Le desengaño picaresque

This article explores the motif of desengaño – disillusion – in picaresque novel. Desengaño,
usually associated with the works of Spanish poets of baroque period such as Quevedo, Gracian, appears
to be one of the important stages in future picaro’s life. Based on works that codified the genre
(anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes and Guzman de Alfarache by Mateo Aleman) and also on those that
prolonged the tradition in Europe (Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe and Les Mémoires de la vie de
Henriette-Sylvie de Molière by Madame de Villedieu) the article traces out the presence and peculiarity
of this motif in picaresque novel.