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Mesonero's Indebtedness to Jouy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2020
Extract
Discussing the contents of La minerva o El revisor general (1805-08; 1817-18), Le Gentil remarks: “Notons enfin un premier essai, visiblement inspiré de Jouy, dans un genre qui devait faire une singulière fortune en Espagne, celui des costumbristas.” The reference is to an article entitled “La ciencia del pretendiente o el arte de obtener empleos,” which appeared in 1817 (X-33). Though the implication that this article is the first costumbrista sketch is open to question, Le Gentil's suggestion that it marks the beginning of Jouy's influence in Spain seems acceptable, for Jouy himself does not speak of translations of his works until 1815, and even then he mentions none in Spanish. After 1817 the costumbrista vogue was apparently well established, as may be gathered from the many articles of the new pattern which appeared in El censor (1820-22). Accordingly when Mesonero, in Mis ratos perdidos, allowed himself to be influenced by Jouy in style, tone, and even content, it would seem that he followed a fairly established vogue.
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References
1 Georges Le Gentil, Les revues littéraires de l'Espagne pendant la première moitié du XIX siècle, Paris, 1909, p. 5.
2 For a contrary opinion, cf. F. Courtney Tarr, Larra's Duende satírico del día, in Mod. Philol., XXVI (1928), 35, n. 1, and 37, n. 3.
3 Cf. Avertissement de l‘éditeur, in Guillaume le Franc-parleur, Paris, 1815 (2nd ed.), vol. 2. In L’ Hermite de la Guiane, Paris, 1817 (5th ed.) vol. 1, Jouy speaks of English, German, and Italian translations of his works, but still mentions none in Spanish (p. ii). Perhaps the first translation of Jouy into Spanish was not done until 1820. Mesonero possessed a copy of the following description: Diccionario de las gentes del mundo, escrito en francés por un joven eremita (Mr. de Jouy) traducido, Madrid, 1820. (Cf. Emilio Cotarelo y Morí, Elogio biográfico de don Ramón de Mesonero Romanos, Madrid, 1925, p. 31.) The Spanish title does not correspond to any complete volume of sketches in Jouy's series, and may merely represent the translator's use of the title of a single sketch as the title of the entire volume. (Cf. Dictionnaire des gens du grand monde, in L'Hermite de la Guiane, Paris, 1817, 3rd ed., vol. 3, pp. 221-31.)
4 Cf. Le Gentil, op. cit., p. 16.
5 Mis ratos perdidos o ligero bosquejo de Madrid en 1820 y 1821, Madrid, 1822; republished in Revue hispanique, XLVIII (1920), p. 257 et seq.
6 San Ysidro was clearly inspired by Le jardin turc (vol. VI), while Una tertulia owes something to Les trois visites (vol. II) and Soirée du grand monde (vol. IV). Throughout this study, Roman numerals will be used to refer to the following ten volumes of Jouy's sketches under consideration: L'Hermite de la Chaussée d'Antin (five volumes), Guillaume le Franc-parleur (two volumes), and L'Hermite de la Guiane (three volumes). The editions (all Paris) and their respective dates of publication are distributed thus: 4th, 1813; 1st, 1813; 2nd, 1813; 3rd, 1814; 3rd, 1814; 3rd, 1814; 2nd, n. d. (probably 1815); 2nd, 1815; 5th, 1817; 5th, 1817; 3rd, 1817.
7 Cartas españolas, V (1832).
8 Panorama matritense, 1925 ed., Madrid, p. 8. The italics are Mesonero's.
9 Id., p. 15.
10 Escenas matritenses, 1925 ed., Madrid, p. 16.
11 Cf. W. S. Hendrix, Notes on Jouy's Influence on Larra, in Romanic Review, XI (1918), pp. 37 ff.
12 Since Larra, this characterization has often been repeated vaguely by literary historians, and by Mesonero's most serious biographer Cotarelo y Morí, who says: “Estos últimos (meaning Addison and Jouy) fueron los que más presentes tuvo nuestro Curioso, en cuanto a la estructura y a la manera de tocar los asuntos . . . . .” (Cf. op. cit., pp. 31-32.)
13 Panorama matritense, p. 20.
14 For a list of pertinent satirical works in Mesonero's library, cf. Cotarelo y Morí, op. cit., p. 31.
15 It is apparently on the basis of similarity between titles that Le Gentil drew up his list of thirteen sketches, of which La comedia casera, 1808 y 1832, Policía urbana are wrongly traced to articles by Jouy with which they have nothing in common. (Cf. Le poète Manuel Bretón de los Herreros, Paris, 1909, p. 237.)
16 Panorama matritense, pp. 23-24; Jouy, II (49-50), IV (247-48), V (142-43), VI (86).
17 Tipos y caracteres, 1925 ed., Madrid, p. 10.
18 Jouy, VIII (i)
19 Panorama matritense, pp. 24 ff.
20 Jouy, X (25).
21 Panorama matritense, pp. 12-13; Jouy, II (i, 180, 331).
22 Escenas matritenses, pp. 23-24.
23 Jouy, VIII (ii).
24 Panorama matritense, p. 28; Escenas matritenses, pp. 17, 23; Jouy, II (iii), VIII (350).
25 Escenas matritenses, pp. 17-18; Jouy, II (vi), VIII (i, ii).
26 Panorama matritense, p. 27.
27 Jouy, I (viii).
28 Jouy, I (ix-x), II (iii-vi).
29 Panorama matritense, p. 27.
30 Jouy, II (iii-vi), IV (248).
31 Panorama matritense, pp. 14-15.
32 Id., p. 16; Escenas matritenses, p. 16.
33 Jouy, II (iv).
34 Escenas matritenses, pp. 415-16; Jouy, VIII (i and ii).
35 Jouy, X (293).
36 Panorama matritense, p. 27.
37 Tipos y caracteres, p. 18; Jouy, V (9), X (293).
38 Panorama matritense, pp. 195-96.
39 Jouy, I (156).
40 Jouy, II (160-61).
41 Illustrations of these features are too numerous to quote.
42 Escenas matritenses, p. 16.
43 Jouy frequently employs dramatic dialogue. Cf. Le bureau de deuil (V), L'écrivain public (IV), Pour et contre (VI).
44 Compare: La partie de campagne (II) and Los aires del lugar (Panorama); La romería de San Isidro (Panorama) and Le jardin turc (VI), La fête de Saint-Cloud (VIII).
45 Panorama matritense, p. 16; Jouy, II (iv).
46 Compare: Las casas de baños (Panorama) and Les bains (VI), El Dómino (Panorama) and Le carnaval et le bal de l'Opéra (II), El gabán (Tipos) and Révolutions des modes (VI), El año nueuo (Tipos) and Le gâteau des rois (V).
47 Panorama matritense, pp. 118-19, 229, 240; Jouy, II (115, 268).
48 Panorama matritense, pp. 109-15, 322-28; Jouy, I (61-68, 94-99) and II (20-22).
49 La romería de San Isidro and Le grand escalier (VI).
50 Panorama matritense, pp. 117-24; Jouy, II (121-132).
51 Jouy, I (131-42).
52 Panorama matritense, pp. 29-35, 53-59.
53 Panorama matritense, pp. 229-38; Jouy, II (201-11).
54 Id., pp. 239-246; id., II (24-27).
55 Escenas matritenses, pp. 245-62; Tipos y caracteres, p. 153; Jouy, II (270-71).
56 Escenas matritenses, p. 203; Jouy, VIII (37).
57 The figures in brackets after the French titles refer to the corresponding volume of the Jouy series; an occasional Arabic figure indicates the specific portion of a sketch identifiable in Mesonero.
58 Cf. El día de fiesta, La político-manía, A prima noche.
59 Panorama matritense, p. 27.
60 Escenas matritenses, p. 16.
61 Cf. Trabajos no coleccionados (Madrid, 1903), vol. 1, pp. 395-407, 322-331. The first sketch originally appeared in the Semanario pintoresco (1836), and the second in La ilustración (1851).
62 Op. cit., vol. 2, p. 573, n. 1. Both sketches first appeared in El indicador (1822).
63 Tipos y caracteres, pp. 12-13.
64 Panorama matritense, p. 28. The list is announced in Las costumbres de Madrid which appears as the preliminary article to the Panorama over the date of “Enero de 1832.” The date is obviously wrong, since in the same article Mesonero refers to sketches which had already been published between January and March 1832 (El retrato, La calle de Toledo, La comedia casera, and Las visitas de días). The date should be April 5, 1832 (cf. Cotarelo y Morí, op. cit., p. 102).
65 Ibid., pp. 24-27.
66 Cf. Le poète Manuel Bretón de los Herreros, p. 238.
67 Panorama matritense, p. 416.