Appearance and Reality in "Del Rey Abajo, Ninguno"

Abstract

In descriptions of Del rey abajo, ninguno, the well-liked play attributed to Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla,1 Garcia's honor conflict has customarily been considered its characterizing theme. Hurtado and Gonzailez Palencia, in their Historia de la literatura espaiiola,2 say, Esta obra muestra en pugna el sentimiento del honor y el respeto al Rey (p. 687). Ruiz Morcuende, in the prologue to his edition of the play,3 says that it is, ante todo, un drama que refleja el concepto que del honor tenian los espafioles del siglo XVII (p. 12). Carlos Ortigoza Vieyra, in a recent article,4 stresses the honor conflict, although he does not state that this is the play's basic theme. No one would deny that the play's dramatic appeal reaches its greatest intensity in the scenes in which Garcia is buffeted by his sense of outraged honor, his love for his wife, and his loyalty to the King. Nevertheless, I should like to suggest that there are other themes in this play which beg some treatment. Of these other themes, one may be described as the confusion between appearances and reality. Indeed, Garcia's honor crisis and the ensuing action are dependent upon this confusion, coupled with an act of villainy. I should like to propose this tentatively, then, as the underlying theme. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the manner in which the dramatist has presented this theme of appearances versus reality, availing himself of two other, subordinate, themes: 1) that of country life in contrast to court life and 2) Garcia's character versus Mendo's. But before proceeding further, it would be well to present a short summary of the action. In the play's opening scene, we witness Mendo's demand that King Alfonso XI concede him the right to wear the banda roja,6 to which he claims he is entitled by reason of noble lineage and service. The Count of Orgaz, who by royal command has investigated Mendo's ancestry, reports favorably to the courtier's pretensions. As Mendo reads to the King the letter concerning the aid offered for an expedition against Algeciras, Alfonso marvels at the size of the contribution made by a certain peasant, called Garcia del Castafiar, and at his great loyalty. The Count of Orgaz describes Garcia and his circumstances, not revealing, however, that the peasant and his wife, Blanca, are persons of noble blood who, because their parents, Count Garci Bermudo and Don Sancho de la Cerda, were accused of conspiring some twenty years ago against the young King, have lived unknown to Alfonso since their childhood. The King decides to go incognito, in the company of Mendo, to see this exceptional man. After the Count has left to