MARTÍN FIERRO FOR STUDENTS · THE RETURN · 1879
Canto 17 Explained: After Vizcacha’s Death: Neighbors, Possessions and a Disputed Inheritance
A source-linked English study guide alongside José Hernández’s original Spanish poem.
What happens in Canto 17?
After Vizcacha's death, the younger son summons the local alcalde, who arrives with neighbors. People recall accusations and stories about Vizcacha's past, including thefts and conflicts. The alcalde searches his belongings and finds a jumble of old objects and tack, then suggests that the boy may inherit them under an appointed executor. The young man thinks instead of the cattle left by his aunt: the property he was originally meant to receive has still not been accounted for.
Original verses: three passages worth studying
The following stanzas are taken directly from the repository's original-text corpus, without modernization. Explanations elsewhere on this page are interpretation, not translation.
Le cobré un miedo terribledespués que lo vi dijunto;llamé al alcalde, y al puntoacompañado se vinode tres o cuatro vecinosa arreglar aquel asunto.
Luego comenzó el alcaldea registrar cuanto había,sacando mil chucheriasy guascas y trapos viejos,temeridá de trebejosque para nada servían.
"¡Bendito Dios!", pensé yo,"Ando como un pordiosero,y me nuembran herederode toditas estas guascas.¡Quisiera saber primerolo que se han hecho mis vacas!"
Main characters and voices
Fierro's younger son as narrator; the deceased Vizcacha; the alcalde; several neighbors recounting stories; Barullo, mentioned in a recalled dispute.
Literary themes to identify
Reputation after death; testimony and rumor; possessions and poverty; property entrusted to guardians; unresolved inheritance and inequality.
Gaucho vocabulary in context
alcalde (local official); albacea (executor); apero (horse tack); cencerro (animal bell); guascas (leather straps); rodeo (cattle herd).
What to notice in the narration
The comments at the death scene mix recollections, accusations and satire; they are not courtroom findings. The inventory of old equipment is central to the poem's irony. The boy's last question is not about these scraps but about his lost cattle, linking the episode back to the aunt's testament and the flawed guardianship.
Reading-comprehension and discussion questions
- What do the neighbors say about Vizcacha, and which claims are memories or allegations?
- What kinds of objects are found when the hut is searched?
- What role does the alcalde take in disposing of the belongings?
- Why does the boy find the supposed inheritance disappointing?
- How does this canto connect with the aunt's cattle and sheep in Canto XIII?
Support answers with details from the original canto. Different interpretations may be justified if the quoted passages and narrative context support them.
Sources and further reading
Primary source: José Hernández, La vuelta de Martín Fierro (1879), Canto 17, reproduced from the site's structured Spanish corpus. Summary and questions are original English educational commentary, not quoted authorial explanations.
Original canto · Summary of both parts · Character guide · All study guides