Pablo de Segovia, the Spanish Sharper · Chapter
II explained
Pablo recounts his early school days, his friendship with Don Diego Coronel, and a series of misadventures including a humiliating fall into a sewer during a Shrovetide festival, a confrontation with a counselor, and his decision to leave h
What happens
Pablo recounts his early school days, his friendship with Don Diego Coronel, and a series of misadventures including a humiliating fall into a sewer during a Shrovetide festival, a confrontation with a counselor, and his decision to leave his parents' home.
Themes in this chapter
Social Class and Identity
Pablo's desire to associate with gentlemen's sons and his shame about his parents' lowly trades highlight class anxieties.
Poverty and Desperation
The starving horse and the squalid conditions of Pablo's school and home life reflect material deprivation.
Satire of Hypocrisy
Pablo's master laughs at his innocent mistake in the Creed, and the school's harsh discipline is juxtaposed with the mistress's favoritism.
Characters to notice
- Pablo de Segovia
Narrator and protagonist; attends school, befriends Don Diego, and endures public humiliation.
- Don Diego Coronel
Pablo's friend and son of Don Alonso Coronel de Zuñiga; encourages Pablo to insult a counselor.
- Don Alonso Coronel de Zuñiga
Don Diego's father; his family welcomes Pablo into their home.
- Aldonza Saturno de Rebollo
Pablo's mother; mentioned when Pablo fears being mistaken for her during the market pelting.
Key passages
“I answered, that in that filthy condition I had none but what were offensive to the nose alone.”
Pablo jokes that his only weapons are the foul smells coming from his mud-covered body.
Pablo's witty retort to the officer after falling into the sewer.
“I said, 'He suffered under Pontio de Aguirre.'”
Pablo mistakenly substitutes the name of the counselor who chased him for Pontius Pilate in the Creed.
A humorous example of Pablo's fear and naivety after being whipped.
“Mother, all that troubles me is, that some of the standers-by told me I had no cause to be disturbed at it; and I did not ask them what they meant, because he was so young that said it.”
Pablo is more upset by the bystanders' insinuations than by the insult itself, and regrets not questioning them.
Shows Pablo's growing awareness of social stigma and his mother's complicity.