Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino
Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino (German: Don Álvaro or the power of fate) is a drama by the Spanish writer Duque de Rivas . It premiered in Madrid in 1835 and is considered a breakthrough in literary romanticism in Spain. Giuseppe Verdi set the piece to music for his opera La forza del destino in 1862 .
Style and composition
The style of this romantic gruesome drama is influenced by Victor Hugo's theatrical theory , who broke with the uniformity of time and place of the neoclassical regular drama . The piece consists of five acts ( jornadas ), which are spread over five years and are set in five different locations. Figures from different levels interact with each other. The drama is written partly in prose and partly in verse. The text also contains stage directions that give the actors the mood. The break with the compositional rules of neoclassical drama was considered a scandal in the eyes of many viewers when the play was first performed in Madrid in 1835.
content
Act 1: Don Álvaro is the main character of mysterious origin, because of which he cannot be accepted into the nobility. Nevertheless, he is with the noble Leonor. Her father tries to prevent the relationship because of the unclear origin of the lover. Don Álvaro accidentally kills him and Leonor faints as a result. Believing that she was dead, Don Álvaro went to Italy to die in the army.
Act 2: Leonor is traveling in a Spanish provincial town in men's clothing and, with the help of a priest, enters a monastery as a man. She is wanted by her two brothers, who want to kill her because she has dishonored the family with her illegitimate relationship with Don Álvaro.
3rd act: One of Leonor's brothers, don Alfonso, is threatened with his life while gambling in Italy. Don Álvaro happens to come by, save his brother, who doesn't recognize him, and befriend him. When Carlos finally recognizes him, he is torn between thirst for revenge and gratitude.
4th act: Carlos tells Don Álvaro that he knows where Leonor is. He falls into extreme excitement at the news that Leonor is still alive. There is an argument between the two friends, which finally ends in a duel in which Don Álvaro kills Carlos. Don Álvaro is sad that he has now lost the chance that Leonor could forgive him. He faces the king, who banned duels, and faces the death penalty. Before it is carried out, however, the Germans invade Italy and help Don Álvaro to escape.
Act 5: Four years have passed and Don Álvaro lives as a monk in a monastery. Leonor's second brother, Alfonso, finds him and provokes him to a duel. Don Álvaro kills him too. Dying he wants to make a confession and discovers Leonor in the neighboring monastery. He kills the apparently dishonored sister with a dagger. Now Don Álvaro no longer wants to live either and falls from a rock.
Interpretations
Many literary publications on Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino deal with the gender roles represented in the drama. For example, you go into the figure of Leonor, who turns into a symbol of seduction in the course of the play. However, she remains the object of action and interpretations of the male characters. Don Álvaro is described as a refugee from society who - according to Linda Materna's analysis - drives his lack of masculinity to rebellion against patrician society. These and other oedipal interpretations are based on a gender role conflict of the protagonist.
Other interpretations relate to the socially critical aspect of the drama. Álvaro is seen as an outsider who, due to his mestizo origins, cannot meet Spanish standards. Central here is the criticism of the concept of honor, which the male representatives of the Leonors family hold very high. No matter how rich Don Álvaro is, how bravely he fights for the Spanish crown in Italy, what loyal friend he is or what trustworthy lover, he cannot earn any recognition through these things, as he has no proven origin. His suicide results from the incompatibility of the individual's efforts to lead an honest life and the norms that are brought up from outside.
literature
- Duque de Rivas: Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino. (Letras Hispanicas), Ediciones Catedra, 27th edition, 2005 (Spanish).
Remarks
- ^ Testimony by Menéndez Pelayo , quoted from: Azorín : Rivas y Larra , Madrid, Renacimiento, 1916, p. 115.
- ↑ Literary profile of the Ayuntamiento de Córdoba (City Council of Córdoba) In: http://www.ayuncordoba.es/ (spa.). Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ Joyce Tolliver: Introduction , in: Don Álvaro or the Force of Fate (1835). A Play by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke de Rivas , translation into English by Robert M. Fedorchek, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington, DC 2005, pp. XIII - XXXI, here p. XIII.
- ↑ Aristófanes Cedeño: La transgresión femenina del código cultural. El caso de Leonor en Don Álvaro o la Fuerza del Sino , in: Letras Peninsulares, 11, 3, Winter 1998/1999, pp. 763-774, here p. 764.
- ↑ Linda Materna: Prodigal Sons and Patriarchal Authority in the Three Plays written by the Duque de Rivas: Lanuza, Don Álvaro o la Fuerza del Sino, and El desengaño en su sueño , in: Letras Peninsulares, 11, 2, autumn 1998, p 603-624.
- ^ Joyce Tolliver: Introduction , in: Don Álvaro or the Force of Fate (1835). A Play by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke de Rivas , translation into English by Robert M. Fedorchek, The Catholic University of America Press, Washington, DC 2005, pp. XIII – XXXI, here p. XXI.