En La Ardiente Oscuridad
En la ardiente oscuridad
Antonio Buero-Vallejo’s play, ‘En la ardiente de oscuridad’ deals with a young man’s personal fight with the acceptance of his blindness. This young man is Ignacio, the protagonist of the play who lives in Francoist Spain in the year 1950. In his opinion he has been burdened with the disability of being blind. It is a disability that buts a division between him and the real world. Igancio is the tragic hero of the play as he stands up against normality and brings a new type darkness to the Centre of ‘los invidentes.’
From Ignacio’s first entrance onto the stage it is evident that he is an honest character. ‘Soy un pobre ciego.’ He exclaims the fact that he is not like the people in the outside world using the term ‘ciego’ which is unspoken of in the Centre. Instead of using the term ‘ciego’ the students call themselves ‘los invidentes.’ They live in a world where they are all equal and think they are similar to ‘los videntes,’ whereas Iganacio is honest with himself to state that they are not at all like the seers in the outside world as they are blind. It is Ignacio’s honesty that upsets the status quo of the centre. Before the characters were even introduced to Ignacio they felt a strange force around them. ‘Os digo que oigo algo raro. Oigo un bastón.’ Ignacio uses a cane so that he can make his way around. This completely goes against the status quo of the Centre. Instead of using canes the students of the Centre are thought to be confident in their strides and not to rely on the use of a cane for support. Therefore the sound of the cane is a foreign noise to the students, a sound that they would only use in the outside world. The students believe that they can survive without canes, that they can get around safely without them just like people in the outside world. They try to share this confidence with Ingacio. ‘Debes abandoner en seguida el bastón.’ But in contrast, Ignacio was brought up in the real world where ‘Los ciegos’ were
Antonio Buero-Vallejo’s play, ‘En la ardiente de oscuridad’ deals with a young man’s personal fight with the acceptance of his blindness. This young man is Ignacio, the protagonist of the play who lives in Francoist Spain in the year 1950. In his opinion he has been burdened with the disability of being blind. It is a disability that buts a division between him and the real world. Igancio is the tragic hero of the play as he stands up against normality and brings a new type darkness to the Centre of ‘los invidentes.’
From Ignacio’s first entrance onto the stage it is evident that he is an honest character. ‘Soy un pobre ciego.’ He exclaims the fact that he is not like the people in the outside world using the term ‘ciego’ which is unspoken of in the Centre. Instead of using the term ‘ciego’ the students call themselves ‘los invidentes.’ They live in a world where they are all equal and think they are similar to ‘los videntes,’ whereas Iganacio is honest with himself to state that they are not at all like the seers in the outside world as they are blind. It is Ignacio’s honesty that upsets the status quo of the centre. Before the characters were even introduced to Ignacio they felt a strange force around them. ‘Os digo que oigo algo raro. Oigo un bastón.’ Ignacio uses a cane so that he can make his way around. This completely goes against the status quo of the Centre. Instead of using canes the students of the Centre are thought to be confident in their strides and not to rely on the use of a cane for support. Therefore the sound of the cane is a foreign noise to the students, a sound that they would only use in the outside world. The students believe that they can survive without canes, that they can get around safely without them just like people in the outside world. They try to share this confidence with Ingacio. ‘Debes abandoner en seguida el bastón.’ But in contrast, Ignacio was brought up in the real world where ‘Los ciegos’ were
References: Vallejo, A.B. En la Ardiente de Oscuridad. Oxbow books, Copyright 2010