Synopsis

“The Capital of the World,” one of Ernest Hemingway’s lesser-known short stories, shows the
author revisiting one of his best-known literary subjects: bullfighting. Written in 1936, the story
depicts a young and idealistic waiter named Paco who has left the primitive village of his birth
for the romance and glamour of Madrid, Spain.

Paco works at the Pension Luarca, a hotel that houses many figures from the bullfighting world:
three matadors, two picadors, and one middle-aged but capable banderillero. For Paco, these
men are the only guests who “exist” at the hotel, because he is so infatuated with the romance
and beauty he sees in bullfighting. Hemingway, however, takes care to let the reader know
about the faults and failings of the matadors: one is a coward, one is secretly sick, and one was
never able to capture the “fancy” of the public.

Besides the bullfighters, Hemingway sketches the characters of the other guests and workers at
the Pension Luarca. The guests in the dining room also include two priests and an auctioneer,
who all drink heavily. In addition, the other workers at the hotel include Paco’s two sisters, who
work as chambermaids, two other waiters, and a dishwasher named Enrique.

Enrique is the other main character in the story, and his cynicism and bitterness serve as a foil
for Paco’s starry-eyed optimism and romantic nature. The story ends with a game between Paco
and Enrique that goes terribly wrong. Paco insists that he would not be afraid of a bull in the
ring, and, to prove him wrong, Enrique challenges Paco to a pretend “bullfight” with a chair
that has two knives tied to it for horns. Enrique charges Paco with the chair on top of his head,
Paco miscalculates his footing, and one of the knives stabs him.

This short story was originally titled “The Horns of the Bull,” and it is from one of these knife
“horns” that Paco comes to a sad end. Hemingway does critique Paco’s innocence and idealism
through these events, but there is also a sense that Paco’s death is a random act of fate. Even
Paco, as his blood drains from his body, cannot believe “what has happened to him.” The
narrator confirms that the young man died before his time, and still “full of illusions” about
what life in Madrid is really like.
Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Summary and Analysis of "The Capital of the World"

The scene opens in Madrid at a small residential hotel called the Pension Luarca in the Calle
San Jeronimo. It is respectable but cheap, and is full, Hemingway tells us, of “second-rate”
bullfighters. The protagonist, a young country boy named Paco whose sisters are also employed
at the Luarca and who sent for him from a small village, has dreams of becoming a bullfighter
himself and romanticizes the Luarca and its residents.

Hemingway presents us with character

sketches of the Luarca’s bullfighting residents: three matadors, two picadors, and one
banderillero. One of the matadors has become a coward because of being badly gored and
consequently puts on a show of joviality to hide his insecurities. He makes passes at Paco’s
oldest sister and she rebuffs him, laughing at his cowardice. A second matador is chronically ill
and looks it, spending most of his time in his room though making appearances at meals. The
third matador is a man who once drew crowds because of his courage in the ring, but whose
style is now considered old fashioned and who has become, like the rest of his fellow residents,
decidedly second-rate.

The first picador is gray-haired and drinks to excess every

evening, staring at any woman in the room and treating everyone with contempt while the
second is a large man who is too quarrelsome to work long for any one matador. The
banderillero is middle aged but capable.

On one particular evening, the dining room of the Luarca is occupied by the gray-haired
picador, an auctioneer, and two priests. Three waiters attend them: Ignacio, who is a tall waiter
who is impatient to get to an Anarcho-Syndicalist political meeting, a middle-aged waiter who
is in no particular hurry to do anything, and Paco. The tall waiter criticizes the drinking habits
of the guests, and calls the bulls and the priests “the two curses of Spain.” He begins advocating
class warfare while the second waiter gently suggests he “save it for the meeting” and urges him
to leave early in order to attend. Paco, who overhears the conversation, absorbs the ideals of all
the occupants of the room; he hopes to be a good Catholic, a revolutionary, a hard worker, and a
bullfighter.
Presently, the auctioneer leaves and the picador begins staring at the two priests, who are
having a conversation about how they have been waiting for two weeks to see someone named
Basilio Alvarez who is presumably a resident of the Luarca. The picador leaves for the café, and
soon afterward, the priests leave as well.

Paco and the middle-aged waiter clear the tables and repair to the kitchen, where they share a
bottle of wine with Enrique, the boy who washes the dishes. The middle-aged waiter leaves, and
Paco and Enrique begin to talk bullfighting and practice veronicas using napkins. Paco asserts
that he would never be afraid in the ring and Enrique resolves to prove him wrong.
Meanwhile, most of the second-rate residents of the Luarca are drinking and talking at the Café
Fornos while the middle-aged waiter is drinking at the Café Alvarez. Paco’s sisters are at the
pictures and the landlady of the Luarca is sleeping upstairs.

Back at the Luarca, Enrique takes a chair and ties two kitchen knives onto the legs, then runs at
Paco in a makeshift bullfight. Paco is first successful in evading the knives but then is stabbed.
His femoral artery empties as he attempts to say his act of contrition and he dies. Hemingway
ends the piece with a paragraph about how Paco died too young to have lost any of his illusions,
ideals, and dreams.

ANALYSIS

On the surface, this story is the simple, tragic chronicle of a young and idealistic boy who dies
before he is able to achieve his goals. Scholarship on this story has been limited, but most
critics simply blame Paco for his own death. In this simplistic reading of the story, Paco is
overconfident and lacks skill as a potential bullfighter; the tragedy is Paco’s but so is the blame.

However, a very different reading of the story is possible. Hemingway, as has been widely
recognized by scholars and biographers, suffered from feelings of disillusionment and
emptiness following his experiences in World War I and throughout his life. These feelings are
described in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” and other works. Given this tendency toward
existential nihilism, or the belief that life is meaningless and that individuals must create their
own value systems and live by them in order to make their lives authentic and worthwhile, the
character of Paco and the tragedy of his early death can be viewed as a blessing in disguise.
Instead of having his ideals and illusions crushed by reality and experience, Paco was able to
die attempting to achieve his dream of becoming a bullfighter.

Hemingway spends most of the story describing the “second rate” members of the bullfighting
profession who inhabit the Pension Luarca. These emotional and physical wrecks include
among their ranks a cowardly bullfighter, an invalid bullfighter, a bullfighter whose name can
no longer draw a crowd, an egotistical picador who has lost respect for everything but his own
talent, and a quarrelsome picador who keeps picking fights with his own employers.
Hemingway even throws in a busboy who has proven to himself, beyond a shadow of a doubt,
that he lacks the courage to face a bull. These characters nearly all lead depressing and
unfulfilling lives; their heydays have come and gone and many of them have nothing to look
forward to in their future.

There is only one exception to the general gloom at the Luarca, and that is Paco. He is the only
character described as having any joy or wonder. Generally, this is referred to as a sense of the
“romantic.” Paco is the only one with beliefs, ideals, and illusions, some of which he absorbs
from those around him. As he is speaking to the two other waiters in the dining room, Paco
thinks to himself, “He himself would like to be a good catholic, a revolutionary, and have a
steady job like this, while, at the same time, being a bullfighter.” He adopts the beliefs and
ideals of the Anarcho-Syndicalist, the priests, the middle-aged waiter, and the bullfighters who
surround him.

In one sense, Paco’s malleability is one of his weaknesses, as is his idealism. It can be argued
that Paco is merely a gullible, easily awed country boy who had overly-grand dreams for
himself and met his end through overconfidence. On the other hand, there is a real sense of
sympathy and even nostalgia in Hemingway’s description of Paco and his short existence.
Paco’s dreams are not the dreams of a fool, merely the dreams of a youth. In the second to last
paragraph of the story, Hemingway writes, Paco “died, as the Spanish phrase has it, full of
illusions. He had not had time in his life to lose any of them, nor even, at the end, to complete
an act of contrition.” Perhaps it is better for Paco, Hemingway implies, that he perished
attempting to fulfill his dream of becoming a bullfighter than rotting away as a second-rate
coward or has-been in a place like the Luarca. Given the reader’s knowledge of the type of deep
depression and despair that overtook Hemingway at certain points in his life, this reading of the
story must receive serious consideration.

Glossary

Anatolia the great plains area of Turkey.

the attack The setting of this story is northern Italy during World War I; an Italian town has been attacked by an Austrian military offensive.

bal musette a public dance hall.

ballet skirts During the time that Hemingway wrote the story, Greek troops in the mountains wore uniforms exactly like Hemingway describes.

beggar the word Hemingway originally used was "bugger," a derogatory British term for someone or something disagreeable; however, the
term is also synonymous with a sodomite, which was distasteful to Hemingway's editor — thus his substitution of "beggar." Remember that this
story was originally published in 1936; today, in the United States, we casually use the term "bastard" with the same non-literal frequency.

big birds here, vultures, carrion eaters attracted to Harry's rotting flesh.

big log booms a chain of floating logs making a barrier to enclose other free-floating logs.

a black band the black cloth band that the major wears around the upper part of his arm of his uniform, signifying that he is in mourning.

Black's a home remedy medical book.

bodegas cafes serving alcoholic beverages.

boric boric acid, a mild disinfectant.

Bosphorus the strait that separates Asia from Europe, made famous by Romantic poets who would try to swim across.

boucherie chevaline a horse butcher; in many parts of Europe, horse meat is eaten quite commonly.

buffalo the buffalo mentioned in this story is nothing like the American buffalo, or bison. The Cape Buffalo is a large, horned creature that is
considered by hunters to be the most dangerous of all African big game. It is mean and cunning and extremely strong, invulnerable to all but the
best-placed shots.

burnt timber The reference is to the forest fire that destroyed vast acres of woodland, as well as the town of Seney, Michigan.

Bwana "Mister" or "Master"; a term of respect.

Bwana Mister, or master; a term of respect.

cant-hooks wooden levers with movable metal hooks near one end that are used for handling logs.
the car-tracks The reference is to electric streetcar tracks.

cesarean a surgical incision made through the abdomen and uterus to deliver a baby when vaginal delivery is dangerous to both mother and
baby.

cheesecloth coarsely, loosely woven gauze.

Chesterton G. K. Chesterton, a British novelist and poet.

Christian Scientist a follower of Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910), an American religious leader.

cinders burned remains.

Communards After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1871), a communal government, in opposition to the national one, was set
up in Paris. There followed a brief civil war; afterward, 17,000 Parisian followers of the Communards were executed, including women and
children. Hemingway is referring to the descendants of these people.

concierge the manager of an apartment house in Europe.

condensed milk canned milk.

Constantine officers At the time, these royal officers bore the name of the king of Greece, King Constantine.

Constantinople the former name for what is now Istanbul.

convex having a surface that bulges outward.

cord wood a pile of logs that will be used for burning in a fireplace.

court games squash, handball, and other games played in exclusive men's clubs.

Crillon a well-known Paris hotel, used frequently in Hemingway's works.

cross-cut saw a saw for cutting wood against the grain.

The Dark Forest a novel by the British author Horace Walpole.

daughter's debut a monied coming-out party for a young lady, to formally introduce her to high society.

the Ebro a river in northeastern Spain; the second longest river in Spain.

the express a direct, non-stop train.

eye teeth the canine, or pointed and conical, teeth located in the upper jaw.

femme de ménage a housekeeper.

.505 Gibbs a very large caliber hunting rifle. While his clients may use smaller guns, a safari guide must carry a sure killer in case the amateur
misses and he must make the kill at the last moment — as in the case of Macomber and the lion.

a fly an artificial fishing lure, often resembling an insect.

Forest Lovers a novel written by Maurice Hewlitt and published in 1898. In the story, Bill has recommended that Nick read this novel, whose
plot includes a young man breaking off his relationship with a girl of lesser social status.

Garde Republicaine resplendently uniformed troops that guarded the French Parliament.

giant killer liquor; in this case, Scotch whiskey.

the Giants the New York Giants, a Major League baseball team from 1902-32.
gimlet a popular British colonial drink made from gin and lime juice. Originally it was believed that gimlets were good for staving off scurvy.
Since then it has become a popular American drink and is often made with vodka and lime juice.

gut shot a shot into the stomach of an animal.

half-breed a derogatory term used to refer to a person of mixed racial ancestry, especially American Indian and Caucasian.

haversacks bags carried over only one shoulder to transport supplies.

He who ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city. The quotation is from the Bible, Proverbs 16:31-32.

Heinie Zim Heinie Zimmerman, a Chicago Cubs baseball player; he was traded to the New York Giants.

hombre man

impala a type of antelope that makes prodigious leaps to see if enemies are near. It is very similar to the eland antelope.

in the fall possibly an autumn during 1918, the last year of World War I. Hemingway was injured in July 1918 while delivering chocolates and
cigarettes to Italian soldiers stationed on the Piave River.

inflation Germany suffered a terrible inflation in the middle 1920s and was eventually helped economically to recover by the United States and
its so-called Dodge Plan.

interne a recent graduate of medical school undergoing hands-on, practical training.

ivresse drunkenness.

jack pines North American evergreens with soft wood and short, twisted needles.

jodpurs A type of trousers, named after the Indian state of Jodhpur, they end right below the knee and flare around the hips.

Kaiser Jagers Alpine troops.

Karagach a town in Turkey.

Kikuyu a member of a Kenya tribe.

Kilimanjaro the highest peak in Africa, approximately 19,317 feet.

kippers and coffee the British are fond of kippered herring — brine-soaked and smoked filets of fish, served most often for breakfast.

Kirsch a cherry-flavored liquor.

Klim trade name for a kind of powdered milk (spell it backward).

kosher convent To most people, a convent is associated with Catholicism; here, Max jokes that Al, probably Jewish, would have to be in a
"kosher" convent; kosher is Yiddish for food that is ritually clean, according to dietary laws.

L'Auto a Paris newspaper devoted to sports news.

leaders lengths of wire or gut or nylon connecting hooks to fishing lines.

locataire a tenant.

lorry British for truck.

louts awkward and stupid people.

Mackinaw coat a short, double-breasted coat of heavy, plaid woolen material.

Mannlicher an expensive German hunting rifle.

marc a kind of brandy.

Martin Johnson an American hunter and motion picture producer who made many films about big game hunts.

Mathiaga Club a big game hunters club in Nairobi, Kenya. White hunters are professional hunters/guides who arrange and accompany clients
on big game hunts, or safaris.

McGraw John J. McCraw, manager of the New York Giants.

Memsahib "Lady" in Swahili; a title of respect derived from a Hindu word.

Memsahib a Hindustani word meaning "lady."

milt fish sperm, along with seminal fluid.

mosquito bar a net on a bar hung over a cot to keep out insects, particularly mosquitoes.

mosquito boots loose boots into which trousers are tucked.

mustard gas an oily, highly flammable liquid; it was used during World War I as a chemical weapon.

muzzle of a sawed-off shotgun the firing end of the gun.

Nairobi the capital of Kenya.

Nansen Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1938), Norwegian Arctic explorer, scientist, statesman, and humanitarian. During the period that Hemingway
was writing this story, Nansen was high commissioner of refugees for the League of Nations.

odor Gangrene is literally a putrefaction, emitting a horrible, rotten stench.

offal intestines or waste parts of butchered fish.

Paul Verlaine French poet (1844-96); considered one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century.

peat decayed, partly decomposed grass and weeds matter found in bogs; it is used for fertilizer.

peroxide a substance such as sodium peroxide that cleanses a wound.

pesata a coin of small value.

a plug of tobacco a dense piece of chewing tobacco.

quid slang for the British pound, a currency that — at the time of this story — was worth approximately five dollars.

Richard Feverel an 1859 novel by the British author George Meredith.

sans voir French for the concept of "not seeing."

saucers In various cities in Europe, drinks are served on saucers; when refills are ordered, saucers are placed atop one another; when one
pays the bill, the waiter counts the number of saucers.

Schwarzwald The Black Forest of Bavaria, in the southern part of Germany.

shanties crudely built cabins, or shacks.

shot buckshot.

shrapnel an artillery shell filled with metal balls that explode in the air and rip into flesh.

Simplon-Orient Also known as the Orient Express, it was, in its heyday, the most famous and elegant train on any continent.
skischule German for a skiing school.

sportifs the sporting kind.

Spur and Town and Country Two "high society" magazines.

squaw an offensive term used to refer to a Native American woman or wife.

St. Ignace a resort town on the southeast part of the northern peninsula of Michigan.

stern the rear part of a boat.

stick bomb German hand grenades had handles; during World War II, the Allies often referred to them as "potato mashers."

stick bombs hand grenades with handles.

striking Here, the reference is to fish taking the bait.

Swahili the so-called "lingua franca," or universal language used through South Central Africa — Kenya, Zaire, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and along
the trading coast. Swahili is a mixture of native dialects (principally Bantu) with some Hindi, German, French and English added to it.

swale a slightly lower tract of land either created or caused by running water.

Thrace A section of Greece, it was the scene of fighting between the Greeks and the Turks in 1922.

Tommies The reference is to the Thompson's gazelle, a small antelope.

trolling fishing by trailing a baited line from behind a slow-moving boat.

the ventral fin A fin situated on or close to the abdomen of a fish.

Voix The reference is to the town of Charlevoix, located in northern Michigan.

Vorarlberg, Arlberg winter resorts in the Austrian Tirol country.

weinstube German for a tavern that specializes in various wines.

white elephant something of little or no value.

wicket here, a small gate separating the kitchen from the dining room of the diner.

wildebeeste Dutch for wild beast, a form of gnu or antelope that is found in Africa.

windy British slang for "nervous."

wireless British for "radio."