"El Lazarillo de Ciegos Caminantes" como libro de viaje.

Abstract

Despite the fact that El lazarillo de ciegos caminantes is generally perceived as a travel book, not much has been done to examine it from that point of view. This dissertation seeks to find out the possible motives that Carrio de la Vandera (who traveled as a commissioner of the Spanish Crown to introduce reforms in the American postal system) may have had for using the form of the travel book instead of writing an official report. The introduction of the travel book form accounts for the presence of dialogues between the two main characters and, therefore, for the existence of two narrative voices. It also allows the integration of many different elements into a structured discourse. The use of these procedures reveals an attempt by Carrio to depict himself from various points of view as a person with the experience and knowledge required in order to serve his government in a higher position. Chapter 1 serves as a general introduction. Chapter 2 centers on the relationship of travel literature to different disciplines. Chapter 3, departing from the statements about travel literature made in the exordium of the book, examines travel literature in the eighteenth-century. Chapter 4 studies the role of the two narrators in El lazarillo and comes to the conclusion that, in spite of the fact that the main narrator is fictional and performs the role of a clown, the responsibility for the narration belongs to the figure of Carrio. Chapter 5 centers on the several possible recipients of Carrio's book and in what way the different parts of the book are addressed to them. Chapter 6 focuses on Carrio's position at the moment of writing his book and shows how this particular travel book is a perfect instrument for his aspirations to obtain better employment. Finally, Chapter 7 summarizes the conclusions of the book.