COMMUNITY IMPRESSION OF A BRIT George Borrow: an early English interculturalist The observations two centuries ago of George Borrow, a self-appointed English ‘mission ary’, still strike a chord today. Born in the small and remote Norfolk town of East Dereham in 1803, Borrow spent many of his early years in Russia and Spain, also journeying through Morocco, Portugal, France and Germany. Richard Hill I n his book ‘The Bible in Spain’, Borrow’s matches his views of the so-called ‘national culture’ with his insights into the subcultures of Castile, Aragon, Catalonia and Andalusia. He is well aware of the spirit of localism still alive in those countries large enough to escape the full impact of industrialisation and urbanisation, having spent years of his life in both Russia and Spain. Borrow devotes himself essentially to the overriding culture of the Spanish meseta central, but qualifies his remarks by specific reference to the regional cultures of the Aragonese, the Catalans and the Andalusians. He goes to the heart of things when he says: “He who wishes to become acquainted with the genuine Spaniard, must seek him not in seaports or large towns, but in lone and remote villages, like those of the Sagra” [an area between Madrid and Toledo]. Drawing his conclusions, he writes: “I will say for the Spaniards, that in their social intercourse no people in the world exhibit a juster feeling of what is due to the dignity of human nature, or better understand the behaviour which it behoves a man to adopt towards his fellow-beings.” Obstinate Aragonese, vain Andalusians Of the stubborn Aragonese, Borrow says without equivocation: “when one of that nation once gets an idea in his head, it is the most difficult thing in the world to dislodge it” – an assertion that was echoed a century later by another Briton, Gerald Brenan, when he said: “The Aragonese are the toughest Of the Portuguese he has met, Borrow comments that “without one exception, they have been individuals who, having travelled abroad,… have returned with a contempt for their own country.” Most of the Portuguese featured in his book were drunkards… George Borrow, by Henry Wyndham Philips and most obstinate of all the Spanish peoples.” For a man who is remarkably fairminded about the cultures he encounters, Borrow is excessively complimentary of his own mother-country and mother-culture. George Borrow dismisses the Catalans with the words: “some of them appeared to be people of the worst description”. And speaking of the vain Andalusians, he refers to “their tendency to boasting and exaggeration, their curious accent, and the incorrect manner in which they speak and pronounce the Castilian language.” One of the recurrent personages in his account is a Swiss, Benedict Mol, who is on the apparently unending search for a treasure, “a schatz”. As Mol says, “I am a Swiss, and fight neither for nor against anybody unless I am paid.” Borrow also quotes a remark of his Greek servant Antonio Buchini: “I have often heard people speak of the avidity of the Swiss for money, and here is a proof of it.” Buchini knows his worth: “… I am no Spaniard but a Greek and have principles of honour.” (So much for the Spanish…) For a man who is remarkably fairminded about the cultures he encounters, Borrow is excessively complimentary of his own mothercountry and mother-culture, yet speaks of “the character of Welshmen in general, who are proverbially obstinate when opposition is offered to them.” He also extends his praise to the English fourth estate: “What most extraordinary men are these reporters of newspapers in general – I mean English newspapers; surely if there be any class of individuals who are entitled to the appellation of cosmopolites, it is these… The activity, energy, and courage which they occasionally display in the pursuit of information, are truly remarkable.” Borrow would have been more convincing if he hadn’t said “occasionally”. ● BECI - Bruxelles métropole - avril 2016 57 Pagina 58
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