llevan el pantalón. Por eso 25 dice el señor que aquí todos llevan pantalones menos él. ¡Y yo que no sabía por qué lo decía!

ESCENA XIII

PEPA _y_ JUAN _trayendo varios paquetes_

JUAN.--Cuarenta y ocho reales de gasto un hombre que no tiene más que treinta diarios. ¡Por vida de los bailes!

PEPA.--Señor, ¡si viera usted qué guapas están las señoritas! 5

JUAN.--¿Sí, eh? Pues si vieras cómo estoy yo...

PEPA.--¿Qué? ¿También se va usted á poner _disclotao_ como la señorita?

JUAN.--Sí, me voy á poner en guardia contra todos estos despilfarros. 10

PEPA.--¿Qué traje es ése?

JUAN.--Bueno; anda á fregar, hija mía, anda á fregar.

PEPA.--¿Está usted mal humorado?

JUAN.--No, cuestión de carácter. 15

PEPA.--¡Pues si es usted más bueno que el pan!

JUAN.--¿Que el pan bueno, eh? Sí, desgraciadamente. ¿Has visto tú mi pantalón negro?

PEPA.--Sí; la señorita Luisa lo llevaba ahora á su cuarto de usted. 20

JUAN.--Bueno; pues entrégales todo esto á las señoras cuando salgan, y di que estoy vistiéndome. ¿Hay luz en mi cuarto?

PEPA.--Las luces las tienen todas ocupadas las señoras. 25

JUAN.--Bueno; me vestiré á obscuras, ¿qué remedio? ¡Ay! ¡Dichoso bailecito!

ESCENA XIV

PEPA, DOÑA PAULA _y después_ CARMEN _y_ LUISA

PEPA.--No me parece que el señor tiene muchas ganas de componerse.

PAULA (_Vestida con exageración_).--¡Ea! Ya estoy corriente. ¿Dónde están las niñas?

PEPA.--Por ahí _drentro_. 5

PAULA (_Mirándose al espejo_).--Me parece que voy á dar golpe esta noche. Diles que salgan. ¡Ah! Ven, clávame un alfiler aquí detrás.

PEPA.--¿Detrás?

PAULA.--En la falda, mujer. Espera... ¿Tienes 10 las manos limpias?

PEPA.--Me parece que sí.

PAULA.--Lo dudo.

PEPA.--Sí, señora; me las lavé el domingo para salir á paseo. 15

PAULA.--Bueno; ya está bien.

CARMEN (_Saliendo con el abrigo puesto_).--Cuando quieras.

PAULA.--¿Está ya tu marido?

CARMEN.--Debe estar. 20

PAULA.--Pues venga el abrigo y en marcha. (_Se pone el abrigo._)

LUISA.--¡Ah! ¿Ya están ustedes?

PAULA.--Sí, anda, arréglate.

LUISA.--Volvió Felipe y le dijo usted que íbamos al 25 baile, ¿eh?

PAULA.--Naturalmente.

LUISA.--¡Pobre chico! Se habrá incomodado de nuestra informalidad.

PAULA.--¿Incomodado? ¡Vamos, cuando yo digo que sois vosotras las que estropeáis á los hombres!

LUISA.--Pero como le dijimos que nos dolía la 5 cabeza...

PAULA.--¡Claro! Y ya no nos duele.

CARMEN.--Pepa, tírame un poco del vestido. (_Pepa lo hace._)

PAULA.--Lo que tú has de hacer es poner buena cara 10 al teniente esta noche y no dormirte en las pajas.

LUISA (_Mirándose los guantes_).--¡Ay!... ¡Por vida!...

CARMEN.--¿Qué pasa?

LUISA.--Que tu marido es un torpe. Le digo que 15 sean de catorce botones, y no tienen más que doce.

PAULA.--Es un imbécil, hay que confesarlo.

CARMEN.--¡Bah! Lo mismo da.

LUISA.--Eso es; como no te los has de poner tú...

PAULA.--Lo ha hecho por fastidiar. 20

LUISA.--Después que acabo de cortarle el pantalón para que no vaya ridículo.

CARMEN.--¡Cómo! ¿Se lo has cortado más?

LUISA.--No; cuatro dedos sólo, lo que él me dijo.

PAULA.--¡Adiós! ¿Á que el muy animal nos lo ha 25 encargado á las tres?

ESCENA XV

DICHOS, JUAN _vestido de frac y con los pantalones negros cortos hasta la rodilla._

JUAN.--¡Ea! Cuando ustedes quieran.

CARMEN.--¡Jesús! (_Al verle los pantalones._)

LUISA (_Idem_).--¡Já, já! ¡Qué facha!

PAULA.--Pero ¿qué es eso?

JUAN.--¡María Santísima! (_Mirándose._) 5

PAULA.--¡Si me lo estaba temiendo!

JUAN.--Pero ¿qué les ha pasado á estos pantalones? ¡Si yo no los corté más que cuatro dedos!

LUISA.--¡Ah! ¿Tú también?

JUAN.--Sí. 10

CARMEN.--Y yo.

JUAN.--¿Eh?

PAULA.--Y yo, mameluco, y yo.

JUAN.--¡Demonio!

PAULA.--¿Á quién se le ocurre encargar á las tres 15 que te cortemos los pantalones?

JUAN.--¡Ay, ay, ay! ¡Una vez que han querido ustedes complacerme, se han lucido! Prefiero que continúen negándose á todo.

CARMEN.--¡Por torpe! 20

JUAN.--¡Un pantalón nuevo!

LUISA.--¿Y cómo vas á venir así?

JUAN.--¡Yo qué he de ir!

PAULA.--¿Cómo que no? Sácale unas medias mías, y va de calzón corto. 25

JUAN.--¡Señora!

PAULA.--¿Qué tememos?

CARMEN.--Tiene razón mamá; si ahora es moda.

JUAN.--Basta, señoras, basta. Si están cortos, no implica eso para que yo les sepa llevar una vez siquiera é impida que en mi casa mande nadie más que yo, ni se 5 me ponga en ridículo, ni se me...

PAULA.--¡Cómo! ¿Tú te atreves?

JUAN.--Sí, señora; me atrevo á todo.

PAULA.--¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Agua! ¡Agua!

LUISA.--¡Mamá! ¡Mamá! 10

PAULA.--¡Asesino!

CARMEN.--¡Infame!

JUAN.--(¡Adiós! ¡Metí la pata con calzón corto y todo!)

PAULA.--Pero no; sé cuál es tu intento: dejarnos sin 15 ir al baile, y no lo conseguirás. Vamos nosotras, vamos nosotras.

CARMEN.--Pero, mamá.

PAULA.--Vamos, vamos.

JUAN.--(Me alegro.) 20

PAULA.--Y usted viene por nosotras después.

JUAN.--Sí, vestido de lacayo.

PAULA.--Vamos, vamos.

ESCENA ÚLTIMA

DICHOS _y_ FELIPE

FELIPE.--Deténganse ustedes.

JUAN.--¿Eh? 25

PAULA.--¿Qué pasa?

FELIPE.--Nada; que me han hecho ustedes poner el frac otra vez; y ya no era necesario.

PAULA.--Pero, ¿qué ocurre?

FELIPE.--Que los de González acaban de recibir la noticia de la muerte de un pariente, y se ha suspendido 5 la reunión hasta nuevo aviso.

LUISA.--¡Qué fastidio!

JUAN.--(¡Me alegro!)

CARMEN.--¡Qué chasco!

PAULA.--¡Pariente... pariente! Eso es que los 10 muy trapisondistas quieren darse tono sin gastar un cuarto de esos que han hecho no se sabe cómo. Si yo lo temía.

JUAN.--¡Pero señora, por Dios!

PAULA.--¡Vaya usted enhoramala, mamarracho! 15

FELIPE (_Mirándole los pantalones_).--¡Calle! ¿Está usted de manga corta?

JUAN.--Para lo que me sirven... (_Á Felipe._)

No se haga usted ilusiones. Si insiste usted en casarse, 20 no hay más medio que entregarse y abdicar los pantalones. (_Al público._) Y si este cuento en acción á ustedes no desagrada, 25 concedan una palmada antes que caiga el telón.

NOTES

The heavy figures indicate pages; the light figures, lines.

LA MUELA DEL JUICIO

=1.=--3. =Franciscoo=; notice the emphatic lengthening of the final vowel.

5. =Voy á ponerte á la puerta de la calle= (i.e., discharge).

=2.=--9. =Unos por torpes... no se os puede sufrir=, literally, "some of you on account of (being) stupid, and others, on account of (being) indolent, cannot be endured"; trans. freely, _the stupidity of some of you servants, and the insolence of others, make you simply unbearable_; =no se os puede sufrir=, _one cannot endure you_, or _you cannot be endured_; the reflexive construction is widely used as a substitute for the passive voice. It is frequently rendered in English by the indefinite pronoun "one"; cf. French "on" and German "man."

10. =¡Vaya con los criados!= see voc. under _ir_.--=pagarles bien y tratarles bien=; the objective forms of the personal pronouns of the third person admit of double or alternate forms, which, though hardly sanctioned by the best usage, are found in reputable authors. _Les_ for _los_, as direct object plural (see above, _pagarles_, etc.), and _le_ for _lo_ as direct object singular when reference is made to things, are somewhat infrequent. Commoner are the forms _lo_ for _le_ as direct object masculine with reference to persons, and _la_ for _le_ (pl. _las_ for _les_) as indirect object feminine with reference to both persons and things. The student would do well to avoid these alternate forms.

13. =¡Se necesita más paciencia!= _what a lot of patience one needs!_ For =se=, see note =2=, 9.

=3.=--4. =¡Pero...!= _Goodness...!_; =pero= may be used as an emphatic interjection introducing exclamatory or interrogative phrases.

6. =Vamos, hombre, que no es para mi genio=, _well, it's simply this: my disposition won't stand for it_; =que= may be used elliptically at the beginning of a sentence or clause, frequently with an emphatic force that does not admit of translation. Its syntactical status may be explained by supplying a verbal expression, such as _no cabe duda_, upon which the clause introduced by _que_ may depend. For =hombre=, as an interjection, see line 17 of this page.

8. =¿Se puede?= see voc. under _poder_. For =se=, see note =2=, 9.

11. =Estoy sirviendo aquí hace tres meses=, _I have been employed here for three months_; an action begun in past time and continued in the present is expressed in English by the present tense, and the time-idea by "for." In Spanish the present tense is required and the time-idea is expressed by _hace_ or _desde hace_. Similarly, _estaba sirviendo aquí hacía tres meses_ would mean "I had been employed here for three months." But if the main verb is in the preterite, _hace_ followed by a time-clause is equivalent to "ago"; thus, ESTUVE _sirviendo aquí hace tres meses_, "I was employed here three months ago." For further examples of these two constructions, see voc. under _hacer_.

12. =Ya supe=, _I found out_; the preterite of _saber_ may express the idea of "learning," "finding out." The imperfect _sabía_ usually means "I knew."

17. =Hombre=, _why_, _what are you saying?_; _hombre_ as an interjection expresses surprise or remonstrance. It is addressed without connotation of sex to a woman as well as to a man, e.g., _hombre, ¿estás loca?_ "why, are you crazy, (woman)?"

18. =De que=, _that_; Spanish verbs usually retain before substantive clauses the prepositions which are associated with them before ordinary substantives. Here _de_ is retained as a reminiscence of its presence in such an expression as _alegrarse de una cosa_, "to be glad of a thing."

26. =confío en que=; for =en=, see previous note.

=4.=--7. =sigo la máxima del pobre porfiado... Erre que erre=, _I follow the maxim of the insistent beggar... keep at it_. The maxim referred to is _pobre porfiado saca mendrugo_, "the insistent beggar gets his crust of bread," i.e., "he who persists, wins his point."

9. =Lo que es á paciencia... le gane á usted=, _in the matter of being patient, there is no one who can get ahead of you_.

11. =¿Verdad que no?= _isn't that true?_ A conjunctive clause may be inferred after _que_. Atilano might say in full, continuing the idea of the previous statement, _¿Verdad que no hay quien me gane?_

16. =me he venido=; a few intransitive verbs undergo a change of meaning on being made reflexive. There may be a decided change of meaning; e.g., _ir_, "to go," _irse_, "to go away"; _dormir_, "to sleep," _dormirse_, "to go to sleep"; _marchar_, "to march," _marcharse_, "to go away." In a few verbs the change of meaning is imperceptible; e.g., _venirse_ (see above), which is practically equivalent to _venir_, "to come."

18. =¿Me das...?= _will you give me...?_ In familiar speech, the present is substituted for the future, to express vividly a future action and to emphasize the certainty of its occurrence.--=cerillita= (dim. of _cerilla_); the diminutive conveys to the Spaniard many fine distinctions not easy for the foreigner to seize. Besides their obvious diminutive sense, these diminutive endings may imply sympathy, familiar or intimate relations, comradeship, affection, pity, playful irony, entreaty, as well as depreciation or contemptuous pity. At times they merely create a mood or atmosphere. Thus mothers will address their children, and lovers each other, with an abundance of diminutives as a means of displaying tenderness, without causing any alteration of meaning in the word itself. Specific instances of the diminutive will be discussed later in their relation to the context. _cerillita_ here would help to show that don Atilano desires to be friendly and informal with Francisco, though it would not be impossible, were it intelligible in the context, for it to mean a "small match."

21. =Por lo visto... cuarta pregunta=. ATILANO.--=No, hijo mío... á la quinta=, _evidently you are_ "_hard up_." ATILANO.--_No, my dear fellow, I'm worse than_ "_hard up_." For =hijo mío=, see voc. under _hijo_.

=5.=--3. =¡Cuidado con lo que beben los empleados públicos!= _my, what a lot these government employés drink!_

5. =¡Qué cosas tiene don Atilano!= _how Atilano does carry on!_

11. =á todo el que venga=, _to whoever may come_.

16. =y tiene un genio que ya, ya=; it is difficult to give an exact rendering of this use of _ya, ya_, which conveys the idea that Raigón has a temper so bad that words cannot express it; trans. freely, _and Great Scott, what a temper he has!_

17. =recibe=, see note =4=, 18.

18. =hace que no nos vemos muchos años=, _we have not seen each other for many years_; see note =3=, 11. Notice the syntactical dislocation of _hace muchos años_.

21. =Francisquito=; the diminutive ending is used here with a cajoling purpose; see note =4=, 18.

24. =hombre=, see note =3=, 17.

28-29. =regaña,... recibe=, see note =4=, 18.

29. =¡Pues poquito gusto que tendrá en verme!= _why, he will be simply delighted to see me!_ _Poquito_, "quite a little," "a good deal": the inflection of the voice and the context give the above meaning to _poquito_, rather than the usual "very little."

=6.=--2. =... Atilano Fuentesaúco; acuérdate de los garbanzos.= _Fuentesaúco_ is a town in the province of León, about twenty-five miles southeast of Zamora. Fuentesaúco and its neighborhood are known for the excellent quality of the chick-peas (_garbanzos_) raised there. Atilano jokingly implies that if Francisco will remember where the chick-peas are raised, he will not forget his (Atilano's) name.

7. =llegan muy adentro=, _go far in_, i.e., reach the heart.

12. =lo de=, see voc. under _lo_.--=pobrecita=, diminutive implying pity and affection; see note =4=, 18.

=7.=--3. =Raigoncillo=; here the diminutive brings out the idea of affection (feigned, of course) and comradeship; _you dear old Raigón_ approximates the Spanish.

5. =Así lo entretenga dos horas=, _I hope to goodness he'll keep him for two hours_; for =lo=, see note =2=, 10.

18. =Bien, pues usted dirá=..., _well, what do you wish?_ i.e., "come to the point."

19. =¿Qué es eso de usted?= _the idea of using "usted" with me!_ i.e., "you ought to 'thee-and-thou' me, you know me so well." Former schoolmates would hardly address each other with the formal _usted_, but Raigón is disinclined to recall his early friendship with Atilano, divining, doubtless, the purpose of the latter's visit.

22. =bachillerato=; the _bachillerato_ is not to be confused with the degree of Bachelor of Arts conferred by reputable American colleges. It is a much more elementary course, more or less equivalent to that of our high schools, including, perhaps, some of the work of our Freshman and Sophomore years in college. Candidates prepare for the degree of _bachiller_ in the public and private _colegios_ and _institutos_. The degree itself is conferred after examination by the university.

=8.=--10. =Ése sí que ha hecho suerte=, _that fellow certainly has been lucky!_; _sí_ may be used as an expletive to emphasize an assertion. It is usually followed by _que_, and is best translated by "yes," "indeed," "certainly," or by some form of the emphatic auxiliary "do."

17. =Raigón=, see voc. for the joke on the meaning.

29. =dale que le das á la máquina=, _always working away at the machine_.

=9.=--8. =ni aun dispongo para=, _I haven't even the wherewithal to._

10. =¡Acabáramos!= _we have got to the end of it at last, have we!_ This seems to be a use of the _-ra_ form with the force of a simple preterite of the indicative (from the Latin pluperf. indic.), here with ironical effect.

=10.=--1. =Si siempre fué un adoquín=, _why, he always was a blockhead!_; the conjunction _si_ is frequently used at the beginning of a phrase to express surprise or expostulation.

3. =¡Cualquiera le pide nada á ese hombre!= _imagine anyone asking a favor of that man!_

9. =¿Qué ha de pasarme?= _what do you suppose is the matter with me?_

14. =sacarse una muela=, _to get a tooth pulled_.

16. =¡Qué sé yo!= literally, "what do I know?" Trans. freely, _I can't imagine!_

=11.=--1. =si=, see note =10=, 1.

3. =va de veras=, see voc. under _veras_.--=¡Que lo aguante su abuela!= _let his grandmother put up with him_ (i.e., "I won't").

8. =Esta casa es una romería=, i.e., in that Raigón's patients are as numerous as pilgrims at a shrine.

19. =¿Y tacaño? Es de lo que no hay=, _and stingy? why there is nothing like him_.

20. =Con decirle á usted que...=, _I have only to tell you_; a conclusion such as _todo queda dicho_ is necessary to complete the sentence.

21. =Es así.= (_Cerrando el puño._), meaning by the gesture that Raigón is "tight-fisted."

=12.=--9. =ganándonos=; _nos_ is the dative of advantage; express the idea with the preposition "for," _making for ourselves_, or omit in translation.

18. =si=, see note =10=, 1.

22. =Á ver=, _let's see; vamos á ver_ would be the full form.

25. =¡Y así, un jubileo y venga guita!= literally, "a jubilee and let money come"; trans. freely, _and so there will be a high old time and plenty of cash as well_; for further examples of this use of _venga_, see voc. under _venir_.

=13.=--2. =que=, see note =3=, 6; supply a verb like _mira_, "consider," upon which _que_ may depend.

18. =¿á qué viene...?= see voc. under _venir_.

22. =moría... mataba=; in the conclusion of a present condition "contrary to fact," we should expect the conditional (here, _moriría_, _mataría_), or the first form of the imperfect subjunctive (_muriera_, _matara_). The imperfect indicative may replace these subjunctive and conditional forms, especially in familiar and conversational style, adding emphasis and vividness to the verbal idea.

=14.=--10. =Verás=, _it's this way, you see..._; _verás_, _verá usted_, _verán ustedes_ are used to introduce or announce an explanatory statement.

28. =Si lo descubre, lo descubro todo=, _if she finds it out, I shall disclose everything_; a play on the two meanings of _descubrir_.

=15.=--1. =Pues para todo igual=, _I'm just that way in everything_.

2. =yo soy muy hombre para decirles=, _I'm thoroughly man enough to tell them_; _muy_ used immediately before nouns has the same value as when placed before adjectives; cf. _muy señor mío_, "dear Sir."

4. =La vecinita de la derecha... á la izquierda=, _my little neighbor who lives on the right_ (i.e., Inocencia) _has stolen from me what I have on the left_ (i.e., my heart).

10. =ya poco podemos tardar=, _we shall only have to wait a little longer_.

18. =muelita=, _dear little tooth_; here the diminutive does not necessarily imply that Inocencia's tooth is small, but that Lelis, the lover, views it with affection.

22. =Me voy á hacer=; _me_, the dative of advantage, is the indirect object of _hacer_. Its position before _voy_ is explained as follows: when a pronoun is governed by an infinitive, which is itself dependent upon another verb, the pronoun may be affixed to the infinitive or precede the main verb. Hence _voy á hacerme_ would be the alternate order.

=16.=--18. =figura irle instruyendo=, (_Francisco_) _is represented as giving him instructions, one after the other_; _ir_, in conjunction with the present participle, may denote progressive action.

20. =Se conoce que va á salir el que está=, _apparently, the person_ (_inside_) _there is going to come out_.

=17.=--16. =juntitos=, _close together_; an elusive use of the diminutive which hardly admits of translation. It suggests here the amorous attitude of the two lovers. Men speaking of "being together" would naturally use _juntos_, or _muy juntos_; lovers, _juntitos_, with the added suggestion of being pretty near together.

19. =¿Cuándo meteré yo la cabeza en alguna parte?= _when shall I ever accomplish anything?_

=18.=--7. =¿Pues no han de venir?= _why, of course they will come_.

17. =acento andaluz=; the speech of Andalucía, the southern-most province of Spain, is not a dialect in the sense that the languages spoken in León, the Asturias, and Aragón are. Andalusian has had no distinct historical development apart from Castilian, and its peculiarities indicate generally a distortion of Castilian sounds rather than the existence of independent forms. Besides having a characteristic intonation, the speech of Andalucía possesses, among others, the following characteristics: _c_ and _z_ are equivalent to _s_, and _s_ is frequently given the sound of _z_ (i.e., _dise_ for _dice_, _sapato_ for _zapato_, _uzté_ for _usted_, and _ezo_ for _eso_; _ll_ is pronounced as _y_ i.e., _cabayo_ for _caballo_); there may be an interchange of liquids like _l_ and _r_ (i.e., _er_ for _el_, _Albelto_ for _Alberto_); there is a persistent suppression or weakening of initial, medial, and especially final consonants (i.e., _ute_ for _usted_, _lo' rato'_ for _los ratos_, _ice_ for _dice_, _andao_ for _andado_, _pagá_ for _pagada_). Needless to say the speech of the educated Andalusian is free from most of these peculiarities. Many of the characteristics of Andalusian pronunciation persist in the speech of the Spanish-American countries which were settled to a considerable extent by southern Spaniards.

22. =soleá=, see voc. under _soleá_ for the play on the meanings of the word.

27. =¡Qué barbaridad, cómo viene este hombre!= _how awful, the condition this man is in!_