Admirers of Los intereses creados may receive a shock when they turn to the sequel, La ciudad alegre y confiada, in which a tone of pessimism prevails. Crispín has risen to be the ruler of the city that he had once entered as a servant, but in spite of his magnificence, his life is not as joyous as of old. Leandro is not happy as the son-in-law of Polichinela, nor even as the husband of Silvia. The protagonist of the piece is El Desterrado, a man once exiled by Crispín, but later permitted to return to the city. The play was greeted with enthusiasm, but it does not seem quite to reach the standard of its predecessor. The atmosphere is surcharged with impending disaster. In the prologue to Los intereses creados it is stated that the world has aged since the days of the old farces; we may go further and state that in La ciudad alegre y confiada the world of Los intereses creados has grown old.
Puppet performances go back to the Italian commedia dell'arte (Comedy of the Guild, Professional Comedy) which flourished especially in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. The Italian plays were for the most part mere scenarios; the speeches were improvised by the actors. This kind of performance was peculiarly suited to the histrionic ability of the Italians, and to their genius for gestures. The commedia dell'arte was received with favor in many countries of Europe, and its influence was felt by some of the greatest authors. The modern Punch and Judy show is its direct descendant.
The characters in these old comedies are mostly fixed types with fixed masks and costumes, and often fixed names, that occur, with additions, omissions, and variations, in all the plays. Some of them—notably the braggart soldier, the crafty servant, the lovers, the deceived parents, and the intermediary—are traced through the Renaissance to the comedies of Plautus and Terence and to the New Comedy of Athens, nearly all of which is lost. Others have a later origin. Benavente has achieved remarkable success in preserving the conventional traits of his figures, and at the same time in investing them with modern qualities. The more important masks in Los intereses creados are listed below, with very brief notes designed to point out the usual characteristics of each, and, where necessary, certain modifications introduced by Benavente. It must not be forgotten that each character is carefully delineated both from the old and from the modern point of view.
THE CHARACTERS IN LOS INTERESES CREADOS
Sirena—the elderly woman who lives by her wits and acts as a go-between in love affairs.
Silvia—the typical heroine.
Señora de Polichinela (Punch's wife)—frequently at odds with her husband; rather a colorless figure in Los intereses creados.
Colombina (Columbine, fixed name)—a fairy-like dancer, represented as wooed by Harlequin.
Leandro—the typical hero.
Crispín—the crafty servant.