117

ICONS OF SATURN: ASTROLOGER-KINGS IN CALDERON'S COMEDIAS

*The prevalence of kings, horoscopes and imprisonments of young children who are considered persecuted by the stars could lead to the belief that there are many characters who resemble the Basilio of La vida es sueiio in Calder6n's dramaturgy. Although Blanca de los Rfos discovered ten Segismundos,1 a search of this playwright's secular dramas reveals only three astrologerkings.2 Basilio is the earliest representative of diis type, while the other two are found in mythological dramas written more than twenty years later. In spite of this chronological and genre gap, the three figures have much in common Perhaps Calder6n's return to the astrologer-king in later years may have been influenced by his understanding of the mythical import of this type. Edwin Honig asserts in his study of La vida es sueiio "Since Rosaura as well as Segismundo have been dishonoured by their father, how can they redress their personal grievances widiout rupturing the. relauonship of one generation with the next, the succession of life itself? The old myths stir beneadi the surface: Zeus dethroned Chronus ... "' The father-son conflict in this play parallels the Chronus-Zeus struggle, while the astrological imagery points to the more complex Medieval and Renaissance manifestations of Chronus as the astral deity Saturn.4 The mythological substructure of La vida es sueiio becomes apparent when we recall that the pagan god was known as the devourer of children due to a prophecy that told that one of his offspring would depose him. To prevent this from happening, Saturn instituted the macabre dinner Butjupiter escaped thanks to the cleverness of the mother and eventually overthrew the ruler of heaven. Basilio fears a similar prediction and banishes Segismundo to avoid dedironement. Like Saturn, he must eventually face his rebellious son. In order to underline the importance of the Saturn rnydi in La inda es sueflo, Calder6n includes the figure of Astraea, a name taken by Rosaura at Court. The goddess of justice lived on Earth during Saturn's rji'e, but withdrew to the heavens as the constellation Virgo once men became corrupt. Astraea in Calder6n's play is not the companion of Basilio-Saturn since he represents the negative or tyranical aspects of the god.5 She fulfils a different role. The return of Astraea-Virgo to the world is to be a signal of the coming new age of justice. As a figure parallel to Segismundo, she clarifies the prince's role as that of restorer of a golden age.6 This essay will analyse the astrologer-kings of Los tres afectos de amor and Apolo v Climene in order to show how they resemble Basilio as icons of the malefic aspect of Saturn. The resolution of the father-son conflict brought about by Segismundo's magnanimity in La vida es sueno, brings to an end Calder6n's concern with this problem in his theatre according to Alexander A. Parker.7 And yet, of the

118 ten Segismundos discovered by Blanca de los Rios, most belong to die third or final period of Calder6n's dramaturgy, spanning the years from 1650 to 1681, a period characterised by Court spectacle dramas where many comedws "take place in the mythological world" 8 During this period the horoscope motif reappears as the cause for the incarceration of a child by a parent. But the father-son conflict is replaced by either a mother-son opposition as in El monstnw de losjardines (1650-53?)and Eco y Naraso (1661) or a father-daughter relationship as in Los tres afectos de amor (1658) and Apoloy Cltmene (1661).9 In the first group, the mother (Tetis, Liriope) is die object of sexual violence and the resulting child (Aquiles, Narciso) is raised by her in seclusion due to ominous predictions. On the other hand, the second group of plays where the father incarcerates a daughter, continues the line of the astrologer-king first depicted in La vida es siieiio. In Las cadenas deldemoruo, a play purportedly written by Calder6n at much the same time as his masterpiece, King Polem6n has imprisoned his daughter at birth due to a horoscope. But the monarch is not an astrologer, since he orders his counsellors to prepare die natal "juicio" (p.646).' It predicts diat Irene would be: el principal instrumento de otra nueva ley de un dios superior a todos ellos

(p.646)

Las cadenas del demonio is thus concerned with conversion and focuses on the struggle between paganism and Christianity. The images and ambience found in this religious play where Demonio and San Bartolom batde to win die souls of die protagonists are very different from diose encountered in La mda
es stieiio and its successors Los tres afectos de amor- and Apolo y Chmene where per-

sonal, political and mythical concerns take precedence over religious struggles. Los tres afectos de amor, performed at the Buen Retiro on November 28, 1648, was composed to celebrate Felipe Pr6spero's first birthday. Only a year before, Queen Mariana had almost died giving birth to the prince, a subject to which CaJder6n refers in the loa to the Laurel de Apolo as a "grossero accidente"." This near-tragedy may be reflected dramatically in Los tres afectos de amor when King Seleuco explains to his dadghter Naciste tan desde luego prodigiosa, que hecha humana vibora, al materno albergue de las piadosas entranas que te hospedaron, pagaste inculpablemente ingrata, dando en precio de una vida una muerte . . .

(p. 1187)

Rosarda repays her modier's "hospitality" in the womb by killing her at childbirth. Queen Mariana's "grossero accidente" may have reminded Calder6n of his concern widi the viper birth more than twenty years before

119 in plays such as La devocwn de la ana and La vida es siieOo Seleuco's wife, like Basiho's Clorilene has died giving birth. Both monarchs speak of their offspring in terms of a viper. Renaissance and seventeenth-century wnters still held to the belief formulated in Pliny's Natural History diat at birth this serpent invariably killed its parent. The violent and tragic situation was popularised in emblem books and was thought to signify "children plotting against their parents".12 Thus, the viper birth reinforces die myth of Saturn who also fears his children These ominous images from mydiology and natural history may be the key to Segismundo's imprisonment by his father. In La devocidn de la oitz, Curcio narrates his wife's pregnancy and childbirth in a manner reminiscent to Basiho's and Seleuco's tragic tales. However, his version adds a new perspective. Curao believes diat his children are the product of an adulterous relationship and warns his wife Rosmira. en tus entrafias como la vibora, traes a quien te ha de dar la muerte. Indicio ha sido bastante el parto infame que esperas (p.405) This link between an illicit sexual relationship and a viper birth that kills die mother is repeated in La hija del atre. Here Semframis is born as the result of the seduction of the nymph Arceta. Like Segismundo, she is born under an apparently inauspicious horoscope which claims diat she will become a tyrant She also suffers incarceration like the prince of La indaessueiio. More important, the mother dies at childbirth and Semframis relates this tragic occurrence to the viper "pues vibora humana yo, / rompi aquel seno materno" ' 3 The image of the viper birth is associated in both La devocidn de la cruz and La hija del aire to an illicit sexual relationship. A possible explanauon of this link may be found in the fact that traditionally adultery, incest and rape were thought to produce monsters as offspring.14 In La inda es sumo, Basilio recounts just such a monster birth. His reaction to the child is one of great violence and cruelty because he may be looking at him with suspicion and hatred. Segismundo, the viper that killed Clorilene may not be his own son: he appears as an alien and murderous element intruding in Basiho's grief. The relauonship between a monster birth and an illicit sexual relationship is less clear in Los tres afectos de amor, although the circumstances surrounding Isdaura's pregnancy are far from ordinary The couple had not enjoyed an entirely happy conjugal life: Vivimos nuestra dorada edad en el desconsuelo de no tener hijos. (p. 1187) Only after years of prayers and sacrifices to Venus, die tutelary goddess of Cyprus where they abide, does Isdaura become pregnant But, if the child Rosarda is to be considered as a gift of heaven for the couple's piety, it seems

120 unlikely that she would bring about the mother's death. Is Rosarda the result of an illicit relationship fostered by die goddess of love, but condemned by another deity, perhaps Saturn? No clear answer is provided in the dramauc text, but Seleuco does replace Rosarda's pleasant "materno albergue", die womb, with a less pleasurable incarceration. Seleuco is a most suited figure through which Saturn can manifest its influence. In Manilius' Astronomtca, there is a typical descripuon of the seventh planet: "Saturn exercises die powers diat are his own: cast down himself in ages past from empire in the skies and the throne of heaven, he wields as a father power over die fortunes of fathers and die plight of the old".13 Thus, the planet is endowed with power over fadiers because the god is often viewed in diis role. Furthermore, as ruler of heaven, Saturn is often associated with kingship The bipolar nature of god and planet is evinced in die two different types of monarchs he can represent, the benevolent ruler of the golden age or the tyrant that has to be overthrown by Jupiter.16 In addition, since his empire was the skies, he is said to have imparted astrological knowledge to humanity, a fact noted by Baltasar de -Vitona in his Teatro de los dwses de la gentdidad.]~ Seleuco as father, king and astrologer is not only a figure who clearly falls under the influence of the sevendi planet, but as an icon of Saturn on Earth, he mirrors its attributes and radiates its influence. The monarch imprisons his daughter at birth, recalling Saturn's fear of his children. Furthermore, according to most astrological treatises, diose influenced by diis malefic planet often suffer incarceration.18 As Rosarda grows up imprisoned, she often thinks of suicide as die only liberauon possibleque mil veces he querido que ese pidlago, que fue de Venus cuna de plata, tiimulo de nieve sea a mi fortuna . . . que enajenada de mi desde aquesas pefias aJtas tengo de arrojarme al mar . .. (p.1187) The seas that surround Cyprus and which had witnessed the birth of Venus, are seen by Rosarda as a potential tomb and a means of liberauon This desire for deadi also evinces the impact of Saturn on Rosarda, for die seventh Ptolemaic planet is often related to sadness and violent death.19 The stern and saturnine fadier is not a totally negative figure since Rosarda believes that he appears to love her in spite of having incarcerated her: Y aunque es verdad que su amor tan uernamente me ama . . . con todo eso, es cosa clara que en sola la libertad, todo lo demas me falta. (p 1186) The astrologer father also expresses his love, albeit misguided, through the evidence he provides for die need to shelter his child from destiny The

121 portents he points to include a solar eclipse as in Laindaessueno. More important, Seleuco describes what is perhaps the most specific horoscopal configuration in Calder6n's comedias "y retrdgrado en la casa/de Venus, Saturno" (p. 1187). This reference to Saturn in a play composed in the late 1650s may reflect a specific astral event diat became much debated all over Europe at this time. Astrologers were particularly unsetded since die solar eclipse of August 12, 1654 was to take place in the zodiacal sign Leo, a fiery sign diat thus compounded the eclipse's malefic influences. Furthermore, diis was to occur at a time when Saturn and Mars were conjunct in this same sign. Since the umes of Ptolemy, diese were considered as the two most malefic planets. It was calculated diat die eclipse would last two hours and twenty minutes which meant diat its effect would begin to be felt two and a diird years later. Indeed, 1656 was believed to be the number of years after creation when the deluge took place. A second destruction, diis time by fire, should dien take place in die year 1656 after Christ. These apocalyptic fears were felt all over Europe. Honors Bouche-, a doctor in dieology in Aix explains that: "A l'occasion d'une Eclipse qui arnva sur les neuf ou dix heures du maun . il se fit de plus grandes sotuses, non seulement en Provence mais encore par toute la France, l'Espagne, l'ltalie et rAllemagne."20 It may be diat Los tres afectos de wnor revives the astrologer-king who ponders upon the significance of an eclipse in order to mirror this recent event. Seleuco's fears come to naught dius parallelling die baseless concern demonstrated by many. Mention of Saturn could well be a clue that Calder6n was alluding to diis astral event, since even Pascal in his Pensies refers to the event as "l'entrde de Saturne au Lion". However, die horoscope described in the play is different from die astrological configuradon that worried Europeans from 1654 to 1656 While diese astrologers pointed to a Saturn-Mars conjunction, Seleuco is most concerned by the presence of the planet Saturn, retrograde, in the house of Venus at Rosarda's birth. He precedes the naming of die most malefic of planets with the term retrdgrado. In an astrological sense, diis adjective is used "to describe a planet diat appears to be moving backwards dirough die zodiac, from east to west".21 The negative connotations of retnogradation were well known in the epoch, dius increasing the sevendi planet's malignity. The King interprets the horoscope thus: Halle\ digo, que teniendo en tu hor6scopo contraria influencia tu nermosura, peligro te amenazaba de violenta muerte . . . (p.l 188) The monarch's conclusions are certainly consonant widi traditional astrology. Venus provides Rosarda widi tiermosura. The presence of the malefic Saturn retrograde points to the fact diat her beauty could lead to disaster. Indeed, the vwltnta muerte predicted by Seleuco stems from the relationship

122 of the seventh planet to violent death. While the father-son conflict in La vula es svefw represents a displacement- of the Saturn-Jupiter myth, in Los Ires afectos de amor the main conflict is viewed astrologically as a Saturn-Venus one. The malefic influence of die first must be tempered by the benefic influx of die second. If Seleuco is an icon of Saturn, Rosarda is often seen as Venus in her beauty. The planet that triumphs will determine the resolution of the comedia as tragic or happy. Once the children grow up, the fathers, Basilio and Seleuco, reconsider their cruel and saturnine actions. They express the notion diat a horoscope does not have to be fulfilled since a wise person can triumph over the stars. The ancient motto "Sapiens homo dominatur astns"2* is echoed in both comedtas by die apparendy repentant fathers. In Los tres afectos de amor, Seleuco declaresque no siempre su palabra cumple el hado, y que el prudente sobre las estrellas manda. (p. 1188) Other reasons given by die King of Cyprus for his belated release of his own daughter include his loving awareness of her unhappy condition and the kingdom's need for a successor. Seleuco's decision also allows him to disclaim any responsibility for what will follow: "que no quiero ser en nada / c6mphce de tu fortuna" (p. 1188). As in La vida es siieno, the question of the monarch's maliciousness must be raised. After all, both Basilio and Seleuco have witnessed a viper-birth, and have reacted in a saturnine fashion. Both monarchs have imprisoned their offspring at birth and bodi release them when they grow up believing diat they will fail. Does Seleuco secredy blame his daughter for Isdaura's deadi-" Does the monarch suspect diat Rosarda is illegitimate? None of diese questions are answered, but die monarch, as an icon of Saturn, is certainly suspect With Rosarda's release, the play shifts focus from the fadier-daughter relationship to Rosarda's future choice of husband. While amorous pursuits in Cyprus, the island of Venus, reign supreme, the danger of Saturn's malefic influence looms in the background lending increased tension to the situation. As violence and confusion increase, die King pressures Rosarda to make a decision concerning her marriage She announces that she will consult the temple of Venus, a goddess she resembles dirough her beauty (p. 1208). And yet, she is a Venus under a malefic infliijo. Her rival Ismenia takes acarabma and fires it. True to its reputadon die seventh planet seems to have been the cause of a tragedy of love. King Seleuco, on hearing the news, finds it to be a confirmation of his interpretation of the horoscope: que yo, aJ propio amor atento ir a cuidar a Rosarda, por si hay en su mal remedio, al mirar cudnto infaJible en los fatales decretos cumple su amenaza el hado, cumple su palabra el cielo. (p. 1210)

123 At the close of the second act, it appears as if Saturn has prevailed over the benefic influences of Venus. And yet, the \asijoniada belongs to the planet of love. Rosarda, as it turns out, was not even wounded It was the horse that was shot, sprinkling its blood on Rosarda King Seleuco now rejoices I Felice, Rosarda, el dia que cumplido el hado esquivo, lo que prometio sangnento vino aejecutar benigno! (p. 1212) The ineffective Seleuco reacts to the stars. He again retreats into a background figure as Rosarda proceeds to untangle amorous intrigues. In a final and desperate effort to move from the delays and frustrations of Saturn to the benefic and amorous circle of Venus,24 she asks die goddess to judge which one of the suitors is best suited to be her husband. In surrendering to Venus, Rosarda manages to neutralise the malefic effects of Saturn. The goddess confirms Rosarda's choice, Libio. The King reluctandy accedes, again surrendering to forces that seem beyond his control: Pues a 6\ Venus le ofrece el premio que yo en Rosarda es preciso que le entregue. (p. 1221) Saturn has direatened the island of Cyprus, die house of Venus, where Rosarda, a figure akin to the goddess in her beauty, wishes to live in freedom and marry happily. The powers of the most malefic of planets wane in the house of its benefic opponent. In spite of its threats, die only violence that Saturn can produce within the time of the play is the death of a horse Incarceration has taken place in an alcazar and not in a tower, the power of Venus tempering the rigours of the seventh planet. Even Seleuco, an icon of Saturn, is seen as weak and ineffective. Whatever suspicions and maliciousness there might have been in his early attitude towards his daughter, have been tempered by Venus. He did evince traces of cruelty but more than anydiing he had succumbed to a misguided love, tainted with planetary fear. An alcazar is again the locadon from which a character contrasts her imprisonment with the freedom of the ave,fiera and pez (pp.1827-28). In Apolo v Climene a stern father has incarcerated his daughter since birth due to adverse predictions. Astral and terrestrial omens from La vida es sueiio and Los tres afectos de amor are repeated' a solar eclipse, a malefic horoscope and a viper birth (p 1830). The omens are taken to signify that the King's daughter will give birth to Faet6n, an impetuous youth who will cause a mighty fire in die kingdom of Euopia. A. Valbuena Briones claims that: "La intransigencia y crueldad egotista de Admeto aparece obvia en Apolo y Climene y no se esconde tanto entrefilosoffasabstractas por el bien del pueblo, como en el caso de Basilio" (p. 1815). But Admeto, like Basilio, invokes political reasons and appears to be thinking of his kingdom: It is predicted that his daughter's son will incinerate it, and he acts to prevent this from happening.

124 Admeto differs from his predecessors, Basilio and Seleuco, in diat he asks for advice before imprisoning his daughter. He consults Fit6n, a magician who uses certain occult sciences to produce a prediction consonant with Admeto's forecast. Although the possible hidden and personal motives for incarceration seen in both Basilio and Seleuco can also be perceived in Admeto since Climene's birth is related to the viper, the fact that he consults Fit6n makes his actions less suspect. Both the astrologer and the magician coincide in their interpretation of the portents so that personal motives seem not to interfere with objective analysis of the signs in nature. However, Admeto's decision to imprison his daughter is his own. As a cruel father and jailor he is as much an icon of Saturn as Basilio and Seleuco The effect of incarcerauon on Climene is a "mortal tristeza" (p. 1817), death and sadness being attributes of Saturn. Furthermore, she is repeatedly described as being melancholy (pp. 1821, 1823). According to medical theory of the epoch, the planet Saturn is in sympadiy with the melancholy humour since both share dry and cold qualities. The melancholy person is thought to be solitary and studious, often becoming well-known for wisdom. This is the type of melancholy that Marsilio Ficino and his followers extol. But Renaissance philosophers also warn against the negative aspects of this influence and elaborate an astral magic to prevent it25 Melancolla, if not checked, can lead to madness. However, the sufferer is at times able to experience prophetic visions. William McCrary explains that most treauses on melancholy stress die strange visionar)' ability of those subject to it. Andr Du Laurens, for example, affirms that the melancholies "oftentimes ... foretell and forge very strange things in dieir imagination".-6 The mysterious apparitions in the forbidden garden and palace of Climene take on a strange and visionar)' quality. Wishing to help an intruder, Climene and her maids have recourse to the language of imaginative contemplation typical of die melancholy person: .. al fin todo esto es ilusi6n sin alma y cuerpo, pero con cuerpo y con alma, ilusi6n que a tin mismo tiempo es objeto de los oios y es exhalaci6n del viento. (p.1827) The paradoxical description points to die visionar)' nature of the phenomenon, although Climene is also embellishing her tale so as to protect the handsome intruder She adds that diis apparition coincided with a celestial portent: el de haber visto tal vez arrancado de su asiento el sol, anegar la uerra en pieiagos de humo y fuego .. . de cuyas cenizas acaso has visto til mesmo las ruinas de Clicie y Flora. (p. 1827)

125 Such a descripuon is not far from the truth of what she had previously experienced: c No veis, no veis que su carro, de la continua tarea errando el curso, y cayendo precipitado a la uerra, abrasa montes y mares, de cuya encendida hoguera son las espumas cenizas . . . ? jQuemequemo! jQue meabraso! (p 1821) Climene does not see the sun's chariot falling, but perceives it in a vision which she immediately denies as "jQue' fantasia / tan loca!" (p. 1821). Her maids ascribe diese "fingidas sombras" to her "tristezas" (p. 1821). The vision has its source in Climene's sadness, in her excessive and even adust melancholy triggered by her imprisonment. But the melancholy individual's imaginative perception often points to a truth that can be prophetic Climene's vision contains important insights into celesual affairs. She observes the sun's fall at a ume when Apolo is expelled from heaven by Jupiter. Apolo is the mysterious intruder diat Climene wishes to protect. The fallen god has stumbled into her garden. Climene's vision is not only true, but it is also prophetic From the union of Apolo and Climene a son will be born Faeton will be the impetuous youth who will ask to drive his father's celesual chariot and will fall to earth destroying much of Etiopia. Admeto's mcarcerauon of Climene has made her subject to the melancholy fantasies and prophetic visions of Saturn. Sol is one of the three benefic planets singled out by Marsilio Ficino in De tnpha inta, where he delves into astral magic in order to mitigate the malefic influence of Saturn in his own horoscope. Sol-Apolo's appearance in Climene's garden signals a reprieve. Admeto, with a tardy repentance, repeats his predecessors' dictum that free-will can triumph over the stars (p.1830). He adds that he does not want to be considered a tyrant Hissecrecy and arbitrary and cruel actions certainly point to this saturnine tendency in him.27 The monarch is ready to assuage his daughter's "graves melancolfas" (p. 1831) and grant her freedom. However, he warns that Climene must remain chaste as a priestess of Diana, in this manner foiling the negauve horoscope Infringement of this law, he asserts, is punishable by death. The ambience of the play is suddenly transformed. From the sadness and tyranny of Saturn, the comedia moves to the joys of Sol. Admeto, like die courtiers in La vula es siieiw,-* is aware that music can temper melancholy and he orders that: bailes, musicas y danzas destierren de sus ideas las confusas sombras vagas. (p.1831) But the songs that emerge are dedicated to Venus, a goddess who although benefic, is incompauble with the chastity of Diana. Climene and

126 Apolo fall in love. Amorous intrigues are short-lived as the influence of Saturn is again felt Admeto threatens to lull his own daughter on mere suspicion (p. 1846) Climene's lover is described by one of the maids as: infausta, negra deidad nocturna es, pues pudo, para que nadie se atreva a entrar aljardin, causar tempestades y tormentas la noche que fue senudo. (p. 1845) Apolo, the solar god, is now described as a nocturnal deity. He has become a sol niger, which is a name given by astrologers to the planet Saturn.29 Climene's lover has a dual nature He is bouh the joyous Sol that brings light and happiness and the malefic Saturn of delays, confusions, sadness, darkness and death. While an understanding of Apolo in this comedia must take into account his double nature, an analysis of the icons of Saturn in this work must include both Admeto and Fit6n. The father wishes to capture his runaway daughter, but the magician provides her and her lover with santuary in his cave Transformed into a palace, the subterranean abode becomes the place where Apolo and Climene can safely experience the joy of amorous union. When Admeto comes searching for Climene, Fit6n even lies to his friend, claiming that Apolo and Climene have drowned in the river. Fit6n should not be regarded as reflecting a positive aspect of the bipolar Saturn. The magician's purpose is not to bring happiness to the lovers Rather, he is proud of his occult learning and wants the tragic prediction to come true: No ire' si no a ver si logro que ellos salgan verdaderos antes que yo mentiroso. (p. 1849) Admeto and Fit6n represent different aspects of the malefic Saturn. The father exhibits the secret, tyrannical, cruel and murderous attributes of the planet, while Fit6n, although closer to the Renaissance's Neoplatomc interpretation of Saturn as the planet of the highest wisdom, is excessively proud of his magical expertise30 and willing to sacrifice the lovers to be proved right. Climene is unable to escape the multiple mirrors of the malefic celestial body. In Fit6n's palace-cave she joins with Apolo, but the solar deity is also a sol ruger who will leave Climene pregnant widi a child who will have the potenual of scorching his native land As Apolo departs the Earth, Fit6n is confident that his prediction of doom will come to pass Alexander Parker has claimed that Calder6n solved the father-son conflict through Segismundo's magnanimity in La vida es siieiio and had no need to return to this problem. But Calderon's masterpiece is an exception rather than a permanent resolution. Although Basilio learns from his son's behaviour, later fathers do not show this wisdom and understanding in plays where the father-son struggle is substituted by a father-daughter conflict

127 triggered by a horoscope. Los ties afectos de amor and Apolo y Chmene, composed more than twenty years after La xnda es siteno, portray a cruel, tyrannical, proud and secretive father and king who delves into astrology and other occult sciences and makes a judgment that in his eyes justifies the mcarcerauon of his child. Personal reasons, such as the suspicion of illegitimacy are masked by appeals to astral fear or poliucal expediency. The weak and ineffective Seleuco seems afraid of Saturn, but his acuons mirror the influence of the malefic aspects of this planet With Admeto, the father as icon of Saturn achieves his most negative portrayal in Calder6n's comedias, as incarcerauon is followed by threats of assassination. He certainly resembles the mythical god depicted as devourer of children While in La inda es stietio the benefic Jupiter personified in the transformed Segismundo had been able to temper the influence of the seventh Ptolemaic planet, and while in Los tres afectos de amor Venus in its own house could avert the deadly influence of Saturn retrograde, in Apolo v Chmene, Sol is unable to overcome the malefic influx. Climene's happiness is overshadowed by the fact that her celestial lover is not only the benefic Sol, but also the 50/ mger, another name for Saturn. Her child appears doomed Indeed, in El hijo del Sol, Faetdn, the impetuous youth fulfils his deadly promise when he demands proof of his father's love. The celestial Apolo had abandoned his earthly son who now asks for recognition Perhaps it is through this feeling of loss and betrayal experienced by sons and daughters that the "heterodox" aspects of Calderon's dramaturgy noted by Robert ter Horst can be explored.31 The earthly father is linked to a heavenly one, but he often emerges as a planetary deity, die malefic and cruel Saturn of astrologers and mythographers. FREDERICK A DE ARMAS
Louisiana State University

NOTES * Pan of the research for this article was supported b> a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities for in-residence work at the Newberry Library in Chicago 1 "El tipo de Segismundo con las inseparables arcunstancias de cnaerro en gruta o en torre para rehuir la fatalidad de un horoscopo y las inevitables quejas de la vfcuina que envidia su libertad al a\e, al bruto y al pez, aparece no menos de diez veces en las producaones calderonianas" (p 23) The ten Segismundos listed by this cniic are found in La vida essueflo (auto and comedta),
El moiistnio de losjardmes, La hija del aire, Las cadenas del demonio, Apolo v Chmene, Eco y Narciso, Hado v dwivi de Isonuio y Marfisa and En esta vida todo es verdad y todo es menlira, with two Segismundos Blancade los Ri'osde Lamperez, "La vida es sueilo" 1 los diez Segismundos de Caldertin (Madrid. Centro

del Iniercambio Cultural Intelectual Germano-Espafiol, 1926) In a comedia burlesca attributed 10 Calderon, Tebandro is an "astrologer"-king who imprisons his twin daughters due to ominous portents at birth The tone is vastly different from the two pla\s studied in this essav Indeed, the portents are not astrological but belong to the realm of folklore

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Su padre el rev es tan diestro que en esto de echar las habas, que las ha echado a perder, solamente por ganarlas No s qu le dijo un dfa un cedacico en su estaca, unos berros en su artesa, una candela en su ara, un chapfn en sus ujeras, en su onnal una clara de huevo, y en fin, de ahorcado una soga en su garganta, pues sin mis m mas, c qu hizo 3 Naciendo de un parto entrambas, de un pano las desnaa6 Pedro Calderon de la Barca, C^fl/ovPocra,ed Alberto Navarro Gonzalez (Salamanca Ediaones Almar, 1979), p. 19 3 Edwin Honig, Calderdn and the Seizures of Honour (Cambridge Harvard Univ Press, 1972), p 159 4 On the development of Saturn as an astral god in astrological, mythological and Neoplatonic treatises see Raymond Klibansky, Edwin Panofsky and Fntz Sax], Saturn and Melancholy (London Thomas Nelson, 1964) See also Jean Seznec, The Sun'tval qftlie Pagan Cods, trans , Barbara Sessions (Princeton Princeton Univ Press, 1972) 5 Frederick A de Armas, "El planeta mds impio Basiho's Role in La vida es sverlo", MLR 81 (1986), 900-11 6 Frederick A de Armas, "The Return of Astraea An Astral-Imperial Myth in Calderon's/^ vida es sueHo", in Calderdn at the Tercentenary Comparatwe Views, eds, Wendell M Aycock and Sydney P Cravens (Lubbock- Texas Tech Press, 1982), pp 135-59 7 Alexander A Parker, "The Father-Son Conflict in the Theatre of Calderon", FMLS 2 (1966), 99-113 However, Thomas A O'Connordocuments Calderon's conunued concern over the father-son relationship in "The Father Figure on Fortunas de Andrdmeda v Perseo A Comment on the Father-Son Mouf in Calderonian Drama", paper presented at the fifth annual Golden Age Spanish Drama Symposium, at the University of Texas at El Paso, March 6-8, 1985 " William R Blue, The Development of Imagery in Calderdn's Comedias (York, South Carolina Spanish Literature Publications, 1983), p 117 0 In a recent book, A A Parker includes Apolo v Clemene, Eco v Narciso and El monstmo de /as jardines in his analysis of the philosophy of love held by Calderon Tlie Philosoplit of Love in Spanish Literature (Edinburgh Edinburgh Univ Press, 1985), pp 174-215 10 All textual references to Calderon's plays, unless specified, are from Pedro Calderdn de la Barca, Obrascompletas, ed , Angel Valbuena Bnones (Madrid Aguilar, 1966), Vol 1 11 Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Comedias, eds, D W Cruickshank and J E Varev (London Gregg International Publishers, 1973), Vol 8, p 189 This \olume is a facsimile ediuon of the Tercera parte de comedias (Madrid, 1664) " Beryl Rowland, Animals with Human Faces (Knoxvtlle The Univ of Tennessee Press, 1973), p 158 For a discussion of the popularity of the viper tale in Golden Age Spain see Frederick A de Armas, "The Serpent Star Dream and Horoscope in Calderon's La vida essueiio", FMLS 19 (1983), 208-23 " Pedro Calderon de la Barca, La hija delaire, ed , Gwyne Edwards (London Tamesis, 1970), p 35, w.875-76 14 For examples from the AmadU de Caula and El cabellero del cisne see Frederick A de Armas, "The Serpent Star. Dream and Horoscope in Calderon's La vida es suetlo' 15 Mamhus, Astronomica, trans a n d e d . G P Goold (Cambridge Harvard Univ Press, 1977). p 157 16 On Saturn as benefic ruler see Harry Levin, The M^th of the Golden Age in the Renaissance (Oxford Oxford Univ Press, 1969), p 112 On the tyrannical Saturn see Berchonus' discussion ated in Raymond Klibansky et aL, Saturn and Melancholy, p. 177 17 Baltasar de Vitona, Teatro de los diosa de la gentibdad (Madrid Imprenta Real, 1676) See Chapter Six, "De como Saturno fue tenido por uno de los siete planetas", pp 19-24 Most of the

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characteristics of Saturn discussed in this essay are mentioned by Vitona and were thus easily accessible to Calderon Saturn as the "lmentor" of astrology is not a common view A more prevalent opinion is given by Juan de Pineda who, in his discussion of astrologia states "cuyo inventor dice Phnio haber sido Atlante He later adds "otros acuden, dtciendo que J6mco, hijo de Noe, tu\o revelaa6n de la astrologfa y que did avisos a Nembroth para edificar a Babilonia' Juan de Pineda, Didlogosfamihares de h agncuUura cnstiana (Madrid Adas, 1963), Vol 3, pp 293-4 The nouon that Nembroth spread astrological knowledge to the Babylonians may have been one of the reasons for the assoaauon of astrology with Saturn since the deity is often equated with Nembroth as in Natalis Comes, Mxthologu, trans Jean Baudouin (New York Garland, 1976). Vol l , p 121 " Saturn causes "great prysonmeni' according to The KaUnder of Shtepehards (c 1585), ed S K Heninger (Delmar, New York Scholar's Facsimilies, 1979), p 162 This is an ancient concepuon that can be traced back to the Arabic astrologers such as Albumasar See Raymond Klibanskye/ al, Saturn and Melancholy, p 131 ''' "Les morts violenies sont I'ceuvre des deux bourreaux astrologiques, Satume et Mars" (A Bouche-Leclerq, L'As/ro/ogKgr-oi [Chicago Bolchazy-Carduca, 1979, rpt 1899 ed |, pp 42223) "And this planet is cause of hasty death" (The Kalender ofSheepehards, p 162)
m 51

Elisabeth Labrousse, L'Enlric de Satume an Lion (La Haye Marunus Nyhoff, 1974), pp 25-26

Laroiisse Encyclopedia ofAstrology (New York McGraw-Hill, 1980), p 241, andj C Eade,77tf Forgotten Sky A Guide to Astrology m English Literature (Oxford Clarendon Press, 1984), pp 31 -32 The relauonship between retrogradauon and Saturn produced an extremely negauve influence Marsilio Ficino, for example, wrote a letter to his fnend Giovanni Cavalcanu, explaining that he was having difficulty solving problems since! . . . . .^ n f my Saturn retrogressing in Leo" Tlie Letters of Marsilio Fiano - _ Vol 2, p 30 " On the nouon of displacement see Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism (Princeton Princeton Unn Press, 1957), p 137 Ptolemy See Raymond KJibansky et al, Saturn and Melancholy, p 184
M On the opposiuon between the malefic Saturn and the amorous Venus in the drama of the period see Frederick A de Armas, "The Saturn Factor Examples of Astrological Imagery in Lope de Vega's Works", in William C McCrary and Jose A Madngal, edx, Studies in Honour of Everett W Hesse (Lincoln, Nebraska Society for Spanish and Spanish American Studies, 1981), pp 63-80 53 Marsilio Fiano was the Renaissance philosopher who was most preoccupied with the influence of Saturn His theories are explained by Frances A Yates "Melancholy students who ha\ e used up their vital powers in their studies are advised to a\ oid as far as possible plants, herbs, animals, stones, and the like belonging to Saium, and to use and surround themselves with plants, herbs, animals, stones, people, belonging to the more fortunate, cheerful and lifegiung planets, of which the chief are Sol, Jupiter and Venus" (Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition [Chicago The Unn of Chicago Press, 1964], p 63) These three planets are used in the three plays that deal with a saturnine astrologer-king in Calder6n to combat the malefic influence of planet and icon In La vida es sueilo, Jupiter's influence is exerted through Segismundo. in Los Ires afectos de amor, the benefic Venus is able to temper the murderous rays of Saturn, and in Apoloy Climene, Apolo is the Sol that attempts to transform the malefic planet's horoscope 91 William C McCrary, The Goldfish and the Hawk A Study of Lope de Vega's Tragedy "El cabalUro de Olmedo" (Chapel Hill Uni\ of North Carolina Press, 1968), p 121 Teresa S Soufas echoes this assessment of melancholies in her discussion of King Pedro in El midico de su honra- "For melancholies were often thought to be endowed with the power to see into the future " See her stud\. "Be>ond Justice and Cruelty Calderdn's King Pedro", JHP6 (1981), 61 17 On secrecy as a common attribute of tyrants during the Spanish Golden Age see Dian Fox, "Kingship and Community in La vida es sueilo", BHS 58 (1981), 217-28 *" When Segismundo is drugged and taken to the palace, he awakens in a melancholy slate "iQu melancolico esta1" (v. 1248) The courtiers understand that he needs music and song to combat this condiuon, but the pnnce rejects benefic sounds m favour of martial music "las musicas militares / solo he gustado oir" (w 1258-59) Pedro Calderon de la Barca, La vida essuefto (cornedmy loa), ed . Enrique Rull (Madrid Alhambra, 1980)

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The relationship between Saturn and die sun goes as far back, as Babylonian astrologv, according to Raymond Klibansky el al, Saturn and Melancholy, p 136 A Bouchd-Leclerq comments "Peut-etre les Chaldeens se representaient-ils Satume comme un soleil, vieilli, refroidi, ralenu" (L'Astrologiegrecque, p 93) The heroine of Laesliella de Sevilla has been portrayed as asol nigcr "She is described in terms of a black light which can eclipse the bright light of ihe sun The one remaining planet is Satum which in astrology and alchemy was considered a black star and asol niger" (James F Burke, "The Estrella de Sevilla and ihe Tradition of Saturnine Melanchoh", BHSbl [1974], 144)
50 For Saturn as the planet of magic see Raymond Klibansky el al, Saturn and Melanchoh, pp 131, 149 " Robert ter Horst, "A New Literary History of Don Pedro Calder6n", in Appioacliei to Ihe Theatre oj Calderdn, ed , Michael D McCaha (Washington Umv Press of America, 1982), p 39 w