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This is to certify that the

dissertation entitled

The Heroic Denial of Death
in Selected Dramas of
the Spanish Golden Age

presented by
Deborah Ann Dougherty

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

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THE HEROIC DENIAL or DEATH
IN SELECTED DRAMAS or
THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE

By

Deborah Ann Dougherty

A DISSERTATION
Submitted to
Michigan State University.
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Romance Languages

1993

ABSTRACT
THE HEROIC DENIAL OF DEATH

IN SELECTED DRAMAS OF
THE SPANISH GOLDEN AGE

By

Deborah Ann Dougherty

The human fear that physical death may represent complete
annihilation and the inherent need to transcend that fear and
deny the finality of death by achieving some means of symbolic
immortality through heroic magnanimity are reflected by the
protagonists of the dramas selected for this study. Echoing
the human desire to avoid an unmitigated destruction of self,
these protagonists seek to individualize themselves and
symbolically immortalize their existence by somehow standing
above and apart from the rest. This drive towards
individualization and self-perpetuation leads them on a path
to heroism, be it secular or spiritual, as a means of denying
death's finality. The Christian and social heroism undertaken
by the protagonists of the comedias studied herein and their
quests for immortality illustrate the ability of the hero to
tolerate physical death while focusing on a higher goal of
infinite symbolic existence, thereby overcoming through
acceptance the fatality of physical life.

Licurgo, the archetypal hero of Alarcén's El diefi'o de las
estrellas, the collective protagonists of Cervantes' Numancia,

the Christian knight Fernando, the heroic martyr of Calderon’s

E1 principg’ constante and Enrico, the unlikely saint of
Tirso's E1 condenadogpor dggconfi§g9_are all symbolic of the
human desire to overcome mediocrity through dedication and
commitment to the ideals of secular or religious codes of
conduct and are recognized as heroes. Transcending the finite
by reaching for the infinite, these heroic protagonists
demonstrate the necessary exchange implicit to the human
duality of physical and symbolic existence, and by accepting

mortality, deny the finality of death.

 

Copyright by
Deborah Ann Dougherty
1992

 

To my family

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Professor
Robert L. Fiore, whose dedication to his students is equaled
only by his commitment to excellence in scholarship. I would
also like to thank the members of the Department of Romance
Language who have influenced and inspired me throughout my
years of Graduate Study at Michigan State University.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Death, Immortality and Heroism: An Introduction
Licurgo: The Heroism and Immortality of Suicide
Numancia’s Triumph Over Rome and Death

Don Fernando: Christian Knight and Martyr

The Making of a Hero: Tirso’s Saintly Bandolero

Conclusion

Bibliography

iii

46

76

144

172

179

 

 

DEATH, IMMORTALITY AND HEROISM: AN INTRODUCTION

Human beings have long been concerned with the denial of
death, not so much the denial of physical death, but rather
the concept of death as complete annihilation. As Robert Weir
in Death in Litgggturg suggests, a desire to avoid death’s
finality has traditionally accompanied the recognition of
human mortality:

Questions about immortality are ancient.

Whenever humans have come to realize the

pervasiveness of death, they have

wondered i f death is a necessary

condition of human existence--or if there

is some possibility' of not having to

die...they have wondered if death is not

only inevitable but also final. (346)
Neir’s underlying premise seems to be that as long as human
beings are able to maintain the belief that some remnant of
their existence will remain even after physical death,
mortality may be more readily accepted. One means of coping
with mankind’s concern with the mystery of human existence is
to reject the idea that death marks the end of a finite human
life. To that end, the religious and social canons of
Christianity and honor, whose influence extends beyond the
physical existence of any one individual, may provide some

means of symbolic immortality, thus allowing human beings to

avoid the finality of death.

2

Death, the end of physical presence among the living, is
inescapable. Therefore life, for some, must inspire not the
preservation of the body that is doomed, but rather some means
of immortality not dependent upon physical existence» Because
the physical body dies, some characters in the literature of
the Spanish Golden Age seek to deny death and assure some
means of symbolic immortality on a higher plane and on a
grander scale than the physical. thortunately, there is
often an uneasy dependence between physical and symbolic life.
This dependence reveals a paradox of human existence.

Human beings experience life through their relationship
with the physical world, all the while aware of its temporal
nature. The body is at once» a symbol of life, and a
condemnation to death. Given the duality of body and spirit
and the fatal quality attributed to the physical, it is
understandable that human beings are by nature symbolic
creatures. while the body is held to a single earthly
existence, the mind may drift back into the past, revel in the
endless possibilities of the present, or project itself into
the future (Becker, 50-51). Ironically, it is the very
awareness of this duality of existence, and the freedom of the
human spirit, that allow for and encourage the conception of
symbolic immortality.

The present study will investigate the desire to deny
death as a significant motivation of the heroes of selected

dramas of the Spanish Golden Age. The comedia is particularly

 

3

relevant to this investigation because it provides physical
representations which metaphorically depict the duality of
physical and symbolic existence. The nature of this dual
existence is reflected in the symbolic immortality achieved
by protagonists who are identified as heroes because of their
exemplary compliance with the ideals of Christianity and the
honor code. Actions taken by these heroes demonstrate that
the concern with extending one's human existence is one of the
most powerful motivations of human behavior, be it a quest for
immortality or a denial of death.

In the comedia the duality of body and spirit providing
a symbolic outlet for human existence is repeated in the
metaphor of life as drama, in which the participants are
aware, to varying degrees, of their existence as mere players.
A study of the denial of death as attempted by literary heroes
is particularly interesting as encountered in Golden Age drama
because of the scope of the genre in that period. Dramas of
the seventeenth century were presented to a vast audience
impacting all levels of Spanish socio—economic strata. The
extent to which the drama either reflected or influenced life
was so great that the delineation between drama and audience
was sometimes obscured. During the staged presentation of a
drama the audience was witness to the duality of actor and
character, reflective of the human duality of physical and
symbolic existence. The identification the audience might

have experienced with a protagonist allowed observers to

 

 

 

4
identify with the successes and failures of the dramatic
character. Heroic characters thus enabled the common man to
envision his own quest for immortality. However, members of
the audience, although buoyed by visions of eternal perdurance
achieved by dramatic heroes and a continued hope that they too
could attain such a prize, were generally surrounded, as is
all humanity, by reminders of their mortality and its seeming
inevitability. The cycle of generations, their birth, life
and death provided a backdrop for the metaphor of a timeless
drama of earthly existence. while characters lived out their
brief dramatic roles, the audience was reminded of the brevity
of each individual's appearance in the on-going drama of life,
yet envisioned their own lives as somehow eternal. This
ability to accept the mortality of others and still deny the
inevitability of one’s own death, is acknowledged by weir who
states:

In a variety of ways, we act as if we are
exceptions to the fact of mortality.
Rather than adjusting to the harsh
reality that death is inevitable, we find
it easier to believe that the ancient
words of the Psalmist were written
especially for us: ’A thousand may fall
at your side,/ ten thousand at your right
hand;/ but it will not come near you.
[Psalms 91:73’. (2)
As a general concept, death is acceptable, but when it becomes
personal it poses a problem, and the need to believe the

Psalmist (91:7) surfaces. When faced with the demise of

others, an awareness of the inevitability of one’s own death

 

 

S

flashes through the mind only to be quickly gathered up and
discreetly tucked away so as to permit the normal course of
life.1 According to Ernest Becker in The Denial of Death,
even if one is able to come to grips with the fact of personal
mortality, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to imagine
one’s self as a non-entity. Subsequently, although an
individual's death may in fact leave a void in the world, that
person imagines himself as a Twitness to, rather than a
participant in, that void. The inquietude caused by such
thoughts of eternal nothingness are fundamental to the human
quest for immortality:

...the idea of death, the fear of it,

haunts the human animal like nothing

else; it is the mainspring of human

activity--activity designed largely to

avoid the fatality of death, to overcome

it by denying in some way that it is the

final destiny for man. (ix)
An awareness of death and constant reminders of its
inevitability do not require the passive acceptance of its
fatality. Although limited to a brief physical existence, the
inherent heroism of the human spirit is reluctant to accept
such fatalistic determinism and grapples with fate, searching
for possibilities of immortality. The contemplation of death
is relegated to the abstract or, as in the case of the drama,
the symbolic.

In Golden Age Spain, the quest to deny death was

undertaken within two~profoundly influential systems.promising

eternal fame and glory, Catholicism and the code of honor,

 

 

6

each vital to society and reflected in the drama of the
period. In the comedia, the hero’s quest to conquer
symbolically the finality of physical death, is encouraged by
the belief that the honor code and Christianity may provide
some means of symbolic immortality. Both systems provided
basic paradigms by which individuals, both real and
fictitious, led their lives. To varying degrees, the
principles of conduct established by these social and
religious systems influenced the masses. Occasionally an
individual would excel (or in drama be represented as
excelling), complying with the ideals; either through the
preservation of honor or saintly virtue. The recognition and
remembrance attained by heroic endeavor of this sort elevated
the importance of Catholicism and the code of honor to new
heights, thus allowing them to evolve into systems of social
behavior and venues of symbolic immortality.

Although Christianity and honor were embraced in Golden
Age Spanish society as viable means of symbolic immortality,
as such they are by no means unique. Nor do they constitute
humanity’s first attempts to devise some type of eternal
existence. Historically, philosophers and theologians have
grappled with the seemingly innate desire for immortality and
have devised many means of denying death the last word.
Jacques Choron discusses the influence of philosophy and
religion on western Tradition in Qgg£n_§gg_flg§£grn Thought:

...the history of the death problem in
philosophical thought is on the one hand

7

the story of attempts to ascertain that-

-as man wants to believe and as myth and

religious doctrine assert--death is not

the absolute end, and that survival after

death is not an illusion. (27)
The key to this statement is that man wants to believe. The
shadow of doubt that is cast over systems of immortality is
what truly preoccupies humanity. According to Choron,
allegations that philosophy is simply the contemplation of
death, a belief commonly attributed to Plato, are unfounded.2
It is true that themes regarding death and its meaning are
prevalent in western philosophy, but the heart of the matter
is often the desire to prove the human capable of transcending
death. Therefore, it is the philosophical contemplation of
immortality, not of death, that causes uncertainty. Plato
himself presents a compelling argument for immortality based
on the eternal existence of the soul, contending that the soul
existed before birth.

The preexistence of the soul is based on the premise that
true knowledge, recollection, is a priori rather than
empirical. The true knowledge, which includes eternal and
immutable ideas, is comprehended by the soul; and because what
is mortal cannot know what is immortal, the soul must
therefore be as eternal as the knowledge it possesses. As
proof that the soul not only preexists the body but also
remains after physical death, Plato suggests that because the

soul is a single entity, it is incapable of dissolution. He

believes that the soul as ruler of the body is irremutable in

8
quantity and quality; unwavering as the essence of life, and
not subject to death.3 While Plato’s system of immortality is
based on the omnipresent soul, there are similar philosophical
theories, too numerous to investigate within the scope of this
study, which detail the eternal qualities of will, love, and
time itself.‘

An alternative to philosophic theories of eternal
existence, religion-~particularly Christianity, offers the
promise of immortality based solely on faith. Paramount to
the Catholic faith widely held in Golden Age Spain is the
belief that Christ transcended death and that His followers
will likewise be resurrected and share in His immortality.
While philosophers debated various aspects of immortality,
Christianity professed a single immortality, differentiating
instead, among variable qualities of death. Choron, who
studies matters of faith as well as philosophy, treats the
Christian concept of immortality and introduces a tripartite
definition of death.

...the Christian theologians, when speaking of

death, give it a three-fold meaning. There

is, first of all the physical death, which is

the end of biological life. Then there is

spiritual death, which is the condition of

humanity outside of the Christian faith.

Finally there is mystical death, which is the

participation already in effect during this

earthly existence, and despite physical death,

is the divine life made accessible by Christ.

The mystical death is the victory over

physical death; and resurrection is but

another phase of this nwstical death, which
is, at the same time, eternal life. (86)

9

According to the Christian assessment of the qualities of
death, it may be final, temporal or eternal, depending on the
physical, spiritual or mystic realm in which it occurs.
Although at times agreement as to the precise nature of death
and immortality is lacking, there is a consensus among some
philosophers and Christians, that death provides a measure by
which to evaluate life. Death, then becomes an integral part
of life even for those who would escape it. Ray Perret, in
Qgéth and Immortality, defends the necessity of death as a
measure of one’s life by implying that three commonly viewed
means of immortality: eternal existence, eternal recurrence
and timelessness, are not attractive for a variety of reasons,
one of which is the failure to provide value in life (105).
While some agreement seems to have been reached regarding the
desire to deny death, there is no universally accepted
definition of exactly what death is. Be it an abstract
concept of finality'or a moment of personal justification, the
human relationship with death, reflected in art and
literature, has evolved throughout western tradition and has
ranged from. medieval abstract resignation to renaissance
personal anguish. The common thread that prevails in the
human perspective towards death, regardless of its degree of
social acceptance at any point in history, is the universality
of death. Accepted or resisted, understood or feared, death
is a facet of life that all humanity experiences.

Perhaps more important than a discernment of death’s

10

properties is a perception of the attitudes surrounding it.
As D. J. Enright points out in The Oxford Book of Death:
"...ignorance is a reason both for fearing death and for not
being too afraid of it" (22). If ignorance, in this case,
may not be bliss, at least it may be somewhat comforting.
But given the natural curiosity of humanity, questions
regarding death’s relationship with the living remain. While
death has always played a role in human existence, the
perception and tolerance~of that role has varied considerably.
The evolution of the human understanding of death is
summarized by Phillipe Aries in biggern Attitude_s toward
Death: From the Middle Ages to the Prggggt, During the early
Middle Ages death was viewed as one of the immutable facts of
earthly existence and rather than resist or glorify it, it was
merely accepted for what it was, a threshold that all must
cross. Eventually, death’s significance evolved from one of
generalization to one of individualization. An early belief
in a libgr vitae, a celestial book in which the deeds of one's
lifetime were accounted for and balanced at the last
judgement, gave way to that of a final deathbed test as a
means of deciding one’s fate. Scenes of both types are
reflected in the artes morigndi of the Middle Ages, and are
categorized and studied by Aries:

During the second half of the Middle

Ages, from the l2th-15th centuries, three

categories of mental images were brought

together: the image of death, that of the

individual's knowledge of his own
biography, and that of the passionate

11

attachment for things and creatures

possessed during one’s lifetime. Death

became the occasion when man was most

able to reach an awareness of himself.

(45-46)
However, as the appreciation of death grew more personal, its
inevitability became less acceptable, and mankind’s animosity
towards death grew. This changing attitude was reflected in
the art and literature of Spain. The reaction to individual
death as compared to its acknowledgment in general is seen in
El libro dg buen amor as the Archpriest laments the death of
his go-between and curses death for taking her from him. The
Archpriest recognizes and comments (N1 the inescapable and
pervasive nature of death:

Al que hieres tu, Muerte, nadie lo

salvara;
humilde, bueno, malo, noble, no escapara;
a todos te los llevas, diferencia no
habra;
tanto el Rey como el Papa ni chica nuez
valdra. (1521)

Although the medieval resignation to death as an immutable
fact of life is sustained throughout the more than fifty

stanzas eulogizing the Archpriest’s go-between, the anguish

felt at the moment of his personal loss is also reflected:

,Ay muerte! ,Muerte seas, bien muerta y

malandante!

,Matésteme a mi vieja! ,Matarasme a mi
antes!

Enemiga del mundo, no tienes semejante;
de tu memoria amarga nadie hay Que no se

espante.
(1520)

12

The despair of the Archpriest later turns to anger. If death
is inescapable for every living thing, then why should death
itself be immortal: "gAy, implacable muerte!, ,Mataraste a
ti sola! / ¢Do esta mi leal vieja? Tu gran ira matéla. / gTu
la mataste, muerte! ...“ (1568a-c). Also revealed in this
stanza is the ccmstant preoccupation with the finality of
one’s existence. The Archpriest questions the whereabouts of
his loyal friend. Even though he earlier comments on the fate
of the body: ”piensas que, una vez muerto, se lo coma el
escuerzo;" (1544c), the ‘renewed interest 1T1 her presence
reveals the underlying hope that death is a means of
transition rather than an end in itself.

Although the medieval view of death in general as a
measure of life and as the great equalizer that comes to all
that is seen in the Libro dg buen amor was maintained well
into the Golden Age, the personification of death evolved into
something more individualized and thus more feared. As Aries
contends: "In the oldest dances of death, Death scarcely
touched the living to warn him and designate him. In the new
iconography of the sixteenth century, Death raped the living“
(56). While the interaction between death and the individual
is not generally so violent,5 the growing personalization of
death, unfettered by social distinction, is equally apparent
in the evolution of the Spanish dances of death. Beginning

with the Danga general de la Muerte

(c. XIV-XV), the first known example of the Iberian peninsula,

13
the»personification of death calls to individuals warning them
of their tenuous position and attempts to persuade them to
forfeit the illusion that they will somehow escape his grasp.
Que locura es esta tan magnifiesta

Que piensas to omne, que el otro morra,

E tu quedaras por ser bien compuesta

La tu complisyon e que durara. (379:2)
This stanza echoes the sentiment previously credited to the
Psalmist, that each individual hopes that his life (will
somehow endure, even when faced with the downfall of those
around him. Also referring to the early Dances of Death,
Leonard Kurz, in The Dance of Death and the Macabre Spirit in
European Literature, presents the image of a somewhat
pragmatic if not sympathetic personification of death which
recognizes humanity’s growing concern with personal mortality
but offers no recourse:

At the~ beginning, Death tells. mankind

that it should listen to what the wise

preachers advise, in view of the brevity

of life. People should strive to live

well in order to have pardon for the sins

they have committed. (148)
While in general a life well lived may have provided an
individual with a sense of abstract acceptance, at the moment
of death, such predications--however well intentioned they
might have been--were often rejected as the anguish of
personal loss overcame any general recognition of death’s
inevitability. In addition to the inability of a person to

contemplate his own death is the impossibility of changing

one’s physical destiny. This inescapable mortality is also

14

reflected in Part Two of the Quijote when Sancho summarizes
a popular concept of death in the Golden Age:

Todos estamos sujetos a la muerte, y que

hoy somos y mafiana no, y que tan presto

se va el cordero como el carnero, y que

nadie puede prometerse en este mundo mas

horas de las que Dios quisiere darle;

porque la muerte es sorda, y cuando llega

a llamar a las puertas de nuestra vida,

siempre va de prisa y no la haran detener

ni ruegos, rm. fuerzas, rm. cetros, ni

mitras, segun es pdblica voz y fama, y

segun nos 10 dicen por esos pulpitos.

(II, 585)
Ever the voice of the common man, Sancho presents an attitude
towards death that reflects the medieval tradition of the
acceptance of death as well as the Christian belief that human
existence is overseen and controlled by God. Needless to say,
the strong Catholic tradition throughout Golden Age Spain
influenced this outlook and its projection into the literature
of the period. 'The inescapable mortality evidenced in the
theme of desengafio, as has been noted above, was predominant
in the Spanish dances of death and continued to evolve in the

5 In my opinion, these constant

literature of the Golden Age.
reminders of the brevity of life that were found in art and
literature of the period undoubtably contributed to the desire
of individuals to seek symbolic immortality within their
religious and social systems--Catholicism and the honor code.
For Perez del Rio, Christianity, as a means of symbolic

immortality, provides an opportunity to reconcile the dual

aspects of physical and symbolic existence: "El hombre es el

15

unico ser que puede dar a la muerte un sentido. Asi el hombre
religioso, llevado de su celeste ideal, hace de la muerte un
sacrificio y la ofrece a Dios" (28). The capacity and desire
to make death a symbolic, rather than exclusively physical,
occurrence reflects a sense of optimism towards the
inevitable. Perez del Rio holds that death, as accepted in
salvation-based religions such as.Catholicism, may signify not
complete annihilation, but a symbolic beginning of a superior
reality:

...cuando la muerte llega, esta no
significa la aniquilacién total, sino la
vuelta a1 fondo comun de la vida, del que
proviene toda individualidad.
Adentrandonos en este camino, el supremo
optimismo se hallaria en las religiones
de salvacién, donde hay siempre una
preservacibn de la vida personal mas alla
de todo limite. En la esperanza
religiosa la vida vence siempre a la
muerte. Esta no es un termino absoluto,
sino el comienzo de una realidad
superior. No es un fracaso, sino un
triunfo. (16)

The religious conviction that life triumphs over death lends
itself to a quest for symbolic rather than physical
immortality. But lest one believe that, given the optimism
of celestial eternity, Spaniards are too accepting of their
earthly mortality, Perez del Rio adds:

Este temor a la muerte es el sentimiento
que parece surgir en nosotros mas
facilmente; algo, sin duda, que emerge
del fondo de nuestra naturaleza humana.
Todos sabemos que somos mo'rtales, que
nuestro destinoles morirnos, sin remedio;
y sin embargo, no acabamos nunca de
acomodar por entero nuestro animo a este
"fatum" implacable. (59)

16

After discussing attitudes towards death and its relevance to
life, we are reminded again of Becker's initial premise that
the awareness of death is accompanied by fear and an innate
desire to deny its finality.

As has been suggested by Perez del Rio and Choron,
death’s inevitability does not have to be regarded as the last
word on human existence. Religious faith has been signaled
as one means of continued existence, but faith is only one
facet of a system of immortality. If the limitations of
physical life are inescapable, and if an awareness of one’s
ultimate fate causes reflection upon the paradox of human
existence, the inherent duality of body and spirit may be
employed in the development of symbolic systems of coping with
and surviving the physicality of human existence.

As has been previously stated, the human being is a
symbolic creature whose'consciousness, while being cursed with
the knowledge of ultimate physical death, allows for the
construction of systems for living while he can, and also for
ensuring that the end of physical existence does not signal
complete annihilation. Noting the means by which human beings
aspire to a more enduring means of existence than their own
physical survival, Farrell, in his book Elaya__Qaa£Q_ayui
Haroigm in Shakespeare, states: "...people imagine themselves
connected to the world that will survive them, through

biology, posterity, significant deeds, and nature" (47).

17

Culture as a whole is reflective of the connections that
Farrell suggests humans envision themselves to have with the
world. And within each culture exist built-in systems for
symbolic immortality. The social systems that human beings
utilize help structure and provide meaning to life, and after
they have served their purpose to the living, they remain as
possible venues of immortality for those who have excelled at
keeping their order. Becker discusses a variety of symbolic
immortality systems ranging from species survival at the most
basic and creaturely level, to divine immortality. Idithin the
scope of this broad spectrum lie systems of symbolic
immortality through relationships with other individuals or
society as a whole. Following, is a brief discussion of some
of the possible systems suggested by Farrell, Becker and other
scholars to define and individualize human existence. These
systems range from the most accessible and common means of
self-affirmation, to the heroic and divine.

While a predominantly social creature, the human is also
driven by a desire to stand apart and be heroic, to be
recognized in some way as an individual yet still maintain
acceptance from the group. Becker recognizes this urge to
individuation and the ways the majority of the group's members
find to extend themselves into what he calls the "beyond":

Most people play it safe: they choose the
beyond of standard transference objects
like parents, the boss, or the leader;
they accept the cultural definition of

heroism and try to be a "good provider“
or a "solid" citizen. In this way they

18

earn their species immortality as an

agent of procreation, or a collective or

cultural immortality as part of a social

group of some kind. (170)
The need to stand apart is contained by the need to belong to
the group so that heroism and participation in the symbolic
immortality are bound by the opportunities provided within the
safety of the group. The daily existence in which every
member of the group shares, provides a safe way for each
member to participate. There is, however, a converse
relationship between the safety of the immortality system and
the satisfaction it provides. The group may provide a means
of immortality, but then it must be shared among the members.7
One of the most basic sources of individual participation in
immortality is founded not in the spiritual, but in a purely
physical dimension. Physical union represents the potential
of the human race, and by complying with the laws of nature,
an individual may participate, by virtue of procreation, in

the immortality of the species.8

Human beings may encounter
a means of symbolic immortality recognizing that as members
of a greater whole they will endure, at least partially, in
the progeny they create. Becker states that "...in this way
they earn their species immortality as an agent of
procreation, or a collective or cultural immortality as part
of a social group of some kind" (170). This is among the

easiest, albeit less satisfying means of symbolic immortality

because when approached by either direction it relies solely

19

on the physical component of human existence, the very
component one seeks most to deny. One may participate in
species immortality, but it fails to elevate humanity above
even the lowest of the beasts. Again, the individual is faced
with the duality of human existence, knowing that he is more
than a beast but equalled by the beast in this means of
immortality. If one relies solely upon physical existence to
gain immortality, it tarnishes the prize. Becker infers that
while any means of immortality is favored above the finality
of death, immortality dependent solely upon the physical
component of human existence will itself be likewise doomed:

Sex is the body, and the body is of

death. As Rank reminds us, this is the

meaning of the Biblical account of the

ending of paradise, when the discovery of

sex brings death into the world. As in

Greek mythology too, Eros and Thanatos

are inseparable; death is the natural

twin brother of sex. (162)
It seems somewhat ironic then, that sex thus can be viewed as
a threshold to both life and death. If one hopes to escape
the influence of Thanatos, the means are not to be provided
by the twin, Eros.

Although reminded here of the creatureliness of the body,
Becker reveals also the human ability to transcend the purely
physical union and attain a higher alliance with another
individual, thus achieving another possible means of symbolic

immortality. In many cases, the individual seeks to fulfill

an "urge to immortalization and self-perpetuation by pleasing

20

the other by conforming to the code of behavior that he
represents. People hunger for immortality and get it where
they can: in the small family circle or in the single love
object" (Becker, 212).9 The relationship between lovers is
investigated by Thomas O’Connor in his study of Calderén’s
mythic heroes” O'Connor’s study of these mythic relationships
leads me to believe that heroic action, action that stands
above and apart from that of the group, is many times
motivated by love, either of an individual or an altruistic
love for the group which allows the hero’s self-sacrifice for
the good of the loved one or of society. An explanation of
the hero's motivation to self-sacrifice on behalf of another
is offered by O’Connor, who states:

Life is a risk, and the obligations of

nobility force one to spurn personal

safety in order to save the other. There

is no higher expression of what is meant

by fineza than this assumption of risk,

this willingness to sacrifice oneself for

another. (220)
The inspiration for self-sacrifice that O’Connor calls iaflaaa,
is the nobly inspired quality that allows one individual to
transcend an average existence and become a hero.

The notion of self—sacrifice on the part of the hero
often links the variety of planes on which the heroic denial
of death is seen. In the quest for immortality the
selflessness of the hero does not go unrewarded. As Farrell

insightfully notes: "While the hero converts death into energy

for life, usually there is an economy of sacrifice implied,

21

in which giving--or giving up--life brings more life in
return" (76). By accepting physical mortality in exchange
for an eternal symbolic existence the individual is elevated
above the creatureliness of human duality, consciously
sacrificing himself for others and truly becoming a hero.
This self-sacrifice may be motivated by various factors
influencing the life and immortality structure of the hero:

Whatever your secular religion-~country,

king, family, honor, love, children,

money--by participating in it you deny

death and acquire immortality while

living. But at the same time, precisely

because it is sacred, you will not only

kill but die for it. (Calderwood, 41-42)
The importance of the honor code in Golden Age Spain as a
"secular religion" is fundamental to the motivation of
dramatic heroes by providing them a means of symbolic
immortality.

In the comedia there are abundant examples of
Calderwood's claim that individuals are apparently willing to
sacrifice themselves and others in the name of symbolic
immortality based on religious and social systems. The works
chosen for the present study as representative of the
motivating force of honor in the hero’s quest for symbolic
immortality are Ruiz de Alarcon’s El dgafio da_laa_aa£gallaa,
and Miguel de Cervantes’ La Numancia. In each example, the
protagonist, in compliance with the code'of conduct idealizing

the preservation of one’s honor, consciously chooses death

rather than dishonor and is rewarded with a form of eternal

22

glory and remembrance. The parallel importance of the
Catholic faith as a means of securing symbolic immortality is
found in Calderén de la Barca’s El principg confiante and
Tirso de Molina’s Condapado por desconfiado. Just as honor
provides secular immortality to Licurgo and Numancia, the
dedication to the principles of Christianity as represented
by Calderén’s and Tirso's protagonists also ensure them
eternal existencercwi a spiritual plane» These works were
chosen because of the exemplary nature of their protagonists
whose denial of death, by secular or religious means, is
heroic.

The quest for immortality is undertaken by those who have
in some way transcended their creaturel iness and escaped
mediocrity. Those who excel in life are deemed heroes, the
heroes who achieve excellence may be deemed immortal. While
each of the immortality systems mentioned by Calderwood,
O’Connor and Becker may represent viable attempts to deny
death, their existence in the drama of the Golden Age is too
extensive to be discussed within the scope of this study and
therefore I will limit further discussion of symbolic
immortality to that achieved within the parameters of the
honor code and Catholicism. Before considering the manner in
which the representative heroes excel in their quests for
immortality within these systems, it would be helpful to
discuss the role of honor and the Catholic faith in Golden

Age Spain and its drama.

23

Still a key article on honor and the Catholic faith in
Golden Age drama is Reichenberger’s, oft-quoted "The
uniqueness of the comedia":

It was in the literature of Spain’s Golden Age

that the honor code received its most thorough

and diversified expression; it, combined with

the Catholic Faith served as the foundation

upon which the comedia was constructed. (308)

As this statement suggests the secular and religious codes
defining life and immortality in the Golden Age were
fundamental to the development of the drama. The importance
of the Catholic Faith with regard to the denial of death in
the comedia will be considered following a discussion of
honor.

If the influence of honor on the drama of the period is
to be examined, it should first be approached as it was most
likely perceived during the Golden Age of Spain. Much
attention has been devoted to the relationship between honor
and honra. In the Dicciogario darAutoridagaa, definitions of
honor and honra cite publicity, reputation, and dignity due
to familial origin, action or position for males, and modesty

1° Honor and honra, two

and virtue in the case of females.
comparable but slightly different concepts, are discussed by
scholars utilizing both conceptual and linguistic based

H As one can note, linguistic definitions do

methodologies.
not satisfactorily differentiate between honor and honra. I
prefer the conceptual view of Castro when discussing a theme

that existed not within a linguistic vacuum, but rather as an

24

inherent quality of society and its members. Castro, an
influential scholar in Golden Age criticism, distinguishes
between the related concepts of honor and honra as found in
literature:

La lengua literaria distinguia entre e1

honor como concepto, y los "casos de la

honra"....la palabra honra parece mas

adherida al alma de quien siente derruido

o mermado lo que antes existia con

plenitud y seguridad. (De la edad

conflictiva, 55)
For Castro, the difference between the two concepts seems to
be more quantitative than qualitative. Rather than mutually
exclusive, honor seems to be the greater whole to which
particular merits of honra are subordinate. The meanings of
the terms have changed throughout the history of Spanish
language and literary use, as Podol points out in his
dissertation T_hngvolution of tha Honor Thelma in Modern
Spanish Literature.1:2 However, beyond frequency of appearance
or the evolution of the respective terms, honor and papLa,
and the connotations each word carries.imply'a degree of worth
to be recognized in an individual perceived to embody the
concept.

Gustavo Correa’s "El doble aspecto de la honra en el
teatro del siglo XVII" which focuses on concepts of honor and
social stratification is more enlightening to the present
study. Correa, adopting the view expressed by Castro that

honor and honra are conceptually more related than different,

accepts honra as the more general concept of esteem and

25
equates honor with masculinity, correlating it with feminine
virtud. Means of evaluating the concepts of individual
esteem and social position are presented in terms of honra
vertical and hongaahorizontal:

La honra vertical es, pues, honra
inmanente, la cual existe en virtud de
nacimiento 0 de meritos extraordinarios
o fuera de lo comun en la persona, y que
ocasionalmente puede derivarse de
posiciones oficiales y estatales. La
honra horizontal, en cambio, se refiere
a las complejas relaciones entre los
miembros de la comunidad en el sentido
horizontal de grupo. Tal concepto de
honra puede ser definido como fama o
Laputacién y descansaba por entero en la
opinién que. los demas tuvieran de la
persona. La honra vertical actuaba como
factor di fergl_c iador en el sent ido
ascendente de status, al paso que la
honra horizontal obraba con un sentido de
igualamiento en calidad de simbolo de
cohesién social. (100-101)

Given that the majority of heroic protagonists in Golden Age
drama are endowed with a level of honra vgrtical or social
status that remains statbc, it is the honra horizontaL or

reputation and fama as judged by others within the

 

protagonists' society upon which will rest the prospect of
symbolic immortality. Since no definitive concensus has been
reached as to the difference between honor and honra, for the
remainder of this study, the English term honor will be
understood to encompass all connotations inherent to the
Spanish concepts of honor and honra. The code of honor which
provides the heroes with some venue for symbolic immortality

will be shown to» be based on both societal values and

26
individual merits and virtue.

Given the dependent nature of one’s honor upon the
opinion of others, it was most vigilantly protected and
defended. Americo Castro affirms that both in society and
the comedia the importance of preserving one’s honor was a
profound reality:

El honor en el drama del siglo XVII no

es un simple tema literario, ni un rasgo

de psicologia humana 3/ universal. Es,

si, la expresién de realidad profunda, de

la inquietud espafiola por el valer de su

persona frente a cnras personas, de la

creencia constitutiva de su valer

personal, afirmada en roces, ajustes y

pugnas con otras creencias rivales.

(139)
If one accepts that honor was of paramount importance in
society as well as drama the questions remain: What were the
origins of this cult of honor? And why did it rise to play
such a pivotal role in Spanish society? The following pages
will be dedicated to an investigation of these questions, the
answers to which I believe have not yet been fully proved.

An ongoing debate exists as to the possible genesis of
the Spanish honor code. Castro provides a summary of
different theories regarding the origins of the honor code in
"Algunas observaciones acerca del concepto del honor en los
siglos XVI y XVII" (6). According to Castro, some scholars
believe the code to be influenced by Arabs (Viel-Castel),

Germans (Munarriz, Ticknor) and Italians (Stuart), or by the

tradition of chivalric literature (Munarriz, Rubio y Lluch),

27

others contend that it is inherent to the nature of the
Spaniard (Marchena, Schack, Escosura). Rather than a
specifically Spanish preoccupation, Menendez Pidal recognizes
the development of a code of honor as a universal concern in
the Middle Ages: "...las ideas sobre el honor en nuestro
teatro no son sino el desarrollo de principios universales
que regian en la Edad Media y que tambien se encuentran en
otros paises en los siglos XVI y XVII" (Del honor en el teatro
espafiol, 166). Menéndez Pidal’s observation that the concept
of honor represented in the Spanish Golden Age drama is but
a development of universal principles seems to imply that an
honor code may be universally accepted as a social system.
One might extrapolate from that opinion to conclude that a
universal social system may evolve and become an accepted
means of symbolic immortality.

The honor code as a social system as well as a means of
symbolic immortality is functional only to the extent that it
is upheld. Given that one’s honor must remain intact if it
is to be of any value, socially or symbolically, the
importance of its preservation is also the topic of scholarly
discussion. An individual may be blessed with honor, revered
by society and therefore likely' to secure some form of
symbolic immortality. But if that individual’s honor is
questioned the difficult task of restoring it must be
undertaken. Typically the implications of maintaining the

honor code are addressed taking into account only the most

28

obvious reason, vengeance, that one would choose the more
difficult task of restoring honor rather than turning a blind
eye to the opinions of others, but it is Menendez Pidal who
recognizes the multi-dimensional nature>of the subject as felt
by the seventeenth-century Spaniard. While accepting the
internal conflict of a state of dishonor, he recognizes the
social implications of maintaining the code. The need to
restore one’s honor through vengeance is seen not only as an
individual desire, but also as a social obligation. As such,
the preservation of social order, as well as one's reputation,
is inherent in the code of honor. While Garcia Valdecasas
recognizes the duality of personal and social motivation in
keeping the honor code, he discusses individual and collective
aspects of honor and relegates the individual’s personal
feelings regarding the required vengeance in the face of
dishonor strictly to a sense of social responsibility (15).
This emphasis on the purely social motivation of the honor
code differs from the opinion of Castro who gives more
importance to the individual rather than social need to
preserve one's honor. Be it personal or social, the
motivation for maintaining the code of honor was clear;
dishonor to the Golden Age Spaniard was not only equal to, but
worse than death.13

If, as Castro suggests, dishonor could have been equated
to death, then conversely, honor may have become as important

as life itself; in some cases even more closely guarded, thus

29
elevating it into a viable system of symbolic immortality.
The code of honor probably served the seventeenth-century
Spaniard, not only as a means of ordering and providing
meaning to his life, it offered him enduring fame as a reward
for following its rules.

One final aspect of the honor code that must be addressed
is its relationship with Christianity, the other principal
social system upon which Spanish society of the Golden Age was
founded. There are several opinions regarding the coexistence
of honor and religious faith. While P. N. Dunn believes that
Christianity and the honor code are diametrically opposed,
Garcia Val decasas and others contend that they are
fundamentally similar with regard to the sense of social
responsibility that they inspire.

Focusing on the conflicting relationship of the basic
tenets of Christianity and honor, Dunn, in "Honour and the
Christian Background in Calderén," comments:

In short, honor as we see it in these

plays entails a structure of ideas,

rituals and symbolism which parodies the

Christian pattern at each of these

points. Honour's pattern and the

Christian pattern cannot co-exist,

because honour unbinds the destructive

forces and the human psyche which

Christianity reconciles. (41)
This view seems unduly critical of the honor code, focusing
on the anti-Christian act of vengeance that occasionally

occurs, rather than the underlying value that, as a social

system, the honor code provided seventeenth-century Spanish

30

society. Valdecasas presents a more moderate view. He
recognizes certain divergent elements” but is.nonetheless able
to partially reconcile the honor code and Christianity,
stating:

La venganza del honor sera una idea anti-

cristiana; pero, en cambio, poner el

honor en la mujer es una idea

profundamente cristiana, porque "la mujer

es la gloria del varén. (Corintos, I Cap.

XI, 7)". (185)
Further examples of the ability of honor and Christianity to
converge, in principle, are presented by Podol, who points
out that the two are thematically reconcilable. He agrees
with A. A. Parker’s premise in "The Approach to the Spanish
Drama of the Golden Age" that action is subordinate to theme
in the comedia and concurs that since justice always prevails
in the comedia, honor and Christianity are thematically
unopposed, sharing a common foundation in justice (Podol, 21-
22).

The ideal of honor can coexist with the Christian ideal
if one focuses on the inherently social nature of each system.
Rather than the personal importance, one must look to the
social implications of a culture in which ideally everyone's
honor is intact. Although the component of vengeance included
in the code of honor is anti-Christian in spirit, I would
venture that the underlying ideals of honor and Christianity

were able to coexist as systems of ordering society and also

as means of symbolic immortality.

31
The coexistence of Christianity and the honor code is
alluded to as Correa notes a further parallel between honor
and religion as social systems. Here, honor is seen as a
sanctification of the society that maintains its code:

La restauraciMn de la honra implica un
deber de caracter ritual y sacrosanto con

el ofrecimiento de una victima
propiciatoria (el ofensor) a una oscura
divinidad ofendida. Esta ultima no es

otra que la sociedad misma, es decir, la

peculiar estructura social que hace

sentir su presencia a través del denso

simbolo de la honra. La sociedad se

santifica a si misma y al santificarse

confiere un matiz de religiosidad al

simbolo que la expresa. De este caracter

religioso emana la fuerza mistica de la

honra y al caracter violento de su accidn

simbélica. (105)
The conversion of honor into a sanctifying social ritual
supports the previously mentioned theory introduced by
Calderwood that presented honor as one possible "secular
religion". If it can be said that the honor code was a
secular religion, as such, it provided some means of symbolic
immortality while Christianity offered a parallel system of
immortality on a spiritual plane. As further indication of
the possible coexistence of these social systems, Becker notes
that the pre—romantic society was able to subscribe equally
to the honor code as well as Christianity without finding them
to be mutually exclusive. He contends that many honorable
characteristics such as personal dignity and devotion to faith

and family were viewed not only as having secular merit but

were a means of fulfilling one’s Christian duty:

32

When man lived securely under the canopy

of the Judeo-Christian world picture he

was part of a great whole; to put it in

our terms, his cosmic heroism was

completely mapped out, it was

unmistakable. He came from the invisible

world into the visible one by the act of

God, did his duty to God by living out

his life with dignity and faith, marrying

as a duty, procreating as a duty,

offering his whole life as Christ had--to

the Father. In turn he was justified by

the Father and rewarded with eternal life

in this invisible dimension....

Christianity took creature consc iousness-

-the thing man most wanted to deny-—and

made it the very condition for his cosmic

heroism. (159-160)
If one considers the close ties that existed between the
earthly and celestial realms, the parallel between the honor
code and religious faith as means of symbolic immortality
becomes more plausible. Whether one subscribed to the code
of honor or to Catholicism, ideal behaviors are clearly
indicated, as is the encouragement for an individual to live
up to those ideals. As systems for symbolic immortality the
honor code and Christianity differ, however, in the treatment
of those who fall short of the mark. For those who would
aspire, but fail to achieve the Christian ideal, divine
forgiveness proves to be more readily bestowed upon them than
for their counterparts who are unsuccessful in maintaining the
ideals of secular honor. Although the code of honor and
Christianity have obvious differences, they are similar in the

manner in which one who came close to their ideals was

rewarded. In both cases the individual is granted a sort of

33

immortality, be it secular or divine, by an outside source.
And while heroes’ actions are dictated by a desire to comply
with the required code of conduct, they are judged and their
ultimate fate is controlled by another. A hero's exemplary
honor might be rewarded by society with so called "eternal“
fame and glory, whereas faith would be rewarded with spiritual
immortality.

The importance of Christianity and honor is that they
provide symbolic immortality, culturally or spiritually, to
those who believe in and live by their codes of conduct.14
As with any aspect of human endeavor, there are varying
degrees of success and failure, but the optimism that leads
one to a belief in immortality also directs attention not
toward those who fail, but to those who succeed and do so
exceptionally, to heroes.

Becker discusses systems for heroism and contends that
heroism itself may be indicative of the human drive towards
immortality. hi a compelling chapter (N1 human nature and
psychological motivation he states: "heroism is first and
foremost a reflex of the terror of death" (11). He later
comments on the opportunities available to the individual who
reacts to that reflex and aspires to achieve immortality
through heroism: "The social hero-system into which we are
born marks out paths for any heroism, paths to which we
conform, to which we shape ourselves" (82). While the drive

tc>heroism and immortality may be inherent in the human being,

34

the manner in which that desire is acted upon depends not only
on the individual but also on the circumstances by which one
is surrounded. Once again, the communal nature of human
beings influences their acts, even as they strive to separate
themselves from the group. Regardless of the hero system
provided by the culture in which one exists, there is some
degree of accord when attempting to define those who excel and
go beyond the course laid out for them.

The archetypical hero seems to transcend, in many ways,

cultural boundaries. Joseph Campbell, in The Hero with a

 

Thougnd Facaa, presents a composite of the hero and his
destiny as found in myth, religion and legend throughout the
world. Although it is valuable to know that characteristics
of heroism are common regardless.of culture, the present study
focuses on the Western tradition of the hero as it evolved
from the ancient Greece and Rome to Golden Age Spain.

The attitudes towards heroism throughout Western history
and their combination with Christian ideals greatly influence
the Golden Age Spanish concept of the hero. Regardless of
the particular characteristics of the hero or the specific
circumstances with which an individual is faced, the destiny
of the hero seems to follow a predictable cycle that has been
summarized by Campbell as follows:

The standard path of the mythological
adventure of the hero is a magnification
of the formula represented in the rites
of passage: separation - initiation -

return: which might be named the nuclear
unit of the monomyth. A hero ventures

35

forth from the world of common day into

a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous

forces are there encountered and a

decisive victory is won: the hero comes

back from this mysterious adventure with

the power go bestow boons on his fellow

man. (30)1
Campbell defends the existence of this heroic cycle by citing
numerous examples of mythical and legendary heroes of varied
cultural backgrounds. Included is the example of Christ, who
suffered physical death, descended into hell and returned from
the dead to promise eternal life to His followers. Given the
influence of the Catholic church in medieval and renaissance
Spain, the Christian ideal of heroism is of great importance
to the evolution of the Golden Age hero since it provided not
only a mythical figure to revere but also a model to follow
in one’s own quest for heroic immortality.

Antecedents of the Spanish Golden Age hero can also be
found in the Classics. The Greek hero is described by Maurice
McNamee in Honor and thafiEpic Hero, as "individualistic, self-
sufficient and proud" (1), all characteristics easily
attributed to the Spanish hero. In McNamee’s study of heroic
magnanimity, honor also plays an important role:

it was Aristotle who first defined
magnanimity as the virtue that is
concerned with the rational attitude of
a genuinely great man (great because pre-
eminent in the practice of all virtues
honored in his society) toward his own
personal honor and placed it above all
the other virtues because it contained

them all. (xii)

The recognition of one’s own honor was also accompanied by

36
the need for it to be recognized by others, as in the Spanish
honor code of the Golden Age» One means of ensuring that this
came about was to engage in some heroic deed in battle,‘6 a
tradition maintained in medieval Spain and glorified in the
chivalric literature of the Renaissance.
The Greek hero, not unlike the Golden Age Spaniard, felt
a particularly close relationship between his honor and his
very existence. As suggested by McNamee (3), the Greeks
recognized the futility of any quest for corporeal immortality
and had only a vague indication of an afterlife.17 The cult
of honor continued to be present in the evolution of the
classical Greco-Roman hero, but became more refined in the
Roman social system. As McNamee states:
In the Roman ideal it was not the
personal glory of the individual Roman

that was to the fore, but rather the
glory of the State.... The Roman ideal

was always social rather than
individualistic.... The Basis of honor
for Cicero, as for Aristotle, is
preeminence in virtue or moral

goodness.... But unlike Aristotle, Cicero

emphasizes the virtues which are social

in character rather than those qualities

that focus attention on the excellence of

the individual in himself. (40-42)
I believe that this Roman concern for the welfare of the state
is similar to the social context for the Spanish honor code
and the acute sense of responsibility one felt to uphold its
ideals. These traits of personal and social responsibility

for one’s honor and a focus on personal merit are balanced by

Catholicism. The overwhelming pride one might be tempted to

37

feel when contemplating personal honor is tempered by the
belief that all that is possessed in this world and beyond is
granted by the grace of God and not as deserved rewards.18
This too instilled an awesome sense of social responsibility
particularly relevant to the hero. Commenting on the
influence of Christianity in the development of the hero,
McNamee states:

A recognition that all the good one has

comes from God and that to Him,

therefore, should go the greater glory,

and a willingness to use all that one has

for the benefit of one's neighbor--these

constitute in Saint Paul the ground plan

for the great structure of Christian

heroism that was to be built in every

succeeding century of the Christian Era.
(79)

Although it may seem ironic, given such an altruistic
perception of the hero, the evolution of heroic
characteristics comes full circle to rest on the foundation
of one's honor. As McNamee points out:

[Saint] Thomas agrees with Aristotle that

magnanimity is a virtue dealing with the

right reasoned attitude toward honor; and

he agrees, too that it is concerned with

the great honor owing to a great man who

is pre-eminent in all the virtues. (123)

In the Spanish Golden Age, magnanimity seems to unite
the two principle systems--the honor code and Christianity--
which motivate the hero. Honor, in religious as well as
secular tradition, is a predominant characteristic when

considering heroism in the Spanish tradition. The honorable

characteristics.of the medieval Spanish hero included not only

38

the requisite physical and military prowess but also devotion
to God, king and countrymen, traits sustained and refined in
the evolution of the Golden Age hero. As for the hero of the
comedia, Ruiz Rambn reiterates the mythic proportion of the
importance of excellence in duty as vassal and warrior, and
devotion to faith and family:

En el héroe castellano el dramaturgo

propone a la contemplacibn admirativa del

espafiol del Siglo XVII una visibn mitica

de un modo radical de ser hombre: buen

hijo, buen vasallo, buen guerrero, buen

cristiano, buen marido, buen padre.

(186-187)
The characteristics of loyalty to and defense of country, and
attentiveness to familial and religious obligations, are not
so different from what one would expect of any hero, either
literal or literary. What seems truly universal to the hero
regardless of the system or genre in which he functions, is
the ability to confront the fear of death and take action to
protect that which he holds most dear. Heroes of the Spanish
Golden Age, as represented in drama, accepted death but
struggled to deny its finality by means of two symbolic
immortality systems--the'coderof honor and the Catholic faith.
The protagonists selected for this study, given their
compliance'with the ideals presented within the’honor code and
Catholicism, are representative of the heroic quest to deny
death. Because of the mutually influential relationship

between seventeenth-century Spanish society and its drama, it

is through the study of dramatizations of the heroic quest

39
for symbolic immortality, secular or spiritual, that a broader
insight into the society of Golden Age Spain is to be

found.

NOTES

1.Regarding the human need to repress thoughts of one’s own
mortality, Becker states: "...the fear of death must be present
behind all our normal functioning, in order for the organism to be
armed toward self-preservation. But the fear of death cannot be
present constantly in one's mental functioning, else the organism
could not function" (16).

2.Choron disputes the misconception that philosophy was, according
to Plato, centered on the contemplation of death. He points out
that Plato dedicated much thought to the proof of immortality,
rather than to death itself (50).

3. Plato’s arguments are succinctly summarized by Choron as
follows:

The arguments for immortality that Plato advances in Phaedo are:

(a) The soul existed before birth. This pre-existence of
the soul is based on the contention that knowledge is recollection
(real knowledge is considered here not to be empirical, but a
priori). This, however, established only the existence of the soul
before birth.

(b) There are eternal and immutable "forms," or "ideas," and
since the soul is capable of apprehending them, it must be itself
eternal and divine ("nothing mortal knows what is immortal").

(c) The soul rules the body, and therein resembles the
immortal gods.

(d) The soul is simple; it is uncompounded, and therefore
incapable of dissolution (what is simple cannot change, begin or
end--the essence of things is simple, indivisible, unseen and
eternal).

(e) The soul, whose' essence is life and thus the very
opposite of death, cannot be conceived of as dying, any more than
fire can be conceived of as becoming cold. And additional proof
is given in Phaedrus: the soul, being self-moved and the source of
life and motion, can never cease to live and move (48).

4.See Choron for detailed summaries of various philosophical
theories of immortality, including those of Petrarch, Schopenhauer
and Feuerbach.

40

 

41

5.Ildefonso Vega Fernandez’s commentary regarding Manrique’s Obra
poetica provides a synthesis of the works and traditions
influential in the Coplas and the varying attitudes towards death
that are presented within the work.

6.For a detailed study of the desengafio theme in the Spanish dances
of death including the Danga general see Felkel (1-82).

7.Becker comments on the human need to belong to the group and the
conflicting desire to stand alone and be recognized for doing so.
The hero must resolve the conflict between these two urges and
extend himself beyond the limits imposed by the group. Regarding
those who compromise, Becker states: ”Why does man accept to live
a trivial life? Because of the danger of a full horizon of
experience.... The safest thing is to toe the mark of what is
socially possible" (74). Also: "The social hero-system into which
we are born marks out paths for any heroism, paths to which we
conform, to which we shape ourselves..." (82).

8.Commenting on the physical relationships of the hero as a means
of symbolic immortality, Campbell states: "The meeting with the
goddess (who is incarnate in every woman) is the final test of the
talent of the hero to win the boon of love (charity: amor fati),
which is life itself enjoyed as the encasement of eternity" (118).

9.Regarding relationships in the absence of Christian heroism,
Becker states: "...he [the romantic hero] fixed his urge to cosmic
heroism onto another person in the form of a love object. The
self-glorification that he needed in his innermost nature he now
looked for in the love partner. The love partner becomes the
divine ideal within which to fulfill one’s life" (160).

10.The similarity of honor and honra is evident in the use of the
term honra as a definition of honor:
Honor
a) Honra con esplendor y publicidad.
b) Se toma muchas veces por reputacién ilustre de alguna
familia, accidn u otra cosa.
c) Se toma asimismo por obsequio, aplauso o celebridad
de alguna cosa.
d) Significa tambien la honestidad y recato en las
mugeres.
e) Se toma asimismo por dignidad: como "el honor de mi
empleo."

Honra
a) Reverencia, acatamiento y veneracién que se hace a
la virtud, autoridad o mayoria de alguna persona.

b) Significa también pundonér, estimacién y buena fama,
que se halla en el sugeto y debe conservar.

c) Se toma tambien por la integridad virginal en las
mugeres.

42

d) Vale también merced o gracia que se hace 0 se recibe
(172-73).

11.Van Beysterveldt, in Repercupaionarduaaouci de la purete de sang
par la concaption a; l'honnaur dans la "comedia nueva" espagnole,
attempts to distinguish honor and honra relying on the difference
between inherent or attributed honor represented linguistically in
the use of the verbs gag and estar:
...on pourrait affirmet que les significations de honra
sont en relation avec la sphere personnelle exprimee par
estar, tandis que celles d'honor se rapportent au noyau
le plus intime de l'etre, dont les relation avec les
choses concretes son exprimées par ser (37).

 

12.Podol finds that at times the terms honor and honra are used
exclusively and occasionally the two terms appear together
synonymously (43—44). However, regarding the frequency with which
each term appears, he concludes:
If we view these terms across the development of Spanish
literature, "honra" emerges as dominant. In
representative texts from the different periods of the
literature, "honra" is used to express all the different
meanings of the English word "honor" involving both real
and spiritual connotations (44).

13.Referring to the Golden Age, Castro states: "La vida sin el
honor no tiene sentido, por eso, cuando alguien se cree infamado,
la idea de la muerte le ocurre en seguida". "Algunas observaciones
acerca del concepto del honor en los siglos XVI y XVII" (20).

14.Regarding the admissability of Christianity and the honor code
as immortality systems, Becker states: "If history is a succession
of immortality ideologies, then the problems of men can be read
directly against those ideologies--how embracing they are, how
convincing, how easy they make it for men to be confident and
secure in their personal heroism" (190).

15.5ee Campbell for a diagram and prose description of the heroic
cycle (245-246).

16.McNamee states: "In the early period of every cultural epoch,
some of the most important, and sometimes almost the exclusive
claims for honor, are physical prowess and courage displayed on
the battlefield” (3).

17.“There is something, Aristotle insisted more valuable to him
than life itself--his honor and reputation" (McNamee, 3).

43

18.Referring to the Christian recognition that "all the good
has comes from God and that to Him, therefore, should go
greater glory" (79), McNamee states: "This is fundamental to
Christian attitude toward honor. The fact that all that a man

one
the
the
has

both in the natural and supernatural orders he has from God should
prevent him ‘hnwn overweening pride III their possession" (78).
McNamee also notes: I Corinthians 1-4 and 13, and II Corinthians

10-13.

 

WORKS CITED

Aries, Philippe. Western Attitudes toward Death: From the
Middla_Aqgafito the Present. Trans. Patricia M. Ranum.
Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Up, 1974.

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. New York: The Free
Press, 1973.

 

Calderwood, James L. Shakespeare and the Denial of Death.
Amherst: Univ. of Mass. Press, 1987.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Facaa. Bollingen
Series XVII. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1949.

Castro, Americo. "Algunas observaciones acerca del tema del
honor en los siglos XVI y XVII." Revista de filoloqia
espafiola 3 (1916): 1-50, 357-386.

---. De la edad conflictiva, Madrid: Taurus, 1961.

Cervantes de Saavedra, Miguel de. Don Quijote de la Mancha.
Ed. Martin de Riquer. 10th ed. 2 vols. Barcelona:
Editorial Juventud, 1985.

Choron, Jacques. Death and Western Thought. New York:
Collier Books, 1963.

Correa, Gustavo. "El doble aspecto de la honra en el teatro
del siglo XVII." Hispanic Review 26 (1958): 99-107.

"Danga general de la muerte." Biblioteca de autores
espafioles: poetas castellanos anterioraa a1 siglo XV.
Ed. Antonio Sénchez. Madrid: Ediciones Atlas, 1952.

Dunn, P. N. “Honour and the Christian Background in
Calderén." Critical Essays on tha Theater of Calderén.
Ed. Bruce Wardropper. New York: New York UP, 1965.

Enright, D. J. The Oxford Book of Death. New York: Oxford
UP, 1983.

Farrell, Kirby. Play, Daath. and Heroism in Shakespeare.
Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1989.

Felkel, Robert William. "The Theme of desengafio in Spanish
dances of death from the fourteenth to the seventeenth
century." Diss. Michigan State University, 1973.

Garcia Valdecasas, Alfonso. El hidalgo y el honor. Madrid:

Revista de Occidente, 1948.

44

4S

Kurz, Leonard P. The Dance of Death and the Macabre Spirit
in European Literature. Geneve: Slatkine Reprints, 1975.

McNamee, Naurice B. Honor and the epic hago: a study of tha_
ahiftinq concept of magnanimity in philosophy and epic
poetry. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960.

 

Menendez Pidal, Rambn. "Del honor en el teatro espafiol." Q_
Qarvantep y Lope de Vega. Buenos Aires: Espasa-Calpe,
1940.

O’Connor, Thomas Austin. Myth and Mythology in the Theater
of Padro Calderén da la Barca, San Antonio, Texas:
Trinity UP, 1988.

Parker, Alexander A. the Approach to tha Spagish Drama of tha

Golden Aga, Oxford: Oxford UP, 1957.

Perez del Rio, Eugenio G. La muarta como vocacién an el
hompgg y an la literatura. Barcelona: Editorial laia,
1983.

Perrett, Roy W. Death and Immortality. Boston: Martinus
Nijhoff, 1987.

Podol, Peter. "The Evolution of the Honor Theme in Modern
Spanish Literature." Diss. Univ. of Michigan, 1969.

Real Academia Espafiola. Diccionario davautoridades. Ed.
facsimile. Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1963.

Reichenberger, Arnold. "The Uniqueness of the Comedia."
Hispanic Raviag_27 (1959): 303-316.

Ruiz, Juan Archipreste de Hita. Libro de buen amor. Ed.
Nicasio Salvador Miguel. Madrid: Alhambra, 1985.

Ruiz Ramén, Francisco. "Personaje y mito en el teatro clasico
espafiol." El personage dramatico. Ed. Luciano Garcia
Lorenzo. Madrid: Taurus, 1985. 281-93.

Van Bysterveldt, A. A. Repercupaiona duaaouci de la purgtcfia
sang sur laaconcaption dg l'honneur dans la "comedia

nueva” espagnole. Leiden: Brill, 1966.

Weir, Robert F. Death in Literature. New York: Columbia UP,
1980.

LICURGO: THE HEROISM AND IMMORTALITY OF SUICIDE

In Ruiz de Alarcén's El dupfio de las estrellas (c. 1620)
the protagonist Licurgo’s heroic resolve to act honorably in
the face of a prophesied death reflects a quest for some means
of symbolic immortality. The climactic denouement, ennobles
Licurgo as "el duefio de las estrellas," a fitting epitaph for
a hero who exerts his will not only to protect the social
systems in which he functions, but also to defy a celestial
plan that influences his destiny. His suicide, an uncommon
occurrence in Spanish Golden Age theater, is pivotal with
regard to the action of the drama. Motivated by his sense of
honor and free will, Licurgo’s self-inflicted death dramatizes
the depth and magnitude of his heroism. Perhaps the greatest
measure of Licurgo’s valor is a persistent ability to remain
true to his convictions when confronted with adversity and to
take action fulfilling his commitment to the codetof honor and
society.

Throughout the drama Licurgo is shown to be a hero in
keeping with the humanistic view of Greco-Roman and
traditional Spanish characteristics of magnanimity, civic
responsibility and fealty. Due to the pre-Christian setting
of the drama, his heroic activity is influenced, and

subsequently assessed by a secular code of honor rather than

46

47

by Christian religious standards. I believe, however, that
characteristics associated with Christianity and ideals
projected by the Catholic Church are superimposed on rather
than inherent to the motivations and actions of the
protagonist. Therefore, although some discussion will be
devoted to Lqurgo’s Christianized traits and their
significance regarding his suicide, the focus of this chapter
will be primarily on secular heroism as Licurgo’s means of
securing symbolic immortality. Also of interest to this and
subsequent chapters will be the prophecy of the hero's death
and the reaction of the individual to an inescapable
consciousness of his own physical mortality. The prophecy of
death that haunts Licurgo influences his thoughts and actions
and ultimately the sense of heroism which guides his actions.

Alarcon’s El duafio de las estrellas.is a dramatic account
of the legend of the ninth-century B. C. Spartan ruler
Lycurgus, the wise legislator who, when advised by the oracle
at Delphi that his laws would be maintained only for the
length of his absence from Sparta, decided not to return to
his homeland. The seventeenth-century Spanish drama
demonstrates the exemplary nature of Licurgo as the ruler and
social reformer of Sparta as well as his outstanding heroism
when confronted with a crisis.of honor stemming primarily from
his personal relationship with the King of Crete. Licurgo is
ever conscious of an astrological prediction that his fate is

to either take the life of a king or himself be killed by a

48

king. The fulfillment of this prediction seems certain when
Licurgo finds his honor jeopardized by the monarch of Crete.
Unable to overlook the King’s affront to his reputation and
unwilling to accept passively his portended fate, Licurgo
hopes to find a just and honorable resolution to the conflict.
In an heroic display of magnanimity, Licurgo eludes the
anticipated fulfillment of his foretold destiny. In a
rational manner he rejects various alternatives as unjust
according to his personal code of honor. He commits suicide
and wins for himself a means of symbolic immortality as "el
duefio de las estrellas".

Due to the play’s association with the story of Lycurgus,
the seventeenth-century audience might have correctly assumed
that Licurgo possessed the same classic qualities of
heroism--primarily wisdom and justice--attributed to the
ancient legislator. ha fact, the legislative dimension of
Licurgo’s character is the aspect most closely connected to
Lycurgus' life as recounted in Plutarch’s Lives. In the play,
although the actions taken by Licurgo are perhaps more
passionate and flamboyant than those of the legendary figure,
they do not stray from what is expected and acceptable
behavior of a hero. Therefore, the artistic license employed
by Juan Ruiz de Adarcén serves to reinforce the nature of
Licurgo’s heroism, rather than detract from it.

As previously discussed, the Renaissance Spanish concept

of heroism was greatly influenced by the ancient cultures of

49

Greece and Rome. The principle of honor, fundamental to the
notion of heroism and defined by Aristotle as magnanimity,
referred to one’s social position and reputation and assumed
of a hero an aspiration to excellence in duty as king, vassal,
or warrior, as well as loyalty and devotion to family and
faith. The foremost heroic trait embodied by Licurgo is an
inspiring sense of civic duty, which echoes the Ciceronian
ideal of action for the common good.1 That the welfare of the
community must precede personal happiness. is evident in
Licurgo's explanation to the King of Crete recounting the
circumstances of his sel f-imposed exile. Licurgo tells of the
Spartan's reluctance to accept his laws and of his desire to
avoid a revolt that would abolish his reforms. In an effort
to forestall any civil disruption, He convinced the citizens
of Sparta to delay any amendments to his legislation until he
returned from a consultation with the oracle of Febo.
Recalling his pilgrimage to Pitia to seek the wisdom of the
god Delos regarding the propriety of his laws in Sparta,
Licurgo informs the King of Crete of the oracle’s response:

Me respondio que eran justas

mis leyes, y 5610 el tiempo

que durasen duraria

la tranquilidad del reino.

Yo, atento al bien de mi patria,

porque no salga, volviendo,

de la obligacién precisa

que le puso el juramento,

determine no volver

a verla jamas, haciendo

con mi eterna ausencia en ella
mis estatutos eternos. (1052-63)

50

As this passage reveals, even prior to the events of the play,
the actions of the hero foretell of eternal consequences.
Licurgo’s selfless forfeiture of his homeland assures enduring
peace for his nation. The importance of his decision make it
apparent that there is no compromise for Licurgo. When he is
informed by the oracle that his laws are just and that they
will be upheld only for the duration of his absence, he
decides to disguise himself as a peasant and retire to the
country and vows never to return to Sparta. By absenting
himself from his homeland and making his laws eternal, this
hero is destined for some means of symbolic immortality, the
true magnitude of which will be known only at the moment of
his death.

However selfless and praiseworthy Licurgo’s self-exile
may be, the true intensity of his sense of civic
responsibility is best witnessed in the final scene of the
drama. In the moments prior to his death he gives reasons for
his suicide regard the protection, not only of his native
Sparta, but also of his adoptive Crete revealing Licurgo's
magnanimous regard for the citizenry of the two nations rather
than his personal welfare. Addressing the King of Crete,
Licurgo insists:

ni es razon, ni yo lo espero,
que tus gentes ya, en defensa
de un extranjero afrentado,
sufran de Esparta la guerra;
ni es razén que yo a mi patria
por su mismo dafio vuelva,

si en no derogar mis leyes
consiste su paz eterna. (2699-2706)

 

51

Licurgo knows that his death at the hands of the King would
motivate Sparta to attack Crete, inciting a bloody war that
would cause both nations great and undue suffering. He
therefore rejects that possible scenario of his prophesied
death, deigning it unjust. As ruler of both Sparta and Crete,
Licurgo weighs the impact of his actions against a code of
conduct as they pertain to his personal honor and also to the
consequences they imply for the people he represents.

The above mentioned instances of self-sacrifice for the
common good reveal a primarily social element of Licurgo’s
heroism as demonstrated from a position of leadership.
However, Licurgo also demonstrates a sense of vassalage to
king and country, thus maintaining his commitment to civic
order as a member, as well as a leader, of the social
hierarchy. On three occasions Licurgo, a king himself,
complies with the wishes of the King of Crete. Although
vassalage is not required of Licurgo, he feels compelled by
his commitment to a social code to obey the King of Crete.
The first occasion that Licurgo opts for vassalage rather than
individual freedom is when Severo, an advisor to the King of
Crete, finds Licurgo in the countryside disguised as Lacon.
Severo shows him the King’s medallion and requests that
Licurgo accompany him to the court. Severo asks: "¢Conoceis
esta medalla?" (438). Licurgo’s sense of vassalage is

implicit in his response: "Conocella y respetalla / por su

52
duefio soberano / es fuerza, y a vos por ella " (439-441).
Arriving at court, Licurgo is asked by the King to join him
in the reign of Crete. Licurgo demonstrates his honorable
commitment to the King, agreeing to their proposed shared rule
of Crete despite the astrological prophecy warning him of an
ill-fated relationship with a king. Recounting the
astrologers' prophecy, Licurgo explains his reservations to
the King of Crete:
... pronostican las [estrellas] mias
que he de verme en tanto aprieto
con un rey, que yo a las suyas,
0 e1 quede a mis manos muerto. (1112-1115)
Given the ominous nature of this prediction regarding
Licurgo's alliance with another king, he believes that joint
rule will lead to disaster. However, in response to the
King’s request that they rule Crete together as decreed by
Apollo, Licurgo acknowledges his obligation to the King. Even
in the face'of disaster, he honorably maintains his commitment
of vassalage to the King and simply refers to difficulties
that might impede their goals:
Sefior, aunque obedeceros
es fuerza, ya por el dios
que lo ordena, ya por vos,
que sois rey, el proponeros
es forzoso las urgentes
dificultades que veo
opuestas a ese deseo,
con graves inconvenientes
que resultan. (980-988)

It is noteworthy that Licurgo immediately stresses his duty

to the King. Only after affirming his intention to comply

53
with Apollo's apparent desire for the joint rule of Crete does
Licurgo reveal the extenuating circumstances that influence
his participation in such a situation. The urgent
difficulties and grave inconveniences alluded to here by
Licurgo stem from his own history. In addition to the
foreboding prediction regarding his relationship with another
king, Licurgo's previous attempts at rule and social reform,
although just, are maintained only by his well intentioned
deceit requiring the Spartans to uphold his laws until his
return. With this in mind, Licurgo explains the possibility
of a bloody conflict between Sparta and Crete if the Spartans
hear of his whereabouts and demand his return from Crete.
Motivated by his concern for the welfare of both nations
rather than any reluctance ‘to fulfill his commitment as
vassal, Licurgo advises the King that his plan for joint rule,
although intended to ensure peace is destined to end in
conflict when or if the Spartans learn of it:
han de pediros

que me entregueis, y el hacerlo

en vos fuera gran bajeza,

y gran destruccién en ellos.

No hacerlo ha de desnudar

la espada a Marte sangriento,

porque han de intentar las armas

lo que no alancen los ruegos.

Y asi, de lo que intentais

para la paz deste imperio

ha de resultar la guerra

del espartano y el vuestro. (1084-1095)

Even if joint rule between Licurgo and the King of Crete does

not cause such atcatastrophe, Licurgo anticipates the possible

54

reaction of Crete to a reign shared, in part, by an outsider.
Recognizing that his reign was only grudgingly accepted in his
native Sparta, he expects no more from Crete: "Fuera desto,
si mi patria / lleva tan mal mis decretos, / Ccémo sufrira la
vuestra / las leyes de un extranjero?" (1096-1099). The King
refutes Licurgo’s apprehensions of political involvement and
rejects Licurgo’s vulnerability to any ill-fortune. Licurgo,
therefore, pledges his allegiance as vassal to the King of
Crete: "Yo os juro por cuantos dioses / desde el Imperio a1
Averno / rigen, de seros vasallo / leal, firme y verdadero"

(1208-1211). The importance of this.vowlas proof of Licurgo’s
outstanding commitment to civic responsibility can be
recognized when viewed in light of the reciprocal nature
supposed to be inherent to the vassal--king relationship.
Although vassals must swear loyalty to kings, the oaths are
taken with the understanding that kings will reign honorably
and on behalf of those who serve them. In this case, the King
of Crete fails to uphold his implied vow of royal protection
and leadership. With his moral weakness and corruption of
social mores the King of Crete proves himself undeserving of
Licurgo’s vassalage. The vassal’s dedication to uphold his
vow to the King of Crete stands out in stark contrast to the
unworthiness of the monarch. In recognition of their new
found alliance, the King offers Licurgo a medallion
symbolizing nobility, honor and service to the throne:

Tres calidades publica
esta sefial en el pecho:

55

sangre que goce de reyes

el heroico parentesco:

puro honor, cuyo cristal

no haya enturbiado e1 aliento;

y servicios que hayan sido

en utilidad del reino. (1232-1239)
Although Licurgo is technically entitled to accept the
medallion offered to him by the King, he declines it citing
lack of service to the reign. Later, after fulfilling the
three requirements of nobility, honor and service according
to his own code of conduct, Licurgo requests the medallion.
But by the time Licurgo accepts the revered symbol of
vassalage, the King of Crete who bestows it has on several
occasions demonstrated himself as unworthy of such an ally as

Licurgo.2

When presenting the medallion to Licurgo for the
second time, the King of Crete reiterates obligations of
vassalage which Licurgo fully accepts:
Rey: La obligacién

en que esta heroica sefial

os pone, vuelvolo a explicaros:

ser leal, y en mi defensa

morir, no sufrir ofensa

de vuestro honor sin vengaros.
Licurgo: Por los dioses celestiales

juro cumplirlo. (2468-2475)
This oath of vassalage that Licurgo swears to uphold will
ultimately pit his personal honor against loyalty to the King
making for a climactic demonstration of Licurgo’s heroism.
Because of this oath, when the King offends Licurgo's honor
in the final scenes of the play, the need to avenge the insult

is all the more complicated. While the code of honor would

dictate that Licurgo slay the King of Crete in order to

56

restore his reputation, the vow of vassalage would require
that Licurgo die in defense of the King to whom he has sworn
allegiance. Although the King is unworthy of such sacrifice,
Licurgo will choose suicide as the only means of honorably
maintaining his vassalage. In addition to his overwhelming
commitment to civic duty and the social hierarchy as vassal
and leader, Licurgo demonstrates.other, perhaps more~personal,
characteristics equally revered :UT both classic and
renaissance Spanish traditions.3

Also praiseworthy is Licurgo’s dedication to family and
to the fundamental role of the family unit in the hierarchical
society to which he belongs. An example of this dedication
to the family and the rules of assent inherent in birthright
is provided as Licurgo describes to the King of Crete the
circumstances surrounding his reign in Sparta» Licurgo
recounts that following the death of his father and older
brother, he ascended to the throne, unaware that his late
brother’s wife was carrying a legitimate heir to the throne
of Sparta. When the child was born, Licurgo embraced him as
the true heir and relinquished the crown to his nephew (1000-
1015). While another, lesser man might have sought to
maintain the throne, given the late arrival of the true heir,
Licurgo abdicated the position opting to serve justice rather
than his own ends. Regardless of his position in society, be
it ruler or vassal, Licurgo's heroism is prompted by his

dedication to justice and honor.

57

The qualities of leadership, vassalage, and familial
position of a hero, be they social or personal, are related
in that they are motivated by Licurgo’s inherent sense of
honor. Licurgo internalizes the essence of the honor code to
the extent that it becomes the primary motivation of his
actions. The magnanimity envisioned by the Greeks, the civic
responsibility revered by the Romans, as well as other
admirable traits, evolved into the Spanish ideal of heroism
in the Golden Age. If one were to identify the seventeenth—
century Spanish hero with a single concept, it would be the
honor code by which society was ordered and individual actions
were judged. The respect Licurgo demonstrates for the social
structure in which he participates, both as vassal and ruler,
and his dedication to family as a basic unit of society stem
from his participation in a broad system of social honor. His
sense of personal honor suggests that Licurgo, more than a
mere participant in society’s honor system, internalizes the
social code. The personalization of the code of honor
suggests that Licurgo dedicates himself, not to apparent
propriety and reputation, but to honor in the true sense. It
is this embodiment of the spirit of the honor code that
confirms Licurgo’s status as hero.

The audience witnesses one example of Licurgo's heroic
commitment to the spirit of the code of honor when, disguised
as Lacén, he defends Coridén, a cuckolded peasant, against the

violence of Teen, a noble» Because of his disguise, Licurgo's

58
nobility goes unrecognized. Known only'as a peasant, he would
be under no obligation to uphold the code by which a noble was
bound. However, Licurgo is compelled by a noble spirit to
intervene on behalf of Coridén and defend him against the
insults and attack made by Teén, a dishonorable libertine.
Although the peasants with whom Licurgo lives are unaware of
his true identity, he stands apart as their champion and their
defender. When threatened, Coridén calls to Licurgo for help.
Licurgo responds, assuring him that righteousness will
prevail: "Yo ire contigo: no temas; / que la razén te
acompafia" (158-159). It is not only this quickness to respond
to the needs of another but also the propriety with which
Licurgo acts that confirm his dedication tolhonor and justice.
His heroism is contrasted by Te6n's lechery, which
demonstrates that nobility of birth does not ensure nobility
of spirit. This comparison with Teon serves to augment the
audience’s appreciation for Licurgo's forthright nature. As
Licurgo intervenes on behalf of Coridon, he chastises the
noble for such a dishonorable act, saying to him: "gTened!
No 1e maltrateis, / tras hacerle tanta ofensa, / que no es
justo castigar / en el vuestra culpa mesma" (177-180).
Annoyed by a the continued interference of a supposed peasant
and unaware of Licurgo's identity, Teén strikes him. ‘The true
character of each man is revealed during this exchange. While
Licurgo states: "Yo lo que es justo pretendo" (195), Tedn's

response, in word and deed, demonstrates that because he

59
considers himself and his own interests above all others he
lacks true honor. As Teon strikes Licurgo, he states: "Pues,
villano, aunque lo sea, / ni te opongas a mi gusto, / ni a mi
grandeza te atrevas“ (196-200). Licurgo recognizes the need
to avenge this verbal and physical offense to his honor at the
moment of the affront, and alluding to the tradition of
restoring one’s honor by spilling the blood of the offender,
calls out: “Coridén, dame ese tronco; / que con el vera esta
sierra / la venganza deste agravio / con sangre escrita en sus
pefias" (199-202). This episode is an instance of Alarcén's
characterization of Licurgo. While no such confrontation is
attributed to Lycurgus, its inclusion in the play demonstrates
the Golden-Age Spanish code of honor and vengeance. Adso
revealed in this statement is the custom that those who
witness the offense also witness the vengeance of the
offended. When Teén flees the scene of the assault, Licurgo’s
opportunity to defend his honor and avenge himself is
momentarily lost but far from forgotten. With this need for
vengeance, the dual characteristics of Licurgo/Lacén become
increasingly evident. While the peasant Lacon would have no
recourse against the abuses of a noble, Licurgo cannot dismiss
Tedn’s affront. As other villagers participate in
celebrations honoring the gods Febo and Titan, Licurgo
discusses with his servant Danteo the patience he must have
in seeking his postponed vengeance against Tedn: "Pagareme el

bofetén / aquella mano atrevida; / que el cielo me dara vida,

60

/ y mi cuidado ocasién" (347-350). This hope for future
vengeance sustains Licurgo“ He realizes that an occasion will
again present itself. However, Licurgo's patience for
vengeance was not reflected in the villagers following Te6n’s
attack. When Teén fled after assaulting "Lacén," the
peasants rose up against the nobleman’s servants, hoping to
in some way take revenge upon them for their master's ignoble
actions. Licurgo intervened, however, preventing their
wrathful vengeance and advocating justice instead. Unlike the
uncontrolled fury of the villagers who would take their
revenge against whomever might be available, Licurgo’s desire
to avenge himself of Teén’s blow is founded on a strict code
of conduct and motivated by the need to restore honor.
Licurgo explains to the villagers who call for the death of
Teén's men:

No mueran. Tened, amigos!

Que no es justo que padezcan

del delito de su duefio

ellos sin culpa la pena;

antes, pues por el sus vidas

como leales arriesgan,

merecen premio, y a mi

me obligan a su defensa. (217-224)
Licurgo's defense of the servants illustrates that for him,
the defense of one's honor requires the recognition and
defense of the ideals of the code by which society should
function. As a true noble, Licurgo’s commitment to protect

those of lesser social prominence obliges him to defend Tedn’s

servants. Aware of their debt to Licurgo’s intervention,

 

61
Te6n’s men recognize their intercessor’s inherent sense of
honor and nobility respond: "Estatuas merece eternas / tal
prudencia en ofendido, / y en villano tal nobleza" (230-232).
Alluding to the eternal recognition that Licurgo’s prudence
deserves, they are grateful, no doubt, for his sound
interpretation of justice. Although Licurgo resigns himself
to wait for a future opportunity' to confront Te6n, the
offended state of his honor effects Licurgo’s actions until
he is able to avenge himself. As earlier mentioned, when the
King of Crete offers Licurgo a royal medallion, outwardly
recognizing his nobility, honor and service to the throne,
Licurgo asks that the King retain the medal. Although Licurgo
states that he has yet to offer any service to Crete and is
therefore unworthy of the award (1253-1258), it is the
unresolved conflict with Teén that keeps him from accepting
the King's award. Licurgo reveals his internal struggle
regarding acceptance of the medallion in an aside stating:
"Hasta que la mano corte / que dejo en mi rostro impreso / mi
agravio, no ha de adornar / tan alta insignia mi pecho” (1290-
1293). Because it is necessary to restore his honor, revenge
against Te6n continues to preoccupy Licurgo’s thoughts and
influence his actions. The issue is further complicated when
it is revealed that Te6n is the brother of Licurgo's
betrothed, Diana. Circumstances pitting love against honor,
frequent in Spanish Golden Age Drama, plague Diana and the

King of Crete as well on other occasions. It is Licurgo,

62

however, who never vacillates in his resolve to maintain his
honor even at the expense of personal happiness. Licurgo is
constant with regard to honor unlike the King of Crete, who
when faced with a similar conflict, disregards honor and duty
in order not to jeopardize his romantic goals. Although
Licurgo is torn by the conflict between a desire for Diana
and the need to restore his honor, the decision he makes is
clear and unfaltering. The code of honor by which Licurgo
lives mandates that Teén’s affront be avenged. He therefore
resolves to restore the honor upon which his heroism is
founded, although it means risking Diana’s love» In the guise
of Lacon, Licurgo confronts Te6n and explains to him that
honor and not personal revenge motivates his retaliation.
Prior to meeting Tedn in combat, Licurgo tells his companion
Telamén: "Esto es ser honrado, no vengativo" (2338-2339).
Honor is restored as Teén falls to Licurgo’s sword. This
episode with Te6n is but one example of Licurgo's
unwillingness to compromise his sense of heroic conviction to
honor even at the risk of personal loss. The importance that
Licurgo places on his honor continues to build to a crescendo
in the climactic denouement in which he consciously and
deliberately chooses death over any degree of dishonor.

While Licurgo’s suicide dramatically illustrates his
fervor for honor and is praised as a supreme act of heroism,
one might question the enthusiasm of a Golden Age Spanish

audience to receive it. Several scholars have commented on

63
the propriety of Licurgo's self-inflicted death within the
tradition of the comedia. According to Augusta Espantoso-
Foley, Alarcén was obviously aware of, and quite probably in
agreement with the orthodox position of the Catholic Church.
In her article ”The Problem of Astrology and its use in Ruiz
de Alarcén’s El dgafio de las estrellas," she contends that the
classical tradition and pagan beliefs surrounding Licurgo are
more relevant to his suicide than the socio-religious mores
of his seventeenth-century audience: "In a play where the
protagonist and the background are predominantly pagan, the
classical honor-suicide~is obviously'the'most fitting solution
whereby Licurgo could attain "fin honroso y fama eterna" (6).
This view of Licurgo provides an appropriate point of
departure when considering his actions and resultant heroism.
Licurgo’s stature as a hero is dependent upon his realization
of secular ideals of conduct of the classical and Spanish
traditions. Also commenting on the role of Licurgo's suicide,
Ellen Claydon, in J_u_an Ruiz dLAlaLcén: Baroqg Dramatist,
designates Licurgo a "Christian" tragic hero with respect to
the conflict between free-will versus pre-destination, a theme
widely debated in religious circles in the seventeenth-
century. Her argument is weakened however, by her definition
of Licurgo's heroic suicide as nothing more than "literary
convention". The reduction of Licurgo's suicide to mere
CUStCMI provides an unsatisfying defense of the original

position that he is a Christian hero, suggesting the

64
possibility that Christian traits may have been simply imposed
upon a classical figure (29). On the other hand, James Parr’s
discussion of Licurgo’s actions.in "On Fate, Suicide, and Free
Will in Alarcén’s El duafio de laaaestrallas" suggests that
Licurgo’s heroism extends beyond its classical origin. The
concept of ethical relativism proposed by Parr justifies
Licurgo’s suicide, regardless of faith, as the "best available
solution to the problem with which he is confronted at that
point in the action" (199). In addition, Edward Friedman, in
the genre-based study "A View of Tragedy and Tragicomedy in
Ruiz de Alarcén’s El duafio da las estrellas and La crualdad
por pl honor," recognizes the theological undercurrents of
seventeenth-century Spanish society present in the drama but
still views Licurgo's suicide as a means of social redemption
befitting a hero" (434). Robert Fiore, in "Alarcén’s El duefio
de las estrellas: Hero and Pharmakos," focuses on the social
rather than Christian implications of the hero's suicide. He
treats Licurgo’s death as a means of maintaining personal
honor as well as a socially motivated act. Licurgo is at once
a hero and a victim of the society in which he lives.‘ The
imposed nature of Christianity suggested by Espantoso-Foley,
and the peripheral importance of Catholicism implied by Parr
and Friedman in comparison with the) Classical influence
regarding the characters and action of the drama is also
demonstrated by the importance of astrology and the roles of

fate and fortune as determining forces.5 Throughout the play,

65
Licurgo reacts not according to a Christian canon of salvation
and a promised eternal spiritual existence but instead to a
pagan doctrine of fortune and astrological determinism.
Licurgo’s finite existence'and his desire to<somehow transcend
fate is brought into sharper focus by the explicit
announcement of death in a prophecy.

While knowledge of the fatality of human destiny is ever
present in the human subconscious (Becker, 16), it is thrust
upon Licurgo’s consciousness by the prophecy that foretells
his fate» As Licurgo strains against predetermination,
consciously acting in defiance of the stars, the desire to
control the predicted circumstances of his relationship with
the King of Crete invariably influence his choices and
actions. Because he is conscious of his own death which can
no longer be repressed as an abstraction, Licurgo’s desire to
deny its finality becomes equally conscious. I‘f, as
Becker states: "we admire most the courage to face death"
(ii), then Licurgo's involvement ixi.a situation containing
circumstances that are known to surround his death is not only
courageous, but truly heroic. For instance, when the King of
Crete asks Licurgo to join him in the nation's reign, Licurgo
is honor bound to accept although he is already aware of the
prediction that he will either kill or be killed by a king.
He nevertheless demonstrates a refusal to shrink from civic
responsibility, a fundamental component of his personal sense

of honor. Licurgo's impulse to deny his foreseen death and

66
unwillingness to bow to fate are so great that he heroically
pits his will and his honor against the influence of the
stars. This heroic resolve to act honorably in the face of
prophesied death is what ultimately wins for him symbolic
immortality.

While the initial prophecy of Licurgo’s quandary is
fundamental to his acts, the King of Crete argues early on
that Licurgo does not haveito succumb to ill-fated predictions
and has it in his power to become the "duefio de las
estrellas“. When the King of Crete is first informed of the
prognostication and the problems it poses for joint rule, he
responds to Licurgo, championing wisdom and free-will over
astrology:

... ni vuestra virtud puede

mover contra vos mi acero,

ni contra mi en vuestra sangre

caber traidor pensamiento.

Y cuando vuestras estrellas

os inclinasen a efetos

tan injustos, vos sois sabio,

y el que ha merecido serlo

es duefio de las estrellas. (1168-1176)
Here, the King of Crete cites the very characteristics that
confirm Licurgo's heroism and will ultimately lead to his
symbolic immortality. Licurgo’s virtue, nobility and wisdom
are traits recognized and praised by the King of Crete. These
characteristics contribute to the honor code internalized by
Licurgo that provides the structure within which he confronts

the problem of his mortality and the foretold circumstances

surrounding it. And while many of Licurgo’s actions are

67
initiated by the desire to control the course of destiny and
deny its fatality, the symbolic immortality as "el duefio de
las estrellas" is bestowed on him due primarily to the
exemplary fulfillment of his role as hero in the social system
of his time.

The final scenes of the play unite the multiple facets
of Licurgo’s destiny which is to deny death heroically by
resolving the inherent conflicts between fate and free-will,
death and immortality. As Licurgo enters his wife Diana’s
chamber and finds the King of Crete, the fulfillment of his
predicted conflict with a King appears imminent. Because of
his own status as ruler of two nations, Licurgo is astounded
at the audacity of the intruder. He reveals his disbelief:
"éQuien pudiera / atreverse, sino un rey, / a hacer a Licurgo
ofensa?" (2660-2662). This statement testifies to the failure
of the King of Crete in what was conceived as an equal
relationship with Licurgo. While the King of Crete's affront
to Licurgo's honor presents to the audience an obvious
comparison between the two, the King’s actions throughout the
drama have already shown him to be the lesser man.6 When
faced with difficult circumstances, the King’s actions
benefitted his own interests regardless of propriety, whereas
Licurgo’s actions were primarily determined by his code of
honor. The hero’s mission to maintain the social code of
conduct is again witnessed in his resolve to carry out one

final act that will epitomize his honor and nobility. Licurgo

 

68

asks that the door be closed, knowing what the outcome of this
situation will be. He recognizes the full consequence of his
intended action not wishing to be deterred, calls to his
servant: "Esa puerta, Telamén, / cierra al momento; no venga
/ quien la mas heroica hazaE-‘ia / me impida que historias
cuentan" (2663-2666). Although Licurgo plans to act
honorably, elevating his heroism to historic proportion, the
King of Crete accuses him of treason and thinks that Licurgo
will fulfill the astrologers’ prediction by killing him.
Questioning Licurgo, the King charges that he will at last
succumb to the influence of the stars: "¢Matarme quieres,
traidor? / ¢Que al fin fueron las estrellas / en un sabio
poderosas, / y en su pronéstico ciertas?" (2667-2670).
Denying that he is controlled by the stars, Licurgo retorts
that the only way they influence his actions is by providing
an opportunity to fulfill the prediction. The stars, however,
cannot control his reaction to that opportunity. Affirming
his free will, Licurgo proclaims that with one honorable act,
he will overcome the inclination of the stars:

Rey, lo que pudieron ellas

es darme ocasién tan fuerte

con mi valor y tu ofensa,

pero no a la ejecucién

obligarme; y porque veas

que el sabio, aunque mas le inclinen,

es duefio de las estrellas,

oye, y veras brevemente

que con una hazafia mesma

las venzo y cobro mi honor,

aunque imposible parezca. (2672-2681)

The single act of which Licurgo speaks represents the

69

culmination of his wisdom and honor in a heroic display of
free will. By taking his own life he is able to circumvent
the circumstances of his destiny and the expected outcome of
his fate. Unwilling to compromise the standards by which he
has lived, Licurgo explains the significance of his suicide
as the one act by which he can maintain his commitment to
personal honor and social expectation. He begins his
rejection of unjust or dishonorable outcomes to the situation
caused by the King of Crete's offense by stating:

Ni es razon, pues ya he besado

tu mano real, que mueva

a darte muerte el acero,

aunque vida y honor pierda;

ni es razén que tu me mates

por gozar mi esposa bella, (2683-2688)
The two prophesied courses of action: that Licurgo kill the
King of Crete or himself be killed are the first he rejects.
Licurgo plans to demonstrate his ability to deny astrological
pre-determinism and preserve the sense of honor that directs
his life. To slay the King would break the vow of vassalage
taken by Licurgo, an unacceptable act for one who so highly
valued the preservation of social order. On the other hand,
if Licurgo were to fall, in accordance with the prophecy to
the King’s sword, the result would be equally unacceptable
because the King of Crete would win Diana and the assault to
Licurgo’s honor would remain unavenged. Licurgo rejects

resolutions that fail to meet his internalized code of honor.

The possibility of Licurgo’s taking no action, given the

70

intended rather than actual nature of the affront, is also
spurned because the mere allusion of dishonor is unacceptable
to Licurgo:

ni que yo afrentado viva

es razén; que aunque mi ofensa

fue intentada sin efeto,

no ha de examinar quien sepa

que con mi esposa te halle,

mi disculpa; y lo que intentan

los reyes, ejecutado

el vulgo lo considera; (2691-2698)
Licurgo’s renunciation of apparent resolutions to his dilemma
represents the rejection of injustices that would be incurred
if he reacted in any other way. Licurgo’s commentary
preceding his suicide serves as a final reminder to the
audience of his commitment to an ideal social code and his own
personal honor. This commitment is continually revealed as
Licurgo rejects the final possibilities, that Crete suffer an
attack from Sparta, causing loss of life to both nations or
that Licurgo return to his homeland, thus ending the peace
maintained by his laws and his absence. In either case, the
people of Crete and Sparta would be made to suffer the
consequences of Licurgo’s offended honor. Demonstrating his
dedication to civic responsibility, Licurgo refuses to allow
his personal situation to affect the stability of either
nation's social order:

ni es razén, ni yo lo espero,

que tus gentes ya, en defensa

de un extranjero afrentado,

sufran de Esparta la guerra;

ni es razén que yo a mi patria

por su mismo dafio vuelva,
si en no derogar mis leyes

71

consiste su paz eterna. (2699-2706)
By rejecting the involvement of either nation, Licurgo
isolates the effect of the King of Crete's affront to himself.
He alone will accept responsibility and suffer the
consequences of restoring his sense of honor. Death at his
own hand is revealed as the only action through which Licurgo
can at once be master of his fate and his honor. Licurgo
explains to the King of Crete and the others present, that by
taking his own life, he assures himself an honorable death and
eternal fame as the master of the stars:

yo mismo dare a mi vida

fin honroso y fama eterna,

porque me llamen los siglos

e1 duefio de las estrellas. (2711-2714)
The magnitude of this act is not lost on Licurgo, who
recognizes his suicide as an unequalled means of securing
symbolic immortality through honor and fame. His death and
its motivation also have a profound impact on the King of
Crete who ultimately recognizes Licurgo's suicide as an act
of true honor and heroism. The King closes the play, ordering
the erection of a monument with an epitaph commemorating
Licurgo’s honorable death and proclaiming his eternal fame as
the ”duefio de las estrellas".

Heroically taking his own life, Licurgo overcomes

physical death by virtue of the eternal fame bestowed upon him

not only for his mastery of fate at the moment of his death,

but because of impeccable honor maintained throughout his

72
life. It is the code of honor, both social and personal, that
provides the structure for Licurgo's symbolic immortality.
Licurgo's heroism and commitment to the preservation of the
codes governing his mortal existence win for him symbolic
immortality, denying the inclination of the stars and the
finality of death. Alarcén's Licurgo is a consummate hero,
symbolically immortalized by his ability to act honorably when

faced with his own mortality.

NOTES

1."...for Cicero, the chief basis of honor for his great-spirited
man was the willingness to sacrifice himself for the commonwealth"
(McNamee 48-49).

2.Earlier in the play, the audience is apprised of the King of
Crete's role in Severo's absence from Crete that allowed the King
access to Diana. The audience has also witnessed the King of
Crete's failure to deal justly with Tedn, Diana’s brother, for fear
of losing of her favor. Later, by appointing Licurgo to lead the
army, thus removing him from the scene, the King of Crete
reestablishes the possibility of seducing the now married Diana.
These acts contrast those of Licurgo, who when faced with difficult
circumstances, rather than be driven by his passions acts
honorably.

3.Recall Ruiz Rambn’s definition of the hero of the comedia
discussed in chapter one (p. 40-41): ”En el heroe castellano el
dramaturgo propone a la contemplacibn admirativa del espafiol del
Siglo XVII una visibn mitica de un modo radical de ser hombre: buen
hijo, buen vasallo, buen guerrero, buen cristiano, buen marido,
buen padre" (186-187).

4.His anic Review, forthcoming.

5.See section II 13f Espantoso-Foley, wherein she discusses the
opposition of the Church to the practice of Astrology as a pseudo-
science and its rejection by Saints Augustine and Thomas (6-11).

6.Manuel Delgado Morales discusses the moral shortcomings of the
King of Crete in "Significado politico de la moral y de la justicia
en El duafio de las estrellas". Regarding the King’s inability to
suppress is own desires in favor of his responsibilities as ruler,
Delgado recalls the scene in which Teén is brought to the King’s
court by a group of peasants who demand justice. Because he is
unwilling to risk Diana's reaction, the King passes the
responsibility of judging Teén to Licurgo. Although Licurgo is
concerned with Diana's responsel as well, he carries out his
responsibility led by his sense of duty and honor. Delgado
comments:

...la traicibn del Rey para con Licurgo, y que indica su

despreocupacién por los asuntos de gobierno, se manifiesta de

manera singular cuando encarga al legislador el juicio de

 

73

 

74

Te6n, hermano de Diana, para que castigue sus crimenes. Lejos
de hacerlo por espiritu de verdadera just ic ia, e1 monarca s610
busca crearle a Licurgo una situacién embarazosa y que
favorezca sus planes personales. Segun e1, si Licurgo condena
a Teon se atraera el odio de Diana, con 10 cual e1 vera mas
expedito el camino de su disfrute sexual (112).

WORKS CITED

Alarcén, Juan Ruiz de. El duefio pa las estrellas. Obras
Completas. Ed. Austin Millares Carlo. 2 vols. Mexico:
Fondo de Cultura Econémica, 1957. 2: 9-97.

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. New York: The Free
Press, 1973.

Claydon, Ellen. Juan Ruiz da Alarcdn: Barogue Dramatist.
Madrid: Castalia, 1970.

Delgado Morales, Manuel. "Significado politico de la moral
y de la justicia en El duafio daylas estrellas."
Torres-Alcala, Antonio. gpaep Maria Sola-Sola; HomapaL
Homanajg, Howtapa. Eds. Agiiera, Victorio and Nathaniel
B. Smith. Barcelona: Puvill Libros, 1984. 109-117.

Espantoso-Foley, Augusta M. "The problem offAstrology and its
use in Ruiz de Alarcén’s El duafio da las estrellas.”
Hispanic Review 32 (1964): 1-11.

 

 

Fiore, Robert L. "Alarcén’s El duafio deplas estrellas: Hero
and Pharmakos." Hispanic Raviag_(Publication Pending).
Friedman, Edward H. "A View of Tragedy and Tragicomedy in

Ruiz de Alarcbn’s El dpafio de las estrellas and
La Crueldad por el honor." Kantucky Romance Quarterly
22 (1975): 429-441.

McNamee, Maurice B. Honor and tha Epic ngo: a study of tha
ahifting congapt of magnagimity inpphiloaophypand apic
poetry. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960.

 

 

Parr, James A. "On Fate, Suicide, and Free Will in Alarcén's
El duafio de las estrellas." Hispanic Raviay 42 (1974):
199-207.

Paulin, Alice M. "The Religious Motive in the plays of Juan

Ruiz de Alarcén." Hispanic Baviay_29 (1961): 33-44.

75

NUMANCIA’S TRIUMPH OVER ROME AND DEATH

Several parallels can be drawn between pa Numancia (c.

 

1585) and El duafip de las_a§trellaa by the manner in which
symbolic immortality'is.gained through theiheroic preservation
of honor and the demonstration of extraordinary valor in the
face of death. However, Cervantes’ dramatization of Numancia,
rather than recounting a single character’s quest for
immortality, communicates the universality of the desire to
overcome death’s finality through the epic struggle of a
collective protagonist. While the heroic denial of death's
finality through exemplary honor is the primary theme at hand,
the so-called defeat of the Numantians by the Roman army lends
an unique element to a study of heroism. 'The atypical heroism
of the Numantians and their spiritual triumph over the
militarily superior Romans merits investigation as well.

In La Numancia, the dichotomies of victory and defeat,
life and death, are presented not only as individual realities
as in the case of Numancia, but also symbolically, as
universal concepts. One of these concepts, the eternal
relationship between life and death is symbolized by the
mythical Phoenix. This symbol of immortality mentioned at
various moments during the play illustrates the relationship

between what seem to be opposing themes. Just as the Phoenix

76

 

77
rises from its ashes, the Numantians, victorious in the end,
rise to a new level of symbolic immortality from the ashes of
their death.

The historical basis for La Numancia was derived from the
legendary siege and subsequent destruction of the Celtiberian
city of Numancia by the Roman General Scipio Aemilianus in 133
B.C.l The mythical nature of the Numantians, stemming from
their historic suicide, grew as a symbol of Spanish heroism
in the Middle Ages and beyond, being resurrected in times of
crisis in the hope of motivating the Spanish people to unite

2 As was the case with

and act as their ancestors once did.
Licurgo, Numancia falls prey to a cryptic prophecy of death
that ends in heroic suicide. They too demonstrate a
determination to maintain a code of honor that requires
supreme sel f-sacrifice and ultimately assures a sense of
symbolic immortality. The concept of honor as a means of
extending human existence beyond the purely physical realm
promotes the secular nature of heroism in both dramas. As in
El duefio de las estrellas, the pre-Christian setting of pa,
Numancia allows for an investigation of the Numantians’
secular heroism according to classic and traditional codes of
conduct. The evaluation of suicide as heroic, when motivated
by a code of honor, is less encumbered by conflicting
religious convictions prevalent in seventeenth-century Spain.

The play begins as the Roman general Escipién, having

been called to lead the seemingly endless war against

78

Numancia, discusses with his men their mission. Embarrassed
by his soldiers’ inability to conquer the comparatively small
city of Numancia in battle or by siege, he chastises them for
the lust and sloth that sully the Roman reputation. As the
play progresses, the Roman siege is tightened and the
Numancians' offers of peace are rejected by the Romans, making
it clear that the Numantians will succumb to starvation.
Deprived of the opportunity to defend themselves, the
Numantians conceive of a plan to preserve their collective
honor and deny Escipién the glory of victory. They burn their
possessions and turn their swords upon themselves in an act
of collective suicide. Witnessing the suicide of the last
surviving Numantian, Escipién realizes that his victory is
hollow while the honor and fame of Numancia will be eternal.

The death of Numancia and Escipién's moment of
enlightenment have led to numerous critical studies debating
the definition of La Numancia_as tragedy. Nevertheless, the
valor and honor of the Numantians are, to my knowledge,
undisputed. Willard F. King acknowledges tragic elements in
Escipién’s victory over Numancia in "Cervantes’ Numancia and
Imperial Spain," and proclaims the drama a celebration of
heroism and immortality.3 Also directing his attention to the
heroic rather than tragic elements of the play, Evelio
Echevarria in "Influencias de Ercilla en ELNumancia de
Cervantes," notes the epic qualities of the work and the

indirect glorification of the collective hero.‘ Both King and

79

Echevarria discuss the similarities between Cervantes’ work
and Ercilla’s La Araucana in form as well as content.

Although many of the comparisons of genre are compelling, most
relevant to the present study of heroism and the denial of
death are the contrasts between the so-called victors and the
defeated Araucanans and Numantians, each epitomized by the
self-sacrifice~of a sole survivor that represents the struggle
of the collective protagonist. The observations of King and
Echevarria also provide a point of departure for further
discussions (If the distinguishing qualities <Jf the unique
heroism of Numancia. Emilie Bergmann, in ”The Epic Vision of
Cervantes’ Numancia," states: "The Numantians represent the
values of Spain upheld through victory and defeat: honor,
pride, stoic refusal to admit defeat even when it is imminent"
(86). The values of honor and pride that Bergmann cites are
in keeping with those traditionally attributed to the
classical as well as Spanish hero. Recalling the social as
well as personal implications of heroism, Angela Belli
discusses the Numantians’ social values in "Cervantes’ _E__l__
p_rcc>da_Numancia_and Euripides’ Ina Trojan Woman," suggesting
that the Numantians’ unfaltering spirit of purity and self-
sacrifice serve as contrast to the depravity of the Romans.
As illustrated by Belli, some of the Numantians' sacrifices
are motivated by love, as in the case of Marandro’s attempt
to steal bread for Lira. However, in my opinion, their

ultimate act of self—sacrifice stems to a greater degree from

80
the collective desire to preserve their social order based on
a code of honor.

As was discussed by Bergmann (91) and Belli (126), the
Numantians realize that their honor code sets them apart from
the’Romans. Even after they are overpowered militarily by the
Romans, the Numantians esteem themselves equally with their
opponents and because they demand honor among themselves they
expect it from the Romans. The actions of each adversary,
regarding expectations of honor, contrast the two peoples and
ultimately decide true victory. The role of honor in effect
elevates the conflict from one of victory and defeat in
battle, to one of victory and defeat in life. Paul Lewis-
Smith, in "Cervantes’ Numancia as Tragedy and Tragicomedy,"
recognizes the duality of victory and defeat in the
relationship between the Numantians and the Romans as well as
in the disputed genre of the play. He employs this sense of
duality in his definition of the internal opposition of pa
Numancia in both form and content. Lewis-Smith contends that
the tragedy of Numancia’s defeat is alleviated by their
triumph over the Romans in matters of honor, truth and
justice:

The first movement, which represents the

bulk of the work (Acts I-III and most of
Act IV), shows how the Numantians are

obliged by honour to suffer and
eventually to kill themselves, when an
enemy who is incapable of fully

appreciating their valor mistakenly
thinks that by dint of prudence (cordura)
he can bend them to his will and
dishonestly enhance his glory. It

81
constitutes a tragedy on the theme of the
cruelty of Fate. The second movement,
which begins with Scipio’s realization
that his plan of campaign has gone awry
and evolves into a delayed denouement,
shows how, with help from Providence, the
Numantians succeed in frustrating him and
earn for themselves a glory far greater
than that which their enemy had courted
on false pretenses. The second movement
transforms the play into a tragicomedy
the subject of which is a providential
triumph of greatness, justice, and truth
over mediocrity, injustice, and falsehood
(20).
Lewis-Smith’s article reconciles conflicting theories of genre
that surround the work5 and pinpoints the motivation of the
Numantians. What at first glance might seem to be the last
desperate act of a conquered people is in reality the most
heroic of deeds. The Numantians react to their situation
according to their code of honor. The apparent opposition
between death and immortality is reconciled when the audience
recognizes that the Numantians’ heroic quest for immortality,
like that of Licurgo, is achieved only through the acceptance
of physical mortality in exchange for eternal fame and glory.
This greater victory, the fame and honor won by Numancia,
is recognized by Gustavo Correa in "El concepto de la fama en
el teatro de Cervantes" and Edward H. Friedman in "La Numancia
within Structural patterns of Sixteenth Century Tragedy".
Friedman comments on the universal significance of the play
and the transcendence of place and time as well as traditional

concepts of victory and defeat central to the development of

La Numancia stating:

82

Cervantes constructs La Numancia around
the essential paradox of the historical
situation, the concept of victory in
defeat. He stresses the antithetical
nature of the subject matter through
parallel focus. on the Romans and the
Numantians and through linguistic
emphasis on antitheses. In addition to
shifts in place, the temporal scope of
the play transcends the present to
include the future and the eternal, time
and place are made to comprehend both the
literal and figurative aspects of the
dramatic material, its immediate and
universal significance (80).

The parallel between victory and defeat is expanded as
Friedman suggests, to include more universal concepts of
existence and annihilation, be they literal or figurative.
In La Numancia the relationship between victory and defeat,
or existence and annihilation remains paradoxical. In the
case of the Numantians, however, these concepts are not
mutually exclusive. The physical death of the village does
not, as Bergmann suggests signal the end for Numancia; it is

5 Friedman

merely the means to an end--symbolic immortality.
goes on to recognize the significance of the process of
exchange stating: "The nucleus of the play depends on self-
destruction as a source of spiritual survival and the
realization on the part of the Numantians that death is
ineludible, but that glory may be attained" (87). The bargain
struck by the Numantians, although demanding the ultimate

7 Correa also signals the

price, rewards them eternally.
positiverexchange made by the Numantians and comments on their

triumph over death: "La conquista de la muerte se realiza con

83
el resurgir de una vida mas potente" (289-90). The new life
attained by Numancia is more valuable because it is symbolic
and therefore no longer subject to physical death. This
symbolic existence demonstrates the Numantians’ success in
their epic quest to deny human mortality.

Critics agree, in general, that pa Numancia_is in spirit
an epic drama depicting the collective heroism of Spanish
ancestry. The identification of the audience with the hero
occurs, however, not with the sweeping generalization of a
people as heroic, but with the individual acts of heroism that
Belli refers to as "tableau" of the underlying heroic theme.
The honor of the people, as a group and as individuals, is
reflected in various actions leading up to and including the
mass genocide of the village. This honor is epitomized by
Bariato’s final act that ultimately symbolizes the heroism of
the group. The characteristics of physical prowess, loyalty
and devotion to family, friends and country, and magnanimity
in personal and civic relationships earlier attributed to the
classical and Spanish definition of hero are also recognized
in the actions of the Numantians.

Given the integral role of military force and deployment
in the action of the drama and the ultimate defeat of the
Numantians, one might question the applicability of this
heroic trait to Numancia. While it is true that defeat is
uncharacteristic of heroes as a rule, the circumstances of the

Romans’ military victory over the Numantians are suspicious,

84
implying an inability to overcome the tenacity of the
Numantians in battle. Escipién himself bemoans the difficult
task set before him when ordered to attack Numancia and muses:
Esta dificil y pesada carga

que el Senado romano me ha encargado,

tanto me aprieta, me fatiga y carga,

que ya sale e quicio mi cuidado.

De guerra y curso tan extrafia y larga

y que tantos romanos ha costado,

¢quien no estara suspenso al acaballa?

Ah! ¢Quien no temera de renovalla? (1-8).
The war between Numancia and the Roman Empire has been long
and costly, testifying to the strength and endurance of the
smaller Numantian army. Even the great Roman General,
Escipién, holds no false hope» for a <swift and decisive
victory. Escipion further divulges the extent of the
Numantian’s successful defense against what at the time was
the greatest military power in existence as he chastises his
men for their inability to defeat a clearly less advantaged
army:

Avergonzaos, varones esforzados,

porque, a nuestro pesar, con arrogancia,

tan pocos espafioles, y encerrados,

defiendan este nido de Numancia.

Diez y seis afios son y mas pasados

que mantienen la guerra y la ganancia

de haber vencido con feroces manos

millares de millares de romanos (113-120).
The persistence of the Numantians in their struggle against
a larger and better equipped enemy for sixteen years
indirectly augments their standing as a military force.

Comparatively, the Numantians excel as military heroes when

compared to the Romans who, while outnumber ing the Numantians,

85
are unable because of sloth and lust to win a decisive victory
in battle.

Further evidence of the Numantians’ greater heroism, in
comparison with the Romans, is seen in the ever present sense
of civic duty that compels them to act as they do. In an
attempt to restore peace for both sides, the Numantians offer
to begin a new relationship with the Roman Empire pledging
their loyalty as vassals. This offer is refused, however, by
Escipién. In response to the Roman refusal, one of the
Numantian ambassadors warns Escipién that he will regret
having turned away the friendship of the Numantians:

...pues niegas la paz que con buen celo

te ha sido por nosotros demandada,

de hoy més la causa nuestra con el cielo

quedar por mejor calificada,

y antes que pises de Numancia el suelo,

probaras do se extiende la indignada

fuerza de aquel que, siendote enemigo,

quiere ser tu vasallo y fiel amigo... (281-288).
The embassador’s statement reveals the commitment of the
Numantians to whatever stance they must take, be it friendly
or antagonistic. Their determination is run: motivated by
stubbornness, but instead by the need to remain true to their
values. In the better interest of all concerned, Numancia
would be willing to sacrifice autonomy, but never honor.B
They offer vassalage but refuse to surrender themselves into
slavery» Regardless of their desire for peace, honor dictates

that they defend themselves against an enemy who refuses their

loyalty and friendship.

86

The inherent nature of the Numantians' honor is further
revealed in their expectations of similar integrity in their
opponents. This anticipation of honor on the part of the
Romans.is demonstrated first by attempts to arrange»a peaceful
settlement to the conflict and later, by offering a singular
combat. Again, the failure of the Romans to act honorably,
in accordance with the Numantians’ expectations, serves to
increase the disparity between the two peoples. Rather than
engage in a singular combat, which would still favor the
Romans, Escipién chooses to lay siege on the city. Although
recognizing the unfavorable light this decision might cast on

his valor, Escipién seems to gloat as he remarks:

mia sera Numancia a pesar vuestro,

sin que me cueste un minimo soldado,

y el que teneis vosotros por mas diestro,

rompa por ese foso trincheado;

y si en esto os parece que yo muestro

un poco mi valor acobardado,

el viento lleve agora esta vergUenza,

y vuelvala la fama cuando venza (1193-1200).
Escipién’s mistake is that he believes that the fame of
victory will restore the honor lost in an ignoble act. By
contrast, the Numantian, Caravino’s incredulous reaction to
Escipién’s stated plan demonstrates the depth of his own
conviction to honor. In comparison to Escipién’s inconsistent
approach to honor as an end justifying dishonorable means,
Caravino maintains courage and honor. He responds to
Escipion, chiding him and the rest of the Roman soldiers for

their lack of courage and honor:

Cobardes, sois, romanos, vil canalla,

 

87
en vuestra muchedumbre confiados,
y no en los diestros brazos levantados.
Perfidos, desleales, fementidos,

crueles, revoltosos y tiranos;

cobardes, cudiciosos, malnacidos,

pertinaces, feroces y villanos;

adulteros, infames, conocidos

por de industriosas mas cobardes manos!

¢Que gloria alcanzareis en darnos muerte,

teniendonos atados de esta suerte? (1206-1216).
Fundamental to this flurry of insults is a basic lack of
honorable qualities attributed in: the Romans. Caravino's
final question regarding the glory that a dishonorable victory
might provide reveals that for the Numantians victory is not
the singular goal. Because honor is so important to the
Numantian sense of identity, it is inconceivable to them that
their aggressors would choose a means of victory that is from
its inception devoid of honor. The Numantian Tedgenes best
articulates their overwhelming desire to preserve honor. He
contends that denying the Romans the glory of victory will be
infinitely more important to the legacy of Numancia than the
outcome of the struggle, perhaps even more so due to the lack
of honor in the Roman strategy. As a leader among the
Numantians, his first impulse is to attack the Romans
directly. I believe that this planned attack, rather than
prudent military strategy, is motivated by a commitment to
preserve honor. Numancia’s fall in battle would be less
offensive than to surrender to a clever, but cowardly enemy.

Recognizing the insurmountable odds against the Numantians in

an attack against the Romans, Tedgenes addresses his

88
countrymen inciting action even in the face of almost certain
defeat:
El enemigo muro sea deshecho;
salgamos a morir a la campafia,
y no como cobardes en estrecho.
Bien se que sélo sirve esta hazafia
de que a nuestro morir se mude el modo,
que con ella la muerte se acompafia (1233-1250).
Knowing that death will accompany any such attack, Teogenes’
aim at this point is not to inspire in the Numantians any hope
of victory in battle, but rather a victory in honor. The
extended discussion between the assembled Numantians that
follows Teégenes’ call to rebel continues to support the
argument that, physical death is no longer of concern to the
Numantians. The collective motivation of the men, women and
children of Numancia is elevated to a plane of symbolic
victory and an assurance of eternal glory. Their hope is to
exchange physical death for symbolic immortality. The
Numantian dedication to moral victory is echoed in the
statements of Caravino, who also prefers to die fighting.
But, unaware that the women would likewise demonstrate their
heroism by choosing honor over life, he fears that they will
object to what might seem a rash and desperate attack against
the Romans:
Con este parecer yo me acomodo.
Morir quiero rompiendo el fuerte muro
y deshacello por mi mano todo;
mas tieneme una cosa mal siguro:
que si nuestras mujeres saben esto,

de que no haremos nada os aseguro (1251-1256).

Caravino recalls previous attempts to face the Romans that

89
were thwarted by the women’s tears and he expects a similar
reaction to the present plan. Marandro, however, defends the
plan to attack, believing that the Numantian women will agree
that their fate is already sealed and declares:
Nuestro disinio a todas es patente;
todas lo saben ya, y no queda alguna
que no se queje dello amargamente,
y dicen que, en la buena o ruina fortuna,
quieren en vida o muerte acompafiarnos,
aunque su compafiia es importuna (1266-1271).
According to Marandro, the women will agree that an attack is
necessary and will want to join in the defense of Numantian
honor.

The women of Numancia join this discussion, and in what
would have been a predominantly male dominated society, they
demonstrate equal valor. However, the women point out that
by attacking the Romans, the men will be leaving their women
and children unprotected, like a flock of unguarded sheep.
A traditional male obligation to protect the virtue of the
women as well as their own masculine honor is expounded by
one Numantian woman who states:

Peleando quereis dejar las vidas,
y dejarnos tambien desamparadas,
a deshonras y a muertes ofrecidas.
Nuestro cuello ofreced a las espadas
vuestras primero, que es mejor partido
que vernos de enemigos deshonradas (1293-1298).
For the women of Numancia as well, death is more readily
accepted than dishonor. Rather than await death or dishonor

from the Romans, they too, choose the circumstances of their

death. The first woman continues:

90
Yo tengo en mi intencién instituido
que, si puedo, hare cuanto en mi fuere
por morir do muriere mi marido.
Esto mismo hara la que quisiere

mostrar que no los miedos de la muerte

estorban de querer a quien bien quiere,

en buena 0 en mala, dulce, alegre suerte (1293-

1305).
According to this woman, if death is forthcoming, it is better
to die at the side of her husband. The desire to accompany
the men iTi.a collective effort against Roman domination is
echoed by a second Numantian woman who asks that the women
join in the attack as well. She reiterates the Numantian
commitment to honor above physical life, hoping the women will
be allowed to participate in the attack in order that they may
"live" by dying at the sides of their husbands: "Si al foso
quereis salir, / llevadnos en tal salida, / porque tendremos
por vida / a vuestros lados morir" (1330-1333). At this
point, death is believed by all to be inevitable» Rather than
maintain false hopes of military victory, this woman chooses
to defend Numancia by dying at the sides of those who will
also fight and die for their honor. Surrounded by the Romans
and their oppressive siege, the only freedom left for the
Numantians is to choose the conditions of their imminent
death. The walls of their city will be the only remaining
witness to their ultimate act of freedom, and death will
liberate them leaving a legacy of honor. A third woman

beseeches the children of Numancia to tell their fathers that

the freedom into which they were born will be preserved only

 

91
by an honorable death:
Decildes que, pues la suerte
nuestra va tan decaida,
que, como os dieron la vida,
ansimismo os den la muerte.
Oh muros de esta ciudad!
Si podeis hablar, decid
y mil veces repetid:
"Numantinos, libertad!" (1350-1357).
The liberty that the Numantians hope to find becomes
increasingly focused on death. Their ability to control death
is the last strategy of the Numantians and the collective
commitment to preserve honor over life increases with each
individual’s statement. ijticoncludes the women’s objections
to not being included in the men’s plan to attack the Romans,
protesting that the inevitable pillage of Numancia by their
greedy victors will leave undefended women and children in
peril. She chastises the men saying: ”Desesperacién notoria
/ es esta que hacer queréis," (1378-1379), recognizing their
need to die honorably but rejecting battle as a means of
ensuring Numancia’s glory. She also warns that an attack
against the Romans, even if initially victorious, would not
be joined by any other city in Spain and in the end would be
mocked by the Romans:
Mi pobre ingenio os advierte
que, si hacéis esta salida,
al enemigo dais vida
y a toda Numancia muerte
De vuestro acuerdo gentil
los romanos burlaran; (1386-1389)

In her view, an attack will bring only death and ridicule to

Numancia and will not achieve their goals.

92
Thus the scope of Numancia’s collective heroism, a
characteristic traditionally defined by male activity, is
broadened to include women and children. Responding to the
women’s resolve to accompany the men, Tedgenes embraces the
unity of the Numantians and proposes a course of action that
will resolve the conflict between death and honor, pledging
to the women that they will not be excluded or abandoned by
the men. He calls to the women, speaking for his fellow
Numantians: "jamas en muerte o vida os dejaremos; / antes en
muerte o vida os serviremos" (1408-1409). Just as their
collective commitment to preserve honor extends beyond death,
so does their heroic commitment to one another. Teégenes
explains the Numantian’s desire to avenge themselves and their
honor in battle against the Roman’s siege and tells the women
that this was the motivation for their planned attack. But
he now recognizes the need to include all of Numancia, women
and children as well as men in the struggle to preserve the
honor of their nation:
Pensabamos salir al foso, ciertos

antes de alli morir que de escaparnos,

pues fuera quedar vivos aunque muertos,

si muriendo pudieramos vengarnos;

mas pues nuestros disinios descubiertos

han sido, y es locura aventurarnos,

amados hijos y mujeres nuestras,

nuestras vidas seran de hoy mas las vuestras

(1410-1417).
The plan must be revised so as to protect not only the honor,

but also the unity of Numancia. A new course of action must

be taken that will allow them, as a nation, to escape a slow

93
and agonizing death as result of the siege. In addition to
controlling the circumstances of their death, the Numantians
aspire to a plan that would deny the Romans the glory and
riches of victory. As a result of Teégenes’ intended plan,
Escipién himself would be forced to recognize and testify to
the legacy of Numancia’s honor:
8610 se ha de mirar que el enemigo

no alcance de nosotros triunfo o gloria;

antes ha de servir el de testigo

que apruebe y eternice nuestra historia;

y si todos venis en lo que digo,

mil siglos durara nuestra memoria,

y es que no puede cosa aqui en Numancia

de do el contrario pude hacer ganancia (1418-

1425).
Teégenes inspires the Numantians with the proposed results
that his plan would obtain and after describing the ends,
reveals to them the means. At this point, he explains his
plan to ensure the glory and honor of the city:

En medio de la plaza se haga un fuego,

en cuya ardiente llama licenciosa

nuestras riquezas todas se echen luego,

desde la pobre a la mas rica cosa;

y esto podreis tener a dulce juego

cuando os declare la intencién honrosa

que se ha de efectuar despues que sea

abrasada cualquier rica presea (1426-1433).
Tedgenes’ plan that the Numantians commit their possessions
to an enormous fire and control the circumstances of their
death solves the conflict between physical victory that is
imminent for the Romans and moral victory that in death is

assured the Numantians. According to Teégenes, the memory of

Numancia will endure forever and Escipibn, in the face of his

94

own moral defeat will be compelled to recognize their triumph
in terms of honor. Caravino agrees with Teégenes’ plan and
calls to the rest of Numancia to join in what he deems "un tan
extrafio y tan honroso hecho" (1445). The women also concur
and set out under Lira’s leadership to gather and burn the
possessions that would otherwise fall into the greedy hands
of the Romans. This is a pivotal point in the unfolding of
the Numantians as a cohesive group committed to a collective
goal. While the fundamental assessment of Numancia is
collective, individual characters serve to personalize the
situation and provide opportunities for the audience or reader
t0umore closely identify with the~heroic actions of the group.

One such example of individual heroism is witnessed as
Leonicio, a young Numantian, accompanies his friend Marandro
to almost certain death in a raid of the Roman camp for bread.
While the action is more symbolic than effectual, it serves
to demonstrate the depth of inter-personal relationships.
Marandro’s actions are motivated not so much by the effect
that a bit of stolen bread might have in sustaining Lira, but
rather as a symbolic victory of having won for her what the
Romans are trying to withhold. As Lira voices her fear that
she will succumb to hunger before she is able to help carry
out Tebgenes’ plan, Marandro consoles her and pledges,to bring
her a bit of bread from the Roman camp:

Yo me ofrezco de saltar
el foso y el muro fuerte,

y entrar por la misma muerte
para la tuya excusar.

95
e1 pan que el romano toca,

sin que el temor me destruya,

le quitare de la suya

para ponello en tu boca; (1506-1513).
The bread and any effect it might have in sustaining Lira is
of secondary importance, Marandro’s defiance of the Roman
siege is symbolic of Numancia’s need to act rather than wait
helplessly for death. The willingness to face death head on,
without fear or regard for personal suffering demonstrates
Marandro’s heroism, and by extension that of all Numancia.
Leonicio recognizes the motivating ability of Marandro's love
for Lira, and pledges to join in the raid. While Marandro’s
action is motivated by his love for Lira, Leonicio’s valor is
motivated by loyalty to his friend. Leonicio’s commitment to
Marandro and the motivating power of their friendship is
illustrated as he vows his support saying: "Yo quiero, buen
amigo, acompafiarte / y en impresa tan justa y tan forzosa /
con mis pequefias fuerzas ayudarte" (1586-1588). The just
motivation for Marandro’s mission to enter the Roman camp
compels Leonicio to join him and offer whatever help he might.
His loyalty to Marandro inspires the same fearless heroism
that he recognized in his friend. Leonicio continues, saying:
"sabras que no 105 miedos de la muerte / de ti me apartaran
un solo punto, / ni otra cosa, si la hay, que sea mes fuerte"
(1601-1603). As an example of Becker’s assertion that heroism

is born of the ability to act when faced with death (11),

Leonicio, although aware of the very real danger of death, is

96
not deterred from his desire to express allegiance to
Marandro. Leonicio, as well as Marandro, is committed to the
act, however symbolic, of winning a bit of bread and thereby
a measure of victory from the Romans.

While Marandro’s and Leonicio’s defiance of the Romans
is praiseworthy and incites respect for their loyalty to love
and friendship, perhaps the most compelling act of one
individual’s devotion to another is that of Teogenes. The
extent of the Numantians’ collective commitment to their task
is perhaps most felt as Tedgenes addresses his family,
explaining to them, as well as the audience, the Numantian
preference for an honorable death rather than surrender to
the Romans. The Numantian honor is not without its price.
Tedgenes struggles with the conflict between his love for his
children and the commitment of all Numancia to die honorably
rather than surrender to the Romans:

Cuando el paterno amor no me detiene

de ejecutar la furia de mi intento,

considerad, mis hijos, cual me tiene

el celo de mi honroso pensamiento.

Terrible es el dolor que se previene

con acabar la vida en fin violento

y mas el mio, pues a1 hado plugo

que yo sea de vosotros cruel verdugo (2058-2075).
The emotions of a father in Tedgenes’ position serve further
to deepen the respect and compassion for the extreme situation
of the Numantians. However, as Calderwood suggested, the

human commitment to any "secular religion" (honor in the case

of the Numantians) will at times motivate one to kill and die

97
for its preservation (41-42). Therefore, having expressed his
deep love for his family and lamenting the cruelty of his
fate, Tedgenes continues, assuring them that their death at
his hand is their only means of liberty:
no quedareis, oh hijos de mi alma!,

esclavos, no e1 romano poderio

llevara de vosotros triunfo o palma,

por mas que a sujetarnos alce el brio;

e1 camino mas llano que la palma

de nuestra libertad el Cielo pio

nos ofrece y nos muestra y nos advierte

que sclo esta en las manos de la muerte

(2076-2083).
In order to protect them from slavery and dishonor, Teégenes
must be the instrument of their death and spare them from the
Romans. The fates have offered them but one means of liberty
and Tedgenes must lead his family on the road that has been
indicated. Only in death can they be assured freedom.
Because life without freedom equals for the Numantians a life
without honor, defeat is an unacceptable conclusion to their
dilemma. In their quest to deny death’s finality, death
itself provides the means.

The response of Tedgenes’ wife to his intended act is
also indicative of the unanimous commitment to self-sacrifice
rather than acceptance of Roman dominance. When faced with
her own death and that of her children, she resolutely states:
"Mas pues no puede ser, segun yo veo, / y esta ya mi muerte
tan cercana, / lleva de nuestras vidas tu el trofeo, / y no

la espada perfida romana" (2100-2103). If death is near and

unavoidable, she would rather fall to her husband’s sword than

98
to that of a Roman. She asks Tedgenes to take them to the
temple of Diana where she and the children will die. As
Tedgenes exits the Temple, having taken the lives of his wife
and children, he expresses the underlying pain of the
Numantians. To be called on to sacrifice one's own family,
even in the name of eternal honor, is a cruel fate to endure.
Now for Teégenes, his own death cannot come quickly enough and
he pleads:
Sangre de mis entrafias derramada,

pues sois aquella de los hijos mios;

mano contra ti mesma acelerada,

llena de honrosos y crueles brios;

fortuna, en dafio mio conjurada;

cielos, de justa piedad vacios;

ofrecedme en tan dura, amarga suerte,

alguna honrosa, aunque cercana muerte (2140-2147).
Overcome by the injustice of fate, Tedgenes laments the death
of his family yet still clarifies the universal desire of his
people, an honorable death. He beseeches his fellow
Numantians to strike him down, allowing him to suffer the
force of their vengeance against the Romans. When another
Numantian joins him they vow to die together, by whatever
means available. As his death draws near, Teégenes’ final
words echo the Numantian desire to find an honorable end to
their situation: "Ora me mate el hierro, 0 el fuego me arda,
/ que gloria y honra en cualquier muerte veo!" (2140-2183).

Just as Tebgenes’ sacrifice of his family and himself

avoids the dishonor of defeat by the Romans, the mass suicide

of Numancia is motivated by the desire to preserve, by

99

whatever means possible, the city’s inherent honor. The self-
sacrifice of the Numantians is not prompted simply by a
refusal to accept the Romans. Instead, it is the Roman refusal
to allow an honorable end to the conflict that leads to the
Numantians’ final act. As in the case of the previously
discussed hero Licurgo, who also chose death over dishonor,
each of the heroic characteristics of the Numantians finds
root in the fundamental concept of the preservation of honor,
be it individual or collective. The honor of the Numantians
is evident and it may be further appreciated when compared to
the behavior of the Romans.

Nearing the end of the play, Escipibn looks out over the
ruins of Numancia and realizes that the Numantian’s suicide
has snatched from him the glory he hoped to gain in victory.
He recalls of the constancy and pride of Numancia as they held
off the Roman invasion and his thoughts turn to hopes of
saving face as well as to his own motivations in the siege:

Con uno solo que quedase vivo

no se me negaria el triunfo en Roma

de haber domado esta nacion soberbia,
enemiga mortal de nuestro nombre,
constante en su opinién, presta, arojada
al peligro mayor y duro trance;

de quien jamas se alabara romano

que vio la espalda vuelta a numantino,
cuyo valor, cuya destreza en armas

me forzo con razén a usar el medio

de encerrallos cual fieras indomables

y triunfar de ellos con industria y mafia,
pues era con las fuerzas imposible (2244-2256).

The General admits that the desired triumph over the city was

motivated less by a need for physical dominance than by hopes

 

 

100
to squelch the pride of the small community. The ability of
the Numantians to withstand the Roman attack for sixteen years
undoubtably led to Escipién's perception of them as mortal
enemies of Roman reputation. The embarrassment of the Roman
army quite probably was augmented by the impossibility of
military triumph in direct battle which led to the less
honorable victory by siege. In the play, Escipién is not the
only Roman to recognize he Numantians’ valor. Mario, a
soldier reporting to the General after the failure of the
siege, praises the Numantians’ memory, acknowledging their
moral victory over Escipién:
El lamentable fin, la triste historia
de la ciudad invicta de Numancia
merece ser eterna la memoria;
sacado han de su perdida ganancia;

quitado te han el triunfo de las manos,

muriendo con magnénima constancia; (2264-2269).
The eternal nature of this collective act of heroism is
articulated as Mario recognizes the glory due the Numantians,
who by sacrificing themselves, snatch spiritual victory from
physical defeat. Mario also praises their magnanimity, the
trait most highly revered in the traditional Roman hero and
compares the honor of Numancia to the power of Rome: "nuestros
disinios han salido vanos, / pues ha podido mas su honroso
intento / que toda la potencia de romanos" (2270-2272). Mario
realizes that all has been in vain and that the Numantians

have won. Ultimately the honor of the Numantians was greater

than the power of the Roman Empire. As a‘result of Numancia’s

 

101
triumph, Escipién is reduced to a desperate hope to salvage
some modicum of victory by forcing the surrender of a boy, the
last surviving Numantian, who was found hiding in a tower.
Realizing that this is his last opportunity, Escipién imagines
his triumph over Bariato and a consequent Roman victory:
...eso bastaba
para triunfar en Roma de Numancia,
que es lo que mas agora deseaba.
Lleguemonos alla, y haced instancia

c6mo el muchacho venga a aquestas manos

vivo, que es lo que agora es de importancia

(2327-2332).
Escipién enters into a battle of wills with the boy and the
pitiful state of the General’s pride and his desperation to
restore it are revealed in the final act. Once again the
honor of Numancia is compared to the power of the Romans as
Escipién calls to the boy Bariato: "Templa, pequefio joven,
templa el brio; / sujeta el valor tuyo, que es pequefio, / al
mayor de mi honroso poderio;" (2351-2353). The image of a
boy surrounded by the most powerful army in existence and
faced with that army’s General epitomizes the conflict of the
drama; the Romans’ great military power versus the»Numantian’s
strength of character and commitment to honor. Escipién,
however, remains unaware of the extent to which the
Numantians’ honor surpasses his own as he tells Bariato to
surrender his own small valor to the greater power of Rome.
Refusing, the boy ultimately personifies in word and deed all

of Numancia. Professing his commitment to externalize the

Numantian’s collective honor and glory, he speaks to his dead

102

countrymen saying: "Yo os aseguro, oh fuertes ciudadanos!, /
que no falte por mi la intencibn vuestra / de que no triunfen
perfidos romanos, / si ya no fuere de ceniza nuestra” (2385-
2388). tkecontinues his pledge, assuring the Romans that they
will not find victory in his capture regardless of their
superior power. Bariato concludes his speech citing a purity
of love for his country as motivation for his suicide: "Pero
muestrase ya el intento mio, / y si ha sido el amor perfecto
y puro / que yo tuve a mi patria tan querida, / asegurelo
luego esta caida" (2386-2400). Bariato heroically accepts
physical death to ensure the eternal honor of Numancia. The
"secular religion” that motivates this great sacrifice stems
from the desire to join in the preservation of the city’s
collective honor. As the boy hurls himself from the tower in
defense of the honor of Numancia, Escipién realizes the
magnitude of the act and the comparative unimportance of his
own military victory. Just as the audience singles out heroes
because they represent individual participation in the
universal quest for immortality, perhaps it is the ultimate
act of a single representative of Numancia with which Escipién
is finally able to identify. Seeing the boy’s body at the
foot of the tower, Escipién cries out: 1

Oh! Nunca vi tan memorable hazafia!

Nifio de anciano y valeroso pecho,

que, no 5610 a Numancia, mas a Espafia

has adquirido gloria en este hecho;

con tu viva virtud, heroica, extrafia,

queda muerto y perdido mi derecho!

Tu con esta caida levantaste
tu fama y mis vitorias derribaste (2401-2408).

103

Bariato personifies the collective heroism characteristic of
all Numancia. The glory, virtue and heroism of the city--here
recognized and eulogized by Escipién, as Teégenes predicted-
-are reaffirmed by the voice of Fame in the final words of
the drama. The allegorical figure addresses the audience as
well as the Romans, entreating each to immortalize the
Numantians in light of their honorable death:
Vaya mi clara voz de gente en gente,

y en dulce y suave son, con tal sonido

llene las almas de un deseo ardiente

de eternizar un hecho tan subido.

Alzad, romanos, la inclinada frente;

llevad de aqui este cuerpo, Que ha podido

en tan pequefia edad arrebataros

el triunfo que pudiera tanto honraros, (2417-

2424).
The triumph that could have honored the Romans is claimed for
Numancia. The breadth of Numancia’s eternal fame, won by
strength and constancy is also guaranteed, as is the unending
endurance of their name.

As is recognized by the audience as well as the Romans,
Numancia’s heroism and subsequent denial of the finality of
physical death stem from the city’s dedication to a system of
honor which served as guide and measure to the actions of
individuals as well as the collective» While the secular code
of honor directed the actions of the Numantians, they were

influenced, much like the previously discussed Licurgo, by

prophecy and ill fate.

104
The importance of prophecy in the heroic denial of death

represented in pa Numanci as well as the other plays

a

 

discussed in this study, is that it requires the hero to face

the imminence and inevitability of physical death that is

usually relegated to the subconscious mind. Therefore, the
focus of a quest for immortality shifts from the physical to
a symbolic existence provided by the code of honor. The
initial physical defeat as well as the ultimate moral victory
of the Numantians is prophesied during the course of the
drama. Inherent, however, to prophecy is the enigmatic nature
of its message. Early in the play, the allegorical figure of
Espafia enters after the Roman rejection of peace offered by
the Numantians, lamenting her imminent fall to the Romans.
This despair is tempered however by the introduction of the
image’of the immortal and mythical phoenix that rises from the
ashes of its death:
Numancia es la que agora sola ha sido

quien la luciente espada saco fuera,

y a costa de su sangre ha mantenido

la amada libertad suya y primera.

Mas, ay!, que veo el termino cumplido,

llegada ya la hora postrimera

do acabara su vida, y no su fama,

cual fenix renovandose en la llama (385-392).
Here, although Espar‘ia expresses no hope for the present
situation of the Numantians, their ultimate fate is
optimistic. The river Duero enters and in addition to

confirming the prophecy offered by Espafia, continues to

comment on the future greatness of Numancia, which coincides

105

with the strength of the seventeenth-century audience's
present-day Spain (King, 213-214). While the prOphecies
offered by Espafia and Duero are clear--predicting physical
death but symbolic immortality--further glimpses into the
future of Numancia are gleaned through the interpretation of
signs by the Numantian priests and statements made by a corpse
raised from the dead.

When a sacrificial ritual of the Numantian priests is
interrupted by demons, the priests interpret the omens to
foretell the imminent fall of the city: "Aquilas, de gran mal
anunciadoras, / partios, que ya el agUero vuestro entiendo,
/ ya en efeto contadas son las horas" (858-860). There are,
however, indications that the victory of the Romans will not
be enduring. flipriest consoles the Numantians saying: "Aunque
lleven romanos la vitoria / de nuestra muerte, en humo ha de
tornarse, / y en llamas vivas nuestra muerte y gloria" (822-
824). The images of Numancia’s glory and death in living
flames and the Roman victory turning into smoke recall the
myth of the immortal Phoenix. Later in the ritual, the enigma
of the prophecy continues in a message from a corpse, who when
restored to life by the sorcerer Marquino predicts that
Numancia will fall to the hands closest to her:

estan con rabia eterna aqui esperando
a que acabe, Marquino, de informarte
del lamentable fin, del mal infando
que de Numancia puedo asegurarte,

la cual acabara a las mismas manos
de los que son a ella mas cercanos (1068-1073).

106
The corpse alludes to the unexpected self-fulfillment of
Numancia’s predicted death. Just as the prophecy that Licurgo
take the life of a king or himself be killed by a king was
unexpectedly fulfilled by his suicide (by taking his own life
he both killed a king and fell to a king’s hand), the enigma
of the prophecy is that the hands closest to the heroic city
are not Roman, but Numantian. The prediction continues to say
that Rome will be denied the glory of victory and that one
instrument will bring about both the’ death and life~ of
Numancia:
No llevaran romanos la vitoria

de la fuerte Numancia, ni ella menos

tendra del enemigo triunfo o gloria,

amigos y enemigos siendo buenos;

no entiendas que de paz habra memoria,

que habra albergue en sus contrarios senos;

el amigo cuchillo, el homicida

de Numancia sera, y sera su vida; (1074-1080).
The image of the "amigo cuchillo" is in itself, further
example of the ironic victory that will be won by the
Numantians” Their suicide results in physical death, but also
assures "life". The mention of eternal glory and the honor
of the Numantians is of great importance with regard to the
motivation of the people. Although they are fully aware of
their predicted end and its inevitability, their actions
remain guided not by fatalism with respect to physical
existence, but instead by their belief that the system of

honor which structured their lives would also serve them as

a means of immortality. The actions of the Numantians, when

 

107
faced with impending and prophesied defeat to the Romans,
reveal the exemplary fulfillment of the ideals presented in
their secular code of conduct. In keeping with the myth of
the Phoenix, the honor of Numancia assures that from the
ashes, she will rise again eternally.

The collective hero of Cervantes’ La Numancia, as well
as Licurgo, the hero of Alarcén’s El duaflo de las estrellas,
accept physical death at their own hands rather than
compromise the code of honor which structured their individual
lives as well as the societies to which they belonged. The
equation of life with honor provides the motivation for the
actions that lead them to sacrifice finite physical existence
in exchange for a means of symbolic immortality which is
granted them through the eternal remembrance of their glory

and honor.

 

 

NOTES

1.Ruiz Rambn, Francisco. Historia del teatro espafiol. Madrid:
Cétedra, 1988. (129).

 

2.See Francisco Ruiz Rambn, Historia del teatro espafiol (128).

3. King, although emphasizing the tragic nature of Escipién’s
victory, states: "the play is finally not a bleak tragedy.... Human
effort and heroism are celebrated; even though they cannot prevail
against the designs of providence on a given day, they win over
death and oblivion in the pages of history” (200).

4.Echevarria compares Cervantes’ La Numancia with Ercilla’s I_._._a
Araucana and contends that the collective protagonist, the indirect
glorification of the hero as compared to the conquering forces, and
the epic style in versification of La Numancia were influenced by
Ercilla’s work (98).

5.In "Classical Tragedy and Cervantes’ La Numancia", Frederick de
Armas defines the play as tragic if one accepts Escipibn as the
protagonist since he (not the city of Numancia as Raymond MacCurdy
suggest in ”The Numantia plays of Cervantes and Rojas Zorrilla: The
Shift from Collective to Personal Tragedy") fulfills the required
criterion of a classical tragic hero. De Armas incorporates the
opinions of Reichenberger and Correa, which regard the play’s
deviations from classical definitions of tragedy, in his
interpretation of Escipién as the tragic hero of La Numancia and
he also uses Casalduero’s tri-thematic defense of La Numancia’s
tragic unity to reject the city as the protagonist, thus negating
the thesis of Casalduero’s explication of tragic elements in pa_
Numancia as play and as protagonist (Santido y forma del taatroppg
Cervantes).

6.Bergmann states: "The boy Bariato’s leap from the tower
epitomizes Numantian Stoic heroism, ending the human action in
nothingness..." (92-93).

7.Bergmann suggests that the Numantians do not benefit from their
self-sacrifice and that they are unaware of its significance. She
states: "What will be ”bought" with this sacrifice is far more than
the Numantians imagined, but they cannot benefit from the results
of their acts as they are displaced to another plane of values"
(92). While I agree that the sacrifice is supreme, I belive that

108

109

it was made with an awareness of the eternal nature of its rewards.
The physical death accepted by the Numantians is recognized by them
as a means to ultimately deny death’s finality. They not only
recognize its significance but also continue to reap the benefit
of their final act because of, not in spite of, their existence on
another plane.

8.William M. Whitby in "The Sacrifice Theme in Cervantes’ Npmancia"
contends that the "remedies. by which the» Numantians seek to
preserve their lives--first in a physical, then in a spiritual
sense--always involve in some manner the idea of sacrifice" (207).
He also demonstrates that the degree of sacrifice is increasingly
augmented throughout the duration of the play: a ritual animal
sacrifice, one warrior offered for single combat, all men of
fighting age and finally all of Numancia (208).

WORKS CITED

Armas, Frederick A. de. "Classical Tragedy and Cervantes’pa
Numancia." Neophilolopua 58 (l974):34-40.

Becker, Ernest. The D_nial of Death. New York: The Free

Press, 1973.

Belli, Angela. "Cervantes’ El cayco da Numancia and
Euripides’ The Trojan Womap. ” Kentucky Romance ngterly
25 (1978): 121-28.

Bergmann, Emilie. "The Epic Vision of Cervantes’ Numancia."
Theatre Journal 36.1 (1984): 85-96.

 

Calderwood, James L. Shakespeare and tha:penial of Death.
Amherst: Univ. of Mass. Press, 1987.

Casalduero, Joaquin. ”Numancia." Santido y forma del teatro
pa Cgrvantes. Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1966. 259-83.

Cervantes de Saavedra, Miguel de. La Numancia. Diez Comedias
gal Siglo de Oro. 2nd ed. Eds. Jose Martel and Hymen
Alpern. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, 1985.
2-68.

Correa, Gustavo. "El concepto de la fama en el teatro de
Cervantes." Hispanicpgaviay_27 (1959): 280-302.

 

 

Echevarria, Evelio. "Influencias de Ercilla en La Numancia,
de Cervantes." Cuadarnop Hippanoamericanos 43 (1986):
97-99.

Freidman, Edward H. "La Numancia within Structural Patterns

 

of Sixteenth-Century Spanish Tragedy.” Neophilologu§_6l
(1977): 74-89.

King, Willard F. "Cervantes’ Numancia and Imperial Spain."
Modarn Language Notes 94 (1979): 200-221.

 

 

Lewis-Smith, Paul. ”Cervantes’ Numancia as Tragedy and as
Tragicomedy." Bullatin of Hispanic Studiaa_64.1 (1987):
15-26.

MacCurdy, Raymond R. "The Numantia Plays of Cervantes and

Rojas Zorrilla: The Shift from Collective to Personal
Tragedy." Symposium 14.1 (spring 1960): 100-120.

Whitby, William M. "The Sacrifice Theme in Cervantes’
Numancia." Hispania 45 (1962): 205-10.

110

DON FERNANDO: CHRISTIAN KNIGHT AND MARTYR

Don Fernando, the protagonist of Calderén's El principg_
constante, (1630) is perhaps one of the paramount dramatic
heroes of Golden-Age Spain. The constancy of his dedication
to the Catholic faith, ultimately concluding in his martyrdom,
earns for him the epitaph of "el principe en la fe constante"
as well as spiritual immortality. The events preceeding his
martyrdom, which some critics believe to parallel the stages

I epitomize heroic Christian

of Christ’s life and resurrection,
ideals as well as exemplify the traditional secular
characteristics of heroism. As will be shown in this
chapter, Don Fernando’s enduring faith leads to his physical
death and subsequent appearance as a divine image during the
final scenes.of the play, demonstrating the culmination of his
participation in a heroic denial of death.

The heroic commitment to the Catholic faith that Don
Fernando maintains throughout the play is evident from the
beginning. His ordeal begins as he and his brother Enrique
lead their troops to Africa in a campaign to Christianize new
lands. Although initially successful, their fortune changes

and Fernando is ‘captured by the» Moorish King of Fez--a

character who will serve as a point of contrast in Fernando’s

111

llla

definition as a hero. The King offers Fernando’s release in
exchange for the Christian city of Ceuta, an offer King
Alfonso of Portugal accepts. Fernando, however, rejects
freedom at the cost of the Christian city, preferring instead
to endure his captivity, regarding it as anlopportunity to act
upon his faith. Fernando’s heroic actions, like those of
other Spanish Golden-Age protagonists are inspired by a code
of honor. However, his actions demonstrate that his
dedication to the Catholic faith is.the primary motivation for
heroism throughout the drama.

Scholars often incorporate the theme of Fernando’s
heroism into a more general debate as to the plausibility of
Christian tragedy and the existence of Christian tragic
heroes. Much of the criticism regarding Fernando’s heroic
qualities is dedicated to defining the tragic hero and
debating the manner in which Fernando reflects the designated
characteristics. Preston Roberts, Henry Sullivan, James Parr
and Jose Ruano de la Haza are among those scholars who defend
the existence of Christian tragedy. Their studies range from

2

the general--the creation of a Christian tragic poetics-mto

the particular--the investigation of Fernando as a Christian
tragic heroa

Of the scholars mentioned, Roberts, presents the most
comprehensive study of the relationship between Christianity

and Tragedy with regard to literary theories. Departing from

the Greek theology inherent in Aristotle’s Poetics, Roberts

112

endeavors to create a Christian poetics of dramatic tragedy.
Although cognizant of the frequently stated belief that
Christian tragedy is impossible because a tragic death
"contradicts the whole theme and point of Christian theology"
(6), Roberts refutes the mutual exclusivity of Christianity
and tragedy:

The kind of Christian theology in which

I believe mitigates but does not simply

deny or cancel out tragedy. It shifts

the locus of tragedy from God, nature,

others or our own essence to an aspect of

ourselves and others--an aspect which is

rendered sufferable, meaningful, and

transformable by virtue of a conjunction

between God’s freely given grace and our

freely received faith (7).
In Roberts’ view, because tragedy is connected only with a
single aspect of one’s self and not with one’s essence, it may
be transcended through one’s relationship with God. Faith,
on the part of the hero, is therefore paramount to any
consideration of Christian tragedy according to Roberts’
theory. He implies that the Christian hero, while free to
choose his own actions, is motivated by religious faith. This
religious motivation creates a conflict between the hero’s
inherent freedom to act and a desire to comply with the codes
of Christian conduct. Because the hero’s internal conflict
becomes the focus of dramatic tragedy, Roberts characterizes
the plot structure of a Christian play as somewhat open
throughout:

By being open I do not mean that the

course of events is unconditioned. It
arises. out of a definite, given, and

113

limited situation: and it issues into a

definite, given, and limited situation.

I mean that at certain points and moments

all individualities implicated in a

Christian plot are internally determined

and externally free, in that their

tragedy is a function of freedom and of

character rather than of fate and of

circumstance; and that a Christian play

begins, moves through, and ends in

something more than the simply tragic

(11).
The conflict between freedom and a sense of self-imposed
restraint (what Roberts calls internal determinism) based on
an accepted code of conduct, is central to a Christian heroic
denial of death. I agree with Roberts’ premise that Christian
heroes, motivated by their dedication to faith, assume a
certain degree of moral determinism in their actions. Just
as the actions of other heroes are motivated by a secular code
of honor, Christian heroes act in the way that they do in
order to remain true to themselves as well as to the Christian
faith. The tragedy in Christian drama ensues when heroes
encounter an impasse between external freedom and internal
determinism.

Sullivan confirms Roberts’ assertion that Christian
tragedy is not oxymoronic. In two studies, "Las tres
justicias en una of Calderén and the Question of Christian
Catharsis" and "Calderén, the German Idealist Philosophers,
and the Question of Christian Tragedy," he takes up Roberts’

opinion that the Christian hero is at once free and self-

determined, basing his arguments on Lacan’s theory of the moi

114

and the jg,“ The mpa_and the 1a are loosely equated with a
sense of individual freedom (M) that is balanced by an
inherent respect for social necessity 03;). Similar to
Roberts’ discussion of external freedom and internal
determinism, Sullivan applies the theory of the individual
ppl_and the social ja_to Christian drama stating:

When [the martyrs] make the supreme

sacrifice, they do so in the name of a

system of belief, in an affirmation of
selfhood and the deep "Truth" of being,

which constitutes the simultaneous
victory of the moi and the ja_over forces
of necessity. They are true for the

sense of alienated belief in a fictional

image of self which is proper to the all

powerful moi, as well as to the

particular public system of belief, be it

religious faith or patriotic conviction

or something else, to which the j_e_ or

conscious mind has sworn allegiance

(Question of Christian Tragedy, 66).
In the case of the Christian martyrs, death is the necessity
which is conquered by the combined forces of the moi and the
jag Their martyrdom allows them to conquer death (a universal
necessity) by voluntarily making it a choice. Freedom and
necessity, the moi and the ja_of the human psyche become one,
victorious over death. By making death a conscious choice,
the martyrs make the supreme sacrifice, which is the virtue
Sullivan regards as the common denominator between Greek
tragedy, Greek religion, Christianity and Calderonian tragedy
(63).

The arguments for the universal existence of Christian

tragedy made by Roberts, and Sullivan’s investigations of

115
Calderonian Christian tragedy in particular are extended by
Parr and Ruano to include don FernandOI as. an exemplary
Christian hero in the tradition of classical tragedy. Ruano,
in "Hacia una nueva definicion de la tragedia calderoniana,"
compares pagan and Christian attitudes in El pprincipa,
constante as represented by the Moorish princess, Fenix and
the Catholic prince, don Fernando. He also discusses
underlying elements of tragedy relying on the play’s
relationship to Aristotle’s Poetics. Given the combination
of secular and religious traditions, Ruano identifies the
drama as an early example of CalderOn’s "tragedia mixta“.
While the studies of Roberts, Sullivan and Ruano range

from a general investigation of Christian tragedy to
discussions of Calderonian tragedy, James Parr, in "EL
principgvconstante and the issue of Christian Tragedy," makes
the greatest effort to define the play and its hero as tragic.
Parr contends that don Fernando is indeed a tragic hero, based
on his fulfillment, in character and circumstance, of the
following four criterian which he regards as pre-eminent in
a definition of tragedy:

1) the protagonist is a man of relatively

high estate; 2) his suffering and

calamity contrast with a previous glory

and happiness; 3) his fall results from

actions for which he is at least in part

responsible, since tragedy cannot be

accidental; accidents are merely

lamentable; 4) tragedy ordinarily ends in

the death of the hero; moreover, this

death must appear inevitable; the

inevitability is seen to issue from the
character of the hero (165-166).

Although I do not interpret the play as a tragedy, don
Fernando’s situation clearly complies with the elements that
Parr sets forth as indicitive of tragedy. Don Fernando is a
prince of Portugal whose quest to Christianize new lands had
traditionally been met with success. His captivity, while
initially beyond his control, is prolonged by his own
determination to defend the Christian city of Ceuta from the
Moors. This self-perpetuated captivity and enslavement leads
to his physical decline and ends inevitably in death. Thus,
Fernando fulfills Parr’s criterian as a tragic hero. In his
study of this play, Parr extends this basic definition of
tragedy to include what he terms a "non-moralistic"
explanation of tragedy in which the primary characteristic of
the hero is the commitment to remain true to his nature when
faced with adversity:

Tragedy occurs when opposing sets of
values or attitudes are brought into
play, or when the protagonist is pitted
against an overpowering set of
circumstances, with the result that the
one centrally involved in the action ends
disastrously. 'The central character must
end badly as a direct consequence of
being true to his values, which is to
say, true to himself. He must be seen to
assume a‘ considerable part of the
responsibility for his suffering, and
this means that he must struggle with
reasonable awareness of the threat he
faces. It will not do for him to be
entirely ignorant of the end he may
expect if he persists in maintaining a
certain stance. We must be led to admire
the nobility of the one who is defeated,
both because of certain positive values
he personifies and also because of his

117
strength of character (areté or virtus)
in remaining true to an established
pattern when severely tested (166).
Regarding this play, the strength of character that Parr
refers to enables Fernando to patiently suffer the cruelty and
indignity of his captivity, knowing that it will ultimately

lead to his death. When considered according to Parr's

definition, there is little doubt that El principg constant

‘—

 

 

is a dramatic tragedy. Don Fernando’s plight is directly the
result of the conflict between his religious convictions and
the circumstances of his captivity as imposed by the King of
Fez. He is responsible for his enslavement in that he rejects
freedom when it is offered because of the unacceptable ransom
of Ceuta that is demanded. He is fully aware of the
consequences of his decision and almost joyfully embraces his
suffering. Don Fernando’s defense of his religious beliefs
and his willingness to defend them to the death are admirable.
I take exception, however, to Parr’s heavy reliance on
Fernando’s disastrous outcome as characteristic of the
protagonist’s tragic qualities. While Fernando does indeed
perish, he is resurrected as a divine image. In my view, in
a Christian play this spiritual resurrection which Parr
dismisses as "apparent," is of greater significance than
physical death“ Parr views Fernando’s death as an "extinction
of personality" representing tragedy III its most complete
sense (167). I disagree with Parr’s belief that death, for

a Christian, represents the extinction of personality. It is

118
but a threshhold to another, higher, plane of spiritual
existence.

Apparently, the difficulty in arriving at a suitable
definition of a Christian tragic hero lies in the preservation
or perversion of accepted definitions of a Christian hero as
well as a tragic hero. Characteristics of both Christian and
tragic heroes have been distorted and manipulated by some
critics to allow their convergance. Fflthough many of the
elements of El principa constante are easily matched with
Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, there remain significant
components of the Poetics that are left unresolved when
applied to this play. For example, in order to argue his case
for El principa constante as an example of Christian tragedy,
Parr relies on Peter Alexander’s definitions of catharsis
(reconciliation or redemption) and hamartia (responsibility
rather than fault), (Parr, 169). Distancing himself from the
traditional importance of the hero’s tragic flaw, Parr cites
Dorothea Krook and Walter Kaufmann who deem "greatness of
soul" to be the principal characteristic of the tragic hero
(Parr, 168). Accepting "greatness of soul" as the quality
universaly paramount to the tragic hero’s character, Parr
equates his own definition of heroic consistency to that found
in Aristotle’s Poetics stating:

The central personage follows inexorably
the path of his own destruction, then,
because it is the only avenue open to him
in consistency with his character. The

alternative is eliminated as a viable
option, for choosing it would cause him

119
to be untrue to himself (168).

In my opinion Parr’s definition falls short when applied to
this play. Fernando’s consistency, to himself and his faith,

constitutes his heroism, not his tragic destruction. He

chooses loss of life over loss of principal and therefore in

his martyrdom he'denies death rather than himself. While Parr

presents many compelling arguments for Fernando’s

identification as a Christian tragic hero, his conclusions are

often based on alternative interpretations of what is tragic?“
Because I do not believe that the play is tragic, Parr’s
insights into Fernando's character and heroism, be they tragic
or not, are most relevant to my investigation of Fernando’s
heroic denial of death.

Distancing himself from the genre-centered debates
surrounding the play, Bruce Wardropper, in "Christian and Moor
in Calderén’s El principje copatantg," focuses instead on
comparisons between the Christian and Moorish characters. The
dimension of eternity inherent to the Christian characters,
particularly' Fernando, is (if primary importance» to
Wardropper’s study. He states that "mortal man, by adhering
to the moral laws and the truth, can participate in timeless
eternity" (516). According to Wardropper, this hope for
eternal life precludes tragedy for the Christian Fernando,
whereas for a pagan the death of the body makes all life

tragic (517). The focus on the eternal nature of Fernando as

a Christian hero is taken up by Maria Norval who suggests that

120

Fernando’s development throughout the drama symbolizes the
life of Christ. The Catholic prince (a Christ figure) arrives
in Africa (symbolic of the mortal world and its values) to
conquer and redeem it (19). The symbolic division of mortal
and eternal values represented respectively by Moorish and
Christian characters according to Wardropper and Norval, is
further investigated by Elena Gascén Vera in "La volutad y el
deseo en El principe constante". Gascén Vera synthesizes the
dramatic action of the play as:

los enfrentamientos de dos voluntades: la

paciencia del principe portugues don

Fernando y el rigor contra el del Rey de

Fez, y de dos deseos: la vida como

trascendencia de lo humano en los

cristianos y la vida como materialismo

inmediato en los musulmanes (451).
The clash between the Christian and Moorish worlds is brought
about by Fernando’s mission to conquer and Christianize new
lands, without fear of physical suffering or death. His
commitment to the Catholic faith is the underlying motivation
of his actions and as Gascén Vera states: "la constancia del
principe esta producida por su deseo y voluntad de seguir su
ideal cristiano hasta las ultimas consecuencias" (456). In
light of his constancy, Fernando may be viewed as a model
Christian hero, an opinion upheld by Arnold Reichenberger.
In "Calderon’s El principa conppapga, A Tragedy?"
Reichenberger states that don Fernando is "the epitome of the

Christian knight, whose actions are guided by two qualities:

on the secular level his nobility, on the spiritual level his

121
constancy" (668). Reichenberger lays to rest the debate
regarding tragedy, denying that Fernando’s death represents
the catestrophic end inherent to the genre:

El principa constapte lacks the one
essential quality for tragedy,
catastrophe at the end. Fernando is a
flawless character who lives
unflinchingly by a code of hierarchically
arranged values, both secular and
religious. His death, chosen by himself
in the exercise of his libre albedrio, is
the logical conclusion of his Christian
constancy. His re-appearance as a spirit
after death brings (M1 the triumph of
right. Fernando is a martyr and a saint,
but not a tragic hero (670).

I must agree with Professor Reichenburger’s assertion that
Fernando’s heroism is founded not on his reaction to tragic
circumstances, but instead on his commitment to the secular
and religious codes by which he lived.

Reichenberger’s description of Fernando as a "Christian
knight" summarizes the protagonist’s embodiment of all of the
secular and religious characteristics attributed to the
seventeenth-century Spanish hero. While reference to
Fernando’s commitment to Catholicism is continuous throughout
the play, the first mention of the secular code of honor which
Fernando upholds is made early in the play by the Moorish
General Muley, who reports to the King of Fez his encounter
with a Portuguese ship. Muley reports that while many of the
Portuguese crew members scrambled aboard the Moorish ship to

save themselves: "...otros les baldonan, / diciendoles, que

el vivir / eterno es vivir con honra;" (I 326-328). As has

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been seen in El dugj’o dyefilas estrellas and La Numancia.
preservation of one’s honor is regarded as a viable means of
immortality and therefore any action taken in its defense may
be deemed heroic. Muley recognizes the heroism of the
Portuguese sailors’ preference for a means of eternal life
through honor, rather than a dishonorable physical existence.
Perhaps because Muley is cognizant of the potential for
heroism inherent to the honor code, numerous examples of don
Fernando’s personal respect for the code of honor occur
primarily when he converses with Muley. Their first encounter
takes place during a battle between the Christians and the
Moors in which Fernando takes Muley captive. Rather than
flaunt his victory, Fernando attempts to console the desolate
Muley who responds: "Valiente eres, espafiol, / y cortes como
valiente; / tan bien vences con la lengua, / como con la
espada vences" (I 703-707). Here, Muley praises some of the
heroic characteristics attributed to Fernando, his valor in
battle and his courtesy and respect, not only for his equals
but also toward his captive. Although they are adversaries,
Fernando is recognized by the Moor as a true hero. Muley
continues, explaining the duel impact of Fernando’s victory
over his spirit as well as his life:

Tuya fué la vida, cuando

con la espada entre mi gente

me venciste; pero agora,

que con la lengua me prendes,

es tuya el alma, porque

alma y vida se confiesen
tuyas: de ambas eres duefio, (I 708—714).

123

Muley acknowledges Fernando’s skill in battle as.a warrior and
the prince’s equal ability to conquer the soul. He ends his
surrender to Fernando stating: "por el trato y por las armas
/ me has cautivado dos veces" (I 715-716). Moved to great
respect and admiration for the clemency of his captor, Muley
confesses that the true nature of his melancholy is romantic
rather than bellic, and recounts the misfortune he has
encountered in pursuit of the Moorish princess Fenix. After
hearing of Muley’s romantic quandary, Fernando is moved to
release his captive, sending him back to his lost love.
Overcome by the generosity of his captor, Muley inquires as
to the identity of his victor. Fernando’s response is simply:
"Un hombre noble, y no mas" (I 825). The extent to which
Fernando identifies himself with regard to his nobility is
reaffirmed when he is taken captive by the King of Fez. In
battle against the Moorish King and his men, Fernando
fearlessly leads his troops, inspiring them by invoking the
heroic characteristics of noble Christian knights. When his
brother Enrique explains that the Portuguese army is
surrounded by the Moors and asks what they will do, Fernando
responds that they will go forth to die as good Christians:

¢Que2 Morir como buenos,

con animos constantes.

¢No somos dos Maestres, dos infantes,

cuando bastara ser dos portugueses

particulares, para no haber visto

la cara a1 miedo? Pues Avis y Cristo

a voces repitamos,

y por la fe muramos,
pues a morir venimos (I 861-870).

124

Fernando’s call to battle shows the importance that he places
on his role as noble and Christian rather than on his own life
as an individual. When the King of Fez defeats and captures
FernandOIin battle, the prince’s identity is again questioned.
Fernando’s response is familiar as he states: "Un caballero
soy; saber no esperes / mas de mi..." (1 906-907). That
nobility is the only identification necessary for the Catholic
prince, leads the audience to identify him as the embodiment
of that heroic quality. Fernando’s inherent nobility and the
code of honor which accompanies it are demonstrated by his
actions throughout the play.

There are various examples of Fernando’s extraordinary
dedication to the pnincipals of the honor code which his
nobility compels him to observe. Fernando is repeatedly
offered his freedom in exchange for the city of Ceuta.
However, he refuses the opportunity that would sacrifice the
lives of many to save but one. He questions why such an
exchange would be considered, denying that his life is cw
greater importance than any other: "fuera bueno que murieran
/ hoy tantas vida, por una / que no importa que se pierda? /
¢Quien soy yo? ¢Soy mas que un hombre?" (II 387-391). Rather
than accept the exchange of the Christian city as ransom for
his freedom, an offer made only because of his noble heritage,
Fernando rejects the birthright by which he has previously
been identified. This is perhaps Fernando’s most honorable

act. Demonstrating true nobility of character, Fernando

125

accepts the responsibility of his royal position--protecting
the citizens of Ceuta, rejecting the favor of noble birth.
Fernando explains that his secular nobility was lost when he
was captured. In losing his freedom and nobility, he lost
his identity as well and considers himself dead. Therefore,
to ransom "dead nobility" with Christian lives would be
unjust:

Morir es perder el ser,

yo le perdi en una guerra:

perdi el ser, luego mori:

mori, luego ya no es cuerda

hazafia, que por un muerto

hoy tantos vivos perezcan (II 401-406).
According to Fernando, his nobility, which he equated with his
identity and his very life, where lost in battle. What
remains, however, is not an individual bereft of honor. The
nobility that he rejects was imposed upon him by birth; the
depth of the honor inherent in his character remains and is
witnessed in a later scene with Muley.

Not having forgotten his debt to Fernando, Muley offers
to help the Christian prince escape. The situation is
complicated, however, by Muley’s conflicting sense of
responsibilities--his friendship with Fernando on one hand
and on the other, his loyalty to the King of Fez. To aid one
would necessitate the betrayal of the other. Muley is torn
by his dilemma, but Fernando again demonstrates the truest

understanding of honor. He explains the hierarchical

relationships between friendship, love, loyalty and honor to

 

126

Muley:

Muley, amor y amistad

en grado inferior se ven

con la lealtad y el honor.

Nadie iguala con el Rey;

él sélo es igual consigo:

y asi mi consejo es

que a el le sirvas y me faltes (II 880-886).
According to Fernando’s counsel, Muley must honor first his
commitment to the King of Fez. For Muley to do less would
jeopardize his honor, a sacrifice that Fernando is unable to
accept on his behalf. The captive prince rejects his freedom
this second time in favor of Muley’s personal honor,
demonstrating his own refusal to participate in an act of
dishonor. Fernando demonstrates his dedication to preserving
his friend’s honor, explaining that he would not leave his
captivity even if another offered him escape, because to do
so would tarnish Muley’s reputation. Thus, he makes himself
his own guard, as well as the guardian of Muley’s honor:

Tu amigo soy; y porque

este seguro tu honor,

yo me guardare tambien;

y aunque otro llegue a ofrecerme

libertad, no aceptare

la vida, porque tu honor

conmigo seguro este (II 887-893).
The code of honor that Fernando follows is so inherent to his
character that his actions are motivated by a desire to
prevent the dishonor of a friend as well as preserve his own
honor. Fernando’s heroism allows him to stand apart from the

masses in what Becker called the "beyond"; but perhaps more

importantly it encourages others to follow his example.

127

Although Muley protests Fernando’s resolve, intending to free
him regardless of the damage this would inflict on his own
honor, Fernando silences him stating that his dedication to
the Catholic faith and to his own code of honor require that
he accept his enslavement: "por mi Dios y por mi ley, / sere
un principe constante / en la esclavitud de Fez" (II 925-927).
This statement summarizes Fernando’s primary motivation
throughout the play. It also prioritizes his actions, citing
religious faith before secular tradition. As a Christian
knight, Fernando demonstrates in word and deed the honor and
nobility befitting a hero. His devotion to the Christian
faith and preservation of the code of honor are at the source
of his heroism. They define his character, guide his actions
and are rewarded with symbolic immortality.

Don Fernando is compared with other characters in the
play, and just as he was shown to have a greater understanding
of honor than Muley, he surpasses others in his faith and
constancy. Fernando’s dedication to the Catholic faith is
compared early in the play with that of his brother Enrique.
When Enrique laments bad omens that have accompanied their
voyage, Fernando chastises him. Fernando relies on his faith
and rejects bad omens and unfounded fears as superstitions to
be believed perhaps by Pagans, but not by Christians: "Estos
agfieros viles, miedos vanos, / para los moros vienen, que los
crean, / no para que los duden los cristianos" (I 545-547).

Fernando tells Enrique that as Christians, they are not

 

128

subject to such superstitions, reminding him that they are
embarking on a holy mission, not merely an attempt to
embellish their own reputations. Therefore, as Christians
they will triumph: "Nosotros dos lo somos; no se emplean /
nuestras armas aqui por vanagloria / de que en los libros
inmortales lean / ojos humanos esta gran Victoria" (I 548-
451). For Fernando, the victory is assured. He proclaims
that their goal is to spread the Christian faith, one which
will be accomplished regardless of their personal fates.
While fear of God’s judgement is justified, fear of omens is
not. According to Fernando, they must proceed and carry out
their Christian duty in order to serve God:

La fe de Dios a engrandecer venimos.

Suyo sera el honor, suya la gloria,

si vivimos dichosos, pues morimos;

el castigo de Dios justo es temerle,

este no viene envuelto en miedos vanos:

a servirle venimos, no a ofenderle:

cristianos sois, haced como cristianos (I 552-558).
This response to Enrique’s doubts and fears elevates
Fernando’s heroism to another level. While»both recognize the
possibility of death during their crusade, Enrique fears it.
Fernando accepts it, discounting the importance of physical
life and focusing on the greater importance of serving God as
a Christian. After his capture by the Moors, Fernando’s
devotion to his Christian mission is so great that he protests
against the very words that would free funk When Enrique

arrives to deliver news that King Duarte of Portugal had

agreed, before his death, to relinquish the city of Ceuta to

 

129
ransom the prince. Fernando interrupts him, rejecting the
pronouncement as unworthy of a Christian. His commitment to
protect the Christian city of Ceuta is so great that he cannot
accept a lesser resolution in even the utterance of another:
No prosigas, cesa;

cesa, Enrique; porque son

palabras indignas esas,

no de un portugués infante,

de un maestre, que profesa

de Cristo la religién,

pero aun de un hombre lo fueran

vil, de un barbaro sin luz

de la fe de Cristo eterna (II 296-304).
Again, Fernando exemplifies for Enrique, as well as the
audience, the behavior of a Christian knight. Furthermore,
his commitment to the campaign surpasses that of the King of
Portugal who would have delivered the city Ceuta to the Moors.
However, unwilling to elevate himself above the late King
Duarte in compliance with the Christian mission, Fernando
explains that the King’s decree was meant only figuratively
as a demonstration of his desire for Fernando’s freedom and
the need to seek some means of liberating him:

si en su testamento deja

esa clausula, no es

para que se cumpla y lea,

sino para mostrar sélo

que mi libertad desea,

y esa se busque por otros

medios y otras conveniencias,

o apacibles o crueles (II 306-313).
Fernando’s refusal to accept the freedom offered him

demonstrates his dedication to the Christian faith as compared

to others who would be his equals. It also provides the

 

 

130
circumstances under which his will is matched against that of
the King of Fez. Fernando accepts his captivity, converting
his misery into an act of faith, and proclaims: "que hoy un
Principe constante, / entre desdichas y penas, / ya fe
catOlica ensalza, / la ley de Dios reverencia;" (II 437-444).
In much the same way that Numancia snatched moral victory from
military defeat to the Romans, Fernando turns his suffering
into his triumph. His almost joyous acceptance of captivity
infuriates the King of Fez, who vows to make him suffer for
having denied him possession of the Christian city. A battle
of wills ensues in which Fernando defends his constancy to the
Catholic faith. Because Fernando accepted his enslavement and
the dominance of the King of Fez, the»King challenges Fernando
to obey his master’s order and relinquish the city of Ceuta
to him: "si cautivo te confiesas, / si me confiesas por dueRo,
/ épor que no me das a Ceuta?" (II, 482-484). Fernando
refuses, but not as an act of defiance. He simply explains
to the King of Fez that Ceuta is not his to give: "Porque es
de Dios, y no es mia” (II, 485). Although Fernando is willing
to subject himself to physical enslavement to the King, he
maintains his spiritual freedom. Just as the prince explained
the true sense of honor and nobility to Muley, refusing
freedom at the cost of another’s dishonor, he explains to the
King of Fez the true nature of obedience to one’s master, and
by extension one’s faith. When the King of Fez questions the

propriety of disobedience from one who professes commitment

 

 

131
to his new station in life: "CNo es precepto de obediencia /
obedecer al sefior’? / Pues yo te mando con ella / que la
entregues" (II, 486-489), Fernando reminds him that blind
obedience is not required from a slave to his master.
Although compliance with the master’s wishes is expected, to
sin because one is ordered to do so is still to sin,
therefore, Fernando is obliged to follow his conscience and
protect the Christian city of Ceuta:
En lo justo
dice el cielo que obedezca
el esclavo a su sefior;
porque si el sefior dijera
a su esclavo que pecara,
obligacién no tuviera
de obedecerle; porque
quien peca mandando, peca (II 490-496).
The King of Fez, infuriated by Fernando’s arguments but unable
to deny them, retaliates with the threat of death: "Darete
muerte" (II, 497), which Fernando accepts: "Esa es vida“ (II,
497). Fernando maintains a truly Christian perspective as to
the negligible importance of physical life. He equates death
with life, presumably'a new spiritual life encountered through
the end of physical existence and is grateful for the
opportunity to make such a sacrifice in the name of the
Catholic faith. However, determined to undermine Fernando’s
resolve, the King of Fez vows that death will not come
quickly: "Pues para que no lo sea, / vive muriendo; que yo /

rigor tengo" (II, 498-500). Undaunted, Fernando reaffirms his

determination and responds that he will patiently endure the

 

132

King’s rigors. As a final threat, the King vows: "Pues no
tendras libertad" (II, 501). “h: which Fernando responds:
"Pues no sera tuya Ceuta" (II, 502). This exchange between
Fernando and the King of Fez reveals the vastly different
natures and desires of the two men. The King is furious while
Fernando is calm. The King threatens death while Fernando
awaits "life”. It becomes evident that the King is guided by
worldly goals and emotions whereas Fernando’s motivations are
spiritual. The King of Fez, in his desperation to defeat
Fernando, issues a challenge of wills. Unwittingly he plays
to Fernando’s advantage, pitting his ill-conceived
stubbornness against Fernando’s spiritual devotion. The King
of Fez threatens Fernando taunting: "Vere, barbaro, veré / si
llega a mas tu paciencia / que mi rigor" (II 519-521). To
which Fernando, ever confident of his patience in matters of
faith, replies: "Si veras; / porque esta en mi sera eterna”
(I 521-522). Fflthough Fernando dies in captivity, at the
close of the play he has clearly won the battle incited by the
King’s plan. In motivation.and in action, Fernando proves to
be the better man.

Fernando’s noble character is demonstrated not only
through his conflict with the King of Fez, but also his
relationship with his fellow captives. In his enslavement,
Fernando rejects any special treatment, equaling himself to
the other captives who still regard him as their leader.

Having disavowed the social position he once had, Fernando

 

 

133
tells the other enslaved Christians that their suffering is
equal to his own and that they will all be made equal in
death: "No me hagais cortesias: / iguales vuestras penas y las
mias / son; y pues nuestra suerte, / si hoy no, mafiana ha de
igualar la muerte," (II 616-619). Fernando demonstrates that
his acceptance of death is complete. He does not wish to
avoid its inevitability, rather, he rejoices that he is able
to sacrifice his physical life on behalf of his eternal faith.
His constancy to the Catholic faith sustains him throughout
his slavery to the King of Fez, but after much suffering and
anguish, Fernando finds himself at death’s door. The King of
Fez addresses Fernando, challenging the purity of his
motivation, and accuses him of feigning humility as a means
of ennobling himself: "Constante / te muestras a mi pesar. /
¢Es humildad o valor / esta obediencia?" (III 398-401).
Fernando denies the charge, but requests the liberty of
speaking to the King of Fez as a slave to his master:
Es mostrar
cuanto debe respetar
el esclavo a su sefior.
Y pues que tu esclavo soy,

y estoy en presencia tuya

esta vez, tengo de hablarte: (III 402-406).
Maintaining the reverence due»to one’s master, Fernando speaks
to the King of Fez for the last time. Even from his position
as a dying slave, Fernando’s nobility and honor are revealed

as he addresses the King of Fez, enumerating the

characteristics that a monarch must embody. Fernando

 

134

recognizes the chasm between the Christian and Moorish
traditions, but regards the responsibilities of a king,
regardless of nation, as divinely endowed. Therefore,
generosity and purity of spirit should be reflected in every
reign as is dictated by the laws of nature:

mi Rey y sefior, escucha.

Rey te llame, y aunque seas

de otra ley, es tan augusta

de los reyes la diedad,

tan fuerte y tan absoluta,

que engendra animo piadoso;

y si es forzoso que acudas

a la sangre generoso

con piedad y con cordura;

que aun entre brutos y fieras

este nombre es de tan suma

autoridad, que la ley

de naturaleza ajusta

obediencias; (III, 408-420).
Even as a slave, Fernando’s activities were reflective of his
commitment to defend the Catholic faith, but as his master,
the King of Fez failed to demonstrate the compassion and
generosity of spirit expected of a Ruler. Fernando’s natural
heroism stands out in stark contrast with the king’s actions,
allowing him to overcome his circumstances just as he will
later triumph over death. Fernando cites examples from nature
and the animal kingdoms to demonstrate the ideal functioning
of social hierarchy» In this last comparison between Fernando
and the King of Fez, the slave teaches the king how to rule
justly. After chastising the King of Fez for using his

position to enforce his blind rigor, Fernando reiterates that

his own constancy has been divinely motivated: "firme he de

135

estar en mi fe; / porque es el sol que me alumbra, / porque
es la luz que me guia, / es el laurel que me ilustra" (III,
562-565). Faith is the sole guide and purpose for Fernando’s
actions. His suffering and captivity have been endured only
as a means of protecting the newly Christianized city of
Ceuta, not as a personal clash of wills between himself and
the Moorish ruler. Realizing, however, that the King of Fez
may think that by rigorously overseeing Fernando’s demise in
captivity has defeated the Christian prince, Fernando claims
victory not for himself, but for the Church. His personal
defeat, death in captivity, will be avenged by God, who will
reciprocate Fernando’s defense of the Catholic faith: "No has
de triunfar de la Iglesia; / de mi, si quieres, triunfa: /
Dios defendera mi causa, / pues yo defiendo la suya" (III,
566-569). In the final analysis, the King of Fez’s victory
over Fernando is hollow. The capture and enslavement of the
prince was motivated by pettiness and spite, but Fernando’s
dedication to the Catholic faith will ultimately triumph.

The triumph of Fernando’s faith follows his death and is
revealed by his reappearance as a spirit. This spiritual
resurrection is the culmination of what may be viewed as
Fernando’s parallel to the biblical passion of Christ. Norval
argues that Fernando’s decent from prince to captive and
finally to slave re-enacts Christ’s decent from God to man and
ultimately to that of a victim of crucifixion (20). The

"manto capitular" which Fernando wore in life as a Christian

 

 

 

136
knight is symbolic of his victory when he reappears as a
divine vision. As Reichenberger points out, before his
resurrection Fernando suffers two deaths--first socially and
then physically. When Fernando is captured in battle by the
Moors and his social position is reduced to that of a slave
rather than a prince, his noble identity is lost and he
suffers what he perceives as a civil death: "perdi e1 ser,
luego mori" (II 402), (Reichenberger 668-669). As Fernando’s
social position declines and his physical death becomes
increasingly immanent (III 649), he remains focused on the
Catholic faith that has been his primary motivation throughout
the play. Realizing that his death is near, he asks his
fellow captives to inter him in the religious cloak that he
wore as he began his crusade:
Lo que os ruego,
noble don Juan, es que luego
que espire me desnudeis.

En la mazmorra hallareis

de mi religién el manto,

que lo traje tiempo tanto;

con este me enterrareis

descubierto, (III, 633-640).

The cloak which will cover Fernando in death, symbolizes the
faith that he embraced in life. Just as his dedication to
the Catholic faith provided Fernando with the determination
to undergo great hardship in captivity, his hope is that faith
will free him after death. To this end, Fernando reassures

the Christian captives that the King of Fez has not triumphed

over their common faith:

137

si el Rey fiero
ablanda la safia dura,
dandome la sepultura;
y sefialadla; que espero,
que aunque hoy cautivo muero,
rescatado he de gozar
el sufragio del altar; (III, 640-646).

At the moment of his death, Fernando is as certain of victory
as he professed to be at the onset of his crusade. His
dedication to the Catholic faith has remained unwavering
throughout his many trials and sufferings and allows him to
accept, without fear, his physical death. After Fernando’s
death and his assumed burial, shrouded as he requested in the
cloak of his order, the Portuguese army arrives on the African
beaches where the play began. As don Enrique and King
Alfonso, unaware of Fernando’s death, plan their attack to
rescue the Christian prince from captivity, Fernando's image
appears before them urging them to proceed and assuring them
of God’s support of their cause. The spiritual image of
Fernando vows to lead them to Fez where they will be
victorious:
Si ayuda,

porque obligando al cielo,

que vio tu fe, tu religibn, tu celo,

hoy tu causa defiende.

Librarme a mi de esclavitud pretende,

porque, por raro ejemplo,

por tantos templos, Dios me ofrece un templo;

y con esta luciente antorcha desasida del oriente,

tu ejercito arrogante

alumbrando he de ir siempre delante,

para que hoy en trofeos

iguales, grande Alfonso, a tus deseos,

llegues a Fez, no a coronarte agora,
sino a librar mi ocaso en el aurora (III 702-716).

 

138

As might be expected, Enrique is doubtful of what he sees, but
Alfonso is firm in his faith. Demonstrating the same
dedication to faith that Fernando had, Alfonso leads his
troops to battle saying: "si es de Dios la gloria, / no digas
guerra ya, sino Victoria" (III 719-720). The Christian attack
of Fez is of course won, led by the image of Fernando.

Fernando’s spiritual resurrection is the culmination of
his heroism in that it allows him to overcome both the civil
and physical deaths he endured. His nobility is restored as
he leads the Portuguese army to victory, thereby winning a
military victory as well as spiritual triumph for Catholicism.
Because of his enduring faith, Fernando’s earthly death is
regarded not as an end, but as a transition to religious
immortality» Ultimately, Fernando’s faith and constancy
triumph on all levels. Nationally, the Moors are defeated by
the Christian army and personally, in his conflict with the
King of Fez, Fernando’s faith exceeds the stubbornness of the
King which could last only as long as Fernando lived. The
goals which Fernando set, motivated by his faith, are met.
His exemplary compliance with the secular and religious codes
governing the actions.of a Christian knight make his spiritual
immortality that of a saint and a martyr as well as that of
a hero.

While the imminence of Fernando’s death is never

explicitly prophecies as was seen in the previously discussed

139

plays, he is always conscious of its possibility and once
captured accepts its inevitability. The bad omens which
Enrique fears are rejected by Fernando, just as he would have
rejected any prediction or prophecy regarding his fate.
According to Fernando, belief in such things is unbefitting
of a Christian, and therefore would have had no bearing on the
course of his actions. Death for Fernando is simply accepted
as an inevitable part of life. And as a Christian, he
welcomes the opportunity to face death defending his faith.

Throughout the play, Fernando’s actions as a Christian

knight are guided by his belief and dedication to his faith

and his society. The his the embodiment of the ideals of
heroism in the Spanish Golden Age. As Reichenberger
concludes: "E1 or inc ipg constante leaves us at one with

 

ourselves and with the ordained order of the world, both human

and divine" (670).

NOTES

l.See Maria Norval, Bruce Wardropper and Gascén Vera, whose studies
of Christian elements in El principe conatante will be discussed
in detail later in this chapter.

2.Preston Roberts. "A Christian Theory of Dramatic Tragedy." The
Journal of Raliqion 31.1 (1951): 1-20/

3.James Parr. "El principe constante and the issue of Christian
Tragedy."

4.Sullivan summarizes Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory of the pp; and
the ja_as follows:

The formation of Lacan’s ja_begins in the period between
eighteen months to two years, ie., after the perceived
intervention of the father (or some other "third term"), and
coincides with the time that the child learns to speak.
Language use (the articulation of signifiers to substitute for
the signified, referential world) is also an alienating
experience because of its implicit displacement. Both
language and the father’s presence act as dividing forces on
the infant’s ego by teaching essential psychosocial desiderata
such as difference, individuation, renunciation, compromise

and law. As we have seen, the father’s "name" has been
symbolized in the infant’s psyche as social power, and has
spelled an end to the paradise of primeval union. Thus

through language and authority, the child enters the alienated
order of cultural convention and myths, and must learn to
repress early desires and postpone gratification in order to
live by the codes of society.

The relationship of Lacan’s system to tragedy would lie
in the effect of repression and submission to the "law of the
Name of the Father" which are not achieved without heavy cost
to the emotions of the individual. The unconscious mp; never
ceases to yearn for a reliable security or feel tempted to
commit anti-social and irrational acts to spite the artificial
laws of the social order. Love, moreover, will always spring,
from that glowing source of psychic energy, not from the
obedient, socialized persona" By acceding to the social order
in ordinary life, however, the individual reenacts the
submission that has been learned at an early age, and which
is inseparable from language. Thus, while Lacan’s paternal
law is intangible and does not derive from maleness per se,

140

141

its impact is real. Its universality in human development
exerts an immense power over societies and the preservation
of societal structures, if not of psychic health, and requires
that everyone submit to this necessity.

Now the moi, as the seat of unconscious desire, of
alienated beliefs, and specular identifications, is actually
the more powerful partner in this moi-je relationship.
Moreover, the mpl’s functions are by definition unconscious
and inaccessible to the conscious subject, the jg, But the
jg has the principal task of mediating communication in
society, in negotiating the arbitrary conventions and codes
of society, of language, and the symbolic order. The mg; is
characterized by yearning and longing for absolute freedom,
unity,and possession of the Other. The jg, however, must
often set aside these impulses in a repression of desire, in
the name of a more artificial, but necessary social
desirability. The jg, in a word, must constantly sacrifice
personal freedom in: social necessity, and resacrifice the
desire of the M to the law of the Name-of—the-Father
(Question of Christian Tragedy, 65).

5.For example, when discussing the element of anagnorisis in
tragedy, Parr offers an alternate interpretation of what is
traditionally accepted as ea sudden insight, awakening or
realization that one’s actions have been misguided. Rather than
look for anagnorisis in the Christian tragic hero, Parr transposes
this element of tragedy to the reader:

In a Christian martyr drama, it is unlikely that the hero
will display a sudden recognition, insight, or awakening to
reality, for he has been guided throughout by devotion to a
set of immutable principles and by the absolute certainty that
his cause is just. The only possible anagnorisis for such an
individual would be the shocking realization that all was in
vain, that he had been misguided, that his suffering was for
naught....Whatever anagnorisis derives from El principg
constante must therefore be sought in the reader/spectator.
The anagnorisis in this instance is, I believe, a thematic one
consisting of the realization that not only are great courage
and nobility required to remain constant to one’s values in
the face of overwhelming opposition, but also that heroic
constancy to the faith is ultimately rewarded through
transcendence, through transformation of the corruptible into
the sublime (171).

WORKS CITED

Alexander, Peter. Hamlet, Father and Son. Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1955.

Calderon de la Barca, Pedro. El principgyconstante. Ed.
Pablo Pau Fernandez. Madrid: Editorial Ebro, 1950.

Gascbn Vera, Elena. "La volutad y el deseo en El principg
constante." Calderon: Actag del "Congreso internacional
sobre Calderbn y gl tgatro espafiol del siglo dg_oro".
Ed. Luciano Garcia Lorenzo. Madrid: Consejo superior de
investigaciones cientificas, 1983. I, 451—460.

 

 

 

 

 

Norval, Maria. "Another Look at Calderén’s El principg_
constante." Bullgtin of the Comedianteg 25 (1973):
18-28.

Parker, Alexander A. "Christian Values and Drama: El princ ipg
constante." Studia Ibgrica Fggchrift fflr Hang Flasche.
Eds. Karl H. Korner and Klaus Rulh. Bern, France: 1973.

Parr, James. "El principg constante and the issue of
Christian Tragedy.“ Studigg in Honor of William C.

 

McCrary. Eds. Robert Fiore et al. Lincoln: Univ. of
Nebraska. Society of Spanish and Spanish-American
Studies; 1986. 165-175.

Reichenberger, Arnold G. ”Calderén’s El principg constante,
A Tragedy?" Moderananguage Notes 75 (1960): 668-670.

Roberts, Preston. "A Christian Theory of Dramatic Tragedy."
The Journal of Rgligion 31.1 (1951): 1-20.

Ruano de la Haza, Jose M. "Hacia una nueva definicibn de la
tragedia Calderoniana. " BulleLtin of thg Comediantes 2.35
(1983): 165-180.

Sullivan, Henry Wells. "Calderén, the German Idealist
Philosophers, and the Question of Christian Tragedy."
Calderén de la Barca at the Tercentenary: Comparatayg
Views. Eds. Aycock, Wendell M. and Sydney P. Cravens.
Lubbock, Texas: Texas Tech Press, 1982. 51-69.

Sullivan, Henry and Ellie Ragland-Sullivan. "Las tres
justicas en una of Calderén and the Question of Christian
Catharsis." Critical Perspectivgg on Calderbn de la
Barca. Eds. Frederick A. De Armas, David M. Gitlitz and
Jose A. Madrigal. Lincoln, Nebraska: Society of Spanish
and Spanish-American Studies, 1981. 119-140.

142

143

Wardropper, Bruce W. "Christian and Moor in Calderén’s EL.
principg constante." Modgrn Language Review 53 (1958):
512-520.

THE MAKING OF A HERO: TIRSO’S SAINTLY BANDOLERO

All heroes are not created equal. And the smooth path
that Licurgo, Numancia and Fernando followed to symbolic
immortality is not always open to those who would take it.
In Tirso’s El condenado por dggconfpagg (c. 1635), the dual
protagonists, Paulo and Enrico, lose their ways on the road
to heroism and the symbolic immortality to which it leads.
While the previous chapters of the present study have been
dedicated to following the successful quests for immortality
undertaken by exemplary heroes, this chapter will concentrate
on Tirso’s characterization of Enrico and Paulo; their
potential as heroes, their realization as anti-heroes and
their attempts to deny the finality of death by some means of
symbolic immortality.

As has previously been discussed, the fear of death and
the desire to overcome its finality have great power to
motivate human activity (Becker, ix). Reluctant to accept
that one’s existence is finite, human beings strive to stand
apart, to be recognized, to become heroes. Such was the case
with Licurgo, Numancia and Fernando, who stood above the rest
exemplifying the ideals that their societies presented: honor
and/or Catholicism. Given their social and religious

climates, the heroism achieved by the previous three

144

145

protagonists was anticipated and accepted because, as Becker
points out: “The social hero-system into which we are born
marks out paths for our heroism, paths to which we conform,
to which we shape ourselves" (82). What happens, then, to
those who cannot or will not conform to society’s mold? When
individuals feel that the heroic plan that society has mapped
out for them is beyond their reach or no longer relevant, what
recourse do they have? For those unable to give up the need
to stand apart, but equally unable to do so by traditionally
accepted means, one possible alternative is anti-heroism.
That alternate route is the path taken by Enrico and Paulo.

Before entering into a discussion of each one’s
motivation and the manner in which Enrico’s and Paulo’s lives
reflect different facets of the human drive to excel and
achieve some means of immortality, I believe that a brief
review of the play’s action will be helpful.

Paulo, having lived for ten years as a hermit, is
disturbed by a dream that depicts his death and damnation.
Shaken, he asks God for a sign that he will be saved, but the
Devil intervenes and, disguised as an angel, tells him to go
in search of Enrico, whose final destiny he will share. When
Paulo finds Enrico and learns that he»is.a notorious criminal,
he recalls the Devil’s prediction and, vowing to earn for
himself the damnation that he is sure awaits Enrico, turns to
a life of crime. Enrico, although on the surface devoid of

redeeming qualities, possesses a devout love for his father

146
and an abstract faith in God’s mercy, characteristics that go
unrecognized by Paulo. In the end, Enrico converts his anti-
heroism into sainthood by confessing to God and is granted
salvation. Paulo, however, fails to overcome his doubts and
is condemned.

Throughout the play, a strange duality exists between
Paulo and Enrico, who at first seem polar opposites: a saint
and a sinner. But the "saint" is damned and the "sinner“ is
saved and although there is little interaction between the
two, they are connected by an erroneous prophecy, offered in
response to Paulo’s dream of death, that predicts a shared
destiny: "...el fin que aquel tuviere, / ese fin has de tener"
(283-284). The cause and effects of this prediction, rather
than the prophecy itself, are central to a study of the heroic
potential inherent to each one’s character since, as has been
shown in the previous dramas, the ability to face impending
death and remain true to one’s self is among the greatest
characteristics of a hero.

This ability to defend one’s convictions, under whatever
circumstances, reveals the strength of character necessary for
heroism; Enrico possesses it, Paulo does not. As Becker
discusses the variable capacity that each individual has for
heroism, he points out: "that a person is stuck with his
character, that he can’t evolve beyond it or without it"
(276). A fundamental difference»between Enrico and Paulo lies

in each one’s character, that element of their being that both

147
structures and limits their potential as heroes. In my
opinion, Paulo’s and Enrico’s endeavors, heroic or otherwise,
are simply manifestations of the desire to deny death by the
only means each one’s character would allow. I will
demonstrate that Paulo’s failed heroism, a ten-year hermitage,
is motivated by fear rather than vocation and doomed by an
inescapable weakness of character. When his faith and attempt
at spiritual heroism are tested, his lack of character leads
him to rebel against the lifestyle»he hoped would be his means
of immortality. Unable to cope with the demands of Christian
heroism as dictated by Catholicism, he consciously chooses to
become an anti-hercn Enrico’s anti-heroism, however, was born
of a genuinely heroic desire to stand apart. Lacking the
nobility recognized by society as a prerequisite for
traditional heroism, he embarked upon his own path, anti-
heroism.l In the end, the inherent strength of character that
allowed him to excel as an anti-hero enables him to fulfill
his desire to deny death by more heroic means. Ultimately,
the heroic potential of each protagonist is linked to his
underlying nature, rather than the means first chosen to stand
apart from the rest. For insight into the psychological make-
up of Enrico and Paulo, I turn to A. A. Parker’s ”Santos y
bandoleros en el teatro espafiol del siglo de oro" which will
afford a greater appreciation of the heroism and anti-heroism
undertaken by these two protagonists on their guests for

immortality.

148
Parker discusses what I have called character, in terms

of passions: "pasiones fuertes" and "pasiones debiles".
Whereas Paulo exemplifies weak passions which lead to sheep-
like compliance with the status uo, Enrico is endowed with
strong passions that, although initially misguided, represent
energy, vitality and incline one towards a noble and generous
life (400).2 This disparity of character or "pasién" is
responsible, in Parker’s opinion, for Enrico’s ability as well
as Paulo’s inability' to achieve sainthood, the ideal of
Christian heroism:

Los tedlogos definen la santidad como la

virtud heroica, y el heroismo o la

valentia es una cualidad pasional e

impulsiva, independiente de la razén y de

la voluntad.... Uno podra tener la

conviccién intelectual de que la mejor

vida es la del santo, pero es imposible

ser santo con solo esforzar la voluntad,

puesto que el abondono total, abnegado y

ardiente al amor divino requiere (ademas

de la gracia divina) un fuerte impulso de

la pasién y presupone el don natural y

vital del heroismo. (401)
If, as Parker suggests, sainthood is directly correlated with
heroism in that it requires passionate conviction and
extraordinary character rather than £3 simply intellectual
acknowledgement that the ideals to which one must aspire are
worthy, then Paulo’s failed hermitage and Enrico’s ultimate
salvation may be better understood. Because Paulo lacked the
passion and natural heroism that Enrico possessed, his

calculated attempts at sainthood were doomed. The weakness

of his faith precludes the complete self-abandonment to Divine

149
love that ultimately saves Enrico.

The first example of Paulo’s weak passions and
superficial virtue are seen early in the first act. As he
comes out of his cave, praising the beauty of God’s nature
around him, the audience accepts him for what he appears to
be, a virtuous hermit glorifying his Creator. His true
motivation is revealed, however, as he states that his
hermitage was undertaken for his own good, easing the rigors
of the virtuous life he knows he should lead:

bendito seas mil veces,
inmenso Dios que tanto bien me ofreces!
Aqui pienso seguirte
ya que el mundo dejé para bien mio.
Aqui pienso servirte,
sin que jamas humano desvario,
por mas que abra la puerta
el mundo a sus engafios, me divierta. (63-70)
Paulo’s retreat to the woods was motivated by conceit rather
than vocation, having left civilization, not for God, but for
his own future benefit. The nature that surrounds him is
beautiful not because it reveals to him the harmony of God’s
creation, but becauselit shields him from worldly temptations.
Not so much a saint as a coward, Paulo’s apparent lack of vice
is due not to restraint but to retreat. His hermitage is a
farce; by removing himself from all temptation he has lessened
the probability of sin, retreating only geographically, not
spiritually. Because he is unable, under normal

circumstances, to fulfill the ideals of a Christian life, he

compensates for his lack of character with an egocentric plan

150

to achieve the appearance of heroisnn Although on the surface
Paulo is perceived as a saintly model of self-sacrifice and
devotion, he reveals himself as alcowardly hypocrite who hides
behind a heroic image as superficial as his faith. Parker
looks beyond the surface of both protagonists and concludes
that it was Enrico, not Paulo, who was destined for sainthood
(412).

Angel Delgado GOmez concurs with Parker’s assertion that
Paulo was never intended as the play’s hero stating: "Tirso
no quiso en ninQUn momento ver en Paulo un modelo de santidad"
(30). Because faith is the cornerstone of sainthood and
Paulo’s faith is superficial at best, Delgado characterizes
Paulo’s entire hermitage as an example of his absolute
egotism. Regarding Paulo’s lack of spiritual motivation and

the selfishness of his quest for immortality, Delgado states:

Toda su existenc ia se mueve
exclusivamente en funcién de su salvacién
personal . Su condicién de ermitafio no

tiene ningun valor propio, sino que actua
de mero instrumento para llevar a cabo
felizmente el negocio de su participacién
en la eternidad. Paulo nunca piensa en
el bien, la virtud, el amor o la caridad,
porque su alma desconoce todo espiritu
religioso. (30)

As Delgado points out, Paulo’s version of Christianity lacks
the purity of faith characteristic of true saints. From the
beginning, he is preoccupied, not with Christian works and
ministry to others, but with ensuring himself a smooth

progression from hermit to saint. When this process is

151

interrupted by a disturbing dream, his faith is so weak that
he readily accepts an ambiguous prediction from an apparent
angel (245-284). Rather than return to a hermit’s life,
secure in the knowledge that his good intentions would be
recognized by God in his hour of judgement, Paulo ventures out
to find the man whose fate he would share. His lack of faith
in God’s justice is again demonstrated when he incorrectly
concludes that Enrico is beyond salvation and decides to earn
the fate he judges Enrico to merit:

bandolero quiero ser,

porque asi igualar pretendo

mi vida con la de Enrico,

pues un mismo fin tenemos.

Tan mal tengo de ser

como el, y peor si puedo;

que pues ya los dos estamos

condenados al infierno,

bien es que antes de ir alla

en el mundo nos venguemos. (978-987)
Assuming that the immortality that had been the sole
motivation of his hermitage was lost, Paulo rejected the
seemingly devout lifestyle that he practiced and turned
instead to a rebellious life of crime. His act of rebellion
against God and society reveals a lack of understanding of
Christian salvaticwu Rather than accept spiritual immortality
as a gift from God in recognition of one’s striving to meet
Christian ideals, Paulo expected immortality as something due

to him in exchange for maintaining an appearance of faith, no

matter how superficial.

152

Uncomfortable with his potential for heroism and limited
by a weakness of character, Paulo attempted to fabricate his
own sainthood according to accepted guidelines. When it
became apparent that his attempts at heroism might go
unrewarded, he lashed out at the system he had been unable to
uphold. In a desperate need to stand apart and having failed
at sainthood, he turned instead to the life of a bandolgro.
to anti-heroism.

While Paulo’s criminal activity is undeniably inspired
by his counterpart, Enrico, the»underlying motivations.of each
one’s anti-heroism are as important to an understanding of
Paulo’s damnation and Enrico’s salvation as are their
potentials for heroism. Whereas Paulo consciously became a
bandit to avenge himself of God’s supposed injustice, Enrico
seems to have stumbled into his anti-heroics and, finding that
he excelled, stuck with it. Discussing the.atypical heroism
of marginal characters such as Enrico, Parker cites the
Medieval English legend of Robin Hood and the Spanish bandit
Rocaguinarda, pointing out that anti-social types are often
idealized as heroes of protest and rebellion against an unjust
social system (396). While there»is no evidence that Enrico’s
crimes were nobly inspired by a desire to re-establish social
justice, Parker states that Enrico’s passion to preserve his
own dignity is in principle, the same, and therefore heroic.3

Enrico’s heroism, atypical as it may be, is often

overlooked because of his apparent lack of redeeming

153
qualities» However, if we return to the premise that the mark
of a hero is the ability to remain true to one’s self even
when faced with death, then it becomes clear that Enrico, from
the beginning, had a greater potential for heroism than did
Paulo. Early in the drama, Paulo’s weakness of character and
lack of heroic potential is demonstrated by his reaction to
the possibility of his death. Overcome by fear, he relates
to his companion Pedrisco details of a dream:
Que desventura!

Y que desgracia cierta, lastimosa!

El suefio me vencio, viva figura

(por lo menos imagen temerosa)

de la muerte cruel; y al fin rendido,

la devota oracién puse en olvido. (139-144)
This mere dream of death terrifies Paulo to such a degree that
he forgets the devotion and prayers that supposedly motivated
his hermitage and sets in motion a course of events that will
lead him to a life of crime and damnation and witness the
conversion and salvation of the bandit Enrico. Paulo’s
commitment to Christian heroism is so weak that it is
destroyed by a dream. Therefore, if the ability to remain
true to one’s self in the face of death is the mark of a hero,
then Paulo’s potential for heroism is minimal. His character
and passion for heroism are as weak as his faith.

However misguided, Enrico possesses the raw material for

heroism--courage and confidence: "Este es valiente, arrojado;

con perfecta confianza en si mismo ha adoptado una actitud

resuelta (aunque equivocada) ante la vida" (Parker, 412).

154

Whereas Paulo is motivated by an obsessive fear of death and
condemnation, causing him to escape into a faithless
hermitage, Enrico remains.true»to his character and fearlessly
faces life and death with unshakable confidence. According
to Parker, this confidence is the root of Enrico’s heroism
and, exaggerated to the point of arrogance, also of his vices:

Sus vicios son la expresién de la

arrogancia: no una arrogancia intelectual

sino mas bien fisica, el orgullo de

descollar, de querer dominarlo todo, de

hacer que un mero gesto suyo infunda

miedo en todo el mundo; y esto para

demostrar que s1 mismo no conoce lo que

es el miedo; ninguna cosa le puede hacer

temblar. (413)
Whereas Paulo was motivated by fear (primarily of death),
Enrico was motivated by a need to prove his fearlessness. His
anti-heroism derives not from an inherent evil, but from an
exaggerated drive to be heroic and a perversion of accepted
social heroismu His criminal activity is meant to demonstrate
a fearlessness of reprisal or punishment in life. Therefore,
in overstated attempts to prove his "heroism", he flaunts his
triumph over the fear of death and condemnation by refusing
to confess to God when death appears imminent. When Enrico
is met with the threat of execution by Paulo’s band of
criminals, he resolutely awaits the arrows that are aimed at
him, refusing to show any sign of fear: "Pues no por aqueso
pienso / mostrar flaqueza ninguna" (1771-1772). When Paulo

comes to him, dressed again as a hermit and offering him the

opportunity to confess, Enrico refuses. When challenged, he

155

assures Paulo that he is a Christian, but declines the
opportunity to confess:

Paulo: ¢No sois, pues cristiano?

Enrico: Si soy.

Paulo: No 10 sois, pues no admitis

el ultimo bien que os doy.
¢Por que no lo recibis?

Enrico: Porque no quiero. (1809-1813)
Although Enrico states that he does not want to confess, it
seems that something other than lack of desire is holding him
back. Parker explains that Enrico’s arrogance is so great
that he cannot bring himself to confess, even when he wants
to, because to do so would be, for him, an act of weakness:

El motivo ha de buscarse en su caracter.

Sus crimenes han sido para él la

expresibn de su sentido de arrogante

superioridad, mediante los cuales ha

querido demostrar que no tiene miedo a

nada. El confesarse seria la admisién

publica de que no domina el la vida y de

que teme a la muerte. (413-414)
Parker’s opinion that to confess would be perceived by Enrico
as an outward signal of fear and lack of control, is echoed
by R. Y. Oakley who, when discussing the need for Enrico to
control his fear, states: "La idea de que las pasiones
deberian controlarse iba acompafiada de otra: la necesidad de
abrazar la muerte, de no temerla, como hace Paulo desde el
principio. Enrico se caracteriza, en cambio, por su
indiferencia ante la muerte" (501). Although strangely
perverted, Enrico’s refusal to confess demonstrates his

"heroic" ability to confront death and maintain the code of

conduct that he has adopted.

156
Exaggerated to the point of error, Enrico’s need to prove
himself by remaining true to his peculiar code of conduct is
again demonstrated by a second refusal to confess. Jailed
and awaiting execution, he is offered confession a second
time, but refuses, citing inability to recall the many
offenses he has perpetrated against God:
CQué cuenta dare yo a Dios
de mi vida, ya que el trance
ultimo llega de mi?
¢Yo tengo de confesarme?
Parece que es necedad:
¢Quien podra ahora acordarse
de tantos pecados viejos?
¢Que memoria habra que baste
a recorrer las ofensas
que a Dios he hecho? Mas vale
no tratar de aquestas cosas.
Dios es piadoso y es grande;
su misericordia alabo;
con ella podre salvarme. (2393-2406)
Just as he professed his Christianity to Paulo when he first
refused confession, here Enrico rejects only the act of
confession, not his faith in God’s capacity to forgive him.
As proof of that faith, Enrico'expresses his belief that God’s
clemency will be enough to save him. More important than his
wayward passion to challenge both life and death and prove his
fearlessness, Enrico’s abstract faith demonstrates a potential
for Christian heroism that is inherent to his character and
lacking in Paulo’s.
While Paulo seems motivated solely by appearances and

fear, Enrico lives his life, however misguided, true to

himself and his beliefs. Although acting in accordance with

157

a feeling that he had been criminally inclined since birth:
"Yo naci mal inclinado.” (722), Enrico does maintain one
redeemable trait which guides him back to a more heroic path
to symbolic immortality. Despite his anti-social "heroics",
Enrico loves and respects his father: "mi viejo padre
sustento, / que ya le conocereis por el nombre de Anareto"
(872-874). This love for his father is, according to Delgado,
the motivation for the edeventh-hour confession that seals
Enrico’s conversion and salvation: "El amor desinteresado que
Enrico profesa a su padre es por tanto el factor decisivo que
culmina su proceso de conversién en buen ladrén" (34). While
such a late confession, made at his father’s request, might
be unlikely to inspire confidence in the depth of Enrico’s
faith, it does reveal a fundamentally heroic trait in his
character. Although he had previously rejected opportunities
to confess, unwilling to compromise his own code of conduct,
the inability to deny his father’s last request of him--that
he repent--demonstrates a dedication to his father that
supercedes all else.

Although consistency to his code of conduct and
dedication to his father may be accepted as evidence of some
underlying heroism in Enrico’s ersona, it admittedly does
little to explain his sainthood and worthiness of Christian
immortality. The matter of Enrico’s salvation, given his
faith in God as related to his relationship with his father

Anareto, is taken up by Raymond Conlon in ”Enrico in §_l_

158

condenado por dggconfiado: a Psychoanalytical View”. Basing
his study of Enrico’s character on the Freudian premise that
humanity’s perception of God is modeled after the relationship
between child and father (175-177), Conlon states:

His story in many ways dramatically

prefigures the Freudian insight linking

the individual’s vision of God to his

perception of his father. In fact, all

of Enrico’s feelings, attitudes, and

expectations regarding the divine are

unconsciously'modeledcxihis relationship

with his parent, Anareto. (173)
If the reader accepts that Enrico’s relationship with Anareto
is reflective of his relationship with God, then his final
confession and salvation may be more credible. At first,
because Enrico’s relationship with God is on the surface less
developed than Paulo’s, he is not the obvious choice when
looking for a Christian hero. However, when Enrico’s
relationship with Anareto (symbolic of his relationship with
God) is compared to Paulo’s superficial faith, it becomes
clear that neither character may be judged according to
appearances alone. For all of Paulo’s noisy professions of
faith and shows of apparent piety, his relationship with God
lacks the very qualities on which Enrico’s devotion to his
father is built. Throughout the course of the drama, Enrico
states and demonstrates his love, respect and obedience to his
father. By comparison, Paulo, unable to give himself over to

God’s will without reservation, fails to act on his so-called

faith, revealing its shallowness by rejecting it when tested.

159

The first demonstration of Enrico’s almost religious
dedication to his father takes place in the second act. After
the long tale~of crimes with which Enrico is associated at the
end of act one (722-885), the audience may be ready to agree
with Paulo’s assumption that Enrico is destined for eternal
condemnation (922-927). And when his evening plans of robbery
and assassination are revealed (1012-1047), there is little
to sway this opinion. However, when Enrico’s companions leave
and his thoughts turn to his father, another more humane facet
of his character is revealed and with it are revealed the
seeds of his Christian heroism and sainthood.

As Enrico makes his way to Anareto’s house, he speaks of
the love and respect he has for the elderly father he has
supported for five years. This devotion to Anareto is the
only virtue Enrico recognizes in himself. While it may be
true that he lacks many other redeeming qualities, he looks
upon this relationship with his father as sacred, guarding it
religiously: "Que esta virtud solamente»/ en mi vida destraida
/ conservol piadosamente" (1068-1070). Ironically, Paulo
earlier used this same expression when he was living as a
hermit, but rather than acting on his professed devotion to
God the way Enrico does for Anareto, Paulo asked God to act
on his behalf: "siempre me conserveis piadosamente" (74).

Differences between Enrico’s and Paulo’s understandings
of devotion are seen as well in matters of obedience, and

their expectations of acceptance and forgiveness when that

160

obedience is lacking. Enrico, embodying this heroic virtue,
regards obedience» as his foremost responsibility' to his
father:

Que es deuda al padre debida

el serle el hijo obediente.

En mi vida le ofendi,

ni pesadumbre le di:

en todo cuanto mando

obendiente me hallo

desde el dia en que naci; (1071-1077)
He states that he has spent his life obeying his father’s
every request, and demonstrates his continued desire»to please
and care for Anareto, stating: "Todo esto y mas ha de hacer
/ el que obediencia profesa" (1126-1127). Unlike Enrico who
was motivated by his father’s needs and his personal
commitment to obey, Paulo chooses obedience only when it suits
him, demonstrating that it is as self-serving as his faith.
After presumptuously asking God for a sign of his fate, rather
than relying on faith that he would be saved, Paulo is
deceived by the Devil and happily obeys the direction to go
to Naples and seek out Enrico, hoping to find a great saint:
"A obedeceros me aplico, / mi Dios; nada me desmaya, / pues
vos me mandais que vaya / a ver al dichoso Enrico" (317-321).
Certain that he will find the proof of his salvation in
Enrico, Paulo is more than willing to obey. Just as faith
that is untested by doubt is easy to maintain, obedience is
easily rendered when it corresponds to one’s own wishes.

Therefore, the spirit in which it is rendered reveals much

about its value. Paulo’s obedience never extends beyond that

161
behavior which he sees to be in his own best interest.
Enrico, however, obeys Anareto’s wishes even when they
conflict with his own. His desire to please his father is so
great that just the presence of Anareto is enough to deter him
from his crimes:
No me atrevo, aunque mi nombre

tiene su altivo renombre

en las memorias escrito,

intentar tan gran delito

donde esta durmiendo este hombre. (1215-1219)
If only Anareto were always present, the respect that Enrico
has for his father would keep him from offending him with his
crimes:

Un hombre eminente

a quien temo solamente

y en esta vida respeto,

que para el hijo discreto

es el padre muy valiente.

Si conmigo le llevara

siempre, nunca yo intentara

los delitos que condeno,

pues fuera su vista el freno

que la ocasién me tirara. (1220-1229)
Recalling Conlon’s opinion that Enrico’s relationship with
Anareto is the basis for his understanding of God, the thought
of an omnipresent father as a deterrent to misbehavior is very
similar to the idea of an ever-watching God. This sense that
the "Father" is watching reveals another difference in the
characters of Enrico and Paulo; the fatherly presence that

would tame Enrico’s behavior is a justification for rebellion

in Paulo’s mind.

162
Believing himself condemned already, it is the very
knowledge that God is watching and will witness his conversion
to a life of crime that makes it worthwhile for Paulo. He
explains himself to God, revealing again that his motives are
self-serving:
Sefior, perdona

si injustamente me vengo;

tu me has condenado ya;

tu palabra, es caso cierto

que atras no puede volver.

Pues, si es ansi, tener quiero

en el mundo buena vida,

pues tan triste fin espero.

Los pasos pienso seguir

de Enrico. (1000-1009)
He recognizes that his actions will be wrong in God’s eyes,
but in his opinion, if God is not going to grant him
immortality after ten years of fasting and boredom, he may as
well enjoy himself while he can. By calling his change of
lifestyle the pursuit of "buena vida"--the good life, he
removes any doubt surrounding the sincerity of his hermitage.
He was never motivated to obey God’s word because of a belief
that it was the right thing to do, he only played along,
hoping to win immortality for keeping up appearances.
Unfortunately, because he is so guided by the superficial,
Paulo chooses to follow the footsteps of the Enrico he sees
on the surface rather than the Enrico motivated by devotion
to his father.

Returning to Conlon’s premise that Enrico’s relationship

with Anareto is symbolic of an underlying connection to God,

163

a justification of Enrico’s salvation and Paulo’s condemnation
may be undertaken. As has been discussed, Enrico’s actions
with regard to Anareto are more in line with the ideals of
Christianity than are the hollow professions of faith offered
by Paulo. The respect, love and obedience that Enrico shows
Anareto is also accompanied by a blind faith in his father’s
acceptance. As Conlon points out, this assurance of
acceptance and forgiveness from his father is extended into
a nebulous faith of the same from God:

For [Enrico], the deity is a cosmic

father, one just like his earthly one,

forgiving and magnanimous. Enrico

manufactures a parallel between the

acceptance which, despite his crimes, he

receives from Anareto, and the

forgiveness and salvation which, despite

his sins, he expects from the Supreme

Being. (175)
This belief in forgiveness represents.a fundamental difference
between Enrico and Paulo. Both fall short of Christian
ideals; Enrico’s crimes outweight the redemptive relationship
with his father, and Paulo’s conceit and conversion to crime
nullify his seemingly devout ten-year hermitage. What
ultimately saves Enrico and condemns Paulo is the ability or
inability to trust in God’s divine grace» Paulo concludes too
quickly that Enrico is beyond salvation:

Pues al cielo, hermano mio,

¢c6mo ha de ir este, si vemos

tantas maldades en el,

tantos robos manifiestos,

crueldades y latrocinios,
y tan viles pensamientos? (922-927)

164

Forgetting the Christian doctrine of forgiveness rather than
judgement, Paulo looks no further than Enrico’s crimes before
condemning him. In addition to dooming Enrico and
demonstrating his own lack of mercy, he forsakes any faith he
might have had in God's clemency, and adds his own name to the
list: "...si este se va al infierno, / ...al infierno tengo
de ir" (919-920) and sets out to earn his reward. Given the
Devil’s deceptive message that they would share an equal fate,
Paulo’s initial despair could be overlooked. But he commits
himself to earning damnation with more zeal than he ever
demonstrated as a hermit.

Having returned to the forest, as Paulo endeavors to
commit his first crime, a voice rings out, imploring him to
reconsider God’s clemency and request the forgiveness that is
never denied:

No desconfie ninguno,
aunque grande pecador,

de aquella misericordia

de que més se precia Dios. (1471-1474)
Con firme arrepentimiento

de no ofender al Sefior,

llegue el pecador humilde,

que Dios le dara perdén. (1479-1482)

Su Majestad soberana

da voces al pecador

por que le llegue a pedir

lo que a ninguno nego. (1487-1490)

Paulo recognizes his own situation in the verses, but even as
a mysterious shepherd tells him of God’s unbounded forgiveness

(1512-1596), he can accept it neither for Enrico nor for

165
himself (1617-16460. Paulo’s doubts destroy his faith.
Although he recognizes his haste in condemning Enrico: "Pues
si Enrico es pecador, / ¢no puede tambien hallar perdon?"
(1627-1629) and his own error: "...tengo a Dios enojado / por
haber desconfiado / de su piedad" (1620-1622), he is still
unable to trust in redemption. While Paulo is given every
opportunity to embrace the Christian doctrine of forgiveness
and accept it, his obsessive need for proof of spiritual
immortality precludes the faith necessary'fCW'it to be granted
him. Enrico, on the other hand, is led by a blind faith in
God’s mercy that ultimately redeems him and allows him to
participate in Christian immortality.
When Enrico meets Paulo face to face, he explains his

simple, yet profound, faith:

...siempre tengo esperanza

en que tengo de salvarme,

puesto que no va fundada

mi esperanza en obras mias

sino en saber que se humana

Dios con el mas pecador,

y con su piedad se salva. (1994-2000)
Enrico had faith that God would care for his final destiny,
whereas Paulo felt a need to earn his fate, be it salvation
or condemnation. Both, I believe, were too radical in their
expectations.of salvation and condemnation, but Enrico’s faith
is admirable. Also noteworthy is his warning to Paulo that
the original prediction that they share the same destiny, if

it was in fact delivered by an Angel of God, might not have

been fully understood: "Las palabras que Dios dice / por un

166

angel son palabras, / Paulo amigo, en que se encierran / cosas
que el hombre no alcanza." (1961-1964). Recognizing human
fallibility in matters of Divine communication, Enrico
suggests that Paulo has quite possibly condemned himself: "No
dejara yo la vida / que seguias, pues fue causa / de que quiza
te condenes / el atreverte a dejarla." (1965-1969). He also
insightfully interprets Paulo’s criminal activity as a
desperate attempt to avenge himself of God’s word:
”Desesperacidn ha sido / lo que has hecho, y aun venganza /
de la palabra de Dios," (1970-1972). Enrico, the wayward
hero, here demonstrates a much greater understanding of faith
and obedience than does the hermit Paulo.

As the two part company, the fundamental element of faith
and its importance to each one’s final destiny is presented
to the audience:

Enrico: Aunque malo, confianza
tengo en Dios.
Paulo: Yo no la tengo

cuando son mis culpas tantas;
muy desconfiado soy.

Enrico: Aquesa desconfianza
te tiene de condenar.
Paulo: Ya lo estoy, no importa nada.
Ah, Enrico, nunca nacieras!
Enrico: Es verdad; mas la esperanza

que tengo en Dios, ha de hacer
que haya piedad de mi causa. (2040-2050)

This conversation foretells the play’s denouement. Paulo, who
had every Opportunity to return to grace, refused it for lack
of faith, whereas Enrico had the seeds of faith that,

cultivated by his relationship with his father, allowed him

167

to repent and receive forgiveness. Lkmil Anareto’s appearance
in Enrico’s jail cell, his only hope for salvation had been
based on an abstract belief in God’s mercy, regardless of his
own lack of religious confession. His feeling that God would
save him made him scoff at physical death, but his refusal to
confess (based on an exaggerated need to show this
fearlessness) threatened the spiritual immortality he took for
granted. He fails to understand fully the relationship
between repentance and forgiveness, salvation and damnation,
until his father implores him to confess so that: "...ansi,
siendo perdonados, / sera vida lo que es muerte“ (2500-2501).
Miraculously, Enrico's eyes are opened to the concept of
forgiveness and salvation for one who sincerely repents. He
offers an eloquent prayer of contrition (2532-2566), and
closes: "Gran Sefior, Misericordia! / No puedo deciros mas"
(2568-25690. Enrico’s prayer is heard and after his execution
his soul is escorted to the heavens by two angels. Because
of his confession and repentance, the Christian salvation of
Enrico’s soul is assured. He is deemed a saint, a Christian
hero; but Paulo’s fate remains uncertain.

When Pedrisco returns to Paulo with news of Enrico’s
repentant death, the former hermit is too cynical to believe
it. His loss of faith is now so complete that he refuses
confession, not because he thinks.it unnecessary for salvation
as did Enrico, but because he cannot believe it will be

accepted. Rejecting God’s mercy, he clings to the prediction

168

that instigated his fall from faith: "Esa palabra me ha dado
/ Dios: si Enrico se salvo, / tambien yo salvarme aguardo"
(2903-2905). Misplacing his faith in the deceptive prediction
rather than in the doctrines of Christianity, Paulo dies
unconfessed and is condemned. Too late, he realizes his error
and his image returns, engulfed in eternal flames:

Si a Paulo buscando vais,

bien podéis ya ver a Paulo,

cefiido el cuerpo de fuego

y de culebras cercado.

No doy la culpa a ninguno

de los tormentos que paso:

s610 a mi me doy la culpa,

pues fui causa de mi dafio.

Pedi a Dios que me dijese

el fin que tendria en llegando

de mi vida el postrer dia;

ofendile, caso es llano;

y como la ofensa vio

de las almas el contrario,

incitome con querer

perseguirme con engafios. (2945-2960)
Paulo finally accepts responsibility for his actions,
recognizing that the lack of faith that prompted him to ask
for proof of his fate also allowed him to be deceived by the
Devil’s prediction. Even after he was taken in by the Devil’s
deceit, faith in God’s mercy could have saved him, but he
rejected it: "Forma de un angel tomb / y engafiome; que'a‘ser
sabio, / con su engafio me salvara; / pero fui desconfiado /
de la gran piedad de Dios," (2961-2965). His lack of faith
disqualifies him as a Christian hero and causes the failure

of his quest for immortality. Conversely, Enrico’s symbolic

immortality, spiritual salvation, is granted to him despite

169
the fact that he is not a typical Christian hero in the image
of Fernando (El principg constante). Unlikely as he may seem,
he is a hero whose passion to remain true to himself
fortunately includes the seeds of faith and a profound love
for his father. His passionate character and his relationship
with Anareto are combined with an abstract faith in God’s
mercy which matures into a fuller understanding of
Christianity. Enrico is not saved because of an ideal life,
any more than Paulo is condemned for his sins. The denial of
death granted to Enrico is due to his compliance with the
Christian ideals of faith and repentance, and therein lies his

heroism.

NOTES

1.Regarding Enrico’s motivation towards anti-heroism, see Becker,
who states: "The crisis of modern society is precisely that the
youth no longer feel heroic in the plan for action that their
culture has set up. They don’t believe it is empirically true to
the problems of their lives and times" (6). When Enrico recounts
his life story in the second act, he states: "...concoceis a mi
padre, / que aunque no fue caballero / ni de sangre generosa, / era
muy rico; y yo entiendo / que es la mayor calidad / el tener en
este tiempo” (727-733). From birth, Enrico is locked out of Golden
Age Spanish society’s mainstream of heroism--family nobility.
Seeing wealth as the next best alternative, he pursued money with
the same zeal more traditional heroes demonstrated for honor.

2.When discussing those who are endowed with weak passions and are
accepted solely for their apparent compliance with society’s
ideals, Parker states: "Hay un cierto peligro en las pasiones
débiles: el que consideremos la ausencia de grandes pecados como
sefial de una vida virtuosa" (400). This acceptance of superficial
goodness as a signal of inherent virtue is responsible for many an
initial assumption that Paulo will be the one destined for
sainthood.

3.Concerning the ideals that may motivate social rebellion as

depicted in Golden Age dramas such as El condenado por dgsconfiado,

A. A. Parker states:
De ninguna manera quiero yo menospreciar el ideal de la
justicia social; pero hay otros ideales que pueden
considerarse mas fundamentales. Estos dramas espafioles
presentan tipos de conducta extremadamente antisocial, pero
los presentan para propalar los ideales sobre los cuales se
basa toda la vida social del hombre. En primer lugar, el amor
de familia; y en segundo lugar, la dignidad humana, la
valentia espiritual. (416)

170

WORKS CITED
Conlon, Raymond. "Enrico in E1 condenado por desconfiado:
A psychoanalytical View.” Rgvista Canadiense de

Egtudiog Hispanicos 10 (1986): 173-182.

Delgado GOmez, Angel. "Sermén y drama en El condenado por

 

 

 

desconfiado." Bulletin of Hiapanic Studies 64 (1987):
27-37.

Oakley, Robert J. "La vida y la muerte en El condenado
por dggconfiado." Teatro del siglo de oro: homenaag

 

 

a Alberto Navarro Gonzalez. Ed. Victor Garcia de la
Concha et al. Kassel: Edition Reichenberger, 1990.
487-503.

Parker, Alexander A. "Santos y bandoleros en el teatro
espafiol del siglo de oro." Arbor 13 (1949): 395—416.

Tirso de Molina. El condenado por dggconfiado. Ed. Daniel
Rogers. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1974.

171

CONCLUSION

The human fear that physical death may represent complete
annihilation and the inherent need to transcend that fear and
deny the finality of death by achieving some means of symbolic
immortality through heroic magnanimity are reflected by the
protagonists of the dramas selected for this study. Echoing
the human desire to avoid an unmitigated destruction of self,
these protagonists seek to individualize themselves and
symbolically immortalize their existence by somehow standing
above and apart from the rest. This drive towards
individualization and self-perpetuation leads them on a path
to heroism, be it secular or spiritual, as a means of denying
death’s finality» The»Christian and social heroism undertaken
by the protagonists of the comedias studied herein and their
guests for immortality illustrate the ability of the hero to
tolerate physical death while focusing on a higher goal of
infinite symbolic existence, thereby overcoming through
acceptance the fatality of physical life.

Demonstrating the duality of physical and symbolic
existence in seventeenth-century Spain, honor and Catholicism
were promoted as secular and spiritual codes of conduct and

by extension grew into venues for heroism and symbolic

172

173
immortality. Dishonor was the equivalent of social death,
conversely transforming honor into a means of secular
immortality. Analogous to honor as a means of symbolic
existence, the eternal life promised by Christianity
represented spiritual immortality. Therefore, heroes who
excelled in compliance with the ideals presented by society
or the Church achieved some sense of immortality, either
culturally or spiritually. As for the protagonists studied
and their successful campaigns to deny death’s finality, the
heroism herein demonstrated ranges from the typical to the
perverse, according to both social and religious standards.
Licurgo is the archetypal social hero--patriotic, valiant and
bound by a code of honor that he cherishes and protects above
life itself. Relinquishing his life rather than his honor,
he exceeds the social standard and his secular immortality is
confirmed, destining him to be remembered eternally as "El
duefio de las estrellas". The Numantian heroism too, is
motivated by alsocial code»of honor; and their compliance with
that code ensures that like the Phoenix, they will eternally
rise from their ashes. While the heroism and resulting sense
of immortality gained by Licurgo and the Numantians is
secular, the consummate Christian Knight, Fernando, embodies
the ideals of both honor and Catholicism, demonstrating the
compatibility of the seventeenth-century religious and social
codes.of conduct. Following his martyrdom, the glorious image

of Fernando leads his army to spiritual and physical victory

174
over the Moors. Therefore, his legacy is that of a great
military leader as well as a saint. Finally, Enrico
demonstrates a dauntless ability to rise to heroism and
spiritual immortality despite a less than honorable or
Christian start, revealing an inherent potential for heroism
and a denial of death due to his truly magnanimous spirit.

As demonstrated by each of these protagonists, the
concept of magnanimity, central to secular as well as
religious heroism seen in classical and Christian traditions,
joins the fear of complete annihilation as a motivation to
heroic activity and unites the two predominant canons of
seventeenth-century Spanish society: the honor code and
Catholicism. Although at times thought to be mutually
exclusive, the honor code and Catholicism are connected by the
ideal of magnanimity and provided, both independently and in
conjunction, the means.by which protagonists aspire»to heroism
and symbolic immortality.

Licurgo, the hero of Alarcén’s El d_ueL‘r‘i'o de las estrellas,
and the heroes of Cervantes’ gayNumapgia_exemplify the ideals
of the Spanish honor code. Licurgo, a traditional hero, with
his commitment to social order and magnanimity, embodies the
characteristics attributed to a Golden Age secular hero:
valor, free-will, protection of and obedience to the Monarchy
and above all, honor. On both personal and social levels, his
actions are dictated by an internalized code of conduct which

requires compliance with the spirit and ideals of honor above

175

all else. Truly magnanimous, Licurgo is the first to
demonstrate heroic fineza, self-sacrifice for another. This
altruism is seen in his self-imposed exile from Sparta on
behalf of its citizens, his alliance with the King of Crete
for the benefit of that nation and finally, his suicide,
epitomizing his commitment to honor and an acceptance of the
duality of existence. Never shrinking from his heroic
inclination, Licurgo faces his mortality without flinching.
By choosing to sacrifice his finite physical life on behalf
of honor and in the best interest of others, Licurgo gains
symbolic immortality.

The collective protagonists of Numancia too demonstrate
extraordinary self-sacrifice and are deemed heroes despite
military defeat. Their dedication to the ideals of honor is
attested to by their stoic endurance of the Roman siege and
their refusal to retreat from overwhelming adversity.
Although overpowered militarily, the Numantians heroically
accept their imminent death and snatch victory from the jaws
of defeat by sacrificing themselves in the name of honor.
Their collective death is epitomized by the suicide of the
last Numantian, Bariato and they are rewarded with the ever-
renewing symbolic immortality of the Phoenix.

The heroism of Licurgo and the Numantians is determined
by their actions in accordance with the codes of honor they
maintain and rewards them with "eternal fame" or secular

immortality. A denial of death’s finality is achieved by

176

accepting, and even inviting, the inevitability of its
occurrence. The suicides of Licurgo and some of the
Numantians, although in conflict with the Catholic doctrine
condemning the practice, are accepted as heroic due to the
pre-Christian settings of the plays. These individual and
collective protagonists represent a traditional secular
heroism inspired by the code»of honor rather than theology and
are immortalized for their excellence in preserving their
codes. The principles of the honor code ascribed to by
Licurgo and the Numantians, when compared to the ideals of
Christian heroism witnessed in the cases of Fernando and
Enrico, represents for them a type of secular religion.

Spiritual, as well as secular heroism is epitomized by
don Fernando, the Christian knight in Calderén’s El principg
constante. He embodies the exemplary heroism expected of a
Catholic prince by complying with the ideals of Catholicism
and the code of honor. Fernando represents the pinnacle of
heroism in Golden Age Spanish society and is rewarded with
spiritual immortality for his efforts, demonstrating an
admirable commitment to both honor and faith throughout his
ordeal. The anguish of his martyrdom is followed by his
resplendent appearance as a holy image leading his troops to
victory over the Moors thus making his heroism complete.
Christian and secular heroism become one as Fernando, having
already achieved spiritual immortality, returns to his

position as a military leader ensuring his symbolic secular

177
immortality as well.

Enrico the bandit, the unlikely hero of Tirso’s §l_
condenado por dggconfiado demonstrates an alternative to the
typical secular and spiritual heroism demonstratedtn/Licurgo,
the Numantians and Fernando. In the beginning of the play,
his drive to heroism is misguided and leads him to lash out
against the social and religious systems that Golden Age
Spanish society provided for symbolic immortality. However,
an underlying strength of character and a nebulous Christian
faith, reflective of his inherent passion for heroism, allow
him to convert his ill-spent potential to more acceptable
ends. When faced with death, Enrico recognizes the error of
his ways and turns to God with a humble and contrite heart.
His confession and sincere repentance are accepted and reveal
the boundless faith of a true saint, whose heroism, like that
of Fernando, is rewarded with spiritual immortality. On the
other hand, Paulo, the antithesis of Enrico, in the beginning
seems a potential hero, but a failed attempt at Christian
heroism that exposes a lack of genuine faith is followed by
rebellion. Lashing out against society and God by dedicating
himself to a life of anti-heroism, Paulo receives in exchange
a converse immortality--eternal damnation. Thus, he provides
a type of counterpoint to the heroes studied, demonstrating
the difference between superficial, apparent heroism and the
sincere, unfeigned passion and conviction of a true hero.

Licurgo, Numancia, Fernando and Enrico are all symbolic

178
of the human desire to overcome mediocrity through dedication
and commitment to the ideals of secular or religious codes of
conduct and are recognized as heroes» ‘Transcending the finite
by reaching for the infinite, these» heroic protagonists
demonstrate the necessary exchange implicit to the human
duality of physical and symbolic existence, and by accepting

mortality, deny the finality of death.

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