Lazarillo de Tormes (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: n/a
- First Published: 1553
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Picaresque
- Time of Work: Sixteenth century
- Setting: Spain
- Genres: Long fiction, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Tricks, Crime or criminals, Blindness or blind persons, Theft, Sixteenth century, Priests, Spain or Spanish people, Begging or beggars, Apprentices
- Locales: Spain
Characters Discussed
Lazarillo de Tormes (lah-sah- REE-yoh deh TOHR-mehs), so named because he was born in a mill over the River Tormes. Bereaved at an early age by the death of his father, Lazarillo is given by his impoverished mother to his first master, a blind beggar whose cruelty is precisely the kind of education the unfortunate lad needs to remove his naïvete and prepare him to exist in a cruel world that promises only hardships for him. Treated cruelly, Lazarillo learns all the tricks of providing himself with food and drink. Becoming sharp and witty, although keeping...
[The entire page is 1012 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
