Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
TEMA RELIGIOSO'
Re-creations and Re-presentations
Elaine Canning
Monografas A
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page i
Coleccin Tmesis
SERIE A: MONOGRAFAS, 204
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page ii
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page iii
LOPE DE VEGAS
COMEDIAS DE TEMA
RELIGIOSO
RE-CREATIONS AND
RE-PRESENTATIONS
Elaine M. Canning
TAMESIS
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page iv
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page v
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
vi
vii
Introduction
44
87
95
128
Conclusion
139
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
141
142
151
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my thanks to Dr Isabel Torres of Queens University,
Belfast, for her constant guidance and encouragement, and to my family for
their continual support. I am also grateful to the staff at the Biblioteca
Nacional, Madrid and at the British Library, London, for their provision of
essential materials.
The author and publishers would like to record their thanks to the
University of Wales, Bangor for assistance in the costs of publication of this
book.
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page vii
ABBREVIATIONS
BCom
BH
BHS
BRAH
CH
FMLS
Hisp
Hispan
HR
JHPh
KRQ
MLN
MLQ
MLR
M.Phil
Neophil
NRFH
RCan
RH
RHM
RN
RR
Mono204-FM.qxd
4/7/04
9:56 AM
Page viii
Mono204-Intro.qxd
4/7/04
9:59 AM
Page 1
INTRODUCTION
While the secular drama of Lope Flix de Vega Carpio (15621635) has
attracted much critical attention, his comedias de tema religioso constitute a
corpus of his works which has been largely neglected. Traditionally, Lope de
Vegas religious plays have been analysed and categorised in terms of their
biblical or hagiographical content alone. Mnendez y Pelayo, for example,
divides them into two groups Comedias de asuntos de la sagrada escritura,
and Comedias de vidas de santos and does not attempt to study them beyond
their religious framework.1 It is possible that works like that of Menndez y
Pelayo, which are preoccupied solely with lo religioso, have discouraged
critics of Golden Age drama from exploring the many other possibilities that
Lopes comedias de tema religioso may offer to comedia scholarship.
Since the publication of Menndez y Pelayos Estudios, some attempts
have been made to redress the scant regard paid to these plays. In 1935, Jos
Montesinos stressed that Lopes religious drama was deserving of further critical attention El teatro religioso de Lope no ha sido objeto de atento estudio, aunque lo mereca.2 However, very few scholars rose to this challenge
and those that did tended to concentrate on Lopes hagiographical drama.
Principal among them are Garasa, Aragone Terni, Dassbach and Morrison.3
In Santos en escena, Garasa provides a summary of twenty-seven plays,
together with a general analysis of three aspects of Lopes principal hagiographical works. Specifically, he examines the role of the angel and the
demon, the presentation of supernatural interventions and miracles and the
development of the themes of virtue and sin.4 The fundamental characteristics
1 See his Estudios sobre el teatro de Lope de Vega, ed. Don Adolfo Bonilla y San
Martn, 6 vols (Madrid: V. Surez, 191927), I (1919), pp. 131316; II (1921), pp. 1113.
2 See Lope de Vega, Barlan y Josafat, ed. Jos F. Montesinos (Madrid: Centro de
Estudios Histricos, 1935), pp. 18990.
3 Delfn Leocadio Garasa, Santos en escena (Buenos Aires: Cuadernos del Sur, 1960);
Elisa Aragone Terni, Studio sulle Comedias de Santos di Lope de Vega (Firenze: Casa
Editrice DAnna, 1971); Elma Dassbach, La comedia hagiogrfica del Siglo de Oro
espaol, Ibrica, XXII (New York: Peter Lang, 1997) and Robert Morrison, Lope de Vega
and the Comedia de Santos, Ibrica, XXXIII (New York: Peter Lang, 2000).
4 It should be noted that Garasa, like the other critics examined here, includes several
works in his study which are categorised as Comedias dudosas by Morley and Bruerton
in Cronologa de las comedias de Lope de Vega (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1968), p. 603.
Mono204-Intro.qxd
4/7/04
9:59 AM
Page 2
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-Intro.qxd
4/7/04
9:59 AM
Page 3
INTRODUCTION
If lengthy studies of Lopes religious drama have been few and far between,
articles on some of the individual plays have been a little more apparent.
These include Concejos examination of the female in La hermosa Ester,
Farrells analysis of the treatment of Jews in El nio inocente de La Guardia,
Gallego Rocas study of staging techniques in the Isidro trilogy, and Dixons
examination of metatheatrical devices in Lo fingido verdadero.10 These analyses have undoubtedly contributed to a regeneration of interest in Lopes religious plays, and have illuminated a need for a more detailed exploration of
the issues which lie at the heart of them. It will be the aim of this book to
continue and develop previous research by offering a comprehensive analysis
of Lopes comedias religiosas; an analysis which rejects the traditional,
limiting, formulaic classification. My approach will demonstrate that Lopes
biblical and hagiographical plays lend themselves to a comparative investigation, especially in terms of their thematic axes. While the conclusions of this
book are based on an examination of twenty-nine of Lopes comedias de tema
religioso, the scope of the study does not lend itself to a meticulous analysis
of each play.11 Consequently, the salient features of five of these comedias
religiosas, which best exemplify the concepts being treated, will be examined
in detail. The remaining plays will be cited where appropriate.
I have opted for a division of this book into two sections in order to highlight
what I consider to be two of the fundamental characteristics of Lopes religious
dramatic works. Part I presents an examination of Lopes re-creation of biblical
and hagiographical material for the seventeenth-century stage. My primary concern in both chapters 1 and 2 is the concept of audience reception and the playwrights ability to challenge the horizon of expectation of the corral audience
through the re-creation and/or omission of the source material. In an analysis of
La hermosa Ester, the comedia bblica which is considered in chapter 1, Lopes
manipulation of the Book of Esther, in order to treat contemporary issues such
as love and honour, will be examined. Moreover, the possibility of the audiences
susceptibility to a more subversive reception of the play, involving the degradation of the Christian and the elevation of the Jew, will also be highlighted.
While the re-creation of a biblical text presented an obvious challenge,
Lopes dramatic craftsmanship was tried even more seriously when he
Mono204-Intro.qxd
4/7/04
9:59 AM
Page 4
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-Intro.qxd
4/7/04
9:59 AM
Page 5
INTRODUCTION
concerned with a definition of Clara as saint or sinner, based on her engagement in role-playing within the role. My studies of both plays will conclude
that it is precisely because of the seventeenth-century theocentric world view
that the Spanish comedia religiosa can be viewed in a metatheatrical light.
I will also go beyond an identification of metatheatrical properties in both
Lo fingido verdadero and La buena guarda to examine how these devices
manipulate audience reaction.
The methodology which informs my reading of the plays in both sections
of this book is based upon my awareness of the play as only fully realised in
the context of its relationship to the corral audience. Although my interpretation of the plays in Part I is determined by an examination of the source
material and Lopes re-creation of this material, my analysis of how Lope uses
these written texts is ultimately linked to the impact of his re-creation on that
audience. My consideration of a more subversive form of audience reception
is a postmodern concern and is based, to some extent, on the theories of
Connor (Swietlicki), Friedman and Simerka.15 This approach, of course, relates
to my examination of the concept of metatheatre in the comedia. While the
term itself was not coined until 1963 by Lionel Abel, it cannot be denied that
the fundamental metatheatrical devices described by Hornby are prevalent in
the comedia religiosa. By using a modern theory, I will attempt to illuminate
for the modern reader issues which lie at the heart of the seventeenth century.
Clearly, then, in both parts of this book, my examination of the models is
conducted very much with a seventeenth-century audience in mind. Above all,
however, my study of Lopes comedias religiosas is concerned with the interplay between illusion and reality. In Part I, the dichotomy between illusion
and reality is a key feature of the Isidro plays, where the canonisation of
Madrids patrn constantly inhabits the texts, while in Part II, the double
image of individual characters in both Lo fingido verdadero and La buena
guarda is responsible for the generation of audience dissociation. Ultimately,
it will be my intention to demonstrate that the critical marginalisation of
Lopes religious drama has been unjustified. The success of the comedia
religiosa, like that of the secular comedia, was very much dependent upon the
relationship between playwright and audience. Likewise, this book will highlight that the dramatic techniques employed by Lope in both his religious and
secular works are identical, even if some of the issues which he treats in these
comedias differ.
15 See Catherine Connor (Swietlicki), Postmodernism avant la lettre: The Case of Early
Modern Spanish Theater, Gestos, 9 (1994), 4359; Edward H. Friedman, Postmodernism
and the Spanish Comedia: The Drama of Mediation, Gestos, 9 (1994), 6178; and Barbara
Simerka, Early Modern Skepticism and Unbelief and the Demystification of Providential
Ideology in El burlador de Sevilla, Gestos, 23 (1997), 3966. For further details on these
studies, see chapter 1, p. 11, n. 8.
Mono204-Intro.qxd
4/7/04
9:59 AM
Page 6
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 7
PART I
RE-CREATION AND RE-PRESENTATION:
THE CASES OF ESTHER AND ISIDRO
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 8
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 9
1
LA HERMOSA ESTER AND THE RE-CREATION
OF THE BIBLICAL ESTHER
Any dramatist writing during Spains Golden Age was acutely aware that
he was writing for a public obsessed by fe, salvacin, gracia divina,
condenacin and of course Dios. Bartolom Bennassar claims that las cuestiones de la fe preocupaban en las conversaciones corrientes, en las plazas, a
lo largo de los caminos.1 The establishment of the Inquisition in Spain in
1478 to maintain religious homogeneity throughout the Peninsula, coupled
with the Council of Trents efforts to christianise the masses from the midsixteenth century onwards, obviously contributed to the religious fanaticism
which swamped Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.2 Within this
climate it is not surprising that the comedia de tema religioso became
extremely popular among audiences of the corrales. For that reason, a significant number of religious dramas on various themes can be found among
the corpus of plays attributed to many of the most important, influential
1 See his La Espaa del Siglo de Oro, trans. Pablo Bordonava, 3rd edn (Barcelona:
Crtica, 1994), p. 171.
2 The Spanish Inquisition was founded as an institution of the church following Pope
Sixtus IVs approval of Ferdinand and Isabellas official application for its establishment
in 1477. On the role and impact of the Inquisition in Spain, see for example Henry Kamen,
The Spanish Inquisition (New York: The New American Library, 1965); Jean Pierre Dedieu,
The Inquisition and Popular Culture in New Castile, in Inquisition and Society in
Early Modern Europe, ed. and trans. Stephen H. Haliczer (London: Croom Helm, 1987),
pp. 12946; and virgilio Pinto Crespo, Thought Control in Spain, also in Inquisition and
Society, pp. 17188.. The Council of Trent (15451563) reviewed and tackled religious
corruption within the church and took various decisive measures including the institutionalisation of preaching, the retraining of the lower clergy and the promotion of the position of
saints. On the Tridentine reforms, see Jean Pierre Dedieu, Christianization in New Castile:
Catechism, Communion, Mass, and Confirmation in the Toledo Archbishopric, 15401650,
trans. Susan Isabel Stein, in Culture and Control in Counter-Reformation Spain, eds Anne
J. Cruz and Mary Elizabeth Perry (Minneapolis: U Minnesota Press, 1992), pp. 124 and
Sara T. Nalle, God in La Mancha. Religious Reform and the People of Cuenca, 15001650
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1992).
Mono204-01.qxd
10
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 10
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 11
11
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
12
Page 12
ELAINE CANNING
La hermosa Ester (1610), the play which forms the focus of this chapter, is
one of four biblical dramas of which Lopes authorship is certain.9 This drama
has been chosen not only because of its controversial subject matter the
triumph of the Jew but also because it presents the success story of an individual who assumed a position of power and authority against the odds. The
dramatic effectiveness of this play will be evaluated in terms of character
development, the expansion of biblical episodes, the omission of biblical
detail and the introduction of original material. La niez de San Isidro (1622)
and La juventud de San Isidro (1622), both of which dramatise events in the
life of Madrids patron saint, will form the focus of chapter 2.10 The dramatic
techniques employed by Lope in his presentation of Isidro will be analysed in
an attempt to determine the essence of the image of Isidro which he wished
to convey, whether that of miracle worker, common man, or a fusion of both.
I will also examine whether the saintliness of Isidro was exaggerated in both
works, taking into account that they were written to coincide with the celebration of the saints canonisation. Ultimately, I hope to explore the possible
reasons why Lope either recreates or omits original source material in his
dramatisations of the respective stories of Esther and Isidro.
9 Lopes other biblical plays are Historia de Tobas, El robo de Dina and Los trabajos
de Jacob, which have attracted little critical attention. Historia de Tobas is based on the
Book of Tobit, a deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament which was written originally
about 200 BC in Hebrew or Aramaic, but now only exists in its totality in Greek and other
versions. El robo de Dina is based on Genesis 31. 17Genesis 35. 1. The main action of the
play concentrates on Genesis 34, which involves the rape of Dinah (Dina), daughter of Jacob,
by Shechem (Siquen), son of Hamor the Hivite, (Emor), and the ritual of circumcision
forced upon Shechem and all his male subjects by Jacobs sons. The play ends with the
slaughter of Siquen, his father and subjects and the appearance of an angel who advises
Jacob to settle in Bethel and construct an altar. Alan E. Knight, in The Enacted Narrative:
From Bible to Stage in Late Medieval France, Fifteenth-Century Studies, 15 (1989),
23344 (p. 236) comments on the inherently dramatic nature of the rape of Dinah and its
consequences. Los trabajos de Jacob was written as a sequel to El robo de Dina and was
to have formed a trilogy with a play on the Exodus from Egypt which, judging by the corpus
of works and collection of critical essays which exist, Lope does not appear to have written.
It is based on Genesis 3747, which tells the story of Joseph and his brothers.
10 Lope also wrote a third play before 1622 on the saint entitled San Isidro, labrador
de Madrid (15981608) (probably 160406) in order to promote his canonisation. The
limited scope of this book does not permit a detailed examination of San Isidro, labrador
de Madrid, but comparative references to this earlier play will be made where appropriate.
11 See his Estudios, I, 17886 (p. 179). The edition of La hermosa Ester used for the
purposes of this study is contained in Lope Flix de Vega Carpio, Obras selectas, estudio
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 13
13
Mono204-01.qxd
14
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 14
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 15
15
of the second century BC. One of the primary functions of the Book of Esther
is to explain the origins of the feast of Purim, an important date in the Jewish
calendar.18
The Book of Esther, before additions, is divided into ten chapters.19 The
first chapter relates the dethronement of Queen Vashti following her refusal
to obey her husbands order to appear before him and all his male subjects. It
begins with a banquet lasting 180 days organised by King Ahasuerus, ruler of
the provinces stretching from India to Cush, and designed to entertain all his
nobles and officials. Ahasuerus next arranges another seven-day feast for all
the male inhabitants, poor and noble alike, of the citadel of Susa. Queen Vashti
holds a banquet at the same time for the women of Susa. On the seventh day
of the banquet, King Ahasuerus orders Queen Vashti to come before him and
his people so that everyone can admire her beauty. When Vashti refuses to
obey his order, Ahasuerus becomes extremely angry and, having consulted his
wise men, he issues a royal decree to all the provinces stating that Vashti has
been removed from her office.20
In the second chapter of Esther, King Ahasuerus appoints commissioners
in every province of his kingdom to seek out the most beautiful females and
introduce them into his harem for the purposes of selecting a new queen. The
women are entrusted to the care of a eunuch, and undergo twelve months of
beauty treatments before being presented to the king. Among the girls selected
finally retired to Asia Minor, he left his brother-in-law Mardonius in charge of his army.
Xerxes was murdered by Artabanus, captain of the palace guard at Persepolis and was
succeeded by his son Artaxerxes I, who reigned from 46525 BC. In the Book of Esther,
no references are made to the historical events of Xerxes reign.
18 The feast of Purim commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from
destruction as recorded in the Book of Esther. It is celebrated one month before Passover
and is characterised by the reading of the Scroll of Esther in synagogues. Held on the 14th
and 15th of Adar (springtime), it is a joyous celebration with feasting, almsgiving,
dramatic performances and the recital of the text of Esther.
19 The additions, known as the Apocryphal (of Greek: apokryphos hidden) parts of
Esther constitute six passages made up of a total of 107 verses not found in the Hebrew
text but included in the Greek version. For details on the additions to Esther, as well as their
inclusion in the Vulgate, see pp. 1820 of this chapter. Details on chapters 110 of Esther
are taken from Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1979),
pp. 56776.
20 According to Jack Weiner and Edward Glaser, Josephus Jewish Antiquities was also
an important source of reference for Lope on the story of Esther. See, respectively, La reina
Ester, p. 38 and La hermosa Ester, p. 112. In Jewish Antiquities, which appeared
AD 9394, Josephus paraphrases the Book of Esther. Unlike the Biblical version of the story,
he also provides a reason for Vashtis refusal to obey Ahasuerus. Josephus states: She,
however, in observance of the laws of the Persians, which forbid their women to be seen by
strangers, did not go to the king. See Flavius Josephus, Josephus, trans. Henry St John
Thackeray et al., The Loeb Classical Library, 9 vols (London: Heinemann, 192665), VI,
trans. Ralph Marcus (1937), 40357 (p. 407). Note: Jewish Antiquities is contained in vols
IVIX (193065).
Mono204-01.qxd
16
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 16
ELAINE CANNING
21 Josephus does not mention when Esther appeared before the king, but states that the
wedding took place in the month of Adar (the twelfth month). See Josephus, p. 411. In the
biblical narrative we are not told when the wedding took place.
22 Josephus claims that the celebrations lasted a month (Josephus, p. 411). However,
the Hebrew version of the Book of Esther does not state how long they lasted. On Lopes
use of the Hebrew version, see p. 19, n. 30.
23 In Josephus, p. 421, the date given is the 14th of Adar. In Addition B of the
Apocrypha, the fourteenth is also the date given.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 17
17
During the banquet, the king asks Esther what she wants from him and she
replies that she will voice her request at a second banquet the following day.
As Haman sets off home, he passes Mordecai at the palace gates who again
demonstrates his determination to deny the royal favourite respect. At home,
Haman expresses his discontent with Mordecai to his wife, Zeresh, and his
friends. They propose that he build a gallows 75 feet high and seek royal
permission the following morning to hang Mordecai.24
Chapter 6 of Esther focuses on the royal reward attributed to Mordecai for
uncovering the planned assassination of the king. The chapter begins with
the reading of the Book of Chronicles to Ahasuerus and the kings sudden
discovery that Mordecai has not received any payment for saving his life.
Ahasuerus summons Haman and invites him to suggest the treatment which
should be bestowed upon a man whom he wishes to honour. Haman, convinced that the king is referring to him, recommends that the individual should
be dressed in a royal robe and led through the streets of the city on a horse
which the king himself has ridden. Ahasuerus then instructs Haman to dress
Mordecai accordingly and lead him through the streets. At the end of this
chapter, Haman is escorted back to the palace for Esthers second banquet by
two eunuchs, having informed Zeresh and his companions of the days events
and listened to their comments that he cannot seek revenge on Mordecai or he
will come to ruin.25
In chapter 7 we learn how the king reacted to news of Hamans planned
destruction of the Persian Jews and the course of action taken against the
royal favourite. At the second banquet, Esther implores Ahasuerus to spare
the lives of both herself and her people. When the king asks who has threatened his queen and subjects, Esther denounces Haman. The king leaves
the banquet in a rage and Haman, alone with Esther, takes the opportunity
to beg for her forgiveness. On his return to the banqueting hall, Ahasuerus
witnesses Haman falling onto the queens couch and accuses him of the
attempted molestation of his wife. Haman is hanged on the gallows which he
himself built.
Following the death of Haman, chapter 8 opens with the presentation
of Hamans estate to Esther and the offering of the royal signet ring to
Mordecai by the king. Esther beseeches Ahasuerus to issue an order overruling
Hamans edict against the Jews. The king responds by granting Mordecai and
Esther permission to dispatch a new decree in his name on behalf of the Jews.
Mono204-01.qxd
18
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 18
ELAINE CANNING
The new edict is written, sealed and sent to all the provinces in the kingdom,
bestowing upon the Jews the right to destroy and kill any hostile armed force
on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
Chapter 9 describes the triumph of the Jews and the establishment of the
feast of Purim. It relates how, on the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews assemble in their cities to defend themselves and destroy the enemy. In the citadel
of Susa, the Jews kill five hundred men, as well as the ten sons of Haman.26
Esther seeks royal permission to carry out the dictates of the edict a second
time in Susa on the fourteenth of Adar and obtains her request. In the other
provinces of the kingdom, the Jews kill a total of 75,000 enemies on the thirteenth of Adar. This is followed by the writing and sending of letters by Esther
and Mordecai to all the Jews within Ahasuerus dominion to fix a formal
celebration of the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar known as Purim (from
pur, the lot). The days of Purim were to be celebrated with feasting and the
exchange of presents. The protocanonical text of the Book of Esther ends with
chapter 10, a short, straightforward account of the importance of Mordecai the
Jew within the Persian empire.27
What is unique about the Book of Esther is that, unlike every other book in
the Old Testament, there are no references to God, even though it is implicit
that Esther is guided by a divine force in her mission to save the Persian
Jews.28 It is quite possible, as Bruce Metzger suggests, that the author of
Esther wrote at some period when it was extremely dangerous to publicly
admit to the worship of Jehovah.29 The Apocryphal Esther differs from the
protocanonical text due to the abundance of references to God and his divine
qualities. In fact, of the six additions which constitute the Apocryphal or
deuterocanonical parts of Esther, all except one contain the name of God.
These additions cannot be overlooked since, at the time of composition of
La hermosa Ester, they were readily available to Lope. Specifically, they
appeared in the form of an appendix following the canonical text of Esther in
26 The death of Hamans sons is confusing in Scripture. In Esther 9. 13, Esther seeks
permission for the ten sons of Haman to be hanged, despite the fact that in Esther 9. 11,
reference is made to the massacre of Hamans sons. Josephus avoids this ambiguity. He
mentions the massacre of five hundred enemies but does not include the annihilation of
Hamans sons on the 13th of Adar. Instead, he writes that Esther begged for permission to
crucify the ten sons of Haman on the 14th of Adar. See Josephus, p. 453.
27 The attribution of Esther 9. 2010. 3 to the original narrator of the Book of Esther
has caused concern among scholars. In Ezra, p. 221, Brockington states: In its Hebrew
form the book seems to have been expanded at a very early time by the addition of
9. 2010. 3. In The Esther Scroll, Clines refers to the scholarly debate and examines the
difficulties presented by what he terms as appendices. See chapter 4, The Appendices of
the Esther Scroll in The Esther Scroll (Sheffield: JSOT, 1984) (9. 2010. 3), pp. 5063.
28 The Book of Esther was considered a nationalist text by many of its critics as a result
of its emphasis on Judaism and Judaic practices. Martin Luther was a great enemy of it.
29 See his An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: OUP, 1957), p. 62.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 19
19
the Vulgate, the bible which most certainly provided Lope with the biblical
sources of his plays.30 The additions, as we will see, would influence how
Lope presented the story of Esther in his drama.31 According to Edward
Glaser, While Lope uses, of course, both the protocanonical and the deuterocanonical portions of the Old Testament book, he favors, whenever possible,
the Greek Esther.32
The first addition (Addition A: 11. 212. 6) tells the story of the dream of
Mordecai. Mordecai has a dream in which he sees two dragons roaring and
preparing to fight. As the dragons roar, every nation gets ready to fight against
the Jews, who beseech Gods mercy and help. Next, a great river emerges
from a tiny spring and the needy are exalted. When Mordecai awakens, he
hears two eunuchs plotting the assassination of Ahasuerus. He informs the
king of their plan and is granted a position at court as reward for saving
Ahasuerus life. Haman, meanwhile, decides to kill Mordecai and his people.
The significance of Mordecais dream is explained in the sixth addition
(Addition F: 10. 411. 1) where Mordecai recognises the influence of divine
intervention in saving the Jews from annihilation. The two dragons in the
dream represented Mordecai and Haman and the river which developed from
a tiny spring was Esther.
What constitutes the second addition (Addition B: 13. 17) is a copy of the
supposed edict issued by Haman proclaiming the massacre of the Jews. The
fifth addition (Addition E: 16. 124) also takes the form of an edict, only this
time it is the one which serves to counteract Hamans previous decree.33
Addition C (13. 814. 19) is quite a long addition in which the prayers of
Mordecai and Esther beseeching Gods divine assistance are presented in
30 The Vulgate is a fourth-century standard Latin version of the bible translated from
Hebrew and written by St Jerome. Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damascus to
prepare this bible. When he translated the Book of Esther, he then gathered together the
additions which he found in old Latin copies and added them to the end of his translation
with accompanying notes. The notes indicated where each addition belonged in the
canonical book. The Latin additions had come from a Greek version of the bible dating
from the first or second century before Christ. At that time, Lysimachus translated the
Hebrew text of Esther into Greek, but at six different places in the narrative he or someone
else added episodes not originally found in the Hebrew. It is these additions known as
Apocryphal or deuterocanonical which were subsequently translated into Latin and later
included in the Vulgate. In 1546, the Council of Trent decreed the inclusion of the
deuterocanonical texts in the Roman Catholic canon.
31 Details on the Apocryphal additions are taken from Metzger, An Introduction,
pp. 5661. Metzger suggests where these additions can be integrated into the canonical
framework of Esther in order to make sense. On the Apocrypha, see also The Septuagint
Esther, in Clines, The Esther Scroll, pp. 6970 and W. O. E. Oesterley, An Introduction to
the Books of the Apocrypha (London: Macmillan, 1935), pp. 18395.
32 La hermosa Ester, p. 112.
33 Josephus integrates Addition B into his work (see pp. 41921) and paraphrases
Addition E (pp. 44551).
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 20
20
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 21
21
Esters revelation of Amns threat to the Persian Jews and the murder of the
royal favourite. The play ends on a joyous note with the Jews celebration of
their salvation in the company of Asuero, Mardoqueo and Ester.
Lopes first task in La hermosa Ester is to set the scene to explain to the
audience who King Asuero is, to highlight his jurisdiction and to reveal details
of the banquet which he has hosted for the poor and nobility alike. In the bible,
a brief historical account at the beginning of Chapter 1 provides these details.
Lope brings the biblical narrative to life by assigning the role of narrator to
two characters Bassn and Egeo while at the same time making them participants in Asueros banquet. The inclusion of two narrators rather than one
gives Lope the advantage of having one narrators comments supported by
the other, thereby reinforcing for the audience the validity of their account of
the king. The narrators comment upon the elaborate preparations made for the
banquet, which correspond very closely to the details presented in the bible.
The biblical text describes the setting for the feast in the following way: The
garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white
linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches
of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl
and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other (Esther 1. 67). In La hermosa Ester, Egeo paints the picture of a similar location. He claims:
En este bosque del Rey
se han puesto diversas tiendas,
y sobre columnas blancas
toldos de diversas telas
que cuelgan por varias partes
de cordones de oro y seda.
Hay ricas bordadas camas,
y sobre la verde hierba
tales alfombras, que hacen
a las flores competencia.
Hay vasos de oro y cristal,
(I, 107)
It could be argued that Lope did not need to set the scene since his audience
was familiar with the biblical story. However, without the opportunity to read
the bible for themselves, both men and women of seventeenth-century Spain
Mono204-01.qxd
22
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 22
ELAINE CANNING
were probably only aware of the main characters and plot of the story that
Esther, a Jewess, became queen of Persia and managed to disclose Hamans
conspiracy against the Jews, thereby saving her people from destruction. Lope
presents the biblical story to his audience in its entirety.
The magnificence of Asuero is also highlighted by Bassn and Egeo. In
fact, the play opens with Bassns declaration of the kings might. He informs
the audience:
Slo el poderoso Asuero,
que admirando el mundo reina
en ciento y veinte provincias,
hiciera tanta grandeza:
desde la India a Etiopa,
de medos, partos y persas
es absoluto seor.
(I, 107)
Bassn continues to extol the kings virtues and qualities, describing his banquet as muestra / de su magnfico pecho and his actual presence as amable
(I, 107) when he first appears with his princes and nobles. In comparison to the
biblical narrative, which describes the king fundamentally as a generous type,
Lopes drama transforms him into a warm, living, breathing, gracious man,
who is not only a kindly soul because he threw a lavish party for his people,
but because his subjects say that he is. The comments of Bassn and Egeo and
the subsequent remarks made by the msicos and todos who alternately
proclaim Viva el rey Asuero! / Viva el gran seor! (I, 107) are of vital
importance because they contribute to the build-up of dramatic tension within
the play. In other words, the horizon of expectation of the corral audience is
frustrated as it anticipates a marvellous sovereign who conscientiously protects
and cares for his subjects, nobles and peasants alike, only to find that Asuero
permits Amn to issue a royal decree announcing the massacre of the Jews.
Since the narrator acquires a type of authenticity in the eyes of the audience,
acting almost as an intermediary between them and the dramatist, Lopes
audience should have no reason to doubt Bassns and Egeos representation
of the king. Given that the play is based on a biblical story, their description of
characters and events gains extra support. Hence, in spite of the fact that
Bassn and Egeo provide the relevant historical background to the play, it is
because of their participation in the production of dramatic tension right from
the beginning of La hermosa Ester that they are especially important.
Once Asueros praises have been sung, La hermosa Ester focuses on the
dethronement of Vast, a vital episode in both the biblical story and the play in
terms of plot development. However, Lope not only includes this scene for the
purposes of the story line, but cleverly manipulates the biblical material in
order to comment upon issues which Lope knew would appeal to the
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 23
23
Mono204-01.qxd
24
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 24
ELAINE CANNING
The dramatic impact of Asueros monologue reveals itself when Vast refuses
to appear before him.41 At this point, Asuero becomes the courtly lover that
he imitated in speech, aspiring to the love of a woman who is out of his grasp
and who ultimately is pushed beyond his reach by his royal advisers.
Marsanes adds to the tension at this point in the drama, urging the king to
leave Vast alone in the company of her female subjects. He suggests to the
king:
Si con sus damas est,
djala gozar queta
su generoso convite;
(I, 108)
Ultimately, the audience knows that Asuero must disregard this piece of
advice if Lope is to conform to the plot of the biblical narrative. Nevertheless, by playing the role of the courtly lover, Asuero ironically becomes a
more human character troubled by doubt, hesitation and anxiety. Unlike his
counterpart in the bible who, angry at his wifes disobedience, immediately
accepts his advisers decision that Vast should be removed from office,
Asueros automatic response to the wise mens proposal is podr, querindola bien? / Fuerte consejo me dais! (I, 109).42 This minor adaptation of the
source material could easily be overlooked or simply disregarded because it
has no impact on plot development. The king, in spite of his hesitancy, ultimately accepts the advice of his councillors. In addition, the kings vacillation
at this point is not reflective of his behaviour in other important scenes in the
play. Like the biblical king, Asuero unquestioningly accepts Amns recommendation concerning the massacre of the Jews (II, 120). However, Asueros
reaction at this point is of vital importance because it draws attention to the
seventeenth-century preoccupation with reputation. Through the character of
used to express the womans hardness of heart. See The Petrarchan Manner: An
Introduction, in The Icy Fire. Five Studies in European Petrarchism (Cambridge: CUP,
1969), pp. 160 (p. 15). In La hermosa Ester, Asueros description of Vasts body as an
alabaster column presages the coldness with which Vast responds to Asueros request to
appear before him.
41 In Josephus, the king and queen are named, respectively, Asueros and Aste. Regarding
Astes refusal to appear before Asueros, Josephus claims: She, however, in observance of
the laws of the Persians, which forbid their women to be seen by strangers, did not go to the
king. See Josephus, p. 407. Weiner reiterates this point: La negacin que le hizo caba
perfectamente dentro de las costumbres persas. See La reina Ester, p. 45. In a
seventeenth-century Spanish context, however, Vast would have been expected to obey her
husbands orders.
42 It should be noted that in Josephus, pp. 40709, Muchaios (equivalent to Memucan
in the Bible) urges Ahasuerus to inflict severe punishment on Vashti as well as to arrange
her dethronement. This is not the case in the biblical narrative, nor in Lopes play. In note
a, p. 408, Marcus claims that, according to Rabbinic tradition, Vashti was executed.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 25
25
the king, Lope comments on the themes of love and honour and emphasises
the dilemma which they can force upon the seventeenth-century Spaniard
when he/she must choose between the public and the private role. It seems
that Asuero reluctantly relinquishes his love for Vast for the sake of el
pblico bien (I, 109). Following Marsanes speech regarding Vasts
deposition and the importance of obedience to the husband on the part of the
wife, the king declares:
Afuera amor; que no es justo
que sujetis la razn:
fuertes los consejos son
contra las leyes del gusto:
pero si es bien que los reyes
sean espejos del bien,
bien es que en ellos se den
los principios a las leyes.
Salga de Palacio al punto
la Reina: no quede en l!
(I, 109)43
In spite of the fact that Adamata, one of the kings advisers, initially links
passion to reason, claiming that quien reina de sus pasiones, / ese vive con
razn (I, 109), both Adamata and Tares ultimately categorise love as an
unreasonable emotion which imprisons the individual and of which the king
must rid himself if he is to reign successfully.
Tares
43 In De Clementia, Senecas treatise on the behaviour of the emperor Nero, the opening
lines of the text underlined that Seneca would show Nero to himself as in a mirror. Ciceros
definition of the play as a mirror of life, Est imitatio vitae, speculum consuetudinis, imago
veritatis, was re-presented by Lope in his Arte nuevo. Lopes treatise includes the following
affirmations: Espejo de las / De las costu[m]bres, y vna viua image[n] / De la verdad
(12325); Humanae cur sit speculum comoedia vitae (377). It should be noted that the
Latin source of the concluding lines of the Arte nuevo is unknown, and may have in fact
been written by Lope himself. In Act I of El castigo sin venganza, the Duke also refers
to the comedia as an espejo in his conversation with Ricardo. See Lope de Vega, El perro
del hortelano, El castigo sin venganza, ed. A. David Kossoff (Madrid: Castalia, 1970),
I. 215225.
Mono204-01.qxd
26
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 26
ELAINE CANNING
In comparison, Asueros love for Ester is associated with reason at the end of
Act III.44 The king describes love as an illuminating force:
Bien parece que mi amor
alumbr mi entendimiento
para honrar tu noble to
con el hacha de su fuego;
que ensalzarse hasta poner
de Oriente en su mano el cetro
sin haberle conocido,
solo amor supiera hacerlo;
en todo acierta quien ama
(III, 135)
Since Ester acts as a divine instrument through whom Gods chosen people
are saved in the play, it is essentially divine love which ultimately will be associated with reason, rather than human love.
Lope highlights how badly Asuero is affected by human love by tampering
with the biblical narrative again and transforming him into a lovesick victim
who blames himself for the break-up of his relationship and who suffers from
instability without his queen. Setar remarks ya sin ella no se halla (I, 111).45
A remedy is discussed in his absence by his doctors Adamata, Marsanes and
Setar who exploit the courtly love / Neoplatonic concept of love entering
through the eyes.46 Setar is the first to suggest that a replacement should be
44 Concerning the relationship between love and reason in the medieval and
Renaissance worlds, Otis H. Green states: That love was born of reason but that it was not
controlled by reason was a medieval and Renaissance commonplace. See Spain and the
Western Tradition, I, 141. In courtly love poetry, voluntad prevails over razn.
45 In courtly love poetry, the blessed suffering of the lover may produce the lovers
malady of hereos. The physical effects of love, including insomnia, loss of appetite and
pallor are also a Petrarchan commonplace. For a discussion of the lovers malady
of hereos, including references to the physical effects of love and proposed remedies
contained in medieval and Renaissance medical treatises, see John Livingston Lowes, The
Loveres Maladye of Hereos, M.Phil, 11 (1914), 491546. Teresa Scott Soufas also refers
to the definition of lovesickness in medical treatises of the Renaissance, including Burtons
Anatomy of Melancholy and Ferrands Erotomania in Love Melancholy (Lope,
Caldern), in Melancholy and the Secular Mind in Spanish Golden Age Literature
(Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1990), pp. 64100. The malady of love and the
relationship between amor and locura are the principal themes of Lopes Los locos de
Valencia. For a study of these particular issues in the play, see Luciano Garca Lorenzo,
Amor y locura fingida: Los locos de Valencia, de Lope de Vega, in El mundo del teatro
espaol en su Siglo de Oro: ensayos dedicados a John E. Varey, ed. J. M. Ruano de la
Haza, Ottawa Hispanic Studies, III (Ottawa: Dovehouse Editions, 1989), pp. 21328.
46 The king has already stressed this theory of love in his lament for the absent Vast:
Vast de mi casa ausente, / y sus ojos de mis ojos! (I, 111). While Marsanes and Setar
accept this theory, they also comically assert that the ears, not the eyes, are responsible for
keeping love alive. See their conversation, I, 11112.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 27
27
found for Vast, while Marsanes recommends that an edict should be drafted
instructing all beautiful virgins to be handed over to the palace guards so that
the king can choose a new wife from among them. Setar comments explicitly
on the nature of their proposed cure:
Buscar tantas mujeres, que entre tantas
haya alguna hermosura tan valiente
que mate la memoria de la ausente.
(I, 112)
At the end of Act I, the king is in fact cured by the contemplation of the
hermossima Ester whose exceptional beauty cannot be depicted by Egeo,
the painter. Egeo tells the king: No te quiero pintar su rostro hermoso, /
porque son muy groseros mis pinceles (I, 115). Egeos inability to describe
Esters attractiveness provokes the king to respond: Tanta belleza, / monstruo
ser de la Naturaleza (I, 115).47
In contrast to Asuero, his biblical counterpart experiences neither remorse,
regret nor guilt prior to and following Vasts dethronement. In Esther 2. 1, we
are simply told: Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he
remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about
her. In addition, the biblical king unquestioningly listens to and accepts the
collective proposal of his personal attendants concerning the appointment of
a new queen.48 Some ambiguity arises in the play concerning the kings direct
involvement in the search for a new queen. While the audience does not witness Asueros approval of Marsanes edict, the caja and capitn discuss the
selection process in terms of the kings orders. The caja begins his synopsis
of the edict by attributing its contents to Asuero: manda el poderoso rey
Asuero (I, 113). In a similar vein, the capitn affirms that the king prefers
hermosura to calidad: calidad no me ha pedido; / hermosura pide el Rey,
(I, 113). Nevertheless, it is not evident from the statements of either whether
the king willingly gave orders for the search to be conducted. In fact, Asuero
is still afflicted by the malady of love and associates Vast with his death
following the presentation of several women to him: Vast me mata, y sola
su hermosura / es el crisol que mi memoria apura; (I, 115).49 In contrast to
47 The title Monstruo de la Naturaleza was conferred upon Lope himself by Cervantes
in 1615 in the prologue to his Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses.
48 In Josephus text, we are told that although the king was in love with the queen and
could not bear the separation from her, he could not be reconciled to her because of the
law. Therefore, he continued to grieve until he was advised to instigate a search for a new
wife. Like his biblical counterpart, he sent commissioners in pursuit of young virgins in
order to find a replacement for Vashti (p. 409).
49 In courtly love poetry, the lover contemplates death at the hands of the beloved. The
identification of the beloved both as a source of life and death of the lover is also found in
Petrarch and is a paradox which continued to be exploited in the seventeenth century.
Mono204-01.qxd
28
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 28
ELAINE CANNING
the assertions of both the caja and capitn, Mardoqueo, in his conversation
with Ester, attributes the search for a new queen to the kings councillors:
los prncipes de su imperio,
por medicina, aunque nueva,
mandan en todos sus reinos
buscar hermosas doncellas,
para que la que le agrade
reine en lugar de la Reina.
(I, 113)
Whether the king gave orders for the search to be carried out or not, the fact
remains that private desire is sacrificed for public duty. Asuero is the seventeenth-century Spanish man who must, according to Donald Larson, no matter
what his inner inclination, avenge an insult to his reputation.50 Although
Lope deals with the seventeenth-century preoccupation with honour in this
play and demonstrates the importance of reputation in contemporary society,
it is not proof of his tolerance of, and agreement with, the concept.51 In fact,
Lope emphasises the importance of love and the fulfilment of private needs
in La hermosa Ester. When Vast declares quien trata as su mujer, / necio
Asuero adds that he is suffering from a sangra which Ester offers to cure with her vida
and sangre (I, 115).
50 See Donald Larson, The Honor Plays of Lope de Vega (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
UP, 1977), p. 13. Larson continues: For one person to lose his honor is for society to be
hurt in some degree, and for that person to suffer the loss of his honor and make no attempt
to regain it is for society to be permanently harmed. This it will not tolerate.
51 Honour is also given a problematic treatment in many of Lopes plays, including El
perro del hortelano and El castigo sin venganza. In El perro del hortelano, the
impossibility of the relationship between Diana, a countess, and Teodoro, criado, because
of the limitations imposed by honra is resolved by the deceptive transformation of Teodoro
into a nobleman as he poses as Ludovicos long lost son. Victor Dixon states regarding this
solution to the play: Although Lope is too pragmatic to suggest that appearances dont
matter and need not be maintained, sham appearances, he makes Diana aware, may be as
effective as realities. See Introduction in Lope de Vega, El perro del hortelano, ed. Victor
Dixon (London: Tamesis, 1981), pp. 967 (p. 49). In El castigo sin venganza, the
motivation for the chastisement administered by the Duke at the end of the play is
ambiguous. As both injured party and judge, his decision to eradicate both his adulterous
wife, Casandra, and his illegitimate son, Federico, could be interpreted as a barbarous act
of vengeance or a necessary course of action within the societal code of honour. On
the concept of honour in this play, Gwynne Edwards states: Lope could not present the
Dukes actions against the erring couple simply as a punishment which is the case in the
original for their behaviour offends not merely against public morality but also against
his personal honour. On the other hand, Lope did not wish the Dukes actions to be seen
merely as a private revenge for lost honour when larger moral questions were involved.
The title points to his concern with both issues. See his Introduction in Lope de Vega,
Three Major Plays (Fuente Ovejuna, The Knight from Olmedo, Punishment without
Revenge), trans. Gwynne Edwards (Oxford: OUP, 1999), pp. viixxxi (p. xxviii).
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 29
29
consejo ha tomado (I, 109), she is expressing how foolish the king was to
heed the advice of his wise men. In a clever and subtle manner, Lope attributes a voice to Vast which she is denied in the biblical narrative in order to
present his own ambivalence regarding honor/honra.52
As a comedia de tema religioso, La hermosa Ester naturally treats the
theme of love not only in a human/physical context, but also from the aspect
of the divine. While Vast is defined and ultimately debased by a human love,
Ester is inspired and protected by a divine force which guides her in her campaign to prevent the massacre of the Persian Jews. In this respect, Lope
follows the deuterocanonical text of Esther by demonstrating how the Jews
are saved by Ester, Gods instrument on earth, and not only by the human
efforts of the female. While God, the Divine, supports Ester, Asuero, the
human, disowns Vast.
When Lope decided to shift two biblical scenes around in order to present
Ester as soon as Vast is dethroned, and not after the search for a new queen
begins, obviously he was aiming to produce a specific dramatic impact on his
audience. The juxtaposition of the exit of Vast with the entrance of Ester on
stage is dramatically very effective for two reasons. First of all, it highlights
the superiority of divine love to human love without undermining Lopes attitude towards the expression and fulfilment of human love. Secondly, the presentation of Vast and Ester one after the other sets the women up as two
oppositional forces. Vast, the ex-queen characterised by disobedience and
insolence is replaced by Ester, the new queen who remarks on her own
humildad and the importance of obediencia (I, 115) when she first appears
before Asuero.53 It is interesting that when Ester and Vast are analysed in
apposition at this point in the drama, Vast emerges as a strong, self-assertive
woman endowed with what are normally categorised as negative traits, while
Ester initially appears as an almost submissive female type. Dramatic tension
is successfully created in Act I as we are forced to question and anticipate how
52 Edward Glaser, in Lope de Vegas La hermosa Ester, pp. 11315, takes a different
view on the conflict between the king and queen. He claims that the moral which Lope
reads into the incident is that pride goes before deposition and that the dismissal of the
haughty queen presents a preview of the fate which is to befall the kings conceited
favourite, Haman (p. 114). While I accept Glasers analysis as a valid interpretation of the
opening scenes, the kings immediate expression of hesitancy with regard to the dismissal
of his beloved is still an important modification to the biblical narrative. If this change is
borne in mind, then honour can be interpreted as a metaphorical straitjacket.
53 In Fuente Ovejuna, Rodrigo Tellez Girn, master of Calatrava, compares the king
and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella, to Ahasuerus / Xerxes and Esther respectively when he
appears before them to seek forgiveness for his involvement in the siege of Ciudad Real.
He extols them in the following manner: Vos sois una bella Ester, / y vos, un Xerxes
divino. See Lope de Vega, Fuente Ovejuna, ed. Juan Mara Marn (Madrid: Ctedra,
1997), p. 185. All subsequent references to the play will be taken from this edition. The
use of divino implies a Christian interpretation of the role of the king as Gods instrument
on earth. On La hermosa Ester from a Christian perspective, see pp. 4142 of this chapter.
Mono204-01.qxd
30
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 30
ELAINE CANNING
Later, when Mardoqueo reveals to Ester that she has been listed by Egeo
among the prospective new lovers for king Asuero, he prophesies:
No temas;
que Dios te dar favor,
porque por tu medio sea
su pueblo restituido
a su primera grandeza;
(I, 113)
In the bible, the first sign of any type of prediction on the part of Mordecai
does not occur until Chapter 4 when he sends the following message to Esther
through Hathach in an attempt to persuade her to plead with the king for the
protection of the Jews For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your fathers
family will perish (Esther 4. 14). In La hermosa Ester, Lope does not permit
Ester to become queen without hinting at the role which she will have to
perform on behalf of all her people. Mardoqueos predictions are significant
because they anticipate the plot of the play and the course of action which
Ester must take without pinpointing details. His speeches serve to increase the
expectation of the audience in the corral those individuals who do not know
the plot of the story will be forced to reflect on what the main action will
consist of before it happens; others, who are familiar with the tale, will wonder how Lope will bring it to life on stage.
54 Ester is the niece of Mardoqueo in La hermosa Ester, not the cousin as in the biblical
story (i.e. daughter of Mordecais uncle, Abihail). In Racines Esther, Esther is also the niece
of Mardoche. Josephus, p. 409, likewise describes Mordecai as the uncle of Esther. In note d,
p. 409 of Josephus, Marcus confirms that Rabbinic tradition, unlike Scripture, makes Esther
the niece of Mordecai. Lope probably chose the uncle/niece connection in order to intensify
the relationship between his two characters, as well as to endow Mardoqueo with explicit
authority over his niece. Indeed, when Mardoqueo discusses Esters future role as the saviour
of her people, he states: es bien que al cielo y a m, / hermosa Ester, obedezcas (I, 113).
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 31
31
In Josephus, the beauty treatments last for six months (p. 411).
See The Classical Tradition in Spanish Dramatic Theory and Practice in
the Seventeenth Century, in Classical Drama and its Influence: Essays Presented to
H. D. F. Kitto, ed. M. J. Anderson (London: Methuen, 1965), pp. 191228 (p. 208).
According to Duncan Moir, the Spanish ideas of decorum in the seventeenth century are
an expression of the social, religious and moral ideals of the particular civilization which
has moulded them (pp. 21011). The question of decorum is crucial to Lopes reworking
of Seneca in El castigo sin venganza. See Victor Dixon and Isabel Torres, La madrastra
enamorada: Una tragedia de Sneca refundida por Lope de Vega?, RCan, 19 (1994),
3960.
57 In Racines Esther, the two banquets are also reduced to one. See Yarrow, Esther,
p. 84.
55
56
Mono204-01.qxd
32
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 32
ELAINE CANNING
Esters prayer to God before hosting the banquet for Amn and Asuero also
comes from Addition C of the Apocrypha. She cries out for divine assistance
as the esclava of God:
Oh gran Seor, si aquesta esclava vuestra
las mujeres ilustres imitase
de vuestro pueblo y de la sangre nuestra,
y algo de sus desdichas restaurase;
[. . .]
haced que Amn por estas manos muera
(III, 131)
There is no doubt that although Lope manipulated the Book of Esther in order
to exploit and problematise contemporary themes, he also used his source
to promote an orthodox belief and hope in God to his seventeenth-century
audience.
Although Juan O. Valencia believes that the dream of Mardoqueo was
invented by Lope, in fact the playwright based his re-creation of the dream on
one of the Apocryphal additions (addition A).58 At the beginning of Act II
Mardoqueo tells his dream to Isaac, who is a new character created by Lope.
Regarding the significance of the dream, Mardoqueo remarks: yo pienso que
58 For Valencias view on Mardoqueos dream, see Pathos y tab en el teatro bblico del
siglo de oro (Madrid: Ediciones y Distribuciones Isla, 1977), pp. 6373 (pp. 6566).
Valencias work is particularly interesting as regards his analysis of the character of Amn.
He describes Amn as un personaje desgarrado por los contrastes: su vanagloria le lleva
a querer escalar las estrellas y su suerte lo arroja hasta los suelos. Apoyado en los favores
del Rey, se ve luego condenado por ste (p. 67). For Valencia, Amn is an unbalanced
individual who is at once confident, insecure and plagued by paranoia, despite his false
sense of self-importance. On Amn, see especially pp. 6672 of Valencias work.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 33
33
ha de ser para bien nuestro (II, 117). The dream symbolises the deliverance
of the Jews from Amns organised persecution as a result of Esters efforts.
However, Ester has just been appointed queen and the hostility between Amn
and Mardoqueo has not even surfaced yet. Lopes inclusion of the dream is
therefore another means of heightening dramatic suspense.
The creation of Isaac is fundamental to an understanding of Lopes recreated play. Isaac is not only included by Lope in order to serve as the listener
and receiver of Mardoqueos prophetic dream. He is also significant because
his ignorance of Amns identity and stature allows Mardoqueo to reveal
Amns superior role to the rest of the kings officials. When Isaac asks:
quin es aqueste? (II, 117), Mardoqueos response provides the precise
details found at the beginning of Esther 3. He states:
Este es Amn, un prncipe
que preside a los otros, tan soberbio
con el imperio, que me causa enojos
(II, 117)
59 Isaac is the son of Abraham and father of the twins Jacob and Esau. He was born to
Abraham and his wife Sarah after a long and childless marriage. The events of his life are
recounted in Genesis 2128. One of the most important episodes in Isaacs life was the
projected sacrifice of him by his father Abraham (Genesis 22). In the end, God accepted a
ram as a substitute for Isaac because he was convinced of the obedience of both Abraham
and Isaac to His word.
Mono204-01.qxd
34
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 34
ELAINE CANNING
60 In Josephus text, the accomplishments of two other individuals, apart from Mordecai,
are mentioned: It was found that a certain man as a reward for his bravery on one occasion
had received some land, the name of which was also written. Then, in mentioning another
who had received a gift for his loyalty, he also came to the eunuchs who had plotted against
the king and against whom Mordecai had informed. See Josephus, pp. 43335.
61 The issue of the elevation of the Jew through the characters Mardoqueo and Ester
is complex. While the promotion of the Jew appears to be Lopes aim, this does not
coincide with the more traditional picture of Lope in religious terms depicted in other
parts of this study. It is possible that the dramatisation of the story of Esther proved
attractive to Lope because of the opportunity it provided to give anti-Semitism a
problematic treatment and consequently, to generate a range of audience responses. For
several critics opinions on Lope as anti-Semitic or as a supporter of the Jewish cause, see
pp. 4042 of this chapter.
62 In Josephus narrative, a character named Barnabazos, a Jew, discovers the conspiracy
against the king and informs Mordecai (p. 415).
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 35
35
Because he aims to increase the rivalry between the hero and antihero of the
play, Lope cannot wait to promote Amn after the conspiracy is uncovered, as
is the case in his biblical source.
The animosity between Mardoqueo and Amn is escalated when, following Amns invitation to dine with Ester and Asuero, the royal favourite is
ignored three times by Mardoqueo. This constitutes a deliberate amplification
on Lopes part of Esther 5. 9 which reads as follows: Haman went out that
day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the kings gate
and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was
filled with rage against Mordecai. Mardoqueo has already informed both
Isaac and the audience why he will not pay homage to Amn. To Isaacs comment that everyone is kneeling before Amn, Mardoqueo replies:
Yo no, que solo a Dios hincarlas pienso,
que no quiero quitar lo que le debo,
por darlo a la criatura, que bien sabe
el mismo Dios, que no es por ser yo grave.
(II, 117)63
As Mardoqueo denies him respect time and time again, Amn becomes more
infuriated. The first time Mardoqueo passes by without bowing down he is
called el necio arrogante. On the second occasion, he becomes for Amn un
miserable hebreo. Finally, Amn resorts to dehumanising the Jew, referring
to him as una hormiga [. . .] una mosca miserable (II, 125).
By developing the negative qualities of Amn in the play, Lope undermines
the comments of this antihero. Amn is a cruel, arrogant and authoritative
governor who rejects the petitions of his subjects at the beginning of Act II.
He refers to himself as el rey Amn (II, 120) and a godlike figure who is not
only un hombre que respetan las estrellas (II, 121) but an individual whose
praises are sung by nature (II, 120).64 In this respect, he equates himself with
the divine being who, according to the child Isidro in La niez de San Isidro
63 Lope bases Mardoqueos justification of his actions on Mordecais prayer contained
in addition C of the Apocrypha. In the Hebrew text of Esther, Mordecai offers no reason
why he refuses to bow down before Haman. Josephus states in this regard: But Mordecai
because of his wisdom and his native law would not prostrate himself before any man.
See Josephus, p. 417.
64 Like Amn, the figure of Senacherib, king of Assyria in Historia de Tobas, is
characterised by arrogance. He too establishes himself as a godlike personage by
describing his conquest of Jerusalem in terms of Christs triumphal entry into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21.111). Senacherib claims: con laurel entro maana /
triunfando en Jerusaln. The edition of this play used for the purposes of this study is
contained in Obras de Lope de Vega, ed. Don Marcelino Menndez y Pelayo, Biblioteca
de Autores Espaoles, 15759, VIVIII (Madrid: Atlas, 1963), VIII, 87136. Senacheribs
declaration is found in I, 93. All subsequent references to the play will be taken from
this edition.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
36
10:01 AM
Page 36
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 37
37
society, honour is the privilege of those who enjoy pureza de sangre. Marginal
individuals, such as the Jews, were not entitled to honour. By denying honour
to Amn and punishing him for his attack on the Jews, Lope once again
elevates the Jew.68
Apart from Isaac, Lope presents another new character named Marsanes
based on the biblical Marsena, one of the seven nobles of Persia. Marsanes
acts as amigo y consejero de Amn.69 The function of Marsanes is to bridge
gaps, connect scenes and increase tension in the play. He is the official who
initially expresses leniency towards Vast by advising the king to allow her to
remain in the company of the other women. However, he subsequently makes
a declaration concerning the superiority of the male to the female. He also
suggests that the king should make the dethronement of Vast known in all the
provinces.70 Marsanes similarly informs Amn of Mardoqueos lack of
respect for him. He does this alone, rather than as part of the group of royal
officials who relate Mordecais disobedience to Haman in the Book of Esther.
Marsanes exaggerates Mardoqueos refusal to honour Amn, thereby magnifying Amns agitation and disgust with the Jew. He tells him: De tal manera le hallo / mil veces en tu presencia (II, 120). One of the most significant
roles that Marsanes plays in La hermosa Ester is that of the faithful friend of
Amn who suggests to him that he should have Mardoqueo hanged from the
gallows. Consequently, the inclusion of this character might have mitigated
somewhat Amns negative role and made the audience see him as less
culpable for his actions.
Lopes originality in La hermosa Ester is manifested through his introduction of a sub-plot. This serves to make the play more explicitly relevant to the
seventeenth-century audience and to produce comic relief. Weiner believes
that it demonstrates that opposites, specifically the Spanish nobility and peasantry, can never complement one another: Creo que en este episodio Lope ha
querido mostrar que las cosas opuestas sangre baja y sangre alta no se
pueden mezclar.71 In the form of two short interludes in Acts I and II, the
sub-plot takes place in a typical seventeenth-century rustic setting and tells the
story of how Sirena aspires to become queen and how Selvagio, her lover,
refuses to take her back when she fails in her quest. The choice of names of
these characters was no coincidence. Selvagio is the rustic figure which his
name suggests, while Sirenas name is symbolic of the role that she would like
68 Lopes El nio inocente de La Guardia serves as an interesting contrast to
La hermosa Ester because of its treatment of the theme of anti-Semitism. However, even
within that particular play, the Jews voice their sufferings in Act I. Francisco, for example,
states: Mseros de nosotros, desterrados / de nuestra patria en tanta desventura! / Los
daos tan de atrs profetizados, / an no se acaban, y el castigo dura. See El nio inocente
de La Guardia, ed. Anthony J. Farrell (London: Tamesis, 1985), I. 32225.
69 See Valencia, Pathos, p. 70.
70 See Marsanes speech, I, 109.
71 La reina Ester, p. 45.
Mono204-01.qxd
38
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 38
ELAINE CANNING
to play. She aims to become the siren of Greek mythology who will lure and
tempt the king. She is an arrogant female, described in terms of her vanidad
(I, 114) and locura (II, 121) by Selvagio. She believes that the king should
choose her for his wife because of the superiority of the natural countryside
to the ambience of the palace and because lo que falta es lo mejor (I, 115).
Sirena is a comic figure who ironically wishes to become queen in an environment which she has just criticised. The fact that the audience knows that
Ester, not Sirena, will become queen intensifies the comic effect of this scene
and invalidates Sirenas monologue.
Nevertheless, Sirena mirrors Vasts self-assurance and independence. Just as
Vast disregarded Asueros request that she appear before him, so Sirena ignores
Selvagios plea that she remain faithful to him and abandon her ambition.
Although Sirena is also portrayed as a foolish female who admits to her own
locura and soberbia (II, 122) in aspiring as one of sangre baja to an unattainable status of sangre alta within the hierarchical structure of seventeenthcentury Spain, her assertiveness and her initial refusal to play the part of the
submissive female cannot be denied. Sirena leaves the stage in Act II with a confident speech concerning how she will win back Selvagios love. She boasts:
pero yo le ablandar
la condicin fiera y brava;
no me da mucha fatiga
por ms que volar presuma;
(II, 122)
The audience, therefore, is left not with an image of Sirena as a defeated, undermined woman, but as a bold, positive female. Consequently, Lopes sub-plot not
only makes La hermosa Ester more appealing by setting it within a contemporary context, but also allows a subversive female presence to have a forceful voice
within the play. This sub-plot is particularly effective because it is successfully
worked into the main plot and thematic axis of La hermosa Ester.
When Lope decided to write a play based on the Book of Esther, rather than
any other biblical story, he was obviously not interested in merely presenting
the omniscience of God on stage. Of course there is no denying that the importance of faith is highlighted in La hermosa Ester. However, by concentrating
on the success of a young woman in an alien environment, the Book of Esther
offered Lope the opportunity to present the strong, assertive female (a prevalent type in Lopes secular drama) within a religious framework.72 Principally
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 39
39
through the character of Ester, and to a much lesser extent, Vast, Lope exalts
the female. Esters triumph over Amn is coupled with the fulfilment of
Vasts promise to make Asuero suffer, if only for a short time, for sacrificing
love for public duty. It may only have been possible for Lope to present the
ultimate victory of the female Jewess (Ester) over the male (Amn) because
Ester is almost non-human; she is Gods instrument on earth through whom
His divine powers operate. In the final scenes of La hermosa Ester, she is
praised both by the king and by his Hebrew subjects.
Indeed, Lopes final manipulation of biblical material relates to the ending
of the play. He succintly dramatises the final chapters of the Book of Esther
and concludes his play by focusing on the rejoicing and celebrations of the
Jews on stage with Ester, Mardoqueo and Asuero. Prior to the final dance and
the redistribution of Amns estate to Mardoqueo and Ester, Asuero authorises
the revocation of Amns decree against the Jewish population. He addresses
Mardoqueo in the following manner:
Esta es mi sortija y sello;
despachad cartas al punto,
en que revoco el decreto
que Amn, soberbio, haba dado
contra el santo pueblo hebreo.
(III, 135)
Mono204-01.qxd
40
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 40
ELAINE CANNING
with the Persians, especially with Amn, and with his preoccupation with
honour and his detestation of the Jews. If we accept the possibility of such an
interpretation, then the spectators were susceptible to two contradictory
representations of themselves through the characters of Amn and the king.
They may have seen themselves portrayed negatively as a result of Amns
destiny, but also in an altogether more positive light through the ultimate presentation of the king as a tolerant and just individual. Asuero is revered by
both Mardoqueo, who addresses him as Oh soberano seor! (III, 135), and
by an hebreo who, like Mardoqueo, prostrates himself before him. The hebreo
tells the king:
Danos tus pies, gran seor,
y pon de tu nombre el hierro
en las almas, que en las caras
ya le tenemos impreso.
(III, 135)
At the same time, the audience observes the Jew, the national enemy, as represented by Ester and Mardoqueo, in a privileged position within the state and
the recipient of special royal favours. Such an understanding of the representation of the self and the other problematises the concept of limpieza de
sangre which was of fundamental importance to the seventeenth-century
Spaniard.
The date of composition of La hermosa Ester makes the above interpretation particularly significant. It is no coincidence that Lope wrote his play in
1610, the year of the expulsion of the moriscos from Spain and one month
after a decree was issued limiting the return of the Portuguese conversos to
Spain.74 Lope unequivocally wrote this play with a political agenda in mind.
The play obviously makes a statement on the anti-Semitism which pervaded
seventeenth-century society, but whether we can deduce from it that Lope was
an advocate of the Jewish cause is a polemical issue among critics of this
drama. Sicroff, for example, is doubtful that Lope was anti-Semitic, claiming
that el hecho mismo de escoger la historia bblica del Libro de Ester hace
dudosa la idea de un Lope conformista respecto al antisemitismo de sus contemporneos. Es inconcebible que un Lope antisemita en cualquier grado
que lo fuera se propusiera dramatizar el mximo triunfo que conoci el
pueblo israelita en el Antiguo Testamento contra sus perseguidores.75 Weiner
similarly regards Lope as a sympathetic upholder of the Jewish cause. He
states: Creo que esta comedia favorece la tolerancia hacia el morisco y hacia
74 The expulsion of the moriscos from Spain was the result of an edict dated 22
September 1609. The decree limiting the return of Portuguese conversos was issued on
3 March 1610. The expulsion of the moriscos was carried out satisfactorily by 161314.
75 Notas equvocas, p. 703.
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 41
41
el judo, en particular hacia los conversos.76 However, there are those critics
who assert that a Christian interpretation which promotes Ester as a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary is important in the play, in spite of their recognition
of the fact that Lopes main character is a representation of the biblical
Jewess.77 They claim that just as Ester saves the Jews from the wrath of Amn,
so the Virgin saves the human race from the devil. In a similar vein, just as
Ester is excluded from punishment by Asuero for approaching him uninvited,
so Mary is excluded from the mark of original sin.78 The most widely quoted
parts of La hermosa Ester in support of this opinion are Amns speech at the
end of Act I lo que mujer da, mujer lo sana (p. 116) and the song with
which the play ends
Hoy salva a Israel
la divina Ester.
Hoy, Ester dichosa,
figura sagrada
de otra Ester guardada
para ser esposa,
ms pura y hermosa,
de ms alto Rey.
Hoy salva a Israel
la divina Ester
(III, 135)
Critics argue that Amns speech which explains how Ester repairs the honour of Asuero damaged by Vast symbolises the salvation of the world by the
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
42
10:01 AM
Page 42
ELAINE CANNING
Virgin following the harm caused by Eve. Weiner, however, disagrees with
this view. He states: En esta pieza de Lope no creo que sea aplicable esta
interpretacin religiosa.79 Similarly, while the final song clearly defines Ester
as a prefiguration of the Virgin, both Weiner and Sicroff take issue with its
dramatic function within the play. Although Weiner maintains that the only
lines in the play which allude to the Marian theme are those contained in the
song, he believes that the song itself serves to create un fin convencional,
rather than uno de base temtico-estructural.80 In Sicroffs opinion, Lopes
attempt to make Ester a prefiguration of the mother of God is an esfuerzo
endeble following his exaltation of the Jewess and the debasement of the
rstica, Sirena.81
I would suggest that Lope presents La hermosa Ester from both perspectives, both Christian and Jewish. By this I mean that Ester is not only Esther,
the saviour of the Jewish people, but also simultaneously a prefiguration of the
Virgin.82 The presence of subversive voices in the play does not preclude an
orthodox Christian interpretation, or vice versa. According to Simerka, a more
comprehensive vision of the complexity of audience reception raises the probability of spectators who sought, and found, experiences other than purgation
and reaffirmation of orthodox values when attending the corral (See Early
Modern, p. 46). Perhaps Lope knew that writing within the dogmatic climate
of his time, he could not possibly dramatise the success of the Jews, the
national enemy, without suffering at the hands of the Inquisition. It is possible,
even, that he cleverly inserted Christian references into his play which would
allow Ester to function as a prefiguration of the Virgin. The date of completion
of La hermosa Ester would suggest that Lope almost certainly did not share
the established anti-Semitic viewpoint and was even, perhaps, a sympathetic
supporter of the Jews/Conversos and Moriscos living in contemporary Spain.83
In the final analysis, Lope indisputably creates a successful dramatisation of
the Book of Esther in La hermosa Ester, remaining faithful to the plot of the
La reina Ester, p. 42.
La reina Ester, p. 42.
81 Notas equvocas, p. 704, in Lope de Vega y los orgenes, ed. Manuel Criado de Val.
82 In Funcin y simbolismo, p. 465, Concejo claims regarding the relationship between
Ester and the Virgin: A travs de la representacin, el espectador puede recorrer los grandes
momentos de la mariologa cristiana: Anunciacin, Corredencin, Glorificacin. In her
concluding remarks, she describes the play in the following manner: La hermosa Ester
[. . .] contrarresta el antisemitismo de la sociedad espaola del Siglo de Oro al exaltar a una
mujer juda que de esclava llega a reina (p. 471).
83 In The Jew, Roberta Zimmerman Lavine argues that aesthetic demands of plays may
have caused Lope to present the Jew or the Converso in a sympathetic light. She concludes
that Lope is not, however, an advocate of the Jewish/Converso cause. Following an analysis
of Lopes poem Sentimientos a los agravios de Christo nuestro bien (approx. 1632), Daniel
L. Heiple concludes it seems that Lope was more willing to dramatize the problem
sympathetically in his plays than in his lyric poetry. See Political Posturing on the Jewish
Question by Lope de Vega and Faria e Sousa, HR, 62 (1994), 21734 (p. 225).
79
80
Mono204-01.qxd
4/7/04
10:01 AM
Page 43
43
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 44
2
THE RE-PRESENTATION OF MADRIDS
PATRN IN LA NIEZ DE SAN ISIDRO AND
LA JUVENTUD DE SAN ISIDRO
San Isidro, patrn de Madrid
In spite of the fact that Isidro was not canonised until 1622, he was popularly acclaimed saint and patrn de Madrid from the beginning of the thirteenth
century when his body was transferred from the cemetery of San Andrs to the
altar of the church.1 According to Francisco Moreno, Sin esperar a que la
autoridad eclesistica correspondiente diese el oportuno visto bueno, muchos
hombres y mujeres de Madrid, a la vista de los milagros hechos, segn el
dicono Juan, el mismo da del traslado, le concedieron espontneamente en
privado y pblicamente el honroso ttulo de santo, y empezaron a considerarle
como su patrn.2 From 1589, when the first steps were taken to verify the
sanctity of the local saint in Rome, until 1622, the population of Madrid was
particularly concerned with the life and miracles of Isidro.3 The popularity of
this local saint from medieval times, together with an upsurge in interest as a
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 45
45
Mono204-02.qxd
46
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 46
ELAINE CANNING
and queen themselves, who watched the plays from the lower balconies of the
palace. With the extra provision of richly adorned costumes for the actors and
a magnificent tramoya, Lopes task was to recreate the life and works of Isidro
in a manner which was pleasing to his three-tiered audience of royal, lay and
religious spectators.8
In order to appreciate fully the complexities involved in Lopes dramatisations
of Isidro, we must first explore the details of Isidros life and miracles which
were, in fact, the dramatists raw material. The labrador who inspired Lopes
plays was born in Madrid around 1100, during the early years of the
Reconquest.9 His parents, who were of humble origins, encouraged him to love
God from an early age. He was employed by Ivn de Vargas, a wealthy
landowner and worked for him on the estate of Torrelaguna, situated just outside
Madrid. As a young man, he married Mara de la Cabeza, who bore him one
son.10 The various miracles associated with Isidro during his lifetime include
8 In the Relacin de las fiestas, Lope describes the costumes in the following manner:
La riqueza de los vestidos fue la mayor que hasta aquel da se vio en el teatro. He also
provides details on the tramoya: Lo que hubo mvil fue una tramoya sobre un teatro. Era
de cuarenta pies de alto, su fundamento un fuerte, su extremo una nube, encima de ella la
Fama con una bandera en la mano, y cuatro ngeles que volaban alrededor, sin verse su
movimiento, como si fuera mquina semoviente o automtica. See Obras selectas, II,
1141; 1137.
9 For general details on the life of Isidro, see Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints, ed., rev.
and supp. Herbert Thurston, S. J., and Donald Attwater, 2nd edn, 4 vols (London: Burns and
Oates, 1956), II, 32324; Book of Saints. A Dictionary of Servants of God Canonized by the
Catholic Church, compiled by the Benedictine Monks of St Augustines Abbey, Ramsgate,
5th edn (London: A. and C. Black, 1966), p. 364 and New Catholic Encyclopedia, prepared
by editorial staff at the Catholic University of America, Washington, District of Columbia,
17 vols (New York: McGraw-Hill, 196679), VII (1967), 672. Like the Isidro plays, Fuente
Ovejuna and San Diego de Alcal are set during the reconquest of Spain, although the action
of both takes place in the fifteenth century in the latter years of the struggle (Fuente Ovejuna
is set in 1476 while San Diego de Alcal traces the life and miracles of San Diego de Alcal
[approx. 140063]). Nevertheless, the war against the infidel features in all three. For details
on the reign of Alfonso I of Castile and the early years of the Reconquest, see among others
The Rise of Christian Spain, in The Making of Medieval Spain, by Gabriel Jackson
(London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), pp. 5378 and Angus MacKay, Spain in the Middle
Ages (London: Macmillan, 1977), pp. 1557.
10 The cult of Mara de la Cabeza was approved in 1697 by Innocent XII. She was born
at Torrejn and died in approximately 1175 in Caraquiz. Following her death, various
miracles were attributed to her. The most popular miracle associated with her is the
crossing of the Jarama river on her mantle following a false accusation of adultery. In San
Isidro, pp. 2730, Moreno highlights several popular details relating to the saint. On
pp. 3537, he presents some of what he claims are authentic miracles which God worked
through the intercession of Mara de la Cabeza. On Mara de la Cabeza, see also Book of
Saints, p. 483. In a study of Lopes female saints and their relationship with the mujer
varonil, the maternal figure and the Virgin Mary, Catharine Gilson presents Mara de la
Cabeza as a mirror image of the Virgin. She also draws a parallel between the mujer
varonil and Dona, one of the principal characters of Lopes Los locos por el cielo. See
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 47
47
angels ploughing the fields while he prayed, the creation of a spring from which
his master, Ivn, could drink and the restoration to life of his masters horse. He
is also remembered for feeding beggars at a confraternity dinner by miraculously
increasing his own portion of food and distributing corn seed to birds on a winters day from a sack whose seed subsequently produced abundant quantities of
flour. Following his death (dated approximately either at 1130, or between 1171
and 1190), Isidro was buried in the cemetery of the church of San Andrs in
Madrid.11 Forty years later, the saint allegedly appeared in two visions, first to a
friend and afterwards to a matron, requesting the removal of his body to a more
appropriate place in accordance with Divine orders. Isidros body, perfumed by
the sweet smell of incense, was discovered to be intact and incorrupt and was
transferred to a beautiful shrine above the main altar in San Andrs.12
Other miracles are attributed to Isidro after his death, including the victory
over the Moors at Navas de Tolosa in 1212 when Isidro, in the guise of a
shepherd, appeared to Alfonso VIIIs soldiers and led them to a secret path
from which they could successfully attack and defeat the enemy. Isidro is also
credited with restoring Philip III to health around 1619 when his shrine was
carried to the bedroom of the royal patient. However, he is not only upheld as
the saviour of royal blood. It is also said that, through the intercession of
Isidro, many other individual members of society made miraculous recoveries from various afflictions, including physical disabilities and infertility
problems. Even today, it is claimed that individuals who visit the fuente de
San Isidro continue to be cured.13
Lope de Vegas Female Saints, in Golden Age Spanish Literature. Studies in Honour of
John Varey, eds Charles Davis and Alan Deyermond (London: Department of Hispanic
Studies, Westfield College, 1991), pp. 93103.
11 In Lives, p. 324, Alban Butler claims that Isidro died on 15 May 1130. Similarly, in
the contents of the papal bull concerning Isidros canonisation in Moreno, San Isidro,
pp. 10616 (p. 110), the saints death is recorded to have taken place around 1130. However,
in San Isidro, p. 54, Moreno claims: La fecha de la muerte suele ponerse entre 1171 y 1190,
en 30 de noviembre. In a critical edition of the Leyenda de San Isidro by Juan the Deacon,
Fidel Fita states: La cuenta sale cabal con sealar el ao 1190 para el dicho trnsito del
glorioso labrador, patrn de Madrid. See Leyenda de San Isidro por el dicono Juan.
Cdice del Siglo XIII, procedente del archivo parroquial de San Andrs, ed. Fidel Fita,
BRAH, 9 (1886), 97157 (p. 155).
12 Stephen Wilson claims that the incorruptibility of the corpse was usually, and still is,
taken to be a sign of sanctity, and it is a commonplace of hagiology that saints bodies emit
sweet odours. See his Introduction, in Saints and Their Cults. Studies in Religious
Sociology, Folklore and History, ed. Stephen Wilson (Cambridge: CUP, 1983), pp. 153
(p. 10). Franciso Moreno, in San Isidro, p. 59, claims that the Dominican Fray Domingo
de Mendoza was present at the official opening of Isidros tomb on 20 July 1593. He
provides details on Mendozas testimony relating to the tomb and body of the saint (pp. 60
and 62) and states that Mendoza described the smell emanating from the saints body as
un olor suavsimo diferente de todos los olores y especies aromticas (p. 60).
13 According to Wilson, visits to springs or wells associated with saints was a popular
way of effecting cures by them. Individuals drank the water from the spring or well,
Mono204-02.qxd
48
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 48
ELAINE CANNING
During their respective reigns, Philip II and Philip III both strove to ensure
the canonisation of Isidro. Finally, the document passing the beatification of
Isidro was signed by Paul V on 14 June 1619, and eight days of festivities
marked the occasion in Madrid from 15 May the following year. Isidro was
later canonised on 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV during the reign of
Philip IV at a ceremony which also included the canonisations of Ignacio de
Loyola,14 Francisco Javier,15 Teresa de vila16 and Philip Neri.17 Isidro is
remembered each year on 15 May. His feast day is not only celebrated in
Spain but even in northwestern Mexico where framed images of the saint are
carried through the fields by farmers who, through the intercession of Isidro,
hope that their land will be blessed by rain.18 His body is currently enshrined
in the Cathedral of Madrid.
bathed or washed in it and even dipped the clothing of the sick into it. See Introduction,
in Saints and Their Cults, p. 19.
14 Ignacio de Loyola (14911556) is worshipped as the patron of retreats and his feast is
celebrated on 31 July. For further details on this saint, see Henry Dwight Sedgwick, Ignatius
Loyola: An Attempt at an Impartial Bibliography (London: Macmillan, 1924); Paul Van
Dyke, Ignatius Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuits (New York: C. Scribners Sons, 1926) and
C. de Dalmases, Ignatius of Loyola, St, in New Catholic Encyclopedia, VII (1967), 35456.
15 Francisco Javier (150652) is thought to have been one of the greatest missionaries
of all time. A companion of Ignacio de Loyola, his feast day is 3 December. He was
declared patron of the Orient in 1748, patron of the Faith in 1904 and along with St Thrse
of Lisieux, patron of all missions in 1927. See St Francis Xavier, in Butlers Lives, IV,
47481.
16 Teresa de vila (151582), also known as Teresa de Jess, was one of the great
Spanish mystics and founder of the order of Discalced Carmelites. She was proclaimed a
Doctor of the Church in 1970, the first woman to be granted the title. She is particularly
remembered for her spiritual works. Her feast is celebrated on 15 October. For general
details on Teresa, see O. Steggink, Teresa of Avila, St, in New Catholic Encyclopedia,
XIII (1967), 101316 and Carole Slade, St Teresa of Avila: Author of a Heroic Life
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995).
17 Philip Neri (151595), whose feast day is celebrated on the 26 May, is also known
as the apostle of Rome. For further details on this saint, see Book of Saints, p. 575 and
Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 2nd edn, rev. Catherine Rachel John
(London: Penguin, 1983), pp. 27576.
18 See Jorge Acero, The Fiesta of San Isidro, Journal of the Southwest, 33 (1991),
1819.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 49
49
a quien amaba doblemente por razn de paisanaje y por aquel espritu llano y
democrtico que en el alma de Lope reinaba.19 Lopes connection with Isidro
was already well established before he wrote La niez and La juventud in
1622. According to Moreno, Lope appeared as a witness at the official
proceedings for the beatification/canonisation of Mara de la Cabeza as early
as 1612.20 Eight years later, he was not only the judge and organiser of the
poetry competition to celebrate Isidros beatification, but also composed two
quatrains which were inscribed on the new silver coffin especially prepared
for Isidros dead body.21 The verses read as follows:
Esta Urna sacra encierra
ms Cielo que tierra, y fue
de un labrador cuya Fe
labraba Cielo a su Tierra.
Imitando a Eloy el celo,
sus plateros la labraron,
para decir, que engastaron
de todo Madrid el Cielo.22
In 1622, Lope was not only responsible for the composition of two plays in
honour of the saint, but also acted as one of the judges at the poetry
competition which took place in the plaza mayor on 28 June 1622. On this
occasion, Lope read the opening speech, the prize-winning poems and made
a humorous commentary in verse on each of the winning poems. Finally,
Lope closed this ceremony with a ballad just as he had done at the competition two years previously. In his Premios de la fiesta, y justa potica en
Mono204-02.qxd
50
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 50
ELAINE CANNING
The first of these works, and the longest on the subject of the saint by Lope,
is El Isidro (Madrid: Luis Snchez, 1599), which Sinz de Robles considers
to be el ms bello poema de Lope.25 A poem made up of ten cantos, it
focuses on the life of the saint from his birth to his death and presents the
miracles which are commonly associated with him. Lope, however, still
manages to convey his own voice, referring to Isidro in canto V, for example,
as a celestial labrador (p. 471). The poem also provides Lope with the opportunity to address several theological issues in cantos III and IV, such as the
fall of Lucifer, the Immaculate Conception and Christs salvation of mankind.
Moreover, the saintliness of Isidro is highlighted when Lope lists his name
alongside prophets, apostles and biblical heroes/heroines including Joseph
and Esther (canto IV, pp. 45859).
Lopes second important creation on this subject is a three-act play entitled
San Isidro, labrador de Madrid (15981608) (probably 160406).26 Published
in 1617 in the Sptima parte de las comedias de Lope de Vega Carpio, it is
essentially a dramatisation of the adult life of the saint from his request for
permission to marry Mara de la Cabeza to the prophecies of the rivers
23 Lopes ballad is contained in Obras selectas, II, 114347. For details on the prizes
awarded at the contest, see the Nota preliminar, pp. 112526.
24 Obras selectas, II, 1121.
25 See his nota preliminar to the poem in Obras selectas, II, 41314 (p. 414).
26 Unlike La niez and La juventud, San Isidro, labrador de Madrid was not a
commissioned work. Lope, therefore, did not have to comply with a particular agenda.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 51
51
In terms of content, both of Lopes early works justify his claim regarding
the suitability of the story of Isidro as a literary subject. However, in order to
comprehend how Lope would later reconstruct the fundamental details relating to Isidro in La niez de San Isidro and La juventud de San Isidro, familiarity with the written source material which would have been extant at the
time of writing is vital.
27 In San Isidro, Moreno claims that Lope wrote this play in 1617 (see p. 128). Similarly,
Garasa states regarding its composition: La tercera, San Isidro, labrador de Madrid, fue
escrita cinco aos antes que las otras dos. See his Santos, p. 59. Garasa devotes pp. 5862
of the book to a discussion of the three plays on the San Isidro theme. On pp. 5859, he
takes issue with Menndez y Pelayos definition of the three plays as una especie de
triloga (Estudios, II, 43). As far as he is concerned, Pese a su tema comn, no puede
hablarse de triloga. Una triloga es, por ejemplo, la que Tirso de Molina dedicar a ensalzar
la santidad de la monja de la Sagra, sor Juana de la Cruz. San Isidro, labrador de Madrid
was subsequently published in Parte veinte y ocho de comedias de los mejores ingenios
desta corte (Madrid, 1667).
28 Philip III (15981621) was the ruling monarch at the time of composition of this
play. As already stated, Isidros canonisation did not take place during his reign but in that
of his successor, Philip IV (162165).
29 The edition used for the purposes of this study is that produced by Fidel Fita. The
relevant bibliographical details are cited in p. 47, n. 11 of this chapter. Lope makes the
importance of this text explicit in his Breve suma del bienaventurado San Isidro, contained
in the Justa potica. Here, he claims that the life of Mara de la Cabeza is known thanks to
Juan Diconos work: Esto se sabe de sus antiqusimos retratos, y su vida, de Juan Dicono,
presbtero de aquel tiempo. See Obras selectas, II, 111112 (p. 1112).
Mono204-02.qxd
52
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 52
ELAINE CANNING
in the archive of Madrids cathedral, it inspired not only Lopes dramatic and
poetic compositions but also the work of several biographers including
Alonso de Villegas, fray Juan Ortiz Lucio and Jaime Bleda.30 The text has
been attacked by critics as a result of its exclusion of basic details, such as the
names of Isidros wife, son and master, and several miracles popularly associated with the saint. These include the restoration to life of Ivn de Vargas
horse, Maras miraculous crossing of the Jarama river and Isidros supernatural creation of springs. In Juan Diconos defence, Fidel Fita argues that the
deacon did not set out to present the vida but the leyenda milagrosa of the
saint (Leyenda, p. 101). Similarly, Moreno acknowledges that an intricate
biography of the saint was unnecessary given the authors objectives: Lo que
pretendi fue simplemente despertar entre los fieles simpata y devocin hacia
el santo. [. . .] En pocas palabras, el dicono pudo y no quiso decir ms de lo
que dijo (San Isidro, p. 27). In spite of his exclusion of material, Juan
Dicono catalogues salient episodes in Isidros life which are subsequently
dramatised by Lope. The contents of the first sections of his biography are
particularly significant in this regard.31
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 53
53
visit Isidros workplace and witnesses his late arrival. Filled with anger, he
decides to go and confront Isidro. However, following his lapse of concentration
for a moment, Isidros master looks back at the field and sees two teams of oxen
ploughing to the right and left of Isidro. When he approaches Isidro and asks him
who was providing him with assistance, Isidro replies that he only calls on God
for protection and did not see anyone. His master realises that Isidro was assisted
by divine grace and puts him in charge of his land.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
54
10:03 AM
Page 54
ELAINE CANNING
With the exception of the hymns in honour of San Isidro, the remainder
of the biography presents a variety of miracles attributed to the intercession
of Isidro.33 These include the curing of physical disabilities and infertility
problems as well as the provision of rain in times of drought. However, since
Lope is concerned only with the re-creation of the childhood and adult years
of Isidro in La niez and La juventud, a detailed study of these supernatural
occurrences is unnecessary.34
Apart from Juan Diconos biography of the saint, Sinz de Robles
indicates a second source of reference for Lopes plays on Isidro: Para sus
obras escnicas se inspir Lope en su propio poema. Pero y para ste? Era
muy popular la Vida de San Isidro, compuesta en el siglo XIII por el dicono
Juan.35 Understandably, Lope would turn to his first and longest work on the
saint when faced with the task of re-creating the image of the holy man for
the stage. Moreover, Lopes first play on the subject of the saint, San Isidro,
labrador de Madrid (160406?), was also an invaluable source when Lope
was preparing La niez and La juventud in 1622. This fact is generally overlooked by critics who tend to examine Lopes three Isidro plays collectively
rather than as individual compositions.36 This collective approach has
The hymns constitute sections 2530, pp. 12942 of Fitas edition.
A study of these miracles would be fitting in a detailed analysis of El Isidro and San
Isidro, labrador where the prophetical rivers (both the Jarama and the Manzanares in San
Isidro, labrador and the Manzanares only in El Isidro) allude to them. This, however, lies
beyond the focus of this chapter.
35 See his nota preliminar to La niez de San Isidro in Obras selectas, III, 31112
(p. 311). Menndez y Pelayo claims that Lope had access to materials collected by fray
Domingo de Mendoza when he wrote El Isidro. In Estudios, II, p. 45, he explains Lopes
use of sources: Lope nunca las declara de un modo explcito, si bien para el poema dice
haberse valido de los procesos y probanzas que le comunic fray Domingo de Mendoza.
In San Isidro, pp. 8384, Moreno describes Mendozas role in the canonisation process.
According to him, Domingo de Mendoza was one of the first witnesses to be called by
Rome in order to make his declaration in favour of Isidro. He did so on 11 August 1593.
Moreno adds that in February 1596, Mendoza was commissioned by the nuncio Camilio
Caetano to obtain more information on Isidros life and miracles by visiting all areas
within the jurisdiction of Madrid and that he completed his research the following year.
In El Isidro, canto X, p. 532, Lope draws attention to Mendozas connection with the
canonisation proceedings: que la canonizacin / ya el Papa y con gran razn / a s solo
ha reservado. / Mas la madre que se goza / de tal hijo, la pretende, / cuya ejecucin
emprende / fray Domingo de Mendoza, / y en las probanzas entiende.
36 Lopes plays on Madrids patron saint have attracted little critical attention. In
addition, as stated above, their critics for the most part have analysed the three together. In
Estudios, II, 4349, for example, Menndez y Pelayo makes general observations on San
Isidro, labrador, La niez and La juventud de San Isidro. Similarly, Garasa discusses all
three Isidro plays in Santos, pp. 5862, although he focuses primarily on San Isidro,
labrador. In Efectos, Gallego Roca goes beyond a general discussion of the plays in
order to present a detailed analysis of staging techniques employed by Lope in his
dramatisation of Isidro. He examines the use of apariencias, escotillones and the pescante
and the relationship between the tramoya and poesa in the plays. In La comedia de santos
33
34
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 55
55
obscured the true nature of the relationship between the earlier work and the
two later plays. The earlier one is, in fact, a dynamic intertextual presence in
the later plays, although we might say that Isidro is, to some extent, reborn
in La niez and particularly in La juventud. This is partially a result of the
rewriting of characters and scenes from San Isidro, labrador, fused with the
miracles provided by Juan Diconos text.37
As already stated, the content of La niez and La juventud and the
development of Isidros character were preconditioned by the expectation of
Lopes audience which was well acquainted with the saint. With the approval
of various miracles and details by the Court in Rome in 1622, events in Isidros
life were accepted as factual by the religious authorities and the general public
alike. The most significant approbations made by Rome involved the authenticity of miracles presented in Juan Diconos text, as well as others popularly
associated with the saint, including the miracle of the spring, where Isidro provided water to quench his masters thirst.38 As a result, Lope was confronted
with several fundamental concerns in 1622 when he wrote his plays. In the first
instance, he faced the challenge of transforming what was for his audience a
popular and real individual into a recognisable and credible dramatic character
in a play, who in turn would reach them on a real, albeit emotional level. At the
same time, it was necessary for Lope to reconstruct what was quite stale, written source material into dynamic entertainment for his spectators. Finally, and
most significantly, Lopes La niez and La juventud had to reflect the saintliness of Madrids patron saint, the essential reason behind the revelries of which
the plays were a part. In his dramatisation of the child Isidro in La niez, this
latter demand was to prove particularly challenging.
Mono204-02.qxd
56
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 56
ELAINE CANNING
the youthful Philip IV and his lineage, particularly by drawing attention to the
accomplishments of Philip II, such as the historic union of Spain and France.
Lope also encourages Philip IV to enjoy the privilege of fulfilling the role of
ruling monarch during the canonisation of four of Spains saints. In Act I of
La niez de San Isidro, Lope presents Ins and Pedro, the devout, future parents of Isidro and labradores who are employed by lvaro de Vargas. The play
opens with Ins prayer to the Virgin of Almudena for a son que sea santo
(I, fol. 4r), which is followed by Pedros prayer and his vision in a dream of
the unborn Isidro. Ins subsequently gives birth and Pedro thanks God for the
gift of his son in San Andrs. Act I ends with the arrival at San Andrs of Don
lvaro, several labradores and Isidros godparents (Elvira and Juan Ramrez)
amid singing and dancing for the childs baptismal ceremony. The saintliness
of the child Isidro is highlighted throughout the second act of the play by the
introduction of complicated expressions of faith, an encounter with Christ and
the manipulation of a seemingly innocent game of hide and seek. The play
ends with celebrations in honour of the Virgin of Atocha and the offering of
a cross by Isidro to the Christ child.
As will be seen in due course, La juventud, like La niez, is a two-act play.
Indeed, they are not only fundamentally similar in dramatic structure but have
a variety of similar themes, images and characters. Essentially, the explicit
continuity established between La niez and La juventud serves to define
these comedias as two acts of one play. The following duplications and/or
re-creations will be highlighted:
the shared qualities of father and son (Pedro and Isidro)
the relationship between the child Isidro and his adult counterpart
the similarities between Bato, the gracioso of La niez, and Tirso, his son,
who assumes his fathers role in La juventud
the duplication of scenes (Christs appearance to the child and adult
Isidro)
the re-creation of the miracle of the angels.
In El Isidro, Lope describes Isidros upbringing by his parents in the
following manner:
En su infancia, le enseaban
a amar a Dios, y apartaban
del pecado con ejemplo,
donde la humildad contemplo
que en esto los tres mostraban.40
Spelling and punctuation will be modernised where appropriate. Saints also appear as
youths in El nio inocente de La Guardia and La niez del Padre Rojas. Similarly, La
madre de la mejor is concerned with the conception, birth and childhood of the Virgin.
40 Obras selectas, II, 422.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 57
57
Mono204-02.qxd
58
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 58
ELAINE CANNING
The song portends the saintly nature of Isidro who will appear on stage later
in this play and subsequently in La juventud de San Isidro. In addition, it
underlines the significance of Isidro as patron of Madrid and a saint of the
Catholic Church even before his birth.
When the voz instructs Pedro for the second time at the end of Act I, he
draws attention to the transfer of Isidros body to the altar of San Andrs
following his death. In the first instance, Pedro misinterprets the vozs claim
aqu ha de tener lugar / tu hijo (I, fol. 11r) as a prediction of his newly born
sons imminent death. However, he interprets the message as a prodigio
extrao when the voz elaborates:
Aqu ha de vivir, y ver
muchos siglos esta Villa,
con notable maravilla
del mundo.
(I, fol. 11r)
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 59
59
In La juventud de San Isidro, the adult Isidro is also unable to grasp the implications of such a spiritual reality, explicitly stating that he is undeserving of
a meeting with Christ: sueo fue, que mi humildad, / no tiene merecimientos
(I, fol. 27v). This humble reaction to the supernatural is not the only common
feature shared by father and son. In fact, Pedro in La niez de San Isidro exhibits
several qualities demonstrated also by his adult son in both La juventud de San
Isidro and San Isidro, labrador de Madrid. Both he and his wife Ins are
complimented by lvaro de Vargas, who describes them as buenos cristianos
(I, fol. 9r), while Isidro and Mara are categorised as buenos novios by their
employer, Ivn de Vargas, in La juventud.44 Like Isidro, whose daily attendance
at mass is confirmed by Pascual de Valdemoro and the sacristn in San Isidro,
labrador,45 Pedro is also an ardent churchgoer. The sacristn of La niez de San
Isidro claims in this regard:
No hay mejor hombre en Castilla,
ni ha tenido San Andrs
parroquiano ms galn.
(I, fol. 11r)
Pedro also engages in prayer through which he defines God in terms of his relationship with nature, just as his son does later in this play and in La juventud
43 The preoccupation of both Pedro and Isidro with the relationship between illusion and
reality mirrors Segismundos inability to distinguish between lo real and lo soado in
Calderns La vida es sueo. In addition, the reaction of these characters serves to reinforce
the seventeenth-century theocentric view of the illusory nature of life, which is analysed in
more detail in part 2 of this study. Indeed, as will be seen in due course, the incorporation
of supernatural characters and dreams/visions into La niez and La juventud, and the use of
the different levels of the stage in both are fundamental to the interplay between illusion and
reality. Consequently, both plays could also be examined in detail from this perspective.
44 The edition of La juventud de San Isidro used is contained in Relacin de las fiestas,
fols 20v35r. All subsequent quotations will be taken from this edition. As with La niez
de San Isidro, spellings and punctuation will be amended where appropriate. The reference
cited above can be found in I, fol. 21v. Ivn de Vargas, Isidros employer in both La
juventud de San Isidro and San Isidro, labrador de Madrid, is the son of lvaro de Vargas,
Isidros parents employer in La niez de San Isidro. This is a further example of the
continuity which exists between these plays.
45 Pascual de Valdemoro informs Benito Preciado and Juan de la Cabeza, que no
amanece el alba sin que aguarde / a la puerta de nuestra iglesia, atento / a cuando el sacristn
a abrirla venga, / y que jams al campo va sin misa; (San Isidro, labrador, I, 360). The
sacristn subsequently remarks regarding Isidros presence in the church of Santa Mara:
Que siempre est este villano! [. . .] no deja en Santa Mara / pilares, losas y cantos / detrs
de donde no est (I, 367).
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
60
10:03 AM
Page 60
ELAINE CANNING
de San Isidro.46 Furthermore, both Pedro and Isidro in San Isidro, labrador de
Madrid offer their respective newly born sons to God.47 In San Andrs, Pedro
implores Saint Andrew to teach his son to be a pious and exemplary individual, thanks God for the gift of his son and informs Him desde aqu queda
sagrado / a vuestro servicio (I, fol. 11r). In San Isidro, labrador, Isidro likewise hands his son over to Gods service:
Gracias a Dios, suyo es!
Ya se las he dado all;
a ver la parida voy.
(II, 377)
In spite of the fact that Pedros character is defined before the birth of his son
in the play, his personality is based on traits which are traditionally associated
with Isidro and would have been identified as such by the audience. It is possible, therefore, that Lope recreated Pedro in his sons image in order to
remind his audience of some of the saints fundamental characteristics, which
he would then highlight in both La niez and La juventud. Moreover, by
depicting Pedro as hardly less saintly than his son, Lope is able to ensure
Pedros acceptance as a suitable parent for Madrids patrn.
The relationship between the adult and child Isidro established by the voz is
reinforced by the prophecies of the gracioso in Acts I and II. Bato, however,
also displays the characteristic traits of the typical gracioso whom Thomas
Case defines in terms of su comicidad, su cobarda, su amor a la comida [. . .]
al vino, al sueo y su papel como sirviente o lacayo.48 Like Bartolo of San
Isidro, labrador and Tirso of La juventud, Bato is an entertainer. As the child
Isidro is presented at San Andrs to be baptised and the dancing begins, Antn
instructs Bato relincha, voltea, / hazte rajas (I, fol. 11r). In La juventud
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 61
61
(I, fol. 20v) and San Isidro, labrador (I, 363; 36465), Bartolo and Tirso get
involved in the dances at the wedding celebrations of Isidro and Mara. As the
main provider of comedy, many of Batos humorous comments, like those of
his son Tirso in La juventud, relate to the temptation of food and his preoccupation with his empty belly. Whereas Bato considers putting a for rent sign
on his stomach if Ins does not quickly feed him (II, fol. 12r), Tirso provides
Isidro with a detailed and entertaining commentary concerning how he was
tempted by a pastel (II, fols 29v30r).49 Both father and son also provide
amusing descriptions of their singing donkeys. Bato claims that when he goes
riding me ayuda a cantar; / que en dicindole arre, luego / piensa que es re, y
me responde / sol, sol, ut, ut (I, fol. 7v), while Tirso narrates to Isidro how he
was greeted by the donkey: l me dio los buenos das / en la solfa que otras
veces (II, fol. 30r).
One of the most comical scenes in the play, in which the glutton is duped,
is a re-creation of an episode which appears in San Isidro, labrador following
the birth of Isidros son (II, 37677). In the original scene, Bartolo tricks Perote
and Toms by declaring a competition in which the person who tells the best
dream wins the last torrija. Bartolos explanation of his dream, in which he
describes a hook which is trying to swipe a torrija from him, involves the eating of the last torrija as a demonstration of his action in the dream. Afterwards,
Perote and Toms dupe Bartolo by pretending to reluctantly allow him to play
a flute. When Bartolo begins to play, his face is covered in soot.
Lope borrows this scene, but with variations. Bato appears on stage with a
plate of torrijas following the birth of Isidro in La niez (I, fol. 10r). His
refusal to accept a favour from Dominga in exchange for one torrija suggests
that the satisfaction of his greedy appetite is even more of an urgency for him
than for Bartolo. He stresses the importance of self-satisfaction by informing
Antn que en habiendo tiempos dulces, / las amistades se acaban (II, fol.
10v). Lope possibly permits the gracioso to be deceived twice in this play
because of his outright rejection of love and friendship. Like Bartolo, he too
is attracted to the Aragonese flute, the dulzaina, but is covered with both soot
and flour following two attempts to play it. The double trick played on Bato
obviously adds an extra element of humour to La niez.
Nevertheless, apart from fulfilling the conventional role of the gracioso,
Bato is significantly transformed into a prophet-like character who forecasts
several events in the life of the adult Isidro, including his canonisation and the
transfer of his body to San Andrs.50 His reiteration of facts already presented
49 In San Isidro, labrador, Perote playfully uses religious imagery by describing Bartolos
stomach as an arca de No (II, 376).
50 In a discussion on standard cast-lists in the comedia, Victor Dixon states: Such
standardization by no means precluded variation within each of the standard types, most
obviously perhaps in the different combinations of characteristics assigned, from play to
play, to the gracioso. See his Characterization in the Comedia of Seventeenth-Century
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
62
10:03 AM
Page 62
ELAINE CANNING
by the voz prevents the audience from losing sight of the child Isidros true
identity. The presentation of the newly born child for the first time on stage
in Batos arms is deliberate on Lopes part. It serves to establish a visual and
physical link between the two characters which is exploited throughout the
play as Bato foretells Isidros future. Bato performs his prophetical role for
the first time when he appears with the child. He comments on the childs
laughter:
Quiz est viendo
algo que le est esperando,
que todos nacen llorando,
y este muchacho riendo
(I, fol. 9v)
Dios te bendiga.
Y te guarde.
Y te haga un santo.
Si har,
que Dios puede, y Dios querr,
y para Dios nunca es tarde.
(I, fol. 9v)
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 63
63
rests by the Manzanares while he waits for Ins to arrive with some food, the
audience witnesses the staging of his dream in which he sees two angels
ploughing with oxen and his future son dressed in a star-covered garment and
a shining crown with a silver goad in his hand.52 The stage directions read:
Tquense chirimas, y abrindose una nube por lo alto del carro, pasen dos
ngeles arando con dos bueyes, y se ve a San Isidro con vestido sembrado de
estrellas, una corona de resplandor en la cabeza, y su aguijada plateada (I, fol.
6v).53 The incorporation of the sueo-representacin as opposed to the
sueo-narracin into the dramatic framework enables Lope to introduce the
adult Isidro as Pedros future son.54 As a result, a direct correlation between
the child and the saint is established.
Before Pedro explains his dream to Antn, Helipe and Bato, the labradores
return to find him staring intently at the sky and wrongly suspect that their
supervisor is attempting to read the stars.55 This assumption prompts Bato not
only to launch a lengthy attack on astrology but to comment on the mundo al
revs topos.56 Bato concludes: no alcanza la astrologa / ms que a engaar
ignorantes (I, fol. 7r). His rejection of superstition and recognition of the
power of God who, in his opinion hace despus lo que quiere (I, fol. 7r) is
a perfect starting point for Pedro to describe the divine revelation which he
has just experienced.
As Pedro recounts his dream to the labradores, he elaborates on the information provided by the stage directions. He informs them that the young man
he saw was dressed in the typical garment of the contemporary labrador but
that his attire was woven from gold and bore the letters I, D, M. He adds that
the mozo wore golden sandals on his feet (I, fol. 7r). In his analysis of this
Mono204-02.qxd
64
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 64
ELAINE CANNING
apariencia, Gallego Roca asserts that the various elements symbolise several of Isidros attributes: Los ngeles arando con los bueyes, significando
su entrega a la oracin; un vestido sembrado de estrellas, que simboliza la
sabidura conseguida desde la ignorancia; una corona de resplandor, smbolo
de su santidad; y la aguijada plateada, que recuerda los milagros que realiz
en vida (Efectos, p. 124). Pedros vision of his son constitutes a complex
representation of two images of Isidro. On the one hand, it presents Isidro,
the common labrador, whose desire to dedicate himself to God through
prayer is rewarded with divine assistance in his daily work. In addition, it
highlights Isidros coronation as a saint, which the play was written to
celebrate.
The interpretations of Pedros dream by the labradores not only function
as light-hearted assessments of the event but accentuate the presentation of
Pedro as a sabio. Helipe, for example, attributes the dream to excessive drinking (I, fol. 7r). For Bato, the gracioso obsessed with food, wheat is synonymous with gold of the highest order and Isidros golden sandals thus signify el
trigo / que trilla con pies contentos (I, fol. 7r). Pedro correctly interprets the
dream as a revelation that a labrador, divinely blessed, will be born in Madrid
for the good of the villa, the letters I, D and M meaning Jess de mi alma
(I, fol. 7v). As a shrewd interpreter of dreams, Pedro becomes the biblical
Joseph who lucidly explains the dreams of the cupbearer, the baker and
Pharoah himself (Genesis 40 and Genesis 41. 140).57 Antns speech in
which he dissociates himself from the biblical sabio intrprete de sueos
(I, fol. 7r) presages the representation of Joseph in the character of the devout
Pedro. Pedro mirrors his biblical counterpart in two significant ways. Firstly,
he is endowed with an astuteness similar to that of Joseph which sets him
apart, like the biblical hero, from other aspiring exponents of dreams.
Secondly, and more importantly, Pedros future status as father of Madrids
patron saint echoes Josephs privileged position of power in Egypt. Both characters assume a prestige which belies their status as labrador and Hebrew
respectively. As a result, the dream reaffirms Isidros saintly nature and presents his father as a shrewd and privileged individual.
The prayers of Isidros holy and aspiring parents in which they express
hope for a virtuous, god-fearing son underline Isidros saintly qualities even
further.58 However, Ins, Isidros mother performs a particularly significant
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 65
65
Unwittingly, Juan not only refers to Isidros role as a typical shepherd but also
casts him in a Christlike role for the contemporary audience as the shepherd
59 Isidore of Seville (c. 560636) was canonised in 1598 and declared a Doctor of the
Church in 1722. He succeeded his brother, St Leander, as bishop of Seville in approximately
the year 600. Among his most famous writings is the Etymologiae. On St Isidore of Seville,
see Book of Saints, p. 364, and Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary, p. 177. According
to Moreno, San Isidro, p. 18, St Isidores body was transferred to Len by Ferdinand I in
1063. The fact that it is generally accepted that Isidro was not born until approximately
1100 suggests that Lope deliberately manipulated the presentation of historical events in
order to emphasise the link between the two saints. The attribution of the title santo to
Isidore in the play during a period when he had not been officially declared a saint draws
attention to the Spanish custom of popularly acclaiming holy individuals as saints.
60 The connection between Isidro and Isidore of Seville was established in El Isidro,
canto I. In this canto, Lope had already referred to the latter as Isidro, had compared and
contrasted these saints and commented on the removal of Isidores remains from Seville to
Len.
61 Processions are included in Hornbys classification of the metatheatrical device of the
ceremony within the play. Hornby describes the ceremony within the play as a formal
performance of some kind that is set off from the surrounding action (p. 49). The festivities
of 1622 involved an appeal to local patriotism. Consequently, there are references to the
Virgins of Almudena and Atocha in La niez and La juventud, as well as the incorporation
of the local legend of Gracin Ramrez into Act II of La niez. Lope included this legend in
El Isidro, cantos VIII and IX and dramatised it in El alcaide de Madrid in 1599.
Mono204-02.qxd
66
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 66
ELAINE CANNING
who protects the lost sheep.62 In other words, the audience cannot fail to recognise Lopes depiction of Isidro as patron saint caring for the ovejas of Madrid
in Juans innocent statement. Lope exploits his audiences affiliation with, and
informed opinion of, Isidro in order to highlight his status as a Christlike figure.
With the integration of the child Isidro into the dramatic action and dialogue in Act II, Lopes audience is brought face to face with a character who
is at once mysterious yet familiar. The child Isidros first words draw attention to his faith in God and the Virgin. Lopes audience is instantly confronted
with a pious child who announces his return from school to his parents with
the greeting Loado sea Cristo, y su Madre / bendita (II, fol. 12r). Throughout
Act II, Isidro voices his devotion to God in lengthy monologues which mirror and at times exceed the rhetoric of the adult Isidro in La juventud and San
Isidro, labrador. As a result of the recitation of the Christus to his parents and
Bato, the first prayer delivered by him in the play, Isidro demonstrates an
awareness of the omniscience of God and the purity of the Virgin. Isidro
concludes the holy alphabet, which focuses on issues such as Mans fall from
grace and the doctrine of transubstantiation, with a definition of the letters A,
B and C in terms of their association with the Holy Trinity
que el A es el Padre, la B
el Hijo, la C se llama
el Espritu, [. . .]
(II, fols 12v13r)
The prayer serves two significant purposes in the play. In the first instance, it
functions as a reaffirmation of Catholic dogma for Lopes audience. Secondly,
as a complex summary of the Catholic churchs tenets, it defines the child who
is responsible for its delivery as a devout, holy individual. The faith and
knowledge which the child exhibits are uncharacteristic of his age and render
him almost unchildlike. In fact, the child Isidros definition of the Christus
is more intricate than the adult Isidros explanation in San Isidro, labrador.63
In Act II of San Isidro, labrador, Isidro converses with three angels and
summarises the Christus in eighteen lines, focusing like the child Isidro
on the representation of the Trinity in the letters A, B and C (II, 37172).64
62 When Isidro (i.e. Isidore of Seville) appears to Ordoo in El Isidro, canto I, p. 417,
Ordoo describes him as a pastor de ovejas. The image of Christ as a shepherd is common
in the Bible. In Matthew 10. 6, for example, Christ sends the twelve disciples out to the lost
sheep of Israel.
63 In El Isidro, canto I, pp. 41819, Lope also refers to Isidros knowledge of the Christus.
He states: No supo letras, ni a quien / preguntrselas tambin, / que un abec que oy: / solo
el Cristus aprendi, / pero este spole bien. / De este libro inescrutable / que abarca de polo
a polo, / fue una sibila, un Apolo. Isidro does not recite the Christus in the poem.
64 In San Diego de Alcal, the illiterate Diego confesses to the portero at the end of
Act I that he only knows the A, B and C of the Christus. The portero proceeds to relate the
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 67
67
In spite of the subtle association of Isidro with the Christ child, Isidro is more
explicitly rendered unchildlike in the play as a result of the links established
with his adult counterpart of La juventud and San Isidro, labrador. As demonstrated by his delivery of the Christus, Isidro is successfully transformed into
his adult equivalent through prayer. Lope continues to cast Isidro in the image
of Madrids well-known patrn by attributing other prayers to him in Act II.
In one particular prayer, his acclamation of God and desire to learn through
Him echoes one of Isidros speeches in La juventud. The child Isidro, who
defines God as perfeccin (II, fol. 13r) makes an ardent request for divine
instruction in the following manner:
holy alphabet to him. See Lope de Vega, San Diego de Alcal, ed. Thomas E. Case (Kassel:
Reichenberger, 1988), pp. 8788.
65 In San Isidro, labrador (II, 376), Envidia compares the piety of the family of the adult
Isidro to the Holy Trinity. Thus, in this case, it is Isidros son who is likened to the Christ
child, not Isidro himself. In El Isidro, canto IV, p. 455, Lope establishes a similar
connection. He claims: As, que Isidro y su esposa, / en casa pobre y gozosa, / y un nio
tierno y hermoso, / de Jess, Mara y su esposo / eran una estampa hermosa. [. . .] no digo
que los comparo, / ms digo que los parecen.
Mono204-02.qxd
68
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 68
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 69
69
Mono204-02.qxd
70
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 70
ELAINE CANNING
while Luis refers to the impact of Isidro on his very soul (II, fol. 14v). Isidros
allusion to the boys brocado recalls Ins description of the brocade covering
which rested on the body of St Isidore of Seville as he was carried in procession
on the outskirts of Madrid (I, fol. 8r). In addition, it reminds the audience of
Batos suggestion that Madrid should prepare a brocade garment for the
labrador divino of Pedros dream (I, fol. 7v). Consequently, the brocado symbolises both material and spiritual wealth. In his comparison of the sayal and
the brocado, Isidro highlights his own future exchange of costume when he
will become Madrids patrn.
Towards the end of Act II, Lope specifically emphasises the saintly nature
of the child in two original episodes. The first involves a seemingly innocent
game of hide and seek which is transformed into a religious experience for
those taking part.70 When Ivn and Luis begin to look for Isidro, their search
not only reveals his whereabouts but underlines for them and the audience the
extent of the childs religious fervour. Led by the song Venite, which the
boys mistakenly assume is Isidros voice and which Isidro subsequently interprets as a divine instruction, Ivn and Luis discover Isidro praying en lo alto
surrounded by candles. The stage directions read: Descbrese en lo alto un
aposentico con un altarico, su imagen y sus velas, e Isidro rezando (II, fol.
14v).71 Thus, a literal game of hide and seek for Ivn and Luis becomes a
metaphorical one for Isidro. It provides him with an opportunity to take refuge
in God from the world and its deceits. Ivn makes this point explicit, stating,
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 71
71
Mono204-02.qxd
72
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 72
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 73
73
78 As Morrison has indicated, both loas are more concerned with paying homage to
Philip IV than to Isidro. See Graciosos, p. 42.
79 In La niez, Bato prepares the audience for the arrival of Envidia in this play by
declaring to Isidros father: Pardiez, Pedro, que es rapaz, / para envidiar y querer! (II, fol.
16v, my italics).
80 Of the ten cantos of El Isidro, Isidros birth and youth are only described in canto I.
The rest of the poem focuses on his adult life.
Mono204-02.qxd
74
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 74
ELAINE CANNING
canonisation of Madrids popularly acclaimed saint. Gallego Roca characterises San Isidro, labrador as a propagandistic work, while classifying La
niez and La juventud as both propagandistic yet celebratory dramas San
Isidro fue escrita cuando estaba en marcha el proceso de canonizacin, por
tanto se la puede considerar como una obra de propaganda; La juventud y La
niez son obras que celebran la canonizacin, son pues obras tambin de
propaganda pero con un mayor sentido festivo (Efectos, p. 129). In the poem
and the earlier play, an attempt is made on Lopes part to describe all the main
events in Isidros life, including the miracles attributed to him prior to, and
following, his death.81 The more extensive use of the adjective santo to
define his character and miracles in San Isidro, labrador than in La juventud
is evidence of Lopes desire to have Isidro officially recognised as such. With
the declaration of Isidro as a saint and proven miracle worker, it was not necessary for Lope in La juventud to recreate every miracle and detail associated
with him in order to verify his holiness and to make him recognisable.
Accordingly, Lope presents the image of Isidro the miracle worker through
carefully selected miracles. At the same time, he accentuates his saintliness
through the reworking of the miracle of the angels, as well as a second
encounter with Christ. More significantly, through the creation of original
scenes involving conversations between husband and wife, Isidro is presented
on a more human level as a man who is forced to make sacrifices for the purposes of his faith.
The four miracles presented in La juventud are successfully woven into the
plays dramatic framework. The inclusion of the miracles of the wolf and the
feeding of the birds serves to highlight qualities traditionally associated with
the saint, while the crossing of the Jarama and the miracle of the angels stress
Maras and Isidros respective associations with the divine.
In his dramatisation of the miracle of the wolf, Lope stresses Isidros constancy and complete trust in Gods protection of the blessed. In contrast to San
Isidro, labrador, where the saint remains absent from the stage while Envidia
and Demonio narrate his reactions to the boys warnings and the resurrection of
his donkey (II, 37576), in La juventud Isidro remains devoted to prayer while
Envidia taunts him with the cries of the offstage voices. The use of the campo
as the setting for Isidros prayer session, rather than the church which features
in his source material, is highly suitable given Isidros repeated acknowledgment in both this play and La niez of his ability to learn about God through
nature. Isidro manifests his faith in Gods protection following Envidias advice
that he should abandon his prayers and return to his donkey. He affirms:
81 On the use of miracles in the comedias de santos, George Ticknor claims: Pero en
tiempo de Lope, el pblico no slo acuda con fe a tales espectculos, sino que reciba con
agrado la representacin de milagros, que hacan familiar la vida del Santo y sus benficas
virtudes. See his History of Spanish Literature, 3 vols (London: John Murray, 1849), II,
24749.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 75
75
82 The miraculous satisfaction of hunger is one of the several milagros tiles presented
by Dassbach: Los milagros en las comedias son, por lo general, milagros tiles, esto es,
dirigidos a satisfacer necesidades fsicas o espirituales concretas (hambre, enfermedad,
conversin); librar de peligros, sufrimientos o tentaciones; o destinados a mostrar el poder
y favor divinos (La comedia hagiogrfica, p. 109). An abridged version of the miracle
relating to the feeding of the pilgrim is narrated by Envidia in San Isidro, labrador (III, 379).
In the same work, the miracle at the confraternity dinner is dramatised (III, 37981). In El
Isidro, Lope presents both miracles in detail. See canto IV, p. 459 canto V, p. 467, and
canto V, p. 471 canto VI, p. 479.
Mono204-02.qxd
76
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 76
ELAINE CANNING
is revealed as Envidia hears, over the sound effects of the milling machinery,
the offstage comments of Tirso and Bartola regarding the abundance of flour
produced.83 To Bartolas exclamation y cmo crece la harina!, Tirso adds
esto parece milagro; / la abundancia lo confirma (II, fol. 31v). The sole presence of Envidia on stage as the miracle is confirmed concentrates the audiences attention on his destruction at the hands of Isidro.
Lope not only exaggerates the saintly nature of Isidro through the representation of a miracle, as will become apparent in an analysis of his reconstruction
of the miracle of the angels, but also that of his wife. Mara de la Cabeza is
blessed with a visit from the Virgin in a new version of her miraculous crossing
of the Jarama, based on the presentation of the miracle in San Isidro, labrador
and El Isidro.84 In Lopes previous two works, an angel appears to inform Mara
that she has been wrongly accused of adultery. In La juventud, however, the
stage directions indicate that Maras informer is in fact the mother of God. They
read as follows: La Virgen en una nube, y una voz (II, fol. 35r).85 Although
Envidia of San Isidro, labrador informs Demonio that the Virgin was Maras
guide, following Maras own deconstruction of her name to designate herself
the mar of the title and the Virgin, the gua (III, 382), Mara does not enjoy
the privilege of direct instruction from her namesake. Mara manifests her belief
in divine protection by taking the initiative in La juventud to cross the river on
her mantle as proof of her innocence. In San Isidro, labrador, on the other hand,
it is the angel who instructs Mara to cross the river (III, 382).
At first sight, the miracle of the angels does not appear to have been
subject to very significant reconstruction in La juventud. However, a closer
83 In San Isidro, labrador, the multiplication of the flour is simply narrated to Envidia by
Demonio. To Envidias complaint regarding Isidros act of charity, Demonio replies: Qu
mucho, si ve crecer / tanto el harina de un grano? / Vesle all, que muele trigo, / y que el
harina se vierte (II, 375). It should be noted that Lope does not make excessive use of stage
machinery in any of his plays on Isidro. Gallego Roca attributes this not simply to Lopes
personal choice, but to the life of Isidro himself. He states in this regard: Pero no slo es el
nimo de Lope el que pone freno a una escenografa desbordante; es, especialmente, el
carcter del protagonista San Isidro, un santo contemplativo, que lleva una vida de oracin y
no de accin. Los grandes milagros y las grandes victorias quedan fuera de la religiosidad
que propone la figura del patrn de Madrid. See Efectos, p. 116.
84 Garasa briefly comments on the appearance of Virgins to saints in Lopes hagiographic
plays in Santos, p. 126.
85 Orozco Daz highlights the dramatic effectiveness of the presentation of the king or
the Virgin by means of la pintura or la imagen: Ante la imagen de una Virgen o el
retrato del Rey, la reaccin de los espectadores no es la misma que si contemplara a una
comediante vestida con la indumentaria y atributos correspondientes. La relacin que en
ese momento se crea entre el cuadro y el espectador, era muchas veces de la misma ndole
que la que haba de producirse en la vida real; como si en un lugar y momento solemne se
encontrara ante la efigie de la Virgen o de su monarca. Es indiscutible que con esa
duplicidad de punto de vista se reforzaba el general poder emocional desbordante y
comunicativo de la escena. See Emilio Orozco Daz, El teatro y la teatralidad del barroco
(Barcelona: Planeta, 1969), p. 223.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 77
77
Christ not only acknowledges Isidros devotion to him through prayer, but
sings the praises of the labrador whom he characterises in terms of his puro
corazn (I, fol. 26v). He is not seeking out the lost sheep, but el regalo de la
ms querida (I, fol. 27r).88 Christs recognition of Isidro as an exceptional
individual constitutes the ultimate consolidation of his image as a saintly man.
His subsequent, brief encounter with him, a newly created scene which serves
as a sequel to that of La niez, underlines that Isidro is not only deserving of
Christs compliments, but also the privilege of his company.
Lope continues to modify elements of the miracle by assigning the role of
detractor to the allegorical figure, Envidia.89 In both San Isidro, labrador and
86 In El Isidro, we also hear God summon the angels to help Isidro in his work. He
orders them: Id, celcolas, volando / a la tierra, en que ya veo / su humildad, por quien
deseo / que ayudis a Isidro orando; / Isidro nuevo Eliseo (canto III, p. 438). In San Isidro,
labrador, the angels simply inform Isidro that they have been sent by God (II, 371).
87 There are no stage directions to indicate the appearance of the angels. Christs
remark Oh, qu bien parecis labrando el campo [. . .]! (I, fol. 27r) may represent an
attempt on Lopes part to create an imaginary picture of the scene for his audience.
88 In contrast, the pastor is looking for Clara, the lost sheep, in La buena guarda. See
Lope de Vega, La buena guarda, ed. Pilar Dez y Gimnez Castellanos (Zaragoza:
Editorial Ebro, 1964). All references will be taken from this edition. The pastor, who is
not named Jess or Cristo as he is in La niez and La juventud respectively, appears
twice in La buena guarda in his search for the lost sheep (see II, 7578 and III, 108110).
Unlike Isidro, Clara has sinned by abandoning her role as abadesa at a convent in order to
escape with her lover, Flix. The pastor reveals that the sheep he is looking for is white,
except that en la frente sola / una mancha tena (II. 48081). In III. 495, the pastor
stresses that the lost sheep can still be found because although she was bitten by the wolf,
she was not eaten. In other words, Clara was not completely devoured by human passion.
For an analysis of roleplaying within the role in this play, see chapter 5.
89 It should be noted that although Envidia and Mentira appear in La juventud, they had
played a much more prominent role in El Isidro and San Isidro, labrador.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
78
10:03 AM
Page 78
ELAINE CANNING
For the criticism of Isidro by the labradores in El Isidro, see canto II, p. 437.
It should be noted that only Lorenzo and Esteban approach Ivn; Tadeo is absent.
92 See p. 63, n. 52 for Gallego Rocas statement on the relationship between sleep and
prophetic scenes.
90
91
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 79
79
Ivn promotes the appreciation of the celebration and depicts the audience as
privileged spectators of the canonisation. The members of the audience are
thus presented with another positive image of themselves.
Lope elevates Isidro to the highest point of perfection by taking him beyond
the status of a saint and establishing a direct link between him and Christ. In
El Isidro, San Isidro, labrador and La niez, Isidro has already been referred
to as a labrador divino.93 However, for the first time on the stage, Isidro
shares the title with Christ.94 It is Envidia, the embodiment of evil, who attributes the description to Isidro, while Isidro himself addresses God in prayer
as the divino labrador.95 In a monologue in which Isidro praises God through
pastoral imagery, the literal labrador describes the role of the metaphorical
one and asks him to provide him with what is necessary so that he may follow his example. Isidro expresses his desire to emulate the heavenly labrador,
now his namesake, who exemplifies selflessness and goodness. He is therefore prompted to ask for the arado, the metaphorical cross which Christ is
forced to bear.96 His desire to become the disciple of the divino labrador and
to suffer for his sake illustrates his wholehearted dedication to his saintly role.
Apart from a direct association with Christ, Isidros piety and humility are
exemplified through the introduction of two scenes in which both he and his
wife speak frankly about their devotion to God. Their lengthy discussion on
the decoration of their marital home immediately following their wedding
replaces Juan de la Cabezas description of Maras dowry in San Isidro,
labrador (I, 36263). While Juan mentions money and basic necessities such
as mattresses, sheets and pillows first, Isidro concentrates on the domestic furnishings of a religious nature. The first thing that he and Mara will do is construct an altar, hang their prints of St Roque and St Sebastian and put up the
wall-hanging depicting Davids victory over Goliath (I, fols 22r22v). Isidro
even forgets to mention the bed, the first item mentioned in Lopes description of the marital home in El Isidro, in an effort to be honesto (I, fol. 22v).97
However, it is the second conversation between Isidro and Mara which
provides an insight into the conditions which must be met and the sacrifices
93 In El Isidro, see for example canto I, p. 419, canto IV, p. 450 and canto IX, p. 518.
In La niez, Bato refers to the mozo of Pedros dream as a labrador divino (I, fol. 7v),
while the Reina of San Isidro, labrador attributes the title to Isidro when she visits his body
in San Andrs (III, 38788). Ivn also describes the angels as divinos labradores in this
play (II, 372).
94 In El Isidro, Lope establishes a connection between the births of Christ and Isidro,
stating sus padres, pobres e iguales, / dironle pobres paales, / entre animales naciendo. /
Mirad: qu va pareciendo / con nacer entre animales? (canto I, pp. 41920).
95 See II, fols 26r and 26v.
96 Even as a child, Isidro associates Christ with the pastoral, refers to the doctrine of
transubstantiation and remarks that Christ has ordered him to follow his cross (La niez,
II, fol. 14r). The child claims: Mis letras son vuestro divino arado, / pues yo soy labrador,
con l os sigo, / que seguir vuestra cruz me habis mandado.
97 See El Isidro, canto II, p. 429.
Mono204-02.qxd
80
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 80
ELAINE CANNING
which have to be made in order to live a holy, pious life. This dialogue precedes the separation of husband and wife for the purposes of la castidad
celestial (II, fol. 28v) and underlines the pain of departure.98 Isidro and Mara
must relinquish human love in order to commit themselves to the veneration
of the divine. Moreover, Isidros list of instructions to his wife concerning the
conditions to be met in order to remain chaste, highlights the daily sacrifices
made by both.99 Their separation is characterised by dolor, but in Isidros
opinion, their decision to part is santa (II, fol. 28v). Both characters explicitly highlight their love for one another. As far as Mara is concerned, no he
de ver / cosa que tenga alegra / sin tu dulce compaa, while Isidro admits,
Mucho siente el corazn / el apartarse de ti (II, fol. 28v). Their fires of passion will be kept in check by the river which separates them as Mara moves
to the convent of the Mother of God on the other side of the Jarama. Isidros
recognition of the temptation of human love underlines his more human side,
despite his acknowledgement, like Asuero in La hermosa Ester, that only
divine love is associated with reason. To serve God, according to Isidro, is [to]
obedecer / las leyes de la razn (II, fol. 29v).100
Isidro continues to receive the support of Tirso, the gracioso, following his
wifes departure. Apart from providing comedy and voicing his obsession
with food like his father in La niez, Tirso is also concerned with winning the
love of a woman (Bartola) and defending the reputation of a friend (Isidro).
The light-hearted episode of San Isidro, labrador, in which Constanza throws
flour over her zealous lover, Bartolo, is reconstructed for the purposes of the
development of the main plot in La juventud.101 Essentially, this playful scene
is presented in Act II of the play, but is preceded by a new, serious scene in
which love is scorned.
98 In San Isidro, labrador, Demonio informs Envidia of the separation of Isidro and
Mara (III, 379). We learn only that Isidro and Mara have missed one another when they
reunite following Maras miraculous crossing of the Jarama (III, 38384). The tone of the
discussion, however, is very lighthearted and is in complete contrast to the conversation
between Isidro and Mara analysed here.
99 These include daily prayer, conservative dress, daily attendance at Mass and the
observation of silence and modesty. See II, fols 29r29v.
100 In the Middle Ages, churchmen associated human love with locura and claimed that
human love prevented the individual from focusing on divine love, or real love. In the
Corbacho, for example, the Arcipreste de Talavera makes the following comments: Amor
e luxuria traen muchas enfermedades e abrevian la vida a los onbres; fselos antes de tienpo
envejescer o encanescer, los mienbros tenblar, e, como ya de alto dixe, los cinco sentydos
alterar e algunos dellos en todo o en parte perder, e con muchos pensamientos a las veses
enloquecer; e a las veses priva de juyzio e razn natural al onbre e muger, en tanto que non
se conosce l mesmo a las oras quin es, dnde est, qu le contesci, nin cmo bive. [. . .]
Pues, por Dios nuestro seor, en tal guisa de amor usemos verdadero que para syenpre
bivamos, solo Dios amando. See Alfonso Martnez de Toledo, Arcipreste de Talavera o
Corbacho, ed. J. Gonzlez Muela, 4th edn (Madrid: Castalia, 1985), p. 76.
101 See San Isidro, labrador, II, 370.
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 81
81
Mono204-02.qxd
82
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 82
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-02.qxd
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 83
83
providing another witness. Secondly, by granting the exceptional and exemplary individual (Isidro) and the flawed yet loyal and honest character (Tirso)
a similar privilege, Lope suggests that it is not only saintly perfection which
is recognised and rewarded by the divine. He highlights to his audience the
importance of belief in orthodox, religious values, yet at the same time proposes that there is room for human shortcomings.
The play ends with a playful treatment of envidia. Tirso expresses that he
is jealous of the embrace of Isidro and Mara, the reunited couple.105 However,
he envies the embrace for positive reasons, admitting Pardiez, que por ser
tan castos, / tales envidio! (II, fol. 35r). In contrast to the malicious and potentially destructive envidia of the labradores in San Isidro, labrador and the
character of Envidia in both plays, Tirsos assertion of jealousy is a simple,
inoffensive comment. It reflects his desire to partake in the celebrations. At
the same time it injects humour into the scene by drawing attention to the
importance of physical bonding for Tirso. The play ends on a celebratory note
with the reunion of Isidro and Mara and the nymphs dance. Tirso is not
required to seek forgiveness for his innocent envidia, unlike Lorenzo and
Esteban who rightly express regret and desire for forgiveness by Isidro at the
end of San Isidro, labrador (III, 386). La juventud concludes with a celebration of Madrids patron saint together with the virtues of the common man as
presented by the character Tirso.
In La juventud, Lope is no longer dependent on the dramatisation of miracles in order to portray Isidros saintly nature, since the audience is already
aware of his holy status. As a result, the dramatist ironically enjoys more dramatic freedom in the composition of this play than in La niez. In La juventud,
well-known miracles are replaced with newly created scenes and devised so
that Isidro might transcend the status of saint and become essentially
Christlike. The direct relationship established between the saint and Christ
represents the ultimate acclamation of Isidro. By depicting the sacrifices made
by Isidro for the first time on stage, Lope paradoxically makes Isidro even
more Christlike, and therefore even more worthy of the title of saint.
In his Arte nuevo, Lope defines the comedia as a three-act play: El sujeto
elegido, escriua en prosa, / Y en tres actos de tiempo le reparta.106 In spite of
that, both La niez and La juventud are two-act plays.107 Morrison outlines
possible reasons for this: The comedias de santos remind us of the medieval
religious drama in that their authors paid little heed to the dramatic rules.
105 The reunion of the lovers is treated very briefly at the end of the play and, unlike
their separation, does not permit a detailed analysis of the conflicting imperatives of
human and divine love.
106 See El arte nuevo, 21112.
107 The only other two-act play found among Lopes corpus of comedias de tema
religioso is El robo de Dina. It could be argued that the sequel to this play, Los trabajos
de Jacob, constitutes the third act.
Mono204-02.qxd
84
4/7/04
10:03 AM
Page 84
ELAINE CANNING
108 Lope de Vega and the Comedia, p. 25. The absence of unities in the comedias
hagiogrficas is understandable, given the breadth of material available on the lives of
saints which Golden Age dramatists may have wanted to incorporate into their works.
However, the analysis presented in this chapter alone on La niez and La juventud contests
Morrisons claims on plot development and characterisation. His reference to scanty plots
may in fact be an easy solution to the two-act play problem.
Mono204-03.qxd
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 85
PART II
DRAMATISING THE DRAMATIC: METATHEATRE AND
THE COMEDIA DE TEMA RELIGIOSO
Mono204-03.qxd
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 86
Mono204-03.qxd
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 87
3
METATHEATRE AND THE SPANISH
COMEDIA RELIGIOSA: AN OVERVIEW1
With the publication of Lionel Abels seminal work on metatheatre,2 critics
were provided not only with a basic definition of the concept of metadrama,
but also with specific terminology with which to analyse self-referential
plays.3 According to Abel, metaplays are
Theatre pieces about life seen as already theatricalized. By this I mean that
the persons appearing on the stage in these plays are there not simply
because they were caught by the playwright in dramatic postures as a camera
might catch them, but because they themselves knew they were dramatic
before the playwright took note of them. What dramatized them originally?
Myth, legend, past literature, they themselves. They represent to the playwright the effect of dramatic imagination before he has begun to exercise
his own; [. . .]. (Metatheatre: A New View, p. 60)
1 The title of this chapter is adapted from and is my response to Thomas Austin
OConnors article Is the Spanish Comedia a Metatheater?, HR, 43 (1975), 27589. See
p. 88 for details on the significance of this article in the mid-1970s debate concerning the
appropriateness of a definition of the comedia in terms of its metatheatrical qualities.
2 See his Metatheatre: A New View of Dramatic Form (New York: Hill and Wang, 1963).
3 This does not mean, of course, that some critics were not already studying to some
extent the incorporation of metatheatrical devices into plays, but they were doing so
without the explicit label. See, for example, Robert J. Nelson, Play Within a Play. The
Dramatists Conception of His Art: Shakespeare to Anouilh (New Haven: Yale UP, 1958).
4 See p. 113 of his work for further details.
5 See Metatheater: Past, Present, p. 206. Larsons essay addresses the difficulty in
defining what metatheatre actually is and examines how critics have reacted to the notion
of the comedia as metatheatre. Larson also presents a variety of possibilities that are open
Mono204-03.qxd
88
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 88
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-03.qxd
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 89
89
applicable to the comedia, despite the fact that he is somewhat less than thorough in developing the implications of his generic formulation (p. 231).
In the wake of this controversy, several critics began to examine Golden
Age drama using metatheatre as a valid analytical tool. For some of them, an
analysis of metatheatre or metatheatrical devices in a particular play was the
main focal point of their essays or articles, while for others it featured only as
a secondary concern. In the 1970s, Fischer and Madrigal were among those
who began to study the comedia in this new theoretical light.9 They were
followed by scholars such as Kirby and Moore in the 1980s10 and Case, Larson,
Stoll and Dixon in the 1990s.11 Most recently, works by Thacker have served
to reinforce the metatheatrical qualities of the comedia.12
Mono204-03.qxd
90
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 90
ELAINE CANNING
For the purposes of this analysis, a review of the studies by several of these
critics is important for a number of reasons. In the first instance, such analyses serve to highlight the variations in approaches which can be adopted in
an exploration of the comedia as self-referential drama. Additionally, and
most significantly, they stress the fact that metatheatrical devices abound in
both secular and religious Golden Age plays, in spite of Abels claim that
There is no such thing as religious metatheatre.13 Before engaging with studies of the 1980s and 1990s, I will focus on several studies of the 1970s, and
we will see that the analytical approaches are similar.
In The Art of Role-Change, Fischer examines the relationship between the
social convention of honor and complex forms of role-change. In a study of
what she terms socially conditioned role-change (p. 74), Fischer concentrates
on the character of Roca of El pintor de su deshonra, a type of dramatist who
confers on Serafina the role of faithless wife and who himself becomes the
determined avenger. Fischer concludes that the fact that certain aspects of
twentieth-century psychological theory can be applied to Calderns depiction
of the individual means that Calderns comedia is probably more universal
than unique (p. 78).14
Madrigals Fuenteovejuna y los conceptos centres on two main issues.
First of all, it aims to evaluate Abels theories on metatheatre and their appropriateness to a study of the comedia. Secondly, by applying Morenos theories
on psychodrama, Madrigal examines how the individual or collective protagonist acquires full consciousness of the part which has been assigned by the
playwright through the performance of roles.15 Madrigal concludes that Abels
theories on metatheatre constitute useful critical apparatus for analysing the
comedia. He states: A mi entender, su aporte al enfoque crtico reside en
llamar la atencin no slo a la importancia que posee la ontogenia psquica de
los personajes, sino tambin a la tcnica de role playing. [. . .] El personaje dramtico no se ha estudiado tan meticulosamente como merece (p. 16).16
However, he warns that his theories should not be considered definitive or
absolute (p. 17). This is what he regards as Sloanes fundamental error in
Action and Role, in which Sloane claims that this play, although a sizable step
in Abels direction, is some distance from true metatheatre because God plays
the role of a dramatist (p. 183). In response to Sloanes assertions, Madrigal
claims that decir que la comedia no es metateatro, a causa de que hay un
dramaturgo final (Dios), equivaldra a decir que Lionel Abel est negando, lo cual
Mono204-03.qxd
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 91
91
no creo sea su propsito, el fondo o mentalidad religiosa que era parte integral
de la idiosincrasia de aquella poca (p. 17). Madrigal devotes the second part
of his article to a study of the involvement of Laurencia and the villanos in roleplaying within the role in Lopes Fuenteovejuna. He identifies Laurencia as the
best illustration of the actor/author dichotomy within the play.
The studies of the 1980s and 1990s on the comedia and metatheatre which
are considered illustrate that metadramatic properties are characteristic of both
secular and religious plays of the Golden Age. In Theater and the Quest,
Kirby examines the function of metatheatrical devices in Calderns El rey
don Pedro en Madrid. She considers the implications of role-playing and its
impact on the audience by focusing on the kings appearance at the beginning
of the drama as an unidentifiable, sweaty, untidy rider with a bloodied sword
in hand, and his subsequent public performance as king in Act II. Kirby
proposes that Pedro is both consciously and unconsciously a playwright who
manipulates his subjects to perform particular roles. Moreover, she underlines
the fact that the other characters in the play are not always aware that the king
is influencing their course of action. She refers to Pedro as autor of the
comedia palaciega (p. 153). Kirby traces the roles that Pedro adopts and
demonstrates how they are at odds with the spiritual nature which he is
supposed to boast, in accordance with the politicaltheological doctrine of the
kings two bodies. She stresses that the kings spiritual completion depends
on the election and performance of new roles.
Moore examines the metatheatrical nature of El mgico prodigioso in
Metatheater and Magic and presents five reasons why he considers this particular drama to be a metaplay. Firstly, he identifies Cipriano, the devil and
God as three competing dramatists in the play. He acknowledges that the
devils main role is that of magician, while Cipriano plays various roles before
finally assuming his definitive role as martyr in Gods play.17 Moreover,
Moore claims that Cipriano can also be viewed as an apprentice dramatist.
Finally, Moore divides the characters of the play into two groups. The first
comprises those who are deceived by the devil and whose performances are
thus directed by him, while the second contains those who focus upon a higher
order of reality and truth.18
The analyses conducted by Larson, Case and Stoll in the 1990s, which focus
specifically on Lopes plays, demonstrate that both his religious and secular
works can be viewed in a metatheatrical light. Larsons study is based on two
examples of metaplays. Specifically, Larsons primary concern in Lope and
Elena Garro is a comparative study of the self-referential devices in Lopes
La dama boba and Elena Garros adaptation of the play. Her analysis includes
an examination of Fineas self-referential language (p. 18) and the confusion
17 In Lo fingido verdadero, Gins engages in the art of role-playing before finally
becoming a martyr.
18 See p. 135 of his article.
Mono204-03.qxd
92
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 92
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-03.qxd
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 93
93
The world is a stage and life is a dream topoi stressed the illusory nature
of life in which the individual was an actor or role-player.20 Consequently, it
would appear that the use of self-referential techniques in the comedia not
only enabled the Golden Age playwright to manipulate the horizon of expectation of his audience, but also to reinforce the principal themes of the age.
It is evident, then, that most studies to date have been concerned with identifying the metatheatrical qualities of the comedia, but have not engaged with
the effects of metatheatre on the audience.21 In the following chapters, I will
examine several metatheatrical devices which present themselves in Lopes
Lo fingido verdadero (approx. 1608) and La buena guarda (1610). My analysis will be based on an application of Richard Hornbys categories of
metadrama presented in Drama, Metadrama, which, according to Larson,
gives what is arguably the most comprehensive approach to the concept of
self-conscious theater.22 Hornby defines metadrama as drama about drama
and stresses that the seeing double of the audience constitutes the essence of
metatheatre.23 Of the five overt forms of metadrama catalogued by him, two
in particular will be considered in my analysis of Lo fingido verdadero and
one in my examination of La buena guarda. While I will concentrate on
Lopes manipulation of role-playing within the role in both plays, I will analyse
in detail the function of the play within the play in Lo fingido verdadero. I will
20 The topoi of course provided Caldern with the titles of two of his most famous
works La vida es sueo and El gran teatro del mundo. For a discussion of these in
relation to metatheatre, see, for example, Thomas Austin OConnor, La vida es sueo:
A View From Metatheater, KRQ, 25 (1978), 1326 and Manuel Sito Alba, Metateatro en
Caldern: El gran teatro del mundo, in Caldern: Actas del congreso, II, 789802. For
further references, see Catherine Larson, Metatheater: Past, Present, p. 216, n. 6.
21 There are of course exceptions. These include Stolls Staging, Metadrama which
has already been discussed briefly in this chapter, and Thackers Comedys Social
Compromise. In his article which focuses on Tirsos Marta la piadosa, Thacker examines
Martas role-playing within the role and considers the onstage and offstage audiences
reactions to incidents in the play. Furthermore, audience reception is taken into account by
Mara del Pilar Palomo and Victor Dixon in their analyses of Lopes metadrama, Lo
fingido verdadero. See Proceso de comunicacin en Lo fingido verdadero, in El castigo
de venganza y el teatro de Lope de Vega, ed. Ricardo Domnech (Madrid: Ctedra/Teatro
espaol, 1987), pp. 7998 and Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores respectively. Both
works are discussed further in chapter 4.
22 Lope and Elena Garro, p. 16. See introduction, p. 4, n. 14 for full bibliographical
details of Hornbys work on metatheatre. Hornby identifies five categories of overt
metadrama. They are as follows: 1) The Play within the Play; 2) The Ceremony within the
Play; 3) Role-Playing within the Role; 4) Literary and Real-Life Reference; 5) Self
Reference (p. 32). For a definition of role-playing within the role and the play within the
play, see chapter 4, p. 98 and p. 110 respectively. The second part of Hornbys work is
dedicated to an examination of drama and perception, which he describes as a broader and
more subtle type of metadrama (p. 32). As will be seen subsequently, the theme of
perception is a fundamental component of audience reception.
23 Drama, Metadrama, p. 31; p. 32. Hornby also highlights that The metadramatic
experience for the audience is one of unease, a dislocation of perception (p. 32).
Mono204-03.qxd
94
4/7/04
10:05 AM
Page 94
ELAINE CANNING
aim to determine the factors which stimulate role-change within the role, to
differentiate between positive and negative forms of role-playing and to assess
the connection between role-playing and destino. The relationship between
language, role, costume/disguise and identity will also be considered. In the
case of Lo fingido verdadero, I propose to compare the impact of the two plays
within the play on both the corral audience (which I will define as the outer
audience) and the audience within the main play (which will be described as
the inner audience), with specific focus on the complex fusion of both the
main play and inset play.24 Ultimately, I hope to uncover the varying degrees
of audience estrangement provoked by the exploitation of particular forms of
metadrama and to demonstrate how such self-referential devices serve to illuminate the thematic tension of the plays the conflict between human and
divine love.25
24 Hornby categorises the play within the play as being of either the inset type or
framed type. In the inset type, Hornby states that the inner play is secondary, a
performance set apart from the main action [. . .]. In contrast, in the framed type, [. . .]
the inner play is primary, with the outer play a framing device (Drama, Metadrama, p. 33).
Both plays created by the character Gins in Lo fingido verdadero are of the inset type and
will be classified as such in chapter 4.
25 Larson indicates that a variety of audience reponses to a metaplay is possible: It is
obvious that reader or audience reactions to a metaplay will vary at least to a certain
extent due to the same kinds of readerresponse factors that govern any type of reaction
to literature: [. . .] Readers respond to a given text based on their own horizons of
experience and expectations (Metatheater: Past, Present, p. 207).
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 95
4
LO FINGIDO VERDADERO AS METAPLAY
Lo fingido verdadero, described by Menndez y Pelayo as de las ms notables
del repertorio religioso de Lope, was probably written about 1608, but first
appeared in print in Decimasexta parte de las comedias in 1621.1 Traditionally
categorised as a comedia de santos, it is essentially a dramatisation of the
conversion and martyrdom of St Genesius, patron saint of actors, as well as the
representation of the rise to power of the Roman emperor Diocletian.2 Act I of
the play presents Dioclecianos transition from soldier to emperor following the
deaths of the emperor Aurelio and his sons Carino and Numeriano. It opens with
the complaints of the soldiers Maximiano, Marcio, Diocleciano and Curio
concerning their campaign against the Persians and lack of food, together
with their condemnation of Aurelio and Carino and an appraisal of the qualities
of Numeriano, soldier and second son of the emperor. This is followed by
Dioclecianos criticism of Aurelio, though later he repents and urges respect for
his role as emperor. With the appearance of Camila, the labradora and breadseller, Diocleciano requests some bread and lightheartedly promises to repay
1 Estudios, I, 251. For Menndez y Pelayos complete study of this play, see pp.
24968. All references to the play will be taken from this early edition (Madrid: Viuda de
Alonso Martn,), fols 261r84v. Spelling and punctuation will be modernised where
appropriate.
2 Lo fingido verdadero has been included in all of the main studies of Lopes
hagiographical works to date. See for example Garasa, Santos; Aragone Terni, Studio sulle;
Dassbach, La comedia hagiogrfica and Morrison, Lope de Vega and the Comedia.
Menndez y Pelayo identifies Pedro de Rivadeneiras Flos Sanctorum (15991601) and
Pero Mexas Historia imperial y cesrea as the probable sources of this play (II, 251; 258).
The relevant passage from the Flos Sanctorum relating to the conversion and martyrdom of
Gins, entitled Vida de San Gins representante, mrtir, is presented in Estudios, I, 25154.
The emperor Diocletian was ruler of Rome from 284305 AD. Born of humble parents in
Dalmatia, he became an officer in the Roman army and was proclaimed Emperor by his
troops when emperor Numerianus died in 284 AD. Carinus, Numerianus brother, contested
Diocletians right to control the empire, but Diocletians rule was assured when Carinus
was killed by one of his own officers. Diocletian selected Maximianus, a Dalmatian, to be
co-ruler of the Roman Empire, and believed that a successful reign depended on the
veneration of pagan gods and the imposition of traditional laws and customs. Diocletian is
particularly remembered for his persecution of Christians. On this topic, see for example
Karl Christ, The Romans (London: Chatto and Windus, 1984) and Antony Kamm, The
Romans. An Introduction (London: Routledge, 1995).
Mono204-04.qxd
96
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 96
ELAINE CANNING
her when he becomes emperor of Rome. Camila teasingly predicts that he will
become emperor when he kills a jabal, or wild boar.
Following Camilas prophecy, the emperors Aurelio and Carino are introduced into the dramatic action. Firstly, the arrogant Aurelio utters a lengthy
monologue in which he asserts his authority and challenges the Roman god
Jupiter, only to be struck down and killed by lightning. Subsequently, Carino
is presented on his nightly mission in Rome in search of adventure accompanied by his criado, amante and msicos. After a discussion with Gins
regarding theatre in general and a play about himself which he would like
Gins to present, Carino is killed by Lelio, a consul whose wife has been
seduced by the libertine ruler.
At this point, the Roman soldiers are presented for a second time, now in the
company of Apro, father-in-law of Numeriano. The discovery by the soldiers
that Apro has killed his son-in-law in order to gain personal control of the
empire results in the murder of Apro, the metaphorical jabal, by Diocleciano.
With the fulfilment of Camilas prediction, Act I ends with Dioclecianos
instructions to the army to return to Rome.
In Acts II and III of Lo fingido verdadero, plays created by Gins for the
entertainment of Diocleciano and his favourites complicate the dramatic
action of the main play. Act II opens with the celebration of Dioclecianos
election as emperor and the presentation of the emperors generosity towards
the soldiers who supported him. Diocleciano makes Maximiano his co-ruler
and repays Camila by granting her wish to have unlimited access to the royal
chambers and his personal company. Following Gins appearance to pay his
respects to the newly-crowned emperor, Diocleciano entrusts him with the
responsibility of preparing a comedia for performance in the palace. The discussion between emperor and autor/actor concerning various types of plays ends
with Gins decision to present one of his own dramas. The dramatisation of
Gins play, which he bases on his personal experience as the jealous lover,
and through which the inset play and main play become inextricably linked,
constitutes the remainder of Act II.
In Act III, Camilas and Dioclecianos declaration of love is followed by
Rutilios detailed description of the mythical fieras which have been gathered
together for the fiestas. A second play within the play is presented as a result
of Dioclecianos request for a representation of the baptised Christian. Gins
ultimately assumes the role of Christian within the framework of the main
drama which he only set out to adopt for the purposes of the inset play. Act III
ends with Gins conversion, martyrdom and declaration concerning his
participation in the comedia divina.
While Lopes comedias de santos have been largely disregarded by comedia
scholars, Lo fingido verdadero has attracted some critical attention.3 The
3 See especially Susan L. Fischers Lopes Lo fingido verdadero and the Dramatization
of the Theatrical Experience, RHM, 39 (197677), 15666; J. V. Bryans, Fortune, Love
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 97
97
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 98
98
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 99
99
13 McGaha defines Carino and Diocleciano as the tyrant and good king respectively. He
also compares Carino to Philip III. See Lo fingido verdadero / Acting is Believing, pp. 3134.
14 At the beginning of El castigo sin venganza, an acting scene is overheard by the Duke
of Ferrara, who, like Carino, is de noche. See El perro del hortelano, El castigo, ed. A. David
Kossoff, p. 231. On the use of disguise in Spanish drama, Richard F. Glenn states: Of the
many commonplaces in the Spanish theatre, one that had extensive success during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is the use of disguise and masquerade. See Disguises
and Masquerades in Tirsos El vergonzoso en palacio, BCom, 17 (1965), 1622 (p. 16).
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
100
10:06 AM
Page 100
ELAINE CANNING
Consequently, Carino not only negates the image of the ruler as an espejo del
bien, but also presents a distorted image of the nobleman.18 Although Carino
voluntarily engages in a form of role-playing within the role, the self-proclaimed
noble is in fact analogous to the unruly son of Aurelio described by Maximiano
at the beginning of the act. The proximity of his primary and secondary roles
would therefore have reduced the intensity of the metadramatic experience for
Lopes audience.
In spite of this, the debate between Carino, Celio and Rosarda concerning
the relationship between theatre and life draws attention to the theatrum
Carinos hbito de noche is not only representative of his assumed role of nobleman, but,
as McKendrick points out, it also fixes the action temporally: Night scenes could be
signalled at a stroke by a long cloak and hat (Theatre, p. 194; p. 195). While the relationship
between disguise and role-playing is not a major concern in the play, it is important to note
that Rosarda accompanies Carino on his nocturnal adventures en hbito de hombre.
McKendrick describes the female dressed as a male as one of the commonest and most
popular stock types of the theatre (Theatre, pp. 19495). Lope himself highlights the
popularity of the mujer vestida de hombre in his Arte nuevo: porque suele / el disfraz
varonil agradar mucho (28283). While the mujer vestida de hombre is not a common
feature of Lopes comedias de tema religioso, it is important in the dnouement of Los locos
por el cielo. In Lo fingido verdadero, the importance of costume as a visual sign of status
is highlighted particularly through the emperor Diocleciano.
15 See, for example, Lelios speech in which he tells Carino: perdiste la majestad /
cuando tu honor ofendiste, (I, fol. 266r).
16 In Ya tienes, p. 61, Dixon states regarding Aurelio, Carino and Apro, Cada uno
desempea mal el papel que le ha asignado el destino.
17 For an analysis of Amn in La hermosa Ester and Apro in Lo fingido verdadero, who
are also exponents of soberbia, see, respectively, chapter 1 and pp. 102105 of this chapter.
18 See chapter 1, p. 25 on Asueros contemplation of kings as espejos del bien in La
hermosa Ester, and p. 25, n. 43 for details on Senecas treatise concerning the behaviour
of the emperor Nero and a discussion of the comedia as espejo.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 101
101
His views on the illusory nature of life are supported by Rosarda. She describes
herself as dama de esta comedia and rebukes Celio for his unsuccessful representation of the criado, thereby intensifying the relationship between vida/
comedia and comedia/espejo presented by Lope in his Arte nuevo (I, fol.
265r).20 In contrast, Carino rejects the very notion of the comedia as imagen de
la vida by instructing Gins to organise the performance of a play based on a
fictitious version of his relationship with Rosarda.21 Carino would like himself
to be presented as necio, y celoso and Rosarda as discreta (I, fol. 265v). Only
when faced with death does Carino recognise that he is a player on the world
stage without any control of destino. His previous insistence on the permanence
of his role is completely undermined by the fact that he does not even die in the
garb of an emperor but with la Majestad embozada.22 He emphasises the significance of costume as a visual sign of status as he relinquishes his robes to the
next actor-king:
sospecho que no dur
toda mi vida hora y media.
Poned aquestos vestidos
19 On the theatrum mundi metaphor, see chapter 3, p. 92. For Palomo, the theatrum
mundi topos is the idea nuclear of the play (Proceso, p. 87).
20 See chapter 1, p. 25, n. 43 for Lopes assertions in the Arte nuevo on this theme.
21 Just before the presentation of Gins play in Act II, the first play within the play in Lo
fingido verdadero, Diocleciano announces that he is ready para escuchar la imagen de la vida
(II, fol. 273r). Unlike Carino, Rosarda asks Gins to present a play which is an imagen de la
vida in which she is de mil celos llena and Carino is amado, e ingrato (I, fol. 265v).
22 See Lelios speech, I, fol. 266v.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
102
10:06 AM
Page 102
ELAINE CANNING
De un representante Rey,
pues es tan comn la ley
a cuantos fueran nacidos,
adonde mi sucesor
los vuelva luego a tomar,
porque ha de representar.
(I, fol. 266v)
The theatrum mundi topos presents itself throughout the play and is
exploited to its full potential in Act III with Gins conversion to Christianity.
Following Carinos death, the depiction of the individual as a roleplayer is
reinforced by Severio who, unlike the audience, is unaware of the emperors
fate. In his description of Carino, he maintains ni toma / un papel en la mano
(I, fol. 267r). The double meaning implicit in papel as both paper and role
expresses a lack of industry on Carinos part in the role as deputy ruler, as well
as an inability to take on that very role. It is also possible that Severios reference served as a reminder to the audience that the papel of emperor would
have to be assumed by another individual.
It is precisely Apros desire to play the role of ruler of the empire which causes
him to function as a type of intratextual dramatist as described by Larson.23
According to her: Characters may become self-dramatizing or function as intratextual dramatists or directors, writing new scripts or directing the actions of
other characters in a patently self-referential attitude.24 Apro casts Numeriano,
his son-in-law, in the role of enfermo when he is already dead, while he himself
poses as the concerned relation. Apro is, in fact, the murderer. This means that
the audience is immediately presented with an illusion within the dramatic
illusion of the main drama. Apro is transformed from caring minder to professed
murderer through his revelation of the secret killing to Felisardo. He openly
confesses to him: yo le he muerto, y le he trado / as cubierto y tapado (I, fol.
267v). Apros complex double image may have generated various levels of
estrangement depending on, firstly, the audiences susceptibility to his references
to his son-in-laws future role as emperor and, secondly, the audiences awareness of the significance of his name.
Following the death of Aurelio, Apro expresses his wish for Numeriano to
become emperor, a rejuvenated version of his father. He instructs the soldiers
regarding the removal of Aurelios body:
Llevad el cuerpo luego
adonde se le d el honor debido
23 It should be noted that Apro is intially referred to as Apio in the text of the 1621
edition, as well as in the list of characters presented at the beginning of the play. He is first
referred to as Apro in I, fol. 267v.
24 See Metatheater: Past, Present, p. 213.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 103
103
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
104
10:06 AM
Page 104
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 105
105
Eso es cosa
muy cierta, y que Apro le ha muerto.
En lo que nos dijo ahora,
se conoce bien que es Apro,
y que le ha dado ponzoa.
(I, fol. 268r)
28 Marcelo is not included in the list of characters at the beginning of the play. He seems
to have replaced Marcio, whose name does feature in the character list and who accompanies
the other soldiers at the beginning of Act I. Marcelos name first appears in I, fol. 263v, when
he is presented with Diocleciano, Curio and Maximiano following the death of Aurelio.
29 See Speech Act Theory, p. 49; p. 43. In relation to Camilas prophecy, McGaha
claims: One of Lopes favourite dramatic devices was to begin a play with a foreshadowing
of later developments. See Lo fingido verdadero / Acting is Believing, p. 28.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
106
10:06 AM
Page 106
ELAINE CANNING
By doing so, Diocleciano justifies his role as murderer to Apro, to the other
soldiers and, most importantly, to himself. While he is not driven by a desire
to become the tyrannical, authoritarian ruler, it cannot be denied that he
engages in an element of deceit, like Apro, in an attempt to validate his course
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 107
107
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
108
10:06 AM
Page 108
ELAINE CANNING
be lowered to that of criado and elevates him to the rank of Csar instead.35
The placing of the hojas consagradas(II, fol. 270r) upon Maximianos head
is an outward symbol of his changed position. The laurel constitutes a visual
representation of identity and role, which is of extreme importance to
Diocleciano who relinquishes wealth in exchange for the emperors attire.36
He informs the soldiers:
Pues esa tienda toda
de Numeriano y su suegro,
dineros, armas y joyas,
repartid entre vosotros,
que a m me basta esta ropa
y esta espada que os defienda.
(I, fol. 269r)
However, it is highly probable that the corral audience would not have
seen Diocleciano in such a positive light since he is the pagan who is
ultimately responsible for imposing a death sentence upon Gins, the
Christian. In spite of the fact that the emperor would have been expected to
react in such a manner to a converts open confession, the degradation of the
Christian at the hands of the pagan would surely have provoked a negative
reaction from Lopes audience. In comparison with Carino and Apro,
Diocleciano appears to play his role well, earning himself the titles of
invicto seor and Csar nclito and being defined in terms of his sacra
Majestad and raro divino entendimiento.37 Nevertheless, the fact that he
can be viewed in a negative light emphasises the difficulties which arise
when categorising behaviour/role.
In spite of the necessity of Dioclecianos assumption of the role of emperor
for the purposes of plot development, his change in status may serve as a
critique for some members of the corral audience of a restrictive hierarchical
structure such as that which characterised seventeenth-century Spanish
35 Maximiano implores Diocleciano: suplcote que me tengas / por tu criado en tu casa /
que ya de lo justo pasa, / que a igualarme a tu ser vengas (II, fol. 269v).
36 It should be noted that contemporary costumes were used in the corrales, with the result
that Diocleciano was more than likely presented in the garb of a contemporary king. On the
use of costume in the comedia, McKendrick comments: As in the Shakespearean theatre,
contemporary dress was normally worn whatever the period depicted, with vaguely
distinguishing costumes or accessories for kings and queens, Moors, Turks, angels, devils and
so on. [. . .] However, ethnic and historical accuracy apart, a limited range of costumes and
accessories was normally perfectly adequate for the dramas requirements (Theatre, p. 195).
Lope presents his reservations about the use of costume in his Arte nuevo: Los trages nos
dixera Iulio Pollux, / Si fuera necessario, que en Espaa / Es de las cosas brbaras que tiene /
La Comedia presente recebidas: / Sacar un Turco un cuello de Christiano, / Y calas atacadas
un Romano (35661).
37 See Maximianos and Gins speeches, II, fol. 269v and fol. 270v respectively.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 109
109
It is through Diocleciano and, as we shall see, Gins, that the potential for
profound change is best exemplified in the play.
It is evident, then, that varying degrees of audience dislocation are generated primarily as a result of the spectators sensitivity to, and interpretation of,
the material presented within the dramatic framework. Moreover, the various
forms of role-playing undertaken by the three characters presented above are
all crucial to plot development. With the elimination of both Carino and Apro
from succession to the throne as a consequence of their vile actions as seducer
and murderer respectively, the path is cleared for Dioclecianos essential
progression towards control of the empire.
In spite of the problems posed when differentiating between positive and
negative forms of role-playing, especially in the case of Diocleciano, it is clear
that soberbia is ultimately punished, while humildad is rewarded. The failure
of both Carino and Apro to assume the principal position of authority is proof
of the individuals powerlessness to control or reshape destino. On the other
hand, Dioclecianos success in the same quest testifies to the capricious
nature of existence, or the illusory nature of life, which has been emphasised
38 Of course, those spectators who knew that Lope was following the account given in
Pero Mexas Historia imperial would not have interpreted Dioclecianos assumption of
his new role in the same manner.
39 Felisardo informs Apro: que el romano Senado, / cualquiera Csar que toma / el ejrcito
y legiones / aprueba sin distincin / de sangre, ni de opinin (I, fol. 267v).
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 110
110
ELAINE CANNING
throughout Act I. The fate of the three characters highlights that life is indeed
a perplexing, deceptive dream or play.
The degree of audience estrangement reaches its height in Acts II and III
with the presentation of Gins inset plays. Hence, the play within the play, as
we shall see subsequently, offers the audience the prime opportunity to reflect
on the concerns of the playwright.
40 For a definition of the inset play and the framed play, see chapter 3, p. 94, n. 24.
It should be noted that Fischer defines the play in terms of three inner dramas, with or
without the element of artistic formality but always with the key ingredient of
impersonation (Dramatization of the Theatrical, p. 158). She describes the first as
a political drama that deals with Dioclecianos ascent to the Roman throne (p. 158). For
the purposes of this study, I am concerned with the full metadramatic quality of the play
within the play as defined by Hornby. Thus, Dioclecianos rise to power cannot be
qualified as an inset play given the absence of two explicit layers of performance in the
first act. The play within the play is a device which features in several other religious plays
by Lope. In Los locos por el cielo, for example, an auto on the birth of Christ is presented
in Act III to a church congregation of 20,000 Christians in order to reinforce the tenets of
the Christian faith. See Stoll, Staging, Metadrama for an analysis of this inset play. As
well as that, the crucifixion of Juanico, a Christian child, is presented in Act III of El nio
inocente de La Guardia by the Jews Hernando, Francisco, Benito, Pedro and Quintanar.
The various characters associated with the crucifixion are enacted by the Jews. Finally, a
section of the story of Esther, from Amns denunciation of the Jews to Esthers
appearance before the king, is enacted in Act II of La limpieza no manchada. On the play
within the play, see also Nelson, Play Within a Play.
41 Palomo argues that the actors of Gins company and the inner audience receive a
mensaje equvoco, while the outer audience experiences a mensaje inequvoco
(Proceso, p. 92). As will be highlighted in the course of this study, the concept of audience
reception is more complex than that. Dixon makes this point explicit: en varios momentos
de la accin el pblico externo queda engaado, o cuando menos autnticamente perplejo
(Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores, p. 111).
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 111
111
42 Garasa incorrectly maintains that the actors in the first play within the play can
distinguish between fiction and reality: Pero los actores, al tanto del conflicto real entre
bastidores, ven claramente los lmites entre la vida y la ficcin (Santos, p. 20).
43 On the presentation of the cancin and the loa, Dixon states: el pblico habr
pensado en las representaciones de particulares en Palacio (Lo fingido verdadero y sus
espectadores, p. 106). The song which celebrates Lucindas beauty exploits the language
and conventions of the Petrarchan sonnet. Lucindas mouth, for example, is described in
the following manner: que su boca celestial / no sea el mismo coral, / bien puede ser, / mas
que no excedan la rosa / en ser roja, y olorosa, / no puede ser (II, fol. 273v).
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
112
10:06 AM
Page 112
ELAINE CANNING
stresses to the outer audience that the fiction of Gins play has in fact become a
reality within the main drama. In other words, Gins play ends with the
departure of Octavio and Marcela, rather than the return of Octavio and Fabia.
The intricate fusion of the action and characters of the main play and those
of the inset play is of course responsible for the establishment of a complex
form of audience reception. Nevertheless, both the inner and outer audiences
interpretation of the play within the play is also affected by their individual
horizons of expectation. The inner audiences expectation is summed up by
Diocleciano immediately preceding the first cancin. He tells Camila that he
is ready para escuchar la imagen de la vida (II, fol. 273r).44 This assertion
follows a conversation with Gins, who emphasised to the emperor the relationship between acting and imitation and the advantages of having experienced the feelings associated with a particular role. Gins explains:
El imitar es ser representante;
pero como el poeta no es posible
que escriba con afecto y con blandura
sentimientos de amor, si no le tiene,
y entonces se descubren en sus versos
cuando el amor le ensea los que escribe,
as el representante, si no siente
las pasiones de amor, es imposible
que pueda, gran seor, representarlas;
(II, fol. 271v)
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 113
113
del olor de las flores / se sustenta solamente, (II, fols 271v272r). Gins
emphasises the proximity of his fictional role within the inset play and his
sentiments as the jealous lover in the main play by asking his senses to act for
him: pues vstanse mis sentidos, / y representen por m (II, fol. 272v). Despite
the fact that Pinabelo advises him, entra a ponerte galn (II, fol. 272v), the
outer audience is conscious of the fact that the use of costume is unnecessary
since he is, to a large extent, the part that he will play.
Apart from an insight into the character of Gins, Lopes audience is also
presented with material concerning the relationship in the main drama
between Gins, Marcela and Octavio, and introduced to the theme of the inset
play. It is the conversation between Gins and Pinabelo which serves as the
source of this information. Gins stresses that his unrequited love for Marcela
causes him to suffer in the manner of the courtly lover. Following Pinabelos
enquiry concerning the pampering of the beloved, Gins retorts:
Regalo a quien me desvela,
y nunca me tuvo amor?
No me nombres, Pinabelo,
esa mujer.
(II, fol. 272r)45
Gins also makes direct reference to the bond between Marcela and Octavio
and the impact that his dismissing the latter would have on the former. He
explains: har en ausencia de Octavio / algn sentimiento injusto (II, fol.
272r). In addition, the corral audience is informed that the theme of jealousy
will present itself in the inset play. Specifically, according to Gins, the play
will not be a celosa comedia, but, given its subject matter, a tragedia. In
the guise of Rufino, Gins will have the opportunity to embrace
Marcela/Fabia on several occasions, since he admits that he has exploited his
dual role as dramatist/protagonist: compsela con cautela, / por darle tantos
abrazos, / cuantas prisiones y lazos / pone al alma que desvela. Finally, the
inset play will be manipulated por tratar mal / a Octavio (II, fol. 272v).
In essence, the outer audience anticipates an enactment of the relationship
between Gins, Marcela and Octavio, albeit with modifications. While the
illusion of the main play constitutes the basis of the inset play, it is evident
that this will be reworked somewhat to Gins advantage. Moreover, as a
result of the complicity between the outer audience and the playwrights (both
Gins, now as writer, and Lope as original author), some degree of thematic
45 On insomnia as one of the effects of love in courtly love poetry, see chapter 1, p. 26,
n. 45. Flix and Clara in La buena guarda also suffer from insomnia as a result of their
love for one another. Additionally, they suffer from loss of appetite, another common trait
of the courtly lover. Flix explains Ya no como ni duermo, while Clara tells her lover No
he comido ni dormido. See I. 689 and I. 946 respectively.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
114
10:06 AM
Page 114
ELAINE CANNING
conflict will be expected. The inner audience, on the other hand, simply looks
forward to a performance in which love will be the prominent theme.
As a result of the intermingling of the main play with the first inset play, the
deliberate destruction of mimetic reality takes place and generates varying
levels of identification and non-identification between the outer and inner audiences. The first instance of the interplay between lo fingido and lo verdadero
occurs in the introductory scene in which Fabia rejects Rufinos love for her.
Gins/Rufino addresses his dama in the following manner:
Bien s, Marcela, que nace
el hacerme aqueste agravio
de que quieres bien a Octavio;
Octavio te satisface,
Octavio te agrada, ingrata;
por l me dejas a m.
(II, fol. 274r)
Having been introduced previously to Gins feelings for Marcela, the outer
audience would recognise the invasion of reality upon the fiction of Gins play.
On the other hand, since there is no indication of the inner audiences familiarity with the relationship between the two, we would expect its experience of the
inner play to be somewhat different. This is indeed the case, as illustrated by the
comments of Maximiano, Lntulo and Diocleciano. While Maximiano believes
that the characters have become confused, Lntulo attributes this to the presence
of the emperor.46 Diocleciano himself interprets the confusion of the lover as a
deliberate dramatic technique employed by Gins:
Mas pienso que es artificio
deste gran representante,
porque turbarse un amante
fue siempre el mayor indicio.
(II, fol. 274r)47
However, it should be noted that Gins stresses the fact that he is speaking as
himself, rather than Rufino, following Marcelas/Fabias enquiry regarding
his use of her real name:
Marcela
46 Maximiano states: sospecho que se han turbado, / que hablando a solas estn.
Lntulo subsequently addresses Diocleciano: con mirarte olvidarn, / seor, lo ms
estudiado (II, fol. 274r).
47 Confusion, of course, was the cornerstone of the secular love poetry of the Cancionero
general (1511) anthology.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 115
Gins
115
Por hablarte
de veras, por obligarte
a que tu desdn se duela
de aqueste mi loco amor.
(II, fol. 274r)
The inner audiences failure to even suspect Gins love for Marcela increases
the estrangement of members of the outer audience who, rather than see its
own role reflected in the onstage audience, sees it negated. For the corral
audience, the Gins/Rufino interchange within the inset play serves to
reinforce the illusory nature of life which is central to seventeenth-century
Spains theocentric view of the world. Hornby specifically refers to the association between such a world view and the use of the play within the play:
Whenever the play within the play is used, it is both reflective and expressive of its societys deep cynicism about life. When the prevalent view is
that the world is in some way illusory or false, then the play within the play
becomes a metaphor for life itself. The fact that the inner play is an obvious illusion (since we see other characters watching it), reminds us that the
play we are watching is also an illusion, despite its vividness and excitement; by extension, the world in which we live, which also seems to be so
vivid, is in the end a sham. (Drama, Metadrama, p. 45)
The transformation of the fate of both Octavio and Marcela within the main
drama as the action of Gins play becomes a reality is indeed proof of the
deceptive and unpredictable nature of existence. In fact, it is the flight of
Octavio and Marcela that is chiefly responsible for the disruption of harmony
of both the inset and main plays in Act II. Marcelas/Fabias declaration, in
which she links the comedia to reality, follows Pinabelos exposition of the
plot and prompts Octavios reference to her by her real name. Pinabelos allusion to the flight of the lovers proves so attractive to Marcela/Fabia that she
remarks: Ay, cielo, si verdad fuera / la comedia! (II, fol. 275v). Moreover,
she reiterates her desire to escape as Marcela with her beloved by informing
Octavio tan perdida estoy, / que quisiera que a Gins / le hiciramos este tiro
(II, fol. 275v). While the lovers conversion of fiction into reality will only be
revealed explicitly to the outer audience and to Gins himself by
Fabricio/Tebandro as the inset play draws to a close, Marcela hints at the
course of action which will be taken. In response to Octavios expression of
admiration for her loyalty to him, Marcela replies: mayor la vers despus
(II, fol. 275v). Hence, as a consequence of Marcelas allusion to the lengths
to which she is prepared to go for her lover, it is possible that the outer audience might anticipate the ensuing dnouement.
Undoubtedly, then, outer audience estrangement is dependent upon how it
receives the coded message of the inset play. However, the degree of dissociation experienced by the outer audience is also affected by their subjection to
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
116
10:06 AM
Page 116
ELAINE CANNING
Essentially, then, it is the complexity of reality and its relationship with falsification and misconception that is brought to the outer audiences attention.
Furthermore, the association of human love with random, irrational forms of
behaviour is also underscored, regardless of whether the departure of Marcela
and Octavio or Fabia and Octavio is envisaged.49 For the remainder of the
inset play, the delusion and confusion of both the outer and inner audiences
highlights the intangible nature of reality.
The first individual to allude to the lovers actions is Celio, the criado. He
relates to Fabricio/Tebandro and Gins/Rufino that Fabia and Octavio have
escaped by boat.50 Consequently, by referring to the characters by the names
attributed to them in the inset play, Celio presents their flight as fictional, that
is, as part of the action of the play within the play, even if it may have been
interpreted by the outer audience as real.51 Moreover, the delay of the lovers
to reappear on stage may have increased the outer audiences expectation of
their flight within the main play. Gins stresses that their return constitutes the
next scene of his play by instructing Celio di que salgan (II, fol. 276v).
Nevertheless, their failure to present themselves does not raise Gins suspicions. Instead, he believes that sin duda se estn vistiendo and repeats their
cue to enter (II, fol. 276v). It is only through Fabricios direct reference to the
Diocleciano states: sospecho que representan / stos su misma verdad (II, fol. 275v).
On the association of human love with madness and irrationality, see chapter 2,
p. 80, n. 100.
50 See his speech, II, fol. 276r.
51 The choice of Celio as criado and bearer of news also contributes to the complex
interplay between fiction and reality, if he is the same Celio who was servant to the
philandering Carino. This being the case, Celio is the part he plays. The outer audiences
ability to identify him as such increases the probability that his announcement will be
viewed in the context of its impact on the main play.
48
49
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 117
117
disappearance of his daughter, made all the more poignant with the removal
of the false beard of Tebandro, that Gins and the outer audience are clearly
informed of the reality of the situation for the first time. Fabricio laments:
Castigo, invicto seor,
que el mismo paso que haca
Fabia, o Marcela, hija ma,
a quien amaba el autor,
han hecho tan verdadero
que han salido del palacio,
y en este pequeo espacio
que aun era el paso primero,
no parecen, ni hay un hombre
que diga por dnde van.
(II, fol. 277r)
Yet the sensibilities of both character and audience are frustrated once again
as Pinabelo announces the return of Octavio, the lover who bears the same
name in both the main play and inset drama. This deliberate creation of
ambiguity on Lopes part is only clarified for Gins and the outer audience
following the close of the inset play. At this point, Pinabelo advises Gins:
recoge / al pensamiento la vela, [. . .] Ella y Octavio / se van, Gins, a
embarcar (II, fol. 277r).
As the outer audience attempts to establish an understanding of the
sequence of events presented on stage, it is exposed to the confusion and
duping of the inner audience. Indeed, it witnesses the destruction of mimetic
reality for Diocleciano in particular following Fabricios explicit reference to
the departure of Marcela and Octavio. Gins plea to Diocleciano to act as
restorer of justice perplexes the emperor, in spite of his allusion to Octavios
true love for Marcela. In response to Gins claim muy cierto es / que Octavio
amaba a Marcela, Diocleciano questions the actor/playwright hablas de
veras o no? (II, fol. 277r). His inability to ascertain the course of action
required illustrates to the outer audience the difficulties encountered in
attempting to detect the necessary or appropriate form of behaviour in reality.
The final deception of the inner audience, for whom the return of Octavio constitutes the ending of the inset play and who is not fully aware of the link
between the performance and the reality of the main play at this stage, exemplifies, and is symbolic of, the powerlessness of the individual to comprehend
the true nature of existence.52
52 By Act III, Diocleciano is conscious of the fact that Marcela and Octavio have
converted fiction into reality and asks Gins to describe the outcome of their actions Oh
Gins! / No te hemos visto despus / de aquella riguridad / que us Marcela contigo. /
Qu se hicieron? (III, fol. 278v). While Diocleciano, at the end of the first play within the
play, asks Gins to return the following day to perform the part of a Christian (II, fol. 277r),
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
118
10:06 AM
Page 118
ELAINE CANNING
Ultimately, the outer audience sees double, not only as a result of the
presentation of the inset play within the main play, but also through the
duplicity within the inset play itself. As we shall see, this multiple layering
effect, which constitutes the most complex form of metadrama, is also a
primary feature of Gins second play within the play. In essence, the first
inset play reinforces the illusory nature of life by approximating lo fingido
and lo verdadero. Moreover, it underlines the inability to detect authenticity,
a theme which recurs throughout Lo fingido verdadero. Beyond the confines
of the inset play, Octavio, for example, still cannot distinguish between
fiction and reality when he discovers his newly-wed in the company of
Gins. He informs his wife: que aun las burlas, no las veras / que representa
contigo / me parecen verdaderas (III, fol. 279v). In addition, the inset play
stresses the impossibility of control, even within fiction, and the futility of
the individuals attempts to steer events of life in a certain direction the
presumption of assuming the position of God. In the case of Gins, his efforts
to create a situation in his drama which is inconceivable within the reality of
the principal play are thwarted.53 Specifically, his anticipated performance as
the abandoned betrothed who finally confronts his beloved and her lover is
prevented by Marcelas and Octavios manipulation of fiction for their own
ends.54 While the course of action taken by these characters is evidence of
the sacrifice which the individual is willing to make for the sake of love,
human love is fundamentally associated with negative forms of behaviour
and sentiments within Gins play. Not only is it responsible for the suffering of Gins/Rufino, who is only briefly relieved of his pain with the promise of his marriage to Marcela/Fabia, but it also causes conflict between the
true lovers of the inset play. Octavio hurls bitter accusations at Fabia,
describing her as ingrata, following his discovery that she has been
embraced by Rufino (II, fol. 275r). Moreover, Gins/Rufino exemplifies the
relationship between the unfulfilment of human love and aggression. As the
personification of the abandoned lover, Gins/Rufino engages in an improvised, hostile outburst through which he promotes the annihilation of the
lovers by calling upon Neptune to act as a destructive force.55 Ultimately, the
overpowering and debilitating effects of human love are manifested through
Gins description of the events following the departure of the couple (Fabricios discovery
of the lovers, the marriage of Marcela and Octavio and Gins forgiveness of them)
suggests a longer time span.
53 Gins himself emphasises the impossibility of a future relationship with Marcela. In
response to Pinabelos advice to ask Fabricio for Marcelas hand in marriage, he replies:
que los casamientos son / unin de las voluntades, / y en distintas calidades / es imposible
la unin (II, fol. 272v).
54 Marcela subsequently identifies Gins as the culprit regarding her newly-found
reality. She tells him: pero t, que compusiste / la comedia en que me diste / a Fabia, que
a Octavio am, / el camino me ense; / luego la culpa tuviste (III, fol. 279r).
55 See his speech, II, fol. 276v.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 119
119
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
120
10:06 AM
Page 120
ELAINE CANNING
The latter reduces Gins supernatural experience with the divine to a confrontation with human love through the association of the cielo, from which
the voz has emanated, and the ngel, who has spoken to Gins, with Marcela.
He states:
Como Marcela es tu cielo,
y el ngel haba de hacer,
pensando en ella recelo
que piensas que ha de poder
glorificarte en el suelo,
pues advierte que no sabe
el ngel, y que me manda
que le estudie.
(III, fol. 280v)
58 For Orozco Dazs analysis of the dramatic effectiveness of the presentation of the
king or the Virgin by means of la pintura or la imagen, see chapter 2, p. 76, n. 85.
Dassbach emphasises the significance of divine intervention in Lo fingido verdadero by
stating that Gins conversion is not prompted by the role which he plays, but rather by the
influence of supernatural forces: Aunque crticos [. . .] afirman que la conversin de
Gins es resultado del papel teatral que ste representa sobre un cristiano, pienso que esto
debe considerarse como circunstancial ya que no se convierte, reflexiva o emocionalmente,
instigado por su papel, sino a causa de las fuerzas sobrenaturales que operan sobre l
mientras representa este papel (La comedia hagiogrfica, p. 48, n. 8).
59 Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores, pp. 11213.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 121
121
Christian, and Gins, the new convert. In fact, Gins final assertion which
precedes his performance is ambiguous. Just prior to appearing before his
royal audience, the actor exclaims:
Cristo mo, pues sois Dios,
vos me llevaris a vos,
que yo desde ahora os sigo!
(III, fol. 280v)
This speech may have caused the corral audience to suspect that Gins
transformation had already occurred, or may simply have been interpreted as
a form of preparation or an extended rehearsal on the part of the actor for the
role which he is about to assume. Dixon interprets the impact of this speech in
a similar fashion. According to him, no pueden saber si slo est ensayando
otra vez o si se ha convertido ya.60 Consequently, the outer audience does not
receive what Palomo describes as a mensaje inequvoco, even while watching
this play, the plot of which is known. The captains and soldiers references to
Gins abandonment of the script may have generated increasing suspicion
regarding his assimilation of the role of the Christian. However, it is possible
that the inner audiences repeated comments on the proximity of Gins
presentation of the feigned Christian to the true, self-confessed Christian may
have engendered confusion among members of the corral audience.
Maximiano, for example, comments:
Represntale Gins,
que parece que lo es,
y verdadero el suceso
(III, fol. 281r)
Undoubtedly, however, the most significant part of the second inset play in
terms of audience reception is the interpretation of the baptismal scene.
Essentially, this scene comprises two main parts, the first of which is introduced with the stage direction: Un ngel en lo alto (III, fol. 281v). The angel
provides the actor with an invitation for baptism, addressing him as Gins (his
real name), rather than as Len (his fictional name within the inset play). The
angel states: sube, sube, llega a verme, / que te quiero bautizar (III, fol. 281v).61
Subsequently, Gins/Len, having withdrawn behind a curtain, emerges in the
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
122
10:06 AM
Page 122
ELAINE CANNING
company of four angels. The stage directions read: Descbrase con msica
hincado de rodillas; un ngel tenga una fuente, otro un aguamanil levantado,
como que ya le ech el agua, y otro una vela blanca encendida, y otro un capillo
(III, fol. 281v). The inner audiences interpretation of this scene is unquestionable. Following the appearance of the first angel, Diocleciano declares:
Gins
finge ahora que despus
que a Jesucristo ador,
que es el Dios de los cristianos,
aquel ngel viene a verle,
a ensearle, y defenderle.
(III, fol. 281v)
Proceso, p. 93.
Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores, p. 113.
64 Proceso, p. 93.
65 Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores, p. 113. The capitn advises Fabio s habis
salido!, while Diocleciano and Camila both comment on the fact that they have already
62
63
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 123
123
seen Fabio. Diocleciano states: pues no te he visto yo mismo? and Camila declares:
hombre, qu dices?, que yo / y todos te habemos visto! (III, fol. 282v).
66 On the appearance of angels as human beings, Dassbach states: Ocasionalmente, sin
embargo, los ngeles asumen la apariencia o persona de otros seres humanos, como ocurre
a los ngeles convertidos en trabajadores de la construccin en Santa Teresa de Jess [. . .],
o al ngel que suplanta a Fabio, un actor, en Lo fingido verdadero (La comedia hagiogrfica,
p. 111). As will be seen in chapter 5, angels also assume the images of Clara and Carrizo
in La buena guarda. In addition, the characters in La buena guarda are unable to
distinguish between Clara and Carrizo and the angels which play their roles while they are
absent. This would suggest that the same actress and actor played both parts. However, as
will be discussed in chapter 5, the encounter between Clara the angel and Clara the nun,
and Carrizo with Carrizo fingido, makes the impersonation of both characters by one actor
an impossibility in each case.
67 If we accept Cases claim on the use of special effects in the form of the
different levels on the stage, then the emergence of the angel en lo alto and the use of the
discovery endow the action with a type of supernatural authority. The outer audiences
recognition of Lopes subtle use of stage techniques would have conditioned its sensibility
to divine intervention at this point in the drama. See chapter 2, p. 70, n. 71 and p. 71
for further details on Cases comments on the three levels of staging in the comedia de
santos.
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
124
10:06 AM
Page 124
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 125
125
seguirle si no pusiera
todos estos pies en l.
Con stos le voy siguiendo
en la comedia y comida
de su mesa, y de la vida
y gloria que en Dios pretendo
(III, fol. 282r)71
In essence, the double meaning implicit in pies suggests not only that God is
the autor of Gins role, but that a definitive transition from pagan to Christian
occurs. Effectively, Gins becomes involved in a new paso created by God.
His shift to that particular scene is underlined by the angel who instructs him
camina, Gins, camina, / Gins (III, fol. 282r). Indeed, Gins now enjoys
control, which he did not have in his first inset play, when he hands himself
over to God. In contrast to Gins who is engaged in a forward journey, Fabio
expresses a desire to retreat when he appears to play the part of the angel.72
The capitn informs Diocleciano quera / volver al paso (III, fol. 282v).
Carino, in opposition to Gins, lacks direction, as he tells Celio and Rosarda
estoy / desocupado de pies (I, fol. 266r). Moreover, Carino stresses the fictitious, unstable nature of his existence in his reference to the relationship
between his pies and poetry: que en tratando con poetas, / pienso que estn
en sus rimas (I, fol. 266r).
Fundamentally, both Fabio and Carino represent the antithesis of Gins. In
other words, paganism is debased while Christianity is extolled in the play.
Gins alludes to the redeeming power of divine love in a comparison between
the heavenly and demonic troupes of players. According to him, Nicodemus,
a member of Gods company, buries individuals who later rise from the dead:
Nicodemus mete muertos, / pero luego resucitan. On the other hand, the
pecador is responsible for the burial of the dead in Lucifers compaa, mas
no vuelven a vivir (III, fol. 284r).73
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
126
10:06 AM
Page 126
ELAINE CANNING
Mono204-04.qxd
4/7/04
10:06 AM
Page 127
127
afterlife is underscored in Gins reference to the comedia divina. The establishment of identity is presented as a complicated process for the individual
concerned (such as Gins) and for those who witness his behaviour.
Ultimately, Lopes play expresses a sense of disillusion with life. While the
relationship between amor divino and amor humano is not the principal focus
of Lo fingido verdadero, the play does discredit negative attitudes and forms
of behaviour associated with human love, while divine love triggers Gins
martyrdom and assumption of his true role. As the following study of La
buena guarda will demonstrate, Clara, like Gins, is also prompted to assume
a number of roles as a result of a preoccupation with love, both human and
divine.
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
10:08 AM
Page 128
5
DOA CLARA SAINT OR SINNER? ROLE-PLAYING
WITHIN THE ROLE IN LA BUENA GUARDA
Written in 1610 and first published in 1621, La buena guarda presents the
plight of Clara, abadesa, who is forced to confront the effects of both human
and divine love.1 Based on the legend of the monja sacristana, a devoted nun
who abandons the monastery with her lover and who is replaced by the Virgin
or an angel in her absence, La buena guarda focuses on the flight of Clara with
Flix, the mayordomo.2 The play opens with a diatribe against female vanity
as Carrizo, the sacristn of the monasterio, criticises the female preoccupation
1 An autographed manuscript of this play, dated 16th April 1610 and entitled
La encomienda bien guardada, is currently held at the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid. The
play was first published with the title La buena guarda in Decimaquinta parte de las
comedias (Madrid: Fernando Correa de Montenegro, 1621). For full bibliographical details
of the edition of the play used for the purposes of this study, see chapter 2, p. 77, n. 88.
This play has attracted little critical attention, although there have been some interesting
analyses in recent times. See especially Fernando Lzaro Carreter, Cristo, pastor robado
(Las escenas sacras de La buena guarda), in Homenaje a William L. Fichter: Estudios
sobre el teatro antiguo hispnico y otros ensayos, eds David A. Kossoff and Jos Amor y
Vzquez (Madrid: Castalia, 1971), pp. 41327; Mara del Carmen Artigas, Edicin crtica
y anotada de La buena guarda de Lope de Vega (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of
Virginia, 1990), El mito del paraso en La buena guarda (1610) de Lope de Vega,
Explicacin de textos literarios, 19 (199091), 2936 and La mancha en la sangre versus
la mancha en el alma en La buena guarda de Lope de Vega, RN, 32 (1991), 12732.
2 The legend of the monja sacristana was extremely popular in Europe between the
twelfth and sixteenth centuries. According to both Gimnez Castellanos and Menndez y
Pelayo, the text written by Cesreo de Heisterbach, a Cistercian monk, constitutes the oldest
known version of the legend. (See La buena guarda, p. 10, and Estudios, II, 86.) In Edicin
crtica, however, Artigas states on the origin of the legend: Aadiremos que es nuestra
opinin que el primer autor de la leyenda no es Heisterbach, sino que probablemente fue
compuesta unos aos antes por un monje ingls, cuyo nombre desconocemos, (p. 8).
Artigas work is an invaluable study which not only presents an annotated edition of
La buena guarda, but also includes an examination of Marian literature in the West, in Spain
and in Lopes work, with specific reference to the legend of the sacristana in Spain and in
Lope. It should be noted that, while La buena guarda is not a comedia de santos, it is
included in an analysis of Lopes hagiographic plays by both Menndez y Pelayo (Estudios,
II, 8595) and Garasa (Santos, pp. 7678). Dassbach categorises this play as a comedia
piadosa (La comedia hagiogrfica, p. 5, n. 3), while Aragone Terni includes it in a list of
commedie apologetiche e devozionali (Studio sulle, p. 84).
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
10:08 AM
Page 129
129
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
130
10:08 AM
Page 130
ELAINE CANNING
Unlike Gins, who is only inspired by divine love towards the end of
Lo fingido verdadero, Clara is introduced to the audience as a devout, Godfearing, saintly abadesa, endowed with honestidad, paciencia and inocencia.6 Nevertheless, the abadesa abandons her role in order to pursue human
passion. This ngel en velo humano (I. 625), according to Carrizo, is
prompted to adopt an alternative role within the play by Flix, the enamoured
mayordomo.7 In spite of the fact that she manages to resist Flixs advances
on two occasions, Clara finally surrenders to her lover when he professes his
love for a third time. She insists:
y as, vengo a suplicarte
con lgrimas en los ojos,
que me lleves o me mates.
(I. 95557)
By doing so, she runs the risk of losing her gran santidad which, in Flixs
opinion, is common knowledge.8 Essentially, Flix is the intratextual dramatist
who is responsible for redirecting the course of Claras existence.9 He introduces her to the concept of human passion by declaring his personal love for
her.10 Clara makes this point explicit:
el da que me dijiste
amores o disparates,
no pude dormir, pensando
los efectos que amor hace;
y de pensar los efectos,
me naci el determinarme
a quererte; [. . .]
(I. 91824)
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
10:08 AM
Page 131
131
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
132
10:08 AM
Page 132
ELAINE CANNING
apologises regardless before leaving the monasterio. Indeed, the explicit reference within the play to the Virgins protection of Claras reputation during her
absence might have conditioned the audiences judgement of the abadesas
actions. The Virgin, in the form of an offstage voz, which, as we have seen
throughout the course of this study, constitutes an important link with the
supernatural in Lopes comedias de tema religioso, instructs an angel:
Al punto te transforma
en esta miserable, que, perdida,
a su esposo desprecia desta forma.
De su rostro y sus hbitos vestida,
sirve su oficio, y las dems informa
de divinos consejos.
(II. 18790)13
The association of human love with physical attractiveness and divine love with
inner beauty which is established by Flix is a concept which is underlined
13 Clearly, the Virgin/Voz safeguards Claras role as abadesa by putting an angel in her
place. In Acts II and III, the pastor/Christ who appears to Clara and urges her to return to
the convent also has an impact on Claras course of action. Clara remarks: Quiz este
pastor es ngel, / y me anima a dar la vuelta (III. 52425). It could therefore be argued
that both the voz and the pastor function as divine intratextual dramatists within the play.
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
10:08 AM
Page 133
133
In effect, the audience might have regarded Claras repeated failure to act
without the influence of external factors as a sign of the protagonists
weakness. Clara is in fact a reactive, rather than a proactive role-player.
However, it is also possible that Claras ability to manipulate unforeseen and
uncontrollable events would have generated audience commendation. This is
possible because Clara maintains a constant, identifiable relationship with the
divine in spite of the imposition of roles upon her.
As adltera and sinner, Claras scapular represents a visual sign of her
dedication to her previous role. Subsequently, as she impersonates Juana, the
labradora and pastora (an appropriate role for an abadesa, which foreshadows her return to positive role-playing), her explicit task of looking after her
flock is overshadowed by her personal mission to indulge in prayer, fasting
and penance in an attempt to receive divine forgiveness for her past actions.
14 Carrizo also emphasises the relationship between human love and physical beauty by
stating the reasons why he would like to travel to Toledo. He informs Flix and Clara of the
attractions which Toledo offers: gente noble, entendimientos / raros, damas siempre
hermosas (II. 61920). The italics are mine. At the beginning of Act I, in the role of the
hypocritical sacristn, Carrizo criticises women who spend an excessive amount of time on
beauty treatments because, in his opinion, their physical appearance will attract the attention
of potential suitors at Mass. Carrizo laments: y si ellas vienen ans, / esos, mirranme a
m? (I. 17576).
15 Flix highlights his grief to Carrizo before abandoning his beloved: a Clara he
escrito esta carta, / aunque breve de razones / de pesadumbre bien larga (II. 88385). In
addition, he explains that his course of action is determined by his fear of Gods reprisal
el temor de la justicia, / de su presencia me aparta (II. 89495).
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
134
10:08 AM
Page 134
ELAINE CANNING
Cosme, the labrador who seeks Claras hand in marriage, informs his father
regarding her pious lifestyle:
Vive como una santa, recogida
en oracin perpetua y en ayunos;
mtese en esas peas que coronan
las mrgenes del Tajo, y dase en ellas
tantos azotes, que sus carnes bellas
las hacen jaspe con la sangre viva;
(III. 19499)
Essentially, her love for the divine is not explicitly substituted with human
love, but in fact constitutes a latent preoccupation for the protagonist. As she
relinquishes the role of adltera for that of Juana, Clara/Juana becomes
increasingly described in terms of her inherent, saintly characteristics, rather
than her physical beauty. For both Cosme and Gentilhombre 2o, she is an
ngel;16 she is subsequently described as a virtuosa who is invested with
honestidad.17 The redefinition of Clara as Juana, both in terms of her pious
nature and in terms of Juanas occupation as pastora serves as a preparation
for the plays dnouement, when the saint/sinner will embrace the position of
abadesa once again.
It is evident, then, that while it is difficult to ascertain the level of audience
dissociation created as a result of the performance of several roles by the principal character, the metadramatic strategy of role-play focuses the audiences
attention on the question of identity. Clara demonstrates that the individual is
a composite of oppositional, intrinsic characteristics strength/weakness,
perfection/imperfection and is driven by both rational and irrational forces.
The complexity of individuality is highlighted further through the introduction of an angel, in the guise of Clara, into the play.18 As the following analysis will demonstrate, the incorporation of Clara fingida into the action causes
the destruction of mimetic reality for the outer audience, who witnesses the
acceptance of Clara fingida as the absent Clara by a range of characters.
The complicity between the outer audience and the playwright functions on
various levels and ultimately produces what Palomo describes as a mensaje
inequvoco.19 In the first instance, the corral audience not only witnesses the
presentation of both Clara and Clara fingida onstage in Acts II and III, but is
also privy to the Virgins instructions to the angel to assume the role of the
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
10:08 AM
Page 135
135
See p. 132 of this chapter for the Virgins complete instructions to the angel.
It should be noted that, while Carrizo and Clara eventually come face to face with
their respective fictional selves when they return to the monasterio, neither has the
opportunity to conduct a thorough comparison between himself/herself and his/her
namesake.
22 In the 1621 edition of this play, the cast list is omitted. Below the list of figuras de la
comedia, the text simply reads: Representla Riquelme. See Decimaquinta parte, fol.
204v. It should be noted that Carrizo, who deludes other characters with his false saintliness,
is replaced with Carrizo fingido, the angel who warns Gins against mujeres and juego,
the terribles enemigos (II. 37576). The play subsequently shifts between the presentation
of Carrizo fingido, the devout sacristn, who is accepted as Carrizo, and Carrizo, the
gracioso, whose primary concerns include food and women. See chapter 2, p. 60 for Cases
definition of the conventional gracioso.
23 While this play negates the relationship between costume and identity, costume is an
outward sign of role and status for Diocleciano in Lo fingido verdadero.
20
21
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
136
10:08 AM
Page 136
ELAINE CANNING
outer appearances.24 Not even Claras father, Don Pedro, suspects that he is
conversing with a supernatural being, rather than his daughter, when he
informs her of the behaviour of his philandering son-in-law, Carlos.25 On the
other hand, Clara is unable to detect any similarity between herself and the
so-called doa Clara de Lara with whom she comes face to face. Following
Carlos revelation to her of the abadesas name (III. 700), Clara questions the
unrecognisable stranger: sois, seora, la Abadesa? (III. 724). Most significantly, however, Claras reassumption of the role of abadesa presents no problems in terms of acceptance by the other characters. Hence, in spite of her
fathers inability to distinguish between his daughter and the angel, Claras
own inability to recognise any similarity between herself and the character in
question, and the distinction drawn by Carlos between the abadesa and the
visiting labradora, Claras transition from Juana to abadesa is a fairly smooth,
uncomplicated one. Nevertheless, Clara finds herself having to improvise
when she resumes her role. The role is that of abadesa which she had carried
out previously, but the role is now prescribed by the angels playing of it. In
several asides, Clara emphasises that she is out of touch. In one of these, she
states: A todos tiemblo de hablarlos, / porque no s la ocasin (III. 82829).
The outer audience is aware of Claras need to improvise, while the characters
surrounding her, a type of inner audience, mistakenly believe that she is out of
touch because she is elevada. Essentially, in the wider context of seventeenthcentury Spain, the case of doa Clara stresses to the corral audience the difficulty of discovering the legitimate identity or personality of the individual in a
society which has abandoned itself to illusionism. In other words, the illusory
nature of life, which lies at the heart of the seventeenth-century concept of
theatrum mundi, is highlighted through doa Clara.
24 While the portera notices some recent change in the abadesa, claiming de unos das
a esta parte / est en ngel convertida (II. 81415), she is completely unaware of the
truthfulness of her statement. Likewise, Gins observation of slight changes in the character
of the sacristn does not prompt him to dispute the identity of the latter whom he simply
accepts as Carrizo. He tells Carlos: no tiene aquellas seales / que en el hermano se ven. /
Es el mismo y no es el mismo; / ms modesto y ms compuesto / trae el hbito y el gesto
(II. 33539). At the beginning of Act I, Carrizo emphasises the artificiality of physical
appearance in his discussion of female beauty treatments. He refers to their use of fingido
color and their canas mal disimuladas (I. 125; 133). A play which deals with the concept
of susceptibility to delusion by outer appearances is very much in keeping with an obsession
of the literature and art of the period, often called the theme of Ser/Parecer. At the heart of
the literature and art of seventeenth-century Spain was the notion of the individuals
susceptibility to engao, a concept which was encapsulated in Velzquezs Las Meninas. On
this theme, Jeremy Robbins states: So obsessive are the questions of appearance and reality,
of deceit and disillusionment, in Spanish baroque fiction that such fiction can justifiably be
viewed as Spains major and distinctive contribution to the early-modern preoccupation with
knowledge. See his The Challenges of Uncertainty: An Introduction to Seventeenth-Century
Spanish Literature (London: Duckworth, 1998), p. 41.
25 See the conversation between Pedro and the angel, III. 52954.
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
10:08 AM
Page 137
137
The second effect of the double image of Clara upon the audience relates
to how the characters evaluate Clara fingida, and how they relate to the various miraculous occurrences attributed to the angel. In basic terms, the outer
audience is confronted with the parallel images of Clara, the sinner, and Clara,
the saint, as the words and deeds of the angel are associated with the real Clara
by individuals within the play. As a result, the main protagonist becomes more
saintly, at the same time that she violates Holy Orders. Indeed, she is not only
a santa, but a unique being with supernatural powers. Miraculously, she discovers Carlos intentions to punish Don Juan, a gentleman who has won the
favour of Elena, Claras sister, and also Carlos subsequent, illicit affair with
Ana following his marriage to Elena.26 However, even more striking is the
explicit presentation of Clara fingida (Clara, of course, to the other characters) as a miracle worker, who saves Magdalena. The miracle, which is presented offstage, is related to Carlos and Gins by the hortelana:
Para que no te vayas sin que sepas
un milagro tan raro, y seas testigo,
as como lleg Clara al estanque,
entr por l, y sin mojarse el hbito,
asi de un brazo a soror Magdalena,
y la sac a la orilla viva y sana:
dilo a su padre y a su amada hermana.
(III. 65965)
In addition, the implicit references to the relationship between Clara and the
Virgin within the play serve to exaggerate the holiness of the imperfect
abadesa. Ultimately, Clara becomes the buena guarda of the play, a role
which she attributed originally to the Virgin prior to her departure with her
lover. Before her exit from the monasterio, Clara declares: Virgen, en vos
les dejo Buena Guarda! (II. 185). Consequently, the exaltation of the repentant sinner, particularly through the incorporation of Clara fingida into the
drama, stresses the redeeming power of divine love. Clara is elevated to a
saintlike status, which she of course must assume and develop at the end of
the play when she replaces the angel. Ultimately, she will devote herself
wholeheartedly to amor divino. Naturally, Clara highlights that human frailty
is not only permissible, but in fact is also found in even the most pious of
individuals.27 The association of divine love with forgiveness is underlined by
See II. 67178, and III. 62127.
The idea that there is scope for human error is one which also presents itself through
the development of the character Tirso in La juventud de San Isidro. See chapter 2, p. 83
for further details. It is not surprising that Lope would have dealt with these issues in his
plays. Lopes own behaviour was motivated by very human and divine impulses. He was
torn throughout his life between amor humano and amor divino. This has been well
documented by critics.
26
27
Mono204-05.qxd
4/7/04
138
10:08 AM
Page 138
ELAINE CANNING
Flix in a statement which can be categorised as one of the most patent morals
of the play:
Errar es de hombre mortal,
y ms en esto que ves;
pero de demonios es
perseverar en el mal.
(III. 8184)
28 For an analysis of the appearance of Christ to Isidro in both La niez de San Isidro
and La juventud de San Isidro, see chapter 2.
29 See the pastors speech, III. 42749 for details on his various forms of suffering.
30 The pastors reaction to the thorns is analogous to that of Teresa to the crown of
thorns in Santa Teresa de Jess. See chapter 4, p. 124, n. 70. This image would have caused
the audience to recall Christs own crown of thorns, and to contemplate the themes of
sacrifice, suffering and redemption.
Mono204-Conc.qxd
4/7/04
10:09 AM
Page 139
CONCLUSION
While this study consists of two discrete parts, together they offer a coherent
analysis of the origins and key features of Lopes comedias de tema religioso.
In part I, it is evident that through the re-creation of his models, Lope is able
to generate a variety of forms of audience reception, as well as to re-create
identifiable and instructive images of the biblical Esther and Isidro. In La
hermosa Ester, the reconstruction of episodes taken from the Book of Esther
enables Lope to problematise socio-literary themes such as love, honour and
the role of woman. In addition, susceptibility to a more subversive form of
audience reception serves to elevate the Jew above the dramatic representation of the Spaniard. The pre-eminence of divine love over human love which
is presented in La hermosa Ester is also a principal theme in Lopes plays
which deal with the life of Madrids patrn. Through the re-creation of the
source material, Lope establishes a link between the child Isidro and his adult
equivalent in La niez de San Isidro. Lopes innovative manipulation of the
written source material in La juventud serves to present Isidro as a Christ-like
and humble figure, who is willing to sacrifice human love for divine love.
Moreover, the fact that Lopes dramatic re-creations of the saint were presented to the seventeenth-century public when Isidros actual canonisation
was being celebrated stresses the interplay between illusion and reality which
prevails in these plays.
The connection between role-playing, language and costume which characterises Lo fingido verdadero and La buena guarda in part II serves to highlight the complexity of identity and the relationship between role and destino.
Above all, Lopes engagement with self-referential devices underlines the
illusory nature of life and the link between lo verdadero and lo divino, which
constitute the very essence of the theocentric world view of seventeenthcentury Spain. While varying degrees of audience estrangement are a possibility, particularly in Lo fingido verdadero, Lope also draws attention to the
relationship between divine love and human love in both plays.
It is evident that in his comedias religiosas, Lope deals with a variety of
contemporary issues which he also treats in his secular plays. In La hermosa
Ester, for example, there is an explicit preoccupation with anti-Semitism and
honor/honra, while in Lo fingido verdadero, some members of the corral audience may have interpreted Dioclecianos elevation to the status of emperor as
criticism of class division. The conflicting imperatives of human and divine
Mono204-Conc.qxd
4/7/04
10:09 AM
140
Page 140
CONCLUSION
love are treated in all of the plays studied in this book, and as is to be expected
in a comedia de tema religioso, role is ultimately defined in terms of its relationship with the divine. Lopes shifting concern with the positive and negative
effects of human love throughout this study is perhaps evidence of his personal
ambivalence to amor humano.
Although I have addressed several characteristic features of Lopes comedias
religiosas, there are many issues still to be explored. The themes examined
the reworking of biblical and hagiographical texts and the relationship between
the comedia religiosa and metatheatre can naturally be applied to other religious plays. A detailed study of the use of comedy, as well as an examination
of allegorical characters in Lopes religious plays, also merit attention. Of
course, there are a wealth of investigative opportunities for the scholar interested
in comparative analysis with Lopes secular drama. The representation of the
female in both types of comedia, together with the similarities between Lopes
exploitation and re-creation of source material in historical/legendary plays and
the comedia religiosa, are just two areas which lend themselves to potential
research. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the scant availability of
modern editions of Lopes religious plays needs to be addressed.
In a fairly recent article, Robert Morrison made the following comment
about religious drama in general: Among the multitude of dramas written
during the seventeenth century were several hundred religious ones. [. . .] The
autos have been repeatedly studied. The comedias devotas comedias bblicas
and comedias de santos, for the most part may be still awaiting full appreciation.1 It is hoped that this study has gone some way towards redressing the
balance.
Graciosos, p. 33.
Mono204-App.qxd
4/7/04
10:10 AM
Page 141
1 All dates for Lopes comedias de tema religioso are taken from Morley and Bruerton,
Cronologa de las comedias de Lope de Vega (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1968).
Mono204-Bib.qxd
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 142
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PRIMARY REFERENCES
Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1979)
Martnez de Toledo, Alfonso, Arcipreste de Talavera o Corbacho, ed. J. Gonzlez
Muela, 4th edn (Madrid: Castalia, 1985)
Moreno, Francisco, San Isidro labrador (Madrid: Editorial El Avapis, 1992)
Rojas, Fernando de, La Celestina, ed. Dorothy S. Severin, 6th edn (Madrid: Ctedra,
1992)
Vega Carpio, Lope de, Barlan y Josafat, ed. Jos F. Montesinos (Madrid: Centro
de Estudios Histricos, 1935)
, Comedia de San Segundo, in Obras de Lope de Vega, ed. Don Marcelino
Menndez y Pelayo, Biblioteca de Autores Espaoles, 17778, IXX (Madrid:
Atlas, 1964; 1965), X, 22570
, El arte nuevo de hacer comedias, ed. Juana de Jos Prades (Madrid: Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas, 1971)
, El Capelln de la Virgen, in Obras selectas, estudio preliminar, biografa,
bibliografa, notas y apndices de Federico Carlos Sinz de Robles, 2nd edn,
3 vols (Mxico: Aguilar, 1991), III (Teatro 2), 275309
, El cardenal de Beln, ed. Elisa Aragone, 3rd edn (Zaragoza: Editorial Ebro,
1970)
, El divino africano, in Obras selectas, III (Teatro 2), 20537
, El Isidro, in Obras selectas, II (Poesa y Prosa), 413534
, El nacimiento de Cristo, in Obras, Biblioteca de Autores Espaoles,
15759, VIVIII (Madrid: Atlas, 1963), VIII, 22551
, El nio inocente de La Guardia, ed. Anthony J. Farrell (London: Tamesis,
1985)
, El perro del hortelano, El castigo sin venganza, ed. A. David Kossoff
(Madrid: Castalia, 1970)
, El perro del hortelano, ed. Victor Dixon (London: Grant & Cutler, 1981)
, El robo de Dina, in Obras, VIII, 750
, El rstico del cielo, in Obras, Biblioteca de Autores Espaoles, 18687,
XIXII (Madrid: Atlas, 1965), XI, 397462
, El santo negro Rosambuco, in Obras, X, 13177
, El serafn humano, in Obras, X, 768
, Fuente Ovejuna, ed. Juan Mara Marn (Madrid: Ctedra, 1997)
, Historia de Tobas, in Obras, VIII, 87136
, Juan de Dios y Antn Martn, in Obras selectas, III (Teatro 2), 42159
Mono204-Bib.qxd
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 143
BIBLIOGRAPHY
143
SECONDARY REFERENCES
Abel, Lionel, Metatheatre: A New View of Dramatic Form (New York: Hill and
Wang, 1963)
Acero, Jorge, The Fiesta of San Isidro, Journal of the Southwest, 33 (1991),
1819
Alborg, J. L., Historia de la literatura espaola, 5 vols (Madrid: Gredos, 1966),
I (Edad Media y Renacimiento)
Aragone Terni, Elisa, Studio sulle Comedias de Santos di Lope de Vega
(Firenze: Casa Editrice DAnna, 1971)
Artigas, Mara del Carmen, Edicin crtica y anotada de La buena guarda de
Lope de Vega (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Virginia, 1990)
, El mito del paraso en La buena guarda (1610) de Lope de Vega, Explicacin
de textos literarios, 19 (199091), 2936
Mono204-Bib.qxd
144
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 144
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mono204-Bib.qxd
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 145
BIBLIOGRAPHY
145
Dixon, Victor, Saint Patrick of Ireland and the Dramatists of Golden-Age Spain,
Hermathena, 121 (1976), 14258
, Characterization in the Comedia of Seventeenth-Century Spain (Manchester:
Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Manchester, 1994)
, El post-Lope: La noche de San Juan, meta-comedia urbana para palacio,
in Lope de Vega: comedia urbana y comedia palatina. Actas de las XVII Jornadas de teatro clsico, eds F. B. Pedraza and R. Gonzlez Caal (Almagro:
Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 1996), pp. 6182
, Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores, Diablotexto, 45 (199798),
97114
, Ya tienes la comedia prevenida . . . La imagen de la vida: Lo fingido
verdadero, Cuadernos de teatro clsico, 11 (1999), 5371
, and Isabel Torres, La madrastra enamorada: Una tragedia de Sneca
refundida por Lope de Vega?, RCan, 19 (1994), 3960
Douglas, J. D., et al., eds, The New Bible Dictionary (London: Inter-Varsity Press,
1962)
Fischer, Susan L., The Art of Role-Change in Calderonian Drama, BCom, 27
(1975), 7379
, Calderns Los cabellos de Absaln: A Metatheater of Unbridled Passion,
BCom, 28 (1976), 10313
, Lopes Lo fingido verdadero and the Dramatization of the Theatrical
Experience, RHM, 39 (197677), 15666
, Lopes El castigo sin venganza and the Imagination, KRQ, 28 (1981), 2336
Fishlock, A. D. H., Lope de Vegas La hermosa Ester and Pinto Delgados Poema
de la Reyna Ester: A Comparative Study, BHS, 32 (1955), 8197
Fita, Fidel, ed., Leyenda de San Isidro por el dicono Juan. Cdice del Siglo XIII,
procedente del archivo parroquial de San Andrs, BRAH, 9 (1886), 97157
Flasche, Hans, Interpretacin dramtica y sociocultural de pasajes bblicos en
Caldern, in Espaa, teatro y mujeres, eds Martin Gosman and Hub Hermans
(Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1989), pp. 2331
Forster, Leonard, The Petrarchan Manner: An Introduction, in The Icy Fire. Five
Studies in European Petrarchism (Cambridge: CUP, 1969), pp. 160
Friedman, Edward H., Postmodernism and the Spanish Comedia: The Drama of
Mediation, Gestos, 9 (1994), 6178
Gallego Roca, Miguel, Efectos escnicos en las comedias de Lope de Vega sobre
la vida de San Isidro: Tramoya y poesa, Criticn, 45 (1989), 11330
Ganelin, Charles, and Howard Mancing, eds, The Golden Age Comedia: Text,
Theory, and Performance (West Lafayette: Purdue UP, 1994)
Garasa, Delfn Leocadio, Santos en escena (Buenos Aires: Cuadernos del Sur, 1960)
Garca de la Concha, Vctor, et al., eds, Teatro del Siglo de Oro: Homenaje a
Alberto Navarro Gonzlez (Kassel: Reichenberger, 1990)
Gilson, Catharine, Lope de Vegas Female Saints, in Golden Age Spanish
Literature. Studies in Honour of John Varey, eds Charles Davis and Alan
Deyermond (London: Department of Hispanic Studies, Westfield College, 1991),
pp. 93103
Glaser, Edward, Lope de Vegas La hermosa Ester, Sefarad, 20 (1960), 11035
Glenn, Richard F., Disguises and Masquerades in Tirsos El vergonzoso en palacio, BCom, 17 (1965), 1622
Mono204-Bib.qxd
146
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 146
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mono204-Bib.qxd
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 147
BIBLIOGRAPHY
147
Lavine, Roberta Zimmerman, The Jew and the Converso in the Dramatic Works
of Lope de Vega, Dissertation Abstracts International, 44 (1983), 185A
Lzaro Carreter, Fernando, Cristo, pastor robado (Las escenas sacras de La buena
guarda), in Homenaje a William L. Fichter: Estudios sobre el teatro antiguo
hispnico y otros ensayos, eds David A. Kossoff and Jos Amor y Vzquez
(Madrid: Castalia, 1971), pp. 41327
Lipmann, Stephen, Metatheater and the Criticism of the Comedia, MLN, 91
(1976), 23146
Lowes, John Livingston, The Loveres Maladye of Hereos, M.Phil, 11 (1914),
491546
MacKay, Angus, Spain in the Middle Ages (London: Macmillan, 1977)
McCrary, William, The Duke and the Comedia: Drama and Imitation in Lope de
Vegas El castigo sin venganza, JHPh, 2 (1978), 20322
, Theater and History: El rey don Pedro en Madrid, CH, 1 (1979), 14567
McKendrick, Melveena, Woman and Society in the Spanish Drama of the Golden
Age (London, New York: CUP, 1974)
, Theatre in Spain 14901700 (Cambridge: CUP, 1989)
Madrigal, Jos A., Fuenteovejuna y los conceptos de metateatro y psicodrama:
Un ensayo sobre la formacin de la conciencia en el protagonista, BCom, 31
(1979), 1523
Martn, Francisco J., The Presence of the Four Elements in El burlador de
Sevilla, in A Star-Crossed Golden Age: Myth and the Spanish Comedia, ed.
Frederick A. de Armas (Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1998), pp. 3045
Mayberry, Nancy, Fearful Symmetry in Lope de Vegas La hermosa Ester,
Hispanfila, 132 (2001), 1323
Menndez Onrubia, Carmen, Aspectos narrativos en la obra dramtica de Felipe
Godnez, Criticn, 30 (1985), 20133
Menndez y Pelayo, Don Marcelino, Estudios sobre el teatro de Lope de Vega,
ed. Don Adolfo Bonilla y San Martn, 6 vols (Madrid: V. Surez, 191927), I,
(1919); II (1921)
Metford, J. C. J., Tirso de Molinas Old Testament Plays, BHS, 27 (1950),
14963
Metzger, Bruce M., An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: OUP, 1957)
Moir, Duncan, The Classical Tradition in Spanish Dramatic Theory and Practice
in the Seventeenth Century, in Classical Drama and its Influence: Essays
Presented to H. D. F. Kitto, ed. M. J. Anderson (London: Methuen, 1965),
pp. 191228
Moore, Roger, Metatheater and Magic in El mgico prodigioso, BCom, 33 (1981),
12937
Moreno, Joseph, Psychodrama (New York: Beacon House, 1972)
Morley, S. Griswold, and Courtney Bruerton, Cronologa de las comedias de Lope
de Vega (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1968)
Morreale, Margherita, Vernacular Scriptures in Spain, in The Cambridge History
of the Bible, ed. G. W. H. Lamp, 3 vols (London: CUP, 1970, 1969, 1963), II
(1969), 46591
Morrison, Robert R., Graciosos con breviarios: The Comic Element in the
Comedia de Santos of Lope de Vega, CH, 12 (1990), 3345
Mono204-Bib.qxd
148
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 148
BIBLIOGRAPHY
, Lope de Vega and the Comedia de Santos, Ibrica, XXXIII (New York:
Peter Lang, 2000)
Mroczkowska-Brand, Katarzyna, Overt Theatricality and the Theatrum Mundi
Metaphor in Spanish and English Drama, 15701640, Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny, 26 (1979), 20114
Nalle, Sara T., God in La Mancha. Religious Reform and the People of Cuenca,
15001650 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1992)
Navarrete, Ignacio, Orphans of Petrarch. Poetry and Theory in the Spanish
Renaissance (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994)
Nelson, Robert J., Play Within a Play. The Dramatists Conception of His Art:
Shakespeare to Anouilh (New Haven: Yale UP, 1958)
New Catholic Encyclopedia, prepared by an editorial staff at the Catholic University
of America, Washington, District of Columbia, 17 vols (New York: McGraw-Hill,
196679)
OConnor, Thomas Austin, Is the Spanish Comedia a Metatheater?, HR, 43 (1975),
27589
, La vida es sueo: A View From Metatheater, KRQ, 25 (1978), 1326
Oesterley, W. O. E., An Introduction to the Books of the Apocrypha (London:
Macmillan, 1935), pp. 18395
Orozco Daz, Emilio, El teatro y la teatralidad del barroco (Barcelona: Planeta,
1969)
Palomo, Mara del Pilar, Proceso de comunicacin en Lo fingido verdadero, in
El castigo de venganza y el teatro de Lope de Vega, ed. Ricardo Domnech
(Madrid: Ctedra/Teatro espaol, 1987), pp. 7998
Paredes L., Alejandro, Nuevamente la cuestin del metateatro: La cisma de
Inglaterra, in Caldern: Actas del congreso internacional sobre Caldern y el
teatro espaol del Siglo de Oro, ed. Luciano Garca Lorenzo, 3 vols (Madrid:
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas, 1983), I, 54148
Parker, A. A., The Philosophy of Love in Spanish Literature, 14801680 (Edinburgh:
Edinburgh UP, 1985)
Prince, Albert, Dramatic Speech Acts: A Reconsideration, in Things Done
With Words, ed. Elias L. Rivers (Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta, 1986),
pp. 14758
Reichenberger, Arnold G., The Uniqueness of the Comedia, HR, 38 (1970),
16373
, A Postscript to Professor Thomas Austin OConnors Article on the
Comedia, HR, 43 (1975), 28991
Resina, Joan Ramn, What Sort of Wedding? The Orders of Discourse in El
burlador de Sevilla, MLQ, 57 (1996), 54578
Rivers, Elias, L., ed., Things Done With Words: Speech Acts in Hispanic Drama
(Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta, 1986)
Robbins, Jeremy, The Challenges of Uncertainty: An Introduction to SeventeenthCentury Spanish Literature (London: Duckworth, 1998)
Ross, Cecilia, Lope de Vega: La hermosa Ester (unpublished doctoral thesis,
University of California, 1952)
Rozas, Juan Manuel, Significado y doctrina del arte nuevo de Lope de Vega
(Madrid: Sociedad general espaola de librera, 1976)
Mono204-Bib.qxd
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 149
BIBLIOGRAPHY
149
Ruano de la Haza, J. M., ed., El mundo del teatro espaol en su Siglo de Oro:
ensayos dedicados a John E. Varey, Ottawa Hispanic Studies, III (Ottawa:
Dovehouse Editions, 1989)
Ruiz Ramn, Francisco, Historia del teatro espaol (desde sus orgenes hasta
1900) (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1967)
Sacks, Diane, Breaking the Silence: An Archetypal and Feminist Analysis of
La hermosa Ester, Fuente Ovejuna and La mal casada, Dissertation Abstracts
International, 50 (Dec 1989), 1677A
Saint-Sans, Alain, ed., Permanence and Evolution of Behavior in Golden-Age
Spain. Essays in Gender, Body, and Religion (Lewiston: Edwin Mellen, 1991)
Schack, Adolf Friedrich von, Historia de la literatura y del arte dramtico en
Espaa, 5 vols (Madrid: M. Tello, 1885), I
Sedgwick, Henry Dwight, Ignatius Loyola: An Attempt at an Impartial Bibliography (London: Macmillan, 1924)
Shervill, Robert, The Old Testament Drama of the Siglo de Oro (unpublished
doctoral thesis, University of North Carolina, 1958)
Shoemaker, William Hutchinson, The Multiple Stage in Spain During the Fifteenth
and Sixteenth Centuries, 2nd edn (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press,
1973)
Sicroff, A. A., Notas equvocas en dos dramatizaciones de Lope del problema
judaico: El nio inocente de La Guardia y La hermosa Ester, in Actas del VI
Congreso Internacional de Hispanistas Celebrado en Toronto del 22 al 26 de
agosto de 1977, eds Alan M. Gordon and Evelyn Rugg (Toronto: University of
Toronto, 1980), pp. 70105
Simerka, Barbara, Early Modern Skepticism and Unbelief and the Demystification
of Providential Ideology in El burlador de Sevilla, Gestos, 23 (1997), 3966
Sito Alba, Manuel, Metateatro en Caldern: El gran teatro del mundo, in
Caldern: Actas del congreso internacional sobre Caldern y el teatro espaol
del Siglo de Oro, ed. Luciano Garca Lorenzo, 3 vols (Madrid: Consejo Superior
de Investigaciones Cientficas, 1983), II, 789802
Slade, Carole, St. Teresa of Avila: Author of a Heroic Life (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1995)
Sloane, Robert, Action and Role in El prncipe constante, MLN, 85 (1970), 16783
Soufas, Teresa Scott, Love Melancholy (Lope, Caldern), in Melancholy and
the Secular Mind in Spanish Golden Age Literature (Columbia: University of
Missouri Press, 1990), pp. 64100
Stoll, Anita K., Teaching Golden Age Drama: Metatheater as Organizing Principle,
Hisp, 75 (1992), 134347
, Staging, Metadrama, and Religion in Lopes Los locos por el cielo, Neophil,
78 (1994), 23341
, and Dawn L. Smith, eds, The Perception of Women in Spanish Theater of
the Golden Age (Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1991)
Thacker, Jonathan, Comedys Social Compromise: Tirsos Marta la piadosa and
the Refashioning of Role, BCom, 47 (1995), 26789
, Que yo le har de suerte que os espante, / Si el fingimiento a la verdad
excede: Creative Use of Art in Lope de Vegas Los locos de Valencia (and
Velzquezs Fbula de Aracne), MLR, 95 (2000), 100718
Mono204-Bib.qxd
150
4/7/04
10:12 AM
Page 150
BIBLIOGRAPHY
, Role-play and the World as Stage in the Comedia (Liverpool: Liverpool UP,
2002)
Ticknor, George, History of Spanish Literature, 3 vols (London: John Murray,
1849), II
Trueblood, Alan S., Role-Playing and the Sense of Illusion in Lope de Vega, HR,
32 (1964), 30518
Turnell, Martin, Jean Racine Dramatist (London: Hamilton, 1972), pp. 27995
Valencia, Juan O., Pathos y tab en el teatro bblico del siglo de oro (Madrid: Ediciones y Distribuciones Isla, 1977), pp. 6373
Vallejo Gonzlez, Irene, La comedia de santos en Antonio de Zamora, DHA, 8
(1989), 33341
Van Dyke, Paul, Ignatius Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuits (New York: C. Scribners Sons, 1926)
Vega Garca-Luengos, Germn, El libro de Ester en las versiones dramticas de
Lope de Vega y Felipe Godnez, Castilla, 23 (1981), 20945
Vlez Quiones, Harry, Entre verdad y mentira: Woman and Metatheater in
Lope de Vegas Los amantes sin amor, BCom, 47 (1995), 4353
Vossler, Karl, Introduccin a la literatura espaola del siglo de oro (Madrid: Cruz
y Raya, 1934)
Weiner, Jack, La reina Ester en el teatro del Siglo de Oro espaol: dos puntos de
vista, in Estudios sobre el siglo de oro en homenaje a Raymond R. MacCurdy,
eds ngel Gonzlez et al. (Madrid: Ctedra, 1983), pp. 3749
, Lope de Vega, un puesto de cronista y La hermosa Ester (16101621), in
Actas del VIII Congreso de la Asociacin Internacional de Hispanistas, eds
A. David Kossoff et al., 2 vols (Madrid: Istmo, 1986), II, 72330
Weir, Lucy Elizabeth, The Ideas Embodied in the Religious Drama of Caldern
(Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1940)
Weisinger, Herbert, Theatrum Mundi: Illusion as Reality, in The Agony and the
Triumph: Papers on the Use and Abuse of Myth (East Lansing: Michigan State
UP, 1964), pp. 5870
Wilson, Edward M., and Duncan Moir, A Literary History of Spain: The Golden
Age Drama 14921700 (London: Ernest Benn, 1971)
Wilson, Stephen, ed., Saints and Their Cults. Studies in Religious Sociology,
Folklore and History (Cambridge: CUP, 1983)
Yarrow, Philip John, Esther and Athalie, in Racine (Oxford: Blackwell, 1978),
pp. 8290
Zavala, Iris M., Burlas al amor, NRFH, 29 (1980), 367403
Mono204-Index.qxd
4/7/04
10:15 AM
Page 151
INDEX
Abel, Lionel, 5, 87, 88, 90
Ahasuerus, see Xerxes I
Apocrypha, 15 n.19, 1820, 39 n.73
Aragone Terni, Elisa, 2
Artigas, Mara del Carmen, 128 n.1, n.2
Azar, Ins, 103 n.25
Bentley, Eric, 90 n.14
Bleda, Jaime, Vida y milagros del glorioso
San Isidro el labrador, 52 n.30
Book of Esther, 1320
Book of Tobit, 12 n.9
Brockington, L. H., 18 n.27, 23 n.39,
43 n.85
Browning, W. R. F., 43 n.85
Bryans, J. V., 96 n.3, 124
Burkort, Haydee Macera, 2
Butler, Alban, 46 n.9, 47 n.11, 48 n.15
Caldern de la Barca, Pedro, 10 n.5
El gran teatro del mundo, 93 n.20
La vida es sueo, 59 n.43, 63 n.55,
93 n.20
Cancionero general, 114 n.47
Casa, Frank P., 88
Case, Thomas, 45 n.5, 60, 70 n.71, 71,
89, 92, 123 n.67
Catechism, 10 n.6
Cervantes, Miguel de, 27 n.47
Cesreo, Mario, 54 n.36
Clines, David J. A., 18 n.27,
19 n.31
Cdice de autos viejos, 13 n.14
Cofrada de San Isidro, 44 n.3
Concejo, Pilar, 3, 14 n.16, 42 n.82
Connor (Swietlicki), Catherine,
11 n.8
Corbacho, 80 n.100
Council of Trent, 9, 10 n.6, 11, 19 n.30
Courtly love, 23 n.38, 26 n.44, n.45,
27 n.49
Mono204-Index.qxd
4/7/04
10:15 AM
Page 152
152
INDEX
Mono204-Index.qxd
4/7/04
10:15 AM
Page 153
INDEX
153
Mono204-Index.qxd
4/7/04
10:15 AM
Page 154