"Stupid for Others, Smart for Yourself" by Lope de Vega, summary

This comedy is a classic work by the Spanish playwright, published in 1635. The play’s protagonist is forced to play the role of a village idiot to save her life, outwit numerous enemies, and secure her rightful throne. Literary scholars often note that the playwright masterfully contrasted two types of ruler: the selfish impostor and the wise, far-sighted heiress.

An unexpected inheritance and a bold decision

The action begins in a forest near a remote village. A young peasant girl, Diana, meets Fabio, an old servant of the late Duke of Urbino, Otavio. Fabio tells the girl devastating news. The late ruler has acknowledged her as his illegitimate daughter and bequeathed all his estates to her. Until this will was read, the Duke’s niece, Teodora, was considered the heir. Monarchs of neighboring lands and the noblemen of Urbino, Diego and Camilo, courted her.

Fabio warns Diana frankly of the impending threat. Teodora and her supporters will not give up power easily. They will try to kill or remove their new rival, who grew up among rocks and shepherds. Soon, Camilo, his servant Liseno, and a local peasant, Riselo, do indeed appear in the clearing. They have come to take Diana to the palace.

The girl immediately assesses the situation. She comes up with a foolproof plan: pretend to be a complete fool, an uncouth country bumpkin, completely unaware of the significance of the ducal title. She responds to Camilo’s greetings with rudeness, refuses to ride in the carriage, and threatens to return to her sheep the next day. Camilo is astonished by her ignorance, but is forced to take the girl to the capital, Urbino.

Court intrigues

In the ducal palace, Teodora and Diego plot. They hope to prove to the Senate that the late ruler lost his mind before his death. Diego, who had previously courted Teodora, quickly changes his priorities. He decides to marry Diana in order to seize the ducal title.

When Diana arrives at the palace, her behavior shocks the entire nobility. She asks to be returned to the village, is frightened by the cannon salute, doesn’t understand the purpose of a clock, and demands peasant clothes. Her enemies are appeased. Such a feeble-minded person will be very easy to eliminate legally.

Left alone with Fabio, Diana drops her mask. She thanks the servant for the timely warning and asks him to find a courageous, strong, and unmarried knight. This man is to become her secret protector and, eventually, her husband. Fabio immediately sets out to find him. Meanwhile, in the nearby forest, he accidentally encounters Alejandro de’ Medici, the brother of the Florentine ruler. Alejandro, having learned of the noblewoman’s plight, agrees to help. He asks Fabio not to reveal his real name to Diana for now.

Jealousy and the imaginary duelist

Diana and Alejandro begin secretly meeting in the garden at dawn. Alejandro is delighted by the contrast between her peasant attire and her brilliant mind. However, during the day, the pretense continues. Teodora tries to instill in Diana a fear of men, hoping to dissuade her from marriage. Camilo and Diego quarrel over who will be her husband, drawing swords right there in the palace. Diana stops their duel with a ridiculous order for them to marry each other.

Alejandro suddenly appears in traveling attire. In full view of everyone, he stages a scene: he calls himself Otavio Farnese of Parma and tells a fictitious story. He claims to be fleeing after a nighttime duel with the husband of a beautiful lady named Portia. Diana, unaware of this maneuver, is enraged with jealousy. She harshly scolds him and leaves. Teodora seizes the opportunity, offering the supposed Otavio her friendship, a military alliance, and a precious diamond. Diana overhears this conversation and becomes even more enraged.

Preparing for war

When Alejandro and Diana are finally alone, he reveals the truth. Alejandro had concocted the story solely to deceive his courtiers. He shows a letter from his brother, the Duke of Florence, promising to immediately send troops to Diana’s aid.

To conceal the true reason for the armed soldiers’ arrival, Diana concocts a mad plan. She publicly declares that she has written a letter to the Turkish Sultan demanding the Holy Sepulchre. Receiving a supposed refusal, she orders an army to march on Cairo. The court is horrified. All the courtiers consider this final proof of her madness. Diego and Camilo openly mock her orders, while Teodora continues to flirt with Alejandro, who has now been appointed commander-in-chief of the Urbino troops.

Visit of the Sultan’s Ambassador

Infantry and cavalry units are converging on the city. The locals are uneasy about this unexpected mobilization. To maintain her cover story and buy time, Diana arranges an audience with the Turkish Sultan’s ambassador. The ambassador is impersonated by Fabio, who appears in disguise. He appears in a Bedouin burnoose, with a wide scimitar at his belt, and spouts utter nonsense. The ambassador relays the Sultan’s demands to destroy Mecca and demands Moorish women, azure elephants, and red horses as tribute. He ends his speech with a complaint about the Sultan’s burst trousers and a request for two meters of Seville sausage. The courtiers are stunned by this absurd comedy. Diana pretends to take the ambassador completely seriously. Only Camilo begins to suspect that cold calculation may lurk behind these absurdities.

Knightly armor and the change of power

Alejandro’s troops take complete control of the capital. In the military camp, Diana explains to Alejandro the secret of her birth. Her mother, Ortensia, the old duke’s niece, lived in his palace. The duke fell in love with her, but she rejected his affections. During a hunting trip, a violent storm erupted. The companions took refuge in a forest cave, where the duke forcibly took Ortensia. She died in childbirth. To conceal their sin, the infant was given to peasants to raise. Alejandro admired the courage of his beloved and was ready to support her claims with force of arms.

Diana dons glittering knightly armor, dons a cuirass, and takes up her sword. In this warlike guise, she rides out onto the square in front of the palace. Camilo, Diego, and Teodora expect to witness another bout of dementia, but instead hear the imperious speech of a true ruler.

Diana announces to her vassals that she has been feigning foolishness all this time to protect herself from her enemies, learn their plans, and gather a loyal army. The city is completely surrounded by her soldiers. She banishes Teodora, Diego, and Camilo from her domains forever, sparing their lives but stripping them of all power. She proclaims Alejandro de’ Medici her lawful husband and Duke of Urbino. The faithful Fabio receives the promised monetary reward and marries her servant, Laura.