Themes
- Upbringings and lifestyles
- One of the primary treatments in the Galatea, and most evident in the contrast between Elicio and Erastro, is the perception of rural and city folk and their lives. Elicio, a cultured shephard, and Erastro, a rústico ganadero (rustic herdsman) are an odd pair of friends, and throughout the novel their differing views come out in conversations with other characters. Erastro, though from the rural parts of Spain, is very eloquent in speech — a trait that surprises many. However, because of his background, Erastro feels disadvantaged in his desire for Galatea, who had a very cultured upbringing similar to Elicio’s. A similar discussion ensues when a group of soldiers meets the group and one of them, Darinto, describes his view of pastoral (or rural) life as being a simple one, without all the complications, formalities and expenses of city life. Damón replies that the rural life is not as glorious or desirable as Darinto imagines: there are just as many chores and other things to do in country life as in city life, and so is not the relaxing simple life described.
- Friendship
- Love, affection, and desire
Read more about this topic: La Galatea
Famous quotes containing the word themes:
“In economics, we borrowed from the Bourbons; in foreign policy, we drew on themes fashioned by the nomad warriors of the Eurasian steppes. In spiritual matters, we emulated the braying intolerance of our archenemies, the Shi’ite fundamentalists.”
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“I suppose you think that persons who are as old as your father and myself are always thinking about very grave things, but I know that we are meditating the same old themes that we did when we were ten years old, only we go more gravely about it.”
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