Gil Blas's life is a tapestry of adventure, ambition, and misfortune. From humble beginnings, he navigates through a world filled with trickery, danger, and intrigue. Despite numerous setbacks, he finds a measure of contentment, ultimately aspiring to a quiet life focused on family.

Early Life and Education

After leaving behind a life of battle, Blas of Santillane settles down with a chambermaid who, like him, is no longer in the bloom of youth. They make their home in Oviedo, where Blas takes on the modest role of a squire, while his wife enters domestic service. Their son, Gil, benefits from the presence of his uncle, Gil Perez, a rather short and exceedingly portly canon in the town. Without Perez’s intervention, Gil Blas would have been deprived of a proper education. The benevolent uncle secures a tutor for him, allowing Gil Blas to study the classics and delve into the intricacies of logic by the time he turns seventeen.

A Journey to Salamanca

When the time comes to carve out his own path, Gil Blas journeys to Salamanca to further his studies. His uncle equips him with forty pistoles and a mule for the journey. However, naivety soon leads him astray when he falls in with a muleteer’s group. The muleteer spins a deceitful tale about being robbed of a hundred pistoles, threatening arrest and torture to his passengers in a ploy to frighten them away and pursue his own lecherous intentions. Although Gil Blas briefly considers aiding a woman in distress, he flees upon the arrival of the authorities.

Captured by Bandits

In the wilderness, Gil Blas is discovered by a band of outlaws with a hidden lair nearby. Under the leadership of Captain Rolando, he finds himself conscripted as their servant. After an initial failed escape, he shifts tactics, deciding to win favor with the captain. Within half a year, Gil Blas earns a place within the gang and engages in their nefarious activities. During a violent attack on a carriage, the bandits murder the men and seize a woman of noble birth. Her virtue and dignity inspire Gil Blas to act. As the bandits sleep, he binds their cook and escapes with the woman, Doña Mencia. In gratitude for her rescue, she gifts him fine clothing and a purse of money, allowing him to continue on his journey with newfound wealth and comfort.

Service and Apprenticeship

As Gil Blas travels, he reconnects with Fabricio, an old school friend turned barber, who dismisses his academic ambitions. Persuaded by Fabricio, Gil Blas enters into service as a valet. He quickly masters the arts of flattery and scheming, acquiring experience from a series of employers, including Doctor Sangrado, a physician with a singular remedy for all ailments: copious water consumption and bloodletting. Gaining the doctor’s trust, Gil Blas is allowed to treat impoverished patients in his absence. During an outbreak, his success matches that of Sangrado; unfortunately, both their patients invariably die.

Entanglements and Disappointments

Another employer, Don Matthias, is a man of fashion and leisure. Through subtle theft and boldness, Gil Blas finds this lifestyle enjoyable. His days are leisurely and his nights filled with revelry. Aspiring to romance, he dons his master’s attire and seeks a lady among the town’s nobility. An elderly matchmaker arranges a meeting with a distinguished woman longing for a lover. However, his illusions shatter when he accompanies Don Matthias to Arsenia’s residence, an actress, and discovers his "grand lady" is merely a maid.

Romance and Deception

Following Don Matthias’s fatal duel, Gil Blas briefly stays with Arsenia before entering employment with Aurora, an honorable...