Ronda-2J4dm1o.Pdf

Ronda 1 Hemingway in Ronda n First went to Ronda in 1923. (He was 24 years old). n Hemingway loved the place—commented on the spectacular village with its ancient bullring and its position high in the mountains above Malaga 2 Romance of In Death in the Afternoon, Ronda Hemingway writes: There is one town that would be better than Aranjuez to see your first bullfight in if you are only going to see one and that is Ronda. That is where you should go if you ever go to Spain on a honeymoon or if you ever bolt with anyone. The entire town and as far as you can see in any direction is romantic background.... if a honeymoon or an elopement is not a success in Ronda, it would be as well to start for Paris and commence making your own friends (42-43). 3 1937 n When Hemingway returned to Spain in February of 1937 to cover the Spanish Civil War, most of the South, including Ronda, had already fallen to Franco. n Unable to go to Andalusia because of this n But Hemingway heard numerous stories about the peasant uprisings in the South 4 Events in Novel based on Ronda n Town never officially named in the novel n But Hemingway said, “When Pilar remembers back to what happened in their village when the fascists came, that’s Ronda and the details of the town are exact.” n Yet, Hemingway invented exact details of what happened Real Events in Ronda n On July 19, 1936 the commander of the small army garrison in Ronda, upon reports of a military uprising in Morocco, went to the Town Hall with a small platoon and demanded that the mayor submit to his authority and publicly announce that the city was under martial law and the army was taking control. n The mayor belonged to the left-wing coalition, the Popular Front. n He refused to follow the commander's orders and swiftly disarmed him and his small band of soldiers, heavily outnumbered by the peasant groups beginning to assemble on the plaza outside the town hall. n Thus, Ronda remained loyal to the Republican government of Madrid, and did not fall to the fascists until 18 September 1936 6 Who was in control? n Republican government in Madrid probably had no control over the town or its inhabitants during these two months n As soon as the reports of a military rising in Africa began to spread, the peasants from neighboring villages poured into Ronda and took control. n Although the mayor was nominally in charge, the real power belonged to a "Comite" formed by the peasants themselves, most of whom belonged to CNT (Conferacion Nacional del Trabajo), the Anarchist Labor Union. 7 The Comite n This committee had 3 tasks: n First, to arrest all persons suspected of having fascist sympathies n Second, to insure that food was evenly distributed to all inhabitants (money was outlawed and vouchers with the CNT rubber-stamp were issued) n Third, to prepare to defend Ronda from a probable attack by fascist troops stationed in Seville. 8 Hemingway’s Inventions n There is no official record of how many people were killed during the summer 1936 peasant revolution of Ronda n Estimates range from 200 to 600 n Fascists and fascist sympathizers were not actually beaten and thrown over the cliff n More likely to be arrested and later driven out of town and shot n In July, 1936 200 armed peasants stormed the castle where a group of local priests resided and killed them 9 Ritual Killings in the Novel? n Idea is to create a “communion of blood” to firmly establish revolutionary loyalties among the peasants n The ritual of death--the sacrifice of the landlords--will bring about the regeneration of the peasant community. n "We thresh fascists today' said one [peasant], and out of this chaff comes the freedom of this pueblo'" (FWTBT 107). n The peasants themselves understand that the revolution--like other rituals they have participated in (harvest fiestas, bullfights, the Catholic mass)--should bring about a catharsis, a spiritual cleansing. 10 Ritual killings DID occur elsewhere n In Almeria, a bullfight took place in which six fascists were shot dead for each of the six bulls in the fight. n In Huercanal (Cordoba), the whole village lined the streets to stab, with their own kitchen knives, a sexton reported to have received as many as two hundred wounds before he was finally put to death n In the village of Grazalema, close to Ronda, a local peasant being questioned about the fascists he murdered during the uprising first refused to answer, and then finally stated that "he" did nothing ... that "Grazalema" did it (just as whole town must bear responsibility for the deaths of the fascists in the novel) 11 Failed Ritual? n Pilar explains both the nature of revolutionary ritual and the reasons for its failure: "Certainly if the fascists were to be executed by the people, it was better for all the people to have a part in it, and I wished to share the guilt as much as any, just as I hoped to share in the benefits when the town should be ours. But after Don Guillermo ['s death] I felt a feeling of shame and distaste, and with the coming of the drunkards and the worthless ones into the lines ... I wished I might disassociate myself altogether. ." (119). n The exemplary punishment of a few fascist landlords became a bloodbath by a mob totally out of control n Do you think Hemingway condemns the revolution itself, or does he rather condemn the way it is mishandled when the drunkards take over? 12.

Load more