17. Dicen que no hablan

Lavinia Rivers was thinking about Dicen que no hablan las plantas, ni las fuentes, ni los pájaros by Rosalía de Castro. She knew something about the poem that the author could not: years later it would be one of her best known, even though it was published in Spanish, in En las orillas del Sar. That was in 1884, but there were some who said the book contained poetry from different times. After two immensely popular books in Galician, this last of all her works was in Spanish. Lavinia was making an effort not to judge this decision, and thought if she read more closely she might see what the author was trying to say.

Putting aside the choice of language, Lavinia decided the author had been more concerned about something else, something that might not be obvious to many readers. Was the poem simply about a carefree woman who talked to plants and animals, or to nature in general?

Dicen que no hablan las plantas, ni las fuentes, ni los pájaros,

ni el onda con sus rumores, ni con su brillo los astros,

lo dicen, pero no es cierto, pues siempre cuando yo paso

de mí murmuran y exclaman:

[The plants, fountains, birds, they say none of them can speak,

Nor does the murmuring wave, nor do the stars speak with their gleam,

They say that, but it’s not true, because whenever I walk by

They whisper about me and exclaim:]*

*Translation by K. M.

Lavinia sighed loudly and felt sorry for the woman in the poem, because she had an ability far beyond that of many people. She could hear and see and feel what few could. The conversations she describes do not disturb the woman; rather, they are comforting and accompany her. Then Lavinia realizes something doesn’t seem clear: whenever I walk by/they whisper about me and exclaim. Who are they? Are they the others, the ones denying that nature can speak? Or are they the plants and animals that whisper about her? Have the others immediately faded from consideration, leaving the woman at peace with a world that offers many more possibilities than people do?

Ahí va la loca soñando

con la eterna primavera de la vida y de los campos,

y ya bien pronto, bien pronto, tendrá los cabellos canos,

y ve temblando, aterida, que cubre la escarcha el prado.

[There goes the madwoman dreaming of

The eternal spring of life and the fields,

And soon, very soon, her hair will turn white,

And trembling, frozen, she’ll see frost shrouding the whole meadow.]

Who is telling this woman she is mad, or dreaming? Is nature reminding her that the green and blue, the yellow and white and silvery gray are not eternal, that while not human, the things that make up nature are still subject to the passage of time, to change, to death? Is the dreamer mad because she believes in eternity? Is nature cruel because it wants her to remember that even its beauty fades? Silly woman, she’ll wake up eventually.

Hay canas en mi cabeza, hay en los prados escarcha,

mas yo prosigo soñando, pobre, incurable sonámbula,

con la eterna primavera de mi vida que se apaga

y la perenne frescura de los campos y las almas,

aunque los unos se agostan y aunque las otras se abrasan.

[There are gray hairs on my head, there is frost on the meadows,

But I, a poor, incurable sleepwalker, keep dreaming

About the way my life’s eternal spring is being snuffed out

And the eternal spring of the fields and souls,

Although some are parched and others are burning.]

Lavinia decides to trust this crazy woman, although it’s never been hard for society to criticize what those who think differently do. She knows time is passing, knows the fountain does not run eternal, and she knows that, life will turn cold and white, too. Why, though, is it so bad to be hopeful? Many of us encounter deterrents to life, but curling up in a ball isn’t the proper answer. Rosalía seems to be feeling that there is no other choice; she must keep moving forward. During her lifetime there were many difficult moments - enough to give up if she had been the sort to do that. Dreaming can become a reality if the lack of dreams only drags one into a deep pit. Galicia was beginning to understand this as well, and - one never knows - maybe the loca, the madwoman, is Galicia itself? It hears the plants and animals that are the essence of its land, the setting for thousands of years of history, and even if unable to overcome the attitude of the “others,” she keeps going. Her goal is survival.

Astros y fuentes y flores, no murmuréis de mis sueños,

sin ellos, ¿cómo admiraros ni cómo vivir sin ellos?

[Stars and fountains and flowers, don’t tell speak against my dreams,

Without them, how can I admire them all, nor how could I live without them?]

The woman is not intimidated by those unable to comprehend the communication that gives meaning to life, which is what surrounds us, grows, changes, prospers, and returns after death. Lavinia is convinced this is what Rosalía has tried to say with her poem, and she ends up insisting that dreams create reality - without them, nothing really matters.

She also uses the figure of the woman on her own to symbolize a Galicia that also will continue to exist if, and only if, it never cedes its right to the future.

Translator’s Note:

I’m not certain I agree with Dr. Rivers’ analysis, but my goal now is to see if I can push the English version in the right direction. Does the loca need to move more toward a playful attitude or do I lead her toward full insanity? Translation can do that to the original, and it’s a frightening process to take anything written in one language and try to pass it off as the original. It’s too easy to slide in the wrong direction, focusing or obsessing on a word or phrase. Too many translators did that with poor Don Quixote. What is madness anyway? Is it within us or in the minds of the beholders?

Should I just move the woman back toward silliness or odd or different? Or do I assume Rosalía de Castro was at her ironic best throughout the whole poem? Was she concealing her frustration at not being understood as a writer who wanted to make a difference in how the world - the laughing others - saw her ideas?