Love is one of the eternal and universal values that constitute an integral part of human life. In classical literature, the protection of pure love is amongst the important themes which demonstrate society’s high moral standards and unity. “Fuenteovejuna”, a play by the Spanish author Lope de Vega, was written in the beginning of the 17th century and to great extent reflects the views of the contemporary society on strong emotional bonds, mainly between a man and a woman. The present paper argues that the theme of love is depicted in close relation with honour and the play positions love as a common maxim, due to its triumph over the brutality of the official authority.
The debate on love in “Fuenteovejuna” seems at first quite formal. As Meisel writes, “Mengo, who belongs to the ubiquitous line of comic figures, usually venal, called the gracioso, propounds the notion that there is no such thing as love, but only self-love and its gratifications. As the argument develops, loves evolves into a universal principal of harmony or concord; while self-love similarly takes on grander colours” (Meisel, p.196). Laurencia, the object of the Commander’s desire further makes clear to Mengo that in her understanding love is inseparable from honour and thus involves the lover’s commitment to their own and their beau’s reputation as well as to the sincerity and honesty in the relationships.
Laurencia demonstrates this idea through her inimitable courage, ostensibly unusual for women. When the Commander first tries to seize her and her friend Pascuala, Laurencia tries to explain that she is not a property, but a human being and has her own attitude towards the situation. However, when Commander orders that the girls be taken to the castle forcefully, Laurencia becomes aggressive and compels his servants to let her leave (de Vega, Act One, p. 20). As one can understand, Laurencia’s love for Frondoso as well as for herself drives her to protect her honour and she is surely capable of physical violence, as one understands from her indignation. Interestingly, in this situation, Ortuno and Flores, the servants of the Commander, also believe Laurencia’s anger and aggression are rightful, as they are not assertive when asking her to follow them to the castle. Obviously, her honour is endangered, and the servants seek to avoid any conflicts with Laurencia. Therefore, Laurencia represents the public opinion concerning love and honour which entitles a woman to act in a masculine way and use violence.
Laurencia also demonstrates that personal dignity is an aspect of love, when she meets Frondoso and tells him that rumors about the two of them spread behind her back are not acceptable, as people can go too far and invent the details which might endanger her reputation: “You are too bold, Frondoso, yet well/ You know how people love to talk/ ‘She fancies him’, ‘He fancies her’,/ All over town, their eyes on stalks […]” (de Vega, Act I, p.23). In addition, she explains that as long as they cannot marry, it would be counterproductive to see one another too often. Frondoso, in turn, seems affected by “love-madness” as he reveals that the thoughts about Laurencia literally haunt him and he is not able to eat or sleep as a result. When the Commandor enters, Laurencia has an option to surrender in order to protect Frondoso, hidden in the bushes, but the girl is still firm in her unwillingness to go through dishonour. In this scene, the righteous self-love, described earlier by Mengo, is actually manifested: despite the bonds uniting Frondoso and Laurencia, the young lady accepts no compromise with her conscience and prefers to put Frondoso’s life at risk instead of allowing herself to be “spoiled” by the town’s leader.
This means, it is not possible for her to sacrifice her dignity for love, since in case of her capitulation under the influence of the Commander’s advancements, she will not be the same any longer and will have no respect from Frondoso and other villagers. This means, honour is not actually “higher” than love, it rather should be viewed as a determinant of strong feelings and a foundation of stable family; moreover, self-preservation as a manifestation of ‘self-love’ is apparently welcomed. Frondoso seems to share this view and thus boldly points the crossbow at the Commander, showing that he has nothing to lose, when it is necessary to protect his love-lady. Therefore, the “madness” displayed before the leader’s arrival disappears, replaced with determination and courage.
Thus, Frondoso is not merely an impetuous lover, consumed by his emotions, but also a caring and protective man, committed to the defense of Laurencia’s dignity (Thacker, p.44). Frondoso also expresses the value of the pure and absolute, unconditional love: “So you can kill me? Have you forgotten love/ Is deaf? Where it rules it doesn’t listen” (de Vega, Act I, p.26). Further, similarly to Laurencia, Frondoso demonstrates self-love in the context of self-defense: “I don’t/ Intend to kill you. I know my place./ But since I need to stay alive,/ I’ll keep the crossbow” (de Vega, Act I, p.26). As one can assume, the young man’s intention to preserve himself is unselfish, as he believes he needs to survive in order to stay with his beau, as long as she requires his attention and care (Meisel, p.198; Thacker, p.45).
The idea that love cannot exist without honour is also expressed by Esteban, Laurencia’s father, as well as his companions. For instance, implicitly reproaching the Commander for driving Fuenteovejuna’s women to adultery, Alderman states: “There are doubtless some who wear the Cross/You place upon their breasts whose blood/ Is far less pure that ours […] Bad deeds have never been cleansed, my lord./ They merely stain” (de Vega, Act II, p.31). Further, Esteban insists that the villagers are insulted by the Commander’s consumerist attitude towards the local women and his affairs with them, as such relationships deform the personality, making him or her incapable of pure and giving love. Further, even Flores, who organizes Commander’s amours with peasant women, observes that woman’s virtuousness and high moral standards make her more desirable and lovable: “A woman’s coolness makes/ For better satisfaction” (de Vega, Act II, p.34).
Furthermore, even Mengo, the most comic of the characters, demonstrates strength of mind and willpower protecting Jacinta, a village girl, from the Commander’s advantages: “I’m asking you to leave her be. She’s a relative. It’s my duty to/Protect her” (de Vega, Act II, p.38). Even though the situation is hopeless and the Commander’s gang exceeds Mengo’s in number, the young villager even uses weapon after noticing these cut-throats cannot be convinced by his appeals to the universal values – only to be cruelly beaten and dragged to the jail (Meisel, p.196). Jacinta, in turn, states she will never surrender to the abuse of her honour, as she is married to a noble man and a daughter of a blameless father, who will be literally killed by the news about her relationships with the Commander, so out of love for them she will resist until the end of her life.
The perfect pastoral picture of harmonious love between Laurencia and Frondoso that shows him proposing to her and their wedding actually reflects the idea that the true love should be transformed into family bonds: “I kiss your feet for such a favour./ I promise you it gives my life/ New meaning” (de Vega, Act II, p.41). As one can assume, love fills human life with a new meaning, in particular, with the sense of responsibility and family values, shown as the logical continuation of love. Towards the end of Act Two, this picture is destroyed by the arrival of the Commander, imprisonment of Frondoso and abduction of Laurencia. The girl quickly returns – bruised, beaten, but unbroken and firm in her striving for avenging the Commander and liberating her beau. She easily persudes the predominantly male council of Fuenteovejuna that the revolt is a necessary step against the outrage of the authorities and manages to organize the local women’s crusade to assert the value of honour and courtly love. According to Meisel, “In the revolt, all ‘courtesy’ in and between ranks has been dissolved in disorder; but out of it comes an unprecedented form of concord, in the indiscriminate unity of voice and action.
As Frondoso reminded the Commander when the latter freed him for use as an emissary, ‘it is love that has moved them ‘ – love, and violated courtesy, and outraged honour” (Meisel, p.196). Thus, the villagers act as a single “organism”, united by the resentment with the offense of the sacred value of courtly love. Driven by their righteous anger, they dare penetrate the city council and murder the Commander, as the 15th century laws implied that death was a regular punishment for rapists. When three hundred of villagers including children and seniors are subjected to tortures, none of them gives out the name of the true slaughterer, stating that Fuenteovejuna took the Commander’s life. This loyalty proves that by rebelling against the corrupt order, the villagers seek to protect their own families and love mates from the potential insults, not merely the ‘sacred’ bonds between Laurencia and Frondoso. Due to the fact that the author chooses to give a happy ending to his play, i.e. the inhabitants of Fuenteovejuna are finally released and Laurencia and Frondoso, the central couple of the literary work, reunite, one can assume that “Fuenteovejuna” proclaims the triumph of courtly love over the outrage of government.
Although “Fuenteovejuna” was written almost four hundred years ago, its theme of love , close-knit with personal dignity, is still understabdable and relevant in the present day. Lope de Vega handles and develops this theme through showing that honour and self-love are the means to an end and appear to serve the social bonds of love and create stable and supportive relationships.
Works cited
De Vega, L. Fuenteovejuna. Oxford University Press, 1999.
Meisel, M. How plays work: reading and performance. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Thacker, J. A companion to golden age theatre. Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2007.