Blood IS Thicker than Water

In modern sociology, often times we, as people, are defined by the environment in which
we live; the nurture argument. If someone births into impoverishment, their character will
indeed be indicative of those types of people. lso a person, who is born and lives in sia,
would differ than that same e!act person if they were born and lived in the "S. #ervantes$
clever disguises and perple!ity cannot fool what is ultimately hidden underneath everyone. This
struggle to be one$s preordained self is e!emplified by the confusion created by the author,
clouding the true being of the preadolescent teenagers, %reciosa and &on 'uan. (e shows that
blood is able to transcend these e!ternal forces and that the nature of a person will eventually be
stronger than that which surrounds them, bringing a restoration of order.
The story begins where the common conception of a gypsy and the character of a young
gypsy girl, %reciosa, are )u!taposed. We are introduced to the idea that gypsies are not noble
people, rather they cheat, lie, and steal; in turn creating a feeling of disdain towards them. This
hatred is intensified by the use of such visuali*ations of death and dyed+wool of a sheep.
#ervantes then flips the entire tone by introducing the most intelligent, beautiful, and graceful
gypsy, %reciosa; portraying her with visually lighter ob)ects such as the sun and the wind. fter
portraying gypsies in an entirely negative connotation from the beginning, he in turn creates an
enigmatic feeling surrounding this girl, who should be like the rest, but deep down does not
e!ude the same ,ualities.
s the story progresses the character of %reciosa continues to undergo dynamic changes
creating a foil between her and the other female counterparts. -arly in the novella we see that
she uses her beauty as well as her melodic voice to entice both the hearts and the pockets of all
the males which she passes. The first impression that the reader understands, is that although
she is ,uick+witted, it is merely a tool which is used to get suitors to pay her. The old woman, as
well as the trio which follows her, share the same sentiment, in that their performances merit
some monetary gain. %reciosa begins to stray from this attitude when she refuses to take the gold
escudos that &on 'uan and the poet offered her. Whereas, the other female characters remain
static in their feeling that obtaining wealth is their only purpose. This transformation marks the
beginning of revelation of her true identity.
%reciosa$s true self, unbeknownst to the reader at the time, was revealed in the beginning
when a simple observer stated. /What a pity the girl$s a gipsy. If truth be told, she deserves to be
the daughter of some great lord0 1234. In essence the truth was told from this seemingly
unimportant line, by a character in the story that did not even have an important role. -ven this
,uote, although possibly valid at the time, could be easily dismissed because it was stated in such
a way that much of the comments preceding it were praises much like that one. This is important
for creating irony, that an /e!tra0 in the story spoils the ending right away, but has no real affect
on the reader at the time. In the end, after her proper birth rights were acknowledged, we see that
the development of her character throughout the story is indicative of her true, noble nature.
&on 'uan allows the confusion, of what he believed was unfaltering love, to cloud his
)udgment with %reciosa and eventually drove him to go from being in one of the most noble
positions, to the bottom of the class. The issue of status was important during this time because
it often signified a person$s character. 5ypsies were seen as nothing but thieves, where as the
noble /&ons0 were seen as the most handsome, gifted, and talented suitors. Throughout the
book, the author instills a sense of greater adoration for those of nobility; in &on 'uan$s case he
was portrayed as a highly trustworthy, dignified character. It seemed that someone in his
position would be disinclined to allow himself to be anything more than royalty. 6et, he was so
affectionate towards the young gypsy girl that he was willing to emasculate himself in order to
prove it to her by giving up what was most highly regarded of him, his title as a &on.
fter the conversion into a gypsy, he still rose to such high regard among them that it was
almost as if he left his life of royalty and still became a leader among the rest. (is adeptness was
unmatched by any of the other male gypsies, fashioning himself as an outstanding character and
,uickly rose among the ranks of them. (is unwavering trait was his honor, which he still
harbored even when trying to become immersed in their culture. (onor was not highly regarded
among gypsies, in fact %reciosa$s grandmother scorned such feelings saying that /the fear of
losing our honour does not worry us, nor does the urge to enhance it keeps us awake at night0
1734. (e could not willingly steal from other people, and when he attempted to he would be
overrun by feelings of remorse. (e even e!claimed that he would rather work alone so that he
may be able to compensate those from which he /stole.0 nother e!ample of his sense of
nobility was when the mayor$s nephew /dealt ndres such a vigorous blow that it shook him out
of his abstraction80 1934. &on 'uan immediately answered back by killing the nephew out of
sheer instinct from being disgraced. lthough he agreed to be a gypsy, his noble blood would not
allow him to be a true gypsy amongst the rest.
&on 'uan$s greatest feature is his stature, which not only defined his character throughout
the story, but eventually got him in trouble as he was mas,uerading as ndres #aballero. We can
gather that he is a handsome, debonair, and highly regarded male. This sentiment was mostly
simply put by 'uana #arducha, the daughter of a rich inn keeper, saying, /I like the look of you;
and if you want to marry me, it$s up to you0 1:;4. This ,uote is e!tremely direct in contrast to
the great effort which it was taking to court %reciosa. <ot only does 'uana want to marry &on
'uan, but also she was willing to share her fortune and all that she owned with him simply on his
looks. =oreover, this idea is reinforced by the fact that he was disguised as a gypsy, and that no
other gypsy was described as having the same effect on women. lthough he was incognito,
&on 'uan was unable to escape his statues,ue heritage which was found in his bloodline.
Both characters in the novella try to stray from who they truly are which creates
confusion with their own development. "nfortunately, neither characters are able to truly hid
%reciosa, although introduced as a gypsy, possessed many characteristics that defied the true
meaning of a gypsy prescribe by the introduction. &on 'uan also tried to become a gypsy but his
honorable nature did not allow this to happen. =uch like #ervantes$ other /e!emplary0 stories,
this one was founded and carried out on noble intentions, but the vehicle which took the reader to
his point was anything but righteous. Seemingly living the life of a thief and charlatan is not the
way to one$s heart, but it is not the main focus of this story. #ervantes e!plicitly states this in his
prologue, harping on the fact that if you analy*e one, specific e!ample in the te!t you
misunderstand its true meaning. (is focus lies in that if one remains genuine to what they inherit
in their veins then the world will create a balance. #ervantes chooses not to end the story with
true elation of the marriage, rather the re+establishment of order, /in the )oy that accompanied the
return of the happy couple, vengeance was laid to rest and mercy restored0 1>34.
Works #ited
#ervantes, =iguel de. -!emplary Stories. Trans. ?esley Simpson. <ew 6ork. @!ford
"niversity %ress, 2AA;.