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A humorous portrait of the English culture: Julio Camba´s London

M a r t a N a d a l e s r u i z

Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain

Abstract

Julio Camba in his book Londres. Impresiones de un español (1916) offered the Spanish reader an unusual portrait of England and the English. His description was abundant in humorous cultural compari-sons between the English, the Spanish and the French. The topics the author used to exemplify the cultural differences were seldom stere-otypical, ranging from the English beds to the swearwords uttered. Even when more common issues, such as English food or London fog, were addressed the approach revealed was full of irony and comic comparisons. The English character depicted by the Spanish author can be considered an exception in the stereotype transmitted since the beginning of the Victorian era.

Keyword

Humour, English, portrait, Spanish, cultural comparison, irony.

1The English from the Spanish point of view: Julio Camba

A small group of Spanish travellers visited England at the beginning of the twentieth century and they left us written documents on their impression on the English. These publications were not very common since the Spanish economic and political situation at the time was a delicate one and trips abroad were highly unusual.

The description of the English from the Spanish point of view during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has long been a mystery. The analysis of these written records about the English from the Spanish perspective may contribute to solve part of that

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mystery. Camba’s ironic humoristic approach offered a singular portrait of the English.

Most of the Spanish travellers who visited England at that time were either writers or journalists (Nadales 2008: 59). Julio Camba was both a well-known writer as well as a journalist who had travelled throughout Europe as a chronicler and correspondent for different Spanish newspapers (El País, Nueva España, Los Lunes del Imparcial, La Correspondencia de España, El Mundo, La Tribuna, ABC). He was famous for his intellectual humoristic tone in his writing and he developed a unique style in the Spanish literary scene. He mocked about anything and his irony provoked smiles, never grimaces. His freedom did provoke some despair to the editors in chief of the newspapers he wrote for, although his originality and gentle humour compensated his transgression. It is also relevant to bear in mind that he was Galician, another asset for his humour; in fact, Azorín defined Julio Camba’s literary style as «humorismo galaico pasado por Londres» (‘Galician humour that had gone through London’) (García-Romeral 2004:108).

Julio Camba considered himself a citizen of the world and one of his passions was travelling. His job as a journalist allowed him to travel through Europe and America. He lived in Paris, London, Berlin and New York, among other capitals, and he spoke English, French, Ger-man, Italian, some Russian, some Greek, and some Turkish, besides Spanish and Galician. He was one of a kind.

His articles written abroad were intended to study foreign national character, and he described his intention and the effect of travelling in one of his books (Camba 1920):

Un día el director de un periódico donde yo trabajaba me metió algunos billetes en el bolsillo y me mandó a París. Mis artículos de entonces, como los que más tarde escribí desde otras capitales, tenían la pretensión de estudiar experimentalmente el carácter nacional; pero el único sujeto de experimentación que había en ellos era yo mismo. Yo estoy en mis colecciones de crónicas extranjeras como una rana que estuviese en un frasco de alcohol. El lector puede verme girar los ojos y estirar y encoger las patas a cada momento. Lo que parecen críticas o comentarios no son más que reacciones contra el ambiente extraño y hostil [...] Y si lo que quería mi director era observar el efecto directo de la civilización europea sobre un español de nuestros días, ahí tiene el resultado: una serie constante de mov-imientos absurdos y de actitudes grotescas. (Rana, 10 .)

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‘One day, the director of a newspaper I was working for, put a cou-ple of bills in my pocket and sent me to Paris. By then, my articles intended to study national character in an experimental way, but the only individual subject to experimentation was myself. In my col-lection of foreign chronicles I am like a frog preserved in an alcohol flask. The reader can see me turn my eyes and stretch my legs any time. What seem critiques or comments are simply reactions against a hostile foreign environment […] And if what my director wanted was to observe the direct effect of European civilization on a Span-iard of our time, there he has the result: a constant series of weird movements and grotesque attitudes.’

2Characteristics of the English at the beginning

of the twentieth century in Camba’s work

Two of Camba’s books include descriptions of the English, Londres: Impresiones de un español (1916a; henceforth Impresiones). Playas, ciu-dades y montañas (1916b; henceforth Playas). Although I will include passages of both books I will focus mainly on the former because it is a monograph about London, while the latter includes references to many other cities including his homeland.

Camba’s portrait of the English was unusual. By unusual I mean that his ironic and humoristic tone detached from the description of the English his contemporary Spanish travellers presented. As stated by Nadales (2008: 107), in an analysis of the publications of twenty-one Spanish authors about England and the English, «the characteristics of the English include seriousness, strength, courage in any situation and good manners; […] the English are extremely practical and very active». Camba reinforced this image; in fact, one of his recurrent statements was that «the English are the most practi-cal people in the world», but instead of presenting the English as a model, as his contemporaries did, by means of his irony he criticized these characteristics often contrasting them with either French or Spanish cultures. In his narrative we find a mastery of irony, an ex-cellent combination of real anecdotes and ’allegedly‘ objective facts about England and the English.

The characteristics of the English according to Camba’s work include seriousness, honesty, professionalism, practicality, logic,

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equanimity, impassiveness, hard-work, monotony, perfection and a strong respect and observation of the law. Considering these char-acteristics we could at first get the impression that the English were described as the paradigm of perfection, a model for the Spanish culture; however, Camba’s use of irony and humour turned them into a hilarious portrait of the so called English stereotype transmitted during the successful Victorian Period that had recently ended.

3Topics used to describe English characteristics

3.1 the policeMaN The policeman is the representation of law enforcement; it has often been the symbol of English honesty, respect for the authority. Other Spanish travellers had also described their physical appearance, exceptionally tall, so impressive that they would not need to carry weapons (Nadales 2008: 153). Camba, however, referred to their professionalism and physical appearance and strength in a slightly different way:

A mí, el guardia inglés me parece algo sobrehumano, que está por encima de nuestras pasiones y de nuestra sensibilidad. Alguna vez he tenido precisión de preguntarle a un guardia por una calle; me he acercado a él y he mirado hacia arriba. El guardia tenía la cabeza levantada y no me veía. Le he llamado y he formulado mi pregunta. Entonces el guardia, sin mover la cabeza para mirarme, me ha con-testado minuciosamente, y, cuando me he ido, se ha quedado en la misma actitud, inmóvil e impasible. Y es que, cuando uno le pregunta a un guardia inglés, el guardia inglés no le contesta a uno: le contesta a la sociedad. (Impresiones, 10)

‘To me, the English policeman is something superhuman, something that surpasses our passions and sensitivity. I have occasionally asked a policeman for an address; I have approached him and looked up. The policeman had his head up and could not see me. I called him and asked my question. Then, the policeman, without turning his head to look at me, answered meticulously and, when I had left, he stayed in the same attitude, still and impassive. Because when an English policeman is asked something, he does not answer to a single person: he answers to society.’

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Además, el guardia inglés debe de ser impermeable. Aquí todo es impermeable: los gabanes, las gorras, los sombreros, el calzado, el suelo […] Pues yo creo que los guardias también están hechos de una substancia impermeable. No me lo explico de otro modo. ¡Hay que ver lo que llueve! Un guardia español se ablandaría. El guardia inglés no. Deja la guardia, se va a su casa y está seco. La lluvia le moja, los coches le salpican, y el guardia sigue tan impasible como los edificios antiguos. (Impresiones, 11)

‘Besides, the English policeman must be water-proof. Everything is water-proof here: overcoats, caps, hats, shoes, the floor… So I think policemen are also made of a water-proof material. I cannot under-stand it otherwise, it rains so much! A Spanish policeman would soften. The English policeman does not. He finishes his guard duty, goes home and he is dry. Rain wets him, cars spatter him, and the policeman stays as impassive as old buildings.’

In his description of the policeman Camba approached two of the characteristics mentioned earlier, professionalism and impassiveness, he added a tang of English superiority (perhaps due to British Impe-rialism so frequently referred to) when referring to the way the po-liceman answered him: «an English policeman does not answer to a single person: he answers to society». English impassiveness is shown in association with the English weather, playing with the semantics of «soften», Camba referred to English impassiveness saying that English policemen must be water-proof, like everything in England, since not even English rain ‘softens’ them. The professionalism and impassiveness of the popular law enforcement agents was ironically praised by the Spanish author, establishing a comparison with the Spanish policemen who would be easily softened by English weather.

Apart from the policeman, the English respect and observation of the law was also illustrated by Camba regarding a different topic: suicide. He claimed that the English respect for the law is such that if an Englishman would want to commit suicide he would never do it if he saw any sign forbidding to do so.

Los periódicos discuten ahora si la gente tiene derecho a matarse o no. Desde luego: si la gente tiene derecho y razón para matarse en alguna parte del mundo, yo creo que debe tenerlos sobre todo en Londres, en este país de nieblas y de gente triste, del que decía Oscar Wilde: «No se sabe si son las nieblas las que producen los hombres tristes, o si son los hombres tristes los que producen las nieblas». […] En España o

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en Francia, y en cualquier lado del mundo, excepto Inglaterra, leg-islar contra el suicidio es perder completamente el tiempo. Se puede legislar pero ¿cómo va a llevarse a la práctica? ¿Qué se le va a hacer al suicida una vez suicidado? Porque, en fin, no se es suicida como se es concejal o miembro del partido republicano; sólo se es suicida después de muerto y el único castigo que se le puede imponer a un muerto por haberse suicidado es resucitarlo. Mientras no se pueda resucitar a los suicidas, será inútil legislar contra ellos. […] Y por ello es inútil legislar contra el suicidio en todas partes.

En Inglaterra, no. El suicida inglés respeta la ley. Puede no estar conforme con la vida, pero respeta la ley. Puede decidirse a separarse de la sociedad, a romper con la existencia, a desaparecer del mundo; pero como vea un cartel que diga: «Se prohíbe suicidarse», el suicida inglés no se suicidará. ¡Envidiable país el que cuenta con tales suicidas! (Impresiones, 287-289)

‘Newspapers are now discussing whether people have the right to kill themselves. Of course: if there is a place in the world where people have the right, and a reason, to kill themselves I think that place is London. This country of fog and sad people; Oscar Wilde used to say about it: «We do not know whether it is the fog that makes people sad or sad people who provoke the fog».

[…] In Spain or France, or anywhere in the world except England, to legislate against suicide is a waste of time. It can be legislated but how can it be put to practice? What can we do to the suicide once they have committed suicide? Because one is not a suicide as he is a councilor or a member of the Republican Party; one is only a suicide after dying and the only punishment that can be inflicted to a suicide is to resurrect him. As long as we cannot resurrect the suicide it will be useless to legislate against them. […] And that is why it is use-less to legislate against suicide everywhere. In England it is not. The English suicide obeys the law. He may not agree with it, but obeys the law. He may choose to drive away from society, break with existence, disappear from the world; but if he sees a notice saying: «Suicide is forbidden», the English suicide will not commit suicide. Enviable country is that which has such suicides!’

3.2 the eNglish food This topic has been one of the most com-monly criticised, even nowadays; everybody would agree that it is an important part of the English stereotype. Camba also mentioned this topic, ironically trying to reinforce the practicality, hard-work, logic

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and honesty of the English. He stated that the English ate a lot but as their food was not very tasty –they had no taste at all– they simply ate what they needed and were then agile, strong and healthy, in contrast with fat and heavy French. Besides, he included an anecdote illustrating English logic. He was served an omelette with strawberry jam, which he considered disgusting and so he protested. The waitress asked him whether he did not like the jam, he answered he did like it very much. She then asked him whether he liked the omelette, which he said he also liked. So she concluded that he had to like omelette with jam. «That’s English logic. I was convinced, but my stomach remained sceptical».

Inglaterra, no. Este es un pueblo que come sin salsas ni gelatinas. Aquí no existe el placer de la mesa, y, al mediodía, la ciudad de Londres come de pie. […] Los ingleses comen mucho; pero, como comen alimentos simples y no mixtifican el paladar, nunca comen más de lo que su estómago necesita. Por otra parte, los ingleses no tienen paladar. Y así están ágiles, fuertes y sanos, y no pesados y gordos como los franceses. (Impresiones, 13)

‘Not England. People here eat without sauces or jellies. The pleasure of eating at a table does not exist here and, at noon, London city has lunch standing up. […] English people eat a lot; but, as they eat simple food and do not trick their palate, they never eat more than their stomach needs. On the other hand, English people have no taste. And so, they are agile, strong and healthy, and not heavy and fat like the French.’

Pero la comida inglesa, que es tan práctica, tiene una porción de co-sas absurdas. Yo no he alcanzado a comprender todavía por qué les echan aquí almíbar a los riñones y por qué meten confitura de fresa dentro de las tortillas. La primera vez que me sirvieron una tortilla en esta forma, yo protesté respetuosamente. […]– ¿Es que no le gusta a usted la confitura? –me preguntó la camarera. – Sí, me gusta mucho. – Entonces, ¿no le gusta a usted la tortilla?– También.– Pues indudablemente le tiene a usted que gustar la tortilla con confitura. Esa es la lógica inglesa. Yo me convencí, pero mi estómago permaneció escéptico. (Impresiones, 14)

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‘English food, so practical, has a portion of absurd things. I have not understood yet why they add syrup to kidneys and why they stuff omelette with strawberry jam. First time I was served an omelette that way, I respectfully objected. […]– Don’t you like jam, sir? –the waitress asked me.– Yes, I like it very much.– Then, don’t you like omelette?– Yes, I do.– Then, undoubtedly, you must like omelette with jam, sir. That is English logic. I got convinced but my stomach remained skeptical.’

One of the essential elements of English food is roast-beef. Camba used this element together with boiled potatoes, to criticise the English ironically praising their honesty. And so he claimed that in England it was common to eat roast-beef, first roast-beef and after that roast-beef. The English split a portion of roast-beef so that for-eigners cannot say that they only eat one thing. The other element was potatoes. He mentioned several delicious ways to cook potatoes to contrast with the simple boiled ones served in England. His expla-nation to this monotony is English honesty, «a potato must taste like a potato. England, ladies and gentlemen, is a very serious country» and «an English potato is much more serious than a Continental potato».

Sí, es cierto. Además de roast-beef, pues, nos dan roast-beef. Primero un plato y luego otro. Los ingleses dividen una misma porción de roast-beef en dos partes para que los extranjeros no digamos que aquí se come una sola cosa. […] Aquí las patatas del lunes son como las del martes, […] y así sucesivamente por toda la eternidad. ¡Qué! ¿Se creen ustedes que los ingleses van a disfrazar, a mixtificar las patatas? ¿Y la honradez inglesa? Una patata debe saber a patata. Inglaterra, señores, es un país muy serio. […] ¡Patatas unánimes! ¿Es que no se aburrirán estas patatas de ser siempre las mismas? ¡Pero quiá! Una patata inglesa es mucho más seria que una patata del continente. (Impresiones, 63-65)

‘Yes, it is true. In addition to roast-beef we are served roast-beef. First one dish and then another. English split a roast-beef portion so that foreigners do not say that people here only eat one thing. […] Here Monday potatoes are like Tuesday’s […] and so on forever. What! Do you think that English are going to disguise, adulterate potatoes? What about English honesty? A potato must taste potato, because England, ladies and gentlemen, is a very serious country. […] Unanimous potatoes! Won’t they ever get tired of the same potatoes?

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Forget about that! An English potato is much more serious than a potato from the Continent.’

3.3 the eNglish bath At first Camba’s approach to the English bath seemed a simple criticism of London’s dark smoke and fog, which made London citizens wash more frequently than the rest of Europeans «otherwise in three days they would look like squids» […] «English bathe a lot because England is a dirty country, Span-iards seldom bathe because Spain is a clean country». Apart from these comments, he introduced another humoristic element that is worth mentioning, he associated English equanimity with the time they spent on hot water. He declared that the consequences of their frequent baths were based upon the fact that «a warm bath is a seda-tive. English equanimity is in part due to the fact that English spend, at least, three hundred and sixty five hours submerged in warm water». And he compared Spanish and English character, jealous, impulsive, violent Spanish and quiet English. The key, according to Camba, was simply a certain amount of warm water. Once again, he dismantled English positive features.

Yo acabo de hacer un cálculo estadístico, según el cual viene a haber en Londres así como unos tres millones de chimeneas, donde se quema carbón constantemente. El humo de estas chimeneas sube, pero el carbón baja y pinta de negro a estos ingleses sonrosados, de tal manera que si un inglés no se bañase diariamente, al cabo de tres días estaría convertido en un calamar. […] Los ingleses se bañan mucho porque Inglaterra es un país sucio, y los españoles se lavan poco porque España es un país limpio, al contrario de lo que suele decirse […] Luego vienen las consecuencias. Ya se sabe que el baño tibio es un sedante. Gran parte de la ecuanimidad inglesa es debida al hecho de que los ingleses se pasan al año, por lo menos, trescientas sesenta y cinco horas metidos en agua templada. Yo tengo una gran afición a los cálculos; estas trescientas sesenta y cinco horas hacen quince días y pico. Que cojan a uno de esos españoles violentos, celosos, impulsivos, repentistas y que lo metan quince días en un baño de agua templada, a ver si no sale cambiado. (Impresiones, 17-19)

‘I have just done a statistical calculation, in accordance with it there are about three million chimneys in London, where coal is constantly burning. These chimneys smoke goes up, but coal goes down and turns these rosy English people black, in such a way that if an English

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would not bathe daily, in three days he would turn into a squid. […] English people bathe so often because England is a dirty country, Spanish seldom bathe because Spain is a clean country, contrary to what is commonly said. […] Let’s not forget the consequences of this. It is widely known that a warm bath is a sedative. A great deal of English equanimity is due to the fact that, annually, English spend at least three hundred and sixty-five hours in warm water. I am very keen on calculations; those three hundred and sixty-five hours add up to over fifteen days. Take one of those violent jealous impulsive vindictive Spaniards and immerse them in warm water, they will definitely metamorphose.’

3.4 eNglish aMuseMeNt English seriousness, monotony and boredom are approached in Camba’s style, that is, claiming that «the Englishman is the most amusing person in the world» but he clari-fied to the audience that «the contrast is that the Englishman enjoys on the inside while the Spaniard enjoys on the outside», so Camba explained that the English do not show their feelings due to their character, but they enjoyed much more than the rest of the world. As an example he told a perfect amusing evening for his friend, Mr. Fane. He simply sat on a stool on a bar, drinking whisky and smoking his pipe, speaking to nobody. He seemed to be bored to death but the next morning he claimed that he had enjoyed very much. Thus, the English are the most amusing and entertaining people in the world.

– ¡Lo que me he divertido! ¡Lo que me he divertido anoche! –me dice este mister Fane. Yo ya les he contado a ustedes en qué consisten las diversiones de mi amigo. Llega al bar, se instala sobre un alto taburete ante el mostrador, pide un whisky y enciende su pipa. Luego va sucesivamente pidiendo whiskys y encendiendo pipas hasta las doce y media de la noche. No habla con nadie. Parece que se muere de pena, y al día siguiente me dice que se ha divertido mucho. Indudablemente estos ingleses son unos hombres muy regocijados. – ¿Usted no se divierte en un bar?– Yo, no.– ¡Con lo alegres que son los españoles![…] Poco a poco, a fuerza de vivir entre ingleses, he llegado a hacer un descubrimiento que no vacilo en calificar de trascendental. Helo aquí: los ingleses son los hombres más alegres del mundo. Nosotros vemos a un inglés en medio de una juerga andaluza o montmartresa,

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y cuando todo el mundo hace más ruido y dice más tonterías […] el inglés está como en el primer momento, con una cara muy seria y una actitud muy digna. Entonces nosotros pensamos que ese inglés es un hombre muy aburrido. Pues no, señores. Ese inglés se está divirtiendo de una manera loca. Los ingleses se divierten por dentro y los españoles nos divertimos por fuera. […] Inglaterra le reserva a uno muchas sorpresas. Por mi parte, yo he entrado en sospechas de que éste puede ser un país muy cómico. (Impresiones, 43-45)

(– I enjoyed so much! Last night I enjoyed so much! –says this Mr. Fane.I have already told you about my friend’s entertainment. He goes to the pub, settles down on a stool, orders a whisky and lights his smoking pipe. He then keeps on ordering whiskies and lighting his smoking pipe until half past midnight. He talks to nobody. He looks miserable and the next day he tells me he has enjoyed very much. There is no doubt these Englishmen are self-amusing people. – Don’t you have fun at a pub?– No, I don’t. – And they say Spanish people are cheerful!‘Gradually, by living with English I have discovered something that I consider momentous. English are the most cheerful people in the world. We see an Englishman in the midst of an Andalusian or Monmartre party and whereas everybody is being noisy and foolish […] the Englishman maintains a very serious and graceful attitude. Then we think that he is a very boring person. But we are mistaken. That Englishman is enjoying immensely. English enjoy inwardly and Spaniards enjoy outwardly. […] England is full of surprises. Person-ally, I suspect this is a very comical country.’

3.5 eNglish MachiNes Another characteristic pertaining to the English stereotype is hard-work. Camba defined the English as machines, since their activity was mechanic, monotonous, regular and systematic, lacking imagination. He established a contrast with the Spanish character, stating that the English do not understand laziness, sloth. He illustrated his statement with the simple fact of laying on a chaise-longue, something they did not understand, as they asked him if he was ill. That is why he claimed that an English laying down no longer exists. «The English», he concluded, «is a machine».

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El inglés quiere que se trabaje metódica, sistemática, regularmente. El hombre de trabajo, según el criterio inglés, debe ser como una máquina de trabajo. Eso de trabajar por impulsos les parece a los ingleses una cosa de enfermos. […]Los ingleses no comprenden la pereza. Yo me tumbo muchas veces en una chaisse-longue, y las mujeres de la casa me preguntan si estoy enfermo. – No –les contesto.– ¿Y no se aburre ahí?– No.– Yo –dice entonces una miss– me aburriría mucho. La miss se aburriría porque no tiene imaginación. La capacidad de ac-ción está en razón inversa a la capacidad imaginativa de las gentes. Un español se tumba en el sofá y sueña. En cambio, cuando un inglés se tiende en la misma forma deja de existir. Un inglés tendido es como un mueble volcado. El inglés, en fin, es una máquina. (Impresiones, 52-54)

‘The English like working in a methodical systematic regular manner. A workman must be, according to the English, a work machine. The English think that working on impulse is insane. […] The English do not understand sloth. I usually lie down in a chaise-longue and the women in the house ask me whether I am ill. – No –I answer them.– Aren’t you bored there?– No.– I –a miss says– would get very bored.The miss would get bored because she lacks imagination. Their active ability is inversely proportional to their imaginative ability. A Spaniard lies down in the sofa and dreams. However, an Englishman lies down and stops existing. An Englishman lying down is like a dumped piece of furniture. All in all, an Englishman is a machine.’

3.6 eNglish swearwords In order to reinforce the idea of Eng-lish moral, good manners and discipline, Camba stated that in England people do not swear. He offered some reasons for this fact, one is that «being so practical, the English trust their hard work and not the Providence, so if a business goes wrong they would never blame the Providence for it». Of course, in Spain it was the contrary (and it has not changed since then). Besides praising Spanish magnificent swearing manner, Camba offered a list of the most common swearwords, which he considered too soft to be defined as such. These included: «son of a gun», «son of a bitch», «bloody man», «dirty pig», and «damned».

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Los ingleses, por su parte, no blasfeman nunca. No hacen ni siquiera un ruido irrespetuoso. ¿Cómo ha de blasfemar un pueblo tan discipli-nado? Además, los ingleses son unos hombres prácticos; confían en su trabajo para vivir y no en la Providencia; de modo que si un negocio les sale mal, nunca se les ocurre hacer a la Providencia responsable del fracaso. En España es todo lo contrario. Ahí todos entregamos nuestros asuntos en manos de la Providencia. […] ¡Qué bien blasfema el español! Y, sobre todo, ¡qué convicción más admirable la suya al inculpar al cielo de su carencia de numerario! […] Los ingleses nunca hablan mal de la Providencia ni del Gobierno. Sus insultos más ter-ribles son éstos: son of a gun (‘hijo de un fusil’), son of a bitch (‘hijo de un perro’), bloody man (‘hombre ensangrentado’) y dirty pig (‘cerdo sucio’). Estos son los insultos concretos que se dicen unos hombres a otros. En cuanto a los insultos abstractos […] los ingleses no saben decir más que damned (‘condenado’). […] Blasfemar, lo que se llama blasfemar, no se hace en Inglaterra. Ante todo el respeto y la disciplina. (Impresiones, 60-61)

‘The English never swear. They do not even utter a disrespectful noise. How could such a disciplined people swear? Besides, English people are very practical; they trust their work instead of Providence. So, if a business is unsuccessful they never blame Providence. In Spain is just the other way round. There, we all blame Providence for our failures. […] Spaniards swear so well! And, above all, they are so convincing when blaming Providence for their lack of money…! English people never criticise Providence or Government. Their most terrible insults are: ‘son of a gun’, ‘son of a bitch’, ‘bloody man’ and ‘dirty pig’. These specific insults are used among men. Regarding abstract insults (...) English only use ‘damned’ [...] Swearing, strictly speaking, is not done in England. First and foremost, respect and discipline.’

3.7 eNglish Moral: eNglish vs spaNish geNtleMaN The difference between an English and a Spanish gentleman is the moral. «An English gentleman, is a well-dressed man who has no debts. When an Englishman does not pay his rent he is no longer a gentleman. Neither does he if he turns up with a torn suit. What a difference with the Spanish gentleman!» Camba’s irony hardened on the English moral and he criticized English concern for appearance and money whereas the soul was not relevant at all.

Un gentleman es un hombre bien vestido y que no tiene deudas. En cuanto un inglés deja de pagar la casa ya no es un gentleman. Si un

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día se presenta con el traje estropeado tampoco. ¡Qué diferencia tan grande entre el gentleman inglés y el caballero español! Porque el dinero no es condición indispensable de la caballerosidad española […] El caballero español es caballero siempre, aunque no tenga dos reales. ¿Por qué? Por el alma, por el gesto. (Camba, 1916a: 105)

‘A gentleman is a well dressed man who has no debts. When an Eng-lishman stops paying his rent he is no longer a gentleman. Neither is he if he wears a torn suit. What a difference between the English gentleman and the Spanish gentleman! Because money is not a re-quirement for Spanish gentlemanliness […] The Spanish gentleman is always a gentleman, even if he has not a penny. Why? Because of the soul, because of the manner.’

He added sarcasm to the topic when he claimed he understood English moral was admirable, logic, practical as long as he had money.

Es admirable, no cabe duda, esta moral inglesa. Es lógica, es práctica. Cuando yo tengo dinero la comprendo perfectamente. Entonces pien-so que toda nuestra hidalguía es ridícula e inmoral, y probablemente en estos contados momentos es cuando tengo razón. (Impresiones, 107)

‘Without any doubt, English moral is admirable. It is logical, it is practical. When I have money I understand it perfectly. Then I think that all our gentlemanliness is ridiculous and immoral, and I am probably right on those scant moments.’

3.8 eNglish Moral: decoruM Due to the approbation of two London local projects, Camba reinforced his criticism of the English moral. The first project forbad dog barking and the second one car horn. Camba’s sense of humour rejoiced in these facts and stated that in England a dog can bite as long as it does not bark, a car can run over a pedestrian as long as it does it quietly and even the opening of champagne bottles has to be done silently, so «champagne has had to turn a little puritan, otherwise it could have been expelled or exiled from the country». Of course, English accepted champagne but why be scandalous? «Speaking is the sin, not doing». Camba devoted a whole chapter to this issue, claiming, for instance, that «a dumb person could never infringe English moral» or that a barking dog will have to pay a five shilling fine but it could bite as long as it was done quietly, so to speak, biting was free.

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En Inglaterra es mucho peor hablar que hacer. Una inglesa se asusta mucho más de la palabra que de la cosa. De aquí es de donde ha salido esa hipócrita costumbre de descorchar las botellas de champagne sin que se oigan los taponazos. La moral inglesa acepta perfectamente el champagne; pero se siente ultrajada por el ruido de los tapones. So pena de ser expulsado de Inglaterra, el champagne ha tenido que hacerse aquí un poco puritano. […] En Inglaterra lo cogieron por el pescuezo le sujetaron el corcho y le dijeron: «¡Chist! Aquí no se escandaliza. Si llama usted la atención de la gente, lo echamos…». Y actualmente el champagne tiene en Londres un aspecto tan serio, tan sencillo, tan inocente, como el puritano ginger beer […] aquí lo pecaminoso es hablar y no hacer. Esto es tan exacto que a un mudo le sería totalmente imposible faltar a la moral inglesa. […] el perro que se ponga a ladrar en público tendrá que pagar cinco chelines de multa. No sé si tendrá que pagar algo por morder, pero es posible que si muerde silenciosamente no pague nada. ¿Qué es eso de que los perros ladren en Inglaterra? Los perros ingleses deben ser muy callados y muy serios. (Impresiones, 184-186)

‘In England it is much worse speaking than doing. An Englishwoman gets much more scared of the words than the actual things. The hypocrite custom of uncorking champagne without making any noise is English. English moral accepts champagne; but feels outraged at the sound of corks. So, so as not to be expelled from England, champagne has had to become a bit puritan here. (…) In England, it was grabbed by the neck and was told «Shush! You cannot make such a noise here. If you are noisy and attract people’s attention you will be expelled…». And presently champagne has in London such a serious aspect, so simple, so innocent as the puritan ginger beer […] here what is sinful is speaking not doing. It is so that it would be absolutely impossible for a dumb person to break the English moral. […] the dog that barks in public will have to pay a five shilling fine. I do not know whether it will have to pay anything if it bites, but it is possible that if it bites quietly it does not. Dogs barking in England? English dogs must be very serious and quiet’

3.9 advertiseMeNts Advertisements are an important part of the culture. In order to understand the English and get to know them, it is interesting to pay attention to their needs, that is, what they demand and offer. Camba’s selection of advertisements was not an objective one, since his intention was to present the reader with humoristic commercials. The selection included a funny assortment, here I include some of them.

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Familia de trece miembros. Convidaría a comer y cenar todos los días a persona distinguida para deshacer el maleficio del número. Deséanse buenos modales y conversación ejemplar. (Daily Telegraph) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘Family with thirteen members would invite for lunch and dinner a distinguished person to break the number hex. Good manners and exceptional conversation are required.’

Literato. Profundo conocimiento de los clásicos. Necesítase para re-dactar los anuncios de un nuevo dentífrico. (Daily Mail) (Impresiones, 165-167)‘Educated. Deep knowledge of the Classics. It is required to write a new toothpaste advertisement.’

Cojo del pie derecho. Desearía asociarse con cojo del pie izquierdo para comprar las botas en comandita. Número 43. (Daily Mail) (Im-presiones, 165-167)

‘Right foot lame person seeks for association with left foot lame person to buy boots. Number 43.’

Hermoso loro australiano. Conversación garantizada. Habla inglés y algo de francés. Silba. Se le puede ensayar un mes. Con la jaula, 15 chelines. (Daily sketch) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘Pretty Australian parrot. Conversation guaranteed. Speaks English and a bit of French. Whistles. Can be tried for a month. With gaol, 15 shillings.’

Se necesita muchacha de quince años, con gran experiencia de la vida, para cuidar una niña. (Evening Times) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘Fifteen year old girl, with a wide experienced, is required to look after a girl.’

El correo matrimonial. Establecido desde hace medio siglo. 15.000 matrimonios realizados. Clientes en todas partes. Condes y marqueses disponibles. Honradez garantizada para los que la soliciten. (Daily Telegraph) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘Marriage mail. Established half a century ago. 15000 marriages ar-ranged. Customers from all over. Counts and marquises available. Honesty guaranteed for those who demand it.’

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Enfermo de hígado. Desea trabar amistad con hombre jovial. (Im-presiones, 165-167)

‘Liver sick. Wishes to make acquaintace with cheerful man.)’

Actor célebre dedica postales: «Afectuosamente», tres chelines. «Cordialmente», cuatro chelines. «Con besos», cinco chelines. «Con amor», siete chelines. «Con amor y besos», media libra. (The Referee) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘Famous actor dedicates postcards: «With affection», three shillings. «Heartily», four shillings. «With kisses», five shillings. «With love», seven shillings. «With love and kisses», half a pound.’

Una libra de gratificación al que presente en Baker Street, 54, her-moso perro japonés respondiendo al nombre de «Tutú». Señora anciana, gravemente enferma, se muere llamándolo. (Daily Mail) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘One pound reward to the person who hands in, at 54 Baker Street, beautiful Japanese dog on the name of «Tutú». Elderly lady, very sick, who is dying calling him.’

Señorita. Cincuenta años. Carácter dulce. Desea casarse con un hom-bre muy enérgico. (The Evening News) (Impresiones, 165-167)

‘Miss. Fifty years old. Sweet character. Wishes to marry an energetic man.’

3.10 aN uNusual coNtrast: eNglish beds Contrasts with Spain and France. France is represented as the paradise compared to England. Camba did not describe London alone, he established contrasts between his two other well-known cultures, Spanish and French.

Food, climate, character are the most common topics to establish a contrast. These topics were quite usual in describing the English, and establishing contrasts (Nadales, 2008: 74). However, Camba established a very unusual comparison: the beds. He compared English, French and Spanish beds to illustrate the differences in character between the three nationalities, and as expected, he did it in an ironic tone.

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De Londres a París el viaje es corto, y, sin embargo, ¡qué bien des-cansa el viajero en una de estas camas francesas, tan mullidas, tan hondas, tan amplias! Porque las camas inglesas son duras y chicas. En el salón de un hotel o en un Boarding House inglés, uno hace amistad con míster Tal o míster Cual, uno de esos hombres muy grandes que hay en Inglaterra. Días después uno sube a su cuarto y ve allí una camita que parece de juguete. Pues en aquella camita tan pequeña duerme aquel inglés tan grande.

Se ve que en Inglaterra, la gente se acuesta por necesidad, así como en Francia se acuesta por placer. Un inglés está en la cama el tiempo estrictamente necesario para dormir. El inglés se acuesta y se duerme, se despierta y se levanta. Así, aun en las mejores casa inglesas, las alcobas son pobres y chicas. «¿Para qué voy a arreglar mi habitación de una manera muy bonita –se dice el inglés–, si en cuanto llegue allí me voy a quedar dormido?». En una casa inglesa la alcoba es la habitación menos importante. En una casa francesa lo principal es la alcoba. (Playas, 127-128)

‘Even though the trip is short from London to Paris, however, how comfortably does the traveller rest on those French beds, so soft, so deep, so wide! Because English beds are hard and tiny. At a hotel or an English Boarding House, one can meet a Mr. Such, one of those very big men one can find in England. Days later, one goes to their room and sees such a tiny bed that seems to be a toy bed. Well, the fact is that such a big Englishman sleeps in that tiny little bed.

It seems that in England people go to bed by necessity just as in France they do it by pleasure. An Englishman is in bed just the necessary time to sleep. An Englishman goes to bed and sleeps, wakes up and gets up. So, even in the best English houses bedrooms are small and simple. «Why am I going to do up my bedroom in a nice way –wonders the Englishman– if as soon as I get there I am going to be asleep?». In an English house the bedroom is the least important room. In a French house the bedroom is the main room.’

Even though the comparison seems positive for the French and negative for the English, the emphasis is on the English character-istics, once again they were described as practical and hardworking. Practical, as they did not spend time and effort decorating a room where they «simply» sleep and hard working because they did not «want» comfortable beds, as French ones, so as not to get lazy and get up immediately and work. It is obviously a very ironic description of the English characteristics, trying to show these negative features

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as positive ones. He reinforced the irony introducing his opinion on the bed the Spanish would need.

Las camas francesas son verdaderamente admirables, sobre todo para los españoles. Un español se encuentra tan bien en una de estas camas francesas, que, por su gusto, no la abandonaría nunca. Pero en España no conviene hacer elogio de las camas francesas, sino más bien de las inglesas. A nosotros nos convienen unas camas muy incómodas, donde no se pueda permanecer más que estando profundamente dormido. Las camas francesas, como la moral francesa, nos perjudican mucho. Nosotros necesitamos unas camas y una moral muy duras y muy desagradables. Necesitamos madrugar y trabajar. (Playas, 128)

‘French beds are truly admirable, above all for Spaniards. A Spaniard feels so comfortable in one of those French beds, that he would never leave it. But in Spain we should not praise French beds, but English ones. We need very uncomfortable beds, where it is only possible to stay deeply asleep. French beds, just as French moral, is extremely harmful for us. We need uncomfortable and unpleasant moral and beds. We need to get up early and work.’

Si las camas inglesas fuesen camas francesas, Inglaterra no sería lo que es. […] Por lo que respecta a la alcoba inglesa, de ella se deriva la mitad, por lo menos, de la energía británica. Viendo una alcoba inglesa, se comprende que Inglaterra sea un pueblo activo, que no duerma más que el tiempo necesario para recobrar las fuerzas per-didas durante el día, y un pueblo práctico, que no sueña jamás. En las camas inglesas no hay edredones, ni doseles, ni apenas colchón. No sintiendo verdaderamente sueño, a ningún inglés se le ocurre meterse en la cama. […] En fin, el inglés se va a la oficina y trabaja; se va a la cama y duerme, y cuando el inglés duerme, como cuando trabaja, lo hace íntegramente, de un modo eficaz, rotundo, definitivo. Nosotros consultamos nuestros asuntos con la almohada, dormimos en la oficina y nunca estamos ni completamente despiertos ni dor-midos. A mí me encantan la blandura, la elasticidad, la amplitud y el calorcito de las camas francesas; pero yo les recomiendo a ustedes las camas inglesas. Si todos los españoles nos dedicáramos a dormir en camas inglesas, España podría salvarse. Al principio nos dolerían los huesos, y amenazaríamos con curbaturées; pero esto es lo mismo que ocurre con la gimnasia: pronto nos acostumbraríamos, y luego nos haríamos un poco más enérgicos y más fuertes. (Playas, 128-130)

‘If English beds were French beds, England would not be what it is. […] As regards English bedrooms, from it derives at least half of

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English energy. Observing an English bedroom one can understand that England is an active country, which does not sleep more than necessary to recover from the daily work, and also that it is a practi-cal country that never dreams. On English beds there are no duvets, no canopy and hardly any mattress. Not being sleepy an Englishman would never go to bed. […] All in all, the English go to the office and work; they go to bed and sleep, and when the English sleep, just as when they work, they do it completely, in an effective, resounding, definite manner. We sleep on our decisions, we sleep in the office and we are never completely asleep or awake. I love softness, flex-ibility, width and warmth of French beds; but I recommend you English beds. If all the Spanish would sleep on English beds, Spain could be saved. At first, our bones would hurt and we would have ‘curbaturées”; but this is the same as physical training: we would soon get used to it and we would get stronger and more energetic.’

Spain needed uncomfortable beds to get more energetic, more active, more hard-working. Camba admitted that he liked French soft, comfortable beds but he recommended the English ones to the Spanish, so as to change their character.

4The English. Conclusions

Julio Camba unveiled a singular approach to the English people and culture in his books. His humour hid his numerous critiques towards what he experienced during his prolonged stay in London. The English nature, so different from his Spanish nature and his French knowledge offered him a wide range of elements to contrast, describe, criticize and praise, adding tons of humour, irony and sarcasm. The result is an extremely amusing description of the English, the mo-notonous, mechanic, serious, practical, amusing, honest, professional, hard-working, silent, polite, respectful,… English people and culture.

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r e f e r e n c e s

Camba, J. (1916a). Londres: Impresiones de un español. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe.

———. (1916b). Playas, ciudades y montañas. Madrid: Renacimiento.———. (1920). La rana viajera. Madrid: Calpe.García-Romeral (2004). Diccionario de viajeros españoles desde la Edad

Media hasta 1970. Madrid: Ollero y Ramos. Nadales Ruiz, M. (2009). Creación de identidad inglesa: Viajeros españoles

del siglo XIX. Madrid: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad Complutense.