- Biography
- Birth and family
- Training and academic studies
- Performance as a lawyer
- Love in madrid
- Fruits as a playwright
- Destructive criticism and xenophobia
- Last years of Ruíz de Alarcón
- Plays
- First set of works (1628)
- Brief review of the most important works of this period
- The favors of the world
- The walls are listening
- The like himself
- Second set of works (1634)
- Brief review of the most important works of this period
- The pawns of a hoax
- The privileged breasts
- Other works by Juan Ruíz
- Brief review of the most important works
- Whoever goes wrong ends up
- The suspicious truth
- References
Juan Ruíz de Alarcón y Mendoza (1572-1639) was a Spanish writer and playwright born during the time of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, today Mexican territory. It belonged to the era of the Spanish Golden Age and stood out for its comedy characteristics.
Most of his works were characterized by having a character with qualities exceeded and different from the others, almost always difficult to understand. One of the most famous works of this author was The Suspicious Truth, with traits of Baroque art for its expressiveness and contrasts.
Juan Ruíz de Alarcón. Source: E. Gimeno, via Wikimedia Commons
Ruíz de Alarcón had thoughts and ideas oriented towards the moral and ethical; for him the virtues of the human being were cast aside within a hypocritical and lying world. In addition, he was a constant critic of the society of his time, both of vices and of customs.
Biography
Birth and family
Juan was born in Taxco, the former territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which is now known as Mexico. The date of his birth is December 27, 1572, although there are doubts about it.
His parents were the Spanish Pedro Ruíz de Alarcón and Leonor de Mendoza, whose family was dedicated to mining. The writer had four brothers.
Training and academic studies
There is little data on Juan Ruíz de Alarcón's childhood and adolescence, the same happens with his years of studies. It is known that part of his education was guided by the Jesuits in the San Pablo and San Pedro schools, where they taught him grammar, Latin, philosophy, poetry and theater.
Between 1596 and 1598 he studied high school, then began to study civil and canon law at the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico. Later he moved to the University of Salamanca to delve further into these careers.
During the period that he spent in Salamanca he began to develop his interest in essays and dramatic works. He also had the opportunity to meet Miguel de Cervantes, who influenced his work, when in 1606 he traveled to Seville to work as a lawyer.
In 1606 Alarcón returned to New Spain, later in 1609 he managed to obtain a degree in law. However, he was unable to complete his doctoral studies, perhaps due to lack of money. The playwright's previous studies were paid for by an aid given by a relative.
Performance as a lawyer
After graduating, the lawyer did some work in the courts, and in 1611 he was appointed advisor to the mayor of Mexico City, Garci López de Espinar. A year later, the Mexican court appointed him an investigating judge in a homicide.
In 1613 he made the decision to go to Spain, first to manage before the King some affairs of his brother Pedro, and secondly with the intention of obtaining a place in the Court. In October of that year, he arrived in Madrid, without obtaining immediate results in the work goal that he set.
Love in madrid
Three years after Alarcón arrived in Spain, he met Ángela de Cervantes, with whom he had a love relationship. The couple did not get married, but they had a daughter named Lorenza, who was born in 1617, and whom he recognized a few years later.
Fruits as a playwright
In Spain, Juan Ruíz took the opportunity to dedicate himself to producing theater, and that is how he managed to have one of the most fertile stages of his career as a playwright. Two of his first works were The walls hear and The favors of the world, which opened the doors of the literary circle of Madrid to him.
The writer gained recognition as a writer in 1617, through poems and plays. In 1622 he had already earned a place in the Literary Academy, and also participated in the work on the viceroy of Peru entitled: Some feats of the many of Don Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Cañete.
Destructive criticism and xenophobia
His success was marred by destructive criticism and ridicule from some of his colleagues, such as Luís de Góngora, Francisco de Quevedo, Tirso de Molina and Lope de Vega, who mocked his physique and origin. However, he knew how to face them with courage, and did not stop writing.
After Felipe IV came to the throne, theatrical activity gained great importance, and consequently Juan Ruíz benefited. The friendship he had with the nobleman and politician Ramiro Núñez gave him greater prominence. Between 1622 and 1624 his literary production increased.
Last years of Ruíz de Alarcón
Ruíz de Alarcón, in addition to his literary activity, also dedicated himself in 1625 to serve in the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies, in charge of advising the king on his duties. His income was getting better and better, which allowed him to live in a formidable and comfortable way.
During the first months of 1639 the health of the writer began to be deficient, although the problems that he presented are not known. However, it is known that he stopped going to the Council of the Indies. He died on August 4 of that same year in Madrid, three days after his will was made.
Plays
Ruíz de Alarcón's work was characterized by the harmony of language, and the care and logic with which he elaborated them. He used word play and proverbs as a way to teach and also to make his thoughts and ideals known.
As far as literary creation is concerned, Alarcón's work was structured chronologically in three stages. The first was born in Seville and New Spain between 1607 and 1612, the next was that of character comedies in the period from 1613 to 1618, and the last between 1619 and 1625, with themes on honor.
Now, when talking about the publication of these works, we have two major groups. The first, in 1628, with a total of 8 comedies, and the second in 1634, with a total of 11 works. There are also other scattered writings of unknown dates as far as creation is concerned, as is common throughout his work.
The following were his most important works:
First set of works (1628)
Brief review of the most important works of this period
The favors of the world
In this work the author tells a love story subjected to the criticism and evils of the enemy, which takes place within the genre of the comedy of entanglements. The protagonists, Anarda, a Castilian aristocrat, and the gentleman García Ruíz de Alarcón - perhaps a relative of the writer - fight for what they feel.
First of Juan Ruíz de Alarcón's comedies, cover. Source: Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, via Wikimedia Commons
The couple's enemies are Dona Julia and Juan de Luna, who conspire against the lovers to fill them with intrigue and make them separate. However, love overcomes hatred, and the lover fights bravely for his beloved, despite the fact that she is married.
Juan Ruiz manages to capture the attention of readers through the challenging decisions of the main character. Although it is comedy, the open ending available to the imagination of the reading public broke with the schemes that were established at the time in which it was presented.
The walls are listening
It has been considered one of the most recognized works of Spanish classical theater. It is the story of an unrequited love, where perhaps the author reflected himself through the protagonist, named Juan de Mendoza, who wants to conquer the love of Ana de Contreras.
The distinctive characteristics of the protagonist, his tenacity and his pure and deep love, end up triumphing before the verbiage and the gallant airs of Mendo, who also pretended to Ana. The psychological features of the work lie in the fact that the author thought he possessed the virtues of Juan de Mendoza.
The play is a tangled comedy, where the truths come out at the end, which means that there is no climate of tension during the development. Alarcón sought to teach the audience about the consequences of lying, so he always stood firm in conveying his moral principles.
The like himself
It was one of the first works written by the author, and perhaps that is why many scholars and critics describe it as only entertaining and of little interest. However, it is recognized that Alarcón harmoniously developed the dominant characteristics of his characters and the different actions.
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón set it in Seville, and tells the story of a young couple in love who go through various situations of entanglement. In terms of style, the influence of Miguel de Cervantes is observed, especially her novel El curioso impertinente.
Second set of works (1634)
Second part of the works of Juan Ruíz de Alarcón. Source: Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, via Wikimedia Commons
Brief review of the most important works of this period
The pawns of a hoax
Engraving of Juan Ruíz de Alarcón, by E. Gallo. Source: Eduardo I. Gallo, via Wikimedia Commons
Juan Ruiz de Alarcón exposed in this work the capacity of the human being to justify the lie in the name of love, all from his moral perspective, since he considered that man used masks to have power. History is full of conquests, entanglements and customs of the 16th and 17th centuries.
In this work the author showed many nuances of the city of Madrid of his time, and at the same time described various sites of the Villa and Court. The marked characteristics that some of the characters possess are in order to delve further into the ills of the Spanish society where they lived.
The privileged breasts
In this work, the playwright developed aspects related to justice and natural law, as well as circumstances typical of the Spanish government of his time. The political issue has enshrined it as one of the most important works of Ruiz de Alarcón.
The work is also known as Never Much Cost Little. It tells the story of King Alfonso V of León, who became involved with princesses of the Kingdom of Castile in the 11th century, according to the research captured by the theologian and historian Juan de Mariana in his work General History of Spain.
Ruiz de Alarcón maintained his ethical and moral thinking, and tried to expose the vices and the malfunction of the monarchy. In addition, it created a debate between the honor and the fidelity that every subject of the king must have to this. The comic characteristics of the characters are the author's own.
Other works by Juan Ruíz
Brief review of the most important works
Whoever goes wrong ends up
It is one of Alarcón's works for which the exact date of its creation is not known, but it is believed that it was published for the first time in the middle of the 18th century by Francisco de Leefdael from Seville. The author achieved a stupendous dramatic development by telling the story of a Moorish imitator named Román Ramírez.
The suspicious truth
It is believed that Ruiz de Alarcón wrote this work between 1618 and 1621. While investigations such as those of the Dominican intellectual and philosopher Pedro Henríquez Ureña maintain that it was performed in 1624, and belonged to the second set of the author's works, the one concerning 1634.
This work is the most famous of the playwright, it was oriented towards the judgment on lies. The story is based on a series of deceptions that the character of Don García creates to win Jacinta.
Alarcón was interested in making known the lack of values of the highest leaders of his time, due to the ridicule and criticism he suffered from some of his colleagues. The scholars of the work of this playwright consider that with this work he reached maturity and literary criteria.
References
- Tamaro, E. (2004-2019). Juan Ruíz de Alarcón. (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com.
- Juan Ruíz de Alarcón. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: wikipedia.org.
- Montero, J. (S. f.). The author: Juan Ruíz de Alarcón. Biography (1572-1639). Spain: Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com.
- Juan Ruíz de Alarcón. (2019). Cuba: Ecu Red. Recovered from: ecured.cu.
- Juan Ruiz de Alarcón. (2019). Spain: Spain is Culture. Recovered from: españaescultura.es.