Guzmán de Alfarache

Guzmán de Alfarache [ɡuðˈman de alfaˈɾatʃe] is a picaresque novel written by Mateo Alemán and published in two parts: the first in Madrid in 1599 with the title Primera parte de Guzmán de Alfarache,[1] and the second in 1604, titled Segunda parte de la vida de Guzmán de Alfarache, atalaya de la vida humana.[2]

The Life of Guzman de Alfarache
Frontispiece of an edition of both parts, published in Antwerp by Jerónimo Verdussen in 1681 and illustrated by Gaspar Bouttats.
AuthorMateo Alemán
Original titleGuzmán de Alfarache
TranslatorJames Mabbe
CountrySpain and Portugal
LanguageSpanish
GenrePicaresque novel
PublisherVárez de Castro, Madrid (first part); Pedro Craasbeck, Lisbon (second part)
Publication date
1599, 1604
Published in English
1622

The works tells the first person adventures of a picaro, a young street urchin, as he matures into adulthood. It thus ultimately both recounts adventures and moralizes on those childish excesses. Guzmán de Alfarache, by this means, is conceived as an extensive doctrinal sermon about the sins of society, and was so received by the author's contemporaries, despite the hybrid qualities between an engaging novel and a moralizing discourse.

The novel was highly popular in its time. Many editions were published, not only in Spanish, but in French, German, English, Italian, and Latin. The English translation, by James Mabbe, was published in 1622, under alternative titles The Rogue and The Life of Guzman de Alfarache.

Apocryphal sequels and imitations were also soon produced, being that of 1602, written, probably, by the lawyer and poet Juan Martí, under the pseudonym of Mateo Luján de Sayavedra, and published in Valencia, the most important and successful, due to its influence on the second part of Alemán.

Genre

This novel has many similarities to other picaresque novels such as Lazarillo de Tormes.[3] The main character is an antihero, born in infamy, and emerging into a lower-class world of delinquency and roguish misadventures. He ends up condemned as a prisoner to be a galley-slave, seeking absolution for his past life.

Engraving from the Antwerp edition of 1681, page 201.

Modern editions

Among the most prominent modern editions are those by:

  • Francisco Rico, Barcelona, Planeta, 1987. ISBN 978-84-320-3886-0
  • José María Micó, Madrid, Cátedra, 1987. ISBN 978-84-376-0708-5

Adaptations

In 1987, a loose film adaptation titled The Rogues was directed by Mario Monicelli.[4]

Notes
  • This is an abridged entry based on the Spanish Wikipedia entry.
  1. Mateo Alemán, Primera parte de Guzmán de Alfarache, Madrid, Várez de Castro, 1599. OCLC 27992346
  2. id., Segunda parte de la vida de Guzmán de Alfarache, atalaya de la vida humana, Lisboa, Pedro Craasbeck, 1604. Catálogo Colectivo del Patrimonio Bibliográfico Español, CCPB000034374-9.
  3. Diego Vila, Juan (2007). "El Quijote y un género velado: el Lazarillo y el Guzmán frente a frente" (PDF). Critición (in Spanish). Centro Virtual Cervantes (101): 7–35. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  4. De Franceschi, Leonardo (2001). Lo sguardo eclettico: il cinema di Mario Monicelli. Marsilio. p. 342. ISBN 9788831777636.
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Digital versions
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