Irony and justice in Tradiciones de Palma

Abstract

In the traditions of Ricardo Palma we can find some with titles such as, The Major Justice of Laycota, Cut the revesino, A trial against God, A famous excommunication, Put on the donkey, endure the lashes The lovers of the Royal Order, The great complaint of the barbers, The garrote, Two excommunicants, Simony, Woman-Man, Innocent hawk, The justices of Cirilo, The lawyer's lawyer, A case for perjury, History of an excommunication, Long live the pouf!, Titles of Castile, Between Jesuits, Augustinians and Dominicans, Annals of the Inquisition of Lima, and The Second Inquisition, among others; traditions in which Palma's ideas on law and justice range from irony in the narration of everyday events in which those with less power and wealth do not always lose, to careful narration in documentary research, such as the case of the tradition the Titles of Castile. It could be said that Don Ricardo Palma, with his traditions about the history and behavior of characters, families and people of different social and cultural position, and that go from the time of the Incas to the republic in the 19th century, allows us to understand that The nature of law and justice depend on the power that the authorities exercise, and that this often prevails over the law or what is legally legitimate.