DON GIL DE LAS CALZAS VERDES

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REPARTO

I

Doña Juana is on her way from Valladolid to Madrid, accompanied by Quintana. Juana has had an affair with Don Martín, who promised to marry her, but whose father has now arranged for him to marry Doña Inés, a young woman from Madrid who is richer that Juana. Because Martín is already promised to Juana, he and his father plan for him to present himself to Inés using the name Don Gil, coming recommended by Martín's father. By means of bribery, Juana has learned of Martín's scheme and plans to circumvent it. Dressed as a man, she continues to Madrid, while Quintana goes to Vallecas, where he is to await further word from Juana. Along the way Juana meets Caramanchel, whom "he" takes on as a servant, introducing "himself" as "Don Gil."

In the meantime Don Pedro, Inés' father, receives Martín, disguised as Don Gil, who gives him a letter from Martín's father explaining that Martín is married but he is sending Don Gil in his place. Pedro instructs Martín (as Gil) to go to the Duque's garden that afternoon in order to meet Inés there. He intends to let Inés and Martín get acquainted before telling Inés that Martín is to be her husband. After Martín (Gil) leaves, however, Pedro overhears Inés talking to Don Juan and learns that they are in love. Juan, jealous, does not want her to go to the garden, but she responds by asking him to go too. After Juan has left, Pedro tells Inés that she cannot marry Juan because she is to marry Don Gil. Angry, she makes fun of Gil's name, saying it sounds like a country bumpkin.

At the garden Juana (as Gil), who has again learned of Martín's plans by bribing a servant in Pedro's household, arrives, clad in green breeches, before Martín does and presents "himself" to Inés, Clara (Inés's cousin) and Juan. Both Inés and Clara are attracted to "Don Gil," who promises Inés to come courting that night. Upon observing Inés's private conversation with "Don Gil," Juan becomes very jealous. After Juana (Gil) departs, Pedro comes with Martín (Gil). Much to his consternation and surprise, Inés informs her father that she has already fallen in love with "Gil." Pedro and Martín are bewildered, since Inés has not yet met “Gil” (Martín), and Pedro explains that Martín is “Don Gil,” to which Inés replies that he is not the “Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes” whom she loves. Confirming Inés's story, Clara also professes love for "Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes." Pedro and Martín remain confused as to the identity of the other "Gil," and Martín offers to wear green breeches, too, if that will please Inés.

II

Posing as Doña Elvira, Juana takes a house next to Pedro's. She sends Quintana with a letter for Martín in which she writes that she is pregnant and has gone to a convent in order that her father not discover her condition. In this way, she plans to prevent Martín from suspecting that she is the other "Don Gil." When Martín receives the letter he is moved by Juana's plight and decides to go to her. Inés, meanwhile, tells Juan that she is forced to obey her father, but that she does not love the second "Gil," whom she is supposed to marry, whereupon Juan promises to do away with him. Inés also has become acquainted with "Elvira," who tells her how she was loved in Burgos by a certain Don Miguel, who then left her and went to Valladolid to his cousin, Don Gil, a friend of Martín. She continues with the story of how Gil was to marry Inés because Martín was already betrothed to Juana, but Miguel stole Gil's letter of identification and came on to Madrid, posing as Gil. Elvira and Gil followed Miguel, and on the way, Gil fell in love with her, but she rebuffed him because of her relationship with Miguel. The real Gil, then, is the first one that Inés met in the garden.

Juan challenges "Gil" (Martín) to a duel, but the latter does not want to fight, especially after Juan tells him that Inés is to follow her father's will and marry him even though she does not love him. Martín (Gil) decides to marry Inés and not go to Juana in the convent. Instead, he plans to persuade Juana to become a nun. Osorio brings Martín a letter from his father urging him to hasten the wedding because Juana has disappeared, a letter of credit to a merchant for money, and a letter for Inés' father. Martín intends to put the letters in his pocket, but he inadvertently drops them instead. The letters are soon found by Juana (as Gil) and Caramanchel, and Juana sends Quintana to the merchant to collect the money.

Inés tells her father about the two Gils and the confusion of identity, according to Elvira's story. Juana (Gil) shows the letter from Martín's father to Pedro, who recognizes the writing and thus accepts Juana (Gil) as the legitimate one. The affair is then settled when Gil (Juana) says "he" loves Inés and their marriage is arranged. When Martín appears shortly thereafter Pedro calls him a rogue and a liar, referring to him as "Don Miguel" and telling him to go back to Burgos. Martín, of course, is again confused by this latest turn of events, a condition aggravated when Osorio comes to tell him that a certain "Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes" has already cashed his letter of credit.

III

Quintana brings word to Martín that Juana has died in the convent upon giving birth prematurely to a malformed daughter. Juana died in a mixed state of joy, from having received a letter from Martín saying he was coming to her, and fear, because of the knowledge that her father was on his way to find her to avenge his honor. Caramanchel shows Inés a letter that "Gil" (Juana) wrote to "Elvira" (Juana) in which Gil professes to love Elvira, rather that Inés, although he has to call on Inés that afternoon. The contents of his letter, naturally, make Inés both angry and jealous. In the meantime, Juana tells Quintana that she has written to her father, hoping to get him to come to Madrid by telling him that she is at death's door as the result of a beating that Martín gave her in Alcorcón and that Martín is now in Madrid posing as Don Gil de Albornoz in order to marry Doña Inés.

Clara declares to "Gil" (Juana) her great love for "him." "He" professes to love her, too, and they swear their love for each other. This last part of their conversation is overheard by Inés, who, after Clara's departure, reveals her presence and accuses "Gil" (Juana) of being untrue and of deceiving three women--Clara, Elvira and herself--at the same time. Juana secretly is glad that Inés is suffering, since the latter has caused her so much grief, but in order to get out of the predicament when Inés vows to marry "Don Miguel" in retribution, Juana admits that she is not really "Gil" but "Elvira," disguised as "Gil" to test Inés to see if she really loves "Gil" rather than "Miguel." As a part of her scheme, she relates, she wrote herself the letter from "Gil" and borrowed the latter's clothing to disguise herself. When Inés expresses skepticism about this explanation, Juana agrees to put on one of Inés's dresses to prove that she is really "Elvira."

Juan learns from Caramanchel that the first "Gil" loves "Elvira" and that Inés is jealous. Soon Juana, dressed now as Elvira in Inés's clothing, and Inés meet Caramanchel, who is completely bewildered by the similarity between "Elvira" and the "Gil" whom he serves and is convinced that the two are the same person: an "hembri-macho." "Elvira" tells him that "Don Gil" will come within an hour and he will see them both together and thus will know the truth.

That night Juan waits below Inés's window in order to avenge himself on whichever "Gil" appears to serenade her. As Caramanchel watches, Juan speaks to Inés, who along with Juana (Elvira) is at the window above. When Inés assumes that he is Gil, he assumes that identity and converses with her. Soon Martín appears and Juan recognizes him as "Gil" and challenges him to a duel. By now, however, Martín is convinced that the Don Gil who causes him so much trouble is really Juana's spirit taking revenge on him. He promises to pray for her and begs her to leave him alone, saying that she has caused him enough trouble, and with that he departs. Juana, of course, has found his reaction very amusing.

Juana leaves the window on the pretext that Valdivieso is awaiting her. She intends to follow through with her plan to appear as Gil in order to satisfy Caramanchel and Inés. At this point Clara appears, dressed as Gil in an effort to find out if Gil is expected by Inés. Her soft voice leads Caramanchel and Inés to think that she is the real Gil. Believing that Clara is the other Gil, Juan, after identifying himself as the real Gil who has been falsely accused of being Miguel, threatens to kill Gil (Clara). (Juan has no way to know Miguel's name so far as the text is concerned, so that his use of this name appears to be a slip of memory on Tirso's part.) Now Juana, also dressed as Gil, arrives, accompanied by Quintana. In the ensuing struggle between so many "Giles" over which one is the real "Gil," Quintana wounds Juan. Now four "Giles" have been there, three of them at the same time, all of which leads Caramanchel to say "Don Giles llueve Dios hoy." Extremely upset, he believes that he as been serving an "alma en pena" after everything that he has seen and heard.

Meanwhile, Martín has withdrawn to a park to contemplate his many problems. "There is never lacking a Don Gil to persecute me,” he says. Diego, Juana's father, comes, having been informed by Quintana that Juana died as a result of the beating Martín gave her, along with Quintana and a sheriff, to have Martín arrested for beating Juana to death. This accusation leaves Martín totally confused, whereupon Diego shows him the letter he received from Juana. Don Antonio and Celio appear, demanding that Gil (Martín) be punished for swearing to love Clara and then breaking his word. Poor Martín is now more bewildered than ever, a condition further heightened when Fabio and Decio come to have him arrested for wounding Juan.

Juana, still dressed as Gil, along with Pedro, Inés, Clara, and Juan (who was not badly injured), comes to clarify the situation. Her father is overjoyed to see her alive, and she explains that she has told the whole story to Inés, revealing that she was Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes. Martín takes Juana's hand in marriage, leaving Juan and Inés free to marry as well. Clara is betrothed to Antonio. Caramanchel arrives, loaded down with religious articles to protect him against the "alma en pena," but he is relieved of this worry when Juana tells him of her three identities as Elvira, Gil and Juana. Osorio announces the arrival of Martín's father, and they all go to greet him with the news of the three impending marriages.