"El licenciado Vidriera" ("The Lawyer of Glass") is a short story written by Miguel de Cervantes and included in his ''

Novelas ejemplares ''Novelas ejemplares'' ("Exemplary Novels") is a series of twelve novellas that follow the model established in Italy. The series was written by Miguel de Cervantes between 1590 and 1612 and printed in Madrid in 1613 by Juan de la Cuesta. ''No ...

'', first published in 1613.

Plot summary

Tomás Rodaja, a young boy, is found by strangers, apparently abandoned. He impresses them with his

wit Wit is a form of intelligent humour, the ability to say or write things that are clever and usually funny. Someone witty is a person who is skilled at making clever and funny remarks. Forms of wit include the quip, repartee, and wisecrack. Form ...

and

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...

enough for them to take him on as a sort of adoptive son. Tomás is sent to school, where he becomes famous for his learning; he grows up, travels all over Europe, and eventually settles in Salamanca, where he completes a degree in law. In love with Tomás, a young woman procures an intended love potion, with which she laces a

quince The quince (; ''Cydonia oblonga'') is the sole member of the genus ''Cydonia'' in the Malinae subtribe (which also contains apples and pears, among other fruits) of the Rosaceae family (biology), family. It is a deciduous tree that bears hard ...

that Tomás eats. The potion does not work, instead putting Tomás in a grave state for months (the woman flees and is never heard from again). When he re-emerges from

convalescence Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source of ...

Tomás is physically restored but

delusional A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...

– chiefly, Tomás is convinced that his whole body is composed entirely of glass. His unshakable belief, combined with Tomás' clever, memorable aphorisms in conversation with everyone he meets, make Tomás famous throughout Spain, where he becomes known as 'Vidriera' – from the Spanish ''vidrio'', which means 'glass'. Eventually, Tomás is invited to court, transported in a

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

packed with

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

. With time, Tomás recovers his

sanity Sanity (from la, sāntā) refers to the soundness, rationality, and health of the human mind, as opposed to insanity. A person is sane if they are rational. In modern society, the term has become exclusively synonymous with ''compos mentis'' ( ...

, only to discover to his horror throngs of people who never leave him alone, wanting to see the famous 'Vidriera'. Repulsed by fame and unable to continue as a lawyer, Tomás joins the army as an infantryman, eventually dying in an obscure

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Trivia

The term ''licenciado vidriera'' has entered the Spanish language as meaning one excessively timid or delicate.

References

External links

{{Authority control 1613 short stories Short stories by Miguel de Cervantes Comic short stories