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Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla (1607-1648) |
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Prolific Spanish dramatist, a member of the order of Santiago, author of tragedies, comedias, autos sacramentales, and entremeses. Rojas was noted for a new type of Baroque drama, the comedias de figur�n, in which an eccentric character, or a jester (el gracioso) is the most important person in the play, preparing way for the Beaumarchais's (1732-1799) famous clever servant Figaro. Rojas Zorrilla's best know drama is Del rey abajo, ninguno (None Beneath the King), which was published in 1650. The story deals with a peasant who mistakenly believes that the King has violated his honor by breaking into his house and acting dishonorably toward his wife. Because he cannot move against the King, he must save his honor by killing his innocent wife. Pero en tanto que mi cuello Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla was born in Toledo. His father, Francisco Perez de Rojas, served in the Royal Navy, and after resigning, he moved to Madrid, where Rojas grew up. Rojas' mother was Dona Mariana de Besga y Zorrilla. For some reason, he later created his name from the second surname of each parent. It is believed that Rojas studied in Toledo and Salamanca, before returning to Madrid by 1631. Early in his life, Rojas Zorrilla became a close friend with Calder�n, P�rez de Montalb�n, and A. Coello. In the 1630s he started to gain fame as a playwright, borrowing the plots from such French dramatists as Corneille, Lesage, and Scarron. In the latter half of the century, French dramatists extensively borrowed from Rojas Zorrilla's work. Along with Pedro Calder�n de la Barca and Augustin Moreto, he represented the second phase of the Spanish Golden Age comedia; the first cycle had centered around Lope de Vega, Guill�n de Castro and others. At the beginning of his career, Rojas Zorrilla mostly collaborated with other dramatists, but in 1635 he wrote more plays on his own than in collaboration. When Lope de Vegan died, he contributed a sonnet on the occasion of the author's death. From 1640, his plays were staged in the new theatre in the Palace of Buen Retiro. Rojas's Los Bandos de Verona (1640), based on the story of Romeo and Juliet, was performed at the opening ceremonies. The first volume of a collection of Rojas's plays came out in 1640. Its second volume, published at his own expense, appeared five years later. King Philip IV honored Rojas in 1643 by awarding him a knighthood in the Order of Santiago. This did not go without difficulties because of his origin – he was accused to hide the fact that he had Moorish and Jewish ancestors. A royal order banned in 1646 the performance of both plays and the auto sacramentals staged in the church's atrium. Rojas Zorrilla died suddenly during the ban in Madrid, on January 23, 1648. He may have suffered a violent death but there is no evidence of this. His illegitimate daughter, Francisca Bez�n, became the famous actress La Bezona. Rojas was married from 1640 to Do�a Catalina Y��ez de Mendoza. Del Rey abajo ninguno (None But the King) was a play about the so-called punto de honor, the conflict between honor and loyalty, and in this particular story loyalty to the king and doubt's about wife's reputation. Some questions have arisen concerning its authorship, because the play was first attributed to Calderon when it was published as part of Parte Cuarenta y des de comedias de difererentes autores (1651). According to the 17th-century Spanish logic, if the king put a married woman to shame, it was the husband's duty make the wife to pay for it. Even if she is not the offender. The protagonist is the noble Garc�a del Gasta�ar, who lives a simple life in the country with his beautiful wife Blanca. When King Alfonso XI prepares war against Moors, Garc�a's substantial contribution to the effort attracts king's attention, and he decides to meet him. The king visits Garc�a's house with Count Don Mendo, who approaches in the night Blanca with questionable intentions. Garc�a confuses the king for the count, and sees no other alternative than to take the life of his innocent wife. "A muerte te ha condenado / mi honor, cuando no mis celos, / porque a costa de tu vida, / de una infamia me prevengo. / Perd�name Blanca m�a, / que, aunque de culpa te absuelvo, / s�lo por raz�n de Estado, / a la muerte de condeno." Bianca escapes to the mountains and eventually ends up in the care of the queen and king. Garc�a struggles with his consciousness and the code of honor. Understanding Garc�a's hesitation, Bianca offers to die. Finally Alfonso appears on the scene, Garc�a' mistake is revealed, and Don Mendo is killed by the king. Rojas Zorilla also wrote Cada cual lo que le toca (1645, To Each His Due), in which he unconventionally approached the feminine honor. When it was performed in Madrid, the audience booed to Rojas's twisting of the old theme, in which a wife has been discarded by another man before her marriage. The husband, Don Luis, is reluctant to kill Do�a Isabel, his wife whom he loves, and eventually she kills don Fernando, her former lover and saves her husband's honour. At the end Don Luis forgives his wife. Casarse por vengarse (1636) was a tragedy of a woman, Blanca, who wants to take a revenge on her former lover, Enrique. When he becomes a king, Enrique leaves her. Blanca marries a man she does not love, but her behaviour hurts the honour of her husband, too. A secret door to Blanca's bedroom has a central role in the plot; it ultimately leads to her death. The play was still popular in the eighteenth century. Rojas Zorrilla emphasized in his plays humane solutions in conflict situations and challenged the aristocratic code of honor. One must listen the voice of heart and not obey blindly traditional rules of behavior. He dealt with uncommon directress with such issues as unfaithfulness, the rights of women, and the fallibility of institutions. To Each His Due (1645) defended female equality and El desaf�o de Carlos V (1635) had an female character, an Amazon type, who has led a free and adventurous life. Entre bobos anda el juego (written 1638), partly inspired by Alonso de Castillo Sol�rzano's El marqu�s del Cigarral, is generally considered Rojas' best comedy. A young couple, Do�a Isabel and her poor cousin Pedro, revolt against plans of their parents. Isabel wants to marry for love, not financial security. Thomas Corneille took the plot from this lively play for his Don Bertrand de Cigarral. Rojas's treatment sometimes infuriated his audiences. He wrote some 100 stage works, several of them in collaboration with Coello y Ochoa and V�lez de Guevara. For further reading: Don Francisco de Rojas Zorilla by E. Cotarelo y Mori (1911); Dramaturgos de la escuela de Calder�n: Rojas Zorilla by F.C. Sainz de Robles (1947); Francisco de Rojas Zorilla and the Tragedy by R.R. MacCurdy (1958); Francisco de Rojas by R.R. MacCurdy (1973); McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama , Vol. 1, ed. by Stanley Hochman (1984); 'Del rey abajo, ninguno, y la inversion venatoria del hostigamiento' in Linguistica indoamericana y Estudios Literarios, ed. by Elizabeth Luna-Traill (1992); Francisco De Rojas Zorilla Y Agustin Moreto: Analisis by Ann MacKenzie (1994) Selected works:
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