Where The People Fought Back

Fuente Ovejuna by Lope de Vega
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a surprisingly readable play (in English translation), and I enjoyed reading it. I expected to have to plow through it with little pleasure, but it was entertaining. And provoking--maddening, I mean--in a good way.

Set during a bout of political unrest in Spain during the reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella, this tells the story of a small town terrorized by a young nobleman, a commander in the Order of Calatrava. The town celebrated his military exploits, showing him every respect, but he horrified them with the seduction of many women and outright rape of others. The men were beaten if they interfered and the town leaders were ignored and disrespected when they tried to protect the people. In the end, after he abducted a young woman and she escaped, calling the men of the town cowards, they banded together to kill the commander. I was rooting for them, too.

When the king sent a judge to investigate, the people refused to answer any question except to say that it was the town that killed him. In the end, the king acquitted them.

It's a powerful story, and though the pacing and style feel strange after reading Marlowe and Shakespeare and other early English playwrights, it works in its own way. (I adjusted, I guess I mean.) The tone is earnest throughout, unrelieved (as far as I could see) by humor, which would have been welcome, but it's only three acts; everything is pretty focused, moving straight from start to finish without much detouring. I found it surprising that the theme would be acceptable to audiences of Lope de Vega's time, with the people asserting their right to demand justice over the right of nobles to do as they please. It seemed rather modern in that way--which I guess shows me that my idea of modern needs correction.

Overall, it was entertaining and instructive, and I think could be staged successfully, though the subject matter might put it out of reach of schools. Certainly worth studying.

Recommended for those interested in Spanish literature.

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