3 - The Criminal Leading Man as Brawler and Soldier

Summary

Antecedents to the Comedia Nueva and the Popularization of Theatrical Criminal Violence

The previous chapter cited common occurrences of comedia protagonists who behaved criminally and were subsequently pursued by law enforcement. The epitome of such characters is the theatrical valentón, a literary creation born of real-life social circumstances. In the seventeenth century, these circumstances often involved a military setting in which the valentón could fully realize his love for brawling and his expression of personal identity through violence. His behavior could achieve a heroic dimension in the service of Spain and the suppression of her enemies, but it also emphasized the military's dependence on criminal recruits and undermined the virtue of any imperial project. Before arriving at a careful examination of this counterproductive heroism, we shall examine antecedents that helped make a place for brawlers in fictionalized accounts on stage. As shown in our previous analysis of the jácara, there is long-standing tradition of romances celebrating criminal exploits, but at approximately the same time as Rodrigo de Reinosa was composing his proto-jácara, another author's work was making the most substantial contribution to the popularization of criminal violence in literature, especially in theater. This was Fernando de Rojas's masterpiece, La Celestina, which defies generic classification, but has a dialog-based format that makes it theatrical in two ways. Firstly, key information about the characters’ thoughts, actions, and background are conveyed almost entirely through speech. Secondly, the book was read aloud in a group, resembling, in early modern terms, a theater production, or at least some sort of rehearsal. Regarding characters and criminal behavior, the obvious examples are Sempronio and his protegée Pármeno. They end up killing Celestina for money and are subsequently killed themselves by the authorities, with their throats slit by an executioner in the town square. Less prominently featured in Rojas's original are Centurio and the briefly mentioned Traso el Cojo, and yet subesquent modifications and editions of Celestina feature entire additional acts named after these characters. Over time, there was an increasing demand for criminal types in the story.