Michael
Sowell
December 2012
A
Determined Identity: The Hardening of the Heart of Pascual Duarte
A
testament to the confusion and consequences that can often be
associated with moral decisions, Proverbs 14:12 says “ there is a
way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
Seldom is it the case that one can consider the likes of morals and
God without also having such a concept as fate enter the mind. As it
happens in the mind of the believer, so it happened in the thoughts
of Pascual Duarte as expressed in, “La Familia de Pascual Duarte.”
From the beginning of the work the character of the protagonist is
made the novel's most central aspect. The first impression that the
reader receives of Duarte is his assertion “Yo, Señor, no soy
malo." This can either be taken as a doomed man's honest attempt
to preserve an image of himself that he truly believes he has
merited, or a man biased toward a self-serving point of view who may
or may not be choosing what may be his final words as a last
desperate attempt to save his own skin, as is suggested by John
Rosenberg “La trama que inventa Pascual describe la victimización
de un ser inocente por las fuerzas del determinismo social; es decir,
Pascual reinterpreta su vida según la doctrina del Naturalismo
europeo y su novela imita su ideología“ ( Sherzer 359). Whatever
is reflected to the reader in Duarte's first line is accompanied by
the question that the reader will keep with them throughout the read
and will likely attempt to solve for themselves: “Is Pascual Duarte
a bad man?”
The
reader's suspicion is swayed in either direction until the story's
end. By the time they reach the passage in which Duarte commits
matricide, Cela's convincing manner of justifying the protagonist's
actions through his own eyes can quite possibly have them saying “she
deserved it!” However, the reader is just as likely to give him a
psychiatric evaluation. It is well said by Karen Breiner-Sanders:
“the reader gradually, almost subconciously, becomes convinced of
the poor fellow’s innocence, or at least of his
victimization”(Sherzer 358). Rosenberg’s theory that Pascual has
invented his tremendously terrible social circumstances in an attempt
to convince the reader that there is at least the slightest sliver of
innocence on his part seems to override the many correlating
interpretations of the author’s intention in writing the novel, to
expose the many terrors and injustices of life. It is evident that a
thick pessimism exists in the mind of Cela, a pessimism that has
clearly made it’s way into his work. In an article Jacob Ornstein
and James Y. Causey, Cela is noted to have said “life is not good;
neither is man... Upon occasion it appears that man is kind and
intelligent. But let us not be deceived. He is only hiding behind his
mask” (137). Furthermore, Cela mentions in an interview conducted
as a follow-up to his receiving his Nobel Prize that his intent is to
write “without subterfuge,” stating “I don’t think a writer
can permit himself subterfuges, or tricks, or camouflage, or masks”
(Miles). Such a statement may allow for the reader of La
Familia de Pascual Duarte to
take Pascual’s account at face value. In the same interview, Cela
responds positively to a question by the interviewer concerning the
correctness of a comment made by Saul Bellow, “Many critics claim
to have found an existentialist backdrop to your work; man is in the
end responsible for his actions. However, Bellow considers there to
be little theory in your work, that you are not trying to convey
existential, sexual, or political messages.” By agreeing with
Bellow he allows for readers to assume that Duarte’s beliefs are
sincere, allowing a further examination of the deterministic traits
of the novel to be much simpler as Duarte’s thoughts simply need to
be processed without the added hassle of filtering them through the
lens of what would otherwise be considered to be his desperate and
deceiving account made simply to purvey the possibility of some
semblance of innocence on his part. Having accounted for this,
suggesting that there is a hidden narrative behind Cela’s work may
be slightly reaching.
Though
deeming Duarte to be an evil man is certainly a justifiable position,
it may be just as easy to believe that he was a victim of fate, his
actions having been determined either biologically or through divine
influence. William Sherzer writes in an article of his examining the
possible interpretations of La Familia de Pascual Duarte "(In)
1979... a new line of interpretation emerged, Pascual could be seen
as a victim of direct social circumstances, a symbol of the primitive
and violent nature of man, or, for one reason or another, a
pessimistic and negative existential figure." If a desire to
avoid the possibility of divine influence exists in the reader,
viewing Duarte as a victim of his own social circumstance is
certainly a viable option for constructing a legitimate case for
determinism in the biological sense. Why was killing his own mother
an option for Pascual? Perhaps it was due to lunacy. Then again,
perhaps readers are drawn to lunacy because they cannot imagine the
thought of killing their own mothers. It is likely that many reading
the novel do not have a mother like that of Pascual. His description
of his mother paints a picture of a dirty, often drunk woman who
consistently spouted blasphemies and fought physically with her
husband, and who showed little sign that she actually cared for her
children. A mother's comfort was likely not a familiar concept to
Pascual, and because of this the fact that she was his mother may not
have been a relevant factor for Pascual in his decision to kill her.
Consider
the nature of Duarte, he is a man who, having never attained a
legitimate education, has little experience expressing himself with
words. In a particularly relevant scene, Pascual meets the pimp
Estirao in the streets. After an exchange of highly antagonizing
words directed at Pascual, he warns Estirao that, as he is a very
manly person, he does not have much use for words, and insinuates
that he might get physical if he is pushed too far. This passage is
likely the most informative in displaying the social tendencies of
Pascual and his nature in general: "¡Mira Estirao! ¡Mira
Estirao! ¡Que soy muy hombre y que no me ando por las palabras! ¡No
me tientes...! ¡No me tientes... !" (42). His home life likely
presented him with this less effective means of expressing emotion,
as his parents often fought physically in order to sort out their
problems. Further evidence of his violent nature is the manner in
which he attained the affection of his first wife, an event that
basically involved them beating each other until Pascual came out on
top, biting his potential lover until she bled. This is perhaps a key
factor when considering the possibility that Duarte is recounting his
story as a desperate criminal. One might ask how a man who makes a
fool of himself by tripping over his own words in front of a man that
he was quickly growing to hate could even attempt to create a such a
story, one that incites such a sympathy from it’s audience that it
could play a factor in his sentencing if it were ever read, unless
the feelings of confinement to the order of the world around him
actually existed. In one instance in which he speaks of his youth at
home he pinpoints for the audience his precise mindset pertaining to
the flow of life, saying “La verdad es que la vida en mi familia
poco tenía de placentera, pero como no nos es dado escoger, sino que
ya - y aun antes de nacer - estamos destinados unos a un lado y otros
a otro”(32) He also portrays his resignation toward this:
“procuraba conformarme con lo que me había tocado, que era la
única manera de no desesperar.” If this passage truly reflects
Duarte’s mindset, then he is likely convinced of his own
victimization, which pushes the reader a step forward in relating to
him. However, the passage is oddly insightful, a fact that cannot go
unnoticed when considering Duarte’s claim not to work well with
words, a key element in his case.
However,
his wisdom is easily forgettable when one considers that several of
the events of which Duarte wrote painted him in quite a negative
light. For example, the murder of his dog is not only a despicable
act on it’s own, but a scene that also gives insight into what is
likely, as evidenced by the thought process described by Duarte in
his account, a very twisted mind. “La perra seguía mirandome fija,
como si no me hubiera visto nunca, como si fuese a culparme de algo
de un momento a otro... Cogí la escopeta y disparé”(29). He
continues describing the scene, highlighting disturbing details both
before and after the murder such as the dog’s stare being as a nail
into him and the dark color of the blood spilling out of her after he
shot. One would think that Pascual cutting his story short would
benefit his case, yet he spills out every twisted detail. Events such
as this are detailed throughout the novel. For example, when Duarte
details his account with Zacharias, with whom he quarrels because of
a challenge to his manliness in front of a crowd of peers, an aspect
that is of much importance to him.
Among
the most definite examples of Pascual's thoughts on fate are his
comments and concerns for the lifestyle of his sister, Rosario.
Pascual cared for Rosario deeply, a fact that probably had much to do
with the effect she had on the family while she was at home. She
seemed to keep the family in line morally, calming the episodes of
physical violence. He describes her as a nun, and the only of the
house to use her brain for the purpose for which it exists. According
to Duarte, as a child she quickly became the queen of the house. He
expresses with pity, however, that it was only a matter of time
before she took a turn for the worse morally: “Si el bien hubiera
sido su natural instinto, grandes cosas hubiera podido hacer, pero
como dios se conoce que no quiso que ninguno de nosostros nos
distinguiésemos por las buenas inclinaciones, encarriló su
discurrir hacia otros menesteres” (38). In this passage Pascual not
only asserts once again that fate is in control of things, but goes
so far as to blame God for his sister’s turn toward what will
eventually be a life of prostitution.
God
having been introduced as being a possible source of Pascual and his
family’s misfortune, questions come to mind concerning the
legitimacy of this claim. Religious determinism among the Christian
community has been distinctly divided into a pro-determinism group
and an anti-determinism group. Forming a case for determinism being
in control of the life of Duarte leaves the reader with a protagonist
who is ultimately a victim of God, who seems not to have found it
desirable to smile upon Pascual and alleviate the pain that is his
situation in the world. We find him comparable to Pharaoh who had his
heart hardened in order that God’s power might be more greatly
shown during the Exodus. An anti-determinism approach leaves us with
a Pascual who, though capable of breaking free of his situation and
having the capacity to refrain from resorting to violence, is still
trapped in a situation that has determinism in the worldly sense
further pushing him down the wrong moral path. The aforementioned
verse from Proverbs concerning the ineptitude of man’s moral
compass should be considered. As has already been established, with a
youth full of violence in the home life, and an adult life filled
with tragedy and even more violence, one can easily deduce that God’s
hand was never needed for Pascual’s fate to have been sealed from a
very early stage. How many peaceful and morally upright ways could
have possibly seemed right to a man who had seen so little right
throughout the span of his life? An example of this is Pascual’s
reflection of his own condition: “Si mi condición de hombre me
hubiera permitido perdonar, hubiera perdonado, pero el mundo es como
es y el querer avanzar contra corriente no es sino vano intento.”
(126)
Examining
the opposing possibilities leaves us with either a Pascual who has
reached the narrator’s situation by simply being the victim of a
fate given to him by God or by making his own poor choices; it should
certainly be noted that the choices that were made to lead up to his
situation in the narrator’s seat were largely influenced by the
world in which he was made to live. It is hardly fair not to admit
that any other man in his situation would likely not have fully
developed an adequate moral system either. The question that remains
is whether or not Pascual is a bad man. Leaning to the determinists
point of view the answer would probably be yes, but a yes that must
be given by default, as, for many who would hold the deterministic
mindset, man is an inherently evil creature and cannot choose good on
his own. Even if one wishes to avoid concluding the case in this
manner, a compatibilistic view of the matter would associate free
will with Pascual’s decisions along with divine providence, leaving
Duarte with the responsibility for his actions. This view seems to
manipulate itself in between the opposing views. Some believe that to
impose the doctrine of free will on humanity allows for a weak God,
one that is not in complete control and can be surprised by the
outcome of a given situation. However, on the opposing side of the
argument is the view that to assert that God determines the fate of
everything and, more pertinently, everyone is to illustrate God as a
being who decides the fate of those who will suffer in hell before
they are even able to commit the pre-determined deeds that will earn
them such a fate. It is the belief of those in this category that a
God of this sort is unjust. It seems as if to choose one of these
arguments is to cede a characteristic of the nature of God that is of
the utmost essentiality. Determinists seem forced to admit to an
unjust God while non-determinists must seemingly give up God's
omnipotence. It is, after all, largely believed by those who have
considered the subject that determinism and free will cannot
co-exist. The compatibilist viewpoint asserts, however, that both
free will and determinism can exist, and there in fact exist those
who believe that only a determined act may be free. Among such
philosophers have been Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and John Stuart
Mill (Inwagen 341). Often the latter variation of the belief holds
that mankind's fate is already determined by it's having attained a
sinful nature, and that the inherent evil existing in humanity is the
key determining factor in man's timeline; man can only ever do evil
because of the evil nature that he has inherited, and all good can
only come through the divine intervention of God. As can be inferred
by this description of compatibilism, a Pascual being influenced in
this way is not only determined to commit matricide through divine
influence and cannot do otherwise, but also, in a seemingly illogical
combination of determinism and free will, performs the act out of his
own desire and blame may be justly attributed to him. If religious
determinism is to be rejected entirely, then Pascual has chosen his
path of his own free will and all immoralities that he has committed
are his responsibility and he again lies culpable. The key factors
are the elements of his life that seem to determine the direction
that he would take and the question to be answered is whether or not
these circumstances, which were outside of his control, siphon any of
the guilt from him.
In
another interview with Cela, he exposes more of his beliefs on the
identity of man, and gives insight into the nature of the world. “The
fact is that this cruelty is part of man's very condition. And the
only way one can salve the violence in the world all around us is by
injecting into it a few drops of something-call it charity or
sympathy or love or tenderness or whatever you like”(Beardsley 44).
Although the novel in question is almost completely devoid of charity
or sympathy or any semblance of happiness at all, it is an excellent
reflection of Cela’s opinion concerning man’s condition. In spite
of any speculation as to the morality that existed in the heart of
Duarte and whether or not a choice ever existed for him in either
moral direction one must agree that the situation into which he was
born and the tragedy that was his life did much to form him into the
man standing over his mother at the end of the novel. Proverbs 22:6 -
"Train a child up in the way he should go and when he is old he
will not depart from it."
Bibliography
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Camilo José "Camilo José Cela, The Art of Fiction No. 145 "
Interview by Valerie Miles. The
Paris Review.
2012. Web. 15 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1396/the-art-of-fiction-no-145-camilo-jos-cela>
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Translations
(Self-made)
“Yo, Señor, no
soy malo."
I,
sir, am not evil
“La trama que
inventa Pascual describe la victimización de un ser inocente por las
fuerzas del determinismo social; es decir, Pascual reinterpreta su
vida según la doctrina del Naturalismo europeo y su novela imita su
ideología."
The
drama that Pascual invents describes the victimization of an
innocente being brought about by the powers of social determinism;
that is to say, Pascual reinterprets his life according to the
European doctrine of Naturalism and his novel imitates it's ideology.
"¡Mira
Estirao! ¡Mira Estirao! ¡Que soy muy hombre y que no me ando por
las palabras! ¡No me tientes...! ¡No me tientes... !"
Look
Estirao! Look Estirao! I am very manly and do not conduct myself with
words! Don't tempt me! Don't tempt me!
“La verdad es que
la vida en mi familia poco tenía de placentera, pero como no nos es
dado escoger, sino que ya - y aun antes de nacer - estamos destinados
unos a un lado y otros a otro.”
The
truth is that life in my family offered little joy, but as we are not
given a choice, rather - even before being born - some of us are
destined to one side and others to another.
“procuraba
conformarme con lo que me había tocado, que era la única manera de
no desesperar.”
I
attemped to conform with what I had been dealt, which was the only
way not to despair.
“La perra seguía
mirandome fija, como si no me hubiera visto nunca, como si fuese a
culparme de algo de un momento a otro... Cogí la escopeta y disparé”
The
dog continued watching me fixedly, as if she had never seen me
before, as if she were going to blame me for something at any
moment... I picked up my shotgun and shot.
“Si el bien
hubiera sido su natural instinto, grandes cosas hubiera podido hacer,
pero como dios se conoce que no quiso que ninguno de nosostros nos
distinguiésemos por las buenas inclinaciones, encarriló su
discurrir hacia otros menesteres.”
If
good had been her natural instinct, she would have been able to do
great things, but as God is known for not having wanted any of us to
distinguish ourselves by good inclinations, she directed her time
toward other duties.