Our Friend Manso: Analysis of Major Characters
"Our Friend Manso: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complexities of the characters in the narrative surrounding Máximo Manso, a middle-aged schoolteacher characterized by his meekness and dedication to rationality. The protagonist, Máximo, prides himself on his high moral standards but struggles with interpersonal relationships, particularly with Irene, a young governess who embodies ambition and social adaptability, contrasting sharply with Máximo's ideals. Irene's capricious nature ultimately leads to heartbreak for Máximo, who grapples with envy towards her more impulsive suitor, Manuel Peña, a charming and politically driven youth.
The narrative also explores José María Manso, Máximo's politically ambitious brother, and Doña Candida, Irene's manipulative aunt, who represents the complexities of social ambition and moral ambiguity. Meanwhile, Lica, José María's sensitive wife, serves as a foil to the more calculating characters, highlighting themes of innocence and the harsh realities of social climbing. Lastly, Doña Javiera Rico de Peña, the assertive mother of Manuel, brings a pragmatic perspective to the dynamics at play, illustrating the interplay of social status and personal ambition. Through these interconnected characters, the work invites reflection on the nature of love, ambition, and the often conflicting desires that shape human relationships.
Our Friend Manso: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Benito Pérez Galdós
First published: El amigo Manso, 1882 (English translation, 1987)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Madrid, Spain
Plot: Social realism
Time: The 1870's through 1881, focusing on 1880–1881
Máximo Manso (MAHKS-ee-moh MAHN-soh), a thirty-five-year-old preparatory school teacher and doctor of philosophy. This average-looking, nearsighted bachelor, of average height and sturdy build, is precisely what his name implies, the maximum or ultimate example of meekness, gentleness, and timidity. He takes great pride in his high moral standards, his dedication to reason as opposed to emotion, and his concern for others. Comfortable in the absolute world of ideas and ideals, he prefers to stand apart from society and study humankind dispassionately and objectively. When forced into contact with society, he often misinterprets what he sees or refuses to see as the truth. Believing that he has found in Irene the perfect woman of reason, he falls in love. Later, after realizing that she is just the opposite of what he had believed her to be, he illogically falls even deeper in love and loses his treasured inner peace and serenity. After losing Irene, he curses his own rational nature and envies his successful rival's impulsiveness, irrationality, and spontaneity. Ironically, in the end, Máximo dies of a broken heart.
Irene (ee-REHN-eh), a very attractive nineteen-year-old orphan. She becomes the governess at the residence of José María Manso, Máximo's brother, where she must discourage her employer's sexual advances. Born into poverty but having aristocratic tastes, Irene is determined to alter her socioeconomic situation. Idealized by Máximo as the perfect woman of reason who is always composed, studious, and serious-minded, she proves to be capricious, frivolous, manipulative, and more than capable of hiding her true feelings to achieve her goals. Ambitious, socially adept, prudent, and tactful, she becomes the perfect wife for the political prodigy Manuel Peña.
Manuel Peña (mahn-WEHL PEHN-yah), a handsome and charming twenty-one-year-old to whom Máximo Manso gives private lessons. A college-age youngster with money who is bored with his studies, spontaneous, impulsive, generous, and gregarious, Manuel thrives on the immediacy of everyday life. Not knowing that Máximo also loves Irene, Manuel decides to marry her only after consulting with his former mentor. A born orator, he combines this ability with his other interpersonal gifts to procure a seat in Parliament and ensure for himself a bright political future.
José María Manso, Máximo's older brother, who returns to Spain with his family after making a fortune in Cuba. Very ambitious politically and lacking in personal conviction, this eminently practical man adapts his beliefs to fit the current political climate, turns his house into a gathering place for any and all important figures whom he can attract, and often abandons his family to dedicate himself to his political career. He also goes to great extremes in attempting to seduce Irene, but he fails as a result of her resolve and Máximo's intercession on her behalf.
Doña Candida (KAHN-dee-dah), also called Señora de García Grande (gahr-SEE-ah GRAHN-deh), an elderly widow who is Irene's aunt. A vain, immoral, pretentious, and name-dropping parasite who once was rich but has spent her way into poverty following her husband's death, she shamelessly uses cleverness, lies, and deception to extract money from her acquaintances in what amounts to a socially advanced form of begging. In a move that is underwritten by José María Manso and designed to give him easier access to her niece, Doña Candida changes residence and takes Irene with her.
Lica (LEE-kah), or Manuela, José María's wife, a kind, delicate, sensitive, and unsophisticated individual of humble birth who is easily overwhelmed by life's problems and who is inexperienced in dealing with the evils of the world. Lica sees the good in everyone and often remains blind to their faults. When she does see such imperfections or has a problem, she calls on Máximo to deal with the situation. Considered a barrier to her husband's political and social advancement because of her family background, she struggles to learn society's ways and earn a place that corresponds to her husband's wealth and rising political importance.
Doña Javiera Rico de Peña (hah-vee-EHR-ah RREE-koh), the owner of a butcher shop. A voluptuous, sexually provocative, candid, assertive, generous, flexible, realistic, and chatty middle-aged widow who is the mother of Manuel Peña, she sends this spoiled and academically apathetic son to study with Máximo. Initially opposed to Manuel's marriage because of Irene's inferior socioeconomic status, Doña Javiera adjusts to and comes to appreciate her daughter-in-law's considerable talents. Toward the novel's end, she asserts her strong personality and increasingly governs Máximo's life.