Summary Of The Opening Chapter Of The Life Of Lazarillo De Tormes

The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes was written as a criticism of many of the social structures and moral contradictions that were present in 16th century Spain. The book was so critical, in fact, that it was written and published anonymously is several different places at once to avoid the author being punished by the Catholic Church, the dominating institution at the time. The novel is broken up into seven different chapters, each focusing on Lazarillo’s servitude to one master told from the perspective of an older Lazaro. Each of these chapters serves as an illustration of the different social classes in 16th century Spanish culture and the inequalities and hypocrisies that each of them experienced.

The first chapter focuses on Lazarillo’s

early life with his parents and his servitude to his first master, the blind man. Lazarillo’s father died early in Lazarillo’s life while fighting in the religious war against the Moors, an experience that was not uncommon in a time of such religious division and violence. His mother was a peasant and, after his father’s death, became involved with a black slave with whom she had another child. Lazarillo tells that this child would eventually become afraid of his own father, due to his dark skin, not realizing that he, himself, had dark skin. This account seems to be Lazarillo’s first experience with the hypocrisy of his world, as he even says, “how many there must be in the world who run away from others because they do not see themselves” (9). Eventually Lazarillo’s mother’s low economic standing and more bad luck caused her to give Lazarillo to a blind man who promised to treat Lazarillo like he would treat his own son. This shows the severe economic inequalities that were present in Spain at this time. Lazarillo then goes on to recount the stories of his service to the blind man. He tells tales of being beaten and underfed by this blind man, who fed himself well by selling prayers to passersby. This is Lazarillo’s first experience with the religious hypocrisy of the time. He tells that the blind man would sell prayers and advice, mostly to women, but as soon as the women were gone he would end his prayer. This shows that the blind man used the religion as a means of earning money, and was not nearly as devout as he may have seemed to others. With the blind man, Lazarillo learned a great many lessons about the importance taking care of himself because nobody else would look out for him. He picks up many skills including stealing and deceiving that help him remain alive for the rest of his life in this uncertain society. He even looks back and is thankful to the old man for teaching him these lessons, despite how poorly he was treated. Eventually though, Lazarillo grows tired of the blind man’s treatment and leaves the blind man in search of a new life.
Chapter two focuses on Lazarillo’s servitude to a Catholic priest and the severe hypocrisies and misconduct that he sees. This is Lazarillo’s first experience with a member of the Catholic Church, which was the most important institution at that time. Very early on, Lazarillo learns that he had not found a better life with this priest. He says, “I’d got away from the thunder only to be struck by lightning” (33). The most egregious of the acts of misconduct by the priest, is the fact that he feeds himself very well and almost starves Lazarillo, a young boy, to death. Lazarillo even recalls that there were several instances that he was almost too weak to stand while serving the priest. The priest takes the holy bread, to be used only for holy communion, one of the sacraments of the Catholic Church, and locks it in a chest so that he may eat it later. This would have been considered a reprehensible act, if found out by many of the members of his congregation. He only allows Lazarillo to eat one onion every four days. Lazarillo begins to see that this priest, who is meant to be an embodiment of the morals that the Catholic Church preaches, is only interested in his own well-being and profit. Again, Lazarillo is left to his own devices to survive. He finds a way to get a key that fits the chest and he scratches crumbs off the meticulously counted loaves of bread. The priest is tricked into thinking that mice and then a snake are getting into his chest. One night, Lazarillo is hiding the key in his mouth and as he sleeps, and the key whistles under his breath. This causes the priest to believe that the snake is under Lazarillo, and he hits Lazarillo in the head with a club. As the key falls out of Lazarillo’s mouth, the priest realizes that he has been deceived and he is overcome with anger. Lazarillo takes two weeks to fully recover from the injuries caused by this priest, and when he can finally stand, the priest casts him into the streets. This shows yet another hypocrisy. The priest, who, according to his religion, should have shown a great deal of compassion for Lazarillo’s suffering, was consumed by nothing but anger.
In the third chapter, Lazaro discusses his service to a squire in the city of Toledo. At first, Lazaro feels that he has finally found a master who will provide well for him because the squire is dressed nicely. It does not take Lazaro long to realize that the squire may not be as well-off as he leads on. The squire takes Lazaro to his home, which Lazaro notices has no food and very little furniture. He asks Lazaro if he has eaten, and Lazaro replies that he is not hungry, because he does not want to seem gluttonous. The squire explains to Lazaro that he does not eat much and that “stuffing is a pursuit for pigs, and men who have any self-respect should eat moderately.” (60). This is when Lazaro begins to see the pride that dominates the squire’s life. He notices that the man dresses and behaves publicly like a nobleman, but the house and belongings of the squire suggest that he may be penniless. This is even more evident when Lazaro removes some bread from his shirt and begins eating it. The squire remarks that the bread looks delicious and it is evident that he is hungry and remains too proud to ask for some, so Lazaro decides to give him some of the bread. The two carry on like this for several days. While the squire carries on like he is a nobleman, Lazaro goes around the city begging for food. The squire, still too proud to ask for food, watches Lazaro eat until Lazaro offers him food out of pity. The squire tells Lazaro that he is a rich man from the Old Castille and that he owned land in this region. He explains that he left his home to preserve his honor because he had been disrespected by a knight. This is when the squire’s excessive pride becomes obvious to Lazaro. To Lazaro, leaving riches behind out of pride seems outrageous, but to the squire, pride was the most important thing. The squire tells Lazaro that he has “no feelings for the affairs of honor, which nowadays constitutes the man of breeding’s only treasure.” (80-81). Eventually, a man and woman came to the door of the squire’s house asking for rent payments. The squire told them that he would go down to the market and exchange some money, but his pride got the best of him and he never returned.
Chapter four very briefly discusses Lazaro’s service to a friar of the Order of Mercy. Lazaro mentions that this man gave him his first pair of shoes, which he wore out within a week. This shows the incredible poverty that Lazaro, like many others in 16th century Europe, lived under. Lazaro then says that the friar had a great interest in secular affairs, which shows that even a friar in such a religious order was not entirely devoted to religion as he was expected to be.
Chapter five discusses Lazaro’s service to a seller of indulgences.

This is perhaps the most shocking and abhorrent example of moral contradiction and hypocrisy that Lazaro encounters within the Catholic religion. Lazaro states that this salesman had numerous tricks and hoaxes that he used to sell his indulgences to believers. Throughout the chapter Lazaro describes the tricks which include staging miracles and bribing priests to help him sell his indulgences. It is with this man that Lazaro witnesses the false claims made by many powerful men in the Catholic Church in the pursuit of profit. He sees that the religion and its followers are being taken advantage of. At the end of the chapter, Lazaro remarks that he endured many hardships during his four months with the seller of indulgences, but he always had enough to eat. This reflects the idea that while many suffered, the high-ranking members of the Catholic Church were able to profit and benefit from the power of the Church. This realization is summed up when Lazaro says, “What a lot of tricks of this kind theses sharks must play on innocent people!”

(108).
The sixth chapter briefly describes Lazaro’s time serving a chaplain. Lazaro does not say much of this position other than that he oversaw selling water around the city. This can also be viewed as an example of greed in the Church, as the chaplain was using his religious power as a mean of making money. Lazaro then states that he used his earnings from this work to buy clothing that would make him appear to be a decent man. This shows that Lazaro is becoming a victim of the society that stresses pride and honor, just as the squire had been.
The seventh, and last, chapter describes Lazaro’s job with a constable, or officer of the law.

He says that he quickly quit this job due to its dangerous nature. He then went on to become a town crier, in Toledo, where he makes announcements about the sale of wines, auctions, lost articles, and to go beside men being prosecuted for crimes. In this job, Lazaro works under the Archpriest of San Salvador who married Lazaro to one of his servants. Lazaro ends his story by saying that he has not once regretted his marriage, but has heard rumors that his wife is actually a mistress of the Archpriest. Eventually, the Archpriest advises Lazaro that it would be in his best interest to ignore these rumors and Lazaro obliges. This makes evident the fact that Lazaro has conformed to the ways of society that he once found repulsive. Lazaro has now completely transformed from the innocent young boy he once was, into a young man plagued by the contradictions and hypocrisies that also plague society. He uses his higher status to justify his behavior, just as those he earlier served had

done.
Ultimately, this novel serves a criticism of all parts of 16th century Spanish society. By writing it from the perspective of a servant who has served members in all classes, the author is able to show how this society affects people. He shows that as Lazaro grows and learns, he loses his innocence and becomes more like the corrupt men that he serves. Eventually, Lazaro becomes one of these privileged men and uses any means necessary to justify the way he has lived life. It is evident that Lazaro believes that the lessons in thievery and deception that he learned with his masters were simply ways of staying alive. Lazaro criticizes the church and privileged citizens alike as hypocritical and proud. This criticism is limited by the fact that Lazaro, by the end of the book, has become a privilege member of society and displays the same inflated sense of pride. This serves the authors purpose of showing that corruption in the Church impacted nearly all aspects of society, turning once righteous people into greedy and callous individuals.