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Idea Transcript


FRANCISCO GARCIA PAVON:

CREATOR OF THE

LITERARY DETECTIVE STORY IN SPAIN

APPROVED:

a j o r Professor

MmOT

PRRVFENSOR

Di r e c t Language s

r-

YVU p»r w e n t

D e i n of t h e G r a d u a t e S c h o o l

Sanders, Marja-Terttu, Francisco Garcia Pavon: of the Literary Detective Story in Spain.

Creator

Master of Arts

(Spanish), August, 1971, 73 pp., bibliography, 15 titles. The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining how Francisco Garcia Pavon's concept the detective novel evolved throughout the period during which he cultivated that literary form. To trace this evolution Garcia Pavon's detective novels and novelettes are studied in chronological order of publication, each work being given a chapter of its own.

The

character development is analyzed and the style is given consideration in the study. When we examine the detective novels and novelettes of Garcia Pavon in the chronological order of their publication we find a definite progression toward a literary detective novel with high artistic qualities. In the early novels plot is definitely Garcia Pavon's main concern.

Characters and scenery are described only to

the extent necessary to tell the story.

The importance of

the plot is progressively decreased as we proceed in reading the novels, so that in the last one, Las hermanas coloradas, the plot is almost solely to provide a frame for characterization, philosophy and costumbrismo. The character of Plinio, the protagonist in all of the detective novels of Garcia Pavon, also develops progressively

in each novel, so that after reading all of the works we know a great deal about his ambitions, frustrations, philosophy of life, and likes and dislikes.

In the first detective stories

he is the central figure, "but he is mainly important as a detective; later he becomes important as a person as well. In each novel we meet friends of Plinio, and by the time we finish the last novel his circle of acquaintances has been greatly expanded.

All of the characters are de-

scribed very individualistically, and Garcia Pavon has proven himself to be a careful observer of people, highly talented in the art of characterization. Just as Plinio1s character is more fully developed with each new novel, the descriptions become more detailed.

Instead

of merely relating the details of the plot, fact by fact, the author has intertwined more and more interesting descriptions in each novel, giving the work greater artistic merit.

The

descriptions of the scenery of la Mancha in the three last novels are very poetic and are rich in metaphors, images and colorful expressions.

They show the author's love for con-

crete details and sensations. The language in general of the detective novels of Garcia Pavon changes with each succeeding novel.

In each

new book colloquial words and expressions become more and more frequent. The accurate geographical and sociological knowledge that the author has of the places he describes has enabled

him t o g i v e h i s r e a d e r s e x t r e m e l y i n t e r e s t i n g i n s i g h t s i n t o t h e l i v e s and customs i n a s m a l l S p a n i s h town o r , t o a s m a l l e r e x t e n t , i n a b i g c i t y , where l a s hermanas c o l o r a d a s i s s t a g e d . P l i n i o i s n o t an o r d i n a r y , s t e r e o t y p e d p o l i c e m a n , n o r a r e the d e t e c t i v e s t o r i e s of G a r c i a Pavon c o n v e n t i o n a l d e t e c t i v e s t o r i e s where the main emphasis l i e s i n s o l v i n g a crime.

The c o m b i n a t i o n of e x c i t e m e n t and h i g h a r t i s t i c q u a l -

i t i e s i n the d e t e c t i v e s t o r i e s of G a r c i a Pavon makes them w o r t h w h i l e f o r a wide r a n g e of r e a d e r s .

They can be e n j o y e d

by b o t h t h e r e a d e r i n t e r e s t e d i n m y s t e r y s t o r i e s and a p e r s o n s e e k i n g a work of h i g h e r a r t i s t i c v a l u e .

FRANCISCO GARCIA PAVON:

CREATOR OP THE

LITERARY DETECTIVE STORY IN SPAIN

THESIS

P r e s e n t e d t o t h e G r a d u a t e C o u n c i l of t h e North Texas S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y i n P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t of t h e R e q u i r e m e n t s

F o r t h e D e g r e e of

MASTER OF ARTS

By

M a r j a - T e r t t u S a n d e r s , B . A, Denton, Texas August, 1971

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter I. II. III.

Page INTRODUCTION

1

LOS CARROS VAClOS

8

EL CARNAVAL

.

16

IV.

EL CHARCO DE SANGRE

23

V.

EL REINADO DE WITIZA

34

VI.

EL RAPTO DE LAS SABINAS

47

VII.

LAS HERMANAS COLORADAS

59

CONCLUSION

71

VIII.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

74

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Francisco Garcia Pavon was born in the town of Tomelloso in the province of Ciudad Real on the 24th of September, 1919.

He completed the first years of his ed-

ucation and the bachelor's degree in his native town, and then moved on to Madrid where he studied philosophy and literature and obtained a doctorate in 194 5.

At present,

Garcia Pavon is a professor of history of dramatic literature in the School of Dramatic Arts in Madrid and is director of Taurus Ediciones, one of Spain's largest publishing houses. In 1969 Garcia Pavon was awarded the Nadal Prize, the most esteemed award given for the novel in Spain, for his novel Las hermanas coloradas.

However, he was well

known long before this. Francisco Garcia Pavon ya tiene hechos, y reconocidos, los suficientes meritos para que el premio Nadal le hubiese sido otorgado con anterioridad y, por ello mismo, mas ^oportunamente. No obstante, y si a esto puede llamarsele confirmacion, el premio viene a reconocer la gran labor de un novelista—como en su dia lo hizo con Alvaro Qunqueiro—en plena madurez creadora, ya que este nombre es, sin la menor duda, uno de los principales autores de novela con que contamos en la actualidad.1 Francisco Garcia Pavon, Premio Nadal/' Espana hoy, No. 2 (Madrid, 1970), p. 34. (Author not given.)

In 1963 Garcia, Pa von .received the "Pre mi o Nadal de Crftica."

1

a

Some of hi s eri ti cal works are ED_ teatro social

en Eg pan at Ante] op' a de cuentistas espanol es ^ on temp crane 03, Teatro menor del s i gl o X'VI11, and "Don Juan Ten ori o el Burlador de Sevil]a. The novels are perhaps the most Important part of his literary production.

Gerea de 0viedo was among the final-

ists for the Nadal Prize in 19^6,

Eugenio de Nora says:

. , . , cuando en 1 9 4 6 — e s decir, en un momenta en que se iniciaba apenas el auge actual de la narracion—apare ce Cerca de Oviedot vision humorist!ca, burbujeante de agudeza, desenfado y mali ci a, veteada de conceptual 1 srno y fantasia, de la vida provinciana, pensamos encontrarnos, en potencia, ante uno de los novelistas representativos de nuestro tiempo. La frescura de observaci on en cuanto a costumbres y psicologia local, la vivacidad en la captacion de detalles, la zumba y riquesa de fantasia con que sab'a aprovecharse , . . , la seguridad y eficacia del autor no solo en la narraci on, sino iambi en con su ex.cepci onal recurs o a los suenos y pesad.il 1 as revel adoras, el tratamiento matizado de la 1 eve anecdota sentimental en que el rel.ato se apoya, todo, tratandose del libro inicial de un escritor joven, parecia testimoniar al narrador de gran clase que hace sus primeras armas.2 Among the most important works of Garcia Pavon are the short stories—"genero este en el que nuestro autor es 3 un maestro dentro del panorama espanol actual."

Perhaps

the best representatives of this type of 11terature are "Eugeni o de Nora, La novel a espanol a contemporanea (Madrid, 1962), pp. 370-371. "X

"'"Francisco Garcia Pavon, Pre mi o Nadal," Espana hoy, No. ? (Madrid, 1.970), p. 34. (Author not givenT)

Cuentos re pub 11. canos, Mem or las de un cazad otes, and Cuerxtos de mama. Eugenio de Nora says that his cuentos . , . indican una depuracion, un afinamiento en la calldad, incluso una hondura humana superior a la de su primer libro, pero tambien. un retroceso en cuanto al alien to y posibilidad de re fie jar el mundo real , objetivo, que caracteriza por uno u otro camino el autentico novel!sta. Suponemos que ese repliegue » ese a modo de ensayo de sus excepci onales dotes narrati vas sera solo una etapa intermedia haeia la gran obra que cabe expresar de Garcia Pavon.4 An anonymous reviewer in Espana hoy writes:: In ten tar resumir, en breve sin te sis, la aportacI on de Garcia Pavon al evidente resurgimiento de las letras hispanicas, resulta una empresa dif'cil. En principio y e010 una caracteristioa esencial a la personalidad del autor, es evidente su facultad de prestigiar y ennoblecer los generos que cultiva. Para el no hay hombres ni parajes pequenos. Al contrario, cuando su pluma se oeupa de ellos alcanzan proporei ones gigantescas. iEs pequeno Tomelloso? Vean la historia de Tome11oso o los cuen tos republicanos, y le ve ran crecer has ta proporcj. ones insospecbadas. i,Es poca cosa ser "sargento de la guardi a municipal" de un pueblecito manchego? Escuchen a Plin.i.o, conozcan su mente socarrona y si pan sus deducciones inigualabl.es en la solucion de los mas intricados problemas. Entonces veran que es grande, que puede ser muy hermosa la figura de un simple guardia municipal , gui.ado por el . amor a sus convecinos y por su espiritu de servici o. " Having now acquired a bit of background information about Garcia Pavon and his earlier works, we will concentrate on the novels and novelettes he has published between 1965 and 1970 and attempt to show that he has created a detective story of high artistic quality, 4

Nora, Ibid. , p. 371 .

^"Francisco Garcia Pavon, Preraio Nadal," E3nana hoy, No. 6 ( "adrid , 1970), p. 45. (Author not given",)

4 The first of the literary detective works was a novelette , Los carros vacios (1965).

Next appeared Historias de

Plinio (1968), which contains two novelettes.

The same

year he published El relnado de Witiza, which was a finalist for a Nadal Prize, and the following year, El rapto de las Sabinas.

In 1970 Las hermanas coloradas was published,

after winning the Nadal Prize the preceding year. Garcia Pavon says in the prologue to Historias de Plinio: En Espana nunca crecio de manera vigorosa y diferenciada la novela polic'aca y de aventuras. Lectores hay a miles. Transcriptores, simuladores y traductores de las novelas policiacas de otras geografias, a cientos. Nuestra literatura de cordel y cronica negra cuenta desastres y escatologias para todos los gustos y medidas; sin embargo, al escritor espanol, tan radical en sus gustos y disgustos, nunca le tento este genero que, tratado con arte e intend on, podia haber alumbrado nuchas parcelas de nuestra vida y d.istraido a infinitos lectores.6 He goes on, saying: Yo siempre tuve la vaga idea de escribir novelas policiacas muy espanolas y con el mayor talento literari o que Dios se permi tiera prestarme. Novelas con la suficiente suspension para el lector superficial que solo quiere excitar sus nervios y la necesaria altura para que al lector sensible no se le cayeran de las manos. ' All of the detective works of Garcia Pavon have the same protagonist, "Plinio," Manuel Gonzalez Rodrigo, "Jefe de la Guardia Municipa] de Tomelloso." 6

Garcia Pavon says

* # Francisco Garcia Pavon, Historias de Plinio (Barcelona, 1967) , p. 9. 7 Ibid.

t h a t t h e r e was i n h i s town: . . . un c i e r t o j e f e de l a Guardia M u n i c i p a l , cuyo f i s i c o , ademanes, manera de m i r a r , de p a l p a r s e e l s a b l e y e l r e v o l v e r , desde c h i c o me h i c i e r o n mucha g r a c i a . El hombre, c l a r o e s t a , no p a s o en su l a r g a v i d a de s e r v i r a l o s a l c a l d e s que l e c u p i e r o n en suerte y a ^ r e s a r r a t e r o s , gitanos y p l a c e r a s . Pero y o , o b s e r v a n d o l e en e l Casino o en l a p u e r t a d e l Ayu n t a m i e n t o , daba en i m a g i n a r m e l o en a v e n t u r a s de mayor empeno y l u c i m i e n t o . Por f a c i l c o n c a t e n a c i o n , hace pocos anos se me o c u r r i o que mi " d e t e c t i v e " p o d r i a s e r a q u e l j e f e de l a Guardia M u n i c i p a l de Tomelloso, que en s e g u i d a b a u t i c e como P l i n i o . 8 P l i n i o i s a r a r e f i g u r e when compared w i t h the u s u a l f i c t i o n a l de t e c t i v e .

He i s a v e r y amiable man, h i g h l y r e -

s p e c t e d by the p e o p l e of Tomelloso and e s p e c i a l l y by h i s i n s e p a r a b l e f r i e n d Don L o t a r i o .

He u s u a l l y knows more t h a n

i t a p p e a r s on the s u r f a c e , and he s o l v e s h i s c a s e s by f o l l o w i n g h i s i n t u i t i on r a t h e r than modern s c i e n t i f i c p o l i ce methods. As each new n o v e l i s more d e t a i l e d than the one p r e c e d i n g i t and the c h a r a c t e r s more f u l l y d e v e l o p e d , we w i l l l e a r n t o know P l i n i o b e t t e r and b e t t e r as we examine the works one by one i n the f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r s .

We w i l l l e a r n

a b o u t hi s p h i l o s o p h y of l i f e , a b o u t h i s l i k e s and d i s l i k e s , a b o u t h i s ambi t i o n s , and a b o u t hi s p e r s o n a l f r u s t r a t i o n s . I n the i n t r o d u c t i o n t o the A n t o l o g f a de c u e n t i s t a s e s p a n o l e s contemporaneos G a r c i a Pavon d e f i n e s the dominant 8

* F r a n c i s c o G a r c i a Pavon, H i s t o r i a s de P l i n i o ( B a r c e l o n a , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . 10.

s t y l e of the modern S p a n i s h c u e n t i s t a s , and t h i s same d e f i n i t i o n a p p l i e s well to h i s d e t e c t i v e n o v e l s .

He w r i t e s :

. . . l e l l a m a r i a "popularismo". De d e c i d i r m e por v a r i a s para e n r i q u e c e r e l c o n c e p t o , l e l l a m a r i a "habla d e l p u e b l o " , "tono campechano", g i r o s v u l g a r e s que q u i e r e n i m i t a r l a e n t o n a c i on d e l h a b l a n t e i n d o c t o : "tacos", f r a s e s hechas, topi cos d e l hahla c o n v e r s a c i o n a l . . . , etc.9

Perhaps the most i m p o r t a n t g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e d e t e c t i v e n o v e l s of Garcia Pavon i s the r e a l i s m or the d i r e c t o b s e r v a t i o n of 1 i f e .

The d e s c r i p t i o n s of l a n d s c a p e s ,

p e o p l e , l o c a l c u s t o m s , and v a r i o u s i n c i d e n t s become more f r e q u e n t and more v i v i d l y d e t a i l e d i n each new book. Manuel J a t o Macias w r i t e s of h i s d e t e c t i v e n o v e l s , "His books are n e i t h e r s e r i o u s n o r d e e p , b u t are e n t e r t a i n i n g , modern w i t h a t o u c h of g e n t l e s a t i r e .

Hum or and some-

what e a r t h y and s h o c k i n g l a n g u a g e make the a u t h o r e x t r e m e l y 10 pleasant to read."

While i t i s

true t h a t the e a r l y de t e c -

t i ve n o v e l s of Garcia Pavon a r e " n e i t h e r s e r i o u s n o r d e e p , " i t w i l l be s e e n i n the f o l l o w i n g s t u d i e s of e a c h of t h e n o v e 1 s t h a t the a u t h o r has come t o r e g a r d the de t e c t i ve s t o r y a s more than a mere d e v i c e f o r amusement, t h a t he h a s , in f a c t , created a truly "literary" detective novel—a genre i n which c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n , p h i l o s o p h i c a l t h o u g h t , 9 * * / F r a n c i s c o Garcia Pavon, A n t o l o g i a de c u e n t i s t a s e s p a n o l e s c on temporaneos (Madrid, 1 9 5 9 ) , p. 1 0 . "^Manuel J a t o M a c i a s , Review of E]_ rap t o de l a s s a b i n a s , Hi s p a n i a , LI V (May, 1 9 7 1 ) , 395.

and costumbrismo capture the reader's attention far more fully than the interest in the mere solution of the crime.

CHAPTER II

LOS GARROS VAGI OS

The piot. of Los carros vacfos revolves around the murders of fourroeIoneros, all killed at the '"Cuestas del hermano .Diego" near Tomelloso on the road to Ciudad Real. The first three killings are identical.

Each time a

man called Serafin, who lives a]one at the "Cuestas," comes to the police of Tomelloso with the victim,,

Each of the

three men has "been killed during the time of the year when the meloneros take their products to Ciudad Real to he sold. Each of the men has been killed by a single thrust of a wide-bladed knife near the heart.

The only thing taken

from the victim is his wallet. The people of Tomelloso are terrified by the unsolved murders.

Plinio is desperate,

He feels that the people

are losing faith in him and blame him for not having discovered the criminal yet. A few days after the death of Severo el Tostado, the third victim, a group of furious people bring another body to the police, screaming for justice. This time the man, Calabaino, has been stabbed several times, and a watch and few other things have been taken in

a d d i t i o n t o the w a l l e t .

Despite

the f a c t t h a t t h e m u r d e r

v i c t i m has been found again a t the " C u e s t a s , " P l i n i o conc l u d e s t h a t t h e f o u r t h man h a s b e e n k i l l e d by a d i f f e r e n t person than the three o t h e r s . stolen,

Also, c o n s i d e r i n g the t h i n g s

the l a s t m u r d e r e r , he f e e l s , must be a p o o r man who,

b e i n g u n a c c u s t o m e d t o h a v i n g money, w i l l most l i k e l y spend it

on wine and games t h e v e r y n i g h t of t h e c r i m e . When s e a r c h of a l l

t h e t a v e r n s and c a s i n o s b r i n g s no

p o s i t i v e r e s u l t s , P l i n i o goes t o see C h a v i c o , a man whom he suspects.

He f i n d s him a t a woman's h o u s e , e a t i n g and

drinking lavishly.

P l i n i o d i s c o v e r s the a r t i c l e s s t o l e n

from t h e l a s t m u r d e r v i c t i m and s h o r t l y C h a v i c o c o n f e s s e s t o h a v i n g committed t h e l a s t c r i m e .

P a s s i n g by t h e " C u e s t a s "

w i t h C a l a b a i n o , he k i l l e d him t h e r e i n o r d e r t o c o n n e c t t h e murder w i t h the t h r e e o t h e r s . something very important.

Chavi co a l s o t e l l s P l i n i o

He s a y s t h a t S e r a f i n h a s t h e

h a b i t of t a l k i n g w i t h p a s s i n g m e l o n e r o s . B e c a u s e of t h i s l a s t p i e c e of i n f o r m a t i o n , P l i n i o and Don l o t a r i o , a l o c a l v e t e r i n a r i a n who i s P l i n i o ' s c o n s t a n t companion and g r e a t e s t a d m i r e r , day.

At the " C u e s t a s P l i n i o

t a k e S e r a f i n home t h a t same t e l I s the

two men how he t h i n k s

t h e f i r s t t h r e e c r i m e s have b e e n c o m m i t t e d .

He s a y s t h a t

t h e m u r d e r e r must l i v e n e a r the p l a c e of t h e m u r d e r s b e c a u s e i t would be h a r d f o r anyone e l s e

t o k e e p t r a c k of t h e

m e l o n e r o s p a s s i n g by w i t h o u t c a u s i n g s u s p i c i o n ,

Plinio

c o n t i n u e s , s a y i n g t h a t t h e m u r d e r e r p r o b a b l y comes down t o

10 the road, talks to the melonero in order to find out when he will be back and whether he will be alone.

When he re-

turns, the murderer kills the unsuspecting melonero.

He

then hides the body and later presents himself with the victim to the authorities of Tomelloso, saying that he has f ound i t. After the explanation, Plinio goes to Serafin's house, where he finds a large amount of money and a knife with a wide blade.

Serafin confesses his guilt and is arrested.

Later, Plinio tells Don lotario that he had begun to suspect Serafin when he compared the last murder with the three others.

The orderly and scrupulous manner in which

the first three were committed made him suspect this orderly and punctilious man.

When Chavico informed him that

Serafin frequently talked with passing meloneros he was almost certain of Serafin's guilt.

When he saw the evidence

in his house, he had no more doubt. PIot is definitely Garcia Pavon's main concern in Los carros vacios.

Characters and scenery are described only

to the extent that is necessary to tell the story. The importance of the plot is progressively decreased as we proceed in reading the other detective novels, so that in the last novel, Las hermanas coloradas, the plot is there almost solely to provide a frame for characterization, philosophy, and cos turobri STOP.

11

P l i n i o ' s c h a r a c t e r develops p r o g r e s s i v e l y throughout the novels,

Tn Los G a r r o s v a c ' o s we l e a r n only v e r y basic-

t h i n g s a b o u t him; we j u d g e b i n m a i n l y by h i s a c t i o n s .

For

t h e p u r p o s e of showing how P l i n i o becomes i n each n o v e l a more r o u n d e d c h a r a c t e r i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o tel.] some of t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t t h i n g s t h a t we l e a r r i a b o u t him i n e a c h b o o k . I n t h i s c h a p t e r we w i l l meet t h e P l i n i o of Los c a r r o s v a c i o s , Manuel G o n z a l e z , a l i a s P l i n i o ,

"el

j e f e de l a G u a r d i a

Y u n i c i p a l de Tome11 o s o , " i s a man who t a k e s p r i d e i n s o l v i n g t h e c r i m e s a l o n e or w i t h h i s d e a r f r i e n d Don L o t a r i o .

A.+.

t i m e s , when he f i n d s h i m s e l f w i t h o u t any s o l u t i o n s t o a p r o b l e m , he becomes v e r y d e p r e s s e d , up t o t h e p o i n t of weeping. sitive

He w a n t s t o h e l p h i s f e l l o w men and i s v e r y s e n -

t o t h e i r o p i n i o n s a b o u t him.

When he i s i n a bad

mood, he u s u a l l y w a l k s s l o w l y w i t h h i s h a n d s b e h i n d h i s b a c k , l o o k i n g down.

When he i s c o n f u s e d , he makes a g e s t u r e w i t h

h i s hand a s i f he were d r y i n g h i s mouth a f t e r d r i n k i n g . When he r e a d s , he w e a r s e y e g l a s s e s t h a t come h a l f w a y down on h i s n o s e .

He l i k e s

t o smoke c i g a r s .

Almost e v e r y m o r n i n g

he h a s b r e a k f a s t a t t h e b u n o l e r i a of La K o c i o . Basically,

this

s all

r e a d i n g Loo c a r r o s v a c f o s .

t h a t we know a b o u t P l i n i o a f t e r 7rom t h e o t h e r b o o k s we w i l l

f i n d o u t w h e t h e r he i s m a r r i e d or w h e t h e r he i s a b a c h e l o r , l'/e w i l l l e a r n where he l i k e s t o go in t h e e v e n i n g s and w i t h whom.

We w i l l f i n d o u t what he t h i n k s a b o u t b i g c i t i e s ,

h i s job and many o t h e r t h i n g s .

1o Don L o t a r i o i s each n o v e l .

one of t h e c h a r a c t e r s whom we m e e t i n

We w i l l n o t l e a r n a s much a b o u t him a s we w i l l

l e a r n a b o u t P l i n i o , b u t s i n c e he i s many p e o p l e c a l l P l i n i o ? we w i l l t o know h i m ,

so c l o s e

to Manuel, as

spend a l i t t l e

time g e t t i n g

too.

Don L o t a r i o i s a v e t e r i n a r i a n b y p r o f e s s i o n .

He i s

c a r r i e d and h a s d a u g h t e r s , b u t we do n o t know how many. T h i s v e t e r i n a r i a n i s a s m a l l man, s o s m a l l t h a t he n e e d s two b i g p i l l o w s u n d e r him when d r i v i n g h i s

old Ford.

He

w e a r s h i s h a t s o low t h a t one can b a r e l y s e e h i s s u s p i c i o u s eye v..

He i s v e r y a c t i v e i n s o l v i n g c r i m e s o r , more a c c u -

rately,

in helping P l i n i o to solve

r e s p e c t f o r P l i n i o , who, i n h i s man i n t h e w o r l d . of t h e m e I o n e r o a

t

them.

opinion,

He h a s a g r e a t is

A f t e r P l i n i o has solved

the g r e a t e s t the murders

Don L o t a r i o t e l l s h i m , " E r e s muy g r a n d e ,

M a n u e l , p e r o que muy g r a n d e . H e

then walks away, "con

1 o s o j os humed o s . " It

seems t h a t G a r c i a Pavon h a s c r e a t e d

the c h a r a c t e r

of Don L o t a r i o t o p l a y t h e p a r t of t h e c o n f i d a n t t o whom t h e p r o t a g o n i s t can e x p r e s s h i s m o s t i n t i m a t e

thoughts.

gain a g r e a t deal

of knowledge a b o u t P l j . n i o t h r o u g h t h i s

1i t e r a r y d e v i c e .

He i s ,

i n a s e n s e , w h a t Watson was t o

S h e r l o c k Holmes. ' ' " F r a n c i s c o G a r c i a Pa v o n , Los c a r r o s v a c i o s ( M a d r i d , 1965), p. 98.

We

13 Progressively, Plinio and Don Lotario will have deeper and more frequent discussions as we proceed through the novels.

In Los carros vacios the two friends converse

little.

Even during the trip they take to the "Cuestas,"

Plinio either sleeps or prefers to sit in silence. This same trip to the "Cuestas" gives us a clear example of the lack of descriptions in Los carros vacios. Plinio sleeps most of the way, and there is no mention of the scenery they pass.

If this trip had taken place in any

of the three last novels that we will study, we would know what kind of places they saw, what kind of people they met, and how Plinio and Don Lotario were feeling.

The amount of

de tail in the descripti on progresses with each novel.

In

Las hermanas coloradas, for example, there is a marvelous description of the things that Plinio observes from the train on the way from Tomelloso to Madrid. However, there is not a total lack of descripti ons in Los carros vacios.

Here is a "beautiful moment when Don Lotario

and Plinio are sitting on the bank of the river Guadiana near Tomelloso: El fresco olor de los alamos creaba el ambiente. El agua del rio se deslizaba con un murmullo blando, casi imperceptible. El suave viento movia levemente las alzadas puntas de los chopos y los cipreses. A la izquierda, el pueblo entre sus cales. A la derecha, la llanura se despejaba bajo un sol desmedido.^ 2

Ibid, , pp. 52-53.

14

The only character description of any detail is of a girl whom Plinio meets in the house where Chavico, the murderer, is eating and drinking: Sentada en una banca, a medio vestir, habia una mozona morena de descomunal esqueleto. Por cima de la sabana, con la que intentaba cubrirse el pecho, mostraba sus brazos musculoaos y tapizados de vello negro. Con el cabello revuelto y unos impresionantes o jos claros, o jos casi irracionales, miraba a los recien liegados empavorecida.3 As an example of another type of description in Los carros vacfos we will quote here a passage from an incident that took place after the third murder, that of Severo e] Tostado: Corriendo, desgrenadas, enloquecidas, llegaban la mujer y la hija de el Tostao. La gente las deJo pasar con respeto. Las dos mujeres se lanzaron al interior del carro con los brazos extendidos. Como el cadaver estaba en las bolsas del carro y este era alto, desde el suelo no llegaban al cuerpo con las manos. En vano las tendian hacia el muerto. La hi ia, moza de unos treinta anos, morena y rechoncha, dio un salto desmanado, mostrando a todos los presentes lo que no era del momento. Y ya sobre el carro, se abalanzo sobre el cadaver de su padre entre gritos y lagrimas. La madre, en vano intentaba sal tar al carro, hasta que dos vendedoras de la plaza, enternecidas, tomandola de las axilas, la echaron al interior de las bolsas, donde cayo revuel ta con su hija y el. muerto. Sin dejar de gritar, echadas sobre el, pugnaban por be sari o y acariciarl o, con furia. 4 The 1anguage in general of the detective novels of Garcia Pavon changes with each succeeding novel. 3

*

For

»

Francisco Garcia Pavon, Los carros vacfos (Madrid.

1965), p. 69. 4

Ibid., p. 15.

15 e x a n p l e , the a u t h o r u s e s ' n each new honk c o l l o q u i a l words and e x p r e s s i o n s t o r e and more f r e q u e n t l y . The language of Los c a r r o s v a c i o a i s s i m p l e , s t a n d a r d Spanish w i t h few c o l l o q u i a l i s m s .

The only p e r s o n who

s p e a k s the d i a l e c t of l a Mancha i s La R o c ' o , the owner of the b u n o l e r i a .

She s a y s :

"Entonse e s t a a r 1? e g a , "

or

£

"En "la coseeha de l o *nel one, ni na de mi a r m a , " " T o s t a i t o nos ha s a l i o e r d ' a ,

eh,

or

i e f e ? , p e r o que mu

tostaito. D e s p i t e the few 1;! t e r a r y m e r i t s of Los c a r r o s v a c i o s , ;

t i s an e n j o y a b l e book, e s p e c i a l l y b e c a u s e of P l i n i o , who,

a s l i t t l e a s we know a b o u t him y e t , i s a l r e a d y our f r i e n d . ^ F r a n c i s c o G a r c i a Pavon, Los c a r r o s v a c / o s (Madrid, 1965), p. 11.

IbLd. , p . 11.

I b i d , j p . 12.

2 HAP "EE R I I I E I OARNAVAL The p l o t of E l e a r n a v a l d e a l s w i t h t h e d e a t h s of an old s e r v a n t and h e r m i s t r e s s .

E v e r y n i g h t A n t o n i a , an o l d

s e r v a n t i n t h e house of Don On of r e , g o e s t o buy m i l k .

The

l a s t n i g h t of t h e c a r n a v a l i n T o m e l l o s o , h o w e v e r , she d o e s n o t go a l one.

She i s f o l l o w e d by a masque r a c i e r , who b e a t s

h e r w i t h an i r o n s t a f f , l e a v i n g h e r d e a d .

S i n c e t h e masked

k i l l e r h a s d i s a p p e a r e d i n t o a crowd of masked f i g u r e s , P l i n i o knows t h a t t h e c a s e w i l l be d i f f i c u l t . He g o e s t o t a l k t o Don O n o f r e , who d e n i e s h a v i n g any i n f o r m a t i o n about the murder.

L e a v i n g Don O n o f r e ' s h o u s e ,

P l i n i o f i n d s a t h e a t e r t i e k e t s t u b t h a t h a s t h e name of t h e t h e a t e r and t h e d a t e of t h e m u r d e r . The f o l l o w i n g day P l i n i o g o e s t o s e e Dona Carmen, w i f e of Don O n o f r e .

She i s a woman whose o n l y h a p p y moments a r e

t h o s e s p e n t t h i n k i n g a b o u t h e r e x - f i a n c e , who d i e d l o n g ago.

The only m e a n i n g f u l i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t P l i n i o g e t s from

Dona Carmen i s

t h a t s h e , h e r h u s b a n d and J o a q u i n i t a , t h e

b e a u t i f u l and young maid of Dona Carmen, were a t home a t t h e time of t h e m u r d e r . Some time l a t e r Dona Carmen g e t s v e r y i l l .

A week

l a t e r h e r d o c t o r t e l l s P l i n i o t h a t the i l l n e s s has passed 16

17 the crisis; however, that same day she dies.

Don Onofre

tells Plinio that he discovered that his wife was dead when he went bo kiss her good night,

Joaquini ta was sitting at

the "bedside of her mistress, but she says that "because of the darkness she noticed nothing unusual.

Officially, the

cause of death is listed as a heart attack, but the doctor suspects something else. After several months Don On of re and J oaquini ta are married.

At about this time, Plinio finds the iron staff,

the murder weapon, and a sheet, which he suspects to be a part of the killer's carnaval disguise,

Plinio finds the

articles carefully hidden in the theater, which he decided to search because of the ticket stub found at Don Onofre's home.

From the initials on the sheet, Plinio believes that

the sheet belonged to Don Onofre's former wife. After the wedding, Joaquinita and her husband move to the country.

When Plinio shows Don Onofre the articles he

has found at the theater, Don Onofre admits that they belong to his house.

Later, Plinio and Don lotario visit Joaquinita,

whom they find talking with her father, Tnocente.

Both the

father and the daughter deny any knowledge of the murders. Tnocente denounces Don Onofre as the murderer of Antonia, saying that his daughter saw him leave the house, wearing a military suit and carrying a bundle under his arm, shortly before the murder took place.

Joaquinita believes that

Dona Carmen was also killed by her husband.

18

Plinio takes Inocente and Joaquinita to the police station and goes to see Don unofre, who insists now that he did kill his wife and the servant. Plinio, however.

He cannot convince

Upon examining the military uniform sup-

posedly worn by Don Onofre on the night of the murder, Plinio at once decides that it is much to small for Don Onofre but that it would fit Inocente perfectly.

Confronted

with this evidence, Inocente confesses. After the confession, Plinio learns that Antonia had threatened to tell Dona Carmen that Joaquinita and Don Onofre were having an affair.

Inocente and his daughter

made plans to get rid of the two women who stood in the way of Joaquinita's marriage to this wealthy man.

Inocente

killed Antonia, and Joaquinita smothered Dona Carmen with a pillow.

Don Onofre had been totally unaware of Joaquinita's

and her father's actions. El carnaval is one of the two novelettes in a book entitled Historias de Plinio.

Garcia Pavon says in the

introduction to this book that the praise he received for los carros vacios prompted him to write two new novelettes about Plinio, El carnaval and El charco de sangre. on, saying:

He goes

"Aunque estos ultimos 'casos' son completamente

imaginados, procuro retratar o reinventar tipos reales o

19 propios del ambiente.

Casos y tipos en proporcion eon el

marco popular y la modesta ejecutoria de mi 'agente' Plinlo. Plot is emphasized over characterization and style in "both El carnaval and Los carros vacios,

However, when we

compare the two books we notice a small progression toward a literary detective novel.

This can be judged mainly by

the increasing amount of detail and description we find in J|1 carnaval.

The content of this novelette is divided into

narrative and descriptive passages.

The descriptive pas-

sages are found mainly in the beginning of the book.

Here

the author follows the wanderings of the killer of Antonia from a place near the cemetery of Tomelloso to the house of Don Onofre.

Following the killer, we are presented a de-

tailed description of the carnaval festivities in Tomelloso. Especially vivid are the descriptions of the carnaval costumes of the residents and an outdoor theatrical presentation. The descriptions in El carnaval are still simple observations. There is hardly any interpretation of the scenes presented, only objective reporting of physical appearances and occurrences. In places the description is quite detailed, as with the following view of a boy in the street: Era un mozo muy fornido.

Llevaba la cara manchada

^Francisco Garcia Pavon, Historias de Plinio (Barcelona, 1967), p. 10.

20 de pimenton. Se vestia con una chambra de mujer, panuelo a la cabeza, tambien de mujer, cortisima falda que apenas le cubria los muslos; medias negras que forraban sua enormes piernas y alpargatas blancas. Tenia un aspecto grotesco y terrible a la vez. A pesar de ser honibre, las prendas de mujer sugerfan una oscura impudicia.2 The greater part of the book is devoted almost solely to telling the story.

There is very little detail that is

not necessary for the understanding of the plot. The whole narration is a flashback told in the third person.

After solving the crimes, Plinio reconstructs all

the events, beginning with the journey of the disguised Inocente to his victim.

It is a day by day narration;

everything is told in correct chronological sequence. One important characteristic that pertains to all of the detective novels of Garcia Pavon and that should be mentioned here is the author's accurate geographical knowledge of the places that he describes.

The author has lived for

years in Tomelloso, where all except one of the novels are set, and in Madrid, where Las hermanas coloradas is staged. When we read about the different streets and taverns, the Ayuntamiento, or the plaza of Tomelloso, we feel that we have been there. In addition to the description of the carnaval itself, there are a few interesting costumbrista elements in El carnaval. 2

For example, there is an explanation of the

Ibid., p. 20.

21 custom of breaking old porcelain and ringing bells in front of the house of a newly married couple.

The author describes

a "cencerra," as it is called, outside Don Onofre's house the day that he and Joaquini ta were married. In El earnaval the character descriptions are still very basic, but just as description becomes more detailed, Plinio's character is more fully developed. he has a wife and a daughter.

We learn that

We do not know yet what their

names are, how Plinio feels about them, or how they feel about him.

The only time they appear in the novel is when

Plinio takes them to a dance.

Afte^ reading the other novels,

we will know that this was a special occasion for the wife and the daughter, for the only other time that he goes anywhere with them is in las hermanas coloradas, when they go to the bus station to see him off to Madrid.

But even then,

they have to wait outside while Plinio and Don Lotario have a cup of coffee on the way to the station. People of Cornelloso have such great confidence -In Plinio as the "jefe de la Guardia Municipal" that it is said that they wi sh that there were more crimes in ^omelloso, so that they could see Plinio solve them.

When there are no crimes

to be solved, Plinio gets very bored and spends entire days at the casino reading magazines.

Eecause of his prestige

as a policeman, Plinio associates occasionally with the upper class of Cornelloso, but he always likes to stay humble and keep his distance.

22 The d i s c u s s i o n s 'between Don l o t a r i o and P l i n i o c o n c e r n , i n El_ c a r n a v a l

a s i n I.os c a r r o s v a c i o s ,

a t h a n d , and t h e y r e v e a l two men,

little

the

crime

of t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e s e

C o n v e r s a t i o n s b e t w e e n the two t a k e on an i n c r e a s -

i n g l y p e r s o n a l c h a r a c t e r in succeeding- n o v e l s . The l a n g u a g e of E l c a r n a v a l i s s i m p ! e and i t s c o l l o q u i a l vocabulary i s again l i m i t e d La

t o t h e few s e n t e n c e s of

Roc 10: — L e a r v i e r t o q u e a mf n o m e : m p o r t a r i a q u e me m a t a r a n e s t a n d o usted v i v o , porque t a r d e o t e m p r a n o d a b a con er cr.im.ina . . . » . . — i A y , M a n u e d e ml a r m a ! Si n o e s t u v i e s e ya

c a s a o y t a n p o c h i t o , que se c a s a b a u s t e d conmi g o l o saben 1 o s g u a r d i a s , I d i g o ! 3 T h e r e i s on the w h o l e , h o w e v e r , l i t t l e p r o g r e s s i o n i n E l c a r n a v a l t o w a r d t h e e x t r e m e l y r e a l i s t i c l a n g u a g e of Las. he rm an a s c o l o r a d a s * Tn c o n c l u s i o n , El_ c a r n a v a l

is s t i l l

b a s i c a l l y a detec-

t i v e s t o r y , b u t i t d o e s have c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t p r o v e a d e f i n i t e development toward a d e t e c t i v e s t o r y w i t h high artistic qualities.

I n t h e n e x t c h a p t e r we w i l l t a k e a n -

o t h e r s t e p toward t h i s g o a l . tj ^ - " F r a n c i s c o Garcia P a v o n , c e l o n a , 1 9 6 7 ) , p- 9 2 .

H i s tori a s de P l l n l o (Bar-

CHAPTER IV

EL CHARCO DE SANGRE

Someone had been killed near the Tomelloso railroad station.

Finding out who the victim is and who the killer

is constitutes basically the plot of El charco de sangre. One night Plinio and Don Lotario discover a pool of "blood on the ground near the raiIroad station.

The h].ood

cannot have been there more than half an hour because it has not coagulated yet.

Plinio suspects that their dis-

covery has something to do with the people who arrived on the train an hour earlier. Nobody at the station has seen or heard anything suspicious.

Plinio asks everyone present to list the names of

the people who either arrived on the train or were waiting at the station.

The following day, Plinio learns that the

blood is human blood, and he organizes a search for the people on the list acquired the night before.

The police

locate everyone except Sebastian Caraicero from Alcazar, ex-fiance of Margarita, the daughter of Don Jeronimo. A call to Alcazar confirms that Garnicero came to Tomelloso on the night of the murder and that he had a midnight appointment with Joaquin Fernandez, who works at 23

the bank.

Fernandas t e l l s P l i n i o

that Carnicero f a i l e d to

"keep the a p p o i n t m e n t . The f o l l o w i n g d a y , "Don J e r o n i m o and hi s d a u g h t e r "•Carpari t a l e a v e town.

Q u e s t i o n i n g M a r g a r i t a ' s two b r o t h e r s ,

P l i n i o i s t o l d t h a t t h e y were i n Ciudad Real

on t h e n 1 ' g h t

of t h e 'irurder, though P l i n i o r e c a l l s h a v i n g s e e n t h e i r f a t h e r a t h i s c l u b i n Tome 11 oso on t h e n i g h t i n q u e s t i o n . S e v e r a l months l a t e r , given b i r t h to a baby,

P l i n i o ""earns t h a t M a r g a r i t a h a s T

Ie s u s p e c t s t h a t C a r n i c e r o was t h e

b a b y ' s f a t h e r and t h a t Don J e r o n i n n ' 3 f a m i l y k i l l e d him f o r vengeance.

G a r n i c e r o ' s p h o t o g r a p h found n e a r Cinoo Oasas

l e a d s " P l i n i o and Don L o t a r i o t o a d e e p , abandoned w e 1 ! , where t h e y s u b s e q u e n t l y f i n d t h e body of C a r n i c e r o .

When

P l i n i o i n t e r r o g a t e s "Rl O h i r i m o y a , a m e n t a l l y r e t a r d e d nan who e n t e r t a i n s h i m s e l f by w a t c h i n g t r a i n s a r r i v e a t and d e p a r t .from T o - n e l l o s o , he now h a s an e y e w i t n e s s t o t h e crime, "SI Chirirnoya t e l l s him t h a t he saw M a r g a r i t a ' s two b r o t h e r s kill

C a r n i c e r o n e a r the s t a t i o n . C o n f r o n t e d w i t h PI L n i o ' s e v i d e n c e ,

f e s s t o t h e m u r d e r and e v e n t u a l l y r e l a t e cri~ne.

the b r o t h e r s cont h e d e t a i l s of t h e

D u r i n g a l o n g - d i s t a n c e c a l l from Ciudad Real

to

T c m e l l o s o , t h r o u g h t h e s h e e r a c c i d e n t of a c r o s s e d t e l e p h o n e c o n n e c t i o n , one of t h e b r o t h e r s o v e r h e a r d a c o n v e r s a t i o n b e t w e e n C a r n i c e r o and J o a q u i n F e r n a n d e z .

A f t e r l e a r n i n g in

t h i s manner of C a r n i c e r o ' s a p p o i n t m e n t i n T o u e l l o s o , t h e brothers laid

t h e i r plans f o r the crime,

The r e s t was

9- qx a l m o s t a s P l i n i o had s u s p e c t e d . R e a l b y c a r and a r r i v e d time as G a r n i c e r o ' s the abandoned well

train,

the c a r ,

that

the w e l l .

found n e a r the well

would k i l l

Plinio

The c r i m e c o m p l e t e d ,

that if

him a g a i n ,

they drive back to Totally unrepentant, alive,

i s h c o n c e p t of pun don o r a s t h e m o t i v e

and

the a t t a c k

f o r the murder.

t h e h o n o r of t h e J e r o n i m o f a . m i l y

T h e r e f o r e , as the people

t h e s o n s of Don J e r o n i m o b e i n g t a k e n in t h e i r h e a r t s

that

w a s h i n g away t h e d i s h o n o r P l i n i o knows t h a t it

old Span-

on t h e i r h o n o r m u s t b e a v e n g e d b y t h e s h e d -

d i n g of b l o o d .

feel

they

times i f necessary.

I n El_ c h a r c o de s a n g r e G a r c i a Pa von u s e s t h e

Garni c e r o h a s t a r n i s h e d

from

the body from t h e

Garni c e r o w e r e s t i l l

a thousand

They b e l i e v e

must have f a l l e n

t h e y were c a r r y i n g

Ci u d a d Real, t o e s t a b l i s h t h e i r a l i b i . they tell

f r i e n d from t h e hank

They s t a b b e d h i m , p u t him

a n d t h r e w h i s "body i n t o

t o the w e l l .

and

V/hen O a r n i c e r o saw t h e " b r o t h e r s , i t

Garni c e r o ' s p o c k e t w h i l e car

t h e y a g r e e d upon

t h e i r car near the s t a t i o n

f o r him t o e s c a p e .

the p i c t u r e

t h e same

f o r G a r n i c e r o ' s "body.

Garnicero that his

was w a i t i n g f o r him.

in

°n t h e w a y ,

as a hiding place

a s k e d a 'boy t o t e l l

t h e y l e f t Ci u d a d

in ^omelloco almost a t

In Tomelloso they parked

was t o o l a t e

It eight

to the pri son,

they

the b r o t h e r s have done r i g h t

i.n

of t h e i r s i s t e r w i t h b l o o d .

the Jeronimos are

cones to a n y t h i n g t h a t has

When a member o f

of T o r n e l l o s o w a t c h

t o do w i t h

the f a m i l y d i e s

f i e r c e p e o p l e when their family.

t h e y mourn f o r t e n y e a r s .

26 P l i n i o s a y s t h a t t h e i r c o n c e p t of h o n o r and of t h e dead i s t h a t of t h e time of ^ a r l c a s t a n a .

Whoever a b u s e s t h e i r

s i s t e r h a s t o he k i l l e d w i t h o u t p i t y .

P l i n i o f e e l s t h a t the

f a m i l y h a s done w h a t t h e i r c o n s c i e n c e h a s t o l d t h e n t o d o . They c o u l d n e v e r f o r g i v e . I n El c h a r c o de s a n g r e G a r c i a Pavon h a s come a l o n g way i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of a l i t e r a r y d e t e c t i v e n o v e l . of m e r e l y r e l a t i n g t h e d e t a i l s of t h e p l o t ,

Instead

f a c t by f a c t ,

n t e r + w i n e d i n t e r e s t i n g d e s c r i p t i o n s and

the a u t h o r has

d e t a i l s t h a t g i v e t h e s t o r y a r t i s t i c q u a l i t i e s we have n o t seen i n

the f i r s t two n o v e l s .

The a u t h o r h a s c r e a t e d an a t m o s p h e r e of t h e v i n t a g e season t h a t p e n e t r a t e s the e n t i r e s t o r y .

We f i n d i n t e r e s t i n g

d e s c r i p t i o n s t h a t t e l l u s what h a p p e n s i n a s m a l l town d u r i n g the v i n t a g e :

how the g r a p e s a r e b r o u g h t t o town, how t h e y

a r e p r o c e s s e d and what goes on when t h e b u y e r s and s e l l e r s b a r g a i n a b o u t t h e p r i c e of g r a p e s . In a l l

of h i s d e t e c t i v e n o v e l s G a r c i a Pavon u s e s some

abnormal c h a r a c t e r s . the d e s c r i p t i o n

I n Los c a r r o s v a c i o s we q u o t e d e a r l i e r

of t h e e p i l e p t i c g i r l w i t h m a s c u l i n e t r a i t s .

I n KL e a r n a v a l we r e a d a b o u t Dona Carmen, who had l o s t a l l s e n s e of r e a l i t y and l i v e d d r e a m i n g of t h e p a s t .

In El

c h a r e o de s a n g r e we f i n d El O h i r l m o y a , t h e m e n t a l l y r e t a r d e d man who l i k e s bicycle.

to w a t c h t h e t r a i n s and t o r i d e h i s new

Another e x t r e m e l y i n t e r e s t i n g

figure introduced

i n t h e n o v e l i s A n d r e s , a b l i n d man who owns a house of

?1 p r o s t i t u t i o n and Ls one of P l i n i o ' s b e s t s o u r c e s of i n f o r mation.

A l s o , we Tieet some of the p r o s t i t u t e s who work i n

the "Casa d e l C i e g o . "

I n s h o r t , "by the time we f i n i s h

El c h a r c o de s an gre P l i n i o ' s c i r c l e of a c q u a i n t a n c e s h a s "been g r e a t l y expanded and Garcia Pavon has proven h i m s e l f t o be a c a r e f u l o b s e r v e r of p e o p l e , h i g h l y t a l e n t e d i n the a r t of c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n . ther developed.

I n t h i s book Don L o t a r i o i s f u r -

We l e a r n t h a t h i s f e e l i n g s toward P l i n i o

a r e n o t always those of g r e a t r e s p e c t and t r u s t .

,','e l e a r n

t h a t he i s v e r y human i n h i s f e e l i n g s , b e i n g t e r r i b l y j e a l ous when P l i n i o s o l v e s some of the d e t a i l s of the case w i t h o u t his aid. from him.

He o f t e n s u s p e c t s t h a t P l i n i o i s h i d i n g some t h i n g Even though he knows t h a t p l i n i o h a s proven

a g a i n and a g a i n t h a t he t a k e s Don l o t a r i o c o m p l e t e l y i n t o h i s c o n f i d e n c e , he c a n n o t avoid the m i s t r u s t .

Sometimes

i n h i s i m a g i n a t i o n Don l o t a r i o even m a g n i f i e s and deforms the p e r s o n a l i t y of P l i n i o t o the p o i n t of s e e i n g him a s a s l y f o x , c a p a b l e of d u p l i c i t y . f o r m a t i o n i s more e x t e n u a t e d :

At o t h e r t i m e s the d e -

P l i n i o seems t o him so

i n t e l l i g e n t and c a p a b l e of such advanced i n v e s t i g a t i o n t h a t Don L o t a r i o c a n n o t comprehend i t ,

and he f e e l s t h a t P l i n i o

does n o t want t o l o w e r h i m s e l f t o e x p l a i n I t t o him, Don L o t a r i o n o r m a l l y c o n s i d e r s h i m s e l f an ordi n a r y person.

At times he g e t s e x c i t e d and b e l i e v e s t h a t he i s

comparable t o P l i n i o , b u t t h i s p a s s e s soon.

On the w h o l e ,

he l i k e s h i s p o s i t i o n ; P l i n i o i s t h e g r e a t c h i e f and he i s

28 a u s e f u l a s s i s t a n t , "because of h i s f i d e l i t y and e s p e c i a l l y "because of h i s F o r d , Plinio,

He c o u l d n o t l i v e w i t h o u t h e l p i n g

His p r o f e s s i o n , h i s money, h i s f a r m s — a l l l o s e

their interest

f o r him when a " c a s e " i s a t h a n d .

At t i m e s

Don L o t a r i o t h i n k s t h a t t h e r e i s one t h i n g t h a t P l i n i o n e v e r would he a b l e t o do b u t t h a t he h i m s e l f w o u l d : t h e memoirs of t h e i r m u t u a l a d v e n t u r e s .

to w r i t e

He c o u l d make P l i n i o

famous. 7/e l e a r n more a b o u t Don L o t a r i o when P l i n i o a r r a n g e s a p l a n t o c a t c h El O h i r i m o y a .

Here Don L o t a r i o i s g e t t i n g

i m p a t i e n t in h i s h i d i n g p l a c e : D u r a n t e media b o r a l a r g a , a p a r t e de un p e r r o o l i s quean t e , n o p a s 6 n a d i e ; don L o t a r i o no s a b i a bi.en que h a c e r , s i f u m a r o no f u m a r , s i h a c e r a g u a s o n o h a c e r l a s , P o r f i n d e c i d i o r e z a r a l g o en l a t i n , que s a b i a d e s d e n i n o , aunque no 1o r e c o r d a b a b i e n . l u e g o , d e s c u b r i o l a l u c e c i l i a d e l c i g a r r o de M a l e z a , que se o c u l t a b a e n t r e l a s s o m b r a s , en f r e n t e de e l , a c i e r t a d i s t a r i c i a , y con e s t o se e n t r e t u v o un r a t o . », Poco a poco se 1 e f u e e l m i e d o , y , a b u r r i d o de t o d o , comenzo a j u g a r a que m a t a b a i n v i s i b l e s e n e m i g o s . Apuntaba con e l r e v o l v e r , y . . . ipum!1 Don T o t a r i o a l s o shows u s a more p o e t i c p a r t of c h a r a c t e r i n E l c h a r c o de s a n g r e .

I n t h e f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e he d e -

s c r i b e s t h e waves of t h e s e a the ocean:

f

;o P l i n i o , who h a s n e v e r s e e n

"Vienc-n con mucha f u e r z a , como p a r a comerse e l

• n u n d o . . . Y l u e g o , n a d a , se vuel ven c a n s a d a s , r o t a s , e chart do o e s puma de r a b i a . " ^ 1 F r a n c i s c o G a r c f a Pa v o n , His t o r i a s de P l i n i o ("Barc e l o n a , 1 9 6 7 ) , p . 200, ?

T b i d . , p . 166,

29 Tn El c h a r c o de s a n g r e P l i n i o , too, becomes a much more rounded c h a r a c t e r than he has been b e f o r e .

His r o l e i n

t h i s book i s c o n s i d e r a b l y more i m p o r t a n t t h a n i n the p r e vious n o v e l s .

I n the e a r l i e r n o v e l s he was, of c o u r s e , the

c e n t r a l , f i g u r e , b u t he was i m p o r t a n t m a i n l y a s a d e t e c t i v e ; i n El c h a r c o de s a n g r e he becomes i m p o r t a n t a s a p e r s o n a s well.

? o r the f i r s t time many p a s s a g e s a r e s p e n t e x p l a i n i n g

h i s m o t i v a t i o n s and h i s way of r e a s o n i n g #

A l s o , f o r the

f i r s t t i m e , "Don I a t a r i o and P l i n i o have ] on^ d i s c u s s i o n s that, e n a b l e us t o know b o t h of them b e t t e r , We l e a r n a b i t a b o u t P l i n i o ' s p a s t when he v i s i t s a bodega where h i s f a t h e r used t o work and where P l i n i o went to w a i t f o r him a f t e r s c h o o l .

At t h a t bodepa P l i n i o had

g o t t e n drunk when he was a l i t t l e boy.

Some m u l e t e e r s had

given him so much wine t h a t h i s f a t h e r had to c a r r y him home.

P l i n i o had a l s o worked a t the b o d e g a , b u t he d i s l i k e d

the j o b .

A f t e r he came home from the m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e and

.ie wad o f f e r e d a p o s t as the ' ' J e f e de l a Guardia M u n i c i p a l , " he a c c e p t e d i t . One of the t h i n g s t h a t makes the r e a d e r l i k e P l i n i o so much i s the f a c t t h a t even though he i s the h e r o who s o l v e s all

the c r : me3 and i s p u t on t h e p e d e s t a l by the p e o p l e who

know him, he s t i l l

i n very human; he makes m i s t a k e s and

o f t e n snows a l m o s t c h i l d i s h e n t h u s i a s m , as he does the morning on which he wears h i s new u n i f o r m f o r the f i r s t

time.

30 , . . Y Manuel Gonzalez se v i s t i o ague11a manana c a s i con emocion. Los b o t o n e s d o r a d o s y l o s v i v o s r o j o s d e l uni f orme d e s t a c a b a n sob r e e l r e c i o pano azul o s c u r o . La g o r r a y l a p e l l i z a tambien e r a n de e s t r e n o . P a r a que no f a l t a s e d e t a l l e se l u s t r o l a s b o t a s y l i m p i o l a empunadura y o o n t e r a d e l s a b l e con " S i d o l " ; y e l r e v o l v e r ni quel a d o , c on bi c a r b o n a t o . I b a r a d i a n t e con su uni forme c a l l e S o c u e l l a m o s a b a j o . Casi l e daba v e r g u e n z a rairar a l a g e n t e . En t a l s i t u a c i on y e s t a d o de anirno, p e n s o que l o me j or s e r f a i r a que l o v i e s e R o c i o . 3 When t h e r e i s no c a s e t o s o l v e P l i n i o g e t s v e r y d i s p i r i t e d and even c o n s i d e r s c h a n g i n g h i s p r o f e s s i o n ; when he s t a r t s t o work on a new c a s e he i s n e r v o u s .

He i s a v e r y

c a u t i o u s -nan who wants t o be a b s o l u t e l y s u r e b e f o r e making judgments.

He e x p r e s s e s c l e a r l y h i s d i s d a i n f o r s c i e n t i f i c

methods i n s o l v i n g c r i m e s .

He s a y s t h a t a l l c r i m e s can be

s o l v e d by u n d e r s t a n d i n g p e o p l e and u s i n g o n e ' s b r a i n . The a t m o s p h e r e of t h e v i n t a g e s e a s o n does n o t go u n n o t i c e d by P l i n i o .

This y e a r , more than e v e r , he g e t s

involved with the v i n t a g e .

He goes down t o the road t o see

the c a r t s a r r i v e loaded with g r a p e s .

He f o l l o w s them t o be

w e i g h e d , he t a s t e s them, and he even goes t o t h e p i t where t h e y a r e p r e s s e d and c o n v e r t e d t o w i n e .

"En a q u e l l o s d i a s

de l a v e n d i m i a , P l i n i o se s e n t ' a mas 1 i g a d o a su t i e r r a que n u n c a ; e l o l o r a m c s t o , e l unanime t r a j i n a r , l a i l u s i o n c ornun l e gu s t a b a n . "4of the v i n t a g e : 3

He l i k e d t o be p a r t of t h e s p e c t a c l e

"Loo c a r r o s a r r i m a d os a l a p i q u e r a y

I b i d . . p . 195.

4

I b i d . , p . 141.

31 descargando a golpe de azada . . . Los pisadores, medio desnudos, ehapoteando en el oscuro jaraiz . . . Los carros que 5 llegaban del corte cargados de vendimiadores cantando . . The atmosphere of the vintage is present everywhere. We experience it at the bank of Tomelloso, where men crowd to the windows with their checks and notes from the vintage in their hands.

We see a fat man, Bombero, and his small,

sad wife come in carrying coins.

He looks very proud, with

a cigar in his mouth, showing his money to his friends. His wife walks behind him, bashful, as if she were ashamed. The vintage season is also strongly felt at the casino: En el Casino se notaba la euforia de la vendimia. La gente, vestida de trapillo, entraba y salia como excitada. Hasta los senoritos iban sin corbata y con trajes usados, para demostrar que andaban en plena actividad. El motivo de tantas entradas y salidas de los socios era husmear la cotizacion de la uva en las distintas casas; saber si a fulano o a mengano le "entraban" uvas o no; y, sobre todo, el hacer politica; los vendedores de uvas procuraban propalar con los mas ingeniosos argumentos que la cosecha era escasa, que habfa muchas uvas menos de las que parecfa a simple vista; y que en los pueblos proximos se pagaba el fruto a mas alto precio. Por el contrario, los compradores, de manera sutil, dejaban caer en este y aquel corro que la cosecha era inmensa, que la uva era mala, de poco grado, y que en todos sitios se pagaba a menos precio que en Tomelloso. En este juego, tan viejo como la misma uva, no se enganaba nadie, porque la realidad tenia una elocuencia incuestionable, pero era divertido y excitante.6 We see the vintagers at the hotel:

"A la luz amarillenta de

una sola bombilla que habia en el centro, se veia mucha 5

Ibid., p. 141.

6

Ibid. t p. 134.

32 gente, casi hacinada, durmiendo vestida, sobre sacos, entre maletas viejas y hatillos. 7

El ambiente, espeso, olfa a

paja y a sudor." When the vintage is coming to an end, Plinio and Don Lotario are sitting near the station, watching the vintagers pass by: Y llegaban con las raulas enjaezadas a lo majo, con arneses bordados de tachuelas doradas, borla roja en la cabezada y tiros de lujo. Los carros venian ornados de guirnaldas de pampanos y papeles de seda. El carrero, en el estribo. Y las vendimiadoras, bien coloradas, a ambos lados del carro. A1 entrar en el pueblo cantaban a toda voz jotas y seguidillas. Deambulaban los carros vendimiadores por todas las calles del pueblo, y concurrfan en la plaza, en corapetencia de majeza de arreos, gallardia de raulas e intensidad en el canto. El atardecer del final de vendimia, entre el polvo incendiado por un sol sanguinolento, era un jubileo de carros, de pampanos secos y cantares.® Of the detective novels whose action takes place primarily in Tomelloso, El charco de sangre is probably the richest in costumbrista elements.

While the author has

made no major change in his style in this novel, he has included, as we have noted, far more detail in description, both of places and of people.

The colloquial vocabulary is

still limited to a few sentences of La Rocio and some gypsies; it does not approach the colorful style of Las hermanas coloradas , a novel which is quite rich in tacos and dialectical expressions. 7

Ibid. , p. 13?.

The novel as a whole, however, 8

Ibid., pp. 162-163

33 represents a major step toward a truly "literary" detective novel.

An even larger step is taken in El reinado de Witiza,

which we shall examine in the following chapter.

CHAPTER V

EL REINADQ DE WITIZA

I n El r e i n a d o de f i t i z a the body of an old man has "been found i n someone e l s e ' s b u r i a l v a u l t ,

i t i s P l i n i o ' s Job t o

i d e n t i f y the man and t o f i n d out who l e f t the body i n the cemetery. Antonio, known to h i s f r i e n d s as El Faraon, r e p o r t s t o P l i n i o t h a t someone has c l o s e d the b u r i a l s i t e which he purchased some time ago a t the cemetery i n Tomelloso.

Exam-

i n a t i o n of the grave r e s u l t s i n the d i s c o v e r y of a c o f f i n cont a i n i n g the embalmed corpse of an old man.

The man i s un-

known, and t h e r e i s no i n d i c a t i o n t h a t he met a v i o l e n t d e a t h . I n an a t t e m p t to i d e n t i f y the d e c e a s e d , P l i n i o has the t o d y p u t on d i s p l a y .

Prom the many p o s s i b l e i d e n t i t i e s sug-

g e s t e d by the c i t i z e n s of Tomelloso, P l i n i o narrows the f i e l d t o two l i k e l y c a n d i d a t e s :

Don I g n a c i o de l a Camara

M a r t i n e z , wealthy owner of the Miralagos e s t a t e , and an old man of unknown name, seen r e c e n t l y a t a f a i r . I n v e s t i g a t i n g the f i r s t p o s s i b i l i t y , P l i n i o and Don L o t a r i o go to H i r a l a g o s to t a l k to Don l t u p e r c i o , the a d m i n i s t r a t o r of Don I g n a c i o , who t e l l s them t h a t h i s m a s t e r l i v e s abroad and has n o t been a t h i s Miralagos e s t a t e f o r y e a r s . 34

35 Back in Tomelloso, Plinio and Don Lotario learn that a wealthy lady has arrived from Madrid and identified the body as that of her husband, from whom she has been separated for some time.

The following night, unfortunately, the "body

disappears, and the following day Plinio learns that the husband of the wealthy lady is alive. turn to Miralagos.

His suspicions now

He goes there with Don Lotario and

discovers that Don Lupercio, the administrator, has stolen the body and brought it to Miralagos believing it to be that of his master.

The administrator and an accomplice are taken

to jail, and the body is returned to the cemetery. Following a clue, Plinio goes to see Jacinto el Pianolo, a friend of El Faraon.

El Pianolo tells them that one day

a truck brought to his house the coffin with the old man inside it and a letter from his friend Rufilanchas.

In the

letter Rufilanchas greeted his friend warmly and said that he hoped that the "gift" he was sending would adorn El Pianolo's home.

There was no mention of the identity of the man in the

coffin.

El Pianolo decided to extend the joke to El Faraon

and, with the help of his son, sealed the coffin in his friend's future burial site.

El Pianolo and his son are put

in jail; they are soon set free, however, because of the illness of El Pianolo's wife, who subsequently dies. The following morning Plinio, Don Lotario and Matfas, the gravedigger, find Rufilanchas .in an empty grave, securely

36

bound.

El Paraon, El Pianolo and his son have placed him

there for revenge. Questioning Rufilanchas, Plinio finally learns the truth. Rufilanchas, during a recent trip to Madrid, met a group of medical students at the boardinghouse where he was staying. The students told him of an old man near death in the hospital who had paid them to embalm his body and send it to his native Tomelloso for burial.

Since Rufilanchas would

soon be returning to Tomelloso, they asked him to transport the corpse there for them.

Though at first reluctant,

Rufilanchas remembered a trick played on him by El Pianolo and decided to return the favor by sending him a "gift." He planned to reclaim the body and give it a proper burial as soon as he reached Tomelloso. El Pianolo gives Plinio some personal papers of the deceased from which it is learned that his name was Don Fernando Lopez de la Huerta and that he was the man seen earlier in Tomelloso at the fair.

The case solved, the

body is buried with great respect in the Tomelloso cemetery, with El Faraon, El Pianolo and the son of the latter serving as pallbearers. El relnado de Witiza, a finalist for the Nadal Prize in 1967, differs considerably from the three detective works of Garcia Pavon that we have examined in the preceding chapters.

The most outstanding difference is in the language.

37 That of El reinado de Witiza is saturated with colloquialism, all the characters speaking the language of La Mancha to some extent. Some of the local words have been explained in an appendix added by the author.

There we learn that an interesting

word like quiquillcuatre means simply "exactly," and that £nade means in standard Spanish "un viejo bodeguero que cayo en una tinaja y estuvo nadando hasta que lo sacaron." The following short conversation is typical of the ones we see in El reinado de Witiza.

Here Plinio is talking to

a man at the police station: — M e dicen que llamo el se,nor Juez. — N o , e sio yo que er seno Jue esta en Arcasa. — q u e pasa? —Pue na, que al Antonio 1'an birlao un nicho» —iGomo que le han birlao un nicho? — S i , que le han enterrao un forastero en su patrimonio . . . Vamo. que ya le van a roba a uno hasta la sepurtura.l The prose of El reinado de Witiza is at times almost poetic, as when Plinio is observing butterflies that fly into the room where the dead body lies: Algo se movio junto al cristal de la ventana. Era una mariposa blanca. Quedo durante unos segundos inmovil. En seguida llegaron mas, blancas tambien. Serian mariposas nacidas a la vera y al olor de muertos parvulos y de muertas virgenes. Mariposas tejidas con mortajas de impuberes y cabellos rubios de mocitas que en flor tuvieron la suerte de marchar a la otra ladera, donde siemprfc quedaran govenes intactas. Mariposas, ultimos trasuntos de las viejas familias del lugar: Serranos, Torres, Laras, Cepedas que ahora formabah "'"Francisco Garcia Pavon, El reinado de Wi ti za (Barcelona, 1968), p. 13. ~

38 una rueda perfecta. Una rueda voladora que entro por la ventana entreabierta y quedo junto al cristal.2 The prose is also poetic when Plinio is contemplating the "beautiful landscape of La Mancha on the way to Miralagos: A la derecha de la ruta, aguas quietas, matriz del Guadiana. Aguas anchisimas que ni corren ni ondean. Ni mar ni n o . Aguas que se sangran por el pie y conservan la cabeza lucida. Los rfos cantan y la mar mare a , pero el agua de laguna es melancolia. Solo para mirarse la cara en sus espejos, ver marcharse la tarde paso a paso y recibir el amanecer en su bandeja. Las tardes junto a las lagunas son de anoranza . . . Tal vez las aguas no se hicieron para estar quietas, como ojos cansados. Una tras otra: la del Rey, la Golgada, la Tinajilla. Los bordes pardisuaves del monte enano que( tapiza los oteros se copian en el agua verde. Un breve pinar. Fabricas de la luz, romero y toinillo a la par del camino. Un leve pescador bianco en la otra orilla. Don Quijote vio las lagunas con las linternas de sus ojos encendidas. "Regato, monte, pradera", Espejos de La Mancha. A la caida de la tarde parecen charcos de sangre parada. Por la manana, de ambar. Alguna vez, un viento leve, les pinta rizos, cosquillas de las aguas. Y, en seguida, quedan tersas. Por ellas viejas andanzas moriscas, Cervantes con su rumiar esceptico y consolador. Garlistas y liberales. Aqui cazo Prim. De vez en cuando un pintor, un poeta, cazadores y hombres con canas, batanes. Luego fabricas de la luz, ahora chalets y hoteles. Es igual, ellas espejan siempre asi.3 There are numerous descriptions in El reinado de Witiza that do not express solely what the observer sees, but also what he hears, what he smells and how he feels. case in the following passage.

This is the

Plinio and Don Lotario are

sitting one lazy afternoon smoking and contemplating the panorama of the plaza of Tomelloso: Aquel plomazo aplastaba las gentes y los coches. El Ayuntamiento, que estaba a la derecha, parecia sin 2

Ibid., p. 159.

3

Ibld.. pp. 89-90.

39 respiracion, sin guardias, sin alcalde y sin serenos cantores, decoracion vieja de teatro requesta sin motivo. Enfrente, la Posada de los Portales, con su aire norteno de solaneras, coluranas, almagres y cales, posada de antiguos arrieros y tratantes

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