Carmen-Prosper de Merimee - Essay Example

Running Head: Carmen by Prosper de Merimee Carmen by Prosper de Merimee Carmen by Prosper de Merimee The attitude or mode of thought and how it is reflected in the novella Chapter four of Carmen by Prosper Merimee brings about a European manifestation with the exotic and the foreign during the 19th Century (Merimee, 2011). The setting is done in the Southern Spain and creates a colorful backdrop of the focus of the clash which existed between the Gypsies who are nomads and who were an ethnic group which was highly despised by the public and the Europeans.

The author clearly states that the Gypsies can be distinguished from the other inhabitants by their physiognomy and expression. The Gypsies are also quite distinct in their language, and customs in that one can differentiate them from the other inhabitants. The author’s mode of thought here is that the encounter with these differences led to ignorance and attraction. That makes attraction, violence and ignorance to be the main themes of Prosper Merimee in chapter four. The attitude of attraction and ignorance is reflected in the novella like in the case of Don Jose and Carmen, with Don Jose and Carmen being members of the minority population which is Gypsy and Basque respectively which were some of the marginalized communities in Spain (Merimee, 2011).

Ignorance and attraction as the two attitudes or mode of thought adopted by the author is clearly evident in the novella. A group of the Gypsy members were smugglers were quite frustrated by Don Jose in their attempts to bring contraband into the city since Don Jose was an incorruptible Civil Guard. In order for her to keep her Kinsmen, the sultry Carmen then seduces Don Jose and persuaded him to leave his duty post and look on the opposite side. To her, she did not love him but did her for her own motives.

Don Jose’s infatuation for Carmen increases to an extend of killing his fellow guardsman in order to prevent him from arresting Carmen which makes him a fugitive (Merimee, 2011). This shows the kind of violence that existed between the Gypsies and the other inhabitants living in Spain. Ignorance is highly evident with the Gypsies as the author refers them as being an ignorant folk, something which they are proud of. Ignorance is also reflected in the Novella like in the case of Don Jose whom we can regard as being a stupid man.

As a mode of thought, the author also brings about the importance of language. Language has formed a central part in the novella. For example, Carmen has mastered the language of persuasion by using languages like Romany, Basque and Spanish in order to manipulate all those round her. For example, she uses Romany when she referred to a peasant woman in the Gypsies as a fool (Merimee, 2011). In Latin, her name Carmen means a poem, magic spell or a song and this makes her quite appropriate for the language used by her in seduction of Don Jose.

In the novella, Carmen uses language to seduce Don Jose in order to allow the Gypsy smugglers to bring contrabands into the city. She later uses the same language to resent his possessiveness and then leaves him for a well known toreador in Seville. It is also form the theme of language that the author shows that the Gypsies ended up being termed as the cale or the blacks. Reflection of attitudes to the way the characters are presented in the novella The attitude developed by the author on language reflects the way Carmen has been presented in the novella.

Carmen has been presented as a lady who makes use of language to manipulate people and also to mock and ridicule those round her (Merimee, 2011). The narrator sprinkles his account liberally with the erudition of linguistics, but Carmen seems to have mastered the language and more so the persuasion language. The Gypsies have been portrayed as people who have mastered different languages and this explains why Carmen would speak in different dialects. Ignorance has been portrayed as part of the minority population in Spain, and this is the main reason as to why Don Jose has been portrayed as being ignorant in the novella.

It is due to his ignorance that he was easily seduced and manipulated by Carmen for her selfish gains end ended up being a fugitive for the sake of love that never was (Merimee, 2011). It was through his ignorance adopted from his population that he became quite obsessed and quite frustrated and this led to tragic consequences like the stabbing of Carmen to death. Carmen though from the same ignorant minorities has been portrayed as one who escaped the menace of ignorance, and that is why she is able to identify all attributes of ignorance evident in the Gypsies.

References Merimee, Prosper, (2011). Carmen. Lightning Source Incorporated