Synopses

Abstract

The extraordinary beauty and virtue of Preciosa, a young gypsy dancer living in Madrid, attract the particular attention of two young men: Clemente, a page, dedicates poems to her, while don Juan de Cárcamo, a handsome young nobleman, agrees to prove the sincerity of his love for her by living among the gypsies for two years, assuming the name of Andrés Caballero (literally: Andrew Gentleman). When Clemente turns up in the gypsy camp, claiming to be in difficulties with the law, Andrés is convinced that he is a serious rival for Preciosa’s love. Eventually, persuaded by Preciosa, Andrés learns to conquer his jealousy and to accept Clemente as a friend. In a small town near Murcia, an innkeeper’s daughter, Juana Carducha, offers herself to Andrés, and then takes revenge for his refusal of her by planting ‘stolen’ silver plate in his baggage. While being arrested, Andrés kills a young soldier, the nephew of the local mayor, who had insulted him as a thieving gypsy. He is imprisoned in Murcia to await trial for theft and murder. Meanwhile Preciosa and her grandmother are lodged in the home of the Corregidor (chief magistrate). Preciosa pleads with him to save her fiancé, Andrés. Her grandmother now reveals that she had stolen Preciosa as a very young child from this same house. In proof, she produces some trinkets and a note recording the date of the theft and the real name of the child: doña Constanza de Azevedo y de Meneses. Preciosa's new-found parents are finally convinced that she is their daughter when they see the mole under her left breast and her webbed toe, the only blemishes on their baby girl's body. They are not displeased when Preciosa reveals the true identity of her ‘gypsy’ fiancé: he comes from just the right social background, and indeed his parents are friends of theirs. The Corregidor visits Andrés in prison and, without revealing that he knows his true identity, tells him that, if he really loves her – and as a special concession – he may marry his young gypsy girl before being executed the following day. That night Andrés is brought to the Corregidor's house, but because the proper procedures have not been observed the priest refuses to perform the ceremony.