The Truth Suspected by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
"The Truth Suspected" by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón is a Spanish comedic play set in the early 17th century that explores themes of deception, identity, and the quest for truth. The narrative follows Don García, a young man who has inherited his family's wealth after the death of his brother. Despite his privileged status, Don García is plagued by a notorious tendency to lie, which causes a series of misunderstandings and complications, particularly in his romantic pursuits. The play highlights the tension between the values of honor and truth in a society where deceit is prevalent, especially at the Spanish court. As Don García navigates his relationships with two women, Lucrecia and Jacinta, his dishonesty ultimately leads to his downfall, resulting in lost love and social embarrassment. The character of Tristán, Don García's cynical servant, serves as a voice of reason, underscoring the consequences of dishonesty. Through a blend of humor and moral lessons, Ruiz de Alarcón critiques the ease with which lies can unravel lives and the importance of integrity in personal and social identity. This play offers insight into the cultural values of its time while remaining relevant to contemporary discussions about honesty and trust in relationships.
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The Truth Suspected by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón
First published:La verdad sospechosa, 1630 (English translation, 1927)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Comedy
Time of plot: Seventeenth century
Locale: Madrid
Principal characters
Don García , a young man given to lyingDon Beltrán , his fatherTristán , his servantJuan de Sosa , a friend, in love with JacintaJacinta , niece of Don Sancho, Don Beltrán’s friendLucrecia , her friend
The Story:
When Don García returns home from his studies at the University of Salamanca, he learns that on the death of his brother Gabriel he became the heir to the family estates and fortune. His father, Don Beltrán, also provides him with a shrewd and cynical servant, Tristán. Don García’s tutor has already reported that the young man is given to one great vice: lying. Later, his discerning servant agrees. The son’s habit naturally worries his father, himself a man of great honor. Though Don Beltrán admits that regard for truth is uncommon at the court of Spain, he hates the vice of lying above all others, and he vows to break his son of the habit.
During his first day in Madrid, Don García indulges in his usual practice after meeting two attractive women in the shopping center of the city. Taking his cue from Tristán’s remark that the women of Madrid are money-mad, the young gallant tells them that he is a wealthy man from the New World. Though he has been in Madrid hardly a day, he assures one of the women that he has worshiped her from afar for a year. Unfortunately, Don García has misunderstood the information purchased from the women’s coachman by Tristán; he thinks that the woman he wants to marry is Lucrecia, but the object of his attentions is really her friend Jacinta.
More lying follows when Don García meets his friend Juan de Sosa, a young man in love with Jacinta but rejected as her suitor by her uncle until he acquires a knighthood. This time, falsely claiming responsibility for a serenade and banquet the preceding night, Don García finds himself challenged to a duel by Juan.
In the meantime, hoping to get his son married off before all of Madrid learns of his habit of lying, Don Beltrán, after giving him a lecture on the value of truth, tells Don García that he has arranged for Don García’s marriage to Jacinta, niece of Don Beltrán’s old friend Don Sancho. Because Don García thinks that it is Lucrecia whom he loves, he promptly invents a prodigious lie about his marriage to a lady of Salamanca. He declares that while visiting her one night, he was discovered by the lady’s father, and so to save her reputation and life, he agreed to marry her.
Lucrecia, to help Jacinta decide which of her suitors she prefers, signs Jacinta’s name to a note inviting Don García to wait beneath her balcony. There he talks with both ladies, who are veiled, so he cannot discern their identities. During this talk, his earlier story about a wife in Salamanca and his uncertainty as to which of the women is the one he loves result in the women heaping ridicule and scorn upon him. Rudely dismissed, he receives from Tristán a lecture on the evils of lying.
More lying is necessary when Don Beltrán attempts to send for his son’s nonexistent wife. She cannot travel, Don García tells him, because she is going to have a baby. Although Don García laughs at Tristán’s warning that “one who lies needs a quick wit and a good memory,” his punishment has already begun. When Lucrecia invites him to another meeting at a convent, he finds himself trapped in a mesh of deceit, and the veiled ladies show how unsuccessful his wooing has been. Tristán contributes to his unhappiness by reciting many quotations from Latin and Greek writers. The servant also remarks that he can see no sense to his master’s lies when they are so easily discovered.
Even Tristán, however, is fooled by Don García’s account of his supposed duel with Juan de Sosa; actually, he placated his former friend by telling more lies. It would have been better had he silenced his challenger on the dueling field, for Juan now appears to tell Don Beltrán that no one with the name of Don García’s supposed wife lives in Salamanca. So incensed is the father that he is about to disinherit his son. Even when he admits the truth, Don García cannot convince his father without corroboration from Tristán. The word of a servant is more trustworthy than the oath of a nobleman, the ashamed father points out.
When Juan’s attainment of knighthood clears away that obstruction to his suit, Don Sancho gladly arranges for the young man’s marriage to Jacinta; that lady, disillusioned and dubious of a lying suitor, is happy to agree with her uncle’s decision. Don Beltrán, too, is won over, and he agrees to arrange for his son’s delayed marriage. When the suitors are paired off, Don García sees his lady go to his rival. Even though the whole affair has been based on misunderstanding of identity, it is now too late to correct the mistake. Don García is honor bound to marry Lucrecia.
Tristán again underlines a moral when he assures his master that if he had told the truth instead of lying he would now be happy with Jacinta. Lucrecia, however, is also beautiful.
Bibliography
Brenan, Gerald. The Literature of the Spanish People. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1965. Chapter 9 establishes the importance of Lope de Vega Carpio in the development of the new comedy and discusses Ruiz de Alarcón’s contribution to this genre.
Claydon, Ellen. Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Baroque Dramatist. Chapel Hill: Department of Romance Languages, University of North Carolina, 1970. Defines the comedia in terms of its baroque tendencies and examines the importance of The Truth Suspected in literary history.
Halpern, Cynthia Leone. “The Female Voice of Reason in the Plays of Juan Ruiz de Alarcón.” Bulletin of the Comediantes 57, no. 1 (2005): 61-89. Focuses on the depictions of women in Ruiz de Alarcón’s plays, describing how the female characters respond to events strongly and rationally while at the same time entertaining audiences.
Poesse, Walter. Juan Ruiz de Alarcón. New York: Twayne, 1972. Provides information about the playwright’s life and works and evaluates the techniques he used in composing his plays. Shows the marked difference between Ruiz de Alarcón’s plays and those of his contemporaries.
Whicker, Jules. “Lies and Dissimulation: La verdad sospechosa.” In The Plays of Juan Ruiz de Alarcón. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2003. Notes that a preoccupation with deception is a common theme in Ruiz de Alarcón’s plays, reflecting the playwright’s fundamental concern that literature tell the truth.
Wilson, Margaret. Spanish Drama of the Golden Age. New York: Pergamon Press, 1969. Traces the history of the Spanish theater to the Golden Age of the seventeenth century. Contains a superb explanation of the characteristics of the Spanish comedia and discusses Ruiz de Alarcón’s contribution to the Spanish theater.