Bullfighting in "The Sun Also Rises"

At the end of last class Professor Villa mentioned the relation between the three books within The Sun Also Rises and the three stages of bullfighting, but I could not understand the relation in depth as it was the end of the class and it was all so fast, so I decided to investigate a little more about bullfighting and share it with you, so you can comment what you think about it.

First of all, we have to bear in mind that passion, carnality, intensity and freedom is what the bull represents and that these combined, symbolize the act of sex when interacting with the bull-fighter, each confrontation between the bull and the bull-fighter becomes an act of manipulation, seduction, and of course, penetration. It is no wonder that Romero, Montoya, Brett and Jake are the most motivated by bullfighting.

Now, the three stages of bullfighting:

Stage 1 – Tercio de Varas:

The banderilleros move the capes in front of the bull, while the matador observes and analyses every move the bull makes, so he can notice any weaknesses in him or maybe some territorial preferences. The first attack made by the matador is called suerte de capote.

Afterwards, the picadores enter the arena mounted on quilted, blindfolded horses to keep on provoking the bull by stabbing the bull’s neck so the animal would charge them with more rage so this way he is  weakened for the next stage.

Stage 2 – Tercio de Banderillas:

In this stage the banderilleros try to stick two banderillas (sticks with little flags in them) in the shoulders of the bull, which keep on increasing the bull’s rage.

Here is where the matador enters the arena with cape and sword in hand, so he can make the bull more tired by making him run at the cape.

The matador can put the banderillas on the bull too, and when the bull is really exhausted and does not want to fight anymore, the president may order the use of black banderillas, degrading the bull’s breeder.

Stage 3 – Tercio de Muerte:

Here the bullfighter enters the arena again, with a small red cape or muleta and a sword. The matador uses this cape to attract the bull, and this way he shows the control he has over the animal and the danger he is facing by risking his own life (the olé part).

The whole performance with the muleta is called faena, and of course the main goal of this sport is for the bullfighter to complete the faena by positioning the bull in such way so he can stab the animal in between the shoulder blades and through the aorta or heart (estocada). The intention is not to miss this estocada, so the animal can have a quick and clean death, but if the matador misses the estocada, he has to cut the bull’s spinal cord with a different sword denominated verdugo, to accomplish the already mentioned intention.

After reading this, what are your thoughts in relation to the 3 books within the novel?