Nota sobre «la noche que llegamos» a casa de Cabra: ¿un error de Quevedo?

Abstract

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This article deals with the chronological and grammatical inconsistencies derived from a careful reading of the beginning of El Buscón’s third chapter. According to the text, the two young students arrive at Cabra’s house during the night («la noche que llegamos»). The problem arises when in the same paragraph, and without any sign of temporal rupture in the narration, the narrator establishes that the young pupils started to work in the tasks assigned by the Licenciado. Immediately after, they proceed to the dining room and have lunch («la comida»). But it still was the night of the day in which they arrived to the house. The article examines several hypotheses in order to provide possible readings of the chapter as it is. The conclusion, however, is that there is a textual mistake due either to the author / editor or to the fact that part of the original text is missing. The final recommendation is that future editions include a note and a «temporal marker» within the problematic passage so that the reading of both the paragraph and the chapter becomes coherent.