The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes · Chapter
First Master explained
Lazaro leaves his mother to serve a blind man, who teaches him cunning and survival but treats him cruelly.
What happens
Lazaro leaves his mother to serve a blind man, who teaches him cunning and survival but treats him cruelly. Lazaro tricks the blind man multiple times, culminating in a violent escape.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Ingenuity
Lazaro must use cunning to survive the blind man's stinginess, learning to trick him for food and wine.
Poverty and Hunger
Lazaro suffers near-starvation due to the blind man's avarice, highlighting the harsh realities of poverty.
Innocence and Experience
Lazaro's initial simplicity is shattered by the blind man's trick, marking his loss of innocence and entry into a world of deceit.
Characters to notice
- Lazarillo de Tormes
Begins service with the blind man, learns cunning, and eventually escapes.
- The Blind Man
Lazaro's first master, astute and avaricious, who teaches him survival but abuses him.
Key passages
“This will teach you that a blind man’s boy ought to be one point more knowing than the devil himself”
The blind man tells Lazaro that a blind man's servant must be even more cunning than the devil.
This marks the beginning of Lazaro's education in trickery.
“I can give you neither gold nor silver, but I can teach you much in the ways of getting a livelihood.”
The blind man promises to teach Lazaro survival skills instead of wealth.
Highlights the theme of survival and ingenuity.
“I never met a man so avaricious and stingy, insomuch that he nearly killed me with hunger”
Lazaro describes the blind man as extremely greedy, causing him to starve.
Emphasizes the theme of poverty and hunger.