The path of Delibes

The way It is the third work of the Spanish writer Miguel Delibes and was published in 1950. The novel is set in rural Spain in the postwar era and, although there are no geographical references, it is easy to identify the landscapes with those of Cantabria, specifically in the town of Molledo, where the author spent his vacations when he was a child.

In this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to offer you a summary of The way of Delibes and characters to explain everything you need to know about the work. The way by Miguel Delibes, a benchmark in Spanish literature and of which, some film adaptations have even been made.

We begin this summary of The way Delibes talking about the main character:Daniel, or also known as "the little owl" is a 11 year old boy that he lives in a small town in the mountains. His parents work as cheese makers and his two best friends are Roque “el Moñigo” and Germán “el Tiñoso”. The 3 friends always go everywhere together and enjoy life and doing the odd mischief.

His friend Germán knows a lot about birds and Roque is the strongest of the group. Since Daniel is the most shy and quiet, he he feels very comfortable with both. This is how life goes in the village. The most gossipy people in town are "las Guindillas", who find out everything that happens. They are called that because they are red as a tomato and thin as a stick.

Everything remains calm until a tragic day in which his friend Germán dies. Germán dies in a fall, while he was playing with his friends in the valley. The three of them were throwing stones at the fish, with the bad luck that Germán slipped and fell to the ground suddenly, due to the blows of his head against the rocks. At that very moment Germán died.

Throughout the novel, Daniel introduces us to some of the most distinguished inhabitants of the town, such as Quino, who since the death of his wife, takes care of his daughter Mariuca alone. This Mariuca woman is in love with Daniel, although he doesn't feel anything for her and always tries to avoid meeting her.

Another of the important characters in the story is Gerardo, who has a garden the one the boys are going to rob. At that moment Mica, her daughter, appears, who tells the boys that she will give them two pieces of fruit each if they promise not to steal again. They do so, because Daniel falls madly in love with Mica, but he doesn't say anything to anyone.

After a while, on any given Sunday, after mass, Daniel dares to confess her love for Mica and she doesn't answer him, although he lets him accompany her to her house. The protagonist of the novel begins to think, then that, if he goes to Madrid he could study, work and return to his town with money, so that there will be nothing that prevents him from being with his beloved.

The night before going to Madrid to study, Daniel remembers the death of his best friend Germán and that makes him very sad. He stays up all night, remembering this moment and others that have happened in the town. Daniel's father has told all the townspeople that his son is going to the capital, so the next morning everyone comes over to say goodbye to him and wish him good luck.

This causes a lot sadness and uncertainty in the heart of Danielwho fearfully accepts the new path that awaits him. For this reason, when he begins to walk, his tears flow from his eyes without consolation. Deep down he knows that, despite wanting to be a cheesemaker like his father, he must follow his own path and forge his own life.

And so we end the summary of The way by Delibes, an intense work that is regularly studied in the classroom. Delibes is also the author of The Holy Innocents and in unProfesor we offer you a summary of the book so that you can get to know it better.

The characters in a novel are what make the story move forward and, as readers, we are able to understand what the culture of a place is like and what the customs of the people are. the novel of The way It is costumbrist, so it places a lot of emphasis on the naturalness of the characters and the way they behave (they don't do anything out of the ordinary).

Thanks to these characters, we can imagine what was rural society like during the postwar period and what was it that interested them. Here is a review of the main characters in El camino de Delibes.

Daniel

We start, of course, with the protagonist of the novel: Daniel. He is an eleven-year-old boy who, during the night before he leaves for the city, remembers what life has been like for him in the valley that has seen him grow up. His departure from town is caused by the fact that he is going to study in the capital, Madrid. He knows that he needs to go to Madrid to study, work and carve out a future, but he is very clear that his desire is to live his whole life in the valley, together with his beloved Mica. His affectionate nickname is "Mochuelo".

rock

rock he is another of the characters The way de Delibes, he is one of the Daniel's best friends and he is the son of Paco, the town blacksmith. This boy is characterized by his physical strength and by being very competitive in everything he does. Based on the example set by his father, he insistently defends the values ​​of manliness and virility that men are supposed to display. He tries to convince his friends to defend these ideals with him, but they are not interested. His affectionate nickname is "Moñigo".

german

german he is the other Daniel's best friend very fond of birds, thanks to the great collection that his father, the shoemaker, has. His main characteristic is physical weakness, which manifests itself in a skin disease, for which he is nicknamed "Tiñoso". He is the one who finds the nickname "Owl" for Daniel. He dies in a tragic accident in the river while playing with his friends.

Daniel's father

He Daniel's father He is he cheesemaker from the town and strives every day to save money so that his son can go to the city to progress. All she wants is to give him the life he could never have.

Daniel's mother

The Daniel's mother She is the wife of the cheesemaker and agrees with the decision that her son has made to go to Madrid, although she is saddened to part with her only son. The woman was left sterile after an abortion, which makes her very fond of the orphaned Uca and takes care of her as her own daughter.

Mr Jose

Mr Jose he is another of the characters The way of Delibes. He is he village priest and he likes to be called "the great saint", which is why the whole town refers to him in this way. He often laments the individualism of the townspeople and makes genuine efforts to turn them away from sin.

paco

paco he is the village blacksmith and Roque's father, El Moñigo. Unlike Daniel's father, he doesn't expect his son to progress, but is satisfied with turning him into a good blacksmith like him. He is the one who instills in his son the values ​​of manliness and virility that he believes are so necessary for society to function properly.

don moses

don moses He is he village teacher and he usually applies excessively severe punishments to his students, because of the mischief they do. He is nicknamed by the town as the "Pawn" as he mocks his face and his crooked mouth. He is quite desperate to find a woman and ends up joining Sara, Roque's sister.

Gerardo

Gerardo He is a man who was born in the town, the son of the butcher Micaela and who is the shyest of her three brothers. In her youth, she left the valley to go to mexico and years later he returned rich and owner of several businesses. She owns a large farm in the valley and is Mica's father.

Mica

Mica is the Gerardo's daughter and his wife, a blonde woman. Despite being rich and the fact that her parents choose to live in Mexico, she prefers to live most of the year on the farm in the valley. Daniel and she are in love.

The Greater Chilli

The name of the Greater Chili Pepper is Lola. She is the oldest of the three sisters nicknamed "Guindillas" for her physical appearance and sour character. She is mainly characterized by her exaggerated religious devotion and flaunting the values ​​of generosity and charity, which makes her meddle in the private affairs of the townspeople. She is single, but she ends up joining Quino, the one-armed.

The lesser Chilli

Her name is Irene and she is the youngest of the three "Guindillas". She is very devoted as well, though she loses face when she elopes with the bank officer, Dimas. She leads a life of mourning since her husband died and she is furious when her older sister decides to marry Quino.

The Chili Pepper in the middle

The Chilli Pepper in the middle is Elena and she is the second daughter of the family. Like her sisters, she is very devoted, but she dies young.

Other characters from El camino

There are other characters from The way Delibes, although they have a minor in the novel:

• Sarah
• The Leporidae
• Cinchona
• uca
• Andrew
• rita
• Cease
• damien
• Cuckoo
• Ramon
• Josefa
• Mariuca
• dimas
• pancho
• don antonino
• Chano
• Uncle Aurelius
• pascualon
• Trill
• Richard
• Esteban

We hope this lesson has helped you understand a little better the work of The way by Miguel Delibes, thanks to its plot and its characters. If you are interested in learning more about Spanish literature and finding out about books that may be of interest to you, do not hesitate to consult our reading section.