Pablo de Segovia, the Spanish Sharper · Chapter
VI explained
Pablo recounts his early knavish pranks in Alcalá, including killing and cooking two pigs that wandered into the house, and a series of deceptions with the old housekeeper to steal food and money.
What happens
Pablo recounts his early knavish pranks in Alcalá, including killing and cooking two pigs that wandered into the house, and a series of deceptions with the old housekeeper to steal food and money. He also tricks the housekeeper into believing she committed blasphemy by calling chickens 'Pio, Pio,' extorting chickens from her, and later engages in shoplifting. The chapter highlights his growing skill in trickery and the hypocrisy of the household.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Trickery
Pablo's pranks and thefts are driven by hunger and the need to survive, showcasing his cunning and resourcefulness.
Satire of Hypocrisy
The housekeeper's outward piety, with her beads and prayers, contrasts sharply with her greed and dishonesty, satirizing religious hypocrisy.
Poverty and Desperation
The constant theft and cheating are motivated by the scarcity of food and resources, highlighting the desperation of the household.
Characters to notice
- Pablo de Segovia
Narrates his early knavish pranks in Alcalá, including killing pigs, stealing from the household, and tricking the housekeeper.
- Don Diego Coronel
Pablo's master, who is initially angry about the pig incident but later laughs and comments on Pablo's developing cunning.
- Marta
The old housekeeper who colludes with Pablo in stealing but is later tricked by him into giving up her chickens.
Key passages
“Do as you see them do, says the proverb; and it is well said. I took it so seriously into consideration, that I fully resolved to play the knave among knaves, and to outdo them all if possible.”
Pablo decides to follow the example of those around him and become the best trickster among them.
Sets the tone for Pablo's deliberate adoption of knavery.
“I answered I would plead hunger, which is the common refuge of all scholars; and if that was not enough, I would urge that, seeing them come into the house without knocking as if they had been at home, I thought they had been our own.”
Pablo defends his killing of the pigs by claiming hunger, a standard excuse for students, and pretending he mistook them for his own.
Highlights Pablo's cleverness in using common excuses to avoid punishment.
“She always wore a pair of beads about her neck, so big that the wood of them might have served to roast a sirloin of beef. It was all hung with crosses, medals, pictures, and other trinkets, on all which she said she prayed every night for her benefactors.”
The housekeeper's oversized rosary beads are described mockingly, emphasizing her superficial religiosity.
Satirizes the housekeeper's hypocrisy and false piety.