During his life, Richard Lovelace (1617-1657) was imprisoned twice because of his politics. Both of his confinements were periods of great literary creativity. His first imprisonment produced the immortal lines “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage”. If he had lived in times of coronavirus, he would surely have been an influencer.
In Spain, like Lovelace, we live in a state of confinement, which everyone deals with as best they can. Few apartments here have stonewalls, but there are certainly iron bars on the balconies as well as the window grills. So, the prison scenario of Lovelace’s creativity is partially replicated. Those with a certain type of job are able to work from their prison, but others who are not so fortunate have to find activities that can fill the empty hours of their enforced leisure time.
If a family has small children, however, they are simply out of luck. There is no school, daycare, or even a yard to play in, and the children must stay inside. It is necessary to find educational ways to amuse them throughout the day. Parents thus become professional entertainers, something like birthday-party clowns. The only problem is that instead of lasting for a few hours, the party goes on for considerably longer. At present, the ongoing party has lasted for over two weeks.
On the brighter side, confinement here has fomented imagination and creativity. For example, my daughter and her partner have now become the director and producer of movies with a cast of thousands. The stars are Hugo (8 years) and Mara (4 years) and the extras are a plethora of stuffed animals, who lately have been working overtime. (Fortunately, their labor union does not allow them to go on strike.) Together the family writes the script, designs costumes, rehearses, and finally films the superproduction. This is a great activity since it lasts the whole day and can be endlessly repeated with different results.
Those people who lack imagination can always find ideas on Internet. In coronavirus times, the computer is an endless source of daily workout routines, creative baking recipes, sing-a-longs, free language courses, mindfulness sessions, and advice given by cloistered nuns regarding how to endure and enjoy isolation. Conspiracy theorists also abound.
The term confinamiento [confinement] is the Spanish version of shelter in place. This is an excellent example of the importance of context in translation because neither of these concepts really coincides with the other. Most people in the USA have little or no idea what obligatory confinement is like in Spain.
The average middle-class family here lives in an apartment of 80-90 square meters [915 square feet]. This apartment has no yard outside or patio where one can chill in splendid isolation. People have to remain inside all day, though one person can go out to buy necessary items at the grocery store nearest to the apartment building. Outdoor physical exercise or walks in the park are prohibited unless one does not mind paying at least 600€ (over 600 dollars) for each exercise session.
In the USA, shelter in place is voluntary, and a question of self-discipline. People are not restricted to their homes, and can go for walks in the park. However, most do not go out because they are responsible citizens. Nevertheless, there are those who merrily travel to Florida or Mexico for spring break (or to Louisiana for Mardi Gras) and either become infected and/or infect those around them, but they are hopefully the exception.
My brother and his wife, who live in North Carolina and belong to the most vulnerable age group, have not ventured out of their house for the last three weeks except to go to the supermarket early Monday morning during the time reserved for senior citizens. My brother also mentioned that people tend to stay at home because there is no place to go unless they live in a state that allows them to play golf (or stock up on ammunition).
In Spain, the government has quite correctly assumed that the population has no self-discipline. If confinement were not obligatory, everyone would still go out. Even if restaurants, wine bars, and cafes were closed down, this would make little difference. Being outside on the street is part of the Mediterranean lifestyle.
When I first moved to Spain fifty years ago, I was struck by the fact that when I was asked out on a date, it was always an invitation to dar una vuelta por ahí [to stroll around]. At first I thought that por ahí [over there, thereabouts, around] was an actual place. However, I soon realized that Spaniards rarely take goal-directed walks, but prefer to walk around a certain area of town, and periodically stop at places con ambiente [with atmosphere], which seem sufficiently convivial and attractive to enter. This decision to stop at certain bars or restaurants is made on the spur of the moment. Although this type of walk can theoretically go on forever, it eventually ends when the hour gets very late.
Conversely, my students here in Spain find it difficult to understand the concept of loitering (standing or walking around with apparent purpose), which has a variety of translations into Spanish, none of which is very accurate. When I tell them that in the USA, you can get arrested for loitering, their eyes become wide with disbelief. One young man commented, “but, professor, if loitering were illegal in Spain, the whole country would be in jail”. And he is right. Here loitering is a way of life, and one of the reasons why confinement has to be strictly enforced by the police and army. Even with no commerce open, people would still be walking around.
In fact, yesterday, in Granada, a fine was received by a lady who was found strolling around town without purpose and with no apparent destination. The police stopped her and asked if she was aware that it was illegal for her to be outside. When they requested a reason for her infringement of the law, she looked at the officers blankly, and said that she had just wanted to walk around Granada and enjoy the city when no one was on the streets. Apparently, it was difficult for her to believe that what had formerly been a national pastime had suddenly become a punishable offense. The fine received had a curative effect on her powers of understanding.
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