The Theme Of Love In Fuenteovejuna English Literature Essay

The play “Fuenteovejuna”, written between 1612 and 1614 by Lope de Vega and published in Madrid in 1619, is a literary piece which presents a vast amount of information on life in the historical kingdom of Castile during the 15th century. It is evident that the play is far more than a dramatic series of events as it reflects on the political and social aspects of Spain in this period. However, underneath the political surface, we can deduce that the themes of love, morals and ethics have a far greater role in the piece than first meets the eye. Therefore, there is an argument that the play should not be set against a solely political background, but one in which the impact of the theme of love should not be understated amongst its political features. We can have no doubt as to the prominence of the theme of love in this play as a result of a declaration made by Frondoso. He states that Fuente Ovejuna revolts because of love, “Yo voy, señor ; que amor les ha movido”. This is a direct statement which clarifies to the audience that love is the main theme of the play rather than any political or sociological aspects.

When analysing Lope’s handling of love in “Fuenteovejuna”, we must consider the central love story between the protagonists, Laurencia and Frondoso, a peasant couple in the village who are tormented by the Comendador Fernán Gómez as he pursues Laurencia. The writer knows that love is a powerful tool that generates opinions amongst audiences and forges sentimental relationships between the characters and the audience. The portrayal of the couple is used to evoke feelings of emotional attachment. It could be said that Laurencia and Frondoso’s love is presented in such a positive way by Lope in order to enhance the dramatic element of Gómez’s actions and force even stronger feelings of hate from the audience towards the villain of the play.

Furthermore, as the play progresses, we can observe the transformation in opinion of Laurencia towards the subject of love. In Act I, she is portrayed as someone who aggressively rejects the notion of the existence of true love. Moreover, she expresses her views to Pascuala in line 273 when she declares “No fiarse de ninguno”. Her position as a cynical non-believer is further solidified by her experience with Gómez, who makes sexual advances towards her and reacts badly at her rejection of him. It is clear that she indulges in the view that men are only motivated by the physical side of a relationship and have no real interest in women on a mental level. It should also be noted that during a discussion on the topic of love with Mengo, Barrildo and Frondoso, Laurencia directly articulates her scepticism on the matter and agrees with Mengo that the existence of love only occurs in love for oneself. Line 367:

BARRILDO Que no hay amor.

LAURENCIA Generalmente, es rigor.

However, as events unfold, the audience witnesses a conversion in the mind of Laurencia as she falls deeper and deeper in love with Frondoso. Laurencia begins to question her views as she observes Frondoso unselfishly sacrifices everything he can in order to preserve her honour. By the end of the play she is certainly in love with Frondoso and her mind is completely changed.

The thematic importance of love in this work should not be understated especially when we consider the life of the writer and how his experiences of love may have influenced the role of love and romance in this play. It is well known that Lope de Vega was an extremely amorous character who had many love interests during his life. In many ways, his attitude towards women in his early life is comparable to that of Gómez’s treatment of the peasant women in the village. For example, Lope’s first proper relationship ended in vitriol as the woman left him in order to pursue another love interest. Lope’s bitter attacks on her and her family earned him eight years banishment from the court and two years banishment from Castile. However, later in his life, he falls in love with Juana de Guardo and has many children, although he failed to limit himself to just one lover during his marriage. Despite his adultery, Lope appeared to be in love with Juana. Therefore, it is possible to compare this transformation from cynical womaniser to the conversion that we observe in Laurencia during the play. Through the events and elements of love in “Fuenteovejuna”, Lope could be subtly attempting to show his critics and doubters that his attitudes towards love have changed and his previous troubles are behind him. This view is further supported by the fact that the play was believed to have been written sometime between 1612 and 1614. This was a crucial period in Lope’s life, just before he joined the church and just after the death of his favourite son but more importantly of his true love Juana. This underlines to us that he may have been conveying the message that now his adulterous lifestyle is over and he is concentrating on bringing up his children and devoting himself to religion, hence he joins the priesthood in 1615.

The theme of love also shows its importance in the moral battle between Gómez and the villagers. It is possible that much of the reasoning behind their uprising is the fact that they distinguish between the true love between Laurencia and Frondoso and the physical love that Gómez displays towards Laurencia. Furthermore, it could be said that the uprising is a consequence of the selfless, neighbourly love that exist within the community, this in contrast to Gómez’s love of self which shines through his selfish actions. Moreover, we can deduce that the writer is attempting to convey that true, unselfish love conquers all and even platonic love will be superior to a strong love for oneself, this culminates in a somewhat fairytale ending when the villain Gómez is killed and the village is seemingly set free from his tyrannous leadership. We can also observe that during the riots there is no individual protagonist but the villagers come together as one unit to seek vengeance, this demonstrates the neighbourly love which ultimately conquers Gómez’s own love.

We can also analyse the role of the sceptical villager Mengo when considering the thematic importance of love in the play. In many ways he voices an opinion that is of stark contrast to what many events surrounding him would suggest is the truth. For example, he conveys to Laurencia, Frondoso and Barrildo that he solely believes in love as a natural, instinctive quality that exists in order to ensure the survival of the species and keep men sane. He believes that ultimately there is no altruistic love as men often pretend to love a woman in order to have sex with them and therefore it is true that men are only interested in the physical aspects of relationships. Moreover, this type of behaviour is what is displayed time and time again by Gómez and his actions towards Laurencia. This aggressive rejection is also shared by Laurencia at the start of the play. We can deduce that Lope is perhaps using the character of Mengo to show the other side of the argument of the existence of true love, however he then rubbishes his claims through the transformation in opinion of Laurencia and the uprising of the village, this is also underlined by the presentation of Mengo as somewhat of a buffoon who continues to pursue this view despite the events surrounding him, such as the villagers sacrificing life and limb in order to preserve their communal love.

Therefore, in conclusion, it is evident that the theme of love is an extremely prominent feature in “Fuenteovejuna” and it is arguably the most important theme of all as it features in every plotline of the play. Lope de Vega uses the power of love to influence the audience’s opinion in favour of the villagers and the heroic lovers Laurencia and Frondoso. On the other hand, the writer uses the lack of true love inside Gómez to portray his villainous character. Furthermore, it is clear that Lope is attempting to convey his own opinions on love through the play and is perhaps sending a message to the audience regarding his own life experiences. Nevertheless, this play is a prime example of a piece which attempts to distinguish between different types of love and the value of true, selfless love as opposed to self-indulgent love. Throughout the play we witness that true love and helping others within the community will always conquer those who are out for their own personal greed.

Sources

“Sententiousness in “Fuente Ovejuna””, R. D. F. Pring-Mill, The Tulane Drama Review, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1962), pp. 5-37

“Fuente Ovejuna”: El Gusto and Lo Justo, Bruce W. Wardropper, Studies in Philology, Vol. 53, No. 2 (Apr., 1956), pp. 159-171

‘Fuente Ovejuna’ and Its Theme-Parallels, S. Griswold Morley, Hispanic Review, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Oct., 1936), pp. 303-311

“The Politics of Lope’s Fuenteovejuna”, William R. Blue, Hispanic Review, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Summer, 1991), pp. 295-315

“Fuenteovejuna”: Its Platonic Vision and Execution, William C. McCrary, Studies in Philology, Vol. 58, No. 2, Part 1 (Apr., 1961), pp. 179-192

“Fuenteovejuna”: Form and Meaning, Joaquin Casalduero, Ruth Whittredge The Tulane Drama Review, Vol. 4, No. 2 (Dec., 1959), pp. 83-107

“The Hunt of Love: The Literalization of a Metaphor in Fuenteovejuna.” Gerli, E. Michael, Neophilologus 63 (1979): 54-58.