By adding diminutives to their names, the reader is again reminded of their actual youth. It is easy to forget that they are fourteen or fifteen years old since in the meanwhile they have outwitted the muleteer and the travellers going to Seville. Monipodio acts in contrast to his rugged appearance, his token gesture to alter their names gives him the air of a considerate father figure.
Having talked at length in the paragraph preceding this passage about concealing one’s origins and one’s parents names:
“torno a decir que es provechoso documento callar la patria, encubrir los padres…”
Monipodio then requests the boys to do just what he told them not to:
“cae tener necesidad de saber el nombre de los padres de nuestros cofrades”
This scene is highly comical, it contradicts exactly what the boys had said about one not even needing to state one’s lineage when joining a noble order. This detail gives pretences to the order which are contradictory on both social and moral grounds. There could not be a greater division between the rogues in this story and the knights from contemporary romantic ballads.
The fact that he mentions funerals for the deceased members does not bode well for the boys. The scout had previously told them about an extensive list of punishments as well as a huge tally of thieves who had been hung, whipped or sent to the galleys. Monipodio mentions the prisons and the galleys later on in the passage. It is possibly a sign of the boy’s superiority and intelligence that they do not get drawn into this risky life in the story.
It is of interest to look at the “ciertas misas” because this could again refer to the fact that they only attended certain masses to avoid excommunication. Monipodio suggests that the thieves even go as far as to steal from the priest himself. It is amusing, then, that the masses should no sooner be performed than they are paid for. Monipodio’s knowledge and devotion to the church is again questioned by the uncertainty in the words:
“dicen que (en las misas) aprovechan a tales animas …”
The thieves are in no position to hold masses for other people. Despite the fact that they believe themselves to lead upright and religious lives, the morality of their profession as well as their deception of the church lead one to conclude that they are hypocritical and highly immoral.
As said above, the rogues unknowingly confuse words much to the readers’ amusement. Monipodio is no different, he confuses the word “estipendio” with “estupendo” and at the end of this passage Rinconete mockingly corrects his error about “la mayor popa y solenidad”. These malapropisms add comedy to the story as well as showing the ignorance of the rogues in face of their elevated ideas. It is also of great significance that the boys should bluntly point out the mistakes of their master, especially in such an insolent manner since it shows them to be detached from the truly picaresque way of life. This is further backed by Monipodio not actually realising what they have just said to him.
The assortment of benefactors contains people with supposed integrity, many of whom are extremely unexpected. The nature of this passage, being only one sentence long, is characteristic of Cervantes but it also emphasises the exhaustive list of benefactors. The defence counsel is more evidence that the thieves are continually getting caught. In a similar vane, the bailiff and the notary represent judicial corruption. The hangman who takes pity on them is the ultimate contradiction since he ought to be ruthless in his job, yet he feels sorry for their condition. The man who confronts the mob appears to be a normal citizen who would be against crime but he too helps the thieves out. His exclamation: “!Allá se lo haya; castíguele su pecado!” hints at the fact that he may be a priest or even the sexton mentioned earlier since he refers to the thief’s sins as well as having a charitable attitude. The “bienhechoras nuestras” must surely be prostitutes like Gananciosa and Escalanta who apparently aid the thieves with the sweat of their labours, presumably housework. It is ironic that they should be cast in such a positive light by Monipodio since they are in fact sexually promiscuous and are sinners. The word “bienhechora” also has connotations with an event later on in the story in which Repolido beats his whore girlfriend for only giving him twenty-four reales when he needed thirty for a gambling debt. This mindless act demonstrates the brutality and the stupidity of the rogues. Monipodio depicts a somewhat loveless and crude scene when he refers to his mother and father who thrust them on the world. This image is reminiscent of an unwanted childbirth and is indicative of the picaresque lifestyle that they lead. Such a list of characters goes to show how many times the thieves have got into trouble, yet Monipodio regards them as benefactors despite the fact that we have seen evidence of their punishment on many occasions.
Cervantes narrates this passage with a satirical voice. The ironic detachment and good humour with which these criminals are depicted gives the passage and indeed much of the story a sort of charm. Attention must be drawn however, to the fact that Cervantes is nevertheless drawing comic attention to the doctrinal and spiritual ignorance of the criminals. Despite the length and apparent complementary nature of Monipodio’s speech, the brutality of their lifestyle the criminals lead emerges from between references to piety and religion.
