Peribáñez by Lope de Vega Carpio
"Peribáñez" is a celebrated three-act comedia by the renowned Spanish playwright Lope de Vega Carpio, highlighting themes of love, honor, and social justice. The narrative follows Peribáñez, a young farmer, and his bride, Casilda, as they navigate the challenges posed by the local nobleman, the Commander of Ocaña, who becomes infatuated with Casilda after recovering from an accident at their home. The play opens with a vivid wedding scene that showcases the couple's affection and aspirations, which are soon threatened by the Commander's relentless pursuit of Casilda, despite her steadfast loyalty to her husband.
As the story unfolds, the Commander employs deceit and manipulation to gain access to Casilda, but she remains resolute, prioritizing love over wealth and status. Ultimately, the narrative escalates to a confrontation between Peribáñez and the Commander, culminating in a dramatic resolution that emphasizes the importance of honor and justice. The play is rich in cultural detail, depicting the customs and social dynamics of 17th-century Spain. Through its intertwining of personal and political themes, "Peribáñez" remains a poignant exploration of the struggles between social classes and the pursuit of true love in the face of adversity.
On this Page
Peribáñez by Lope de Vega Carpio
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published:Peribáñez y el comendador de Ocaña, 1614 (English translation, 1936)
Type of work: Play
The Work
Peribáñez typifies Vega Carpio’s ideas of the necessary ingredients for a successful drama and is truly one of Spain’s greatest plays. In this three-act comedia, Peribáñez, a young farmer, and his bride, Casilda, confront the local commander of Ocaña, their town, in his attacks against their love and honor. The play opens with the wedding scene of the young couple and includes some beautiful verse between the newlyweds proclaiming their love for each other and their individual expectations of their marriage. The day is cursed, however, when the young and noble commander of Ocaña suffers a terrible fall from his horse. Peribáñez and Casilda offer their home to the commander so that he may recover from his accident. When he finally regains consciousness, he sets his eyes on the beautiful bride and immediately falls in love with her. The commander decides that he will stop at nothing to fulfill his desires for Casilda. He plots to bribe the couple with gifts of mules and earrings in the hope of winning their trust and taking advantage of Casilda.
The rest of the first act deals with the young lovers’ trip to Toledo, where the king of Spain is celebrating the summer festival, and how the commander follows them there and secretly hires an artist to paint a portrait of the woman whom he so strongly desires. In these descriptions of the wedding and the festivals, Vega Carpio vividly describes the houses and the dresses that the women wear and, in this way, offers the reader a rich description of the local colors and customs.
In the second act, the overlord, with the help of his two servants, gains entrance to Casilda’s house when Peribáñez is away on business. Casilda, however, rejects his propositions using lines from a famous ballad: “far more do I care for Peribáñez in that brown cape of his than for the Commander in his embroidered one.” For Casilda, love outweighs wealth and riches. Yet the commander does not take lightly to her scorn. He swears that he will, in the end, have her: “Well, even though you cost me my property, my honor, my blood and my life, I am going to overcome your disdain, I intend to conquer your resistance.” As with most cape-and-sword dramas, the hero discovers the stain of his dishonor and tries to recuperate his loss. Peribáñez is in Toledo when he discovers the portrait of his wife in the house of a local artist and deduces the commander’s real motives. He quickly returns to Ocaña, fully trusting his wife but unsure of how to deal with the commander. In this act, the conflict is fully revealed, and, as the curtain falls, the audience postulates the outcome of the play.
At the beginning of the last act, the commander decides to knight Peribáñez and put him in command of a squadron of soldiers fighting the Moors. His reasons, of course, are selfish. As the army leaves, Peribáñez and one of the soldiers, Belardo, reflect on life. It has been suggested that Belardo represents Vega Carpio himself as he discusses life, gardening, and the sacristy. In this last act, Vega Carpio integrates historical figures and events into the drama that connect the themes of honor, love, and justice portrayed on the stage to the audience’s real world.
That night, Peribáñez secretly returns and awaits the uninvited guest in the bedroom. When the commander enters, Péribáñez runs his sword through him and then kills two others for being traitors to his household. King Henry III hears the story of a commoner slaying a nobleman and immediately offers a reward to bring the guilty man to court for execution. Peribáñez turns himself in and begs that the king listen to his story. The just king grants him the favor, Peribáñez explains, and the king both pardons and praises him for upholding his honor. The curtain closes as the king and queen reward the loving couple for upholding love and honor in the face of conflict.
Bibliography
Canning, Elaine M. Lope de Vega’s Comedias de Tema Religioso: Re-Creations and Re-Presentations. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2004.
Flores, Angel. Spanish Drama. New York: Bantam Books, 1962.
Fox, Dian. Refiguring the Hero, from Peasant to Noble in Lope de Vega and Calderón. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991.
Hayes, Francis C. Lope de Vega. New York: Twayne, 1967.
McKendrick, Melveena. Playing the King: Lope de Vega and the Limits of Conformity. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2000.
Morrison, Robert R. Lope de Vega and the Comedia de Santos. New York: P. Lang, 2000.
Parker, A. A. The Approach to the Spanish Drama of the Golden Age. London: Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Councils, 1957.
Rennert, Hugo Albert. The Life of Lope de Vega, 1562-1635. New York: G. E. Stechert, 1937.
Wagschal, Steven. The Literature of Jealousy in the Age of Cervantes. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2006.
Wright, Elizabeth R. Pilgrimage to Patronage: Lope de Vega and the Court of Philip II, 1598-1621. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 2001.