El camino, published in 1950, is the third novel of Delibes and shows the author's ever renewed interest in perspectives on Man's struggle to understand his own nature in relation to the lives and events around himself. In his first novel, La sombra del cipres es alargada, published in 1948, the theme is pessimistic…. As though to counteract this unhappy determinism, Delibes' second novel, Aun es de dia, published in 1949, presents a gentle character of unbounded generosity and optimism, who has no material reason for being so, since his body is twisted, his surroundings depressing, and even the women he married evil. Thus the first two novels show the author's early, somewhat awkward efforts to portray first the destructive power of environment, and then the victory of Man's spirit over environment. Significantly, both books indicate Delibes' interest in the early formative years of his heroes.

El camino benefits greatly by what the author learned in these previous literary explorations. The protagonist Daniel, son of the town's cheesemaker, is a normal, active boy of eleven, whose large, inquisitive eyes earn him the nickname of Mochuelo, "owl." His father, Salvador, has determined that his son will have a better life than he and is sending him off to the city to school. The novel starts and ends in those fatal hours that mark the end of the old life and the beginning of the new. It asks the reader to question which way is better. (p. 748)

[The] novel makes no explicit judgment on the rightness or wrongness of improving oneself in order to have more status in society. It does make evident the struggle between the instincts and the demands of civilized conformity. And it does this through the real experiences and words of its characters. Expressed another way, El camino makes evident the struggle between forces affirming life, and others that deny it. The vulgar word which symbolizes the former in text is eso …

Here eso refers to the mother-child relationship as it symbolizes the force of life creating life generation after generation. Elsewhere in the text eso stands for the different aspects of sex and the life instinct which young boys explore in their curiosity to find out what life is all about. (p. 749)

In the pleasant valley which is the scene of El camino, the champion of the forces denying life is unquestionably Doña Lola, the Guindilla mayor. This peppery spinster earns her nickname early for her tireless and tiresome efforts to force every one within her reach to adhere to a rigid and inhumane morality. In her the repressive, deadly nature of the town culture is painfully represented….

The instincts have their champion in Paco, the blacksmith, who exemplifies most perfectly eso, defined as the urge to live. Weekdays he concentrates his energies at the forge in order to survive in society. But holidays and weekends his Herculean figure vents its dionysiac nature….

But Paco, the blacksmith is the father of Roque, el Moñigo, and not the father of Daniel. Consequently, Daniel finds himself in his own home face to face with the repressive reasons of his own father, Salvador, the cheese-maker. Salvador is a Promethean figure, seeking something better, trying to create culture at the price of pain. The irony of his name is immediately suggestive, since one must wonder for what purpose he is trying to "save" his son. (p. 750)

The absurdity of repression for conformity's sake—if not sufficiently clear here or in the personal example of Doña Lola, the Guindilla mayor—is demonstrated in many ways. First, nicknames. The town with its readiness to coin apt nicknames suggests the absurdity of the solemn, civilized convention of baptism. Even if their Christian names are also significant, the words Mochuelo, Moñigo, Tiñoso are much more descriptive of Daniel, Roque, and Germán…. Another absurdity is the pretension of grown-ups that they are wiser than children. When Salvador puts a bullet in Daniel's cheek while hunting, or when "Peón" has his pupils hold the Bible for punishment, their actions seem as foolish as the boys'….

Thus the values of the boys' world are upheld. The forces affirming life naturally lived are approved. Possibly, despite the final tears, there may still be hope for Daniel as he sets off for the city…. Perhaps he can protect against all reason the aspiration of his integral fulfillment. Besides, Daniel is not called "Daniel" or "Mochuelo" to no purpose. Like the owl he resembles, like his Biblical predecessor, he has eyes that can "see," perhaps command. Given a chance, Daniel may subdue the lions of repressive civilized reality. (p. 751)

In conclusion, if we were asked to state in a word what El camino is about, we would be tempted to say that it speaks positively, however vaguely, for eso. Trust the life instinct, whatever it is. (pp. 751-52)