Act 1, Scenes 3, 4, 5 and 6 Summary

Scene 3 - Gomez and Diego enter, arguing politely over whether the King made the right choice in choosing Diego, rather than Gomez, to be the prince's tutor. As they shift the focus of their argument to whether Diego's son, Roderick, should marry Gomez's daughter, Chimene, their mutual politeness quickly disappears. Gomez speaks with pointed resentment of how Roderick's ambitions should be higher now his father's been appointed to a high status position. He also says, ironically, that the prince couldn't have a better tutor - the implication is that Gomez thinks he was much better suited for the job. There is an echo here of Act 1 Scene 1, in which Elvire assured Chimene that her father, Gomez, was a shoo-in for the job.

In response, Diego arrogantly says that all the prince needs to do to learn to be a...