A great man named Charles Darwin in his theory of evolution proposed that man comes from one common ancestor, but some instincts and genes are left the same. This idea of evolution links with today’s world as today we still have the same thoughts and ideas and some of us are corrupt and are the opposite of what we should be. This links with Lazarillo as coincidentally all the characters in this novella appear one way, but in reality they are the opposite. In reality these men such as the nobleman; the nobleman depicts himself as very well-dressed man, but as our main character Lazarillo finds out, the nobleman is a miser who lives off his parents money. Many such instances are throughout the book where church officials are doing un-holy actions. The characters in Lazarillo de Tormes appear holy and pure in one light but in truth all the characters are portrayed in a darker light.
Spain is a Christian dominant country and has been for several years including the time in which this book is set. Lazarillo de Tormes is primarily based upon members of the clergy being Lazarillo’s master. One would think these pious officials would follow Christian code such as: being helpful towards the needy and maintain abstinence, but during the book they do the opposite. Lazarillo’s second master portrays a selfish attitude that is very un-priest like when in the book it narrates, “He would give me all the bones after he gnawed them… saying the words: “Here, eat and rejoice, because the world is yours. You are better off than the Pope!” Lazarillo was famished at the time and the greedy pope offered him close to nothing which makes the priest rude and uncaring. Another example follows with the story of the archbishop when he says, “Since people see your wife leaving and entering my house. It is to your complete honor and hers that she does so, I promise you. In this moment Lazarillo is married and finds out that an Arch-Bishop and his wife are having an affair, this proves again that the Arch-Bishop did the un-pious thing. In reality an Arch-Bishop wouldn’t be allowed to have sexual relations, but in secret he is, which makes him a liar in reality.
It is an age old stereotype that rich people are generally mean people who don’t like to spend any money and live miserly. It is in Lazarillo de Tormes that the character of a nobleman takes the word miser to a whole new level. When Lazarillo meets his new master he sees that this man is well dressed and considerably rich. It is a long while later; Lazarillo realizes this assumption is dead wrong and that the nobleman is just a poor master who lives off his parent’s money. An example of his cheapness is when he says, “There’s nothing in the world that prolongs life like eating frugally.” The Nobleman really means that he does not want to waste money on food and will take any chance to eat for free. In the rest of the chapter the Nobleman begins to flirt with a few women and they expect him to pay for something and he reacts by saying, ” realizing that his pocket was cold and belly was hot, was seized with such a shiver that his face turned pale and he begun to get tongue tied and make feeble excuses.” It is thwarting to know that a nobleman gave the idea of two women up because he was too miserly and poor to do anything about this. This Nobleman in the later part of the chapter is found to receive money from his family and runs away from Lazarillo.
Lazarillo was moving up the ladder of success heading from one master to the next, but each showing their true colors in the end which makes him quit. It was that Lazarillo may have had many masters, but there were a multitude of reasons why he quit and sometimes he was with a master for a very short amount of time. One of his instances was with a Mercederian Friar who was extremely arrogant and had his way with everything. When one thinks of a Monk they think of a secluded quiet person who respects nature. In the book there are shocking examples that exemplify the exact opposite of this friar. An example is when the book narrates, “To whom the low class women directed me. They said he was a relative.” In this context it means that the friar used to go to prostitutes and also it is later mentioned that Lazarillo may have left because he was sexually abused by him. Lazarillo’s next dead end job was with a very crafty and sneaky indulgence seller who if you knew him would think he is secular. This man blatantly tricks people into buying indulgences and an example of him doing that is when he says, “When people didn’t buy indulgences readily, he sought ways for them to do it.” This explains the fact that Lazarillo and him both knew that it was not about selling indulgences, but it was about making money.
Lazarillo de Tormes is a fantastic book about the fortunes and misfortunes about a young boy who is learning the ropes. In the book many people give off a certain personality, but once Lazarillo “goes undercover” he finds those people to be cruel or fake. Lazarillo uncovers what the church is really about, how the clergy manipulates people and deep down is very corrupt. Not only are the church involved, but the nobleman and rich folk are lazy people who live off other people money even though they dress superbly. The characters in Lazarillo de Tormes appear holy and pure in one light but in truth all the characters are portrayed in a darker light. All the characters in a way helped Lazarillo grow as a person to be more successful because Lazarillo saw how people genuinely are..
