SILVIA. No, padre mío; soy yo la que nada acepto, soy yo la que ha decompartir su suerte. Así le amo.
LEANDRO. Y sólo así puedo aceptar tu amor... ( Todos corren hacia Silviay Leandro. )
DOCTOR. ¿Qué dicen? ¿Están locos?
PANTALÓN. ¡Eso no puede ser!
HOSTELERO. ¡Lo aceptaréis todo!
ARLEQUÍN. Seréis felices y seréis ricos.
SEÑORA DE POLICHINELA. ¡Mi hija en la miseria! ¡Ese hombre
es unverdugo!
SIRENA. Ved que el amor es niño delicado y resiste pocas privaciones.
DOCTOR. ¡No ha de ser! Que el señor Polichinela firmará aquí mismoespléndida donación, como corresponde a una persona de
su calidad y a unpadre amantísimo. Escribid, escribid, señor Secretario, que a esto no hade oponerse nadie.
TODOS. ( Menos Polichinela. ) ¡Escribid, escribid!
DOCTOR. Y vosotros, jóvenes enamorados..., resignaos con las riquezas,que no conviene extremar escrúpulos que nadie agradece.
PANTALÓN. ( A Crispín. ) ¿Seremos pagados?
CRISPÍN. ¿Quién lo duda? Pero habéis de proclamar que el señor Leandronunca os engañó... Ved cómo se sacrifica por satisfaceros aceptando esariqueza, que ha de repugnar a sus sentimientos.
PANTALÓN. Siempre le creímos un noble caballero.
HOSTELERO. Siempre.
ARLEQUÍN. Todos lo creímos.
CAPITÁN. Y lo sostendremos siempre.
CRISPÍN. Y ahora, Doctor, ese proceso, ¿habrá tierra bastante en latierra para echarle encima?
DOCTOR. Mi previsión se anticipa a todo. Bastará con puntuar debidamentealgún concepto... Ved aquí: donde dice... «Y
resultando que si nodeclaró...», basta una coma, y dice: «Y
resultando que sí, nodeclaró...» Y aquí: «Y resultando que no, debe condenársele...», fuerala coma, y dice: «Y resultando que no debe condenársele...»
CRISPÍN. ¡Oh, admirable coma! ¡Maravillosa coma! ¡Genio de
la Justicia!¡Oráculo de la Ley! ¡Monstruo de la Jurisprudencia!
DOCTOR. Ahora confío en la grandeza de tu señor.
CRISPÍN. Descuidad. Nadie mejor que vos sabe cómo el dinero
puedecambiar a un hombre.
SECRETARIO. Yo fui el que puso y quitó esas comas...
CRISPÍN. En espera de algo mejor... Tomad esta cadena. Es de oro.
SECRETARIO. ¿De ley?[104.1]
CRISPÍN. Vos lo sabréis que entendéis de leyes...
POLICHINELA. Sólo impondré una condición. Que este pícaro deje parasiempre de estar a tu servicio.
CRISPÍN. No necesitáis pedirlo, señor Polichinela. ¿Pensáis que soy tanpobre de ambiciones como mi señor?
LEANDRO. ¿Quieres dejarme, Crispín? No será sin tristeza de mi parte.
CRISPÍN. No la tengáis, que ya de nada puedo serviros y conmigo dejáisla piel del hombre viejo... ¿Qué os dije, señor?
Que entre todos habíande salvarnos... Creedlo. Para salir adelante con todo, mejor que crearafectos es crear intereses...
LEANDRO. Te engañas, que sin el amor de Silvia, nunca me hubierasalvado.
CRISPÍN. ¿Y es poco interés ese amor? Yo di siempre su parte al ideal yconté con él siempre. Y ahora, acabó la farsa.
SILVIA. ( Al público. ) Y en ella visteis, como en las farsas de lavida, que a estos muñecos como a los humanos, muévenlos cordelillosgroseros, que son los intereses, las pasioncillas, los engaños y todaslas miserias de su condición: tiran unos de sus pies y los llevan atristes andanzas; tiran otros de sus manos, que trabajan con pena,luchan con rabia, hurtan con astucia, matan con violencia. Pero entretodos ellos, desciende a veces del cielo al corazón un hilo sutil, comotejido con luz de sol y con luz de luna, el hilo del amor, que a loshumanos, como a estos muñecos que semejan humanos, les hace parecerdivinos, y trae a nuestra frente resplandores de aurora, y pone alas ennuestro corazón y nos dice que no todo es farsa en la farsa, que hayalgo divino en nuestra vida que es verdad y es eterno y no puede acabarcuando la farsa acaba.
NOTES
With few exceptions the Notes contain only words and locutions thatrequire more than translation or a word or two of simple explanation;for other forms see vocabulary.
Grammatical references, when not given in full, are as follows: Ramsey = M. M. Ramsey, A Text Book of Modern Spanish, New York, 1894.
Bello-Cuervo = Andrés Bello, Gramática de la lengua castellana... conextensas notas y un copioso índice alfabético de D. Rufino José Cuervo,Paris, 1908.
SIN QUERER
This one-act comedy illustrates Benavente's fondness for ironical andsurprising situations. It is characteristic of the time when he was wontto make fun of the aristocratic circles of Madrid. The ostensiblepurpose of the play is to ridicule the traditional manner of arrangingmarriages in Spain. Joined to this is the more simple idea of amusingthe audience. It is interesting to note that Benavente himself acted thepart of Pepe in the first production of the piece, thereby demonstratinghis close relationship with the practical side of the theater. TheTeatro de la Comedia, where the sketch was first shown, is on the Calledel Príncipe, near the Puerta del Sol, in Madrid. It is devoted tohigh-class comedy. Press notices attest that Sin querer was wellreceived by the public.
con que 'provided,' 'if only.' The meaning of
thisconjunction varies according to whether it is followed by the indicativeor the subjunctive. See vocabulary, under con.
[3.2] que pase 'let him come in.' Here que introduces theimperative of the third person; the different uses of que must becarefully distinguished in the three plays of this volume.
[3.3] nos avisas. The present indicative, instead of the futureor imperative, for greater vividness.
[3.4] Porque me haya usted oído 'Because you may have heardme.' Porque does not influence the mood of haya; the subjunctive isgoverned by an idea of possibility not expressed, but which might beindicated by es posible or by se puede.
[3.5] una. An indefinite subject, indicated in English by'one,'
'we,' 'you,' 'they,' 'people,' etc., is usually expressed inSpanish by the reflexive. The pronoun uno or una may, however, replacese and it tends to make the subject less vague.
[3.6] Tratándose de usted 'When you are concerned.'
Participialconstructions (whether the participle be present or past) are frequentlybest translated by dependent clauses.
[3.7] al pasar 'in passing,' 'when you pass.' The common use ofal with the infinitive, where English has a dependent clause or thepresent participle governed usually by 'in,' 'on,' 'upon,'
'while,'etc.
[4.1] hombre. A common form of emphatic address, sometimes tobe translated and sometimes to be omitted according to the Englishcontext; mujer is similarly employed.
[4.2] Ya supondrás 'Of course you must suppose' (or
'imagine').The future tense denoting probability is especially prominent inconversation and therefore in the drama, and must be watched closely. Itmay be translated by 'must' or 'can,' or by such words as 'probably,''quite,' 'of course.' Ya frequently accompanies it.
[4.3] nuestro corazón. When reference is made to a part of thebody common to two or more individuals of a group, or to an objectpossessed by each one of them, Spanish, unlike English, generallyemploys a singular noun.
[4.4] de... a. Correlative prepositions equivalent to 'between...
and.'
[4.5] hemos de 'should.' Perhaps no Spanish locution assumes somany shades of meaning as haber de. It may be rendered by any of thelarge number of English words and phrases that denote a mild obligation.When it occurs in this text, the list of meanings in the vocabularyshould be consulted and the most appropriate one chosen. Moreover, thereader has ample
opportunity, in particular cases, to improve upon anygiven list of meanings.
[5.1] habrá dicho 'must have told.' The future perfect ofprobability; cf. [4.2].
[5.2] es hora de que 'it is time that.' Many verbs, adjectives,and nouns require a preposition before an infinitive in Spanish and inEnglish. Thus, es hora de comer means 'it is time to eat.' But whereasin English this preposition is omitted before a dependent clauseintroduced by 'that,' in Spanish it is usually retained.
[5.3] Real (el). A theater in Madrid on the Plaza de Orientenear the Royal Palace; it is subsidized by the government and is devotedto opera.
[5.4] Lo que es 'As for.' A peculiar use of lo que with ser, tobe distinguished from its ordinary meanings and from its meanings inexclamations.
[5.5] tercer turno. A term designating one of the sections ofseason ticket holders at the Teatro Real. One group holds tickets ofprimer turno, another of segundo turno, and a third of tercer turno.Each group attends only the performances belonging to its turn orsection. The terms do not give much satisfaction if translatedliterally.
[5.6] no le importaría 'he wouldn't mind.' Impersonal verbsoccur much more frequently in Spanish than in English, and it is oftenwise, in translating, to change to the personal construction (cf.translation of tratándose, [3.6]). However, the impersonal formmay well be retained, if appropriate. In this book consideration is tobe given to such verbs as antojarse, bastar, constar, convenir, gustar, importar, pasar, pesar, placer, sentar, sobrar, suceder, tardarse, tratarse, etc. The vocabulary suggests various translations.
[5.7] desde muy niña 'since you were very young.' Here muy iscorrect because, in this context, niña is virtually an adjective; cf. muy hombre, muy maestro, and the English 'very much a man.'
[6.1] ¡Ay, si lo sé! 'Indeed I do know it,' 'Of course I knowit.' It is not unusual to find si after interjections; cf. ¡vaya si losé!
Here
si,
meaning
'whether,'
may
be
regarded
as
grammaticallydependent upon some verb of asking understood.
[6.2] no estás para 'you are not in a position to.' The idiomhere has a different meaning from the usual 'be about to.'
[6.3] que. Here elliptical and emphatic; que often occurs atthe beginning of a clause, and serves to call attention to what follows,thereby intensifying the statement; such a que cannot be translated. Tounderstand it we may supply some such word as parece, hay, sucede, etc.
[6.4] nosotros. Note the emphatic position of this word,stressed by the insertion of se puede decir que.
[6.5] ¿Cómo había de importarme? 'How could I have cared?'
See note [4.5].
[6.6] Estaba seguro de que 'I was sure that.'See note [5.2].
[6.7] enamoradilla 'slightly in love.' The exact force ofcertain Spanish augmentatives and diminutives cannot readily be given inEnglish. An effort has been made in the vocabulary to suggest suitabletranslations wherever a fair degree of accuracy seems attainable.
[6.8] no se diga 'there's no denying it,' 'there's no usetalking.'
Decir
is
used
in
several
exclamatory
or
semi-
exclamatoryexpressions where a different verb would often be employed in English.Attention will be called to other examples.
[7.1] Fulanito... Menganito. Fulano regularly corresponds toSo-and-So, John Doe, etc. If a second name is desired, Mengano or Zutanois used. The diminutive can scarcely be translated.
[7.2] cómo se va avispando 'how clever he is getting.'
Inprogressive tenses, ir emphasizes, more strongly than estar, continuityof action.
[7.3] tonterías. Contrary to English usage, abstract nouns areoften put in the plural. Translations of such forms are suggested invarious ways in the vocabulary.
[7.4] ¿Qué iba yo a cambiar...? 'What was I going to change ina saint [if I married one]?' i.e. 'What could I change?'
Theconditional of poder would be an obvious conventional form, but theimperfect indicative and the verb ir add strength to the question; cf.the English 'What are you going to do about it?'
[7.5] de gran espectáculo, con mutaciones. Pepe borrows fromtheatrical language to describe vividly the kind of husband for whomLuisa professes admiration.
[7.6] me parece. See note [5.6].
[7.7] Si yo no tengo secretos 'Why, I haven't any secrets.' Siis often to be translated by 'why,' 'well,' or 'of course,' expressiveof surprise or expostulation. A clause is suppressed for brevity.
Thefull form would be something like this—Si yo no tengo secretos... ¿cómoquieres que te lo diga?
[7.8] formal. Used by Luisa to mean 'real,' 'genuine'; Pepepretends to take it in its sense of 'serious' or 'sensible.'
[7.9] Digo 'I mean.' See note [6.8].
[8.1] pareció. According to strict rule, the preterit tense mayindicate any definite past action, even if it took place only a momentago. However, for actions so recent that they almost touch the present,the perfect ( e.g. ha parecido) is the common tense. The preterit, whensparingly and skilfully applied, adds variety and vigor to the phrase.It is especially preferred in describing something inevitable. TheEnglish translation requires the perfect ( e.g. 'has appeared') or(occasionally) even the present.
[8.2] quieras que no 'whether you like it or not.' The fullform is que quieras o que no quieras; que quieras que no and quieras ono quieras are also found. Ramsey, § 940, says: "The alternativeexpressions
made
by
the
subjunctive
used
independently may be regardedas modifications of the
imperative, in which the thing commanded is soindeterminate that they are mere general permissions." See also, §§ 941,942.
[8.3] orejita. See note [6.7].
[8.4] la tienes. A frequent conversational substitute forestar, which here would give está cantando.
[9.1] podía. The imperfect indicative sometimes replaces theconditional or the -ra form of the imperfect subjunctive in theconclusion of a conditional sentence contrary to fact.
Cf.Bello-Cuervo, § 695: "This use of the imperfect indicative does notoccur often; but when properly used it is emphatic and elegant." See [7.4].
[9.2] quien. Note the singular form with a plural antecedent,still found occasionally; quien (from the Latin quem) had no pluraluntil the sixteenth century; see Menéndez Pidal, Gramática históricaespañola, § 101.
[9.3] que todo se quede en casa 'that it should all remain afamily matter.'
[10.1] que lo envolvía todo 'that enveloped it all.' See note
[10.2] Sí. The affirmative adverb sí is much used to intensifystatements, or to repeat the idea contained in a preceding statement. Itis equivalent to 'indeed,' 'surely,' 'of course,' etc., or to theEnglish auxiliary verbs used in repetitions; for instance in "I have notgone to town but he has," the verb
'has' may be rendered by sí.
[10.3] en lo único que 'the only thing in which.' The wordorder, although not strictly logical, is correct and even elegant.
Inexpressions containing lo que, prepositions which logically govern queare often placed before lo.
[11.1] serían. Following me atrevo, present, we should expectserán, but serían exemplifies the occasional inaccuracy of everydayspeech. Luisa is narrating past happenings, and is therefore influencedby the standpoint of the past.
[11.2] está. Supply diciendo.
[11.3] que is elliptical; see note [6.3].
cariñosa. A predicate adjective modifying the
subject;English uses an adverb modifying the verb.
[11.5] que en qué cosas me fijo. This que, not translatable, isrequired to connect dirás with the following indirect question, and veryoften joins decir to succeeding words or statements; cf.
decir que síetc.
por
complacer.
Before
an
infinitive
por
ordinarilyexpresses cause or reason; when substituted for para to indicatepurpose, as here, it implies that the attainment of the object isuncertain; por que is sometimes similarly used instead of para que.
[12.2] porque a ellos les conviniera 'because it might suit them.'
See note [3.4].
[12.3] nunca lo hubiera habido 'there never would have beenany.' Lo refers to a preceding word, phrase, or idea (in this case todesaire), and is translated (if at all) by 'one,' 'some,' 'any,'
or'so.' Hubiera habido is the pluperfect subjunctive of haber in theimpersonal sense.
[12.4] por no contrariar. See note [12.1].
[12.5] pero. Used to reinforce the repetition; cf. mais inFrench, and the occasional use in English of the word 'and,' which isnot unsuitable here.
[14.1] ¿A qué ha venido? 'For what has he come?' 'Why has hecome?' This use of a is parallel to its use before an infinitive aftervenir and other intransitive verbs of motion. In this case a expressespurpose.
[15.1] se. Ethical dative, best omitted in translation;analysis shows that the pronoun contains an idea of advantage, or atleast of reference, to the subject.
[15.2] del botarate de su hijo 'of his madcap of a son.'
InSpanish, as in English, the preposition merely denotes that what followsis appositive. There is no change of identity. In Spanish, thisconstruction is more comprehensive than in English: el bueno de Juan.Note la ciudad de Madrid 'the city of Madrid.'
[15.3] todo lo. When todo precedes a verb of which it is theobject, lo also must be used. When todo follows the verb, lo may beused, but is not required. See note [10.1].
[15.4] sin contar... con. See vocabulary under contar, and
DE PEQUEÑAS CAUSAS
De pequeñas causas... illustrates Benavente's satirical vein. It seemsto have been written chiefly to amuse; but the plot amply allows forcharacter study. The pettiness of the reason that finally induces Manuelto remain in the ministry reminds the listener or reader of the author'sdelight in details and in ironical situations.
The Teatro de laPrincesa, where the comedy was first performed, is on the Calle deTamayo near the Paseo de Recoletos in Madrid. This theater is devoted tothe production of high-class comedy. Contemporary press reports statethat De pequeñas causas... was well received. The implication in thetitle is that from small causes proceed great results.
[19.1] está. Supply en casa.
[19.2] para mí sí 'for me he is' ; cf. [10.2].
[19.3] Nada. Incomplete in itself; here we might translate:'Don't say anything,' 'There's no use talking,' 'Not a word.'
[19.4] guste. The personal use of gustar; see vocabulary.
[20.1] señor... señor. The first señor refers to