Lope de Vega'S 'Comedias de Tema Religioso' Re-Creations and Re-Presentations

LOPE DE VEGA'S `COMEDIAS DE
TEMA RELIGIOSO'
Re-creations and Re-presentations
Elaine Canning
Monografías A
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Colección Támesis
SERIE A: MONOGRAFÍAS, 204
LOPE DE VEGA’S COMEDIAS

DE TEMA RELIGIOSO:
RE-CREATIONS AND
RE-PRESENTATIONS
Unlike his secular drama, Lope de Vega’s religious plays have been
largely neglected. This two-part study aims to redress the scant atten-
tion paid to the comedias de tema religioso by offering an analysis of
the thematic axes of five plays. Part I, which is concerned with the
re-creation of the source material for the seventeenth-century stage,
is based on a discussion of La hermosa Ester and the Isidro plays. The
generation of a variety of forms of audience reception through the
manipulation of biblical and hagiographical material is examined, as
well as Lope’s treatment of socio-literary themes including love and
the role of woman. The relationship between religious drama and
metatheatre forms the focus of part II. Lope’s use of self-referential
devices in Lo fingido verdadero and La buena guarda serves to
highlight the illusory nature of life and the relationship between
lo verdadero and lo divino which lie at the heart of the theocentric
world view of seventeenth-century Spain. The conflicting imperatives
of human and divine love and the issue of identity are features of all
of the plays. Furthermore, it is illustrated that the interplay between
illusion and reality and the relationship between playwright and
audience are crucial to Lope’s dramatic output.
Dr Elaine Canning lectures in Spanish at the University of Wales,
Bangor.
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LOPE DE VEGA’S
COMEDIAS DE TEMA
RELIGIOSO
RE-CREATIONS AND
RE-PRESENTATIONS
Elaine M. Canning
TAMESIS
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© Elaine M. Canning 2004
The right of Elaine Canning to be identified as the author of this work

has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation

no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
First published 2004 by Tamesis, Woodbridge
ISBN 1 85566 030 X
Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd

PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
PO Box 41026, Rochester, NY 14604–4126, USA
website: www.boydell.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Canning, Elaine M., 1973-

Lope de Vega’s comedias de tema religioso : re-creations and
re-presentations / Elaine M. Canning.
p. cm. – (Colección Támesis. Serie A, Monografías ; 204)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-85566-030-X (Hardback : alk. paper)
1. Vega, Lope de, 1562-1635–Criticism and interpretation. 2.
Religious drama, Spanish–History and criticism. 3. Christian saints in
literature. I. Title: Comedias de tema religioso. II. Title.
PQ6490.R4C36 2004
863'.3–dc22 2003024936
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by

St Edmundsbury Press Limited, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vi
Abbreviations vii
Introduction 1
PART I: RE-CREATION AND RE-PRESENTATION:

THE CASES OF ESTHER AND ISIDRO
1 La hermosa Ester and the Re-creation of the Biblical Esther 9
2 The Re-presentation of Madrid’s patrón in La niñez de San 44
Isidro and La juventud de San Isidro
PART II: DRAMATISING THE DRAMATIC:

METATHEATRE AND THE COMEDIA DE TEMA RELIGIOSO
3 Metatheatre and the Spanish comedia religiosa: An overview 87
4 Lo fingido verdadero as metaplay 95
5 Doña Clara – saint or sinner? Role-playing within the 128
Role in La buena guarda
Conclusion 139
Appendix 141
Bibliography 142
Index 151
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my thanks to Dr Isabel Torres of Queen’s University,

Belfast, for her constant guidance and encouragement, and to my family for
their continual support. I am also grateful to the staff at the Biblioteca
Nacional, Madrid and at the British Library, London, for their provision of
essential materials.
The author and publishers would like to record their thanks to the
University of Wales, Bangor for assistance in the costs of publication of this
book.
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ABBREVIATIONS
BCom Bulletin of the Comediantes

BH Bulletin Hispanique
BHS Bulletin of Hispanic Studies
BRAH Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia
CH Crítica hispánica
FMLS Forum for Modern Language Studies
Hisp Hispania
Hispan Hispanófila
HR Hispanic Review
JHPh Journal of Hispanic Philology
KRQ Kentucky Romance Quarterly
MLN Modern Language Notes
MLQ Modern Language Quarterly
MLR Modern Language Review
M.Phil Modern Philology
Neophil Neophilologus
NRFH Nueva revista de filología hispánica
RCan Revista canadiense de estudios hispánicos
RH Revue Hispanique
RHM Revista hispánica moderna
RN Romance Notes
RR Romanic Review
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INTRODUCTION
While the secular drama of Lope Félix de Vega Carpio (1562–1635) has
attracted much critical attention, his comedias de tema religioso constitute a
corpus of his works which has been largely neglected. Traditionally, Lope de
Vega’s religious plays have been analysed and categorised in terms of their
biblical or hagiographical content alone. Ménendez y Pelayo, for example,
divides them into two groups – Comedias de asuntos de la sagrada escritura,
and Comedias de vidas de santos – and does not attempt to study them beyond
their religious framework.1 It is possible that works like that of Menéndez y
Pelayo, which are preoccupied solely with lo religioso, have discouraged
critics of Golden Age drama from exploring the many other possibilities that
Lope’s comedias de tema religioso may offer to comedia scholarship.
Since the publication of Menéndez y Pelayo’s Estudios, some attempts
have been made to redress the scant regard paid to these plays. In 1935, José
Montesinos stressed that Lope’s religious drama was deserving of further crit-
ical attention – ‘El teatro religioso de Lope no ha sido objeto de atento estu-
dio, aunque lo merecía’.2 However, very few scholars rose to this challenge
and those that did tended to concentrate on Lope’s hagiographical drama.
Principal among them are Garasa, Aragone Terni, Dassbach and Morrison.3
In Santos en escena, Garasa provides a summary of twenty-seven plays,
together with a general analysis of three aspects of Lope’s principal hagio-
graphical works. Specifically, he examines the role of the angel and the
demon, the presentation of supernatural interventions and miracles and the
development of the themes of virtue and sin.4 The fundamental characteristics
1 See his Estudios sobre el teatro de Lope de Vega, ed. Don Adolfo Bonilla y San
Martín, 6 vols (Madrid: V. Suárez, 1919–27), I (1919), pp. 131–316; II (1921), pp. 1–113.
2 See Lope de Vega, Barlaán y Josafat, ed. José F. Montesinos (Madrid: Centro de
Estudios Históricos, 1935), pp. 189–90.

3 Delfín Leocadio Garasa, Santos en escena (Buenos Aires: Cuadernos del Sur, 1960);
Elisa Aragone Terni, Studio sulle “Comedias de Santos” di Lope de Vega (Firenze: Casa
Editrice D’Anna, 1971); Elma Dassbach, La comedia hagiográfica del Siglo de Oro
español, Ibérica, XXII (New York: Peter Lang, 1997) and Robert Morrison, Lope de Vega
and the Comedia de Santos, Ibérica, XXXIII (New York: Peter Lang, 2000).
4 It should be noted that Garasa, like the other critics examined here, includes several
works in his study which are categorised as ‘Comedias dudosas’ by Morley and Bruerton
in Cronología de las comedias de Lope de Vega (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1968), p. 603.
2 ELAINE CANNING
of the genre are examined by Aragone Terni in Studio sulle “Comedias de

Santos” di Lope de Vega, which includes a classification of twenty-eight of
Lope’s plays as hagiographical works. In addition, Aragone Terni discusses
the opposition which the comedia de santo generated in seventeenth-century
Spain, primarily because of its use of stage machinery. She also explores the
use of amorous and comical elements in Lope’s religious drama. Dassbach
conducts a comparative study of the hagiographical plays of Lope, Tirso and
Calderón in her work, La comedia hagiográfica del Siglo de Oro español. She
is concerned not only with an identification of types of saints, but also with
the ‘espectacularidad escénica’ produced by the incorporation of supernatural
features into the comedia de santo, as well as the function of the sub-plot and
the gracioso.5 Finally, Morrison’s Lope de Vega and the Comedia de Santos,
the most recent work on the subject, centres on twenty-five plays, for which
he provides a summary and commentary. However, Morrison’s work is par-
ticularly interesting because it is the first to provide a lucid survey of the
saint’s play in Spain and to investigate the potential dramatic and non-
dramatic sources of the comedias de santos.
Interestingly, while critical surveys of Lope’s hagiographical works have
been limited, his biblical plays have been the subject of even fewer lengthy
analyses. Three Ph.D. theses have gone some way towards acknowledging the
significance of Lope’s comedias bíblicas. In 1952, Cecilia Ross’ dissertation
on La hermosa Ester provided a new edition of the play.6 Subsequently,
Robert Shervill conducted a thematic survey of the Old Testament drama of
the Golden Age by dividing his thesis according to Old Testament characters.7
For instance, it includes chapters on what he terms ‘The Moses theme’, ‘The
Tobias theme’ and ‘The Esther theme’. Several years later, Haydee Macera
Burkort studied typological characters and events in eight biblical plays, of
which she acknowledged that three were controversial regarding authorship.8
Nevertheless, as Jack Weiner rightly pointed out, Golden Age biblical plays
in general are still awaiting full appreciation: ‘El estudio de los temas del
Antiguo Testamento en la literatura del Siglo de Oro es un campo que apenas
se ha examinado.’9
For the purposes of this study, I will take into account only those comedias de tema
religioso of which Lope’s authorship is certain.
5 See La comedia hagiográfica, p. 99.
6 ‘Lope de Vega: La hermosa Ester’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of
California, 1952).
7 ‘The Old Testament Drama of the Siglo de Oro’ (unpublished doctoral thesis,
University of North Carolina, 1958).

8 ‘Typology in the Biblical Plays of Lope de Vega’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, Florida
State University, 1983).

9 ‘Lope de Vega, un puesto de cronista y La hermosa Ester (1610–1621)’, in Actas del
VIII Congreso de la Asociación Internacional de Hispanistas, ed. A. David Kossoff et al.,

2 vols (Madrid: Istmo, 1986), II, pp. 723–30 (p. 724).
INTRODUCTION 3
If lengthy studies of Lope’s religious drama have been few and far between,
articles on some of the individual plays have been a little more apparent.
These include Concejo’s examination of the female in La hermosa Ester,
Farrell’s analysis of the treatment of Jews in El niño inocente de La Guardia,
Gallego Roca’s study of staging techniques in the Isidro trilogy, and Dixon’s
examination of metatheatrical devices in Lo fingido verdadero.10 These analy-
ses have undoubtedly contributed to a regeneration of interest in Lope’s reli-
gious plays, and have illuminated a need for a more detailed exploration of
the issues which lie at the heart of them. It will be the aim of this book to
continue and develop previous research by offering a comprehensive analysis
of Lope’s comedias religiosas; an analysis which rejects the traditional,
limiting, formulaic classification. My approach will demonstrate that Lope’s
biblical and hagiographical plays lend themselves to a comparative investiga-
tion, especially in terms of their thematic axes. While the conclusions of this
book are based on an examination of twenty-nine of Lope’s comedias de tema
religioso, the scope of the study does not lend itself to a meticulous analysis
of each play.11 Consequently, the salient features of five of these comedias
religiosas, which best exemplify the concepts being treated, will be examined
in detail. The remaining plays will be cited where appropriate.
I have opted for a division of this book into two sections in order to highlight
what I consider to be two of the fundamental characteristics of Lope’s religious
dramatic works. Part I presents an examination of Lope’s re-creation of biblical
and hagiographical material for the seventeenth-century stage. My primary con-
cern in both chapters 1 and 2 is the concept of audience reception and the play-
wright’s ability to challenge the horizon of expectation of the corral audience
through the re-creation and/or omission of the source material. In an analysis of
La hermosa Ester, the comedia bíblica which is considered in chapter 1, Lope’s
manipulation of the Book of Esther, in order to treat contemporary issues such
as love and honour, will be examined. Moreover, the possibility of the audience’s
susceptibility to a more subversive reception of the play, involving the degrad-
ation of the Christian and the elevation of the Jew, will also be highlighted.
While the re-creation of a biblical text presented an obvious challenge,
Lope’s dramatic craftsmanship was tried even more seriously when he
10 Pilar Concejo, ‘Función y simbolismo de la mujer en La hermosa Ester y en La judía
de Toledo’, in Lope de Vega y los orígenes del teatro español, Actas del I Congreso
Internacional sobre Lope de Vega, ed. Manuel Criado de Val (Madrid: EDI-6, 1981),
pp. 461–71; Anthony J. Farrell, ‘Imagen, motivo y técnica dramática en El niño inocente de
La Guardia’, in Lope de Vega y los orígenes, pp. 399–404; Miguel Gallego Roca, ‘Efectos
escénicos en las comedias de Lope de Vega sobre la vida de San Isidro: Tramoya y poesía’,
Criticón, 45 (1989), 113–30; Victor Dixon, ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’,
Diablotexto, 4–5 (1997–98), 97–114 and ‘ “Ya tienes la comedia prevenida . . . La imagen
de la vida”: Lo fingido verdadero’, Cuadernos de teatro clásico, 11 (1999), 53–71.
11 See Appendix 1 for a list of comedias religiosas which form the focus of this study.
4 ELAINE CANNING
attempted to represent the life of Madrid’s patrón. Chapter 2 explores the

representation of the popularly acclaimed Isidro in both La niñez de San Isidro
and La juventud de San Isidro, which were composed for the purposes of the
celebration of Isidro’s canonisation in 1622. My analysis of La niñez de San
Isidro concentrates on the various techniques employed by Lope in order to
establish a relationship between the unknown child Isidro and his adult equiva-
lent. It will reveal that, in spite of Lope’s lack of source material relating to the
saint’s childhood, the necessity to comply with the audience’s horizon of expect-
ation determined his presentation of a pious, ‘unchildlike’ niño. In contrast, an
examination of La juventud de San Isidro will highlight, paradoxically, that the
audience’s familiarity with the source material granted Lope greater liberties in
his re-creation of Madrid’s patrón, permitting him to present both the saintly
qualities and the more human side of his main protagonist. It is my contention
that Isidro’s canonisation constitutes a very authentic ‘resolution’ to the plays in
question. Such a proposition underlines the relationship between reality and
theatrical illusion, which forms the very essence of metatheatre.
It is precisely a concern with metatheatre and the comedia religiosa which
defines the second part of this book. Despite the ground which has been
covered to date on metadrama and the comedia, Catherine Larson states
explicitly that this particular area of comedia scholarship continues to provide
a wealth of investigative opportunities: ‘I would submit that the relationship
between metatheater and the comedia still offers the critic much material for
textual analysis. Comedia scholars have accomplished a great deal, but the
field nonetheless remains open for future exploration and study.’12 Stoll
similarly highlights the abundance of suitable material available by insisting
‘self-conscious techniques are so prevalent that they can virtually be con-
sidered a convention’.13 Nonetheless, not all Renaissance commentators are
comfortable with the application of a metatheatrical approach to the comedia.
Consequently, chapter 3 reviews and engages with the debate on the comedia
as metaplay and examines the several key studies on this topic. Chapters 4
and 5 then focus on the metadramatic quality of Lo fingido verdadero and
La buena guarda. Employing Hornby’s categories of metadrama, my exami-
nation of Lo fingido verdadero deals with the use of role-playing within
the role and the play within the play in order to elucidate the fundamental
themes of Lope’s metaplay.14 In chapter 5, my analysis of La buena guarda is
12 See her ‘Metatheater and the Comedia: Past, Present, and Future’, in The Golden Age
Comedia: Text, Theory, and Performance, eds Charles Ganelin and Howard Mancing
(West Lafayette: Purdue UP, 1994), pp. 204–21 (p. 216). Since the publication of Larson’s
article in 1994, a significant number of works on the metatheatrical qualities of both
secular and religious comedias have appeared. See chapter 3, p. 89 for further details.
13 Anita K. Stoll, ‘Teaching Golden Age Drama: Metatheater as Organizing Principle’,
Hisp, 75 (1992), 1343–47, (p. 1343).

14 See Richard Hornby, Drama, Metadrama, and Perception (Lewisburg: Bucknell UP,
1986).
INTRODUCTION 5
concerned with a definition of Clara as saint or sinner, based on her engage-

ment in role-playing within the role. My studies of both plays will conclude
that it is precisely because of the seventeenth-century theocentric world view
that the Spanish comedia religiosa can be viewed in a metatheatrical light.
I will also go beyond an identification of metatheatrical properties in both
Lo fingido verdadero and La buena guarda to examine how these devices
manipulate audience reaction.
The methodology which informs my reading of the plays in both sections
of this book is based upon my awareness of the play as only fully realised in
the context of its relationship to the corral audience. Although my interpret-
ation of the plays in Part I is determined by an examination of the source
material and Lope’s re-creation of this material, my analysis of how Lope uses
these written texts is ultimately linked to the impact of his re-creation on that
audience. My consideration of a more subversive form of audience reception
is a postmodern concern and is based, to some extent, on the theories of
Connor (Swietlicki), Friedman and Simerka.15 This approach, of course, relates
to my examination of the concept of metatheatre in the comedia. While the
term itself was not coined until 1963 by Lionel Abel, it cannot be denied that
the fundamental metatheatrical devices described by Hornby are prevalent in
the comedia religiosa. By using a modern theory, I will attempt to illuminate
for the modern reader issues which lie at the heart of the seventeenth century.
Clearly, then, in both parts of this book, my examination of the models is
conducted very much with a seventeenth-century audience in mind. Above all,
however, my study of Lope’s comedias religiosas is concerned with the inter-
play between illusion and reality. In Part I, the dichotomy between illusion
and reality is a key feature of the Isidro plays, where the canonisation of
Madrid’s patrón constantly inhabits the texts, while in Part II, the double
image of individual characters in both Lo fingido verdadero and La buena
guarda is responsible for the generation of audience dissociation. Ultimately,
it will be my intention to demonstrate that the critical marginalisation of
Lope’s religious drama has been unjustified. The success of the comedia
religiosa, like that of the secular comedia, was very much dependent upon the
relationship between playwright and audience. Likewise, this book will high-
light that the dramatic techniques employed by Lope in both his religious and
secular works are identical, even if some of the issues which he treats in these
comedias differ.
15 See Catherine Connor (Swietlicki), ‘Postmodernism avant la lettre: The Case of Early
Modern Spanish Theater’, Gestos, 9 (1994), 43–59; Edward H. Friedman, ‘Postmodernism

and the Spanish Comedia: The Drama of Mediation’, Gestos, 9 (1994), 61–78; and Barbara
Simerka, ‘Early Modern Skepticism and Unbelief and the Demystification of Providential
Ideology in El burlador de Sevilla’, Gestos, 23 (1997), 39–66. For further details on these
studies, see chapter 1, p. 11, n. 8.
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PART I
RE-CREATION AND RE-PRESENTATION:

THE CASES OF ESTHER AND ISIDRO
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1
LA HERMOSA ESTER AND THE RE-CREATION
OF THE BIBLICAL ESTHER
Any dramatist writing during Spain’s Golden Age was acutely aware that
he was writing for a public obsessed by fe, salvación, gracia divina,
condenación and of course Dios. Bartolomé Bennassar claims that ‘las cues-
tiones de la fe preocupaban en las conversaciones corrientes, en las plazas, a
lo largo de los caminos’.1 The establishment of the Inquisition in Spain in
1478 to maintain religious homogeneity throughout the Peninsula, coupled
with the Council of Trent’s efforts to christianise the masses from the mid-
sixteenth century onwards, obviously contributed to the religious fanaticism
which swamped Spain in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.2 Within this
climate it is not surprising that the comedia de tema religioso became
extremely popular among audiences of the corrales. For that reason, a signifi-
cant number of religious dramas on various themes can be found among
the corpus of plays attributed to many of the most important, influential
1 See his La España del Siglo de Oro, trans. Pablo Bordonava, 3rd edn (Barcelona:
Crítica, 1994), p. 171.

2 The Spanish Inquisition was founded as an institution of the church following Pope
Sixtus IV’s approval of Ferdinand and Isabella’s official application for its establishment
in 1477. On the role and impact of the Inquisition in Spain, see for example Henry Kamen,
The Spanish Inquisition (New York: The New American Library, 1965); Jean Pierre Dedieu,
‘The Inquisition and Popular Culture in New Castile’, in Inquisition and Society in
Early Modern Europe, ed. and trans. Stephen H. Haliczer (London: Croom Helm, 1987),
pp. 129–46; and virgilio Pinto Crespo, ‘Thought Control in Spain’, also in Inquisition and
Society, pp. 171–88.. The Council of Trent (1545–1563) reviewed and tackled religious
corruption within the church and took various decisive measures including the institutionali-
sation of preaching, the retraining of the lower clergy and the promotion of the position of
saints. On the Tridentine reforms, see Jean Pierre Dedieu, ‘ “Christianization” in New Castile:
Catechism, Communion, Mass, and Confirmation in the Toledo Archbishopric, 1540–1650’,
trans. Susan Isabel Stein, in Culture and Control in Counter-Reformation Spain, eds Anne
J. Cruz and Mary Elizabeth Perry (Minneapolis: U Minnesota Press, 1992), pp. 1–24 and
Sara T. Nalle, God in La Mancha. Religious Reform and the People of Cuenca, 1500–1650
(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1992).
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10 ELAINE CANNING
dramatists of the Golden Age, including Mira de Amescua,3 Tirso de Molina4

and Calderón de la Barca.5
What is particularly fascinating about the religious plays of this period is
how they might have been interpreted by the seventeenth-century public.
Golden Age dramatists were aiming to entertain an audience which not only
believed that events as recounted in the Bible were factual, but which, primar-
ily as a result of the oral transmission of detail, was also familiar with the
Scriptures (preachers instructed through sermons and biblical catechisms).6
3 The plays by Mira de Amescua (1574?–1644) based on biblical narrative include the
following: El arpa de David; El clavo de Jael; El más feliz cautiverio, y los sueños de
Josef, a dramatisation of the story of Joseph and his brothers; Los prodigios de la vara, y
Capitán de Israel, based on Exodus 2–14, and El rico avariento, which treats the parable
of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16. 19–31. Among Mira de Amescua’s
hagiographic plays appear the following: El esclavo del demonio; El santo sin nacer y
mártir sin morir; Vida y muerte de la monja de Portugal, and La mesonera del cielo. On
Mira de Amescua’s religious plays, see James A. Castañeda, Mira de Amescua (Boston:
Twayne, 1977), pp. 109–38.
4 The biblical plays of Tirso de Molina (1580–1648) include: La mujer que manda en
casa; La vida y muerte de Herodes; La mejor espigadera; Tanto es lo de más como lo de

menos, a dramatisation of the parables of the rich man and the poor man and of the
Prodigal Son, and La venganza de Tamar, which presents the rape of Tamar by her half-
brother, Amnon. Tirso also wrote three plays on Santa Juana which are known simply as
La Santa Juana. On Tirso de Molina’s religious theatre, see J. C. J. Metford, ‘Tirso de
Molina’s Old Testament Plays’, BHS, 27 (1950), 149–63; and Francisco Ruiz Ramón,
Historia del teatro español (desde sus orígenes hasta 1900) (Madrid: Alianza Editorial,
1967), pp. 255–69.
5 Apart from the many autos which he wrote on Old and New Testament themes,
Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681) wrote several biblical plays including Los cabellos de
Absalón. Calderón also wrote plays concerned with Roman Catholic dogma, such as
La devoción de la cruz, La Virgen del Sagrario and El purgatorio de San Patricio. On
Calderón’s religious drama, see Lucy Elizabeth Weir, The Ideas Embodied in the Religious
Drama of Calderón (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1940). See also
‘Interpretación dramática y sociocultural de pasajes bíblicos en Calderón’, in España,
teatro y mujeres, eds Martin Gosman and Hub Hermans (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1989),
pp. 23–31, in which Hans Flasche compares Calderón’s auto, La cena del Rey Baltasar
with its biblical source. Flasche claims that a comparative study between autos and their
respective biblical sources, particularly in Calderón’s case, is an area of research still
awaiting investigation (p. 23).
6 The Church and the Inquisition endeavoured to maintain control of instruction in
biblical matters and, for that reason, the Inquisitor-General Fernando de Valdés, appointed
in 1547, restricted access to the Bible in the vernacular. Catholic versions of the Bible did
not begin to circulate in Spain until the eighteenth century. Medieval versions in the
vernacular did exist, but they were for the most part Jewish compositions. Margherita
Morreale claims that preaching, which was institutionalised by the Council of Trent, was
a channel for the diffusion of biblical texts. See her ‘Vernacular Scriptures in Spain’, in
The Cambridge History of the Bible, ed. G. W. H. Lamp, 3 vols (London: Cambridge UP,
1970, 1969, 1963), II (1969), pp. 465–91 (p. 486). Catechisms were a popular means of
instruction in biblical matters. According to José Ramón Guerrero, the biblical catechism
was a new type of catechism which featured in the first half of the sixteenth century. See
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RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 11
Similarly, the contemporary audience was well acquainted with hagiography.

The cult of the saints, an essential component of popular religion in Spain
from medieval times, was promoted by the Council of Trent in the sixteenth
century. Following Trent, the authenticity of the works and miracles of ven-
erated saints was stressed by the removal of ‘dubious’ saints from the Roman
calendar and the implementation of a series of tests for new saints by the
Sacred Congregation of Rites.7 The audience’s familiarity with, and know-
ledge of, the subject matter of many of the religious plays performed in the
corrales, therefore, raises several key issues. Was it enough for a dramatist to
recreate a dramatic version faithful to the biblical narrative or the life of a
saint? Could he offer a frank regurgitation of stories and events without run-
ning the risk of sacrificing dramatic tension? How did the dramatist challenge,
if indeed this was his aim, the horizon of expectation of his spectators when
he was treating a subject which might be well known to some? Could these
plays have generated a univocal audience reaction or, indeed, could the indi-
vidual spectators have been receptive to other oppositional, even subversive,
elements of the individual play?8 My analysis of La hermosa Ester, La niñez
de San Isidro and La juventud de San Isidro will hopefully approximate an
answer to these questions, or at least provide a better understanding of the
complexity of creating drama in this context.
Catecismos españoles del siglo XVI. La obra catequética del Dr. Constantino Ponce de la
Fuente (Madrid: Instituto Superior de Pastoral, 1969), p. 169. By means of the catechism,
the preacher presented the biblical narrative as factual. Although literacy rates were rising
and religious books and pamphlets were circulating in Spain, the Inquisition was primarily
concerned with the prohibition of biblical material. See Nalle, God in La Mancha, p. 144.
7 See Sara T. Nalle, ‘A Saint for All Seasons: The Cult of San Julián’, in Culture and
Control, eds Cruz and Perry, pp. 25–50 (p. 33). Nalle analyses attempts to promote the
veneration of saints in response to the threat of the Protestant Reformation by focusing on
the resurrection of the cult of San Julián in Cuenca. According to Nalle, the tests which the
new saints had to pass were set to establish the quality of their writings, heroic virtues,
miracles and, if applicable, their martyrdom.
8 The complexity of audience reception is a postmodern concern. Three studies on the
relationship between postmodern criticism and the comedia have sought to offer new
possibilities of reinterpreting the comedia. In ‘Postmodernism avant la lettre’, Catherine
Connor (Swietlicki) highlights how postmodern theory can problematize traditional
comedia criticism’s narrow focus and by doing so, can open up new ways of interpreting
Golden Age drama. Edward H. Friedman also presents possibilities for analysing the
comedia from a postmodern perspective in ‘Postmodernism and the Spanish Comedia’.
He suggests that Golden Age theatre and postmodernism find a connecting point in the
use of metadramatic techniques (p. 61). Barbara Simerka examines unbelief and
skepticism in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and focuses on the reception of
unorthodox religious and philosophical discourses in El burlador de Sevilla. She argues
that the receptive spectator can interpret the play from an atheistic perspective. See her
‘Early Modern’. All three critics stress that, unlike traditional criticism, which focuses on
order and closure, postmodernism is concerned with openness, disorder, fragmentation,
the analysis of minor characters’ discourse and actions and the importance of subversive
elements.
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12 ELAINE CANNING
La hermosa Ester (1610), the play which forms the focus of this chapter, is
one of four biblical dramas of which Lope’s authorship is certain.9 This drama
has been chosen not only because of its controversial subject matter – the
triumph of the Jew – but also because it presents the success story of an indi-
vidual who assumed a position of power and authority against the odds. The
dramatic effectiveness of this play will be evaluated in terms of character
development, the expansion of biblical episodes, the omission of biblical
detail and the introduction of original material. La niñez de San Isidro (1622)
and La juventud de San Isidro (1622), both of which dramatise events in the
life of Madrid’s patron saint, will form the focus of chapter 2.10 The dramatic
techniques employed by Lope in his presentation of Isidro will be analysed in
an attempt to determine the essence of the image of Isidro which he wished
to convey, whether that of miracle worker, common man, or a fusion of both.
I will also examine whether the saintliness of Isidro was exaggerated in both
works, taking into account that they were written to coincide with the cele-
bration of the saint’s canonisation. Ultimately, I hope to explore the possible
reasons why Lope either recreates or omits original source material in his
dramatisations of the respective stories of Esther and Isidro.
The Book of Esther

According to Menéndez y Pelayo, La hermosa Ester ‘merece la palma entre
todas las comedias bíblicas de Lope’.11 A tragicomedia written in 1610, it was
9 Lope’s other biblical plays are Historia de Tobías, El robo de Dina and Los trabajos
de Jacob, which have attracted little critical attention. Historia de Tobías is based on the
Book of Tobit, a deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament which was written originally
about 200 BC in Hebrew or Aramaic, but now only exists in its totality in Greek and other
versions. El robo de Dina is based on Genesis 31. 17–Genesis 35. 1. The main action of the
play concentrates on Genesis 34, which involves the rape of Dinah (Dina), daughter of Jacob,
by Shechem (Siquen), son of Hamor the Hivite, (Emor), and the ritual of circumcision
forced upon Shechem and all his male subjects by Jacob’s sons. The play ends with the
slaughter of Siquen, his father and subjects and the appearance of an angel who advises
Jacob to settle in Bethel and construct an altar. Alan E. Knight, in ‘The Enacted Narrative:
From Bible to Stage in Late Medieval France’, Fifteenth-Century Studies, 15 (1989),
233–44 (p. 236) comments on the ‘inherently dramatic nature’ of the rape of Dinah and its
consequences. Los trabajos de Jacob was written as a sequel to El robo de Dina and was
to have formed a trilogy with a play on the Exodus from Egypt which, judging by the corpus
of works and collection of critical essays which exist, Lope does not appear to have written.
It is based on Genesis 37–47, which tells the story of Joseph and his brothers.
10 Lope also wrote a third play before 1622 on the saint entitled San Isidro, labrador
de Madrid (1598–1608) (probably 1604–06) in order to promote his canonisation. The

limited scope of this book does not permit a detailed examination of San Isidro, labrador
de Madrid, but comparative references to this earlier play will be made where appropriate.
11 See his Estudios, I, 178–86 (p. 179). The edition of La hermosa Ester used for the
purposes of this study is contained in Lope Félix de Vega Carpio, Obras selectas, estudio
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first published in Madrid in 1621 in Decimaquinta Parte de las Comedias de

Lope de Vega Carpio with a dedication to Doña Andrea María de Castrillo,
señora de Benazuza.12 As its title suggests, it is based on the Old Testament
Book of Esther, a popular story among European writers in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries.13 Spain was no exception to this trend with the appear-
ance of two autos on the story of Esther in the latter half of the sixteenth
century – Auto del Rey Asuero quando desconpuso a Basti and Auto del Rey
Asuero quando ahorco a Aman.14 Following Lope’s dramatisation, Felipe
Godínez wrote two plays on the same theme – La Reyna Ester (1613) and
Amán y Mardoqueo (1653);15 Joan Pinto Delgado composed a poem entitled
Poema de la Reina Ester en sexta rima (1627) and Don Juan Clímaco Salazar,
preliminar, biografía, bibliografía, notas y apéndices de Federico Carlos Sáinz de Robles,

2nd edn, 3 vols (México: Aguilar, 1991), III (Teatro 2), 105–35. All subsequent references
will be taken from this edition.
12 For full publication details of the Decimaquinta parte, see chapter 5, p. 128. An
autographed manuscript of La hermosa Ester can be found in the British Museum library
dated 5th April 1610. Jack Weiner examines the dedication of La hermosa Ester to Doña
Andrea María de Castrillo in ‘Lope de Vega, un puesto de cronista’.
13 In France, for example, a number of writers adopted the Book of Esther to suit their
own purposes. In 1566 Rivaudeau’s Aman appeared, followed by Pierre Matthieu’s trilogy,
Esther, Vashti and Aman between 1585 and 1589. In 1601 Montchretien wrote his
Aman ou La Vanité and Du Ryer composed his Esther in 1644. France’s most popular work
on the subject is Racine’s Esther. It was first performed at Saint-Cyr on 26 January 1689
before an audience which included Louis XIV, some courtiers and Mme de Maintenon
who commissioned Racine to write this work. Racine follows the biblical story quite
closely, but concentrates on Haman’s efforts to annihilate the Jews, Esther’s campaign to
overturn his edict and the killing of Haman at the end of the play. Vashti is not included
among the characters and only a passing reference is made to her. Each act takes place in
a different setting – Esther’s apartments, Assuérus’ throne-room and Esther’s gardens.
Music in the play is provided by J. B. Moreau. On Racine’s Esther, see for example Martin
Turnell, Jean Racine – Dramatist (London: Hamilton, 1972), pp. 279–95; Philip John
Yarrow, ‘Esther and Athalie’, in Racine (Oxford: Blackwell, 1978), pp. 82–90 and
R. J. Howells, ‘Racine’s Esther: Reintegration and Ritual’, FMLS, 20 (1984), 97–105.
14 These autos appear in the famous Códice de Autos Viejos, now kept at the Biblioteca
Nacional, Madrid. The characters of the first auto include Asuero (king), three pages, a butler
or steward (mayordomo), Vasti (queen) and three wise men. Among the characters of the
second auto are La Fortuna (Fortune), Amán, Ester, Asuero and an executioner (verdugo).
15 La Reyna Ester was instrumental in bringing about the inquisitional trial of Godínez,
who was of Jewish ancestry, in 1624. Amán y Mardoqueo was published in Quinta Parte
de las Comedias Escogidas de los meiores ingenios de España (Madrid, 1653) and is
the second play in this volume of twelve. Alice Goldberg produced annotated editions of
both plays. See Alice Goldberg, ‘Felipe Godínez, dos comedias: Edición anotada de
La Reyna Ester y Amán y Mardocheo con introducción’, Dissertation Abstracts
International, 43.2 (1982), 461A. For further information on Felipe Godínez, see Germán
Vega García-Luengos, ‘El libro de Ester en las versiones dramáticas de Lope de Vega y
Felipe Godínez’, Castilla, 2–3 (1981), 209–45; Alice Goldberg, ‘Felipe Godínez’s Queen
Esther Play’, BCom, 35 (1983), 47–49 and Carmen Menéndez Onrubia, ‘Aspectos
narrativos en la obra dramática de Felipe Godínez’, Criticón, 30 (1985), 201–33.
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14 ELAINE CANNING
a Jesuit, published a dramatic poem entitled Mardoqueo (Madrid, 1791). The

source material, the Book of Esther, which provides the subject matter of
these works and indeed which offered dramatic possibilities to Lope, merits
attention here.16
The Book of Esther tells the story of a Jewess named Esther who, exiled to
the Persian empire following Nebuchadnezzar II’s capture of Jerusalem, was
appointed queen by Ahasuerus and subsequently saved the Jewish people
from annihilation by Haman, the royal favourite.17 It originated in the first half
16 La hermosa Ester is Lope’s biblical play which has attracted most critical attention,
despite the fact that critical analyses of this drama are still scant in comparison to that of
Lope’s other, more famous secular comedias. Edward Glaser’s ‘Lope de Vega’s La hermosa
Ester’, Sefarad, 20 (1960), 110–35 is the most extensive study done on this work. Other
critics have generally conducted comparative studies. For example, some have compared the
female characters in this play with those in other works by Lope. See Pilar Concejo, ‘Función
y simbolismo’ in Lope de Vega y los orígenes, ed. Manuel Criadode Val, pp. 461–71 and
Diane Sacks, ‘Breaking the Silence: An Archetypal and Feminist Analysis of La hermosa
Ester, Fuente Ovejuna and La mal casada’, Dissertation Abstracts International, 50 (Dec
1989), 1677A. Others have concerned themselves with an analysis of the representation of
the Jew in this and other plays. See A. A. Sicroff, ‘Notas equívocas en dos dramatizaciones
de Lope del problema judaico: El niño inocente de La Guardia y La hermosa Ester’, in Actas
del VI Congreso Internacional de Hispanistas Celebrado en Toronto del 22 al 26 de agosto
de 1977, eds Alan M. Gordon and Evelyn Rugg (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1980),
pp. 701–05 and Roberta Zimmerman Lavine, ‘The Jew and the Converso in the Dramatic
Works of Lope de Vega’, Dissertation Abstracts International, 44 (1983), 185A. An
examination of the treatment of the Book of Esther in La hermosa Ester and works by other
writers has also been carried out. See for example Fishlock’s ‘Pinto Delgado’, Menéndez
Onrubia’s ‘Aspectos narrativos’ and Vega García-Luengos’ ‘El libro de Ester’. Jack Weiner
has examined the presentation of Esther, both from a Jewish point of view (Ester ⫽ Esther)
and a Christian perspective (Ester ⫽ prefiguration of the Virgin) in Golden Age drama in his
‘La reina Ester en el teatro del Siglo de Oro español: dos puntos de vista’, in Estudios sobre
el siglo de oro en homenaje a Raymond R. MacCurdy, eds Ángel González et al. (Madrid:
Cátedra, 1983), pp. 37–49. Most recently, Nancy Mayberry examined the function of the
concepts of obedience and disobedience, pride and humility in ‘Fearful Symmetry in Lope
de Vega’s La hermosa Ester’, Hispanófila, 132 (2001), 13–23.
17 On the Book of Esther, see for example The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: An
Illustrated Encyclopedia, eds George Arthur Buttrick et al., 4 vols (New York: Abingdon
Press, 1962), II, 149–52; The New Bible Dictionary, eds J. D. Douglas et al. (London:
Inter-Varsity Press, 1962), pp. 392–94; Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, ed. L. H. Brockington
(London: Nelson, 1969), pp. 216–46; Otto Kaiser, Introduction to the Old Testament, trans.
John Sturdy (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1975); and David J. A. Clines, The Esther Scroll
(Sheffield: JSOT, 1984). The Nebuchadnezzar of Esther is Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon
who reigned for 43 years (605–562 BC). He captured Jerusalem on 16 March 597 BC and
took Jehoiakim, King of Judah and many of his people back to Babylon. Major revolts
followed in Babylon (594 BC) and Judah (588–87 BC) and many more Jews were exiled to
Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is best remembered for his building projects. According to
legend, he was responsible for the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one
of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Ahasuerus is usually identified with Xerxes I
(approx. 519–465 BC) who reigned as king of Persia from 485–65 BC, ascending the throne
following his father’s death. Between 483 and 480 BC he invaded Greece and when he
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of the second century BC. One of the primary functions of the Book of Esther
is to explain the origins of the feast of Purim, an important date in the Jewish
calendar.18
The Book of Esther, before additions, is divided into ten chapters.19 The
first chapter relates the dethronement of Queen Vashti following her refusal
to obey her husband’s order to appear before him and all his male subjects. It
begins with a banquet lasting 180 days organised by King Ahasuerus, ruler of
the provinces stretching from India to Cush, and designed to entertain all his
nobles and officials. Ahasuerus next arranges another seven-day feast for all
the male inhabitants, poor and noble alike, of the citadel of Susa. Queen Vashti
holds a banquet at the same time for the women of Susa. On the seventh day
of the banquet, King Ahasuerus orders Queen Vashti to come before him and
his people so that everyone can admire her beauty. When Vashti refuses to
obey his order, Ahasuerus becomes extremely angry and, having consulted his
wise men, he issues a royal decree to all the provinces stating that Vashti has
been removed from her office.20
In the second chapter of Esther, King Ahasuerus appoints commissioners
in every province of his kingdom to seek out the most beautiful females and
introduce them into his harem for the purposes of selecting a new queen. The
women are entrusted to the care of a eunuch, and undergo twelve months of
beauty treatments before being presented to the king. Among the girls selected
finally retired to Asia Minor, he left his brother-in-law Mardonius in charge of his army.
Xerxes was murdered by Artabanus, captain of the palace guard at Persepolis and was
succeeded by his son Artaxerxes I, who reigned from 465–25 BC. In the Book of Esther,
no references are made to the historical events of Xerxes’ reign.
18 The feast of Purim commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from
destruction as recorded in the Book of Esther. It is celebrated one month before Passover
and is characterised by the reading of the Scroll of Esther in synagogues. Held on the 14th
and 15th of Adar (springtime), it is a joyous celebration with feasting, almsgiving,
dramatic performances and the recital of the text of Esther.
19 The additions, known as the Apocryphal (of Greek: apokryphos ‘hidden’) parts of
Esther constitute six passages made up of a total of 107 verses not found in the Hebrew
text but included in the Greek version. For details on the additions to Esther, as well as their
inclusion in the Vulgate, see pp. 18–20 of this chapter. Details on chapters 1–10 of Esther
are taken from Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1979),
pp. 567–76.
20 According to Jack Weiner and Edward Glaser, Josephus’ Jewish Antiquities was also
an important source of reference for Lope on the story of Esther. See, respectively, ‘La reina
Ester’, p. 38 and ‘La hermosa Ester’, p. 112. In Jewish Antiquities, which appeared
AD 93–94, Josephus paraphrases the Book of Esther. Unlike the Biblical version of the story,
he also provides a reason for Vashti’s refusal to obey Ahasuerus. Josephus states: ‘She,
however, in observance of the laws of the Persians, which forbid their women to be seen by
strangers, did not go to the king’. See Flavius Josephus, Josephus, trans. Henry St John
Thackeray et al., The Loeb Classical Library, 9 vols (London: Heinemann, 1926–65), VI,
trans. Ralph Marcus (1937), 403–57 (p. 407). Note: Jewish Antiquities is contained in vols
IV–IX (1930–65).
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16 ELAINE CANNING
is Esther, daughter of Abihail, a Jewess who has been brought up by her

cousin Mordecai. She enters the harem under strict orders from Mordecai not
to reveal her background and origins. Esther appears before Ahasuerus in the
month of Tebeth (tenth month) and immediately wins his favour.21 She is
appointed queen and a banquet is held in her name.22 Afterwards Mordecai,
while seated at the palace gates, overhears two of the royal officials, Bigthana
and Teresh, plotting to kill the king. He reports this incident to Esther who
subsequently informs the king, and both guards are hanged.
Chapter 3 discloses Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews. Haman is honoured
by King Ahasuerus and elevated to a status higher than that of any other noble.
The king orders everyone to kneel down and pay homage to Haman, but
Mordecai refuses to do so. The royal officials inform Haman not only of
Mordecai’s resistance but also of the fact that he is a Jew. Haman decides to
take revenge not only on Mordecai but on all the Jews in Ahasuerus’ kingdom
and the pur (the lot) is cast to select a day and month. It falls on the thirteenth
day of the month of Adar (twelfth month).23 Haman informs the king that
there are people within his kingdom who do not obey his laws and instead
practise their own customs. He proposes that those people (i.e. the Jews)
should be destroyed. Ahasuerus grants Haman permission to do just that and
Haman proceeds to issue a royal decree, sealed with the king’s ring, pro-
claiming the annihilation of all Jews on the thirteenth day of Adar.
Mordecai’s reaction to Haman’s edict and his request for Esther’s assist-
ance are described in chapter 4. At the beginning of this chapter, Mordecai has
learned of the edict to destroy his race and immediately reacts by tearing his
clothes and putting on sackcloth. Esther summons Hathach to find out what is
troubling her cousin. Mordecai informs Hathach about the edict, gives a copy
of it to him for Esther and asks him to urge Esther to intercede with the king
for the survival of her people. Mordecai is ordered by the queen to gather
together all the Jews in Susa and to fast for three days and nights. When the
fast has been completed, Esther will present herself before the king (it is
important to note that any individual who appeared before the king without
being summoned would be put to death. If, however, the king extended the
gold sceptre, the male or female subject’s life would be spared).
In chapter 5, Esther approaches the king and the gold sceptre is extended
to her. Esther invites both the king and Haman to a banquet that same day.
21 Josephus does not mention when Esther appeared before the king, but states that the
wedding took place in the month of Adar (the twelfth month). See Josephus, p. 411. In the
biblical narrative we are not told when the wedding took place.
22 Josephus claims that the celebrations lasted a month (Josephus, p. 411). However,
the Hebrew version of the Book of Esther does not state how long they lasted. On Lope’s
use of the Hebrew version, see p. 19, n. 30.
23 In Josephus, p. 421, the date given is the 14th of Adar. In Addition B of the
Apocrypha, the fourteenth is also the date given.

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During the banquet, the king asks Esther what she wants from him and she
replies that she will voice her request at a second banquet the following day.
As Haman sets off home, he passes Mordecai at the palace gates who again
demonstrates his determination to deny the royal favourite respect. At home,
Haman expresses his discontent with Mordecai to his wife, Zeresh, and his
friends. They propose that he build a gallows 75 feet high and seek royal
permission the following morning to hang Mordecai.24
Chapter 6 of Esther focuses on the royal reward attributed to Mordecai for
uncovering the planned assassination of the king. The chapter begins with
the reading of the Book of Chronicles to Ahasuerus and the king’s sudden
discovery that Mordecai has not received any payment for saving his life.
Ahasuerus summons Haman and invites him to suggest the treatment which
should be bestowed upon a man whom he wishes to honour. Haman, con-
vinced that the king is referring to him, recommends that the individual should
be dressed in a royal robe and led through the streets of the city on a horse
which the king himself has ridden. Ahasuerus then instructs Haman to dress
Mordecai accordingly and lead him through the streets. At the end of this
chapter, Haman is escorted back to the palace for Esther’s second banquet by
two eunuchs, having informed Zeresh and his companions of the day’s events
and listened to their comments that he cannot seek revenge on Mordecai or he
will come to ruin.25
In chapter 7 we learn how the king reacted to news of Haman’s planned
destruction of the Persian Jews and the course of action taken against the
royal favourite. At the second banquet, Esther implores Ahasuerus to spare
the lives of both herself and her people. When the king asks who has threat-
ened his queen and subjects, Esther denounces Haman. The king leaves
the banquet in a rage and Haman, alone with Esther, takes the opportunity
to beg for her forgiveness. On his return to the banqueting hall, Ahasuerus
witnesses Haman falling onto the queen’s couch and accuses him of the
attempted molestation of his wife. Haman is hanged on the gallows which he
himself built.
Following the death of Haman, chapter 8 opens with the presentation
of Haman’s estate to Esther and the offering of the royal signet ring to
Mordecai by the king. Esther beseeches Ahasuerus to issue an order overruling
Haman’s edict against the Jews. The king responds by granting Mordecai and
Esther permission to dispatch a new decree in his name on behalf of the Jews.
24 In Josephus, the recommendation to destroy Mordecai is made by Haman’s wife, not
the group. Josephus also refers to the crucifixion, rather than the hanging of Mordecai:
‘Then Zarasa, his wife, told him to order a tree sixty cubits high to be cut down, and in the
morning ask the king for leave to crucify Mordecai’. See Josephus, p. 433.
25 In note d., p. 439 of Josephus, Ralph Marcus states that reference to protection by
God is not included in the Hebrew version of the Bible. Hence Haman’s predicted failure
is unexplained.
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18 ELAINE CANNING
The new edict is written, sealed and sent to all the provinces in the kingdom,
bestowing upon the Jews the right to destroy and kill any hostile armed force
on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
Chapter 9 describes the triumph of the Jews and the establishment of the
feast of Purim. It relates how, on the thirteenth day of Adar, the Jews assem-
ble in their cities to defend themselves and destroy the enemy. In the citadel
of Susa, the Jews kill five hundred men, as well as the ten sons of Haman.26
Esther seeks royal permission to carry out the dictates of the edict a second
time in Susa on the fourteenth of Adar and obtains her request. In the other
provinces of the kingdom, the Jews kill a total of 75,000 enemies on the thir-
teenth of Adar. This is followed by the writing and sending of letters by Esther
and Mordecai to all the Jews within Ahasuerus’ dominion to fix a formal
celebration of the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar known as Purim (from
pur, the lot). The days of Purim were to be celebrated with feasting and the
exchange of presents. The protocanonical text of the Book of Esther ends with
chapter 10, a short, straightforward account of the importance of Mordecai the
Jew within the Persian empire.27
What is unique about the Book of Esther is that, unlike every other book in
the Old Testament, there are no references to God, even though it is implicit
that Esther is guided by a divine force in her mission to save the Persian
Jews.28 It is quite possible, as Bruce Metzger suggests, that the author of
Esther wrote at some period when it was extremely dangerous to publicly
admit to the worship of Jehovah.29 The Apocryphal Esther differs from the
protocanonical text due to the abundance of references to God and his divine
qualities. In fact, of the six additions which constitute the Apocryphal or
deuterocanonical parts of Esther, all except one contain the name of God.
These additions cannot be overlooked since, at the time of composition of
La hermosa Ester, they were readily available to Lope. Specifically, they
appeared in the form of an appendix following the canonical text of Esther in
26 The death of Haman’s sons is confusing in Scripture. In Esther 9. 13, Esther seeks
permission for the ten sons of Haman to be hanged, despite the fact that in Esther 9. 11,
reference is made to the massacre of Haman’s sons. Josephus avoids this ambiguity. He
mentions the massacre of five hundred enemies but does not include the annihilation of
Haman’s sons on the 13th of Adar. Instead, he writes that Esther begged for permission to
crucify the ten sons of Haman on the 14th of Adar. See Josephus, p. 453.
27 The attribution of Esther 9. 20–10. 3 to the original narrator of the Book of Esther
has caused concern among scholars. In Ezra, p. 221, Brockington states: ‘In its Hebrew
form the book seems to have been expanded at a very early time by the addition of
9. 20–10. 3.’ In The Esther Scroll, Clines refers to the scholarly debate and examines the
difficulties presented by what he terms as appendices. See chapter 4, ‘The Appendices of
the Esther Scroll in The Esther Scroll (Sheffield: JSOT, 1984) (9. 20–10. 3)’, pp. 50–63.
28 The Book of Esther was considered a nationalist text by many of its critics as a result
of its emphasis on Judaism and Judaic practices. Martin Luther was a great enemy of it.
29 See his An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: OUP, 1957), p. 62.
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the Vulgate, the bible which most certainly provided Lope with the biblical
sources of his plays.30 The additions, as we will see, would influence how
Lope presented the story of Esther in his drama.31 According to Edward
Glaser, ‘While Lope uses, of course, both the protocanonical and the deutero-
canonical portions of the Old Testament book, he favors, whenever possible,
the Greek Esther’.32
The first addition (Addition A: 11. 2–12. 6) tells the story of the dream of
Mordecai. Mordecai has a dream in which he sees two dragons roaring and
preparing to fight. As the dragons roar, every nation gets ready to fight against
the Jews, who beseech God’s mercy and help. Next, a great river emerges
from a tiny spring and the needy are exalted. When Mordecai awakens, he
hears two eunuchs plotting the assassination of Ahasuerus. He informs the
king of their plan and is granted a position at court as reward for saving
Ahasuerus’ life. Haman, meanwhile, decides to kill Mordecai and his people.
The significance of Mordecai’s dream is explained in the sixth addition
(Addition F: 10. 4–11. 1) where Mordecai recognises the influence of divine
intervention in saving the Jews from annihilation. The two dragons in the
dream represented Mordecai and Haman and the river which developed from
a tiny spring was Esther.
What constitutes the second addition (Addition B: 13. 1–7) is a copy of the
supposed edict issued by Haman proclaiming the massacre of the Jews. The
fifth addition (Addition E: 16. 1–24) also takes the form of an edict, only this
time it is the one which serves to counteract Haman’s previous decree.33
Addition C (13. 8–14. 19) is quite a long addition in which the prayers of
Mordecai and Esther beseeching God’s divine assistance are presented in
30 The Vulgate is a fourth-century standard Latin version of the bible translated from
Hebrew and written by St Jerome. Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damascus to

prepare this bible. When he translated the Book of Esther, he then gathered together the
additions which he found in old Latin copies and added them to the end of his translation
with accompanying notes. The notes indicated where each addition belonged in the
canonical book. The Latin additions had come from a Greek version of the bible dating
from the first or second century before Christ. At that time, Lysimachus translated the
Hebrew text of Esther into Greek, but at six different places in the narrative he or someone
else added episodes not originally found in the Hebrew. It is these additions known as
Apocryphal or deuterocanonical which were subsequently translated into Latin and later
included in the Vulgate. In 1546, the Council of Trent decreed the inclusion of the
deuterocanonical texts in the Roman Catholic canon.
31 Details on the Apocryphal additions are taken from Metzger, An Introduction,
pp. 56–61. Metzger suggests where these additions can be integrated into the canonical
framework of Esther in order to make sense. On the Apocrypha, see also ‘The Septuagint
Esther’, in Clines, The Esther Scroll, pp. 69–70 and W. O. E. Oesterley, An Introduction to
the Books of the Apocrypha (London: Macmillan, 1935), pp. 183–95.
32 ‘La hermosa Ester’, p. 112.
33 Josephus integrates Addition B into his work (see pp. 419–21) and paraphrases
Addition E (pp. 445–51).

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20 ELAINE CANNING
detail.34 References to the omniscience of God abound in this text. Mordecai’s

prayer is a justification concerning why he will not bow down to Haman. He
exalts God, stressing that only He is worthy of such reverence. He ends his
prayer begging God to save his people (13. 15). Esther exchanges her royal
attire for clothes which symbolise mourning before addressing God. She asks
for strength and guidance when she appears before the king and emphasises
her reliance on Divine help in order to complete her mission successfully. It
is clearly highlighted here that God, the Divine, works through Esther in order
to save the people of Israel.
Finally, Addition D (15. 1–16) is a longer, more detailed version of Esther’s
appearance before King Ahasuerus.35 It relates how the king initially became
extremely angry at Esther’s entrance to the throne-room, causing her to faint,
and how God changed Ahasuerus’ attitude in such a way that he calmly offered
Esther the opportunity to present her petition when she regained consciousness.
Lope’s La hermosa Ester

When Lope decided to write La hermosa Ester in 1610, he clearly recog-
nised the dramatic potential of the biblical narrative. However, despite the fact
that he followed the basic plot and sequence of events of the Book of Esther,
his play is much more than a simple, faithful retelling of the primary text, as
some critics have suggested.36 Like the Book of Esther, Act I of La hermosa
Ester begins with details of the banquet hosted by King Ahasuerus (Asuero in
the play) for all his subjects. Next, Lope presents the disobedience and subse-
quent dethronement of Vashti (Vastí in La hermosa Ester) and ends the first act
with the election of Esther (Ester) as queen. Act II opens with Mordecai
(Mardoqueo) informing Isaac, a Lopean creation, of Ester’s appointment to the
position of queen and his own prophetic dream. This is followed by a drama-
tisation of Mardoqueo’s disclosure of the plotted regicide, the conspiracy of
Amán (Haman of the biblical text) against the Jews and Mardoqueo’s refusal
to pay respect to the royal favourite. Act II ends with Amán arranging the
construction of the gallows from which to hang Mardoqueo. In Act III, Lope
presents on stage the honouring of Mardoqueo by the king for saving his life,
In Josephus, pp. 425–29 are based on this addition.

34
This addition is also integrated into Josephus’ text (see pp. 429–31).
35
36 Menéndez y Pelayo, for example, claims that: ‘Su fuente única es el Libro de Esther,
seguido con toda la fidelidad y respeto con que nuestro poeta trataba siempre las palabras
de la Sagrada Escritura’. See his Estudios, I, 179. In his nota preliminar to his edition of
La hermosa Ester, Federico Carlos Sáinz de Robles states: ‘La única fuente es el Libro
de Ester, seguido con toda fidelidad y respeto por el genial poeta’. See Obras selectas, III,
105. Other critics, however, recognise that Lope has manipulated and recreated his biblical
source. Vega García-Luengos, for example, claims: ‘En definitiva, Lope ha sabido manipular
los datos de la historia con el fin de potenciar su virtualidad dramática, sometiéndolos a un
proceso de concentración o de dilatación’. See ‘El libro de Ester’, p. 221.
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Ester’s revelation of Amán’s threat to the Persian Jews and the murder of the
royal favourite. The play ends on a joyous note with the Jews’ celebration of
their salvation in the company of Asuero, Mardoqueo and Ester.
Lope’s first task in La hermosa Ester is to set the scene – to explain to the
audience who King Asuero is, to highlight his jurisdiction and to reveal details
of the banquet which he has hosted for the poor and nobility alike. In the bible,
a brief historical account at the beginning of Chapter 1 provides these details.
Lope brings the biblical narrative to life by assigning the role of narrator to
two characters – Bassán and Egeo – while at the same time making them par-
ticipants in Asuero’s banquet. The inclusion of two narrators rather than one
gives Lope the advantage of having one narrator’s comments supported by
the other, thereby reinforcing for the audience the validity of their account of
the king. The narrators comment upon the elaborate preparations made for the
banquet, which correspond very closely to the details presented in the bible.
The biblical text describes the setting for the feast in the following way: ‘The
garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white
linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches
of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl
and other costly stones. Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one differ-
ent from the other’ (Esther 1. 6–7). In La hermosa Ester, Egeo paints the pic-
ture of a similar location. He claims:
En este bosque del Rey

se han puesto diversas tiendas,
y sobre columnas blancas
toldos de diversas telas
que cuelgan por varias partes
de cordones de oro y seda.
Hay ricas bordadas camas,
y sobre la verde hierba
tales alfombras, que hacen
a las flores competencia.
Hay vasos de oro y cristal,
(I, 107)
Egeo is also responsible for introducing the king on stage. He declares:
Mas oye: que sale el Rey

de la comida postrera,
con sus príncipes y grandes.
(I, 107)
It could be argued that Lope did not need to set the scene since his audience
was familiar with the biblical story. However, without the opportunity to read
the bible for themselves, both men and women of seventeenth-century Spain
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22 ELAINE CANNING
were probably only aware of the main characters and plot of the story – that
Esther, a Jewess, became queen of Persia and managed to disclose Haman’s
conspiracy against the Jews, thereby saving her people from destruction. Lope
presents the biblical story to his audience in its entirety.
The magnificence of Asuero is also highlighted by Bassán and Egeo. In
fact, the play opens with Bassán’s declaration of the king’s might. He informs
the audience:
Sólo el poderoso Asuero,

que admirando el mundo reina
en ciento y veinte provincias,
hiciera tanta grandeza:
desde la India a Etiopía,
de medos, partos y persas
es absoluto señor.
(I, 107)
Bassán continues to extol the king’s virtues and qualities, describing his ban-
quet as ‘muestra / de su magnífico pecho’ and his actual presence as ‘amable’
(I, 107) when he first appears with his princes and nobles. In comparison to the
biblical narrative, which describes the king fundamentally as a generous type,
Lope’s drama transforms him into a warm, living, breathing, gracious man,
who is not only a kindly soul because he threw a lavish party for his people,
but because his subjects say that he is. The comments of Bassán and Egeo and
the subsequent remarks made by the ‘músicos’ and ‘todos’ who alternately
proclaim ‘¡Viva el rey Asuero! / ¡Viva el gran señor!’ (I, 107) are of vital
importance because they contribute to the build-up of dramatic tension within
the play. In other words, the horizon of expectation of the corral audience is
frustrated as it anticipates a marvellous sovereign who conscientiously protects
and cares for his subjects, nobles and peasants alike, only to find that Asuero
permits Amán to issue a royal decree announcing the massacre of the Jews.
Since the narrator acquires a type of authenticity in the eyes of the audience,
acting almost as an intermediary between them and the dramatist, Lope’s
audience should have no reason to doubt Bassán’s and Egeo’s representation
of the king. Given that the play is based on a biblical story, their description of
characters and events gains extra support. Hence, in spite of the fact that
Bassán and Egeo provide the relevant historical background to the play, it is
because of their participation in the production of dramatic tension right from
the beginning of La hermosa Ester that they are especially important.
Once Asuero’s praises have been sung, La hermosa Ester focuses on the
dethronement of Vastí, a vital episode in both the biblical story and the play in
terms of plot development. However, Lope not only includes this scene for the
purposes of the story line, but cleverly manipulates the biblical material in
order to comment upon issues which Lope knew would appeal to the
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sensibilities of the seventeenth-century audience – love, honour and the role of

woman.37 Asuero engages in a convoluted description of Vastí in accordance
with the courtly love/Petrarchan topoi of amorous lyric poetry.38 Emphasising
the superiority of Vastí to him, Asuero refers to her as ‘la grandeza mía’
(I, 107). Asuero undertakes the deification of his wife, who he describes as
‘el divino trasunto / del Hacedor de la Naturaleza’ (I, 108) and who continues
to be for him ‘el reino que adoro’ (I, 111) following her dethronement. Like
the Petrarchan lover, Asuero compares his beloved to nature. Vastí’s mouth is
‘el clavel de dos hojas, más hermoso / que el sol por mayo toca’ and her cheeks
are ‘rosas’ which blossom in her snow-white face and compliment her statu-
esque body (I, 108).39 Asuero states:
y por las dos hermosas

mejillas blancas, entre nieve rosas.
El cuerpo, no hay columna
de marfil ni alabastro;
(I, 108)40
37 In his Arte nuevo, Lope specifically identifies the theme of honra as exemplary
subject matter for the comedia: ‘Los casos de la honra son mejores / Porque mueuen con
fuerça a toda ge[n]te,’. See El arte nuevo de hacer comedias en este tiempo, ed. Juana de
José Prades (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1971), 327–28.
38 The characteristic features of courtly love do not appear in the lyric poetry of Castile
until the fifteenth century. However, the themes of courtly love persisted in Spanish
literature throughout the early modern period. Courtly love poetry is based on the
impossible love for a beautiful yet unattainable woman. The principal themes of the trend
include the superiority of the beloved to the lover, the blessed suffering of the lover and
the contemplation of death. The Petrarchan tradition became grafted onto courtly love
poetry in the sixteenth century in Spain. In Petrarchan poetry, the beauty of the female is
compared to nature and is also praised through analogy with mythological characters and
the use of metaphor. On courtly love and Petrarchism, see for example: chapters 3–7 in
Otis H. Green, Spain and the Western Tradition, 4 vols (Madison: The University of
Wisconsin Press, 1963–66), I (1963), 72–299; A. A. Parker, The Philosophy of Love in
Spanish Literature, 1480–1680 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1985) and Ignacio Navarrete,
Orphans of Petrarch. Poetry and Theory in the Spanish Renaissance (Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1994). According to Víctor de Lama, ‘Las tradiciones cortesana y
petrarquista se entrelazan frecuentemente en la lírica de Lope’. See his ‘Lope, poeta de
cancionero’, Edad de Oro, 14 (1995), 179–96 (p. 188). For an examination of the
burlesque treatment of courtly love in Góngora, Lope and Quevedo, see Iris M. Zavala,
‘Burlas al amor’, NRFH, 29 (1980), 367–403.
39 Vastí’s beauty is not only highlighted by Asuero’s description of her, but also by her
very name. According to Brockington, Vashti is a Persian name meaning something like
‘best’, ‘desired’, ‘beauty’. See Ezra, p. 225. Lope draws attention to the significance of
Vashti’s name within the play. Asuero asserts: ‘Vastí, mi mujer bella; / Vastí, que así se llama,
porque basta / para saber por ella, / después de su virtud honesta y casta, / que no dio el cielo
al suelo / mayores muestras del poder del cielo’ (I, 108). Glaser mentions Lope’s allusion
to the meaning of Vashti’s name in ‘Lope de Vega’s La hermosa Ester’, p. 113, n. 10.
40 In Petrarchan imagery, alabaster and snow are used to convey the whiteness of the
beloved’s body. According to Leonard Forster, these can be combined with the conceits
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24 ELAINE CANNING
The dramatic impact of Asuero’s monologue reveals itself when Vastí refuses
to appear before him.41 At this point, Asuero becomes the courtly lover that
he imitated in speech, aspiring to the love of a woman who is out of his grasp
and who ultimately is pushed beyond his reach by his royal advisers.
Marsanes adds to the tension at this point in the drama, urging the king to
leave Vastí alone in the company of her female subjects. He suggests to the
king:
Si con sus damas está,

déjala gozar quïeta
su generoso convite;
(I, 108)
Ultimately, the audience knows that Asuero must disregard this piece of
advice if Lope is to conform to the plot of the biblical narrative. Neverthe-
less, by playing the role of the courtly lover, Asuero ironically becomes a
more human character troubled by doubt, hesitation and anxiety. Unlike his
counterpart in the bible who, angry at his wife’s disobedience, immediately
accepts his adviser’s decision that Vastí should be removed from office,
Asuero’s automatic response to the wise men’s proposal is ‘¿podré, querién-
dola bien? / ¡Fuerte consejo me dais!’ (I, 109).42 This minor adaptation of the
source material could easily be overlooked or simply disregarded because it
has no impact on plot development. The king, in spite of his hesitancy, ultim-
ately accepts the advice of his councillors. In addition, the king’s vacillation
at this point is not reflective of his behaviour in other important scenes in the
play. Like the biblical king, Asuero unquestioningly accepts Amán’s recom-
mendation concerning the massacre of the Jews (II, 120). However, Asuero’s
reaction at this point is of vital importance because it draws attention to the
seventeenth-century preoccupation with reputation. Through the character of
used to express the woman’s hardness of heart. See ‘The Petrarchan Manner: An
Introduction’, in The Icy Fire. Five Studies in European Petrarchism (Cambridge: CUP,
1969), pp. 1–60 (p. 15). In La hermosa Ester, Asuero’s description of Vastí’s body as an
alabaster column presages the coldness with which Vastí responds to Asuero’s request to
appear before him.
41 In Josephus, the king and queen are named, respectively, Asueros and Aste. Regarding
Aste’s refusal to appear before Asueros, Josephus claims: ‘She, however, in observance of
the laws of the Persians, which forbid their women to be seen by strangers, did not go to the
king’. See Josephus, p. 407. Weiner reiterates this point: ‘La negación que le hizo cabía
perfectamente dentro de las costumbres persas.’ See ‘La reina Ester’, p. 45. In a
seventeenth-century Spanish context, however, Vastí would have been expected to obey her
husband’s orders.
42 It should be noted that in Josephus, pp. 407–09, Muchaios (equivalent to Memucan
in the Bible) urges Ahasuerus to inflict severe punishment on Vashti as well as to arrange
her dethronement. This is not the case in the biblical narrative, nor in Lope’s play. In note
a, p. 408, Marcus claims that, according to Rabbinic tradition, Vashti was executed.
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the king, Lope comments on the themes of love and honour and emphasises
the dilemma which they can force upon the seventeenth-century Spaniard
when he/she must choose between the public and the private role. It seems
that Asuero reluctantly relinquishes his love for Vastí for the sake of ‘el
público bien’ (I, 109). Following Marsanes’ speech regarding Vastí’s
deposition and the importance of obedience to the husband on the part of the
wife, the king declares:
Afuera amor; que no es justo

que sujetéis la razón:
fuertes los consejos son
contra las leyes del gusto:
pero si es bien que los reyes
sean espejos del bien,
bien es que en ellos se den
los principios a las leyes.
¡Salga de Palacio al punto
la Reina: no quede en él!
(I, 109)43
In spite of the fact that Adamata, one of the king’s advisers, initially links
passion to reason, claiming that ‘quien reina de sus pasiones, / ese vive con
razón’ (I, 109), both Adamata and Tares ultimately categorise love as an
unreasonable emotion which imprisons the individual and of which the king
must rid himself if he is to reign successfully.
Tares Amor es una pasión

que nunca llega a razones:
vive de su voluntad
en la libertad que quiere.
Adamata Por eso quien le venciere
tendrá mayor libertad.
(I, 109)
43 In De Clementia, Seneca’s treatise on the behaviour of the emperor Nero, the opening
lines of the text underlined that Seneca would show Nero to himself as in a mirror. Cicero’s
definition of the play as a mirror of life, ‘Est imitatio vitae, speculum consuetudinis, imago
veritatis’, was re-presented by Lope in his Arte nuevo. Lope’s treatise includes the following
affirmations: ‘Espejo de las / De las costu[m]bres, y vna viua image[n] / De la verdad’
(123–25); ‘Humanae cur sit speculum comoedia vitae’ (377). It should be noted that the
Latin source of the concluding lines of the Arte nuevo is unknown, and may have in fact
been written by Lope himself. In Act I of El castigo sin venganza, the Duke also refers
to the comedia as an espejo in his conversation with Ricardo. See Lope de Vega, El perro
del hortelano, El castigo sin venganza, ed. A. David Kossoff (Madrid: Castalia, 1970),
I. 215–225.
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26 ELAINE CANNING
In comparison, Asuero’s love for Ester is associated with reason at the end of
Act III.44 The king describes love as an illuminating force:
Bien parece que mi amor

alumbró mi entendimiento
para honrar tu noble tío
con el hacha de su fuego;
que ensalzarse hasta poner
de Oriente en su mano el cetro
sin haberle conocido,
solo amor supiera hacerlo;
en todo acierta quien ama
(III, 135)
Since Ester acts as a divine instrument through whom God’s chosen people
are saved in the play, it is essentially divine love which ultimately will be asso-
ciated with reason, rather than human love.
Lope highlights how badly Asuero is affected by human love by tampering
with the biblical narrative again and transforming him into a lovesick victim
who blames himself for the break-up of his relationship and who suffers from
instability without his queen. Setar remarks ‘ya sin ella no se halla’ (I, 111).45
A remedy is discussed in his absence by his ‘doctors’ Adamata, Marsanes and
Setar who exploit the courtly love / Neoplatonic concept of love entering
through the eyes.46 Setar is the first to suggest that a replacement should be
44 Concerning the relationship between love and reason in the medieval and
Renaissance worlds, Otis H. Green states: ‘That love was born of reason but that it was not
controlled by reason was a medieval and Renaissance commonplace.’ See Spain and the
Western Tradition, I, 141. In courtly love poetry, voluntad prevails over razón.
45 In courtly love poetry, the blessed suffering of the lover may produce the lover’s
malady of hereos. The physical effects of love, including insomnia, loss of appetite and
pallor are also a Petrarchan commonplace. For a discussion of the lover’s malady
of hereos, including references to the physical effects of love and proposed remedies
contained in medieval and Renaissance medical treatises, see John Livingston Lowes, ‘The
Loveres Maladye of Hereos’, M.Phil, 11 (1914), 491–546. Teresa Scott Soufas also refers
to the definition of lovesickness in medical treatises of the Renaissance, including Burton’s
Anatomy of Melancholy and Ferrand’s Erotomania in ‘Love Melancholy (Lope,
Calderón)’, in Melancholy and the Secular Mind in Spanish Golden Age Literature
(Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1990), pp. 64–100. The malady of love and the
relationship between amor and locura are the principal themes of Lope’s Los locos de
Valencia. For a study of these particular issues in the play, see Luciano García Lorenzo,
‘Amor y locura fingida: Los locos de Valencia, de Lope de Vega’, in El mundo del teatro
español en su Siglo de Oro: ensayos dedicados a John E. Varey, ed. J. M. Ruano de la
Haza, Ottawa Hispanic Studies, III (Ottawa: Dovehouse Editions, 1989), pp. 213–28.
46 The king has already stressed this theory of love in his lament for the absent Vastí:
‘¡Vastí de mi casa ausente, / y sus ojos de mis ojos! (I, 111). While Marsanes and Setar
accept this theory, they also comically assert that the ears, not the eyes, are responsible for
keeping love alive. See their conversation, I, 111–12.
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found for Vastí, while Marsanes recommends that an edict should be drafted
instructing all beautiful virgins to be handed over to the palace guards so that
the king can choose a new wife from among them. Setar comments explicitly
on the nature of their proposed cure:
Buscar tantas mujeres, que entre tantas

haya alguna hermosura tan valiente
que mate la memoria de la ausente.
(I, 112)
At the end of Act I, the king is in fact ‘cured’ by the contemplation of the
‘hermosísima Ester’ whose exceptional beauty cannot be depicted by Egeo,
the ‘painter’. Egeo tells the king: ‘No te quiero pintar su rostro hermoso, /
porque son muy groseros mis pinceles’ (I, 115). Egeo’s inability to describe
Ester’s attractiveness provokes the king to respond: ‘Tanta belleza, / monstruo
será de la Naturaleza’ (I, 115).47
In contrast to Asuero, his biblical counterpart experiences neither remorse,
regret nor guilt prior to and following Vastí’s dethronement. In Esther 2. 1, we
are simply told: ‘Later when the anger of King Xerxes had subsided, he
remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about
her.’ In addition, the biblical king unquestioningly listens to and accepts the
collective proposal of his personal attendants concerning the appointment of
a new queen.48 Some ambiguity arises in the play concerning the king’s direct
involvement in the search for a new queen. While the audience does not wit-
ness Asuero’s approval of Marsanes’ edict, the caja and capitán discuss the
selection process in terms of the king’s orders. The caja begins his synopsis
of the edict by attributing its contents to Asuero: ‘manda el poderoso rey
Asuero’ (I, 113). In a similar vein, the capitán affirms that the king prefers
hermosura to calidad: ‘calidad no me ha pedido; / hermosura pide el Rey,’
(I, 113). Nevertheless, it is not evident from the statements of either whether
the king willingly gave orders for the search to be conducted. In fact, Asuero
is still afflicted by the malady of love and associates Vastí with his death
following the presentation of several women to him: ‘Vastí me mata, y sola
su hermosura / es el crisol que mi memoria apura;’ (I, 115).49 In contrast to
47 The title ‘Monstruo de la Naturaleza’ was conferred upon Lope himself by Cervantes
in 1615 in the prologue to his Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses.

48 In Josephus’ text, we are told that although the king was in love with the queen and
could not bear the separation from her, he could not be reconciled to her because of the
law. Therefore, he continued to grieve until he was advised to instigate a search for a new
wife. Like his biblical counterpart, he sent commissioners in pursuit of young virgins in
order to find a replacement for Vashti (p. 409).
49 In courtly love poetry, the lover contemplates death at the hands of the beloved. The
identification of the beloved both as a source of life and death of the lover is also found in
Petrarch and is a paradox which continued to be exploited in the seventeenth century.
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28 ELAINE CANNING
the assertions of both the caja and capitán, Mardoqueo, in his conversation
with Ester, attributes the search for a new queen to the king’s councillors:
los príncipes de su imperio,

por medicina, aunque nueva,
mandan en todos sus reinos
buscar hermosas doncellas,
para que la que le agrade
reine en lugar de la Reina.
(I, 113)
Whether the king gave orders for the search to be carried out or not, the fact
remains that private desire is sacrificed for public duty. Asuero is the seven-
teenth-century Spanish man who must, according to Donald Larson, ‘no matter
what his inner inclination, avenge an insult to his reputation’.50 Although
Lope deals with the seventeenth-century preoccupation with honour in this
play and demonstrates the importance of reputation in contemporary society,
it is not proof of his tolerance of, and agreement with, the concept.51 In fact,
Lope emphasises the importance of love and the fulfilment of private needs
in La hermosa Ester. When Vastí declares ‘quien trata así su mujer, / necio
Asuero adds that he is suffering from a ‘sangría’ which Ester offers to cure with her ‘vida’
and ‘sangre’ (I, 115).
50 See Donald Larson, The Honor Plays of Lope de Vega (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
UP, 1977), p. 13. Larson continues: ‘For one person to lose his honor is for society to be
hurt in some degree, and for that person to suffer the loss of his honor and make no attempt
to regain it is for society to be permanently harmed. This it will not tolerate.’
51 Honour is also given a problematic treatment in many of Lope’s plays, including El
perro del hortelano and El castigo sin venganza. In El perro del hortelano, the
impossibility of the relationship between Diana, a countess, and Teodoro, criado, because
of the limitations imposed by honra is resolved by the deceptive transformation of Teodoro
into a nobleman as he poses as Ludovico’s long lost son. Victor Dixon states regarding this
solution to the play: ‘Although Lope is too pragmatic to suggest that appearances don’t
matter and need not be maintained, sham appearances, he makes Diana aware, may be as
effective as realities.’ See ‘Introduction’ in Lope de Vega, El perro del hortelano, ed. Victor
Dixon (London: Tamesis, 1981), pp. 9–67 (p. 49). In El castigo sin venganza, the
motivation for the chastisement administered by the Duke at the end of the play is
ambiguous. As both injured party and judge, his decision to eradicate both his adulterous
wife, Casandra, and his illegitimate son, Federico, could be interpreted as a barbarous act
of vengeance or a necessary course of action within the societal code of honour. On
the concept of honour in this play, Gwynne Edwards states: ‘Lope could not present the
Duke’s actions against the erring couple simply as a punishment – which is the case in the
original – for their behaviour offends not merely against public morality but also against
his personal honour. On the other hand, Lope did not wish the Duke’s actions to be seen
merely as a private revenge for lost honour when larger moral questions were involved.
The title points to his concern with both issues.’ See his ‘Introduction’ in Lope de Vega,
Three Major Plays (Fuente Ovejuna, The Knight from Olmedo, Punishment without
Revenge), trans. Gwynne Edwards (Oxford: OUP, 1999), pp. vii–xxxi (p. xxviii).
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consejo ha tomado’ (I, 109), she is expressing how foolish the king was to
heed the advice of his wise men. In a clever and subtle manner, Lope attri-
butes a voice to Vastí which she is denied in the biblical narrative in order to
present his own ambivalence regarding honor/honra.52
As a comedia de tema religioso, La hermosa Ester naturally treats the
theme of love not only in a human/physical context, but also from the aspect
of the divine. While Vastí is defined and ultimately debased by a human love,
Ester is inspired and protected by a divine force which guides her in her cam-
paign to prevent the massacre of the Persian Jews. In this respect, Lope
follows the deuterocanonical text of Esther by demonstrating how the Jews
are saved by Ester, God’s instrument on earth, and not only by the human
efforts of the female. While God, the Divine, supports Ester, Asuero, the
human, disowns Vastí.
When Lope decided to shift two biblical scenes around in order to present
Ester as soon as Vastí is dethroned, and not after the search for a new queen
begins, obviously he was aiming to produce a specific dramatic impact on his
audience. The juxtaposition of the exit of Vastí with the entrance of Ester on
stage is dramatically very effective for two reasons. First of all, it highlights
the superiority of divine love to human love without undermining Lope’s atti-
tude towards the expression and fulfilment of human love. Secondly, the pre-
sentation of Vastí and Ester one after the other sets the women up as two
oppositional forces. Vastí, the ex-queen characterised by disobedience and
insolence is replaced by Ester, the new queen who remarks on her own
‘humildad’ and the importance of ‘obediencia’ (I, 115) when she first appears
before Asuero.53 It is interesting that when Ester and Vastí are analysed in
apposition at this point in the drama, Vastí emerges as a strong, self-assertive
woman endowed with what are normally categorised as negative traits, while
Ester initially appears as an almost submissive female type. Dramatic tension
is successfully created in Act I as we are forced to question and anticipate how
52 Edward Glaser, in ‘Lope de Vega’s La hermosa Ester’, pp. 113–15, takes a different
view on the conflict between the king and queen. He claims that the moral which Lope
reads into the incident is that pride goes before deposition and that the dismissal of the
haughty queen presents a preview of the fate which is to befall the king’s conceited
favourite, Haman (p. 114). While I accept Glaser’s analysis as a valid interpretation of the
opening scenes, the king’s immediate expression of hesitancy with regard to the dismissal
of his beloved is still an important modification to the biblical narrative. If this change is
borne in mind, then honour can be interpreted as a metaphorical straitjacket.
53 In Fuente Ovejuna, Rodrigo Tellez Girón, master of Calatrava, compares the king
and queen, Ferdinand and Isabella, to Ahasuerus / Xerxes and Esther respectively when he
appears before them to seek forgiveness for his involvement in the siege of Ciudad Real.
He extols them in the following manner: ‘Vos sois una bella Ester, / y vos, un Xerxes
divino.’ See ‘Lope de Vega, Fuente Ovejuna’, ed. Juan María Marín (Madrid: Cátedra,
1997), p. 185. All subsequent references to the play will be taken from this edition. The
use of divino implies a Christian interpretation of the role of the king as God’s instrument
on earth. On La hermosa Ester from a Christian perspective, see pp. 41–42 of this chapter.
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30 ELAINE CANNING
the playwright will transform Ester into an authoritative individual capable of

defeating the arrogant Amán.
Lope continues to build tension in this play through Mardoqueo’s predic-
tions of the role which Ester must ultimately assume. When we first meet
uncle and niece, Mardoqueo describes Ester in the following way:
Con hermosura y discreción naciste,

y con divino entendimiento claro,
vivir sola pudieras; pero el cielo
algo pretende de tu santo celo
(I, 110)54
Later, when Mardoqueo reveals to Ester that she has been listed by Egeo
among the prospective new lovers for king Asuero, he prophesies:
No temas;
que Dios te dará favor,
porque por tu medio sea
su pueblo restituido
a su primera grandeza;
(I, 113)
In the bible, the first sign of any type of prediction on the part of Mordecai
does not occur until Chapter 4 when he sends the following message to Esther
through Hathach in an attempt to persuade her to plead with the king for the
protection of the Jews – ‘For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliv-
erance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s
family will perish’ (Esther 4. 14). In La hermosa Ester, Lope does not permit
Ester to become queen without hinting at the role which she will have to
perform on behalf of all her people. Mardoqueo’s predictions are significant
because they anticipate the plot of the play and the course of action which
Ester must take without pinpointing details. His speeches serve to increase the
expectation of the audience in the corral – those individuals who do not know
the plot of the story will be forced to reflect on what the main action will
consist of before it happens; others, who are familiar with the tale, will won-
der how Lope will bring it to life on stage.
54 Ester is the niece of Mardoqueo in La hermosa Ester, not the cousin as in the biblical
story (i.e. daughter of Mordecai’s uncle, Abihail). In Racine’s Esther, Esther is also the niece
of Mardochée. Josephus, p. 409, likewise describes Mordecai as the uncle of Esther. In note d,
p. 409 of Josephus, Marcus confirms that Rabbinic tradition, unlike Scripture, makes Esther
the niece of Mordecai. Lope probably chose the uncle/niece connection in order to intensify
the relationship between his two characters, as well as to endow Mardoqueo with explicit
authority over his niece. Indeed, when Mardoqueo discusses Ester’s future role as the saviour
of her people, he states: ‘es bien que al cielo y a mí, / hermosa Ester, obedezcas’ (I, 113).
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Throughout La hermosa Ester, Lope is continually striving to expand

biblical detail in order to intensify the dramatic action. Nonetheless, he does
make several omissions. The first of these is contained in Esther 2. 12–14 and
relates to the twelve months of beauty treatments which every female must
complete before appearing before the king.55 This is a Persian custom which
would have been meaningless to a seventeenth-century Spanish audience and
which Lope simply chooses not to include. The omission of this detail does
not impact on the plot of the play. Lope also denies Asuero the harem which
his counterpart possesses in the Book of Esther. Marsanes simply orders:
‘la que entrare de noche, salga al alba, / y la que le agradare, o por dichosa /
o por bella, que reine’ (I, 112). Of course, it was essential for Lope to omit
these for the purposes of decorum, ‘a cardinal doctrine of the Spanish drama
of the seventeenth century’, according to Duncan Moir.56 Finally, and best
categorised as a suppression rather than an omission of biblical detail, the two
banquets which Esther hosts in the Book of Esther become one in La hermosa
Ester.57 Since nothing happens at the first biblical banquet, Lope understand-
ably includes only one in his play. By doing so, the development of dramatic
action within the play is not impeded by the inclusion of unnecessary scenes
which would slow down the pace of his drama.
As a religious play, it was necessary for Lope to include the deuterocanon-
ical additions in La hermosa Ester. Without these, his play would have been
a secular representation of the protocanonical text which contains no references
to God. Lope emphasises the importance of faith and the omniscience of God
through the characters of Ester and Mardoqueo. In Act II, Mardoqueo’s
speech in which he stresses why he will not pay respect to Amán is based on
Addition C of the Apocrypha. Mardoqueo tells Isaac:
Yo no, que solo a Dios hincarlas pienso,

que no quiero quitar lo que le debo,
por darlo a la criatura, que bien sabe
el mismo Dios, que no es por ser yo grave
(II, 117)
55 In Josephus, the beauty treatments last for six months (p. 411).
56 See ‘The Classical Tradition in Spanish Dramatic Theory and Practice in
the Seventeenth Century’, in Classical Drama and its Influence: Essays Presented to
H. D. F. Kitto, ed. M. J. Anderson (London: Methuen, 1965), pp. 191–228 (p. 208).
According to Duncan Moir, the Spanish ideas of decorum in the seventeenth century ‘are
an expression of the social, religious and moral ideals of the particular civilization which
has moulded them’ (pp. 210–11). The question of decorum is crucial to Lope’s reworking
of Seneca in El castigo sin venganza. See Victor Dixon and Isabel Torres, ‘La madrastra
enamorada: ¿Una tragedia de Séneca refundida por Lope de Vega?’, RCan, 19 (1994),
39–60.
57 In Racine’s Esther, the two banquets are also reduced to one. See Yarrow, ‘Esther’,
p. 84.
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32 ELAINE CANNING
Ester’s prayer to God before hosting the banquet for Amán and Asuero also
comes from Addition C of the Apocrypha. She cries out for divine assistance
as the ‘esclava’ of God:
¡Oh gran Señor, si aquesta esclava vuestra

las mujeres ilustres imitase
de vuestro pueblo y de la sangre nuestra,
y algo de sus desdichas restaurase;
[. . .]
haced que Amán por estas manos muera
(III, 131)
Lope does not remain wholly dependent on the deuterocanonical parts of

Esther in order to present his drama as a biblical, rather than secular, comedia.
Throughout this play, both Ester and Mardoqueo constantly refer to the power
of God and highlight that the people of Israel will be saved by His interven-
tion. Mardoqueo classifies the Jews as the pueblo de Dios, while Ester
exhibits obedience to, and love of, God right from the beginning of the play,
even before she has been chosen as queen of Persia. She prays:
¡Inmenso Dios, vuestra soy!

[. . .]
dadme entendimiento y fuerzas
para saber agradaros,
pues que yo os doy la obediencia.
(I, 113)
There is no doubt that although Lope manipulated the Book of Esther in order
to exploit and problematise contemporary themes, he also used his source
to promote an orthodox belief and hope in God to his seventeenth-century
audience.
Although Juan O. Valencia believes that the dream of Mardoqueo was
invented by Lope, in fact the playwright based his re-creation of the dream on
one of the Apocryphal additions (addition A).58 At the beginning of Act II
Mardoqueo tells his dream to Isaac, who is a new character created by Lope.
Regarding the significance of the dream, Mardoqueo remarks: ‘yo pienso que
58 For Valencia’s view on Mardoqueo’s dream, see Pathos y tabú en el teatro bíblico del
siglo de oro (Madrid: Ediciones y Distribuciones Isla, 1977), pp. 63–73 (pp. 65–66).
Valencia’s work is particularly interesting as regards his analysis of the character of Amán.
He describes Amán as ‘un personaje desgarrado por «los contrastes»: su vanagloria le lleva
a querer escalar las estrellas y su suerte lo arroja hasta los suelos. Apoyado en los favores
del Rey, se ve luego condenado por éste’ (p. 67). For Valencia, Amán is an unbalanced
individual who is at once confident, insecure and plagued by paranoia, despite his false
sense of self-importance. On Amán, see especially pp. 66–72 of Valencia’s work.
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ha de ser para bien nuestro’ (II, 117). The dream symbolises the deliverance
of the Jews from Amán’s organised persecution as a result of Ester’s efforts.
However, Ester has just been appointed queen and the hostility between Amán
and Mardoqueo has not even surfaced yet. Lope’s inclusion of the dream is
therefore another means of heightening dramatic suspense.
The creation of Isaac is fundamental to an understanding of Lope’s recre-
ated play. Isaac is not only included by Lope in order to serve as the listener
and receiver of Mardoqueo’s prophetic dream. He is also significant because
his ignorance of Amán’s identity and stature allows Mardoqueo to reveal
Amán’s superior role to the rest of the king’s officials. When Isaac asks:
‘¿quién es aqueste?’ (II, 117), Mardoqueo’s response provides the precise
details found at the beginning of Esther 3. He states:
Este es Amán, un príncipe

que preside a los otros, tan soberbio
con el imperio, que me causa enojos
(II, 117)
This conversion of biblical narrative into dialogue is markedly significant

because it establishes the antagonism which grows between Amán and
Mardoqueo throughout the play. However, Lope’s most important reason
for including Isaac in his play is the fact that his submissive obedience
serves to highlight the stoicism of Mardoqueo. When Isaac fearfully bows
down to pay respect to Amán, he leaves his Jewish friend standing defiantly
alone. There can be no doubt that Lope deliberately selected the name of
Isaac, one of the great patriarchs of the Old Testament, for his character.59
The inability of this character to take a stand against the royal favourite,
having been named after the heroic biblical figure who convinced the Lord
of his obedience in Genesis, magnifies the courage and steadfastness of
Mardoqueo.
Throughout La hermosa Ester, Mardoqueo is portrayed as an exceptional,
distinguished character endowed with valour and humildad. His heroism is
made much more explicit in Lope’s drama than in the biblical story. At the
beginning of Act III, before reading from the annals that Mardoqueo
was responsible for saving the king’s life, Egeo pronounces a list of recorded
names and feats attributed to them. This does not happen in the biblical
narrative where only Mardoqueo’s discovery of the plot against the Jews is
59 Isaac is the son of Abraham and father of the twins Jacob and Esau. He was born to
Abraham and his wife Sarah after a long and childless marriage. The events of his life are
recounted in Genesis 21–28. One of the most important episodes in Isaac’s life was the
projected sacrifice of him by his father Abraham (Genesis 22). In the end, God accepted a
ram as a substitute for Isaac because he was convinced of the obedience of both Abraham
and Isaac to His word.
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34 ELAINE CANNING
underlined.60 The effect created by Egeo’s comments on characters such as

Rufino Tebano, a painter, Tirio, an engineer, and Tesenio, a poet and the
reasons why they have been honoured by Asuero is the intensification of the
significance of Mardoqueo’s deed. Mardoqueo is projected as a man much
more worthy of reward than one who presents the king with a bad self-portrait,
constructs the royal baths or offers a book of poetry to him. Lope conse-
quently succeeds in setting Mardoqueo, a Jew, above the Persian nobles of
Asuero’s kingdom. Given Spain’s longstanding anti-Semitic tradition, the
elevation of the Jew raises several questions. For Lope’s audience, for whom
the Persians may mask the Spanish, it could signify the promotion of the Jew
above the Spanish nobility. If this is the case, the play not only forces the
audience to see itself in a negative light, but problematises concepts such as
anti-Semitism and honour.61
Perhaps the most significant expansion of biblical detail in the play is the
dramatisation of the conspiracy against the king based on Esther 2. 23: ‘And
when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were
hanged on a gallows.’ Lope presents the investigation into the planned assas-
sination of Asuero and introduces an important prop – a carta. Mardoqueo
overhears Bagatán and Tares not only discussing the murder of the king but
also commenting on the carta.62 This carta, carried close to the chest of Tares,
contains details of the proposed regicide. The carta is both Asuero’s proof that
Mardoqueo’s denouncement of the royal officials is true and the cause of the
men’s downfall. Lope heightens suspense in his play by having Bagatán and
Tares fear that Mardoqueo has overheard their conversation. His inclusion of
the carta also serves to set Amán and Mardoqueo up as two contradictory
forces – while Mardoqueo informs the royal household about the letter, Amán
reads the contents to them. In order to assign the role of reader to Amán and
not just to any royal adviser, Lope must promote him to the status of royal
favourite before the conspiracy to kill the king is thwarted by Mardoqueo.
60 In Josephus’ text, the accomplishments of two other individuals, apart from Mordecai,
are mentioned: ‘It was found that a certain man as a reward for his bravery on one occasion
had received some land, the name of which was also written. Then, in mentioning another
who had received a gift for his loyalty, he also came to the eunuchs who had plotted against
the king and against whom Mordecai had informed’. See Josephus, pp. 433–35.
61 The issue of the elevation of the Jew through the characters Mardoqueo and Ester
is complex. While the promotion of the Jew appears to be Lope’s aim, this does not
coincide with the more traditional picture of Lope in religious terms depicted in other
parts of this study. It is possible that the dramatisation of the story of Esther proved
attractive to Lope because of the opportunity it provided to give anti-Semitism a
problematic treatment and consequently, to generate a range of audience responses. For
several critics’ opinions on Lope as anti-Semitic or as a supporter of the Jewish cause, see
pp. 40–42 of this chapter.
62 In Josephus’ narrative, a character named Barnabazos, a Jew, discovers the conspiracy
against the king and informs Mordecai (p. 415).

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Because he aims to increase the rivalry between the hero and antihero of the
play, Lope cannot wait to promote Amán after the conspiracy is uncovered, as
is the case in his biblical source.
The animosity between Mardoqueo and Amán is escalated when, follow-
ing Amán’s invitation to dine with Ester and Asuero, the royal favourite is
ignored three times by Mardoqueo. This constitutes a deliberate amplification
on Lope’s part of Esther 5. 9 which reads as follows: ‘Haman went out that
day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate
and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was
filled with rage against Mordecai.’ Mardoqueo has already informed both
Isaac and the audience why he will not pay homage to Amán. To Isaac’s com-
ment that everyone is kneeling before Amán, Mardoqueo replies:
Yo no, que solo a Dios hincarlas pienso,

que no quiero quitar lo que le debo,
por darlo a la criatura, que bien sabe
el mismo Dios, que no es por ser yo grave.
(II, 117)63
As Mardoqueo denies him respect time and time again, Amán becomes more
infuriated. The first time Mardoqueo passes by without bowing down he is
called ‘el necio arrogante’. On the second occasion, he becomes for Amán ‘un
miserable hebreo’. Finally, Amán resorts to dehumanising the Jew, referring
to him as ‘una hormiga [. . .] una mosca miserable’ (II, 125).
By developing the negative qualities of Amán in the play, Lope undermines
the comments of this antihero. Amán is a cruel, arrogant and authoritative
governor who rejects the petitions of his subjects at the beginning of Act II.
He refers to himself as ‘el rey Amán’ (II, 120) and a godlike figure who is not
only ‘un hombre que respetan las estrellas’ (II, 121) but an individual whose
praises are sung by nature (II, 120).64 In this respect, he equates himself with
the divine being who, according to the child Isidro in La niñez de San Isidro
63 Lope bases Mardoqueo’s justification of his actions on Mordecai’s prayer contained
in addition C of the Apocrypha. In the Hebrew text of Esther, Mordecai offers no reason
why he refuses to bow down before Haman. Josephus states in this regard: ‘But Mordecai
because of his wisdom and his native law would not prostrate himself before any man’.
See Josephus, p. 417.
64 Like Amán, the figure of Senacherib, king of Assyria in Historia de Tobías, is
characterised by arrogance. He too establishes himself as a godlike personage by

describing his conquest of Jerusalem in terms of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21.1–11). Senacherib claims: ‘con laurel entro mañana /
triunfando en Jerusalén’. The edition of this play used for the purposes of this study is
contained in Obras de Lope de Vega, ed. Don Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo, Biblioteca
de Autores Españoles, 157–59, VI–VIII (Madrid: Atlas, 1963), VIII, 87–136. Senacherib’s
declaration is found in I, 93. All subsequent references to the play will be taken from
this edition.
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36 ELAINE CANNING
and his adult equivalent in La juventud de San Isidro, is eulogised by the

natural world.65 He boasts of supernatural powers in a lengthy monologue
claiming that the very sun and planets pay him homage.66 Lope presents Amán
as a despicable man, placing him in apposition to Mardoqueo who is for the
royal favourite nothing more than ‘un vil hebreo’ (II, 120). More than that, he
is a ‘mastín’ (II, 126) who disobeys his master. Amán is ultimately punished
in the play, not only because of his planned massacre of the Jews, but also
because of his soberbia. Humildad, as exemplified by Mardoqueo, is
rewarded in La hermosa Ester. Amán is struck down by God’s ‘cetro de la
muerte’ because he tried to destroy God’s chosen people.67 For him, the scep-
tre symbolises damnation, while for Ester and Mardoqueo, it means salvation.
While Asuero extends his sceptre to Ester when she enters the throne room,
thus pardoning her for presenting herself uninvited, Mardoqueo receives the
royal sceptre and is dressed in royal attire when the king decides to honour
him for saving his life. Indeed, Mardoqueo appears on stage ‘con cetro y
corona en un caballo, y su palio;’ (III, 129). Ironically, it is Amán who
suggests that Asuero should present his sceptre to the man he wishes to
reward. In fact, this suggestion is made precisely when Amán wants to ask for
permission to put Mardoqueo to death.
Lope also exploits the character of Amán to deal with the concept of honra.
At the end of Act II when he decides to hang Mardoqueo for being a
disrespectful citizen, Amán expresses the importance of honour in the manner
of a seventeenth-century Spanish male whose pride has been damaged. He
states:
que no hay oro, seda y telas,

granas tirias, persas joyas,
gobiernos, reinos, imperios,
mesas, deleites, aromas,
que causen tanta gloria
como vengar agravios de la honra
(II, 126)
Nonetheless, in failing to redress his grievance, Lope presents Amán as an

individual who is not entitled to honour, and thus suggests for a second time
in this play his uncertainty regarding the concept. However, as part of the
fabric of Spanish patriarchal society, and essentially about ‘belonging’ to that
See my analysis of the prayers of the child and adult Isidro in chapter 2, pp. 66–68.
65
See his speech, II, 120.

66
67 See Mardoqueo’s speech, II, 117. In Historia de Tobías, Senacherib is also punished
by God through an ángel santo who puts 185,000 of his soldiers to death (I, 93–94). Tobías
(viejo) attributes Senacherib’s eventual murder by Sarasar and Adramelech, the king’s sons,
to God’s intervention. He tells his wife, Ana, his son, Tobías (mozo) and Rubén, who
delivered the news of the royal death: ‘Hijos, Dios lo permitió’ (I, 98).
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society, honour is the privilege of those who enjoy pureza de sangre. Marginal
individuals, such as the Jews, were not entitled to honour. By denying honour
to Amán and punishing him for his attack on the Jews, Lope once again
elevates the Jew.68
Apart from Isaac, Lope presents another new character named Marsanes
based on the biblical Marsena, one of the seven nobles of Persia. Marsanes
acts as ‘amigo y consejero de Amán’.69 The function of Marsanes is to bridge
gaps, connect scenes and increase tension in the play. He is the official who
initially expresses leniency towards Vastí by advising the king to allow her to
remain in the company of the other women. However, he subsequently makes
a declaration concerning the superiority of the male to the female. He also
suggests that the king should make the dethronement of Vastí known in all the
provinces.70 Marsanes similarly informs Amán of Mardoqueo’s lack of
respect for him. He does this alone, rather than as part of the group of royal
officials who relate Mordecai’s disobedience to Haman in the Book of Esther.
Marsanes exaggerates Mardoqueo’s refusal to honour Amán, thereby magni-
fying Amán’s agitation and disgust with the Jew. He tells him: ‘De tal man-
era le hallo / mil veces en tu presencia’ (II, 120). One of the most significant
roles that Marsanes plays in La hermosa Ester is that of the faithful friend of
Amán who suggests to him that he should have Mardoqueo hanged from the
gallows. Consequently, the inclusion of this character might have mitigated
somewhat Amán’s negative role and made the audience see him as less
culpable for his actions.
Lope’s originality in La hermosa Ester is manifested through his introduc-
tion of a sub-plot. This serves to make the play more explicitly relevant to the
seventeenth-century audience and to produce comic relief. Weiner believes
that it demonstrates that opposites, specifically the Spanish nobility and peas-
antry, can never complement one another: ‘Creo que en este episodio Lope ha
querido mostrar que las cosas opuestas – sangre baja y sangre alta – no se
pueden mezclar.’71 In the form of two short interludes in Acts I and II, the
sub-plot takes place in a typical seventeenth-century rustic setting and tells the
story of how Sirena aspires to become queen and how Selvagio, her lover,
refuses to take her back when she fails in her quest. The choice of names of
these characters was no coincidence. Selvagio is the rustic figure which his
name suggests, while Sirena’s name is symbolic of the role that she would like
68 Lope’s El niño inocente de La Guardia serves as an interesting contrast to
La hermosa Ester because of its treatment of the theme of anti-Semitism. However, even
within that particular play, the Jews voice their sufferings in Act I. Francisco, for example,
states: ‘¡Míseros de nosotros, desterrados / de nuestra patria en tanta desventura! / Los
daños tan de atrás profetizados, / aún no se acaban, y el castigo dura’. See El niño inocente
de La Guardia, ed. Anthony J. Farrell (London: Tamesis, 1985), I. 322–25.
69 See Valencia, Pathos, p. 70.
70 See Marsanes’ speech, I, 109.
71 ‘La reina Ester’, p. 45.
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38 ELAINE CANNING
to play. She aims to become the siren of Greek mythology who will lure and
tempt the king. She is an arrogant female, described in terms of her ‘vanidad’
(I, 114) and ‘locura’ (II, 121) by Selvagio. She believes that the king should
choose her for his wife because of the superiority of the natural countryside
to the ambience of the palace and because ‘lo que falta es lo mejor’ (I, 115).
Sirena is a comic figure who ironically wishes to become queen in an envir-
onment which she has just criticised. The fact that the audience knows that
Ester, not Sirena, will become queen intensifies the comic effect of this scene
and invalidates Sirena’s monologue.
Nevertheless, Sirena mirrors Vastí’s self-assurance and independence. Just as
Vastí disregarded Asuero’s request that she appear before him, so Sirena ignores
Selvagio’s plea that she remain faithful to him and abandon her ambition.
Although Sirena is also portrayed as a foolish female who admits to her own
‘locura’ and ‘soberbia’ (II, 122) in aspiring as one of sangre baja to an unattain-
able status of sangre alta within the hierarchical structure of seventeenth-
century Spain, her assertiveness and her initial refusal to play the part of the
submissive female cannot be denied. Sirena leaves the stage in Act II with a con-
fident speech concerning how she will win back Selvagio’s love. She boasts:
pero yo le ablandaré
la condición fiera y brava;
no me da mucha fatiga
por más que volar presuma;
(II, 122)
The audience, therefore, is left not with an image of Sirena as a defeated, under-
mined woman, but as a bold, positive female. Consequently, Lope’s sub-plot not
only makes La hermosa Ester more appealing by setting it within a contempor-
ary context, but also allows a subversive female presence to have a forceful voice
within the play. This sub-plot is particularly effective because it is successfully
worked into the main plot and thematic axis of La hermosa Ester.
When Lope decided to write a play based on the Book of Esther, rather than
any other biblical story, he was obviously not interested in merely presenting
the omniscience of God on stage. Of course there is no denying that the import-
ance of faith is highlighted in La hermosa Ester. However, by concentrating
on the success of a young woman in an alien environment, the Book of Esther
offered Lope the opportunity to present the strong, assertive female (a preva-
lent type in Lope’s secular drama) within a religious framework.72 Principally
72 A thorough investigation into the numerous representations of the strong-willed
female in Lope’s secular plays is beyond the limits of this book. However, examples of the
type include the women of the Amazons, explicitly praised by Lope in Las mujeres sin
hombres and the character Laurencia in Fuente Ovejuna. In Fuente Ovejuna, the
authoritative and resolute Laurencia is capable of both condemning men and joining forces
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through the character of Ester, and to a much lesser extent, Vastí, Lope exalts
the female. Ester’s triumph over Amán is coupled with the fulfilment of
Vastí’s promise to make Asuero suffer, if only for a short time, for sacrificing
love for public duty. It may only have been possible for Lope to present the
ultimate victory of the female Jewess (Ester) over the male (Amán) because
Ester is almost non-human; she is God’s instrument on earth through whom
His divine powers operate. In the final scenes of La hermosa Ester, she is
praised both by the king and by his Hebrew subjects.
Indeed, Lope’s final manipulation of biblical material relates to the ending
of the play. He succintly dramatises the final chapters of the Book of Esther
and concludes his play by focusing on the rejoicing and celebrations of the
Jews on stage with Ester, Mardoqueo and Asuero. Prior to the final dance and
the redistribution of Amán’s estate to Mardoqueo and Ester, Asuero authorises
the revocation of Amán’s decree against the Jewish population. He addresses
Mardoqueo in the following manner:
Esta es mi sortija y sello;

despachad cartas al punto,
en que revoco el decreto
que Amán, soberbio, había dado
contra el santo pueblo hebreo.
(III, 135)
La hermosa Ester ends on a happy, non-violent note, omitting the biblical

account of the murder of Haman’s ten sons and other Persians by Jews in
Asuero’s provinces. This means that Lope’s audience is left to contemplate the
triumph of the Jews, rather than the destruction of the enemy. It is Amán, not
the ‘santo pueblo hebreo’ who is the embodiment of evil as the play draws to a
close.73 Significantly, Ester’s success is not undermined by acts of vengeance.
The ending of La hermosa Ester could be viewed as problematic for mem-
bers of the seventeenth-century audience if they have identified themselves
with them as befits the occasion. Furthermore, Laurencia draws attention to the valour of
the Amazonian women of Lope’s previously cited play, as she remarks: ‘y torne / aquel
siglo de amazonas, / eterno espanto del orbe’ (III, 160). An analysis of feminism and
distinct female types in the comedia forms the focus of Melveena McKendrick’s Woman
and Society in the Spanish Drama of the Golden Age (London, New York: CUP, 1974) and
Frederick A. De Armas’ The Invisible Mistress: Aspects of Feminism and Fantasy in the
Golden Age (Charlottesville, Virginia: Biblioteca Siglo de Oro, 1976). More recently, the
theme of women as a subversive force in the comedia has been examined in a collection
of essays entitled The Perception of Women in Spanish Theater of the Golden Age, eds
Anita K. Stoll and Dawn L. Smith (Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1991).
73 In Addition E of the Apocryphal Esther, the Jews are not presented as evil-doers.
Josephus’ paraphrase of Addition E (Josephus, pp. 445–51) does not omit this important
detail. Josephus states regarding the thirteenth of Adar: ‘For God has made it a day of
salvation for them instead of a day of destruction’ (p. 451).
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40 ELAINE CANNING
with the Persians, especially with Amán, and with his preoccupation with
honour and his detestation of the Jews. If we accept the possibility of such an
interpretation, then the spectators were susceptible to two contradictory
representations of themselves through the characters of Amán and the king.
They may have seen themselves portrayed negatively as a result of Amán’s
destiny, but also in an altogether more positive light through the ultimate pre-
sentation of the king as a tolerant and just individual. Asuero is revered by
both Mardoqueo, who addresses him as ‘¡Oh soberano señor!’ (III, 135), and
by an hebreo who, like Mardoqueo, prostrates himself before him. The hebreo
tells the king:
Danos tus pies, gran señor,

y pon de tu nombre el hierro
en las almas, que en las caras
ya le tenemos impreso.
(III, 135)
At the same time, the audience observes the Jew, the national enemy, as rep-
resented by Ester and Mardoqueo, in a privileged position within the state and
the recipient of special royal favours. Such an understanding of the represen-
tation of the self and the ‘other’ problematises the concept of limpieza de
sangre which was of fundamental importance to the seventeenth-century
Spaniard.
The date of composition of La hermosa Ester makes the above interpreta-
tion particularly significant. It is no coincidence that Lope wrote his play in
1610, the year of the expulsion of the moriscos from Spain and one month
after a decree was issued limiting the return of the Portuguese conversos to
Spain.74 Lope unequivocally wrote this play with a political agenda in mind.
The play obviously makes a statement on the anti-Semitism which pervaded
seventeenth-century society, but whether we can deduce from it that Lope was
an advocate of the Jewish cause is a polemical issue among critics of this
drama. Sicroff, for example, is doubtful that Lope was anti-Semitic, claiming
that ‘el hecho mismo de escoger la historia bíblica del Libro de Ester hace
dudosa la idea de un Lope conformista respecto al antisemitismo de sus con-
temporáneos. Es inconcebible que un Lope antisemita – en cualquier grado
que lo fuera – se propusiera dramatizar el máximo triunfo que conoció el
pueblo israelita en el Antiguo Testamento contra sus perseguidores.’75 Weiner
similarly regards Lope as a sympathetic upholder of the Jewish cause. He
states: ‘Creo que esta comedia favorece la tolerancia hacia el morisco y hacia
74 The expulsion of the moriscos from Spain was the result of an edict dated 22
September 1609. The decree limiting the return of Portuguese conversos was issued on
3 March 1610. The expulsion of the moriscos was carried out satisfactorily by 1613–14.
75 ‘Notas equívocas’, p. 703.
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el judío, en particular hacia los conversos’.76 However, there are those critics
who assert that a Christian interpretation which promotes Ester as a prefig-
uration of the Virgin Mary is important in the play, in spite of their recognition
of the fact that Lope’s main character is a representation of the biblical
Jewess.77 They claim that just as Ester saves the Jews from the wrath of Amán,
so the Virgin saves the human race from the devil. In a similar vein, just as
Ester is excluded from punishment by Asuero for approaching him uninvited,
so Mary is excluded from the mark of original sin.78 The most widely quoted
parts of La hermosa Ester in support of this opinion are Amán’s speech at the
end of Act I – ‘lo que mujer dañó, mujer lo sana’ (p. 116) – and the song with
which the play ends
Hoy salva a Israel

la divina Ester.
Hoy, Ester dichosa,
figura sagrada
de otra Ester guardada
para ser esposa,
más pura y hermosa,
de más alto Rey.
Hoy salva a Israel
la divina Ester
(III, 135)
Critics argue that Amán’s speech which explains how Ester repairs the hon-
our of Asuero damaged by Vastí symbolises the salvation of the world by the

77 Among the critics who argue for Ester as a prefiguration of the Virgin are Glaser,
‘Lope de Vega’s La hermosa Ester’, p. 131 and Vega García-Luengos, ‘El libro de Ester’,
p. 240, n. 40. In Lope’s poem entitled El Isidro (1599), the Virgin is described as ‘La Ester,
que tanto / cuanto quiso gracia halló / en los ojos que miró’. See Obras selectas, II (Poesía
y Prosa), 413–534 (p. 439). Further references to the poem will be from this edition. In the
same work, Lope also describes Ester in terms of her ‘humilde belleza’ (p. 459). As well as
that, an analogy between the Virgin and Esther is drawn in San Isidro, labrador de Madrid.
Isidro defines the Virgin as ‘Ester divina’ in his rendition of the Ave María. See Obras
selectas, III (Teatro 2), 357–88 (I, 366). Subsequent references to the play will be taken
from this edition. For a more detailed analysis of both El Isidro and San Isidro, labrador
de Madrid, see chapter 2, especially pp. 50–51.
78 The play in which Lope explicitly treats the theme of the Immaculate Conception is
La limpieza no manchada. Lope was commissioned to write this play in 1618 by the
University of Salamanca in celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. Lope
introduces Ester, Amán and Asuero into the second act of this play in the form of a play
within the play. In this play, Ester’s exemption from the law preventing anyone appearing
before the king without permission does in fact symbolise the Virgin’s exemption from the
mark of original sin. On the play within the play in Lo fingido verdadero, see chapter 4,
pp. 110–27.
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42 ELAINE CANNING
Virgin following the harm caused by Eve. Weiner, however, disagrees with
this view. He states: ‘En esta pieza de Lope no creo que sea aplicable esta
interpretación religiosa.’79 Similarly, while the final song clearly defines Ester
as a prefiguration of the Virgin, both Weiner and Sicroff take issue with its
dramatic function within the play. Although Weiner maintains that the only
lines in the play which allude to the Marian theme are those contained in the
song, he believes that the song itself serves to create ‘un fin convencional’,
rather than ‘uno de base temático-estructural’.80 In Sicroff’s opinion, Lope’s
attempt to make Ester a prefiguration of the mother of God is an ‘esfuerzo
endeble’ following his exaltation of the Jewess and the debasement of the
rústica, Sirena.81
I would suggest that Lope presents La hermosa Ester from both perspec-
tives, both Christian and Jewish. By this I mean that Ester is not only Esther,
the saviour of the Jewish people, but also simultaneously a prefiguration of the
Virgin.82 The presence of subversive voices in the play does not preclude an
orthodox Christian interpretation, or vice versa. According to Simerka, ‘a more
comprehensive vision of the complexity of audience reception raises the prob-
ability of spectators who sought, and found, experiences other than purgation
and reaffirmation of orthodox values when attending the corral’ (See ‘Early
Modern’, p. 46). Perhaps Lope knew that writing within the dogmatic climate
of his time, he could not possibly dramatise the success of the Jews, the
national enemy, without suffering at the hands of the Inquisition. It is possible,
even, that he cleverly inserted Christian references into his play which would
allow Ester to function as a prefiguration of the Virgin. The date of completion
of La hermosa Ester would suggest that Lope almost certainly did not share
the established anti-Semitic viewpoint and was even, perhaps, a sympathetic
supporter of the Jews/Conversos and Moriscos living in contemporary Spain.83
In the final analysis, Lope indisputably creates a successful dramatisation of
the Book of Esther in La hermosa Ester, remaining faithful to the plot of the

81 ‘Notas equívocas’, p. 704, in Lope de Vega y los orígenes, ed. Manuel Criado de Val.
82 In ‘Función y simbolismo’, p. 465, Concejo claims regarding the relationship between
Ester and the Virgin: ‘A través de la representación, el espectador puede recorrer los grandes
momentos de la mariología cristiana: Anunciación, Corredención, Glorificación’. In her
concluding remarks, she describes the play in the following manner: ‘La hermosa Ester
[. . .] contrarresta el antisemitismo de la sociedad española del Siglo de Oro al exaltar a una
mujer judía que de esclava llega a reina’ (p. 471).
83 In ‘The Jew’, Roberta Zimmerman Lavine argues that aesthetic demands of plays may
have caused Lope to present the Jew or the Converso in a sympathetic light. She concludes
that Lope is not, however, an advocate of the Jewish/Converso cause. Following an analysis
of Lope’s poem Sentimientos a los agravios de Christo nuestro bien (approx. 1632), Daniel
L. Heiple concludes ‘it seems that Lope was more willing to dramatize the problem
sympathetically in his plays than in his lyric poetry’. See ‘Political Posturing on the Jewish
Question by Lope de Vega and Faria e Sousa’, HR, 62 (1994), 217–34 (p. 225).
Mono204-01.qxd 4/7/04 10:01 AM Page 43
story while incorporating his own views on seventeenth-century socio-literary

preoccupations such as love, honour and the role of woman. He has success-
fully mediated between past and present and attained the goal of the medieval
playwright as described by Alan E. Knight: ‘His goal [. . .] was not just to rep-
resent the events of a distant and sacred past to a fifteenth century audience, he
also had to explain those events in ways that would make them applicable to
contemporary life.’84 Lope exhibits his dramatic craftmanship and genius by
carefully expanding and omitting biblical detail in order to create a fast-moving
comedia which produces suspense and tension. Important to the impact which
Lope hoped La hermosa Ester would make on his audience is the fact that as
a biblical play, the seventeenth-century viewers interpreted it as a depiction of
real events, a dramatisation of historical reality.85
What the audience witnesses, therefore, is the presentation on stage of a
‘real’ woman who saved her people from annihilation during some earlier
period in history. It learns that the Jews were also persecuted in the past and
managed to save themselves from the enemy. La hermosa Ester demonstrates
how the underdog, in this case woman and Jew, can not only survive but suc-
ceed in a climate of persecution. It emphasises the importance of love, both
human and divine, and problematises seventeenth-century concepts such as
honour and anti-Semitism. Ultimately, Lope’s La hermosa Ester is proof that
a popular story or event can be recreated in order to produce a drama which
is at once appealing and instructive.
Twelve years later, the playwright’s task would become even more demand-
ing, after he was commissioned to dramatise the life and works of Isidro,
Madrid’s patron saint. The challenge to please a contemporary audience,
generally familiar with every detail of the saint’s life, would seriously put
Lope’s dramatic craftsmanship to the test.
84 ‘The Enacted Narrative’, p. 234.

85 The Book of Esther, however, although set in the early post-exilic period, is not based
on historical fact. As Brockington indicates in Ezra, p. 217, the time period covered in the
biblical narrative stretches from the transportation of Mordecai to Babylon by
Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC (see Esther 2. 5–6) to the reign of Xerxes (Xerxes I, 485–65 BC).
This means that the action took place at least 112 years after Mordecai’s deportation.
Brockington states: ‘We are forced to the conclusion that the author deliberately projected
his book on to this early post-exilic period, but telescoped the period, as was not unusual with
Jewish writers, so that it could come within the compass of one man’s life.’
W. R. F. Browning has described the Book of Esther in the following way: ‘Although
fictitious, it is possible that the story may be based on some historical incident’. See
‘Mordecai’ in Browning’s Dictionary of the Bible (Oxford: OUP, 1997), pp. 256–57 (p. 257).
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2
THE RE-PRESENTATION OF MADRID’S
PATRÓN IN LA NIÑEZ DE SAN ISIDRO AND
LA JUVENTUD DE SAN ISIDRO
San Isidro, patrón de Madrid

In spite of the fact that Isidro was not canonised until 1622, he was popu-
larly acclaimed saint and patrón de Madrid from the beginning of the thirteenth
century when his body was transferred from the cemetery of San Andrés to the
altar of the church.1 According to Francisco Moreno, ‘Sin esperar a que la
autoridad eclesiástica correspondiente diese el oportuno visto bueno, muchos
hombres y mujeres de Madrid, a la vista de los milagros hechos, según el
diácono Juan, el mismo día del traslado, le concedieron espontáneamente en
privado y públicamente el honroso título de santo, y empezaron a considerarle
como su patrón’.2 From 1589, when the first steps were taken to verify the
sanctity of the local saint in Rome, until 1622, the population of Madrid was
particularly concerned with the life and miracles of Isidro.3 The popularity of
this local saint from medieval times, together with an upsurge in interest as a
1 In ‘Saint Patrick of Ireland and the Dramatists of Golden-Age Spain’, Hermathena,
121 (1976), 142–58, Victor Dixon draws attention to the fact that Christians throughout
Europe not only revered ‘local’ saints from medieval times, but also ‘international’ saints.
In the opening lines of his article, Dixon states: ‘It seems appropriate to recall on this
occasion [. . .] the veneration all Christendom accorded, throughout medieval times and in
later centuries, to the life and works of St Patrick’ (p. 142).
2 Francisco Moreno, San Isidro labrador (Madrid: Editorial El Avapiés, 1992), p. 73.
Moreno’s study is an invaluable detailed analysis of Isidro, Madrid’s patron saint. In his aim
to be a ‘narrador imparcial’ (p. 11), he provides details on the miracles, beatification and
canonisation of Isidro, together with references to the saint’s main biographers, the
witnesses for the beatification and canonisation proceedings and a modernised translation
of the bull declaring the canonisation of Isidro. ‘El diácono Juan’ or Juan the Deacon, reader
of Theology and Secretary to Alfonso X the Wise, wrote his Leyenda de San Isidro in 1275.
This text will be closely examined in the course of this chapter.
3 The first legal documents for the purposes of the canonisation of Isidro were
completed in 1589 during Philip II’s reign. For further details, see Moreno, San Isidro,
pp. 79–80. Devotion to Isidro from medieval times is reflected in the establishment of the
Cofradía de San Isidro, which emerged at the end of the thirteenth century at the latest. In
1537, this brotherhood merged with the Cofradía del Santísimo Sacramento to form the
Cofradía del Santísimo Sacramento y San Isidro Labrador. See San Isidro, p. 158; p. 161.
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RE-PRESENTATION: SAN ISIDRO 45
result of the canonisation proceedings, strongly suggests that numerous details

relating to the local saint were not only familiar to, but well known by, Lope’s
prospective audience.4 When Lope was commissioned by the Council of
Castile to write two plays in celebration of Isidro’s canonisation, his dramatic
compositions were thus restrained by the necessity to comply not only with a
specified agenda dictated by the authorities, but also by the horizon of expect-
ation of the public.5 Consequently, he was unable to manipulate his source
material to the same extent as he had done in La hermosa Ester.
La niñez de San Isidro and La juventud de San Isidro were both written,
performed and printed in 1622.6 They were not staged in a typical corral, but
in the open air, by the use in each case of two elaborately decorated carts and
a platform in the plaza del Palacio by the theatrical companies of Vallejo and
Avendaño.7 Lope’s audience included not only the general public, but the king
4 In Spain and the Western Tradition; III (1965), 249, Green reiterates Karl Vossler’s
assertions in Introducción a la literatura española del siglo de oro (Madrid: Cruz y Raya,
1934), p. 61, regarding Lope’s role in the canonisation process. Green states: ‘And Lope
de Vega, himself remarkable as a sinner, was chiefly responsible for the canonization of
St Isidro, the farmer of Madrid who was made the patron saint of that city. The canonisation
was prepared, solicited, and finally brought to fruition through the influence on public and
ecclesiastical opinion of an epic poem and three dramatic works by Lope himself, and
two poetic contests which he organized. Such was the power of poetry and of Christian
devotion in the Spain of 1599, 1617, 1620, and 1622.’ Green’s comments would suggest
that the composition of La niñez and La juventud de San Isidro occurred, together with the
poetry competition, prior to the official declaration of the canonisation of the saint. This
was not the case.
5 Thomas Case claims that a comedia de santos was ‘meant to be a part of a series of
celebrations designed for a seventeenth-century public in honor of a saint. It was purposely

written to fit in with other parts of a celebration of a saint.’ He describes the faithful who
turned up to see the play and the clerics who commissioned it as ‘co-creators of the drama’.
See his ‘Understanding Lope de Vega’s Comedia de Santos’, Hispan, 125 (1999), 11–22
(p. 16). Apart from the plays on Isidro, Lope was commissioned to write two others. Prior
to the canonisation of Isidro, he was contracted by the University of Salamanca to compose
La limpieza no manchada (1618). Subsequently, he wrote La vida de San Pedro Nolasco
in 1629 at the request of the Mercedarian Order.
6 Both plays were published in a book entitled Relación de las fiestas que la insigne villa
de Madrid hizo en la canonización de su bienaventurado hijo y patrón San Isidro, con las
dos comedias que se representaron y los versos que en la Justa poética se escribieron
(Madrid: Viuda de Alonso Martín, 1622). In addition to the plays, the book contains a
dedication to Madrid, 3 aprobaciones, an account of the celebrations entitled Relación de
las fiestas, the prize-winning poems of the poetry contest held in honour of the saint and
Lope’s ballad Premios de la fiesta y justa poética en la canonización de San Isidro. For an
abridged version of the contents of this book, see Sáinz de Robles, Obras selectas, II
(Poesía y Prosa), 1125–47.
7 In the Relación de las fiestas, Lope provides significant details on the staging of his
plays. See Obras selectas, II, 1128–41 (p. 1137; p. 1141). Miguel Gallego Roca compares
the staging of these plays to that of the autos sacramentales: ‘El escenario descrito por Lope
parece ser el mismo que se utilizaba en las representaciones de los autos sacramentales en
las fiestas del Corpus.’ See ‘Efectos’, p. 118.
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46 ELAINE CANNING
and queen themselves, who watched the plays from the lower balconies of the
palace. With the extra provision of richly adorned costumes for the actors and
a magnificent tramoya, Lope’s task was to recreate the life and works of Isidro
in a manner which was pleasing to his three-tiered audience of royal, lay and
religious spectators.8
In order to appreciate fully the complexities involved in Lope’s dramatisations
of Isidro, we must first explore the details of Isidro’s life and miracles which
were, in fact, the dramatist’s raw material. The labrador who inspired Lope’s
plays was born in Madrid around 1100, during the early years of the
Reconquest.9 His parents, who were of humble origins, encouraged him to love
God from an early age. He was employed by Iván de Vargas, a wealthy
landowner and worked for him on the estate of Torrelaguna, situated just outside
Madrid. As a young man, he married María de la Cabeza, who bore him one
son.10 The various miracles associated with Isidro during his lifetime include
8 In the Relación de las fiestas, Lope describes the costumes in the following manner:
‘La riqueza de los vestidos fue la mayor que hasta aquel día se vio en el teatro’. He also
provides details on the tramoya: ‘Lo que hubo móvil fue una tramoya sobre un teatro. Era
de cuarenta pies de alto, su fundamento un fuerte, su extremo una nube, encima de ella la
Fama con una bandera en la mano, y cuatro ángeles que volaban alrededor, sin verse su
movimiento, como si fuera máquina semoviente o automática.’ See Obras selectas, II,
1141; 1137.
9 For general details on the life of Isidro, see Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints, ed., rev.
and supp. Herbert Thurston, S. J., and Donald Attwater, 2nd edn, 4 vols (London: Burns and
Oates, 1956), II, 323–24; Book of Saints. A Dictionary of Servants of God Canonized by the
Catholic Church, compiled by the Benedictine Monks of St Augustine’s Abbey, Ramsgate,
5th edn (London: A. and C. Black, 1966), p. 364 and New Catholic Encyclopedia, prepared
by editorial staff at the Catholic University of America, Washington, District of Columbia,
17 vols (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966–79), VII (1967), 672. Like the Isidro plays, Fuente
Ovejuna and San Diego de Alcalá are set during the reconquest of Spain, although the action
of both takes place in the fifteenth century in the latter years of the struggle (Fuente Ovejuna
is set in 1476 while San Diego de Alcalá traces the life and miracles of San Diego de Alcalá
[approx. 1400–63]). Nevertheless, the war against the infidel features in all three. For details
on the reign of Alfonso I of Castile and the early years of the Reconquest, see among others
‘The Rise of Christian Spain’, in The Making of Medieval Spain, by Gabriel Jackson
(London: Thames and Hudson, 1972), pp. 53–78 and Angus MacKay, Spain in the Middle
Ages (London: Macmillan, 1977), pp. 15–57.
10 The cult of María de la Cabeza was approved in 1697 by Innocent XII. She was born
at Torrejón and died in approximately 1175 in Caraquiz. Following her death, various
miracles were attributed to her. The most popular miracle associated with her is the
crossing of the Jarama river on her mantle following a false accusation of adultery. In San
Isidro, pp. 27–30, Moreno highlights several popular details relating to the saint. On
pp. 35–37, he presents some of what he claims are authentic miracles which God worked
through the intercession of María de la Cabeza. On María de la Cabeza, see also Book of
Saints, p. 483. In a study of Lope’s female saints and their relationship with the mujer
varonil, the maternal figure and the Virgin Mary, Catharine Gilson presents María de la
Cabeza as a mirror image of the Virgin. She also draws a parallel between the mujer
varonil and Dona, one of the principal characters of Lope’s Los locos por el cielo. See
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angels ploughing the fields while he prayed, the creation of a spring from which
his master, Iván, could drink and the restoration to life of his master’s horse. He
is also remembered for feeding beggars at a confraternity dinner by miraculously
increasing his own portion of food and distributing corn seed to birds on a win-
ter’s day from a sack whose seed subsequently produced abundant quantities of
flour. Following his death (dated approximately either at 1130, or between 1171
and 1190), Isidro was buried in the cemetery of the church of San Andrés in
Madrid.11 Forty years later, the saint allegedly appeared in two visions, first to a
friend and afterwards to a matron, requesting the removal of his body to a more
appropriate place in accordance with Divine orders. Isidro’s body, perfumed by
the sweet smell of incense, was discovered to be intact and incorrupt and was
transferred to a beautiful shrine above the main altar in San Andrés.12
Other miracles are attributed to Isidro after his death, including the victory
over the Moors at Navas de Tolosa in 1212 when Isidro, in the guise of a
shepherd, appeared to Alfonso VIII’s soldiers and led them to a secret path
from which they could successfully attack and defeat the enemy. Isidro is also
credited with restoring Philip III to health around 1619 when his shrine was
carried to the bedroom of the royal patient. However, he is not only upheld as
the saviour of royal blood. It is also said that, through the intercession of
Isidro, many other individual members of society made miraculous recover-
ies from various afflictions, including physical disabilities and infertility
problems. Even today, it is claimed that individuals who visit the fuente de
San Isidro continue to be cured.13
‘Lope de Vega’s Female Saints’, in Golden Age Spanish Literature. Studies in Honour of
John Varey, eds Charles Davis and Alan Deyermond (London: Department of Hispanic
Studies, Westfield College, 1991), pp. 93–103.
11 In Lives, p. 324, Alban Butler claims that Isidro died on 15 May 1130. Similarly, in
the contents of the papal bull concerning Isidro’s canonisation in Moreno, San Isidro,
pp. 106–16 (p. 110), the saint’s death is recorded to have taken place around 1130. However,
in San Isidro, p. 54, Moreno claims: ‘La fecha de la muerte suele ponerse entre 1171 y 1190,
en 30 de noviembre.’ In a critical edition of the Leyenda de San Isidro by Juan the Deacon,
Fidel Fita states: ‘La cuenta sale cabal con señalar el año 1190 para el dicho tránsito del
glorioso labrador, patrón de Madrid’. See ‘Leyenda de San Isidro por el diácono Juan.
Códice del Siglo XIII, procedente del archivo parroquial de San Andrés’, ed. Fidel Fita,
BRAH, 9 (1886), 97–157 (p. 155).
12 Stephen Wilson claims that the incorruptibility of the corpse was usually, and still is,
taken to be a sign of sanctity, and it is a commonplace of hagiology that saints’ bodies emit
sweet odours. See his ‘Introduction’, in Saints and Their Cults. Studies in Religious
Sociology, Folklore and History, ed. Stephen Wilson (Cambridge: CUP, 1983), pp. 1–53
(p. 10). Franciso Moreno, in San Isidro, p. 59, claims that the Dominican Fray Domingo
de Mendoza was present at the official opening of Isidro’s tomb on 20 July 1593. He
provides details on Mendoza’s testimony relating to the tomb and body of the saint (pp. 60
and 62) and states that Mendoza described the smell emanating from the saint’s body as
‘un olor suavísimo diferente de todos los olores y especies aromáticas’ (p. 60).
13 According to Wilson, visits to springs or wells associated with saints was a popular
way of effecting cures by them. Individuals drank the water from the spring or well,
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48 ELAINE CANNING
During their respective reigns, Philip II and Philip III both strove to ensure
the canonisation of Isidro. Finally, the document passing the beatification of
Isidro was signed by Paul V on 14 June 1619, and eight days of festivities
marked the occasion in Madrid from 15 May the following year. Isidro was
later canonised on 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV during the reign of
Philip IV at a ceremony which also included the canonisations of Ignacio de
Loyola,14 Francisco Javier,15 Teresa de Ávila16 and Philip Neri.17 Isidro is
remembered each year on 15 May. His feast day is not only celebrated in
Spain but even in northwestern Mexico where framed images of the saint are
carried through the fields by farmers who, through the intercession of Isidro,
hope that their land will be blessed by rain.18 His body is currently enshrined
in the Cathedral of Madrid.
San Isidro: A Pervading Presence in Lope’s Life and Work

In his Estudios sobre el teatro de Lope de Vega, Menéndez y Pelayo stresses
how Madrid’s patron saint impresses upon Lope’s life and compositions: ‘No
hay quien ignore [. . .] cuánta importancia tiene en la vida y en las obras de
Lope la devoción al Santo labrador, patrono de Madrid, y de qué modo
contribuyó con el prestigio de su rica poesía a difundir y hacer popular, dentro
y fuera de los muros de la villa, el culto del humilde y venturoso labriego,
bathed or washed in it and even dipped the clothing of the sick into it. See ‘Introduction’,
in Saints and Their Cults, p. 19.
14 Ignacio de Loyola (1491–1556) is worshipped as the patron of retreats and his feast is
celebrated on 31 July. For further details on this saint, see Henry Dwight Sedgwick, Ignatius
Loyola: An Attempt at an Impartial Bibliography (London: Macmillan, 1924); Paul Van
Dyke, Ignatius Loyola, the Founder of the Jesuits (New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1926) and
C. de Dalmases, ‘Ignatius of Loyola, St’, in New Catholic Encyclopedia, VII (1967), 354–56.
15 Francisco Javier (1506–52) is thought to have been one of the greatest missionaries
of all time. A companion of Ignacio de Loyola, his feast day is 3 December. He was
declared patron of the Orient in 1748, patron of the Faith in 1904 and along with St Thérèse
of Lisieux, patron of all missions in 1927. See ‘St Francis Xavier’, in Butler’s Lives, IV,
474–81.
16 Teresa de Ávila (1515–82), also known as Teresa de Jesús, was one of the great
Spanish mystics and founder of the order of Discalced Carmelites. She was proclaimed a
Doctor of the Church in 1970, the first woman to be granted the title. She is particularly
remembered for her spiritual works. Her feast is celebrated on 15 October. For general
details on Teresa, see O. Steggink, ‘Teresa of Avila, St’, in New Catholic Encyclopedia,
XIII (1967), 1013–16 and Carole Slade, St Teresa of Avila: Author of a Heroic Life
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995).
17 Philip Neri (1515–95), whose feast day is celebrated on the 26 May, is also known
as the ‘apostle of Rome.’ For further details on this saint, see Book of Saints, p. 575 and
Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, 2nd edn, rev. Catherine Rachel John
(London: Penguin, 1983), pp. 275–76.
18 See Jorge Acero, ‘The Fiesta of San Isidro’, Journal of the Southwest, 33 (1991),
18–19.
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a quien amaba doblemente por razón de paisanaje y por aquel espíritu llano y
democrático que en el alma de Lope reinaba’.19 Lope’s connection with Isidro
was already well established before he wrote La niñez and La juventud in
1622. According to Moreno, Lope appeared as a witness at the official
proceedings for the beatification/canonisation of María de la Cabeza as early
as 1612.20 Eight years later, he was not only the judge and organiser of the
poetry competition to celebrate Isidro’s beatification, but also composed two
quatrains which were inscribed on the new silver coffin especially prepared
for Isidro’s dead body.21 The verses read as follows:
Esta Urna sacra encierra

más Cielo que tierra, y fue
de un labrador cuya Fe
labraba Cielo a su Tierra.
Imitando a Eloy el celo,
sus plateros la labraron,
para decir, que engastaron
de todo Madrid el Cielo.22
In 1622, Lope was not only responsible for the composition of two plays in
honour of the saint, but also acted as one of the judges at the poetry
competition which took place in the plaza mayor on 28 June 1622. On this
occasion, Lope read the opening speech, the prize-winning poems and made
a humorous commentary in verse on each of the winning poems. Finally,
Lope closed this ceremony with a ballad just as he had done at the competi-
tion two years previously. In his Premios de la fiesta, y justa poética en
19 See Estudios, II, 43–49 (p. 44).

20 Moreno states: ‘Me agrada recordar que uno de los testigos fue Lope de Vega,
cuando tenía cincuenta años.’ See San Isidro, p. 30.
21 The poetry competition took place on 19 May 1620 and was held in the church of
San Andrés. Lope opened the celebrations with an introductory speech and the recital of
some of his own poems in the décimas style. He also recited a poem to conclude the
ceremony entitled Romance para la conclusión de la justa poética celebrada con motivo
de la beatificación de San Isidro, in which he praised the poets who had participated in
the contest. Finally, Lope distributed prizes to the winning poets. He was paid 300 ducats
for his efforts by the Council of Castile. The poems entered in the competition were
published in 1620 under the title Justa poética y alabanzas justas que hizo la insigne villa
de Madrid al bienaventurado San Isidro en la fiesta de su beatificación (Madrid: Viuda
de Alonso Martín). Lope added some of his own verses in the décimas style to this
publication, as well as several verses under the pseudonym Tomé de Burguillos and an
introduction in which he attacked culteranismo. Sáinz de Robles cites parts of the Justa
poética in Obras selectas, II, 1109–24, including the Breve suma de la vida del
Bienaventurado San Isidro (pp. 1111–12) and the ballad with which the function ended
(pp. 1120–24).
22 See Moreno, San Isidro, pp. 65–66.
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50 ELAINE CANNING
la canonización de San Isidro, he applauded the winning poets and their

compositions.23
More importantly, however, Lope’s recognition of the wealth of material
associated with Isidro prompted him to devote two significant works to the
saint prior to 1622. He explicitly defined events in Isidro’s life as promising
subject matter for poets in his Romance para la conclusión de la justa poética
celebrada con motivo de la beatificación de San Isidro:
¿Quién pensara que en Madrid

tantos poetas hubiera?
Pero vos lo habéis causado,
labrador de nuestra tierra.
Porque con campos y ríos,
ángeles, arados, rejas,
fuentes, cristales, milagros,
les dais tan fértil materia,
que vendrán a ser por vos
poetas hasta las piedras;
que para vuestra alabanza
ya no es mucho que hablen ellas.24
The first of these works, and the longest on the subject of the saint by Lope,
is El Isidro (Madrid: Luis Sánchez, 1599), which Sáinz de Robles considers
to be ‘el más bello poema de Lope’.25 A poem made up of ten cantos, it
focuses on the life of the saint from his birth to his death and presents the
miracles which are commonly associated with him. Lope, however, still
manages to convey his own voice, referring to Isidro in canto V, for example,
as a ‘celestial labrador’ (p. 471). The poem also provides Lope with the oppor-
tunity to address several theological issues in cantos III and IV, such as the
fall of Lucifer, the Immaculate Conception and Christ’s salvation of mankind.
Moreover, the saintliness of Isidro is highlighted when Lope lists his name
alongside prophets, apostles and biblical heroes/heroines including Joseph
and Esther (canto IV, pp. 458–59).
Lope’s second important creation on this subject is a three-act play entitled
San Isidro, labrador de Madrid (1598–1608) (probably 1604–06).26 Published
in 1617 in the Séptima parte de las comedias de Lope de Vega Carpio, it is
essentially a dramatisation of the adult life of the saint from his request for
permission to marry María de la Cabeza to the prophecies of the rivers
23 Lope’s ballad is contained in Obras selectas, II, 1143–47. For details on the prizes
awarded at the contest, see the ‘Nota preliminar’, pp. 1125–26.

24 Obras selectas, II, 1121.
25 See his ‘nota preliminar’ to the poem in Obras selectas, II, 413–14 (p. 414).
26 Unlike La niñez and La juventud, San Isidro, labrador de Madrid was not a
commissioned work. Lope, therefore, did not have to comply with a particular agenda.
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Jarama and Manzanares regarding his death, canonisation and miracles.27

Isidro’s canonisation is effectively promoted in the course of the play through
the discourse of several characters. Isidro himself makes a prediction con-
cerning his future role, nominating himself as ‘el prelado de estos prados’ in
his conversation with the personification of jealousy, Envidia (II, 375).
Envidia too, in spite of his aspiration to destroy Isidro’s reputation, ultim-
ately focuses on the possible official recognition of Isidro’s holiness. He
informs Demonio:
¡[. . .] vendrá el siglo en que Felipe

reine, y por ventura en Roma
le veas canonizar!
(III, 387)28
In terms of content, both of Lope’s early works justify his claim regarding
the suitability of the story of Isidro as a literary subject. However, in order to
comprehend how Lope would later reconstruct the fundamental details relat-
ing to Isidro in La niñez de San Isidro and La juventud de San Isidro, famil-
iarity with the written source material which would have been extant at the
time of writing is vital.
The Source Material

For writers of all genres in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Spain, the
fundamental source of reference for the legend of San Isidro was Juan
Diácono’s Leyenda de San Isidro.29 A thirteenth-century text, now preserved
27 In San Isidro, Moreno claims that Lope wrote this play in 1617 (see p. 128). Similarly,
Garasa states regarding its composition: ‘La tercera, San Isidro, labrador de Madrid, fue
escrita cinco años antes que las otras dos.’ See his Santos, p. 59. Garasa devotes pp. 58–62
of the book to a discussion of the three plays on the San Isidro theme. On pp. 58–59, he
takes issue with Menéndez y Pelayo’s definition of the three plays as ‘una especie de
trilogía (Estudios, II, 43). As far as he is concerned, ‘Pese a su tema común, no puede
hablarse de trilogía. Una trilogía es, por ejemplo, la que Tirso de Molina dedicará a ensalzar
la santidad de la monja de la Sagra, sor Juana de la Cruz’. San Isidro, labrador de Madrid
was subsequently published in Parte veinte y ocho de comedias de los mejores ingenios
desta corte (Madrid, 1667).
28 Philip III (1598–1621) was the ruling monarch at the time of composition of this
play. As already stated, Isidro’s canonisation did not take place during his reign but in that
of his successor, Philip IV (1621–65).
29 The edition used for the purposes of this study is that produced by Fidel Fita. The
relevant bibliographical details are cited in p. 47, n. 11 of this chapter. Lope makes the
importance of this text explicit in his Breve suma del bienaventurado San Isidro, contained
in the Justa poética. Here, he claims that the life of María de la Cabeza is known thanks to
Juan Diácono’s work: ‘Esto se sabe de sus antiquísimos retratos, y su vida, de Juan Diácono,
presbítero de aquel tiempo.’ See Obras selectas, II, 1111–12 (p. 1112).
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52 ELAINE CANNING
in the archive of Madrid’s cathedral, it inspired not only Lope’s dramatic and
poetic compositions but also the work of several biographers including
Alonso de Villegas, fray Juan Ortiz Lucio and Jaime Bleda.30 The text has
been attacked by critics as a result of its exclusion of basic details, such as the
names of Isidro’s wife, son and master, and several miracles popularly asso-
ciated with the saint. These include the restoration to life of Iván de Vargas’
horse, María’s miraculous crossing of the Jarama river and Isidro’s supernat-
ural creation of springs. In Juan Diácono’s defence, Fidel Fita argues that the
deacon did not set out to present the vida but the leyenda milagrosa of the
saint (‘Leyenda’, p. 101). Similarly, Moreno acknowledges that an intricate
biography of the saint was unnecessary given the author’s objectives: ‘Lo que
pretendió fue simplemente despertar entre los fieles simpatía y devoción hacia
el santo. [. . .] En pocas palabras, el diácono pudo y no quiso decir más de lo
que dijo’ (San Isidro, p. 27). In spite of his exclusion of material, Juan
Diácono catalogues salient episodes in Isidro’s life which are subsequently
dramatised by Lope. The contents of the first sections of his biography are
particularly significant in this regard.31
Isidro Feeds the Birds (pp. 102–03)32

Isidro departs for the mill with a sack of wheat on a snowy winter’s day in
the company of the filiolo. He sees some hungry birds settled on the branches
of the trees and pours out some wheat from the sack for them to eat. The filiolo
is angry at his master’s actions. When Isidro and the filiolo finally reach the
mill, the wheat produces an abundance of flour.
Angels Help Isidro while he Prays (pp. 103–07)

Several of Isidro’s co-workers approach their master and inform him that
Isidro is neglecting his work by arriving late everyday following his daily visit
to church. Upset, the master visits Isidro and scolds him. Isidro informs him that
he will compensate him if his harvest is affected by his attendance at church.
Isidro’s maxim is ‘Primum querite regnum dei, et vobis necessaria non deerunt’ –
‘he who seeks God shall not want’ (p. 105). Unconvinced, the master decides to
30 Alonso de Villegas’ Vida de San Isidro labrador, an abridged version of Juan
Diácono’s text, was published in Madrid by Luis Sánchez in 1592. Fray Juan Ortiz Lucio’s
account of the life of Isidro, which follows Juan Diácono’s text closely, was contained in
his Flos Sanctorum/Compendio de vidas de los santos, which was also published in
Madrid in 1597. Jaime Bleda’s Vida y milagros del glorioso San Isidro el labrador
comprises a translation of Juan Diácono’s text with additions. It was published in Madrid
in 1622.
31 Fita numbers the paragraphs of Juan Diácono’s text, ‘para mayor firmeza y claridad’
(‘Leyenda’, p. 102). The sections cited above are paragraphs 1–7 of Fita’s edition. I have
provided titles for each section in order to draw attention to their content.
32 Page references correspond to the relevant sections of the Latin text in Fita’s edition.
What I have presented here is a summary of the most important details of each section.
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visit Isidro’s workplace and witnesses his late arrival. Filled with anger, he
decides to go and confront Isidro. However, following his lapse of concentration
for a moment, Isidro’s master looks back at the field and sees two teams of oxen
ploughing to the right and left of Isidro. When he approaches Isidro and asks him
who was providing him with assistance, Isidro replies that he only calls on God
for protection and did not see anyone. His master realises that Isidro was assisted
by divine grace and puts him in charge of his land.
The Miracle of the Wolf (pp. 107–08)

Isidro goes to pray in the church of Santa María la Magdalena. Several
young boys approach him and inform him that his beast is being attacked by
a wolf. Isidro tells the boys to go in peace and let the will of God be done:
‘Ite in pace, fili[i]; fiat voluntas domini’ (p. 107). When Isidro leaves the
church, he finds the dead body of the wolf alongside that of his own uninjured
beast. He returns to the church to thank God.
The Miraculous Feeding of the Beggar (pp. 108–09)

One Saturday, a wretched man unexpectedly approaches Isidro seeking
alms. Isidro asks his wife to give the left-over food to the beggar. Although
his wife is sure that there is nothing remaining, she goes to fetch the empty
pot and finds it miraculously filled with food. She offers the beggar an abun-
dance of food and narrates the occurrence to her neighbours.
The Miracle at the Confraternity Dinner (pp. 109–10)

Having gone to pray first, Isidro arrives late to the confraternity dinner in
the company of a group of poor men. The brothers inform Isidro that the only
food remaining is his individual portion. Isidro miraculously increases the
amount of food with the result that there is even some left over once Isidro
and the poor have been fed.
The Burial of Isidro (pp. 110–11)

Isidro’s body is buried in the cemetery of San Andrés. His body lies there
for forty years and is rarely visited. A small stream forms inside the tomb as a
result of the rains. However, God ensures that no part of Isidro’s body becomes
withered.
The Miraculous Appearance of Isidro (pp. 111–12)

Isidro appears to a friend telling him to instruct the parish leaders to
exhume his body and place it in the church of San Andrés in accordance
with Divine orders. The friend is hesitant and decides to say nothing. Isidro
subsequently appears to a faithful matron with the same message. Isidro’s
body is exhumed and discovered to be incorruptible and surrounded by the
sweet smell of incense. It is placed in a new, magnificent tomb in the church
of San Andrés.
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54 ELAINE CANNING
With the exception of the hymns in honour of San Isidro, the remainder
of the biography presents a variety of miracles attributed to the intercession
of Isidro.33 These include the curing of physical disabilities and infertility
problems as well as the provision of rain in times of drought. However, since
Lope is concerned only with the re-creation of the childhood and adult years
of Isidro in La niñez and La juventud, a detailed study of these supernatural
occurrences is unnecessary.34
Apart from Juan Diácono’s biography of the saint, Sáinz de Robles
indicates a second source of reference for Lope’s plays on Isidro: ‘Para sus
obras escénicas se inspiró Lope en su propio poema. Pero ¿y para éste? Era
muy popular la Vida de San Isidro, compuesta en el siglo XIII por el diácono
Juan’.35 Understandably, Lope would turn to his first and longest work on the
saint when faced with the task of re-creating the ‘image’ of the holy man for
the stage. Moreover, Lope’s first play on the subject of the saint, San Isidro,
labrador de Madrid (1604–06?), was also an invaluable source when Lope
was preparing La niñez and La juventud in 1622. This fact is generally over-
looked by critics who tend to examine Lope’s three Isidro plays collectively
rather than as individual compositions.36 This collective approach has
The hymns constitute sections 25–30, pp. 129–42 of Fita’s edition.

33
A study of these miracles would be fitting in a detailed analysis of El Isidro and San
34
Isidro, labrador where the prophetical rivers (both the Jarama and the Manzanares in San
Isidro, labrador and the Manzanares only in El Isidro) allude to them. This, however, lies
beyond the focus of this chapter.
35 See his ‘nota preliminar’ to La niñez de San Isidro in Obras selectas, III, 311–12
(p. 311). Menéndez y Pelayo claims that Lope had access to materials collected by fray
Domingo de Mendoza when he wrote El Isidro. In Estudios, II, p. 45, he explains Lope’s
use of sources: ‘Lope nunca las declara de un modo explícito, si bien para el poema dice
haberse valido de los procesos y probanzas que le comunicó fray Domingo de Mendoza.’
In San Isidro, pp. 83–84, Moreno describes Mendoza’s role in the canonisation process.
According to him, Domingo de Mendoza was one of the first witnesses to be called by
Rome in order to make his declaration in favour of Isidro. He did so on 11 August 1593.
Moreno adds that in February 1596, Mendoza was commissioned by the nuncio Camilio
Caetano to obtain more information on Isidro’s life and miracles by visiting all areas
within the jurisdiction of Madrid and that he completed his research the following year.
In El Isidro, canto X, p. 532, Lope draws attention to Mendoza’s connection with the
canonisation proceedings: ‘que la canonización / ya el Papa y con gran razón / a sí solo
ha reservado. / Mas la madre que se goza / de tal hijo, la pretende, / cuya ejecución
emprende / fray Domingo de Mendoza, / y en las probanzas entiende.’
36 Lope’s plays on Madrid’s patron saint have attracted little critical attention. In
addition, as stated above, their critics for the most part have analysed the three together. In
Estudios, II, 43–49, for example, Menéndez y Pelayo makes general observations on San
Isidro, labrador, La niñez and La juventud de San Isidro. Similarly, Garasa discusses all
three Isidro plays in Santos, pp. 58–62, although he focuses primarily on San Isidro,
labrador. In ‘Efectos’, Gallego Roca goes beyond a general discussion of the plays in
order to present a detailed analysis of staging techniques employed by Lope in his
dramatisation of Isidro. He examines the use of apariencias, escotillones and the pescante
and the relationship between the tramoya and poesía in the plays. In ‘La comedia de santos
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obscured the true nature of the relationship between the earlier work and the
two later plays. The earlier one is, in fact, a dynamic intertextual presence in
the later plays, although we might say that Isidro is, to some extent, ‘reborn’
in La niñez and particularly in La juventud. This is partially a result of the
rewriting of characters and scenes from San Isidro, labrador, fused with the
miracles provided by Juan Diácono’s text.37
As already stated, the content of La niñez and La juventud and the
development of Isidro’s character were preconditioned by the expectation of
Lope’s audience which was well acquainted with the saint. With the approval
of various miracles and details by the Court in Rome in 1622, events in Isidro’s
life were accepted as factual by the religious authorities and the general public
alike. The most significant approbations made by Rome involved the authen-
ticity of miracles presented in Juan Diácono’s text, as well as others popularly
associated with the saint, including the miracle of the spring, where Isidro pro-
vided water to quench his master’s thirst.38 As a result, Lope was confronted
with several fundamental concerns in 1622 when he wrote his plays. In the first
instance, he faced the challenge of transforming what was for his audience a
popular and real individual into a recognisable and credible dramatic character
in a play, who in turn would reach them on a real, albeit emotional level. At the
same time, it was necessary for Lope to reconstruct what was quite stale, writ-
ten source material into dynamic entertainment for his spectators. Finally, and
most significantly, Lope’s La niñez and La juventud had to reflect the saintli-
ness of Madrid’s patron saint, the essential reason behind the revelries of which
the plays were a part. In his dramatisation of the child Isidro in La niñez, this
latter demand was to prove particularly challenging.
La niñez de San Isidro

In La niñez de San Isidro, Lope presents the birth, baptism and childhood
of Madrid’s patrón.39 The play is accompanied by a loa in which Lope praises
en Antonio de Zamora’, DHA, 8 (1989), 333–41, Irene Vallejo González conducts a

comparative study between Lope’s plays on Isidro and Antonio de Zamora’s El lucero de
Madrid, y divino labrador, San Isidro, written at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Her analysis includes a brief summary of each of Lope’s plays (pp. 335–37). Finally, in his
article entitled ‘Ideología/espectacularidad en la comedia de santos’, Gestos, 2 (1987),
65–81, Mario Cesáreo provides a succinct commentary on the dramatic structure of San
Isidro, labrador de Madrid (pp. 75–79).
37 San Isidro, labrador de Madrid was especially important as a source for Lope’s La
juventud since it dramatised a similar period in the life of the adult Isidro.
38 In San Isidro, pp. 106–16, Moreno claims to have provided a literal but modernised
translation of the canonisation bull in its entirety. Gregory XV granted the canonisation of
Isidro but died on 8 July 1623. The bull was produced in 1724 and printed in Rome in 1726.
39 The edition of the play used for the purposes of this study is contained in Relación
de las fiestas, fols 4r–18v. All subsequent references will be taken from this edition.
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56 ELAINE CANNING
the youthful Philip IV and his lineage, particularly by drawing attention to the
accomplishments of Philip II, such as the historic union of Spain and France.
Lope also encourages Philip IV to enjoy the privilege of fulfilling the role of
ruling monarch during the canonisation of four of Spain’s saints. In Act I of
La niñez de San Isidro, Lope presents Inés and Pedro, the devout, future par-
ents of Isidro and labradores who are employed by Álvaro de Vargas. The play
opens with Inés’ prayer to the Virgin of Almudena for a son ‘que sea santo’
(I, fol. 4r), which is followed by Pedro’s prayer and his vision in a dream of
the unborn Isidro. Inés subsequently gives birth and Pedro thanks God for the
gift of his son in San Andrés. Act I ends with the arrival at San Andrés of Don
Álvaro, several labradores and Isidro’s godparents (Elvira and Juan Ramírez)
amid singing and dancing for the child’s baptismal ceremony. The saintliness
of the child Isidro is highlighted throughout the second act of the play by the
introduction of complicated expressions of faith, an encounter with Christ and
the manipulation of a seemingly innocent game of hide and seek. The play
ends with celebrations in honour of the Virgin of Atocha and the offering of
a cross by Isidro to the Christ child.
As will be seen in due course, La juventud, like La niñez, is a two-act play.
Indeed, they are not only fundamentally similar in dramatic structure but have
a variety of similar themes, images and characters. Essentially, the explicit
continuity established between La niñez and La juventud serves to define
these comedias as two acts of one play. The following duplications and/or
re-creations will be highlighted:
• the shared qualities of father and son (Pedro and Isidro)
• the relationship between the child Isidro and his adult counterpart
• the similarities between Bato, the gracioso of La niñez, and Tirso, his son,
who assumes his father’s role in La juventud
• the duplication of scenes (Christ’s appearance to the child and adult
Isidro)
• the re-creation of the miracle of the angels.
In El Isidro, Lope describes Isidro’s upbringing by his parents in the
following manner:
En su infancia, le enseñaban
a amar a Dios, y apartaban
del pecado con ejemplo,
donde la humildad contemplo
que en esto los tres mostraban.40
Spelling and punctuation will be modernised where appropriate. Saints also appear as
youths in El niño inocente de La Guardia and La niñez del Padre Rojas. Similarly, La
madre de la mejor is concerned with the conception, birth and childhood of the Virgin.
40 Obras selectas, II, 422.
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A similar, broad overview of Isidro’s piety as a child is contained in the

canonisation bull: ‘Desde su infancia practicó Isidro las virtudes cristianas
con tal grado de perfección que en su edad adulta prefirió vivir de la
agricultura, por parecerle el oficio más humilde, más penoso y más apto y
seguro para la salvación de su alma.’41 The lack of concrete details relating
to Isidro’s childhood would imply that Lope was less constrained in terms
of content in the composition of this play than when he came to write La
juventud de San Isidro and was faced with a wealth of models to work from.
However, the very absence of the child from the dramatic action until the end
of Act I and from the dialogue until Act II suggests that Lope was uncon-
vinced that his audience would immediately accept an unknown child as their
patrón. As a result, the child Isidro is made recognisable to the spectators
through a variety of dramatic devices. Lope establishes a link between the
adult and child Isidro, particularly in Act I, through the use of the offstage
voz, the transformation of Bato, the gracioso, into a prophet-like character,
the incorporation of the miracle of the angels as a vision in a dream of the
unborn child’s father and the future parents’ description of their ideal son.
Having consolidated a relationship between adult and child, the child Isidro’s
saintliness can then be emphasised in Act II primarily through his own words
and actions.
According to Elma Dassbach, ‘las profecías y voces celestiales, aunque son
expresiones sobrenaturales de menos espectacularidad escénica que las
demás, suelen presentarse como un primer paso para trazar el primer contacto
del santo con el mundo del más allá’.42 In Act I of La niñez de San Isidro, the
function of the offstage voz is to reveal the child Isidro’s future role as a saint
and his veneration by the inhabitants of Madrid. The prophecies of the voz which
are heard by Pedro both prior to, and following, Isidro’s birth intensify the
connection between the child Isidro and his adult counterpart of La juventud
de San Isidro. The first prediction of the voz, which follows Pedro’s prayer for
a saintly son and which precedes his dream, establishes the first specific asso-
ciation between the unborn child and the adult Isidro for the audience. In a
celebratory tone, the ‘voz cantando’ (I, fol. 6r) stresses the prestige of Isidro
and the good fortune shared by Pedro and Madrid as a result of their connec-
tions with the unborn child. The voz proclaims:
Venturoso el labrador
que coge tan rica prenda
del fruto del matrimonio
para enriquecer la Iglesia.
Y venturosa Madrid
cuando por hijo le tenga,
41 Moreno, San Isidro, p. 107.

42 See La comedia hagiográfica, p. 99.
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58 ELAINE CANNING
pues le ha de dar más honor

aunque los Reyes lo sean.
(I, fols 6r–6v)
The song portends the saintly nature of Isidro who will appear on stage later
in this play and subsequently in La juventud de San Isidro. In addition, it
underlines the significance of Isidro as patron of Madrid and a saint of the
Catholic Church even before his birth.
When the voz instructs Pedro for the second time at the end of Act I, he
draws attention to the transfer of Isidro’s body to the altar of San Andrés
following his death. In the first instance, Pedro misinterprets the voz’s claim
‘aquí ha de tener lugar / tu hijo (I, fol. 11r) as a prediction of his newly born
son’s imminent death. However, he interprets the message as a ‘prodigio
extraño’ when the voz elaborates:
Aquí ha de vivir, y ver

muchos siglos esta Villa,
con notable maravilla
del mundo.
(I, fol. 11r)
Pedro’s inability to accept the voz’s prediction, concluding that it must be a

form of ‘engaño’ (I, fol. 11r) reflects his questioning of the validity of his
vision of his unborn child in a dream. He asks himself:
cielos, ¿qué es esto que vi

en vuestro divino oriente?
¿Esto se puede soñar?
¿esto mirar los sentidos
exteriormente dormidos?
(I, fol. 6v)
More significantly, however, Pedro’s hesitation to acknowledge himself as a

witness of some supernatural revelation mirrors his son’s inability as a child
and adult to accept that he is worthy of a visit from Christ. In Act II of La
niñez de San Isidro, Isidro attributes the encounter with Christ to his infantile
imagination following his own self-questioning:
¿Qué es esto que ofrecieron a mis ojos

mis imaginaciones?
¿Son sueños, o ilusiones?
Sin duda sueños son, o son antojos,
que como a tan pequeño,
con tales sombras se me atreve el sueño.
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¿Qué es aquesto que vi? Pero sería

de mi niñez efecto,
(II, fol. 18r)43
In La juventud de San Isidro, the adult Isidro is also unable to grasp the impli-
cations of such a ‘spiritual’ reality, explicitly stating that he is undeserving of
a meeting with Christ: ‘sueño fue, que mi humildad, / no tiene merecimientos’
(I, fol. 27v). This humble reaction to the supernatural is not the only common
feature shared by father and son. In fact, Pedro in La niñez de San Isidro exhibits
several qualities demonstrated also by his adult son in both La juventud de San
Isidro and San Isidro, labrador de Madrid. Both he and his wife Inés are
complimented by Álvaro de Vargas, who describes them as ‘buenos cristianos’
(I, fol. 9r), while Isidro and María are categorised as ‘buenos novios’ by their
employer, Iván de Vargas, in La juventud.44 Like Isidro, whose daily attendance
at mass is confirmed by Pascual de Valdemoro and the sacristán in San Isidro,
labrador,45 Pedro is also an ardent churchgoer. The sacristán of La niñez de San
Isidro claims in this regard:
No hay mejor hombre en Castilla,

ni ha tenido San Andrés
parroquiano más galán.
(I, fol. 11r)
Pedro also engages in prayer through which he defines God in terms of his rela-
tionship with nature, just as his son does later in this play and in La juventud
43 The preoccupation of both Pedro and Isidro with the relationship between illusion and
‘reality’ mirrors Segismundo’s inability to distinguish between lo real and lo soñado in

Calderón’s La vida es sueño. In addition, the reaction of these characters serves to reinforce
the seventeenth-century theocentric view of the illusory nature of life, which is analysed in
more detail in part 2 of this study. Indeed, as will be seen in due course, the incorporation
of supernatural characters and dreams/visions into La niñez and La juventud, and the use of
the different levels of the stage in both are fundamental to the interplay between illusion and
reality. Consequently, both plays could also be examined in detail from this perspective.
44 The edition of La juventud de San Isidro used is contained in Relación de las fiestas,
fols 20v–35r. All subsequent quotations will be taken from this edition. As with La niñez
de San Isidro, spellings and punctuation will be amended where appropriate. The reference
cited above can be found in I, fol. 21v. Iván de Vargas, Isidro’s employer in both La
juventud de San Isidro and San Isidro, labrador de Madrid, is the son of Álvaro de Vargas,
Isidro’s parents’ employer in La niñez de San Isidro. This is a further example of the
continuity which exists between these plays.
45 Pascual de Valdemoro informs Benito Preciado and Juan de la Cabeza, ‘que no
amanece el alba sin que aguarde / a la puerta de nuestra iglesia, atento / a cuando el sacristán
a abrirla venga, / y que jamás al campo va sin misa;’ (San Isidro, labrador, I, 360). The
sacristán subsequently remarks regarding Isidro’s presence in the church of Santa María:
‘¡Que siempre esté este villano! [. . .] no deja en Santa María / pilares, losas y cantos / detrás
de donde no esté’ (I, 367).
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60 ELAINE CANNING
de San Isidro.46 Furthermore, both Pedro and Isidro in San Isidro, labrador de
Madrid offer their respective newly born sons to God.47 In San Andrés, Pedro
implores Saint Andrew to teach his son to be a pious and exemplary individ-
ual, thanks God for the gift of his son and informs Him ‘desde aquí queda
sagrado / a vuestro servicio’ (I, fol. 11r). In San Isidro, labrador, Isidro like-
wise hands his son over to God’s service:
¡Gracias a Dios, suyo es!

Ya se las he dado allá;
a ver la parida voy.
(II, 377)
In spite of the fact that Pedro’s character is defined before the birth of his son
in the play, his personality is based on traits which are traditionally associated
with Isidro and would have been identified as such by the audience. It is pos-
sible, therefore, that Lope recreated Pedro in his son’s image in order to
remind his audience of some of the saint’s fundamental characteristics, which
he would then highlight in both La niñez and La juventud. Moreover, by
depicting Pedro as hardly less saintly than his son, Lope is able to ensure
Pedro’s acceptance as a suitable parent for Madrid’s patrón.
The relationship between the adult and child Isidro established by the voz is
reinforced by the prophecies of the gracioso in Acts I and II. Bato, however,
also displays the characteristic traits of the typical gracioso whom Thomas
Case defines in terms of ‘su comicidad, su cobardía, su amor a la comida [. . .]
al vino, al sueño y su papel como sirviente o lacayo’.48 Like Bartolo of San
Isidro, labrador and Tirso of La juventud, Bato is an entertainer. As the child
Isidro is presented at San Andrés to be baptised and the dancing begins, Antón
instructs Bato ‘relincha, voltea, / hazte rajas’ (I, fol. 11r). In La juventud
See pp. 66–68 of this chapter for an analysis of these prayers.

46
The birth of Isidro’s son is not included in La juventud de San Isidro. On the absence
47
of this detail, Gilson claims: ‘Lope omits this detail in La juventud de San Isidro, perhaps
so as to maintain the image of María’s purity and to avoid the added conflict of the duty
to her child’ (‘Lope de Vega’s Female’, p. 100).
48 See his ‘El morisco gracioso en el teatro de Lope’, in Lope de Vega y los orígenes,
ed. Manuel Criado de Val, pp. 785–90 (p. 790). On the role of the gracioso in Lope’s
hagiographic plays, see especially Robert Morrison, ‘Graciosos con breviarios: The
Comic Element in the Comedia de Santos of Lope de Vega’, CH, 12 (1990), 33–45 and
Elma Dassbach, ‘Personajes cómicos’, in La comedia hagiográfica, pp. 145–60. In his
discussion of La niñez and La juventud de San Isidro in ‘Graciosos’, Morrison states: ‘As
in the earlier San Isidro, labrador de Madrid, Bato provides the comic element’ (p. 42).
The gracioso in San Isidro, labrador is in fact named Bartolo. Morrison’s statement is
ambiguous because it suggests that Bato is the name of the gracioso in both La niñez and
La juventud, despite the fact that he subsequently highlights that Tirso, Bato’s son, is the
gracioso of La juventud.
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(I, fol. 20v) and San Isidro, labrador (I, 363; 364–65), Bartolo and Tirso get
involved in the dances at the wedding celebrations of Isidro and María. As the
main provider of comedy, many of Bato’s humorous comments, like those of
his son Tirso in La juventud, relate to the temptation of food and his preoccu-
pation with his empty belly. Whereas Bato considers putting a ‘for rent’ sign
on his stomach if Inés does not quickly feed him (II, fol. 12r), Tirso provides
Isidro with a detailed and entertaining commentary concerning how he was
tempted by a ‘pastel’ (II, fols 29v–30r).49 Both father and son also provide
amusing descriptions of their singing donkeys. Bato claims that when he goes
riding ‘me ayuda a cantar; / que en diciéndole arre, luego / piensa que es re, y
me responde / sol, sol, ut, ut’ (I, fol. 7v), while Tirso narrates to Isidro how he
was greeted by the donkey: ‘él me dio los buenos días / en la solfa que otras
veces’ (II, fol. 30r).
One of the most comical scenes in the play, in which the glutton is duped,
is a re-creation of an episode which appears in San Isidro, labrador following
the birth of Isidro’s son (II, 376–77). In the original scene, Bartolo tricks Perote
and Tomás by declaring a competition in which the person who tells the best
dream wins the last torrija. Bartolo’s explanation of his dream, in which he
describes a hook which is trying to swipe a torrija from him, involves the eat-
ing of the last torrija as a demonstration of his action in the dream. Afterwards,
Perote and Tomás dupe Bartolo by pretending to reluctantly allow him to play
a flute. When Bartolo begins to play, his face is covered in soot.
Lope borrows this scene, but with variations. Bato appears on stage with a
plate of torrijas following the birth of Isidro in La niñez (I, fol. 10r). His
refusal to accept a favour from Dominga in exchange for one torrija suggests
that the satisfaction of his greedy appetite is even more of an urgency for him
than for Bartolo. He stresses the importance of self-satisfaction by informing
Antón ‘que en habiendo tiempos dulces, / las amistades se acaban’ (II, fol.
10v). Lope possibly permits the gracioso to be deceived twice in this play
because of his outright rejection of love and friendship. Like Bartolo, he too
is attracted to the Aragonese flute, the dulzaina, but is covered with both soot
and flour following two attempts to play it. The double trick played on Bato
obviously adds an extra element of humour to La niñez.
Nevertheless, apart from fulfilling the conventional role of the gracioso,
Bato is significantly transformed into a prophet-like character who forecasts
several events in the life of the adult Isidro, including his canonisation and the
transfer of his body to San Andrés.50 His reiteration of facts already presented
49 In San Isidro, labrador, Perote playfully uses religious imagery by describing Bartolo’s
stomach as an ‘arca de Noé’ (II, 376).

50 In a discussion on standard cast-lists in the comedia, Victor Dixon states: ‘Such
standardization by no means precluded variation within each of the standard types, most
obviously perhaps in the different combinations of characteristics assigned, from play to
play, to the gracioso.’ See his Characterization in the Comedia of Seventeenth-Century
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62 ELAINE CANNING
by the voz prevents the audience from losing sight of the child Isidro’s true
identity. The presentation of the newly born child for the first time on stage
in Bato’s arms is deliberate on Lope’s part. It serves to establish a visual and
physical link between the two characters which is exploited throughout the
play as Bato foretells Isidro’s future. Bato performs his prophetical role for
the first time when he appears with the child. He comments on the child’s
laughter:
Quizá está viendo

algo que le está esperando,
que todos nacen llorando,
y este muchacho riendo
(I, fol. 9v)
Although Bato’s observation is vague, it accentuates the uniqueness of the

child. Bato strengthens his remark on what lies in store for the child Isidro by
explicitly focusing on his sainthood. He reveals God’s plan for him to Álvaro,
Juan and Elvira who disclose their hope that the child will be granted divine
protection:
Álvaro: Dios te bendiga.

Juan: Y te guarde.
Elvira: Y te haga un santo.
Bato: Si hará,
que Dios puede, y Dios querrá,
y para Dios nunca es tarde.
(I, fol. 9v)
Bato’s hypothetical statement concerning the status of the adult Isidro –

‘aunque con el Rey se iguale’ (I, fol. 10r) – suggests that, in spite of the fact
that Isidro is the son of a labrador, spiritual piety may grant social mobility.
Bato continues to play the role of the prophet in Act II by confronting the child
with his forthcoming canonisation (II, fol. 12r) and the eventual veneration of
his body in San Andrés (II, fol. 12v). The absence of any attempt on the child’s
part to investigate his future role as a saint suggests that the details are pro-
vided for the benefit of the audience, rather than the character.
In order to consolidate the relationship between the child and adult versions
of Isidro which Bato has successfully established through his predictions,
Lope manipulates dramatic action, rather than dialogue, and recreates for his
audience the celebrated miracle of the angels ploughing the fields.51 As Pedro
Spain (Manchester: Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Manchester,

1994), p. 26.
51 For a summary of the miracle of the angels, see pp. 52–53 of this chapter.
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rests by the Manzanares while he waits for Inés to arrive with some food, the
audience witnesses the staging of his dream in which he sees two angels
ploughing with oxen and his future son dressed in a star-covered garment and
a shining crown with a silver goad in his hand.52 The stage directions read:
‘Tóquense chirimías, y abriéndose una nube por lo alto del carro, pasen dos
ángeles arando con dos bueyes, y se ve a San Isidro con vestido sembrado de
estrellas, una corona de resplandor en la cabeza, y su aguijada plateada’ (I, fol.
6v).53 The incorporation of the ‘sueño-representación’ as opposed to the
‘sueño-narración’ into the dramatic framework enables Lope to introduce the
adult Isidro as Pedro’s future son.54 As a result, a direct correlation between
the child and the saint is established.
Before Pedro explains his dream to Antón, Helipe and Bato, the labradores
return to find him staring intently at the sky and wrongly suspect that their
supervisor is attempting to read the stars.55 This assumption prompts Bato not
only to launch a lengthy attack on astrology but to comment on the mundo al
revés topos.56 Bato concludes: ‘no alcanza la astrología / más que a engañar
ignorantes’ (I, fol. 7r). His rejection of superstition and recognition of the
power of God who, in his opinion ‘hace después lo que quiere’ (I, fol. 7r) is
a perfect starting point for Pedro to describe the divine revelation which he
has just experienced.
As Pedro recounts his dream to the labradores, he elaborates on the infor-
mation provided by the stage directions. He informs them that the young man
he saw was dressed in the typical garment of the contemporary labrador but
that his attire was woven from gold and bore the letters I, D, M. He adds that
the mozo wore golden sandals on his feet (I, fol. 7r). In his analysis of this
52 Gallego Roca acknowledges that sleep is characteristic of those who witness
prophetic scenes – ‘Condición general a las escenas que tienen un carácter profético, es
que el personaje que las presencia se sienta momentos antes vencido por el sueño.’ See
‘Efectos’, p. 125.
53 Isidro’s attire is similar to that of the angels in El Isidro. In canto III, p. 442, Lope
discusses their ‘ricas aguijadas, / de piedras y oro bordadas,’ and ‘capotes de estrellas’.
54 Teresa Kirschner discusses the ‘sueño-representación’ and ‘sueño-narración’ in several
of Lope’s historical/legendary plays in ‘El “velo” del sueño y de la imaginación en el teatro

histórico-legendario de Lope de Vega’, in El mundo del teatro español, ed. J. M. Ruano de
la Haza, pp. 197–212. Kirschner compares the staging of a dream to ‘una minipieza’ (p. 202)
and categorises it as a ‘modelo magnífico de metateatro’ (p. 203). The play within the play
is a common metatheatrical device. Pedro’s dream is also what Kirschner categorises as
‘symbolic staging’, that is, the representation on stage of the mental processes of dreaming
or thinking. See her ‘Typology of Staging in Lope de Vega’s Theater’, in The Golden Age
Comedia, eds Charles Ganelin and Howard Mancing, pp. 358–71 (pp. 359–61).
55 It should be noted that in La vida es sueño, Basilio, king and father of Segismundo,
misreads the stars concerning the fate of both himself and his son.
56 On this topos, see Helen F. Grant’s ‘The World Upside Down’, in Studies in Spanish
Literature of the Golden Age Presented to Edward M. Wilson, ed. R. O. Jones (London:
Tamesis, 1973), pp. 103–35.
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64 ELAINE CANNING
‘apariencia’, Gallego Roca asserts that the various elements symbolise sev-
eral of Isidro’s attributes: ‘Los ángeles arando con los bueyes, significando
su entrega a la oración; un vestido sembrado de estrellas, que simboliza la
sabiduría conseguida desde la ignorancia; una corona de resplandor, símbolo
de su santidad; y la aguijada plateada, que recuerda los milagros que realizó
en vida’ (‘Efectos’, p. 124). Pedro’s vision of his son constitutes a complex
representation of two images of Isidro. On the one hand, it presents Isidro,
the common labrador, whose desire to dedicate himself to God through
prayer is rewarded with divine assistance in his daily work. In addition, it
highlights Isidro’s coronation as a saint, which the play was written to
celebrate.
The interpretations of Pedro’s dream by the labradores not only function
as light-hearted assessments of the event but accentuate the presentation of
Pedro as a sabio. Helipe, for example, attributes the dream to excessive drink-
ing (I, fol. 7r). For Bato, the gracioso obsessed with food, wheat is synonym-
ous with gold of the highest order and Isidro’s golden sandals thus signify ‘el
trigo / que trilla con pies contentos’ (I, fol. 7r). Pedro correctly interprets the
dream as a revelation that a labrador, divinely blessed, will be born in Madrid
for the good of the villa, the letters I, D and M meaning ‘Jesús de mi alma’
(I, fol. 7v). As a shrewd interpreter of dreams, Pedro becomes the biblical
Joseph who lucidly explains the dreams of the cupbearer, the baker and
Pharoah himself (Genesis 40 and Genesis 41. 1–40).57 Antón’s speech in
which he dissociates himself from the biblical ‘sabio intérprete de sueños’
(I, fol. 7r) presages the representation of Joseph in the character of the devout
Pedro. Pedro mirrors his biblical counterpart in two significant ways. Firstly,
he is endowed with an astuteness similar to that of Joseph which sets him
apart, like the biblical hero, from other aspiring exponents of dreams.
Secondly, and more importantly, Pedro’s future status as father of Madrid’s
patron saint echoes Joseph’s privileged position of power in Egypt. Both char-
acters assume a prestige which belies their status as labrador and Hebrew
respectively. As a result, the dream reaffirms Isidro’s saintly nature and pres-
ents his father as a shrewd and privileged individual.
The prayers of Isidro’s holy and aspiring parents in which they express
hope for a virtuous, god-fearing son underline Isidro’s saintly qualities even
further.58 However, Inés, Isidro’s mother performs a particularly significant
57 As mentioned previously, the story of Joseph is presented in Los trabajos de Jacob,
based on Genesis 37–47. However, Genesis 40, in which Joseph, while in prison, explains
the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, is omitted. Instead, the cupbearer himself,
Asiris, recounts how Josef interpreted the dreams of the baker and himself while they were
in prison following Elio’s and Isacio’s unsuccessful attempts to interpret Pharoah’s
dreams.
58 See especially Inés’ prayer to the Virgin of Almudena at the beginning of Act I
(fol. 4r) and Pedro’s prayer prior to the voz’s prediction and his dream (I, fols 5v–6r).
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role in establishing a connection between Isidro and Isidore of Seville.59

Following her description of the procession in honour of Isidore, whom she
refers to as Isidro, rather than Isidoro, Inés promises to call her son after the
holy saint of Seville (I, fol. 8r).60 While the procession itself does not add a
metatheatrical quality to the play, since it is described, rather than witnessed
by Lope’s audience, the illusion of the drama and reality do in fact merge
as references to the procession in honour of Isidro of Seville recall the
festivities taking place in Madrid to celebrate the canonisation of Isidro of
Madrid.61 Consequently, the dramatic dialogue forces the audience to ponder
the reality of the historical moment and to fuse illusion and reality in their
mind’s eye.
Lope manipulates the link between Isidore of Seville and Isidro in order to
present Isidro as a literal as well as a metaphorical ‘pastor’. Following the
birth of Isidro, Juan Ramírez compares the role of Isidore of Seville with
Isidro’s impending role as a shepherd, stating:
Bien le viene a un labrador

nombre de quien fue pastor,
aunque diferentes tanto,
que Isidro de almas lo fue,
y este lo será de ovejas.
(I, fol. 10r)
Unwittingly, Juan not only refers to Isidro’s role as a typical shepherd but also
casts him in a Christlike role for the contemporary audience as the shepherd
59 Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) was canonised in 1598 and declared a Doctor of the
Church in 1722. He succeeded his brother, St Leander, as bishop of Seville in approximately

the year 600. Among his most famous writings is the Etymologiae. On St Isidore of Seville,
see Book of Saints, p. 364, and Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary, p. 177. According
to Moreno, San Isidro, p. 18, St Isidore’s body was transferred to León by Ferdinand I in
1063. The fact that it is generally accepted that Isidro was not born until approximately
1100 suggests that Lope deliberately manipulated the presentation of historical events in
order to emphasise the link between the two saints. The attribution of the title santo to
Isidore in the play during a period when he had not been officially declared a saint draws
attention to the Spanish custom of popularly acclaiming holy individuals as saints.
60 The connection between Isidro and Isidore of Seville was established in El Isidro,
canto I. In this canto, Lope had already referred to the latter as Isidro, had compared and
contrasted these saints and commented on the removal of Isidore’s remains from Seville to
León.
61 Processions are included in Hornby’s classification of the metatheatrical device of the
ceremony within the play. Hornby describes the ceremony within the play as ‘a formal
performance of some kind that is set off from the surrounding action’ (p. 49). The festivities
of 1622 involved an appeal to local patriotism. Consequently, there are references to the
Virgins of Almudena and Atocha in La niñez and La juventud, as well as the incorporation
of the local legend of Gracián Ramírez into Act II of La niñez. Lope included this legend in
El Isidro, cantos VIII and IX and dramatised it in El alcaide de Madrid in 1599.
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66 ELAINE CANNING
who protects the lost sheep.62 In other words, the audience cannot fail to recog-
nise Lope’s depiction of Isidro as patron saint caring for the ovejas of Madrid
in Juan’s innocent statement. Lope exploits his audience’s affiliation with, and
informed opinion of, Isidro in order to highlight his status as a Christlike figure.
With the integration of the child Isidro into the dramatic action and dia-
logue in Act II, Lope’s audience is brought face to face with a character who
is at once mysterious yet familiar. The child Isidro’s first words draw atten-
tion to his faith in God and the Virgin. Lope’s audience is instantly confronted
with a pious child who announces his return from school to his parents with
the greeting ‘Loado sea Cristo, y su Madre / bendita’ (II, fol. 12r). Throughout
Act II, Isidro voices his devotion to God in lengthy monologues which mir-
ror and at times exceed the rhetoric of the adult Isidro in La juventud and San
Isidro, labrador. As a result of the recitation of the Christus to his parents and
Bato, the first prayer delivered by him in the play, Isidro demonstrates an
awareness of the omniscience of God and the purity of the Virgin. Isidro
concludes the holy alphabet, which focuses on issues such as Man’s fall from
grace and the doctrine of transubstantiation, with a definition of the letters A,
B and C in terms of their association with the Holy Trinity
que el A es el Padre, la B
el Hijo, la C se llama
el Espíritu, [. . .]
(II, fols 12v–13r)
The prayer serves two significant purposes in the play. In the first instance, it
functions as a reaffirmation of Catholic dogma for Lope’s audience. Secondly,
as a complex summary of the Catholic church’s tenets, it defines the child who
is responsible for its delivery as a devout, holy individual. The faith and
knowledge which the child exhibits are uncharacteristic of his age and render
him almost unchildlike. In fact, the child Isidro’s definition of the Christus
is more intricate than the adult Isidro’s explanation in San Isidro, labrador.63
In Act II of San Isidro, labrador, Isidro converses with three angels and
summarises the Christus in eighteen lines, focusing like the child Isidro
on the representation of the Trinity in the letters A, B and C (II, 371–72).64
62 When Isidro (i.e. Isidore of Seville) appears to Ordoño in El Isidro, canto I, p. 417,
Ordoño describes him as a ‘pastor de ovejas’. The image of Christ as a shepherd is common
in the Bible. In Matthew 10. 6, for example, Christ sends the twelve disciples out to the lost
sheep of Israel.
63 In El Isidro, canto I, pp. 418–19, Lope also refers to Isidro’s knowledge of the Christus.
He states: ‘No supo letras, ni a quien / preguntárselas también, / que un abecé que oyó: / solo
el Cristus aprendió, / pero este súpole bien. / De este libro inescrutable / que abarca de polo
a polo, / fue una sibila, un Apolo.’ Isidro does not recite the Christus in the poem.
64 In San Diego de Alcalá, the illiterate Diego confesses to the portero at the end of
Act I that he only knows the A, B and C of the Christus. The portero proceeds to relate the
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In comparison, Isidro’s explanation is almost four times as long in La niñez.

Lope makes the child Isidro almost priest-like in order to stress his piety. He
exploits his priestly role by having him question the boys Iván and Luis
concerning their recital of prayers, including the Rosary, before he decides to
play a game with them (II, fol. 14v). With the absence of miracles attributed
to the child Isidro and general details relating to his childhood, Lope resorts
to the exploitation of dialogue in order to create the infantile version of the
adult figure. By doing so, he also presents a child analogous to the boy Jesus
as described in Luke 2. 40: ‘And the child grew and became strong; he was
filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.’ Bato emphasises the
relationship between Isidro and the Christ child by drawing a comparison
between the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and that of Pedro. He tells
Pedro and Inés:
Sin comparación, que es necia

toda la que fuese humana,
me parecisteis los tres,
Jesús, Josef, y María,
no con humana osadía,
que Dios ha de ser quien es,
su Madre, reina del cielo,
y Josef su dulce esposo,
mas un retrato dichoso
de aquel cielo en este suelo.
(II, fol. 13r)65
In spite of the subtle association of Isidro with the Christ child, Isidro is more
explicitly rendered unchildlike in the play as a result of the links established
with his adult counterpart of La juventud and San Isidro, labrador. As demon-
strated by his delivery of the Christus, Isidro is successfully transformed into
his adult equivalent through prayer. Lope continues to cast Isidro in the image
of Madrid’s well-known patrón by attributing other prayers to him in Act II.
In one particular prayer, his acclamation of God and desire to learn through
Him echoes one of Isidro’s speeches in La juventud. The child Isidro, who
defines God as ‘perfección’ (II, fol. 13r) makes an ardent request for divine
instruction in the following manner:
holy alphabet to him. See Lope de Vega, San Diego de Alcalá, ed. Thomas E. Case (Kassel:
Reichenberger, 1988), pp. 87–88.
65 In San Isidro, labrador (II, 376), Envidia compares the piety of the family of the adult
Isidro to the Holy Trinity. Thus, in this case, it is Isidro’s son who is likened to the Christ
child, not Isidro himself. In El Isidro, canto IV, p. 455, Lope establishes a similar
connection. He claims: ‘Así, que Isidro y su esposa, / en casa pobre y gozosa, / y un niño
tierno y hermoso, / de Jesús, María y su esposo / eran una estampa hermosa. [. . .] no digo
que los comparo, / más digo que los parecen.’
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68 ELAINE CANNING
Señor, enseñad mi fe:

sed vos el maestro mío,
enseñadme solo vos,
porque solamente en vos
lo que he de saber confío.
[. . .]
Yo solo quiero leer
en vuestro Christus, mi Dios,
porque solamente en vos
el alma puede aprender.
(II, fol. 13r)
In La juventud, Isidro informs the ‘Emperador del cielo soberano’ in a more

concise manner that he wants to learn through him: ‘no sé leer, leer en vos
deseo’ (II, fol. 32v).66 Furthermore, Isidro’s monologue through which he
compares the countryside to a book in which he can contemplate God paral-
lels another speech made by Isidro in La juventud.67 In this case, the adult
Isidro’s eulogy in which he praises God and the wondrous creation of nature
is longer than that of the child Isidro. Nevertheless, the emphasis in both is on
the role of nature as instructor in matters of the divine. The child Isidro com-
ments ‘pues que la flor más pequeña / me está diciendo y me enseña / que sois
Dios’ (II, fol. 17r), while the adult Isidro of La juventud requests instruction
from the trees, plants, flowers and birds (I, fol. 25v).
Lope highlights the fact that the child Isidro’s words of wisdom and thought
processes are too complex for his age through the comments of other charac-
ters, young and old. Juan Ramírez expresses his wish for Isidro to teach his
son Luis and his son’s cousin because he is ‘cuanto niño en años, / viejo en el
entendimiento’ (II, fol. 14r). Even the child Iván realises that Isidro is a ‘viejo
niño, / viejo en seso, mozo en años’ (II, fol. 14v).68 Nevertheless, it appears
that the presentation of the ‘niño viejo’ serves two main purposes in the play.
In the first instance, his association with the adult Isidro prevents the audience
from losing sight of the fact that the play is a celebration of its patron saint.
Secondly, Isidro’s saintliness is exaggerated as Lope stresses that his piety is
not simply a product of his adult life, but was also a feature of his childhood
years.
66 In San Isidro, labrador, Isidro expresses a similar desire. In his conversation with the
angels, he states: ‘no sé letras, leer quiero / ese libro celestial’ (II, 371).
67 In El Isidro, canto I, p. 424, Lope comments on Isidro’s conversion of nature into
‘libros divinos’. He states: ‘libros divinos hacía / los campos, aguas y flores’.
68 At this point in the play, Juan Ramírez’s son is mistakenly called Iván (II, fo1. 14r).
Isidro himself clarifies the relationship between Juan and Luis Ramírez and Álvaro and
Iván de Vargas, stating ‘vos, señor Iván, sois hijo / de D. Álvaro, [. . .] Vos, señor Don Luis
Ramírez, / sois hijo, hechura, y retrato / de Don Juan Ramírez,’ (II, fols 14r–14v). Luis and
Iván are also wrongly presented as ‘primos’. Iván was the brother of Elvira, Juan Ramírez’s
wife. Consequently, he must be the brother-in-law of Juan and uncle of Luis.
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The well-documented, charitable nature of the adult Isidro is characteristic

of the child Isidro in La niñez. Pascual de Valdemoro’s statement in San Isidro,
labrador on Isidro’s acts of charity, ‘lo que es rezar y dar de su pobreza /
limosna a cualquier pobre, es cosa extraña’ (I, 360), is as applicable to the
child as it is to the adult. In Act II, on encountering a beggar who is seeking
alms, Isidro offers him his coat, having neither money nor food to give him.69
When the coat is finally rescued by Juan Ramírez, who provides the beggar
with a donation instead, Isidro insists that his reasons for parting with the
garment were honourable. He tells Juan: ‘yo pretendo / aprender la caridad, /
porque la fe ya la tengo’ (II, fol. 14r). The fact that there is nothing miracu-
lous about this act of charity suggests that Lope was more concerned with the
portrayal of the child as an unselfish individual, rather than as a worker of
miracles. With Rome’s approval of the canonisation of Madrid’s patron saint
and recognition of the miracles attributed to him, Isidro was already a proven
miracle worker. Consequently, in order to recreate for his audience an accept-
able and entertaining representation of the holy patrón, Lope was not com-
pelled to emphasise Isidro’s saintly character through the dramatisation of his
miracles. Instead, Isidro’s virtuous character could be recreated through ori-
ginal scenes, such as the confrontation with the beggar and an encounter
between Isidro and Christ in both this play and La juventud. The avoidance of
the re-creation of the child Isidro as a miracle worker prevents a superfluous
exaggeration of his already overstated piety. Rather, the kindness shown by
the child towards the beggar foreshadows the presentation of the more human
side of Isidro’s character in La juventud.
Isidro’s concern with his ‘rudeza’ in La juventud is also presented by the
child Isidro in La niñez. In a short prayer, the adult Isidro of La juventud
apologises to God for his rusticity:
pero si soy un rústico villano,

¿cómo os sabré decir tiernos amores?
Perdonad la rudeza en que me veo,
(II, fol. 32v)
Similarly, Isidro’s father Pedro in La niñez asks God to excuse his

‘rustiqueza’ in a monologue in which he prays for the birth of a devout son.
He qualifies himself in terms of his ‘rústico discurso’ and adds ‘no sé yo
deciros más, / perdonad mi rustiqueza’ (I, fol. 6r). The child Isidro in this
play expresses concern with the rusticity of his physical dress, his ‘sayal’,
and wonders how he can join the company of Iván and Luis, who are dressed
in ‘brocado’ (II, fol. 14v). His comments cause Iván and Luis to engage in
69 Isidro’s charitable deed mirrors that of Tobías (viejo) in Historia de Tobías. Tobías
gives the very clothing that he is wearing to a pobre (I, 94). The criado states regarding
Tobías’ charitable nature: ‘no se ha visto caridad / que iguale a la de Tobías’ (I, 95).
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70 ELAINE CANNING
an appraisal of his spiritual richness which contrasts with their material

wealth. Iván claims:
[. . .] estimo
tu virtud, tu amor, tu trato,
tu compañía, de suerte,
que lo que sin ella paso,
lo paso en mortal tristeza.
(II, fol. 14v)
while Luis refers to the impact of Isidro on his very soul (II, fol. 14v). Isidro’s
allusion to the boy’s ‘brocado’ recalls Inés’ description of the brocade covering
which rested on the body of St Isidore of Seville as he was carried in procession
on the outskirts of Madrid (I, fol. 8r). In addition, it reminds the audience of
Bato’s suggestion that Madrid should prepare a brocade garment for the
‘labrador divino’ of Pedro’s dream (I, fol. 7v). Consequently, the ‘brocado’ sym-
bolises both material and spiritual wealth. In his comparison of the ‘sayal’ and
the ‘brocado’, Isidro highlights his own future exchange of costume when he
will become Madrid’s patrón.
Towards the end of Act II, Lope specifically emphasises the saintly nature
of the child in two original episodes. The first involves a seemingly innocent
game of hide and seek which is transformed into a religious experience for
those taking part.70 When Iván and Luis begin to look for Isidro, their search
not only reveals his whereabouts but underlines for them and the audience the
extent of the child’s religious fervour. Led by the song ‘Venite’, which the
boys mistakenly assume is Isidro’s voice and which Isidro subsequently inter-
prets as a divine instruction, Iván and Luis discover Isidro praying ‘en lo alto’
surrounded by candles. The stage directions read: ‘Descúbrese en lo alto un
aposentico con un altarico, su imagen y sus velas, e Isidro rezando’ (II, fol.
14v).71 Thus, a literal game of hide and seek for Iván and Luis becomes a
metaphorical one for Isidro. It provides him with an opportunity to take refuge
in God from the world and its deceits. Iván makes this point explicit, stating,
70 Lope comments on Isidro’s attitude towards games in El Isidro, canto I, p. 420. He
states: ‘No anduvo en juegos ningunos / con muchachos importunos.’

71 In ‘Metatheater and World View in Lope’s El divino africano’, BCom, 42 (1990),
129–42, Thomas Case describes the three levels of staging (proscenium, ‘discovery’ and
the balcony) used by Lope in El divino africano and comments that the balcony is
normally called ‘en lo alto’ in the stage directions (pp. 135–36). On the three levels of
staging, Case claims: ‘The main action of the life of the saint is what we would normally
call the historical level, whereas the other two are metaphysical or mystical’ (p. 136). In
this scene, Isidro forms an almost mystical union with Christ. On Lope’s use of the
diminutive form to describe the room and the altar, Gallego Roca states: ‘Las palabras
[. . .] responden a la utilización de pequeñas dimensiones para el entorno del pequeño
santo.’ See ‘Efectos’, p. 124.
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‘¡Oh niño bendito y santo, / que así te escondes en Dios, / del mundo y de sus
engaños!’ (II, fol. 15r). For both Iván and Luis, and indeed for the audience,
the incident points up the exemplariness of the holy child.
The holiness of the child is emphasised in a second scene in which he
receives a visit from Jesus and is invited to dine at his table.72 In the garb of
a shepherd, Jesus promises friendship between himself and Isidro, claiming
‘mira que habemos de ser / amigos (II, fol. 17r).73 The child Isidro innocently
asks Jesus questions regarding the identity of his father and mother, his
knowledge of prayers including the Creed and the Articles of Faith and his
attendance at mass. Through Jesus’ answers, Lope once again cleverly and
subtly integrates important tenets of the Catholic faith into the play. The use
of the ‘tramoya’ to lower the table, chairs and the angels to the proscenium
and to take them back into the air in the company of Christ essentially con-
verts the scene into a supernatural experience for the audience.74 Case
acknowledges this specific impact of complex staging: ‘In the comedias de
santos the different levels on the stage acquire particular importance. These
special effects confer on the action a kind of divine authority and confirm the
spectator’s belief in the supernatural, which both playwright and public
shared.’75 Consequently, the use of different stage techniques, and the incorp-
oration of supernatural characters and visions into the play serve to establish
the immediacy of the divine experience for the audience.
72 The theme of dining is extremely important in a religious context. In the Last Supper,
for example, an invitation to Christ’s table signifies ultimate union with him. In Tirso’s El
burlador de Sevilla, the final meal which don Juan shares with the stone guest is crucial to
the play’s dénouement. Recent studies on this play include Joan Ramón Resina, ‘What
Sort of Wedding? The Orders of Discourse in El burlador de Sevilla’, MLQ, 57 (1996),
545–78 and Francisco J. Martín, ‘The Presence of the Four Elements in El burlador de
Sevilla’, in A Star-Crossed Golden Age: Myth and the Spanish Comedia, ed. Frederick A.
de Armas (Lewisburg: Bucknell UP, 1998), pp. 30–45. On the appearance of supernatural
characters in hagiographic plays of the Golden Age, Dassbach claims: ‘Estos personajes
sobrenaturales resultan tan frecuentes y reales en las comedias como los mismos
personajes humanos.’ See La comedia hagiográfica, p. 110.
73 In Santos, pp. 124–26, Garasa briefly examines the appearance of Christ as a pilgrim,
shepherd and child in Lope’s hagiographic plays. On p. 125 in a discussion of Christ as a

‘pastor’, he excludes references to La niñez and La juventud and mistakenly claims that
Christ appears as a shepherd in San Isidro, labrador. He subsequently cites part of the
conversation between Isidro and Jesus taken from La niñez (II, fol. 17r), without specifying
the text’s source. Garasa’s citation of San Isidro, labrador would erroneously suggest that
the text is taken from that play.
74 This is the only use of the ‘tramoya’ in this play. Dassbach provides the following
description on the use of the ‘tramoya’: ‘Las tramoyas añaden el espectáculo de los
desplazamientos escénicos, aéreos en su mayor parte, e incorporan diferentes planos
espaciales a la escena’, La comedia hagiográfica, p. 104. In ‘Efectos’, pp. 114–15, Gallego
Roca draws attention to Lope’s criticism of the ‘tramoya’ in Lo fingido verdadero, as well
as his assertion in the Arte nuevo that the playwright must please the audience. For an
analysis of Lo fingido verdadero in terms of its metatheatrical properties, see chapter 4.
75 ‘Metatheater’, p. 131.
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72 ELAINE CANNING
Isidro’s encounter with Christ is crucial to his character development since

it portrays him as more childlike than in any other episode of the play. Isidro
becomes more childlike as a result of his naïve questioning. He asks the
stranger to answer basic questions, including ‘¿de quién sois hijo?’ and
‘¿dónde tenéis vuestra madre?’ (II, fol. 17r), but admits that he does not under-
stand the responses which he receives. In contrast to this episode, Christ’s
appearance to the adult Isidro in La juventud does not give rise to a similar
question and answer session (I, fols 26v–27v).76 Essentially, Isidro’s interro-
gation of the stranger with basic questions detracts somewhat from his char-
acterisation as a serious, god-fearing child. Ultimately, his childlike innocence
is underlined when he invites Jesus to accompany him to the ‘villa’ in order
to sample, among other things, some of the morello cherry jam which Iván de
Vargas’ mother makes (II, fol. 17v). In spite of the fact that Isidro’s acknow-
ledgment of certain treats is somewhat deflated by his subsequent remark
regarding his tendency to fast – ‘me inclino / más a ayunar que a comer’
(II, fol. 17v), it represents the child’s only reference to culinary pleasures.77
The ending of the play, which focuses on the peasants’ arrival at the church
of the Virgin of Atocha in order to honour the Virgin, is an adaptation of a
scene from San Isidro, labrador in which the peasants, who are on their way
to the convent of la madre de Dios with a cross, are halted by the Manzanares
and Jarama rivers which foretell several glorious events relating to Isidro (III,
384–85). The main purpose of the scene in La niñez is to strengthen the
connection between Isidro and the Christ child. Pedro instructs his son to offer
a cross, not to the Virgin of Atocha, but to her son. This intensification of the
relationship between the child Isidro and the Christ child, which has already
been suggested earlier in the play, presages the parallels between the adult
Isidro and Christ which will be drawn in La juventud.
In spite of its title, La niñez presents the saintly nature of both adult
and child. The saintliness of the adult Isidro is highlighted particularly in
Act I through Pedro’s dream, Bato’s prophecies and the proclamations of the
voz. The incorporation of this image of the adult Isidro into a play which
76 It is essentially Isidro’s questioning and curiosity which exhibits his childlike
innocence, not the fact that he does not understand the explanations which Christ gives
him. In his encounter with Christ in La juventud (I, fol. 27r), the adult Isidro also admits
that he does not understand the ‘pastor’: ‘No entiendo / las cifras con que me habláis.’ It
should also be noted that a younger Christ figure appears in La niñez. Isidro describes him
as a ‘niño tan discreto’ (II, fol. 18r), although Christ himself states that he is already a man
when Isidro says that they will be great friends as adults (II, fol. 17r). In contrast, in La
juventud Isidro simply addresses Christ as ‘pastor’, ‘labrador’ and ‘señor’ (I, fols 27r–27v).
Lope may have presented a younger version of Christ in La niñez in order to intensify
Isidro’s connection with him and to provide a suitably aged character for Isidro’s questions
concerning the identity of his parents, for example.
77 In El Isidro, canto I, p. 425, Lope claims that if the adult Isidro felt hungry while
working, he thought of Christ’s fasting in the desert: ‘y si hambre le apretaba, / el grande

ayuno de Cristo / en el desierto pensaba’.
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dramatises his childhood is crucial because it allows the audience to identify

in the young protagonist the qualities of Madrid’s patrón. Lope is perhaps
prevented from presenting Isidro truly as a child because such a presentation
would work contrary to the audience’s horizon of expectation. Isidro’s elab-
orate expressions of faith, encounter with Christ and conversion of a game into
a prayer session accentuate his holiness and thereby make him recognisable to
the audience as its patron saint. His prayers and monologues, through which
he expresses adoration for the divine, at once transform him from a child into
his adult equivalent. Ironically, in a play in which Lope is less restrained by
the source material, he is in fact compelled to recreate the child in the image
of the acclaimed patrón.
With the succcessive dramatisation of Isidro’s adult life in La juventud,
Lope would no longer be concerned with the presentation of an ‘unfamiliar’
Isidro, but with the re-creation of a much celebrated individual.
La juventud de San Isidro

Like La niñez de San Isidro, La juventud de San Isidro is preceded by a loa
in which Lope praises Philip IV and offers a succinct acclamation of Spain’s
four recently canonised saints (Isidro, Teresa de Ávila, Francisco Javier and
Ignacio de Loyola).78 Act I of the play begins with the celebrations to mark
the wedding of Isidro and María, and subsequently focuses on the confronta-
tion of the gracioso, Tirso, with the allegorical character Envidia, and
Envidia’s false description of Isidro’s sloth to his master, Iván.79 Following
the miracles of the wolf and the angels ploughing the fields, together with
Isidro’s conversation with Christ, Act I ends with Iván’s account of the mir-
acle of the angels and condemnation of Envidia. Act II opens with a lengthy
discussion between Isidro and María concering the appropriateness yet pain
of departure, and includes the miracle of the feeding of the birds as well as
Iván’s vision in a dream of Profecía, who predicts the canonisation of four
Spanish saints during the reign of Philip IV. The play ends with the reunion
of Isidro and María following María’s miraculous crossing of the Jarama river.
As indicated already, the subject matter of La juventud had been treated
previously in the poem, El Isidro, and in the play, San Isidro, labrador.80
Although he was not commissioned, so far as we know, to write either of these
works, it would appear that Lope composed both in order to promote the
78 As Morrison has indicated, both loas are more concerned with paying homage to
Philip IV than to Isidro. See ‘Graciosos’, p. 42.

79 In La niñez, Bato prepares the audience for the arrival of Envidia in this play by
declaring to Isidro’s father: ‘¡Pardiez, Pedro, que es rapaz, / para envidiar y querer!’ (II, fol.
16v, my italics).
80 Of the ten cantos of El Isidro, Isidro’s birth and youth are only described in canto I.
The rest of the poem focuses on his adult life.

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canonisation of Madrid’s popularly acclaimed saint. Gallego Roca charac-

terises San Isidro, labrador as a propagandistic work, while classifying La
niñez and La juventud as both propagandistic yet celebratory dramas – ‘San
Isidro fue escrita cuando estaba en marcha el proceso de canonización, por
tanto se la puede considerar como una obra de propaganda; La juventud y La
niñez son obras que celebran la canonización, son pues obras también de
propaganda pero con un mayor sentido festivo’ (‘Efectos’, p. 129). In the poem
and the earlier play, an attempt is made on Lope’s part to describe all the main
events in Isidro’s life, including the miracles attributed to him prior to, and
following, his death.81 The more extensive use of the adjective ‘santo’ to
define his character and miracles in San Isidro, labrador than in La juventud
is evidence of Lope’s desire to have Isidro officially recognised as such. With
the declaration of Isidro as a saint and proven miracle worker, it was not nec-
essary for Lope in La juventud to recreate every miracle and detail associated
with him in order to verify his holiness and to make him recognisable.
Accordingly, Lope presents the image of Isidro the miracle worker through
carefully selected miracles. At the same time, he accentuates his saintliness
through the reworking of the miracle of the angels, as well as a second
encounter with Christ. More significantly, through the creation of original
scenes involving conversations between husband and wife, Isidro is presented
on a more human level as a man who is forced to make sacrifices for the pur-
poses of his faith.
The four miracles presented in La juventud are successfully woven into the
play’s dramatic framework. The inclusion of the miracles of the wolf and the
feeding of the birds serves to highlight qualities traditionally associated with
the saint, while the crossing of the Jarama and the miracle of the angels stress
María’s and Isidro’s respective associations with the divine.
In his dramatisation of the miracle of the wolf, Lope stresses Isidro’s con-
stancy and complete trust in God’s protection of the blessed. In contrast to San
Isidro, labrador, where the saint remains absent from the stage while Envidia
and Demonio narrate his reactions to the boys’ warnings and the resurrection of
his donkey (II, 375–76), in La juventud Isidro remains devoted to prayer while
Envidia taunts him with the cries of the offstage voices. The use of the campo
as the setting for Isidro’s prayer session, rather than the church which features
in his source material, is highly suitable given Isidro’s repeated acknowledg-
ment in both this play and La niñez of his ability to learn about God through
nature. Isidro manifests his faith in God’s protection following Envidia’s advice
that he should abandon his prayers and return to his donkey. He affirms:
81 On the use of miracles in the comedias de santos, George Ticknor claims: ‘Pero en
tiempo de Lope, el público no sólo acudía con fe a tales espectáculos, sino que recibía con
agrado la representación de milagros, que hacían familiar la vida del Santo y sus benéficas
virtudes’. See his History of Spanish Literature, 3 vols (London: John Murray, 1849), II,
247–49.
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que yo sé que mi jumento

estará en viéndole vivo,
que a nadie que habló con Dios
hacienda se le ha perdido.
(I, fol. 26v)
In an attempt to undermine his statement, Envidia cites several biblical

episodes, including the story of Joseph, as examples of God’s abandonment
of his beloved. Isidro, the embodiment of piety and goodness, proves his
knowledge of the Bible by providing the successful resolutions of each story.
Envidia Si miras a Job, verás

muertos sus queridos hijos,
derribados sus palacios,
quemados sus verdes trigos,
preso a José, y a Israel,
del Rey Faraón cautivo.
Isidro A Job dobló Dios la hacienda,
y a José Virrey le hizo,
y a Israel dio libertad.
(II, fol. 26v)
The efforts of Envidia, the embodiment of evil, to downplay Isidro’s speech

are thwarted. The confrontation between good and evil not only serves as a
form of instruction in biblical narrative for the audience, but also underlines
Isidro’s awareness that even the blessed are subject to some form of suffering.
Isidro himself experiences the hardship of winter in the well-known mir-
acle of the feeding of the birds. With the exclusion of the miraculous feeding
of the pilgrim and the miracle at the confraternity dinner, the miracle of the
birds, a ‘milagro útil’ according to Dassbach, is representative of Isidro’s char-
itable nature in this play.82 Following Isidro’s self-justification for the feeding
of the palomas, which contains resonances of Isidro’s defence of his actions
to Envidia in San Isidro, labrador (II, 375), Envidia arrogantly comments that
his behaviour will cost him his job. He claims ‘que esta ocasión es famosa /
para que Iván le despida’ (II, fol. 31r). However, the authority of the labrador
82 The miraculous satisfaction of hunger is one of the several ‘milagros útiles’ presented
by Dassbach: ‘Los milagros en las comedias son, por lo general, milagros útiles, esto es,
dirigidos a satisfacer necesidades físicas o espirituales concretas (hambre, enfermedad,
conversión); librar de peligros, sufrimientos o tentaciones; o destinados a mostrar el poder
y favor divinos’ (La comedia hagiográfica, p. 109). An abridged version of the miracle
relating to the feeding of the pilgrim is narrated by Envidia in San Isidro, labrador (III, 379).
In the same work, the miracle at the confraternity dinner is dramatised (III, 379–81). In El
Isidro, Lope presents both miracles in detail. See canto IV, p. 459 – canto V, p. 467, and
canto V, p. 471 – canto VI, p. 479.
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is revealed as Envidia hears, over the sound effects of the milling machinery,
the offstage comments of Tirso and Bartola regarding the abundance of flour
produced.83 To Bartola’s exclamation ‘¡y cómo crece la harina!’, Tirso adds
‘esto parece milagro; / la abundancia lo confirma’ (II, fol. 31v). The sole pres-
ence of Envidia on stage as the miracle is confirmed concentrates the audi-
ence’s attention on his destruction at the hands of Isidro.
Lope not only exaggerates the saintly nature of Isidro through the represen-
tation of a miracle, as will become apparent in an analysis of his reconstruction
of the miracle of the angels, but also that of his wife. María de la Cabeza is
blessed with a visit from the Virgin in a new version of her miraculous crossing
of the Jarama, based on the presentation of the miracle in San Isidro, labrador
and El Isidro.84 In Lope’s previous two works, an angel appears to inform María
that she has been wrongly accused of adultery. In La juventud, however, the
stage directions indicate that María’s informer is in fact the mother of God. They
read as follows: ‘La Virgen en una nube, y una voz’ (II, fol. 35r).85 Although
Envidia of San Isidro, labrador informs Demonio that the Virgin was María’s
guide, following María’s own deconstruction of her name to designate herself
the ‘mar’ of the title and the Virgin, the ‘guía’ (III, 382), María does not enjoy
the privilege of direct instruction from her namesake. María manifests her belief
in divine protection by taking the initiative in La juventud to cross the river on
her mantle as proof of her innocence. In San Isidro, labrador, on the other hand,
it is the angel who instructs María to cross the river (III, 382).
At first sight, the miracle of the angels does not appear to have been
subject to very significant reconstruction in La juventud. However, a closer
83 In San Isidro, labrador, the multiplication of the flour is simply narrated to Envidia by
Demonio. To Envidia’s complaint regarding Isidro’s act of charity, Demonio replies: ‘¿Qué
mucho, si ve crecer / tanto el harina de un grano? / Vesle allí, que muele trigo, / y que el
harina se vierte’ (II, 375). It should be noted that Lope does not make excessive use of stage
machinery in any of his plays on Isidro. Gallego Roca attributes this not simply to Lope’s
personal choice, but to the life of Isidro himself. He states in this regard: ‘Pero no sólo es el
ánimo de Lope el que pone freno a una escenografía desbordante; es, especialmente, el
carácter del protagonista San Isidro, un santo contemplativo, que lleva una vida de oración y
no de acción. Los grandes milagros y las grandes victorias quedan fuera de la religiosidad
que propone la figura del patrón de Madrid.’ See ‘Efectos’, p. 116.
84 Garasa briefly comments on the appearance of Virgins to saints in Lope’s hagiographic
plays in Santos, p. 126.

85 Orozco Díaz highlights the dramatic effectiveness of the presentation of the king or
the Virgin by means of ‘la pintura’ or ‘la imagen’: ‘Ante la imagen de una Virgen o el
retrato del Rey, la reacción de los espectadores no es la misma que si contemplara a una
comediante vestida con la indumentaria y atributos correspondientes. La relación que en
ese momento se crea entre el cuadro y el espectador, era muchas veces de la misma índole
que la que había de producirse en la vida real; como si en un lugar y momento solemne se
encontrara ante la efigie de la Virgen o de su monarca. Es indiscutible que con esa
duplicidad de punto de vista se reforzaba el general poder emocional desbordante y
comunicativo de la escena.’ See Emilio Orozco Díaz, El teatro y la teatralidad del barroco
(Barcelona: Planeta, 1969), p. 223.
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examination reveals some important innovations, such as the appearance of

Christ on stage, the acclamation of Isidro by Christ himself and Isidro’s
defamation at the hands of Envidia. For the first time in Lope’s plays on
Isidro, we hear Christ summon the angels to plough and his reasons for doing
so.86 He tells them to work ‘mientras Isidro atiende, / a la oración que de mi
amor le enciende’ (I, fol. 27r), and again orders them:
Arad, ángeles, luego

los surcos desta tierra venturosa,
porque con más sosiego
levante en oración tan fervorosa
el espíritu suyo
adonde yo mi gloria constituyo.
Arad, dejadle ocioso
(I, fol. 27r )87
Christ not only acknowledges Isidro’s devotion to him through prayer, but
sings the praises of the labrador whom he characterises in terms of his ‘puro
corazón’ (I, fol. 26v). He is not seeking out the lost sheep, but ‘el regalo de la
más querida’ (I, fol. 27r).88 Christ’s recognition of Isidro as an exceptional
individual constitutes the ultimate consolidation of his image as a saintly man.
His subsequent, brief encounter with him, a newly created scene which serves
as a sequel to that of La niñez, underlines that Isidro is not only deserving of
Christ’s compliments, but also the privilege of his company.
Lope continues to modify elements of the miracle by assigning the role of
detractor to the allegorical figure, Envidia.89 In both San Isidro, labrador and
86 In El Isidro, we also hear God summon the angels to help Isidro in his work. He
orders them: ‘Id, celícolas, volando / a la tierra, en que ya veo / su humildad, por quien
deseo / que ayudéis a Isidro orando; / Isidro nuevo Eliseo’ (canto III, p. 438). In San Isidro,
labrador, the angels simply inform Isidro that they have been sent by God (II, 371).
87 There are no stage directions to indicate the appearance of the angels. Christ’s
remark ‘¡Oh, qué bien parecéis labrando el campo [. . .]!’ (I, fol. 27r) may represent an
attempt on Lope’s part to create an imaginary picture of the scene for his audience.
88 In contrast, the pastor is looking for Clara, the lost sheep, in La buena guarda. See
Lope de Vega, La buena guarda, ed. Pilar Díez y Giménez Castellanos (Zaragoza:
Editorial Ebro, 1964). All references will be taken from this edition. The pastor, who is
not named ‘Jesús’ or ‘Cristo’ as he is in La niñez and La juventud respectively, appears
twice in La buena guarda in his search for the lost sheep (see II, 75–78 and III, 108–110).
Unlike Isidro, Clara has sinned by abandoning her role as abadesa at a convent in order to
escape with her lover, Félix. The pastor reveals that the sheep he is looking for is white,
except that ‘en la frente sola / una mancha tenía’ (II. 480–81). In III. 495, the pastor
stresses that the lost sheep can still be found because although she was bitten by the wolf,
she was not eaten. In other words, Clara was not completely devoured by human passion.
For an analysis of roleplaying within the role in this play, see chapter 5.
89 It should be noted that although Envidia and Mentira appear in La juventud, they had
played a much more prominent role in El Isidro and San Isidro, labrador.
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78 ELAINE CANNING
El Isidro, as in the source material, it is Isidro’s co-workers who approach

Iván de Vargas in order to denounce him.90 In San Isidro, labrador, Envidia
approaches Lorenzo, Esteban and Tadeo and defames Isidro’s name (I, 364).
The labradores do not question Envidia’s portrayal of Isidro, but rather they
falsely accuse Isidro before Iván and even implicate other labradores (II, 368).91
The characters of Lorenzo and Esteban are degraded further as they expose
their awareness of the fact that their accusations are false, yet still proceed in
their campaign to undermine Isidro (II, 373). In an episode in which Esteban and
Lorenzo misinterpret Benito’s description of Bartolo for an account of Isidro’s
shortcomings, the labradores are provided with an opportunity to reiterate
Isidro’s negative qualities. Despite the fact that Pascual and Benito rise to Isidro’s
defence, their comments cannot eliminate the ridicule to which Isidro is exposed.
In addition to the criticism of the labradores, Isidro is branded a ‘bausán’ and
‘haragán’ (II, 369) by his angry master. The validity of his miracles is also ques-
tioned by Fernando, criado del rey, following his death (III, 387).
In La juventud, with the exception of Envidia’s accusations, Isidro is not
subject to any form of condemnation. As a result, any connection with Isidro’s
detractors in the form of the nobility, labradores or criados, which may have
been experienced by the audience of San Isidro, labrador is absent from La
juventud. The criticism of Isidro by Envidia, an allegorical and therefore unreal
character, prevents the audience forming any kind of association with him.
Consequently, Lope’s spectators do not witness a negative portrayal of them-
selves as they may have done in La hermosa Ester, but rather see themselves
in a positive light as faithful, honest, god-fearing individuals. Lope’s manipu-
lation of the source material and characters introduced in San Isidro, labrador
enables him to create a suitable, non-challenging tone for this celebratory play.
The audience is indeed reminded that the play is a celebration of Isidro’s
canonisation through Iván’s vision in a dream of España and Profecía.92 With
the appearance of both allegorical characters ‘por alto’, ‘en dos nubes’ (II, fol.
33v), Iván listens to Profecía’s predictions regarding the canonisation of four
Spanish saints during the reign of Philip IV. He encourages the veneration of
Isidro by describing his canonisation as a glorious event and addresses Madrid
in the following manner:
Famosa Villa, apercibe

a tu hijo, a tu Patrón,
la gloria desta visión;
y con triunfo le recibe,
(II, fol. 34v)
For the criticism of Isidro by the labradores in El Isidro, see canto II, p. 437.
90
It should be noted that only Lorenzo and Esteban approach Iván; Tadeo is absent.
91
92 See p. 63, n. 52 for Gallego Roca’s statement on the relationship between sleep and
prophetic scenes.
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Iván promotes the appreciation of the celebration and depicts the audience as
privileged spectators of the canonisation. The members of the audience are
thus presented with another positive image of themselves.
Lope elevates Isidro to the highest point of perfection by taking him beyond
the status of a saint and establishing a direct link between him and Christ. In
El Isidro, San Isidro, labrador and La niñez, Isidro has already been referred
to as a ‘labrador divino’.93 However, for the first time on the stage, Isidro
shares the title with Christ.94 It is Envidia, the embodiment of evil, who attri-
butes the description to Isidro, while Isidro himself addresses God in prayer
as the ‘divino labrador’.95 In a monologue in which Isidro praises God through
pastoral imagery, the literal labrador describes the role of the metaphorical
one and asks him to provide him with what is necessary so that he may fol-
low his example. Isidro expresses his desire to emulate the heavenly labrador,
now his namesake, who exemplifies selflessness and goodness. He is there-
fore prompted to ask for the ‘arado’, the metaphorical cross which Christ is
forced to bear.96 His desire to become the disciple of the ‘divino labrador’ and
to suffer for his sake illustrates his wholehearted dedication to his saintly role.
Apart from a direct association with Christ, Isidro’s piety and humility are
exemplified through the introduction of two scenes in which both he and his
wife speak frankly about their devotion to God. Their lengthy discussion on
the decoration of their marital home immediately following their wedding
replaces Juan de la Cabeza’s description of María’s dowry in San Isidro,
labrador (I, 362–63). While Juan mentions money and basic necessities such
as mattresses, sheets and pillows first, Isidro concentrates on the domestic fur-
nishings of a religious nature. The first thing that he and María will do is con-
struct an altar, hang their prints of St Roque and St Sebastian and put up the
wall-hanging depicting David’s victory over Goliath (I, fols 22r–22v). Isidro
even forgets to mention the bed, the first item mentioned in Lope’s descrip-
tion of the marital home in El Isidro, in an effort to be ‘honesto’ (I, fol. 22v).97
However, it is the second conversation between Isidro and María which
provides an insight into the conditions which must be met and the sacrifices
93 In El Isidro, see for example canto I, p. 419, canto IV, p. 450 and canto IX, p. 518.
In La niñez, Bato refers to the ‘mozo’ of Pedro’s dream as a ‘labrador divino’ (I, fol. 7v),
while the Reina of San Isidro, labrador attributes the title to Isidro when she visits his body
in San Andrés (III, 387–88). Iván also describes the angels as ‘divinos labradores’ in this
play (II, 372).
94 In El Isidro, Lope establishes a connection between the births of Christ and Isidro,
stating ‘sus padres, pobres e iguales, / diéronle pobres pañales, / entre animales naciendo. /
Mirad: ¿qué va pareciendo / con nacer entre animales?’ (canto I, pp. 419–20).
95 See II, fols 26r and 26v.
96 Even as a child, Isidro associates Christ with the pastoral, refers to the doctrine of
transubstantiation and remarks that Christ has ordered him to follow his cross (La niñez,
II, fol. 14r). The child claims: ‘Mis letras son vuestro divino arado, / pues yo soy labrador,
con él os sigo, / que seguir vuestra cruz me habéis mandado.’
97 See El Isidro, canto II, p. 429.
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80 ELAINE CANNING
which have to be made in order to live a holy, pious life. This dialogue pre-
cedes the separation of husband and wife for the purposes of ‘la castidad
celestial’ (II, fol. 28v) and underlines the pain of departure.98 Isidro and María
must relinquish human love in order to commit themselves to the veneration
of the divine. Moreover, Isidro’s list of instructions to his wife concerning the
conditions to be met in order to remain chaste, highlights the daily sacrifices
made by both.99 Their separation is characterised by ‘dolor’, but in Isidro’s
opinion, their decision to part is ‘santa’ (II, fol. 28v). Both characters expli-
citly highlight their love for one another. As far as María is concerned, ‘no he
de ver / cosa que tenga alegría / sin tu dulce compañía’, while Isidro admits,
‘Mucho siente el corazón / el apartarse de ti’ (II, fol. 28v). Their fires of pas-
sion will be kept in check by the river which separates them as María moves
to the convent of the Mother of God on the other side of the Jarama. Isidro’s
recognition of the temptation of human love underlines his more human side,
despite his acknowledgement, like Asuero in La hermosa Ester, that only
divine love is associated with reason. To serve God, according to Isidro, is [to]
‘obedecer / las leyes de la razón’ (II, fol. 29v).100
Isidro continues to receive the support of Tirso, the gracioso, following his
wife’s departure. Apart from providing comedy and voicing his obsession
with food like his father in La niñez, Tirso is also concerned with winning the
love of a woman (Bartola) and defending the reputation of a friend (Isidro).
The light-hearted episode of San Isidro, labrador, in which Constanza throws
flour over her zealous lover, Bartolo, is reconstructed for the purposes of the
development of the main plot in La juventud.101 Essentially, this playful scene
is presented in Act II of the play, but is preceded by a new, serious scene in
which love is scorned.
98 In San Isidro, labrador, Demonio informs Envidia of the separation of Isidro and
María (III, 379). We learn only that Isidro and María have missed one another when they
reunite following María’s miraculous crossing of the Jarama (III, 383–84). The tone of the
discussion, however, is very lighthearted and is in complete contrast to the conversation
between Isidro and María analysed here.
99 These include daily prayer, conservative dress, daily attendance at Mass and the
observation of silence and modesty. See II, fols 29r–29v.

100 In the Middle Ages, churchmen associated human love with locura and claimed that
human love prevented the individual from focusing on divine love, or real love. In the
Corbacho, for example, the Arcipreste de Talavera makes the following comments: ‘Amor
e luxuria traen muchas enfermedades e abrevian la vida a los onbres; fáselos antes de tienpo
envejescer o encanescer, los mienbros tenblar, e, como ya de alto dixe, los cinco sentydos
alterar e algunos dellos en todo o en parte perder, e con muchos pensamientos a las veses
enloquecer; e a las veses priva de juyzio e razón natural al onbre e muger, en tanto que non
se conosce él mesmo a las oras quién es, dónde está, qué le contesció, nin cómo bive. [. . .]
Pues, por Dios nuestro señor, en tal guisa de amor usemos verdadero que para syenpre
bivamos, solo Dios amando.’ See Alfonso Martínez de Toledo, Arcipreste de Talavera o
Corbacho, ed. J. González Muela, 4th edn (Madrid: Castalia, 1985), p. 76.
101 See San Isidro, labrador, II, 370.
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In their first encounter, Bartola rejects Tirso outright, categorising him as a

‘traidor’ and ‘grosero’ and classifying his love as ‘fingido’ (I, fol. 24v). Unlike
Constanza, who grants Bartolo permission to speak to her father in La niñez,
Bartola does not give Tirso permission to ask their master for her hand in mar-
riage. Instead, she threatens to tell their master about the inappropriateness of
the relationship. The references made by both characters to the influence of
‘el dimuño’ on their respective attitudes reminds the audience of the presence
of Envidia on stage. Bartola tells Tirso ‘el dimuño / te hace andar tan altanero’,
while Tirso subsequently makes almost the same accusation by informing
Bartola ‘el dimuño / os hace andar altaneras’ (I, fol. 24v). Envidia exerts a crit-
ical influence on the relationship in his attempt to introduce ‘celazos’. Tirso’s
proposal of marriage to Bartola is undermined by Bartola’s declaration that
Gil, another villano, is in love with her. As Tirso is left feeling dejected and
desperate, Envidia approaches him and attempts to cast him in the role of the
jealous labrador whose mission will be to defame Isidro to Iván.
The re-creation of the love scene of San Isidro, labrador is crucial to plot
development and the role of the gracioso in La juventud. In the belief that
Tirso may already be suffering from the affects of jealousy because of Gil’s
potential feelings for his beloved, Envidia is confident that the gracioso will
accept his allegation against Isidro. Indeed, Envidia describes his timing as
‘buena ocasión’ (I, fol. 25r).102 For Lope’s audience, Tirso, a labrador, was
suitable for the role of the accusing co-worker of Juan Diácono’s text.
Consequently, the spectators may have deduced at this point in the drama that
the sub-plot was introduced in order to present Tirso as a vulnerable victim
of the influential Envidia and, therefore, less blameworthy. However, as
has already been stated, it is Envidia who criticises Isidro in the presence
of his master because he cannot destroy Tirso’s loyalty to the labrador. The
gracioso is portrayed as a resilient, faithful friend, steadfast in his beliefs even
during a crisis point in his personal life. When put to the test, he proves him-
self the servant of Isidro, a role which he promised to fulfil following the wed-
ding celebrations (I, fol. 21v).
Clearly, then, one of Tirso’s most important duties in the play is that of
defender of Isidro’s virtuous qualities against the slander of Envidia. In San
Isidro, labrador, the gracioso Bartolo does not have any contact with Envidia,
but does safeguard Isidro’s reputation when Iván de Vargas complains about
Isidro’s laziness (II, 371). Here, Lope intensifies this specific function of the
gracioso by converting Bartolo’s seven lines of defence into various heated
discussions between Tirso and Envidia. In the first instance, Tirso responds
aggressively to Envidia’s initial accusations by threatening to stone him,
thereby proving, albeit in a violent manner, his determination to defend
102 There is no reaction on the part of Tirso to jealousy. By this I mean that Tirso does
not confront Gil, nor does he lose himself in lengthy monologues in which he complains
that he is the shunned lover.
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Isidro’s honour.103 Subsequently, when Iván de Vargas arrives, Tirso takes on

the defence of the innocent against the prosecuting Envidia. In two lengthy
speeches, he remarks on the productivity of Isidro’s land and describes Isidro
as an exemplary worker:
a la fe, no tien, señor,

en todo Madrid, ni fuera,
tal labrador como Isidro.
(I, fol. 25r)
In addition, Tirso subtly transforms Envidia’s negative comparison of Isidro

and himself as bad workers into a positive one. To Envidia’s comment that
Iván’s land is deteriorating at the hands of Isidro, who, he claims, Tirso must
be like, Tirso responds ‘si yo fuera / como él, ¿qué me faltara?’ (I, fol. 25r).
In spite of Tirso’s efforts to save Isidro’s reputation, the prosecution wins,
a necessary outcome for the presentation of the miracle of the angels.
Nevertheless, Tirso is not discouraged and continues to defend Isidro
throughout the play, in spite of the fact that he is aware of who/what Envidia
really is. Envidia reveals his identity to Tirso following their conversation
with Iván. After stating that he is ‘quien dio la muerte primera / al primero
labrador’ (I, fol. 25v), he commands the inferno to open up and disappears
from the stage amid the beating of drums and smoke. The fearful Tirso, who
makes a general appeal to labradores to flee from the path of this evildoer,
demonstrates bravery and courage when he comes face to face with Envidia
throughout the play.
During the second encounter between Tirso and Envidia, Envidia catches
the gracioso dipping into food on the way to the mill and threatens to reveal
his greed to the other villanos (II, fols 31r–31v). Tirso, resolute in his efforts
not to be overcome by the evildoer, shows no sign of worry or fear in the face
of Envidia’s threats. In fact, he is characterised by constancy and courage
when he acts as Isidro’s advocate and resolutely defines Envidia as ‘señor
serpiente engañosa’, the antithesis of Isidro who is characterised by ‘santas
costumbres’ (II, fol. 31v). Tirso demonstrates selflessness by showing no con-
cern for Envidia’s threats to tarnish his reputation.
Towards the end of Act II, Lope makes Tirso the privileged spectator who,
in the company of Isidro, watches María’s miraculous crossing of the Jarama.
His re-creation of the popular story and indeed the same scene in San Isidro,
labrador, where Isidro is the only witness, serves two purposes in the play.104
First of all, Lope makes María’s crossing more real to his audience by
103 There are resonances here of the conflict between Bato and the pobre in La niñez,
where Bato insults the pobre who refuses to return the child Isidro’s coat (II, fol. 13v). In
this case, it is the pobre, not the gracioso, who threatens violence.
104 See San Isidro, labrador, III, 383.
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providing another witness. Secondly, by granting the exceptional and exem-

plary individual (Isidro) and the flawed yet loyal and honest character (Tirso)
a similar privilege, Lope suggests that it is not only saintly perfection which
is recognised and rewarded by the divine. He highlights to his audience the
importance of belief in orthodox, religious values, yet at the same time pro-
poses that there is room for human shortcomings.
The play ends with a playful treatment of envidia. Tirso expresses that he
is jealous of the embrace of Isidro and María, the reunited couple.105 However,
he envies the embrace for positive reasons, admitting ‘¡Pardiez, que por ser
tan castos, / tales envidio!’ (II, fol. 35r). In contrast to the malicious and poten-
tially destructive envidia of the labradores in San Isidro, labrador and the
character of Envidia in both plays, Tirso’s assertion of jealousy is a simple,
inoffensive comment. It reflects his desire to partake in the celebrations. At
the same time it injects humour into the scene by drawing attention to the
importance of physical bonding for Tirso. The play ends on a celebratory note
with the reunion of Isidro and María and the nymphs’ dance. Tirso is not
required to seek forgiveness for his innocent envidia, unlike Lorenzo and
Esteban who rightly express regret and desire for forgiveness by Isidro at the
end of San Isidro, labrador (III, 386). La juventud concludes with a celebra-
tion of Madrid’s patron saint together with the virtues of the common man as
presented by the character Tirso.
In La juventud, Lope is no longer dependent on the dramatisation of mir-
acles in order to portray Isidro’s saintly nature, since the audience is already
aware of his holy status. As a result, the dramatist ironically enjoys more dra-
matic freedom in the composition of this play than in La niñez. In La juventud,
well-known miracles are replaced with newly created scenes and devised so
that Isidro might transcend the status of saint and become essentially
Christlike. The direct relationship established between the saint and Christ
represents the ultimate acclamation of Isidro. By depicting the sacrifices made
by Isidro for the first time on stage, Lope paradoxically makes Isidro even
more Christlike, and therefore even more worthy of the title of saint.
In his Arte nuevo, Lope defines the comedia as a three-act play: ‘El sujeto
elegido, escriua en prosa, / Y en tres actos de tiempo le reparta.’106 In spite of
that, both La niñez and La juventud are two-act plays.107 Morrison outlines
possible reasons for this: ‘The comedias de santos remind us of the medieval
religious drama in that their authors paid little heed to the dramatic rules.
105 The reunion of the lovers is treated very briefly at the end of the play and, unlike
their separation, does not permit a detailed analysis of the conflicting imperatives of
human and divine love.
106 See El arte nuevo, 211–12.
107 The only other two-act play found among Lope’s corpus of comedias de tema
religioso is El robo de Dina. It could be argued that the sequel to this play, Los trabajos
de Jacob, constitutes the third act.
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Often unity is absent, plot is scanty, and character development is illogical.

[. . .] The absence of the unities was criticized only rarely.’108 However, it
would seem that Lope disregards his own dramatic theory in the cases of
La niñez and La juventud because of reasons relating to performance / staging
and the demands of the Consejo. Each of the Isidro plays was performed on
two medios carros, just like autos, and as indicated previously, the content
of these was more than likely prescribed by the Council of Castile. In addi-
tion, time restrictions may have prevented the presentation of two three-act
plays. Nevertheless, the interrelationship which exists between La niñez and
La juventud and which has been exposed in the course of this chapter makes it
possible to consider these works as two acts of one play. Moreover, I would
argue that the canonisation of Isidro and the celebrations surrounding the event
in Madrid, of which Lope’s audience was very much aware, constitute the per-
fect, triumphant resolution of both Isidro plays. This is, perhaps, Lope’s most
elaborate working out of the interplay between illusion and reality.
The availability or absence of source material, coupled with the expectations
of his audience, shaped Lope’s representation of saint and biblical heroine for
the stage. While his plays on Isidro were restrained by the necessity to comply
with a specified agenda, Lope was able to rewrite biblical scenes, introduce
new characters and subtly comment on contemporary issues in La hermosa
Ester. His successful and complex dramatisation of the biblical story is proof
of the dramatist’s ability to manipulate both the source material and the hori-
zon of expectation of his audience when he alone is the sole creator of his work
and does not have to abide by the dictates of an external authority.
108 Lope de Vega and the Comedia, p. 25. The absence of unities in the comedias
hagiográficas is understandable, given the breadth of material available on the lives of

saints which Golden Age dramatists may have wanted to incorporate into their works.
However, the analysis presented in this chapter alone on La niñez and La juventud contests
Morrison’s claims on plot development and characterisation. His reference to scanty plots
may in fact be an easy solution to the two-act play problem.
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PART II
DRAMATISING THE DRAMATIC: METATHEATRE AND

THE COMEDIA DE TEMA RELIGIOSO
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3
METATHEATRE AND THE SPANISH
COMEDIA RELIGIOSA: AN OVERVIEW1
With the publication of Lionel Abel’s seminal work on metatheatre,2 critics

were provided not only with a basic definition of the concept of metadrama,
but also with specific terminology with which to analyse self-referential
plays.3 According to Abel, metaplays are
Theatre pieces about life seen as already theatricalized. By this I mean that
the persons appearing on the stage in these plays are there not simply
because they were caught by the playwright in dramatic postures as a camera
might catch them, but because they themselves knew they were dramatic
before the playwright took note of them. What dramatized them originally?
Myth, legend, past literature, they themselves. They represent to the play-
wright the effect of dramatic imagination before he has begun to exercise
his own; [. . .]. (Metatheatre: A New View, p. 60)
Abel was intent on giving metatheatre a working definition, treating it as a

genre in itself as opposed to tragedy. He polarises tragedy and metatheatre by
providing a summary of what he describes as the values and disvalues of
tragedy and metatheatre.4 Catherine Larson regards Abel’s concern with the
‘generic purity’ of the metaplay as ‘an unnecessary complication of the issue’
and suggests that we move away from Abel’s attempts to pin down what
metatheatre is and focus instead on what metatheatre does.5
1 The title of this chapter is adapted from and is my response to Thomas Austin
O’Connor’s article ‘Is the Spanish Comedia a Metatheater?’, HR, 43 (1975), 275–89. See
p. 88 for details on the significance of this article in the mid-1970s debate concerning the
appropriateness of a definition of the comedia in terms of its metatheatrical qualities.
2 See his Metatheatre: A New View of Dramatic Form (New York: Hill and Wang, 1963).
3 This does not mean, of course, that some critics were not already studying to some
extent the incorporation of metatheatrical devices into plays, but they were doing so
without the explicit label. See, for example, Robert J. Nelson, Play Within a Play. The
Dramatist’s Conception of His Art: Shakespeare to Anouilh (New Haven: Yale UP, 1958).
4 See p. 113 of his work for further details.
5 See ‘Metatheater: Past, Present’, p. 206. Larson’s essay addresses the difficulty in
defining what metatheatre actually is and examines how critics have reacted to the notion
of the comedia as metatheatre. Larson also presents a variety of possibilities that are open
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However, before the publication of Larson’s article, Abel’s ideas on

metatheatre were already having an impact on comedia scholarship. The mid-
1970s witnessed a major debate between those critics who believed that
Abel’s theories could be usefully and significantly applied to the comedia, and
those who regarded them as invalid. Thomas Austin O’Connor’s article which
posed the vital question, ‘Is the Spanish Comedia a Metatheater?’, was specif-
ically responsible for initiating this debate.6 O’Connor believed that the con-
cept of metatheatre was at odds with seventeenth-century Spain’s theocentric
and moral view of the world in which role-playing was viewed negatively.
O’Connor states: ‘To be an actor is to be false, a mime or mimic of what really
is. The Christian cannot be thus and be sure of salvation’ (p. 287). O’Connor
recognises that metatheatre gives many insights into the structure and form of
the serious Spanish comedia, but claims that it fails to explain the Christian
response to pretence and theatricality (p. 287). He defines role-playing as
‘The road to sure deceit and possible damnation’ (p. 288). However, as will
be highlighted in the following chapters, it is in fact because of the contem-
porary theocentric world view that the comedia can be deemed a metaplay.
O’Connor is supported by Arnold G. Reichenberger who insists on the
uniqueness of the comedia and who also stresses the theocentric concept of
life which was commonplace in the seventeenth century.7 Nevertheless, there
are various scholars such as Frank P. Casa and Stephen Lipmann who oppose
the theories of O’Connor and Reichenberger.8 Casa dispels some of the
negativity attributed to role-playing by O’Connor and insists that O’Connor’s
thesis regarding the disharmony between Abel’s theory on metatheatre and
seventeenth-century Spain’s ‘Catholic’ drama is inconclusive, since other
social factors had an impact on the make-up of the comedia. Stephen Lipmann
states from the outset that he finds Abel’s definition of metatheatre entirely
to comedia scholarship in this field (e.g. an analysis of the relationship between comedy
and metatheatre, as well as the exploitation of self-conscious language, the staging of self-
conscious comedias and the inclusion of literary references within Golden Age plays). An
extensive bibliography on the subject is also provided.
6 Prior to the debate of the mid-1970s, several studies focused on the concept of role-
playing in the comedia. These included Alan S. Trueblood, ‘Role-Playing and the Sense of
Illusion in Lope de Vega’, HR, 32 (1964), 305–18; Robert Sloane, ‘Action and Role in
El príncipe constante’, MLN, 85 (1970), 167–83; Peter N. Dunn, ‘El príncipe constante:
A Theatre of the World’ and Bruce W. Wardropper, ‘The Implicit Craft of the Spanish
Comedia’, in Studies in Spanish Literature of the Golden Age Presented to Edward M.
Wilson, ed. R. O. Jones (London: Tamesis, 1973), pp. 83–101; pp. 339–56. For details of
other related works which predated the debate, see Catherine Larson, ‘Metatheater: Past,
Present’, p. 209.
7 See his ‘A Postscript to Professor Thomas Austin O’Connor’s Article on the Comedia’,
HR, 43 (1975), 289–91.

8 See Casa’s ‘Some Remarks on Professor O’Connor’s Article “Is the Spanish Comedia
a Metatheater?” ’, BCom, 28 (1976), 27–31 and Lipmann, ‘ “Metatheater” and the Criticism
of the Comedia’, MLN, 91 (1976), 231–46.
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METATHEATRE: LA COMEDIA RELIGIOSA 89
applicable to the comedia, despite the fact that ‘he is somewhat less than thor-
ough in developing the implications of his generic formulation’ (p. 231).
In the wake of this controversy, several critics began to examine Golden
Age drama using metatheatre as a valid analytical tool. For some of them, an
analysis of metatheatre or metatheatrical devices in a particular play was the
main focal point of their essays or articles, while for others it featured only as
a secondary concern. In the 1970s, Fischer and Madrigal were among those
who began to study the comedia in this ‘new’ theoretical light.9 They were
followed by scholars such as Kirby and Moore in the 1980s10 and Case, Larson,
Stoll and Dixon in the 1990s.11 Most recently, works by Thacker have served
to reinforce the metatheatrical qualities of the comedia.12
9 Susan L. Fischer, ‘The Art of Role-Change in Calderonian Drama’, BCom, 27 (1975),
73–79 and José A. Madrigal, ‘Fuenteovejuna y los conceptos de metateatro y psicodrama:

Un ensayo sobre la formación de la conciencia en el protagonista’, BCom, 31 (1979),
15–23. See also Fischer, ‘Calderón’s Los cabellos de Absalón: A Metatheater of Unbridled
Passion’, BCom, 28 (1976), 103–13; William McCrary, ‘The Duke and the Comedia:
Drama and Imitation in Lope de Vega’s El castigo sin venganza’, JHPh, 2 (1978), 203–22
and ‘Theater and History: El rey don Pedro en Madrid’, CH, 1 (1979), 145–67.
10 Carol Bingham Kirby, ‘Theatre and the Quest for Anointment in El rey don Pedro en
Madrid’, BCom, 33 (1981), 149–59 and Roger Moore, ‘Metatheater and Magic in El
mágico prodigioso’, BCom, 33 (1981), 129–37. See also Fischer, ‘Lope’s El castigo sin
venganza and the Imagination’, KRQ, 28 (1981), 23–36 and Alejandro Paredes L.,
‘Nuevamente la cuestión del metateatro: La cisma de Inglaterra’, in Calderón: Actas del
congreso internacional sobre Calderón y el teatro español del Siglo de Oro, ed. Luciano
García Lorenzo, 3 vols (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1983),
I, 541–48. For further details on major studies of the 1970s and 1980s, see Catherine
Larson, ‘Metatheater: Past, Present’, pp. 209–11. I will also engage with more recent
contributions to the debate not considered in Larson’s article.
11 See Case, ‘Metatheater’; Catherine Larson, ‘Lope de Vega and Elena Garro: The
Doubling of La dama boba’, Hisp, 74 (1991), 15–25; Anita K. Stoll, ‘Staging, Metadrama,
and Religion in Lope’s Los locos por el cielo’, Neophil, 78 (1994), 233–41 and Victor
Dixon, ‘El post-Lope: La noche de San Juan, meta-comedia urbana para palacio’, in Lope
de Vega: comedia urbana y comedia palatina. Actas de las XVII Jornadas de teatro clásico,
eds. F. B. Pedraza and R. González Cañal (Almagro: Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha,
1996), pp. 61–82. Dixon’s most recent articles on Lope’s Lo fingido verdadero concentrate
on an examination of a range of metatheatrical devices which present themselves in the
play. See introduction, p. 3, n. 10 for complete bibliographical references. The 1990s have
witnessed the publication of a significant number of critical analyses which concentrate on
the relationship between metatheatre and the comedia. Other works include: Michael Kidd,
‘The Performance of Desire: Acting and Being in Lope de Vega’s El laberinto de Creta’,
BCom, 47 (1995), 21–36; Jonathan Thacker, ‘Comedy’s Social Compromise: Tirso’s Marta
la piadosa and the Refashioning of Role’, BCom, 47 (1995), 267–89 and Harry Vélez
Quiñones, ‘ “Entre verdad y mentira”: Woman and Metatheater in Lope de Vega’s Los
amantes sin amor’, BCom, 47 (1995), 43–53.
12 See Jonathan Thacker, ‘ “Que yo le haré de suerte que os espante, / Si el fingimiento
a la verdad excede”: Creative Use of Art in Lope de Vega’s Los locos de Valencia (and
Velázquez’s Fábula de Aracne)’, MLR, 95 (2000), 1007–18 and Role-play and the World
as Stage in the Comedia (Liverpool: Liverpool UP, 2002).
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For the purposes of this analysis, a review of the studies by several of these
critics is important for a number of reasons. In the first instance, such ana-
lyses serve to highlight the variations in approaches which can be adopted in
an exploration of the comedia as self-referential drama. Additionally, and
most significantly, they stress the fact that metatheatrical devices abound in
both secular and religious Golden Age plays, in spite of Abel’s claim that
‘There is no such thing as religious metatheatre’.13 Before engaging with stud-
ies of the 1980s and 1990s, I will focus on several studies of the 1970s, and
we will see that the analytical approaches are similar.
In ‘The Art of Role-Change’, Fischer examines the relationship between the
social convention of honor and complex forms of role-change. In a study of
what she terms ‘socially conditioned role-change’ (p. 74), Fischer concentrates
on the character of Roca of El pintor de su deshonra, a type of dramatist who
confers on Serafina the role of faithless wife and who himself becomes the
determined avenger. Fischer concludes that the fact that certain aspects of
twentieth-century psychological theory can be applied to Calderón’s depiction
of the individual means that Calderón’s comedia is probably more universal
than unique (p. 78).14
Madrigal’s ‘Fuenteovejuna y los conceptos’ centres on two main issues.
First of all, it aims to evaluate Abel’s theories on metatheatre and their appro-
priateness to a study of the comedia. Secondly, by applying Moreno’s theories
on psychodrama, Madrigal examines how the individual or collective protag-
onist acquires full consciousness of the part which has been assigned by the
playwright through the performance of roles.15 Madrigal concludes that Abel’s
theories on metatheatre constitute useful critical apparatus for analysing the
comedia. He states: ‘A mi entender, su aporte al enfoque crítico reside en
llamar la atención no sólo a la importancia que posee la ontogenia psíquica de
los personajes, sino también a la técnica de ⬍role playing⬎. [. . .] El person-
aje dramático no se ha estudiado tan meticulosamente como merece’ (p. 16).16
However, he warns that his theories should not be considered definitive or
absolute (p. 17). This is what he regards as Sloane’s fundamental error in
‘Action and Role’, in which Sloane claims that this play, although a sizable step
in Abel’s direction, is some distance from true ‘metatheatre’ because God plays
the role of a dramatist (p. 183). In response to Sloane’s assertions, Madrigal
claims that ‘decir que la comedia no es metateatro, a causa de que hay un
dramaturgo final (Dios), equivaldría a decir que Lionel Abel está negando, lo cual
13 Metatheatre: A New View, p. 113. As will be seen in chapter 4, an analysis of Lo
fingido verdadero alone challenges this claim.

14 For the debate concerning the uniqueness or universality of the comedia, see Eric
Bentley, ‘The Universality of the Comedia’ HR, 38 (1970), 147–62 and Arnold G.
Reichenberger, ‘The Uniqueness of the Comedia’, HR, 38 (1970), 163–73.
15 See Joseph Moreno, Psychodrama (New York: Beacon House, 1972).
16 The italics are mine.
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no creo sea su propósito, el fondo o mentalidad religiosa que era parte integral
de la idiosincrasia de aquella época’ (p. 17). Madrigal devotes the second part
of his article to a study of the involvement of Laurencia and the villanos in role-
playing within the role in Lope’s Fuenteovejuna. He identifies Laurencia as the
best illustration of the actor/author dichotomy within the play.
The studies of the 1980s and 1990s on the comedia and metatheatre which
are considered illustrate that metadramatic properties are characteristic of both
secular and religious plays of the Golden Age. In ‘Theater and the Quest’,
Kirby examines the function of metatheatrical devices in Calderón’s El rey
don Pedro en Madrid. She considers the implications of role-playing and its
impact on the audience by focusing on the king’s appearance at the beginning
of the drama as an unidentifiable, sweaty, untidy rider with a bloodied sword
in hand, and his subsequent public performance as king in Act II. Kirby
proposes that Pedro is both consciously and unconsciously a playwright who
manipulates his subjects to perform particular roles. Moreover, she underlines
the fact that the other characters in the play are not always aware that the king
is influencing their course of action. She refers to Pedro as ‘autor’ of the
‘comedia palaciega’ (p. 153). Kirby traces the roles that Pedro adopts and
demonstrates how they are at odds with the spiritual nature which he is
supposed to boast, in accordance with the political–theological doctrine of the
king’s two bodies. She stresses that the king’s spiritual completion depends
on the election and performance of new roles.
Moore examines the metatheatrical nature of El mágico prodigioso in
‘Metatheater and Magic’ and presents five reasons why he considers this par-
ticular drama to be a metaplay. Firstly, he identifies Cipriano, the devil and
God as three competing dramatists in the play. He acknowledges that the
devil’s main role is that of magician, while Cipriano plays various roles before
finally assuming his definitive role as martyr in God’s play.17 Moreover,
Moore claims that Cipriano can also be viewed as an apprentice dramatist.
Finally, Moore divides the characters of the play into two groups. The first
comprises those who are deceived by the devil and whose performances are
thus directed by him, while the second contains those who focus upon a higher
order of reality and truth.18
The analyses conducted by Larson, Case and Stoll in the 1990s, which focus
specifically on Lope’s plays, demonstrate that both his religious and secular
works can be viewed in a metatheatrical light. Larson’s study is based on two
examples of metaplays. Specifically, Larson’s primary concern in ‘Lope and
Elena Garro’ is a comparative study of the self-referential devices in Lope’s
La dama boba and Elena Garro’s adaptation of the play. Her analysis includes
an examination of Finea’s self-referential language (p. 18) and the confusion
17 In Lo fingido verdadero, Ginés engages in the art of role-playing before finally
becoming a martyr.
18 See p. 135 of his article.
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92 ELAINE CANNING
of the audience within Elena Garro’s version who watch a performance of

Lope’s La dama boba (p. 22). Larson concludes that ‘through her imitation of
Lope’s self-conscious strategies, Elena Garro’s reading actualizes Lope’s text
by incorporating it within a new horizon of expectations’ (p. 24).
In his investigation of the metatheatrical features of El divino africano in
‘Metatheater’, Case maintains that metadramatic techniques are an essential
part of the comedias de santos (p. 140). He also highlights the significance of
faith in this particular drama, which alerts Agustino to his true role in life.
Case identifies two levels of reality in the play – the reality of Agustino’s
historical life and the reality of the mystical world of salvation and God’s
grace. He qualifies God as a dramatist in the voz and emphasises how Mónica
and Alipio are responsible for the creation of plays within the play through
the dramatisation of their dreams. Case also draws attention to an interesting
metadramatic ingredient in his reference to Agustino’s writing of his Confessions
in Act III. In point of fact, these Confessions constitute the script of Acts I and
II of El divino africano (p. 134).
Finally, in ‘Staging, Metadrama’, Stoll begins by asserting that the view of
life in the Golden Age as having various levels of reality easily relates to the
concept of metatheatre in drama. She analyses the function of various meta-
theatrical devices and pinpoints the play within the play as the most significant
in Los locos por el cielo (p. 233). Stoll also investigates the use of the vestuario
or ‘discovery space’, which she describes as ‘an excellent vehicle for meta-
theater’ (p. 233). Additionally, she draws attention to the dramatic impact of the
integration of the ‘stage’ audience with the ‘real’ audience as they watch the play
within the play (pp. 236–37). Ultimately, Stoll convincingly proposes that Lope
combines metatheatrical devices, staging techniques and his Christian faith in
an attempt to reconstruct his personal, profound beliefs for the audience (p. 239).
Indeed, I would suggest that the self-conscious comedia is inextricably linked to
the seventeenth-century concept of theatrum mundi which Weisinger describes
in the following manner:
Theatrum mundi is [. . .] an extended metaphor; the world is symbolized as

a theatre, and all its events, or plot, and all its inhabitants, or dramatis per-
sonae, are depicted as taking place and acting within its confines and within
its particular terms as a medium of representation.19
19 See Herbert Weisinger, ‘Theatrum Mundi: Illusion as Reality’, in The Agony and the
Triumph: Papers on the Use and Abuse of Myth (East Lansing: Michigan State UP, 1964),
pp. 58–70 (p. 59). On the same theme, see also Katarzyna Mroczkowska-Brand, ‘Overt
Theatricality and the Theatrum Mundi Metaphor in Spanish and English Drama, 1570–1640’,
Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny, 26 (1979), 201–14. As this critic points out, ‘The comparison of
the world to a stage and of men to actors was certainly not a new one in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. [. . .] We find more or less ample fragments on the Theatrum Mundi
metaphor in the works of Plato, Plotinus, Democritus, Epictetus, Seneca, Petronius, and
Terence among the more notable ancients’ (p. 206).
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‘The world is a stage’ and ‘life is a dream’ topoi stressed the illusory nature
of life in which the individual was an actor or role-player.20 Consequently, it
would appear that the use of self-referential techniques in the comedia not
only enabled the Golden Age playwright to manipulate the horizon of expect-
ation of his audience, but also to reinforce the principal themes of the age.
It is evident, then, that most studies to date have been concerned with iden-
tifying the metatheatrical qualities of the comedia, but have not engaged with
the effects of metatheatre on the audience.21 In the following chapters, I will
examine several metatheatrical devices which present themselves in Lope’s
Lo fingido verdadero (approx. 1608) and La buena guarda (1610). My analy-
sis will be based on an application of Richard Hornby’s categories of
metadrama presented in Drama, Metadrama, which, according to Larson,
‘gives what is arguably the most comprehensive approach to the concept of
self-conscious theater’.22 Hornby defines metadrama as ‘drama about drama’
and stresses that the ‘seeing double’ of the audience constitutes the essence of
metatheatre.23 Of the five overt forms of metadrama catalogued by him, two
in particular will be considered in my analysis of Lo fingido verdadero and
one in my examination of La buena guarda. While I will concentrate on
Lope’s manipulation of role-playing within the role in both plays, I will analyse
in detail the function of the play within the play in Lo fingido verdadero. I will
20 The topoi of course provided Calderón with the titles of two of his most famous
works – La vida es sueño and El gran teatro del mundo. For a discussion of these in
relation to metatheatre, see, for example, Thomas Austin O’Connor, ‘La vida es sueño:
A View From Metatheater’, KRQ, 25 (1978), 13–26 and Manuel Sito Alba, ‘Metateatro en
Calderón: El gran teatro del mundo’, in Calderón: Actas del congreso, II, 789–802. For
further references, see Catherine Larson, ‘Metatheater: Past, Present’, p. 216, n. 6.
21 There are of course exceptions. These include Stoll’s ‘Staging, Metadrama’ which
has already been discussed briefly in this chapter, and Thacker’s ‘Comedy’s Social
Compromise’. In his article which focuses on Tirso’s Marta la piadosa, Thacker examines
Marta’s role-playing within the role and considers the onstage and offstage audiences’
reactions to incidents in the play. Furthermore, audience reception is taken into account by
María del Pilar Palomo and Victor Dixon in their analyses of Lope’s metadrama, Lo
fingido verdadero. See ‘Proceso de comunicación en Lo fingido verdadero’, in El castigo
de venganza y el teatro de Lope de Vega, ed. Ricardo Doménech (Madrid: Cátedra/Teatro
español, 1987), pp. 79–98 and ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’ respectively. Both
works are discussed further in chapter 4.
22 ‘Lope and Elena Garro’, p. 16. See introduction, p. 4, n. 14 for full bibliographical
details of Hornby’s work on metatheatre. Hornby identifies five categories of overt

metadrama. They are as follows: 1) The Play within the Play; 2) The Ceremony within the
Play; 3) Role-Playing within the Role; 4) Literary and Real-Life Reference; 5) Self
Reference (p. 32). For a definition of role-playing within the role and the play within the
play, see chapter 4, p. 98 and p. 110 respectively. The second part of Hornby’s work is
dedicated to an examination of drama and perception, which he describes as a broader and
more subtle type of metadrama (p. 32). As will be seen subsequently, the theme of
perception is a fundamental component of audience reception.
23 Drama, Metadrama, p. 31; p. 32. Hornby also highlights that ‘The metadramatic
experience for the audience is one of unease, a dislocation of perception’ (p. 32).
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aim to determine the factors which stimulate role-change within the role, to
differentiate between positive and negative forms of role-playing and to assess
the connection between role-playing and destino. The relationship between
language, role, costume/disguise and identity will also be considered. In the
case of Lo fingido verdadero, I propose to compare the impact of the two plays
within the play on both the corral audience (which I will define as the outer
audience) and the audience within the main play (which will be described as
the inner audience), with specific focus on the complex fusion of both the
main play and inset play.24 Ultimately, I hope to uncover the varying degrees
of audience estrangement provoked by the exploitation of particular forms of
metadrama and to demonstrate how such self-referential devices serve to illu-
minate the thematic tension of the plays – the conflict between human and
divine love.25
24 Hornby categorises the play within the play as being of either the ‘inset’ type or
‘framed’ type. In the ‘inset’ type, Hornby states that ‘the inner play is secondary, a
performance set apart from the main action [. . .]’. In contrast, in the ‘framed’ type, ‘[. . .]
the inner play is primary, with the outer play a framing device’ (Drama, Metadrama, p. 33).
Both plays created by the character Ginés in Lo fingido verdadero are of the inset type and
will be classified as such in chapter 4.
25 Larson indicates that a variety of audience reponses to a metaplay is possible: ‘It is
obvious that reader or audience reactions to a metaplay will vary – at least to a certain
extent – due to the same kinds of reader–response factors that govern any type of reaction
to literature: [. . .] Readers respond to a given text based on their own horizons of
experience and expectations’ (‘Metatheater: Past, Present’, p. 207).
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4
LO FINGIDO VERDADERO AS METAPLAY
Lo fingido verdadero, described by Menéndez y Pelayo as ‘de las más notables

del repertorio religioso de Lope’, was probably written about 1608, but first
appeared in print in Decimasexta parte de las comedias in 1621.1 Traditionally
categorised as a comedia de santos, it is essentially a dramatisation of the
conversion and martyrdom of St Genesius, patron saint of actors, as well as the
representation of the rise to power of the Roman emperor Diocletian.2 Act I of
the play presents Diocleciano’s transition from soldier to emperor following the
deaths of the emperor Aurelio and his sons Carino and Numeriano. It opens with
the complaints of the soldiers Maximiano, Marcio, Diocleciano and Curio
concerning their campaign against the Persians and lack of food, together
with their condemnation of Aurelio and Carino and an appraisal of the qualities
of Numeriano, soldier and second son of the emperor. This is followed by
Diocleciano’s criticism of Aurelio, though later he repents and urges respect for
his role as emperor. With the appearance of Camila, the labradora and bread-
seller, Diocleciano requests some bread and lightheartedly promises to repay
1 Estudios, I, 251. For Menéndez y Pelayo’s complete study of this play, see pp.
249–68. All references to the play will be taken from this early edition (Madrid: Viuda de
Alonso Martín,), fols 261r–84v. Spelling and punctuation will be modernised where
appropriate.
2 Lo fingido verdadero has been included in all of the main studies of Lope’s
hagiographical works to date. See for example Garasa, Santos; Aragone Terni, Studio sulle;
Dassbach, La comedia hagiográfica and Morrison, Lope de Vega and the Comedia.
Menéndez y Pelayo identifies Pedro de Rivadeneira’s Flos Sanctorum (1599–1601) and
Pero Mexía’s Historia imperial y cesárea as the probable sources of this play (II, 251; 258).
The relevant passage from the Flos Sanctorum relating to the conversion and martyrdom of
Ginés, entitled Vida de San Ginés representante, mártir, is presented in Estudios, I, 251–54.
The emperor Diocletian was ruler of Rome from 284–305 AD. Born of humble parents in
Dalmatia, he became an officer in the Roman army and was proclaimed Emperor by his
troops when emperor Numerianus died in 284 AD. Carinus, Numerianus’ brother, contested
Diocletian’s right to control the empire, but Diocletian’s rule was assured when Carinus
was killed by one of his own officers. Diocletian selected Maximianus, a Dalmatian, to be
co-ruler of the Roman Empire, and believed that a successful reign depended on the
veneration of pagan gods and the imposition of traditional laws and customs. Diocletian is
particularly remembered for his persecution of Christians. On this topic, see for example
Karl Christ, The Romans (London: Chatto and Windus, 1984) and Antony Kamm, The
Romans. An Introduction (London: Routledge, 1995).
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96 ELAINE CANNING
her when he becomes emperor of Rome. Camila teasingly predicts that he will
become emperor when he kills a jabalí, or wild boar.
Following Camila’s prophecy, the emperors Aurelio and Carino are intro-
duced into the dramatic action. Firstly, the arrogant Aurelio utters a lengthy
monologue in which he asserts his authority and challenges the Roman god
Jupiter, only to be struck down and killed by lightning. Subsequently, Carino
is presented on his nightly mission in Rome in search of adventure accom-
panied by his criado, amante and músicos. After a discussion with Ginés
regarding theatre in general and a play about himself which he would like
Ginés to present, Carino is killed by Lelio, a consul whose wife has been
seduced by the libertine ruler.
At this point, the Roman soldiers are presented for a second time, now in the
company of Apro, father-in-law of Numeriano. The discovery by the soldiers
that Apro has killed his son-in-law in order to gain personal control of the
empire results in the murder of Apro, the metaphorical jabalí, by Diocleciano.
With the fulfilment of Camila’s prediction, Act I ends with Diocleciano’s
instructions to the army to return to Rome.
In Acts II and III of Lo fingido verdadero, plays created by Ginés for the
entertainment of Diocleciano and his favourites complicate the dramatic
action of the main play. Act II opens with the celebration of Diocleciano’s
election as emperor and the presentation of the emperor’s generosity towards
the soldiers who supported him. Diocleciano makes Maximiano his co-ruler
and repays Camila by granting her wish to have unlimited access to the royal
chambers and his personal company. Following Ginés’ appearance to pay his
respects to the newly-crowned emperor, Diocleciano entrusts him with the
responsibility of preparing a comedia for performance in the palace. The discus-
sion between emperor and autor/actor concerning various types of plays ends
with Ginés’ decision to present one of his own dramas. The dramatisation of
Ginés’ play, which he bases on his personal experience as the jealous lover,
and through which the inset play and main play become inextricably linked,
constitutes the remainder of Act II.
In Act III, Camila’s and Diocleciano’s declaration of love is followed by
Rutilio’s detailed description of the mythical fieras which have been gathered
together for the fiestas. A second play within the play is presented as a result
of Diocleciano’s request for a representation of the baptised Christian. Ginés
ultimately assumes the role of Christian within the framework of the main
drama which he only set out to adopt for the purposes of the inset play. Act III
ends with Ginés’ conversion, martyrdom and declaration concerning his
participation in the comedia divina.
While Lope’s comedias de santos have been largely disregarded by comedia
scholars, Lo fingido verdadero has attracted some critical attention.3 The
3 See especially Susan L. Fischer’s ‘Lope’s Lo fingido verdadero and the Dramatization
of the Theatrical Experience’, RHM, 39 (1976–77), 156–66; J. V. Bryans, ‘Fortune, Love

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METAPLAY: LO FINGIDO VERDADERO 97
play’s complex interplay between lo fingido and lo verdadero, explicit in

its title, together with its engagement with the theatrum mundi topos and
exploitation of metatheatrical devices such as role-playing within the role
and the play within the play, have been principally highlighted.4 In fact, several
critics who have acknowledged Lo fingido verdadero as a metaplay have
questioned its classification as a comedia de santos. McGaha, for example,
claims: ‘Ostensibly a religious drama based on the life and martyrdom of
St Genesius, patron saint of actors, the play is in fact a sustained meditation
on the phenomenon of role-playing and its consequences in human life.’ He
adds that the religious overtones of the play ‘seem to have been introduced
almost as a casual afterthought’.5 Dixon explicitly criticises scholars for
categorising the play as a hagiographical drama: ‘De hecho no es más que
parcialmente otra comedia de santos; ha sido un error de la crítica encasil-
larla como tal, y condenarla luego por no haberlo sido centralmente y en su
totalidad.’6 The critics to whom Dixon alludes include Menéndez y Pelayo,
who describes the first play within the play in terms of its ‘gravísimo defecto
de pertenecer enteramente a la comedia profana, y de no preparar de ningún
modo el ánimo a las impresiones solemnes y trágicas de la conversión y
martirio de Ginés’.7 Garasa, on the other hand, defines the play as a comedia
hagiográfica in which the vida–teatro metaphor is developed throughout.
However, by proposing that Lope was forced to add episodes to his play
because the life of Ginés, ‘por conmovedor y fascinante que sea, no alcanza
a colmar tres jornadas’, he underlines his classification of the play primarily
as a comedia hagiográfica.8
and Power in Lope de Vega’s Lo fingido verdadero’, RCan, 9 (1985), 133–48; María del
Pilar Palomo, ‘Proceso’; Victor Dixon, ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’ and ‘Ya
tienes’. In ‘Dramatization of the Theatrical’, Fischer divides the play into three inner
dramas and discusses the relationship between fiction and reality within the play. Bryans,
on the other hand, examines the themes of fortune, love and power through an analysis of
the subgenres of the tyrant play and the martyr play. In ‘Proceso’, Palomo defines the
theatrum mundi metaphor as the central idea of the play (p. 87) and looks briefly at the
Baroque fondness for art within art. She also examines Lope’s captivation of his audience
through what she describes as ‘la complicidad entre emisor y receptor’ (p. 92). Dixon’s
articles in particular provide an invaluable insight into the use of metatheatrical techniques
within the play. In ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’, Dixon demonstrates that all
six of Hornby’s varieties of metadrama are present in Lo fingido verdadero. In ‘Ya tienes’,
he discusses the adaptation and staging of Lo fingido verdadero for a modern audience,
examines the play within the play and explores audience reception.
4 Dixon points out that this play constitutes the first Spanish dramatisation of the
theatrum mundi concept. See ‘Ya tienes’, p. 59.

5 See Lope de Vega, Lo fingido verdadero/Acting is Believing: A Tragicomedy in Three
Acts, trans. Michael McGaha (San Antonio: Trinity UP, 1986), p. 21; p. 25.
6 ‘Ya tienes’, p. 54.
7 Estudios, I, 263–64.
8 See Santos, p. 19. Garasa provides a brief summary and commentary on this play on
pp. 18–23.
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Clearly, the dramatisation of the conversion and martyrdom of Genesius in

Act III of Lo fingido verdadero renders the play a type of comedia de santos,
if not a fully developed one, and therefore merits its inclusion in this study.9
However, it is also true that the play’s appeal rests with Lope’s fascination
with the association between illusion and reality and the incorporation of a
variety of metatheatrical devices into the fabric of the drama.10 In fact, Lo
fingido verdadero is the most patent example of the metaplay among Lope’s
corpus of plays, both religious and secular. I would suggest that the two
concepts, religious drama and a metatheatrical approach, are not mutually
exclusive but are interdependent. Through an analysis of role-playing within
the role and the play within the play in Lo fingido verdadero, with particular
focus on the difficulties of perception encountered by both the characters and
the corral audience, I will demonstrate how a metadramatic methodology
serves to uncover the essential themes of Lope’s play.
Role-Playing within the role

According to Hornby, ‘Role playing within the role is an excellent means
for delineating character, by showing not only who the character is, but what
he wants to be’.11 In Act I of Lo fingido verdadero, Carino, Apro (the father-
in-law of Numeriano) and Diocleciano engage consciously in the art of role-
playing.12 Motivated by a range of factors, the characters are responsible for
9 Dassbach stresses that Ginés even experiences quite an atypical martyr’s death:
‘Ginés no sobrevive milagrosamente torturas y no se da evidencia de hechos

sobrenaturales en torno a su muerte. [. . .] Su martirio no atrae seguidores ni genera
elogios, [. . .]. Por el contrario, los actores de la compañía de Ginés, como sucede a los
torturadores, no entienden su obstinación en querer morir por la fe cristiana y, por tanto,
culpan a Ginés de su propia muerte’ (La comedia hagiográfica, p. 58). Dassbach states that
the reason for this might be the lack of historical detail relating to Genesius and Lope’s
consequent greater freedom of expression in dramatising this saint (p. 66, n. 24).
10 Dixon describes the play’s ‘metateatralidad’ as ‘el atractivo primordial de la obra de
Lope’ (‘Ya tienes’, p. 55).

11 Drama, Metadrama, p. 67.
12 Role-playing within the role is extremely important in Acts II and III, where Ginés
and several other characters, including Fabio and Marcela, adopt roles within the inset
plays. As Hornby points out regarding the various types of metadrama, ‘They are rarely
found in pure form, but often occur together or blend into one another’ (Drama,
Metadrama, p. 32). This type of role-playing will be analysed in conjunction with the play
within the play in the course of this chapter. It is important to note that the degree of
dislocation of perception produced by a particular metatheatrical device varies. Voluntary
role-playing within the role, for example, is the most metadramatic type of role-playing.
Involuntary role-playing, on the other hand, causes less estrangement, as Hornby indicates:
‘we feel less estranged than when the role playing is voluntary, because we are more
secure as to who the character really is’ (Drama, Metadrama, p. 74). As will be seen in the
course of this study, even voluntary forms of role-playing produce different degrees of
audience dissociation.
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the manifestation of both positive and negative forms of role-playing. The

various roles which they play, however, are not affected by the tension
between human and divine love which characterises the performance of Ginés
in Acts II and III. Prior to the appearance of Carino who is acting as deputy
in Rome and who sees and refers to himself as an emperador, the audience is
introduced to him principally through Maximiano’s comments. Maximiano
tells the other soldiers:
Dicen que vive en Roma deshonesto,

forzando las mujeres más honradas,
sin que se escapen Senadores desto,
ni las monjas a Vesta reservadas:
que a mil nobles ha muerto y descompuesto,
sin respetar las canas veneradas
de hombres que han sido cónsules, jueces,
Pretores, y triunfando muchas veces.
(I, fol. 262r)
The spectators therefore expect an indecent, dishonourable character dressed

in the attire of an emperor.13 What they witness, however, is the presentation
of Carino disguised ‘en hábito de noche’ (I, 264v) with those same negative
traits.14 Despite the fact that Carino explains to Ginés that he has adopted the
part of un noble – ‘un noble no más, un hombre / pretendo representar,’ (I, fol.
265v), his discussion with Celio, his criado, and Rosarda, his amante
concerning the pleasure he derives from dishonouring women emphasises the
artificiality of this assumed title. Carino boasts:
Mucho me deleito y gusto

de quitar, Celio, el honor
a una mujer casta y noble,
y virtuosa, y al doble
si es mujer de Senador.
(I, 266r)
It is ironic that Carino dresses as a lesser-ranking citizen in order to enjoy the

world of prostitution and corruption since his actions as seducer are identified
13 McGaha defines Carino and Diocleciano as the tyrant and good king respectively. He
also compares Carino to Philip III. See Lo fingido verdadero / Acting is Believing, pp. 31–34.
14 At the beginning of El castigo sin venganza, an acting scene is overheard by the Duke
of Ferrara, who, like Carino, is ‘de noche’. See El perro del hortelano, El castigo, ed. A. David
Kossoff, p. 231. On the use of disguise in Spanish drama, Richard F. Glenn states: ‘Of the
many commonplaces in the Spanish theatre, one that had extensive success during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is the use of disguise and masquerade.’ See ‘Disguises
and Masquerades in Tirso’s El vergonzoso en palacio’, BCom, 17 (1965), 16–22 (p. 16).
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by several characters as evidence of his defective role as emperor’s son and

deputy.15 Characterised by soberbia like his father, Aurelio, who threatened to
raise an army against Jupiter (I, fol. 263v), Carino not only plays the role of
emperor badly, but also the secondary role which he imposes on himself.16 In
the belief that all emperors are ‘casi iguales / a los Dioses celestiales,’ and
untouchable by human law (I, fol. 265r), he exploits his privileged position in
order to create his own perverted version of the noble.17 Not only is he a seducer
but an indiscreto who discusses his deeds in public. Lelio, whose wife has been
dishonoured by Carino, makes this point explicit by identifying himself as
Un Cónsul de tu Senado,
cuya mujer has forzado
más en decirlo después
que en hacer tan gran maldad.
(I, fol. 266r)
Consequently, Carino not only negates the image of the ruler as an ‘espejo del
bien’, but also presents a distorted image of the nobleman.18 Although Carino
voluntarily engages in a form of role-playing within the role, the self-proclaimed
noble is in fact analogous to the unruly son of Aurelio described by Maximiano
at the beginning of the act. The proximity of his primary and secondary roles
would therefore have reduced the intensity of the metadramatic experience for
Lope’s audience.
In spite of this, the debate between Carino, Celio and Rosarda concerning
the relationship between theatre and life draws attention to the theatrum
Carino’s ‘hábito de noche’ is not only representative of his assumed role of nobleman, but,
as McKendrick points out, it also fixes the action temporally: ‘Night scenes could be
signalled at a stroke by a long cloak and hat’ (Theatre, p. 194; p. 195). While the relationship
between disguise and role-playing is not a major concern in the play, it is important to note
that Rosarda accompanies Carino on his nocturnal adventures ‘en hábito de hombre’.
McKendrick describes the female dressed as a male as ‘one of the commonest and most
popular stock types of the theatre’ (Theatre, pp. 194–95). Lope himself highlights the
popularity of the ‘mujer vestida de hombre’ in his Arte nuevo: ‘porque suele / el disfraz
varonil agradar mucho’ (282–83). While the ‘mujer vestida de hombre’ is not a common
feature of Lope’s comedias de tema religioso, it is important in the dénouement of Los locos
por el cielo. In Lo fingido verdadero, the importance of costume as a visual sign of status
is highlighted particularly through the emperor Diocleciano.
15 See, for example, Lelio’s speech in which he tells Carino: ‘perdiste la majestad /
cuando tu honor ofendiste,’ (I, fol. 266r).

16 In ‘Ya tienes’, p. 61, Dixon states regarding Aurelio, Carino and Apro, ‘Cada uno
desempeña mal el papel que le ha asignado el destino’.

17 For an analysis of Amán in La hermosa Ester and Apro in Lo fingido verdadero, who
are also exponents of soberbia, see, respectively, chapter 1 and pp. 102–105 of this chapter.
18 See chapter 1, p. 25 on Asuero’s contemplation of kings as ‘espejos del bien’ in La
hermosa Ester, and p. 25, n. 43 for details on Seneca’s treatise concerning the behaviour
of the emperor Nero and a discussion of the comedia as espejo.
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mundi topos, a prevalent theme in seventeenth-century Spanish literature and

art.19 The discussion is set in motion by Carino who asks Celio regarding several
actresses: ‘¿Y podrá un Emperador / ser galán de esas mujeres?’ (I, fol. 265r).
By defining himself as a galán, Carino unintentionally draws a parallel
between drama and reality which he subsequently rejects in a lengthy mono-
logue in which he dissociates himself from the ‘emperador fingido’ (I, fol.
265r). The theatrum mundi metaphor is explicitly addressed for the first time
in the play by Celio who compares Carino to the actor-king:
[. . .] Les dura hora y media

su comedia, y tu comedia
te dura toda la vida.
Tú representas también,
mas estás de Rey vestido,
hasta la muerte, que ha sido
sombra del fin.
(I, fol. 265r)
His views on the illusory nature of life are supported by Rosarda. She describes
herself as ‘dama de esta comedia’ and rebukes Celio for his unsuccessful rep-
resentation of the criado, thereby intensifying the relationship between vida/
comedia and comedia/espejo presented by Lope in his Arte nuevo (I, fol.
265r).20 In contrast, Carino rejects the very notion of the comedia as ‘imagen de
la vida’ by instructing Ginés to organise the performance of a play based on a
fictitious version of his relationship with Rosarda.21 Carino would like himself
to be presented as ‘necio, y celoso’ and Rosarda as ‘discreta’ (I, fol. 265v). Only
when faced with death does Carino recognise that he is a player on the world
stage without any control of destino. His previous insistence on the permanence
of his role is completely undermined by the fact that he does not even die in the
garb of an emperor but with ‘la Majestad’ ‘embozada’.22 He emphasises the sig-
nificance of costume as a visual sign of status as he relinquishes his robes to the
next actor-king:
sospecho que no duró

toda mi vida hora y media.
Poned aquestos vestidos
19 On the theatrum mundi metaphor, see chapter 3, p. 92. For Palomo, the theatrum
mundi topos is the ‘idea nuclear’ of the play (‘Proceso’, p. 87).

20 See chapter 1, p. 25, n. 43 for Lope’s assertions in the Arte nuevo on this theme.
21 Just before the presentation of Ginés’ play in Act II, the first play within the play in Lo
fingido verdadero, Diocleciano announces that he is ready ‘para escuchar la imagen de la vida’
(II, fol. 273r). Unlike Carino, Rosarda asks Ginés to present a play which is an ‘imagen de la
vida’ in which she is ‘de mil celos llena’ and Carino is ‘amado, e ingrato’ (I, fol. 265v).
22 See Lelio’s speech, I, fol. 266v.
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102 ELAINE CANNING
De un representante Rey,
pues es tan común la ley
a cuantos fueran nacidos,
adonde mi sucesor
los vuelva luego a tomar,
porque ha de representar.
(I, fol. 266v)
The theatrum mundi topos presents itself throughout the play and is
exploited to its full potential in Act III with Ginés’ conversion to Christianity.
Following Carino’s death, the depiction of the individual as a roleplayer is
reinforced by Severio who, unlike the audience, is unaware of the emperor’s
fate. In his description of Carino, he maintains ‘ni toma / un papel en la mano’
(I, fol. 267r). The double meaning implicit in papel as both ‘paper’ and ‘role’
expresses a lack of industry on Carino’s part in the role as deputy ruler, as well
as an inability to take on that very role. It is also possible that Severio’s refer-
ence served as a reminder to the audience that the papel of emperor would
have to be assumed by another individual.
It is precisely Apro’s desire to play the role of ruler of the empire which causes
him to function as a type of intratextual dramatist as described by Larson.23
According to her: ‘Characters may become self-dramatizing or function as intra-
textual dramatists or directors, writing new scripts or directing the actions of
other characters in a patently self-referential attitude.’24 Apro casts Numeriano,
his son-in-law, in the role of enfermo when he is already dead, while he himself
poses as the concerned relation. Apro is, in fact, the murderer. This means that
the audience is immediately presented with an illusion within the dramatic
illusion of the main drama. Apro is transformed from caring minder to professed
murderer through his revelation of the secret killing to Felisardo. He openly
confesses to him: ‘yo le he muerto, y le he traído / así cubierto y tapado’ (I, fol.
267v). Apro’s complex double image may have generated various levels of
estrangement depending on, firstly, the audience’s susceptibility to his references
to his son-in-law’s future role as emperor and, secondly, the audience’s aware-
ness of the significance of his name.
Following the death of Aurelio, Apro expresses his wish for Numeriano to
become emperor, a rejuvenated version of his father. He instructs the soldiers
regarding the removal of Aurelio’s body:
Llevad el cuerpo luego

adonde se le dé el honor debido
23 It should be noted that Apro is intially referred to as ‘Apio’ in the text of the 1621
edition, as well as in the list of characters presented at the beginning of the play. He is first
referred to as Apro in I, fol. 267v.
24 See ‘Metatheater: Past, Present’, p. 213.
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para que de su fuego

salga, y de su valor recién nacido
el Fénix Numeriano.
(I, fol. 264r)
Subsequently, when he discusses Numeriano’s feigned illness with Severio, he

describes him as: ‘el más gallardo / Príncipe que habrá visto aqueste Imperio’
(I, fol. 267r). There is no indication on Apro’s part that he wishes to eliminate
his son-in-law from accession to the throne. Instead, he simply states that
Numeriano still has not recovered from his illness: ‘largos caminos, y la mar
revuelta / convalecer apenas le han dejado,’ (I, fol. 267r). If Lope’s audience
had paid attention to the lack of conflict between the two characters, as well as
Apro’s positive depiction of Numeriano’s qualities, then adverse or antag-
onistic forms of behaviour on the part of either character would not have been
anticipated. Consequently, the mimetic reality established up to that point
would have been destroyed with the discovery of Apro’s malicious deed
through his conversation with Felisardo. The irony of Apro’s previous statement
in his discussion with Severio, in which he maintains ‘felicidad de su gobierno
aguardo’ (I, fol. 267r), would also have become apparent.25 Both the audience
and Felisardo are thus confronted with the fact that Apro’s true identity lies
beneath the projected image which was presented intially.
The degree of unease experienced by the audience as a result of this sudden
exposition of role-change may have been affected by an understanding of the
relationship between Apro and ‘aper’, the Latin term for ‘wild boar’. In other
words, the establishment of a link between this metaphorical jabalí and that
which Camila predicted would be killed by Diocleciano may have raised
suspicions regarding Apro’s more barbaric nature. This being the case, Apro’s
admission of his unsavoury behaviour may not have produced the same
degree of shock or surprise found in an unsuspecting public. In addition,
recognition of Apro’s association with the jabalí stresses the futility of
his aspirations to become emperor. Of course, the unsuccessful nature of
25 Apro’s declaration is an example of what Catherine Larson describes as ‘linguistic
manifestations of dramatic irony’. See ‘Speech Act Theory and Linguistic Approaches to
Teaching the Comedia’, in Approaches to Teaching Spanish Golden Age Drama, ed.
Everett W. Hesse (York, South Carolina: Spanish Literature Publications Company, 1989),
pp. 43–55 (pp. 47–48). In this article, in which she describes speech act theory in terms of
its ability to underscore the ways that speakers use language in order to act (p. 43), Larson
discusses the function of multi-levelled discourse and linguistic subversion in relation to
audience reception: ‘Linguistic game-playing, double entendres, parodic language, and
other examples of word play show how language can turn in on itself to create specific
effects for the audience’ (p. 48). On speech act theory, see also Inés Azar, ‘Self,
Responsibility, Discourse: An Introduction to Speech Act Theory’, and Albert Prince,
‘Dramatic Speech Acts: A Reconsideration’, in Things Done With Words: Speech Acts
in Hispanic Drama, ed. Elias L. Rivers (Newark, Delaware: Juan de la Cuesta, 1986),
pp. 1–13 and pp. 147–58 respectively.
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104 ELAINE CANNING
Apro’s quest is anticipated generally since Camila’s prediction has identified

Diocleciano as the future emperor. Nevertheless, the case of Apro proves that
the potential for variation in the degree of estrangement of individual
spectators is considerable, depending on their appreciation of details relating
to a particular character.
Apro is motivated to assume the roles of both murderer and carer as a result
of his lust for power, or, in his own words, ‘el deseo de reinar’ (I, fol. 267v).
He is acutely arrogant, unremorseful and confident that ‘con tan grande
poder, / opinión y sangre mía, / ninguno se ha de elegir / adonde estuviere yo’
(I, fol. 267v). Devoid of any sense of shame, he eliminates Rome’s promising
ruler, in spite of his reputation. Although Severio reveals that ‘la gente / a
Numeriano espera alegremente’ (I, fol. 267r), Apro endeavours to reshape the
fate of both his son-in-law and himself. The self-acknowledged murderer
reverts to his position as concerned relation in the company of the soldiers,
who are unaware of his crime, in order to ensure his acceptability as Rome’s
newly-crowned emperor. He informs the soldiers: ‘Dios sabe con el cuidado /
que por su vida miré’ (I, fol. 267v), before highlighting his personal
redeeming characteristics:
[. . .] Siempre he sido yo
padre de cualquier soldado.
¿Qué hacienda no he repartido?
¿Qué pobre no remedié?
¿A quién jamás agravié?
Ni fui desagradecido.
A cualquiera doy licencia
que diga en qué le ofendí.
(I, fol. 268r)
The audience now witnesses, as it had done earlier, the presentation of a

fictitious pose as an authentic display of emotion. This shift between lo
fingido and lo verdadero is emphasised further by Felisardo. Having promised
himself as Apro’s confidant, informing him ‘bien puedes fiar de mí /
cualquiera dificultad’ (I, fol. 267v), he becomes the traitor who communicates
the wicked crime to the soldiers, and consequently ensures Apro’s downfall.26
Apro is the ‘burlador burlado’; the deceiver is ultimately deceived.27
Apro’s engagement in role-playing within the role not only underlines
the intangible nature of reality, but also makes a vital contribution to plot
development in two significant ways. In the first instance, the murder of
Numeriano eliminates Carino’s natural successor and thereby clears the
way for Diocleciano’s ascent to the throne. Secondly, by performing as an
26 See Felisardo’s speech, I, fol. 268v.

27 See Fischer, ‘Dramatization of the Theatrical’, p. 161.
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assassin, Apro provides Diocleciano with a plausible excuse for murdering

him, the jabalí of Camila’s prophecy, and thus converts her prediction into a
reality. Felisardo’s transition from confidant to traitor, on the other hand, is
not critical to the plot, since the soldiers have already decided that Apro is the
murderer. Prior to Felisardo’s declamation against Apro, the audience is
exposed to attacks on Apro’s reputation by Maximiano and Curio, following
Marcelo’s assertion that illness has not caused Numeriano’s death:28
Maximiano Eso es cosa

muy cierta, y que Apro le ha muerto.
Curio En lo que nos dijo ahora,
se conoce bien que es Apro,
y que le ha dado ponzoña.
(I, fol. 268r)
In spite of this, Felisardo’s statement is proof of the villainous conduct of

Numeriano’s father-in-law, for which he deserves to be punished.
Unlike Apro and Carino who, as intratextual dramatists, create individual
positions which lead to the degradation of other individuals, Diocleciano’s
change of role within the play is more problematic. His substitution of the role
of soldier for that of emperor is preceded by two playful suggestions through
which he makes reference to his future status. As the ‘hijo de un esclavo’, he
informs the other soldiers that he could become emperor one day: ‘ya ser
podría / que fuese Emperador’ (I, fol. 262r). Subsequently, he informs Camila,
as he had done on previous occasions, that he will repay her for the bread
‘cuando sea Emperador / de Roma’ (I, fol. 262v). Despite his aspirations, it is
Camila who provides the method by which Diocleciano will become emperor,
jesting twice that his transformation will occur following the slaughter of a
wild boar, or jabalí. In the first instance, Camila maintains: ‘toma, que cuando
matares / un jabalí, tú serás / Emperador’. On the second occasion, she simply
reinforces what she has already said: ‘tú serás César romano / en matando un
jabalí’ (I, fol. 262v). This type of ‘performative language’, as described by
Larson, exemplifies how dialogue and action interact in order to produce what
she categorises as a ‘representable text’.29 Camila promotes the assumption of
both the role of murderer and emperor, the former being crucial to the fulfil-
ment of the latter. As a result of her light-hearted prediction, the question is
28 Marcelo is not included in the list of characters at the beginning of the play. He seems
to have replaced Marcio, whose name does feature in the character list and who accompanies
the other soldiers at the beginning of Act I. Marcelo’s name first appears in I, fol. 263v, when
he is presented with Diocleciano, Curio and Maximiano following the death of Aurelio.
29 See ‘Speech Act Theory’, p. 49; p. 43. In relation to Camila’s prophecy, McGaha
claims: ‘One of Lope’s favourite dramatic devices was to begin a play with a foreshadowing
of later developments’. See Lo fingido verdadero / Acting is Believing, p. 28.
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106 ELAINE CANNING
raised as to whether Diocleciano engages voluntarily or not in role-playing

within the role. In his discussion of involuntary role-playing, Hornby states:
‘Involuntary role playing within the role may be caused by factors outside the
character, or caused by some inner weakness, or, quite commonly, caused by
some combination of outer and inner factors.’30 While the means of becoming
emperor are not detected by Diocleciano himself but presented to him, he
willingly and consciously assumes the role for which he yearned. According
to Fischer: ‘He takes the prophecy as a cue for his future stage appearance.’31
However, the degree of dissociation experienced by the audience is reduced
since Diocleciano’s role-change constitutes a fundamental part of the plot of
the play. In other words, his conversion to the status of emperor is imperative
since he will be responsible for instructing the martyrdom of Ginés. For those
who were not aware of the historical background of the drama, Diocleciano’s
change of role would have been anticipated as a result of Camila’s repeated
prophecy.32 The conversion, then, of soldier to emperor would have been
expected generally.
Essentially, then, it is Camila who is the primary intratextual dramatist
responsible for the rewriting of the script of Diocleciano’s life. However, the
soldier himself also resorts to the creation of his own fiction before acting as
Apro’s assassin. He informs Apro:
[. . .] La imagen espantosa
de Numeriano, tu yerno,
convertida en negra sombra
anoche me apareció,
y me dijo con voz ronca
que de su sangre inocente
diese esta venganza a Roma.
(I, fol. 268v)
By doing so, Diocleciano justifies his role as murderer to Apro, to the other
soldiers and, most importantly, to himself. While he is not driven by a desire
to become the tyrannical, authoritarian ruler, it cannot be denied that he
engages in an element of deceit, like Apro, in an attempt to validate his course
30Drama, Metadrama, p. 74.

31‘Dramatization of the Theatrical’, p. 159.
32 Palomo describes Diocleciano’s first claim presented to the soldiers regarding his
future role as emperor as ‘un primer dato de la complicidad entre emisor y receptor: el
público sabe que no es locura sino premonición’ (‘Proceso’, p. 83). While I suspect that a
significant proportion of the audience might well have known that Diocletian was emperor
during the martyrdom of Genesius as a result of the availability of texts on the life of the
emperor, such as Mexía’s Historia imperial, it is possible that several spectators were
unaware of the precise historical details. This being the case, not every individual would
have interpreted Diocleciano’s assertion as a statement of fact.
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of action. Nonetheless, it appears that Diocleciano is more concerned with the

manifestation of his inherent generous nature and the rewarding of deserving
individuals. Following Camila’s prediction, he invites the soldiers to share his
bread, claiming:
que a verme yo por misterio

en el imperio algún día,
también repartir sabría
como este pan el imperio.
Toma y come, Maximiano,
que has de ser mi coadjutor.
Tú, amiga, por tanto amor,
si llego a César romano,
verás lo que eres por mí.
(I, fol. 262v)
Unlike Apro’s, Diocleciano’s aspirations to the throne do not involve the

infliction of suffering on the innocent. In addition, there is no indication
that the role will be manipulated, as it was by Carino, in order to humiliate
those of a lesser rank for personal pleasure. Diocleciano, endowed with
humildad, not only acknowledges the risks involved in killing Apro by
reminding himself ‘mira que nadie te abona, / que soy hijo de un esclavo
(I, fol. 268v), but also offers himself up for punishment following his
justification of his deed (I, fols 268v–269r). In effect, it is the soldiers
who confer the title of emperor upon Diocleciano. Despite the fact that
Diocleciano has been motivated by Camila’s prediction, he nevertheless
has doubted his acceptability as ruler of the empire. His newly-acquired
status, therefore, is not one which he has taken by force, but one which he
has earned.
On the basis of this evidence, it could be argued that Diocleciano’s change
of role within the play is one which has a positive impact on himself and those
around him. Indeed, once he assumes his position as emperor, in keeping with
his promise, he transforms Maximiano from soldier to César, and makes
Camila both a privileged subject with unlimited access to his quarters and his
lover.33 Such changes would have been expected, of course, by those who
regarded Diocleciano as a man of his word.34 Humildad is rewarded through
the character of Maximiano as Diocleciano ignores his plea for his status to
33 It should be noted that, while we have been concerned in this section with role-
playing within the role and the conversions of roles in Act I of the play, the change of roles
conferred upon Maximiano and Camila by Diocleciano occur at the beginning of Act II.
34 In her discussion of ‘performative language’, Catherine Larson highlights the
significance of the promise: ‘In addition to the promise, curses, blessings, and warnings
offer a focus of attention that can lead to an examination of the world-changing power of
words.’ See ‘Speech Act Theory’, p. 49.
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108 ELAINE CANNING
be lowered to that of criado and elevates him to the rank of César instead.35
The placing of the ‘hojas consagradas’(II, fol. 270r) upon Maximiano’s head
is an outward symbol of his changed position. The laurel constitutes a visual
representation of identity and role, which is of extreme importance to
Diocleciano who relinquishes wealth in exchange for the emperor’s attire.36
He informs the soldiers:
Pues esa tienda toda

de Numeriano y su suegro,
dineros, armas y joyas,
repartid entre vosotros,
que a mí me basta esta ropa
y esta espada que os defienda.
(I, fol. 269r)
However, it is highly probable that the corral audience would not have
seen Diocleciano in such a positive light since he is the pagan who is
ultimately responsible for imposing a death sentence upon Ginés, the
Christian. In spite of the fact that the emperor would have been expected to
react in such a manner to a convert’s open confession, the degradation of the
Christian at the hands of the pagan would surely have provoked a negative
reaction from Lope’s audience. In comparison with Carino and Apro,
Diocleciano appears to play his role well, earning himself the titles of
‘invicto señor’ and ‘César ínclito’ and being defined in terms of his ‘sacra
Majestad’ and ‘raro divino entendimiento’.37 Nevertheless, the fact that he
can be viewed in a negative light emphasises the difficulties which arise
when categorising behaviour/role.
In spite of the necessity of Diocleciano’s assumption of the role of emperor
for the purposes of plot development, his change in status may serve as a
critique for some members of the corral audience of a restrictive hierarchical
structure such as that which characterised seventeenth-century Spanish
35 Maximiano implores Diocleciano: ‘suplícote que me tengas / por tu criado en tu casa /
que ya de lo justo pasa, / que a igualarme a tu ser vengas’ (II, fol. 269v).
36 It should be noted that contemporary costumes were used in the corrales, with the result
that Diocleciano was more than likely presented in the garb of a contemporary king. On the
use of costume in the comedia, McKendrick comments: ‘As in the Shakespearean theatre,
contemporary dress was normally worn whatever the period depicted, with vaguely
distinguishing costumes or accessories for kings and queens, Moors, Turks, angels, devils and
so on. [. . .] However, ethnic and historical accuracy apart, a limited range of costumes and
accessories was normally perfectly adequate for the drama’s requirements’ (Theatre, p. 195).
Lope presents his reservations about the use of costume in his Arte nuevo: ‘Los trages nos
dixera Iulio Pollux, / Si fuera necessario, que en España / Es de las cosas bárbaras que tiene /
La Comedia presente recebidas: / Sacar un Turco un cuello de Christiano, / Y calças atacadas
un Romano’ (356–61).
37 See Maximiano’s and Ginés’ speeches, II, fol. 269v and fol. 270v respectively.
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society.38 A slave of lowly birth, he himself is dubious about his approval by

the other soldiers. Furthermore, he is exposed to the pessimistic remarks of
Curio, the ‘anti-playwright’, who presents his position as soldier as a fixed,
stable one, and negates the possibility of change. Curio advises him: ‘nunca
en agüeros confíes. [. . .] Come, y deja de pensar / en lo que no ha de llegar’
(I, fol. 262v). However, Diocleciano’s successful realisation of his dream to
become emperor, as well as Felisardo’s rejection of the importance of ‘sangre’
and ‘opinión’, promote the individual’s ability to transcend socially-imposed
limitations.39 The relationship between changeability/unpredictability and
‘fortuna’ is one which presents itself throughout the play. Camila, for example,
who has herself experienced a change of fortune as a result of Diocleciano’s
promotion, comments on this issue prior to the presentation of Ginés’ second
play within the play in Act III:
Ved lo que puede la fortuna varia,

que a unos levanta y a otros aniquila;
¿en qué piensa parar esta voltaria,
que ya vuela en maroma, y ya en esfera
del viento?
(III, fol. 280v)
It is through Diocleciano and, as we shall see, Ginés, that the potential for
profound change is best exemplified in the play.
It is evident, then, that varying degrees of audience dislocation are gener-
ated primarily as a result of the spectators’ sensitivity to, and interpretation of,
the material presented within the dramatic framework. Moreover, the various
forms of role-playing undertaken by the three characters presented above are
all crucial to plot development. With the elimination of both Carino and Apro
from succession to the throne as a consequence of their vile actions as seducer
and murderer respectively, the path is cleared for Diocleciano’s essential
progression towards control of the empire.
In spite of the problems posed when differentiating between positive and
negative forms of role-playing, especially in the case of Diocleciano, it is clear
that soberbia is ultimately punished, while humildad is rewarded. The failure
of both Carino and Apro to assume the principal position of authority is proof
of the individual’s powerlessness to control or reshape destino. On the other
hand, Diocleciano’s success in the same quest testifies to the capricious
nature of existence, or the illusory nature of life, which has been emphasised
38 Of course, those spectators who knew that Lope was following the account given in
Pero Mexía’s Historia imperial would not have interpreted Diocleciano’s assumption of
his new role in the same manner.
39 Felisardo informs Apro: ‘que el romano Senado, / cualquiera César que toma / el ejército
y legiones / aprueba sin distinción / de sangre, ni de opinión’ (I, fol. 267v).

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110 ELAINE CANNING
throughout Act I. The fate of the three characters highlights that life is indeed
a perplexing, deceptive dream or play.
The degree of audience estrangement reaches its height in Acts II and III
with the presentation of Ginés’ inset plays. Hence, the play within the play, as
we shall see subsequently, offers the audience the prime opportunity to reflect
on the concerns of the playwright.
The Play within the play

For a play within the play of either the inset or framed type to be fully
metadramatic requires that the outer play have characters and plot [. . .]; that
these in turn must acknowledge the existence of the inner play; and that they
acknowledge it as a performance. In other words, there must be two sharply
distinguishable layers of performance. (Drama, Metadrama, p. 35)
In Lo fingido verdadero, the inset plays presented by Ginés to an inner

audience comprising Diocleciano and his favourites are not only highly
metatheatrical but extremely complex performances.40 Not only do they
impact on the action of the main play itself, but also frustrate the expectations
of both the outer and inner audiences.41 Moreover, the actors themselves,
including Ginés, creator and main protagonist, are often perplexed by plot
40 For a definition of the inset play and the framed play, see chapter 3, p. 94, n. 24.
It should be noted that Fischer defines the play in terms of three inner dramas, ‘with or
without the element of artistic formality but always with the key ingredient of
impersonation’ (‘Dramatization of the Theatrical’, p. 158). She describes the first as
‘a political drama that deals with Diocleciano’s ascent to the Roman throne’ (p. 158). For
the purposes of this study, I am concerned with the full metadramatic quality of the play
within the play as defined by Hornby. Thus, Diocleciano’s rise to power cannot be
qualified as an inset play given the absence of two explicit layers of performance in the
first act. The play within the play is a device which features in several other religious plays
by Lope. In Los locos por el cielo, for example, an auto on the birth of Christ is presented
in Act III to a church congregation of 20,000 Christians in order to reinforce the tenets of
the Christian faith. See Stoll, ‘Staging, Metadrama’ for an analysis of this inset play. As
well as that, the crucifixion of Juanico, a Christian child, is presented in Act III of El niño
inocente de La Guardia by the Jews Hernando, Francisco, Benito, Pedro and Quintanar.
The various characters associated with the crucifixion are enacted by the Jews. Finally, a
section of the story of Esther, from Amán’s denunciation of the Jews to Esther’s
appearance before the king, is enacted in Act II of La limpieza no manchada. On the play
within the play, see also Nelson, Play Within a Play.
41 Palomo argues that the actors of Ginés’ company and the inner audience receive a
‘mensaje equívoco’, while the outer audience experiences a ‘mensaje inequívoco’

(‘Proceso’, p. 92). As will be highlighted in the course of this study, the concept of audience
reception is more complex than that. Dixon makes this point explicit: ‘en varios momentos
de la acción el público externo queda engañado, o cuando menos auténticamente perplejo’
(‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’, p. 111).
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development.42 In fact, as will become evident, Ginés ultimately assumes a

role to which he had never aspired, substituting his preoccupation with human
love for devotion to the divine. It is his love for the actress Marcela, however,
which inspires his first inset play.
The first play within the play is preceded by two canciones and a loa. The first
canción celebrates the election of Diocleciano as emperor, while the second
highlights the beauty of Lucinda, Lope’s poetic name for Micaela de Luján.43
The play begins with the harsh rejection of Rufino (played by Ginés) by Fabia
(played by Marcela). The shunned lover questions his beloved: ‘¿tan resuelta
vives, Fabia, / de tratarme con rigor / y no agradecer mi amor?’ (II, fol. 274r).
The illusion of the inset play is broken almost immediately as Ginés,
overwhelmed by ‘loco amor’ (II, fol. 274r) for Marcela, addresses her as such
rather than by her character’s name. Subsequently, Rufino is granted Fabia’s
hand in marriage by her father, Señor Tebandro, who is impersonated by
Fabricio, father of Marcela in the main play. Once the engaged couple have
embraced, Rufino and Tebandro leave the stage in order to discuss the proposed
marriage with Rufino’s father. An onstage conflict ensues between Fabia and the
jealous Octavio, performed by the character Octavio of the main play. Octavio
rebukes Fabia for her treatment of him, her supposed lover, while Fabia uses
obedience to her father as justification for her actions. Following Pinabelo’s
suggestion that the lovers should take flight and his revelation to the outer
audience of his plot to keep Fabia for himself, Marcela/Fabia expresses her wish
for the action of the comedia to become a reality. The lovers’ escape is made
public by Celio, a criado, after Tebandro and Rufino disclose the successful
outcome of their meeting with Rufino’s father. While Tebandro leaves to pursue
the couple, Rufino/Ginés engages in a lengthy monologue in which he expresses
his desire that the ship carrying the lovers will get out of control. His second,
improvised speech in which he calls on Neptune to wreak destruction is followed
by the confusing dénouement which leaves the actors within the inset play, the
inner audience and the outer audience bewildered. Fabricio announces that
the actors who were playing Fabia and Octavio have really fled, Ginés calls upon
the perplexed Diocleciano to act as restorer of justice, but Pinabelo declares that
Octavio has returned. Ultimately, Pinabelo’s statement marks the end of the inset
play for the inner audience, while his subsequent conversation with Ginés
42 Garasa incorrectly maintains that the actors in the first play within the play can
distinguish between fiction and reality: ‘Pero los actores, al tanto del conflicto real entre
bastidores, ven claramente los límites entre la vida y la ficción’ (Santos, p. 20).
43 On the presentation of the canción and the loa, Dixon states: ‘el público habrá
pensado en las representaciones de particulares en Palacio’ (‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus

espectadores’, p. 106). The song which celebrates Lucinda’s beauty exploits the language
and conventions of the Petrarchan sonnet. Lucinda’s mouth, for example, is described in
the following manner: ‘que su boca celestial / no sea el mismo coral, / bien puede ser, / mas
que no excedan la rosa / en ser roja, y olorosa, / no puede ser (II, fol. 273v).
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112 ELAINE CANNING
stresses to the outer audience that the fiction of Ginés’ play has in fact become a
reality within the main drama. In other words, Ginés’ play ends with the
departure of Octavio and Marcela, rather than the return of Octavio and Fabia.
The intricate fusion of the action and characters of the main play and those
of the inset play is of course responsible for the establishment of a complex
form of audience reception. Nevertheless, both the inner and outer audiences’
interpretation of the play within the play is also affected by their individual
horizons of expectation. The inner audience’s expectation is summed up by
Diocleciano immediately preceding the first canción. He tells Camila that he
is ready ‘para escuchar la imagen de la vida’ (II, fol. 273r).44 This assertion
follows a conversation with Ginés, who emphasised to the emperor the rela-
tionship between acting and imitation and the advantages of having experi-
enced the feelings associated with a particular role. Ginés explains:
El imitar es ser representante;

pero como el poeta no es posible
que escriba con afecto y con blandura
sentimientos de amor, si no le tiene,
y entonces se descubren en sus versos
cuando el amor le enseña los que escribe,
así el representante, si no siente
las pasiones de amor, es imposible
que pueda, gran señor, representarlas;
(II, fol. 271v)
Therefore, while Diocleciano’s description of the play he is about to hear

suggests that he foresees it as a performance based on Ginés’ personal experi-
ences as a lover, having requested a representation of an amante, there is no
indication that he is aware of the galán’s true feelings for his leading lady,
Marcela.
In contrast, the outer audience is not only introduced to Ginés, the jealous
lover, prior to his performance before the emperor, but is also acquainted with
Marcela’s love for Octavio and details relating to the inset play. The impact
of jealousy upon Ginés is made explicit in a monologue in which the actor
forms a decisive link between the individual and role-playing. Ginés identifies
his senses as ‘representantes’ which are each assigned a particular role. His
‘oídos’, for example, play the part of the ‘sordo’ who refuses to listen to reason,
while his ‘tristes ojos’ perform the role of the ‘ciego’ who recites his passion.
His ‘olfato’, on the other hand, ‘imita una gente / que dicen mil escritores / que
44 Lope comments on the aural reception of the comedia in his Arte nuevo: ‘Si hablare
el Rey, imite cuanto pueda / La grauedad real; si el viejo hablare / Procure vna modestia
sentenciosa; / Descriua los amantes con afectos / Que mueuan co[n] estremo a quie[n]
escucha. / Los soliloquios pinte de manera / Que se transforme todo el recitante, / Y con
mudarse a sí mude al oyente’ (269–76).
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del olor de las flores / se sustenta solamente,’ (II, fols 271v–272r). Ginés
emphasises the proximity of his fictional role within the inset play and his
sentiments as the jealous lover in the main play by asking his senses to act for
him: ‘pues vístanse mis sentidos, / y representen por mí’ (II, fol. 272v). Despite
the fact that Pinabelo advises him, ‘entra a ponerte galán’ (II, fol. 272v), the
outer audience is conscious of the fact that the use of costume is unnecessary
since he is, to a large extent, the part that he will play.
Apart from an insight into the character of Ginés, Lope’s audience is also
presented with material concerning the relationship in the main drama
between Ginés, Marcela and Octavio, and introduced to the theme of the inset
play. It is the conversation between Ginés and Pinabelo which serves as the
source of this information. Ginés stresses that his unrequited love for Marcela
causes him to suffer in the manner of the courtly lover. Following Pinabelo’s
enquiry concerning the pampering of the beloved, Ginés retorts:
¿Regalo a quien me desvela,

y nunca me tuvo amor?
No me nombres, Pinabelo,
esa mujer.
(II, fol. 272r)45
Ginés also makes direct reference to the bond between Marcela and Octavio
and the impact that his dismissing the latter would have on the former. He
explains: ‘hará en ausencia de Octavio / algún sentimiento injusto’ (II, fol.
272r). In addition, the corral audience is informed that the theme of jealousy
will present itself in the inset play. Specifically, according to Ginés, the play
will not be a ‘celosa comedia’, but, given its subject matter, a ‘tragedia’. In
the guise of Rufino, Ginés will have the opportunity to embrace
Marcela/Fabia on several occasions, since he admits that he has exploited his
dual role as dramatist/protagonist: ‘compúsela con cautela, / por darle tantos
abrazos, / cuantas prisiones y lazos / pone al alma que desvela.’ Finally, the
inset play will be manipulated ‘por tratar mal / a Octavio’ (II, fol. 272v).
In essence, the outer audience anticipates an enactment of the relationship
between Ginés, Marcela and Octavio, albeit with modifications. While the
illusion of the main play constitutes the basis of the inset play, it is evident
that this will be reworked somewhat to Ginés’ advantage. Moreover, as a
result of the complicity between the outer audience and the playwrights (both
Ginés, now as ‘writer’, and Lope as original author), some degree of thematic
45 On insomnia as one of the effects of love in courtly love poetry, see chapter 1, p. 26,
n. 45. Félix and Clara in La buena guarda also suffer from insomnia as a result of their
love for one another. Additionally, they suffer from loss of appetite, another common trait
of the courtly lover. Félix explains ‘Ya no como ni duermo’, while Clara tells her lover ‘No
he comido ni dormido’. See I. 689 and I. 946 respectively.
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114 ELAINE CANNING
conflict will be expected. The inner audience, on the other hand, simply looks
forward to a performance in which love will be the prominent theme.
As a result of the intermingling of the main play with the first inset play, the
deliberate destruction of mimetic reality takes place and generates varying
levels of identification and non-identification between the outer and inner audi-
ences. The first instance of the interplay between lo fingido and lo verdadero
occurs in the introductory scene in which Fabia rejects Rufino’s love for her.
Ginés/Rufino addresses his dama in the following manner:
Bien sé, Marcela, que nace

el hacerme aqueste agravio
de que quieres bien a Octavio;
Octavio te satisface,
Octavio te agrada, ingrata;
por él me dejas a mí.
(II, fol. 274r)
Having been introduced previously to Ginés’ feelings for Marcela, the outer
audience would recognise the invasion of reality upon the fiction of Ginés’ play.
On the other hand, since there is no indication of the inner audience’s familiar-
ity with the relationship between the two, we would expect its experience of the
inner play to be somewhat different. This is indeed the case, as illustrated by the
comments of Maximiano, Léntulo and Diocleciano. While Maximiano believes
that the characters have become confused, Léntulo attributes this to the presence
of the emperor.46 Diocleciano himself interprets the confusion of the lover as a
deliberate dramatic technique employed by Ginés:
Mas pienso que es artificio

deste gran representante,
porque turbarse un amante
fue siempre el mayor indicio.
(II, fol. 274r)47
However, it should be noted that Ginés stresses the fact that he is speaking as
himself, rather than Rufino, following Marcela’s/Fabia’s enquiry regarding
his use of her real name:
Marcela ¿Cómo me llamas Marcela,

si soy Fabia?
46 Maximiano states: ‘sospecho que se han turbado, / que hablando a solas están.’
Léntulo subsequently addresses Diocleciano: ‘con mirarte olvidarán, / señor, lo más

estudiado’ (II, fol. 274r).
47 Confusion, of course, was the cornerstone of the secular love poetry of the Cancionero
general (1511) anthology.

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Ginés Por hablarte

de veras, por obligarte
a que tu desdén se duela
de aqueste mi loco amor.
(II, fol. 274r)
The inner audience’s failure to even suspect Ginés’ love for Marcela increases
the estrangement of members of the outer audience who, rather than see its
own role reflected in the onstage audience, sees it negated. For the corral
audience, the Ginés/Rufino interchange within the inset play serves to
reinforce the illusory nature of life which is central to seventeenth-century
Spain’s theocentric view of the world. Hornby specifically refers to the asso-
ciation between such a world view and the use of the play within the play:
Whenever the play within the play is used, it is both reflective and expres-
sive of its society’s deep cynicism about life. When the prevalent view is
that the world is in some way illusory or false, then the play within the play
becomes a metaphor for life itself. The fact that the inner play is an obvi-
ous illusion (since we see other characters watching it), reminds us that the
play we are watching is also an illusion, despite its vividness and excite-
ment; by extension, the world in which we live, which also seems to be so
vivid, is in the end a sham. (Drama, Metadrama, p. 45)
The transformation of the fate of both Octavio and Marcela within the main
drama as the action of Ginés’ play becomes a reality is indeed proof of the
deceptive and unpredictable nature of existence. In fact, it is the flight of
Octavio and Marcela that is chiefly responsible for the disruption of harmony
of both the inset and main plays in Act II. Marcela’s/Fabia’s declaration, in
which she links the comedia to reality, follows Pinabelo’s exposition of the
plot and prompts Octavio’s reference to her by her real name. Pinabelo’s allu-
sion to the flight of the lovers proves so attractive to Marcela/Fabia that she
remarks: ‘¡Ay, cielo, si verdad fuera / la comedia!’ (II, fol. 275v). Moreover,
she reiterates her desire to escape as Marcela with her beloved by informing
Octavio ‘tan perdida estoy, / que quisiera que a Ginés / le hiciéramos este tiro’
(II, fol. 275v). While the lovers’ conversion of fiction into reality will only be
revealed explicitly to the outer audience and to Ginés himself by
Fabricio/Tebandro as the inset play draws to a close, Marcela hints at the
course of action which will be taken. In response to Octavio’s expression of
admiration for her loyalty to him, Marcela replies: ‘mayor la verás después’
(II, fol. 275v). Hence, as a consequence of Marcela’s allusion to the lengths
to which she is prepared to go for her lover, it is possible that the outer audi-
ence might anticipate the ensuing dénouement.
Undoubtedly, then, outer audience estrangement is dependent upon how it
receives the coded message of the inset play. However, the degree of dissoci-
ation experienced by the outer audience is also affected by their subjection to
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116 ELAINE CANNING
the various interpretations of the scene by the inner audience. Diocleciano’s

admission that he suspects that a relationship exists between Octavio and
Marcela is counterbalanced by Léntulo’s lack of awareness of the situation.48
In fact, Léntulo’s summary of the plot development he anticipates confirms
his indifference to the previous name changes and dialogue:
Ahora quiere el criado

ser traidor a su señor,
que Octavio al padre traidor
viene a quedar engañado.
De suerte que aquel Rufino
y este Octavio han de quedar
sin Fabia, y la ha de gozar
su esclavo.
(II, fol. 275v)
Essentially, then, it is the complexity of reality and its relationship with falsi-
fication and misconception that is brought to the outer audience’s attention.
Furthermore, the association of human love with random, irrational forms of
behaviour is also underscored, regardless of whether the departure of Marcela
and Octavio or Fabia and Octavio is envisaged.49 For the remainder of the
inset play, the delusion and confusion of both the outer and inner audiences
highlights the intangible nature of reality.
The first individual to allude to the lovers’ actions is Celio, the criado. He
relates to Fabricio/Tebandro and Ginés/Rufino that Fabia and Octavio have
escaped by boat.50 Consequently, by referring to the characters by the names
attributed to them in the inset play, Celio presents their flight as fictional, that
is, as part of the action of the play within the play, even if it may have been
interpreted by the outer audience as ‘real’.51 Moreover, the delay of the lovers
to reappear on stage may have increased the outer audience’s expectation of
their flight within the main play. Ginés stresses that their return constitutes the
next scene of his play by instructing Celio ‘di que salgan’ (II, fol. 276v).
Nevertheless, their failure to present themselves does not raise Ginés’ suspi-
cions. Instead, he believes that ‘sin duda se están vistiendo’ and repeats their
cue to enter (II, fol. 276v). It is only through Fabricio’s direct reference to the
48Diocleciano states: ‘sospecho que representan / éstos su misma verdad’ (II, fol. 275v).
49 On the association of human love with madness and irrationality, see chapter 2,
p. 80, n. 100.
50 See his speech, II, fol. 276r.
51 The choice of Celio as criado and bearer of news also contributes to the complex
interplay between fiction and reality, if he is the same Celio who was servant to the
philandering Carino. This being the case, Celio is the part he plays. The outer audience’s
ability to identify him as such increases the probability that his announcement will be
viewed in the context of its impact on the main play.
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disappearance of his daughter, made all the more poignant with the removal
of the false beard of Tebandro, that Ginés and the outer audience are clearly
informed of the reality of the situation for the first time. Fabricio laments:
Castigo, invicto señor,

que el mismo paso que hacía
Fabia, o Marcela, hija mía,
a quien amaba el autor,
han hecho tan verdadero
que han salido del palacio,
y en este pequeño espacio
que aun era el paso primero,
no parecen, ni hay un hombre
que diga por dónde van.
(II, fol. 277r)
Yet the sensibilities of both character and audience are frustrated once again
as Pinabelo announces the return of Octavio, the lover who bears the same
name in both the main play and inset drama. This deliberate creation of
ambiguity on Lope’s part is only clarified for Ginés and the outer audience
following the close of the inset play. At this point, Pinabelo advises Ginés:
‘recoge / al pensamiento la vela’, ‘[. . .] Ella y Octavio / se van, Ginés, a
embarcar’ (II, fol. 277r).
As the outer audience attempts to establish an understanding of the
sequence of events presented on stage, it is exposed to the confusion and
duping of the inner audience. Indeed, it witnesses the destruction of mimetic
reality for Diocleciano in particular following Fabricio’s explicit reference to
the departure of Marcela and Octavio. Ginés’ plea to Diocleciano to act as
restorer of justice perplexes the emperor, in spite of his allusion to Octavio’s
true love for Marcela. In response to Ginés’ claim ‘muy cierto es / que Octavio
amaba a Marcela’, Diocleciano questions the actor/playwright ‘¿hablas de
veras o no?’ (II, fol. 277r). His inability to ascertain the course of action
required illustrates to the outer audience the difficulties encountered in
attempting to detect the necessary or appropriate form of behaviour in reality.
The final deception of the inner audience, for whom the return of Octavio con-
stitutes the ending of the inset play and who is not fully aware of the link
between the performance and the reality of the main play at this stage, exem-
plifies, and is symbolic of, the powerlessness of the individual to comprehend
the true nature of existence.52
52 By Act III, Diocleciano is conscious of the fact that Marcela and Octavio have
converted fiction into reality and asks Ginés to describe the outcome of their actions – ‘¡Oh
Ginés! / No te hemos visto después / de aquella riguridad / que usó Marcela contigo. /
¿Qué se hicieron?’ (III, fol. 278v). While Diocleciano, at the end of the first play within the
play, asks Ginés to return the following day to perform the part of a Christian (II, fol. 277r),
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118 ELAINE CANNING
Ultimately, the outer audience ‘sees double’, not only as a result of the
presentation of the inset play within the main play, but also through the
duplicity within the inset play itself. As we shall see, this multiple layering
effect, which constitutes the most complex form of metadrama, is also a
primary feature of Ginés’ second play within the play. In essence, the first
inset play reinforces the illusory nature of life by approximating lo fingido
and lo verdadero. Moreover, it underlines the inability to detect authenticity,
a theme which recurs throughout Lo fingido verdadero. Beyond the confines
of the inset play, Octavio, for example, still cannot distinguish between
fiction and reality when he discovers his newly-wed in the company of
Ginés. He informs his wife: ‘que aun las burlas, no las veras / que representa
contigo / me parecen verdaderas’ (III, fol. 279v). In addition, the inset play
stresses the impossibility of control, even within fiction, and the futility of
the individual’s attempts to steer events of life in a certain direction – the
presumption of assuming the position of God. In the case of Ginés, his efforts
to create a situation in his drama which is inconceivable within the reality of
the principal play are thwarted.53 Specifically, his anticipated performance as
the abandoned betrothed who finally confronts his beloved and her lover is
prevented by Marcela’s and Octavio’s manipulation of fiction for their own
ends.54 While the course of action taken by these characters is evidence of
the sacrifice which the individual is willing to make for the sake of love,
human love is fundamentally associated with negative forms of behaviour
and sentiments within Ginés’ play. Not only is it responsible for the suffer-
ing of Ginés/Rufino, who is only briefly relieved of his pain with the prom-
ise of his marriage to Marcela/Fabia, but it also causes conflict between the
true lovers of the inset play. Octavio hurls bitter accusations at Fabia,
describing her as ‘ingrata’, following his discovery that she has been
embraced by Rufino (II, fol. 275r). Moreover, Ginés/Rufino exemplifies the
relationship between the unfulfilment of human love and aggression. As the
personification of the abandoned lover, Ginés/Rufino engages in an impro-
vised, hostile outburst through which he promotes the annihilation of the
lovers by calling upon Neptune to act as a destructive force.55 Ultimately, the
overpowering and debilitating effects of human love are manifested through
Ginés’ description of the events following the departure of the couple (Fabricio’s discovery
of the lovers, the marriage of Marcela and Octavio and Ginés’ forgiveness of them)
suggests a longer time span.
53 Ginés himself emphasises the impossibility of a future relationship with Marcela. In
response to Pinabelo’s advice to ask Fabricio for Marcela’s hand in marriage, he replies:
‘que los casamientos son / unión de las voluntades, / y en distintas calidades / es imposible
la unión’ (II, fol. 272v).
54 Marcela subsequently identifies Ginés as the culprit regarding her newly-found
reality. She tells him: ‘pero tú, que compusiste / la comedia en que me diste / a Fabia, que
a Octavio amó, / el camino me enseñó; / luego la culpa tuviste’ (III, fol. 279r).
55 See his speech, II, fol. 276v.
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Marcela’s/Fabia’s willingness to risk honour and reputation for union with

her beloved.56
In Ginés’ second inset play, his preoccupation with human love in the first
is replaced with a concern with the divine. As the following analysis of this
play will demonstrate, the fiction of the inset play once again imposes on the
reality of the main drama, resulting in Ginés’ conversion to Christianity by the
end of Act III.
As in the first play within the play, the second is introduced by a canción
which alludes to the birth and crucifixion of Christ and the martyrdom of
Christians, together with a loa recited by Marcela. The canción, which estab-
lishes a relationship between Christianity, suffering and martyrdom, prepares
the audience subconsciously for the dénouement of the second inset play: the
conversion and martyrdom of Ginés. The drama itself opens with the
presentation of Ginés/León, the professed Christian, in the company of three
soldados and a capitán. Following an invitation by an angel to receive the
sacrament of baptism and the soldiers’ and captain’s comments on deviation
from the script, Ginés/León disappears behind a curtain and reappears
surrounded by angels having apparently been baptised. The remainder of the
inset play is marked by a series of improvised speeches by Ginés/León in
which he confesses his devotion to God, describes his conversion in theatrical
terms and requests martyrdom. In addition, the drama becomes increasingly
complex as a concerned soldier and captain call upon the prompter to assist
the main protagonist and a confused Fabio is reminded by both the inner
audience and by the captain that he has already played his part. Finally, the
play ends with Ginés’ explicit reference to his conversion to Christianity and
Diocleciano’s subsequent bewilderment regarding the truthfulness of Ginés’
statement.
Before the performance of the inset drama commences, the interplay
between illusion and reality is highlighted as a result of Ginés’ inability to
determine the source of the voz which addresses him during rehearsals. The
voz advises Ginés on the portrayal of the baptised Christian: ‘no le imitarás
en vano, / Ginés, que te has de salvar’ (III, fol. 280r). In spite of the fact that
Ginés debates whether the announcement is a heavenly authorised one, or,
erroneously, a fictitious statement made by a member of his troupe, he finally
accepts that ‘Fabio debió de ser / que en lo del ángel me habló’ (III, fol.
280v).57 Indeed, the impact of the voz on Ginés, which, he admits ‘todo
mi oído me ha penetrado el sentido,’ (III, fol. 280r), is undermined by Fabio.
56 In La buena guarda, Clara also endangers her image as a reputable nun by
abandoning her duties and fleeing with her lover. See chapter 5.
57 On the use of the voz to establish the first form of contact between the saint and the
divine, see Dassbach’s affirmation cited in chapter 2, p. 57. Ginés’ inability to accept the
authenticity of the voz echoes the reaction of Pedro, father of Isidro, to the prediction of
the voz concerning his son’s future role in La niñez de San Isidro. See chapter 2, p. 58.
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120 ELAINE CANNING
The latter reduces Ginés’ supernatural experience with the divine to a con-
frontation with human love through the association of the cielo, from which
the voz has emanated, and the ángel, who has spoken to Ginés, with Marcela.
He states:
Como Marcela es tu cielo,

y el ángel había de hacer,
pensando en ella recelo
que piensas que ha de poder
glorificarte en el suelo,
pues advierte que no sabe
el ángel, y que me manda
que le estudie.
(III, fol. 280v)
Fabio’s unintentional degradation of Ginés’ heavenly encounter is made all

the more poignant for members of the corral audience, given their awareness
of the influence of the supernatural. The incorporation of a painting of the
Virgin and Christ in his father’s arms into the play highlights the impact of
divine intervention upon the action.58 Consequently, this complicity between
playwright and audience impresses upon the latter’s horizon of expectation,
for whom Ginés’ eventual change of role is reinforced.
Naturally, the degree of audience estrangement achieved is also determined
by the outer audience’s familiarity with the hagiographical account of the
saint’s life. For certain members of the audience, there can be no surprises in
the dénouement. Those who are acquainted with the account of Ginés’ life are
confident from the outset that his conversion will take place at the end of the
play. However, the audience in general does not know at what exact moment
Ginés’ transformation will be enacted. Dixon stresses this point in his refer-
ence to the audience’s inability to differentiate between Ginés’ lines: ‘Iniciada
la representación, tampoco saben siempre cuáles son los versos improvisados
por Ginés.’59 The audience is forced to question what constitutes the illusion
of the inset play, and what is evidence of Ginés’ true conversion. In other
words, it experiences difficulty in distinguishing between Ginés, the feigned
58 For Orozco Díaz’s analysis of the dramatic effectiveness of the presentation of the
king or the Virgin by means of ‘la pintura’ or ‘la imagen’, see chapter 2, p. 76, n. 85.
Dassbach emphasises the significance of divine intervention in Lo fingido verdadero by
stating that Ginés’ conversion is not prompted by the role which he plays, but rather by the
influence of supernatural forces: ‘Aunque críticos [. . .] afirman que la conversión de
Ginés es resultado del papel teatral que éste representa sobre un cristiano, pienso que esto
debe considerarse como circunstancial ya que no se convierte, reflexiva o emocionalmente,
instigado por su papel, sino a causa de las fuerzas sobrenaturales que operan sobre él
mientras representa este papel’ (La comedia hagiográfica, p. 48, n. 8).
59 ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’, pp. 112–13.
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Christian, and Ginés, the new convert. In fact, Ginés’ final assertion which
precedes his performance is ambiguous. Just prior to appearing before his
royal audience, the actor exclaims:
¡Cristo mío, pues sois Dios,

vos me llevaréis a vos,
que yo desde ahora os sigo!
(III, fol. 280v)
This speech may have caused the corral audience to suspect that Ginés’
transformation had already occurred, or may simply have been interpreted as
a form of preparation or an extended rehearsal on the part of the actor for the
role which he is about to assume. Dixon interprets the impact of this speech in
a similar fashion. According to him, ‘no pueden saber si sólo está ensayando
otra vez o si se ha convertido ya’.60 Consequently, the outer audience does not
receive what Palomo describes as a ‘mensaje inequívoco’, even while watching
this play, the plot of which is known. The captain’s and soldier’s references to
Ginés’ abandonment of the script may have generated increasing suspicion
regarding his assimilation of the role of the Christian. However, it is possible
that the inner audience’s repeated comments on the proximity of Ginés’
presentation of the feigned Christian to the true, self-confessed Christian may
have engendered confusion among members of the corral audience.
Maximiano, for example, comments:
Represéntale Ginés,
que parece que lo es,
y verdadero el suceso
(III, fol. 281r)
Undoubtedly, however, the most significant part of the second inset play in
terms of audience reception is the interpretation of the baptismal scene.
Essentially, this scene comprises two main parts, the first of which is intro-
duced with the stage direction: ‘Un ángel en lo alto’ (III, fol. 281v). The angel
provides the actor with an invitation for baptism, addressing him as Ginés (his
real name), rather than as León (his fictional name within the inset play). The
angel states: ‘sube, sube, llega a verme, / que te quiero bautizar’ (III, fol. 281v).61
Subsequently, Ginés/León, having withdrawn behind a curtain, emerges in the
60 ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’, p. 112.

61 Ginés responds ‘Señor, aunque no sé hablar / Tú sabes bien entenderme, / pues este
lenguaje mudo / de mi pensamiento entiendes; / llévame donde pretendes’ (III, fol. 281v).
His inability to speak to the angel mirrors the concerns of both Pedro in La niñez de San
Isidro and Isidro himself in La juventud de San Isidro regarding the inappropriateness of
their speech when addressing God. See chapter 2 for further details.
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122 ELAINE CANNING
company of four angels. The stage directions read: ‘Descúbrase con música
hincado de rodillas; un ángel tenga una fuente, otro un aguamanil levantado,
como que ya le echó el agua, y otro una vela blanca encendida, y otro un capillo’
(III, fol. 281v). The inner audience’s interpretation of this scene is unquestion-
able. Following the appearance of the first angel, Diocleciano declares:
Ginés
finge ahora que después
que a Jesucristo adoró,
que es el Dios de los cristianos,
aquel ángel viene a verle,
a enseñarle, y defenderle.
(III, fol. 281v)
Similarly, the staging of the baptism itself is interpreted as fictional, and

evokes comments on Ginés’ persuasive acting skills. While Léntulo claims
‘no hay diferencia / desto al verdadero caso’, Diocleciano is convinced that
‘parece que lo es él mismo’ (III, fol. 282r).
However, in terms of its impact on the outer audience, the baptismal scene
has produced oppositional responses from two of the play’s main critics.
Palomo argues that the outer audience knows that the baptism is not part of the
play, but rather that ‘pertenece, convencionalmente, al plano de la vida’.62
Dixon, on the other hand, claims: ‘Los espectadores externos, por tanto, no
pueden haber sabido al presenciar el bautismo de Ginés por este actor y otros,
que no fuera sólo, como suponían los demás, un paso no ensayado pero añadido
en el último momento a la representación interna.’63 Crucial to the analyses of
these critics is the identification of the character who plays the part of the ángel.
According to Palomo, the ángel is not impersonated by the actor Fabio, in spite
of the fact that, prior to the performance, Ginés has instructed Fabio to play this
role. Ginés informs him: ‘como pudieres le harás, / ven, repásale conmigo’ (III,
fol. 280v). Palomo presents the following argument: ‘Porque el hecho de salir
‘en lo alto’ y además, no ser el actor Fabio, identifica para el espectador [. . .] a
ese Ángel como auténtico mensajero celestial’.64 In contrast, Dixon maintains
that the inner audience’s and the capitán’s subsequent association of Fabio with
this angel when the young actor unwittingly appears to play his part is only
justified if the actor playing Fabio also plays the role of the first angel presented:
‘sí tiene que ser el mismo actor, llevando naturalmente el mismo atuendo. Sólo
así se justifica la total seguridad con la cual le reconocen los demás’.65
62‘Proceso’, p. 93.
63‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’, p. 113.
64 ‘Proceso’, p. 93.
65 ‘Lo fingido verdadero y sus espectadores’, p. 113. The capitán advises Fabio ‘¡sí habéis
salido!’, while Diocleciano and Camila both comment on the fact that they have already
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Although I support Dixon’s contention that the inner audience’s inability to

distinguish between the angel and Fabio suggests that the same actor played
both parts (by using one actor for both roles, Lope would have created
deliberate ambiguity within his play, and thereby intensified the relationship
between lo fingido and lo verdadero), one crucial factor in terms of the outer
audience’s interpretation has been overlooked by Palomo and Dixon.66 Neither
has considered the manner in which the angel addresses the autor/actor. The
angel refers to him as Ginés and not as León, the name of the Christian which
he plays in the inset drama. Consequently, the audience may well have
registered the form of address used and automatically identified the character
of Ginés and therefore accepted the baptismal scene as part of the illusion of
the main, rather than inset play. On the other hand, the character’s name
(León) is presented on one occasion only in the play within the play and may
not have provided a sufficient opportunity for the outer audience to associate
the character with his name. This occurs when the capitán reprimands him
with ‘mucho, León, replicáis’ (III, fol. 281r). This single reference must
surely be overshadowed by the various references to the Christian as Ginés by
Diocleciano, in his discussion of the actor’s performance, and indeed by the
capitán, who calls on the prompter to provide assistance. In addition, Fabio
states: ‘Ginés, de parte de Dios / te vengo a hablar’ (III, fol. 282v) when he
enters onstage to impersonate the angel which the inner and outer audiences
have already seen and heard. Therefore, it would seem more likely that the
outer audience would have identified the character ‘León’ as Ginés and would
have been unable to further suspend disbelief with regard to the play within
the play.67
seen Fabio. Diocleciano states: ‘¿pues no te he visto yo mismo?’ and Camila declares:
‘hombre, ¿qué dices?, que yo / y todos te habemos visto!’ (III, fol. 282v).
66 On the appearance of angels as human beings, Dassbach states: ‘Ocasionalmente, sin
embargo, los ángeles asumen la apariencia o persona de otros seres humanos, como ocurre
a los ángeles convertidos en trabajadores de la construcción en Santa Teresa de Jesús [. . .],
o al ángel que suplanta a Fabio, un actor, en Lo fingido verdadero’ (La comedia hagiográfica,
p. 111). As will be seen in chapter 5, angels also assume the images of Clara and Carrizo
in La buena guarda. In addition, the characters in La buena guarda are unable to
distinguish between Clara and Carrizo and the angels which play their roles while they are
absent. This would suggest that the same actress and actor played both parts. However, as
will be discussed in chapter 5, the encounter between ‘Clara’ the angel and Clara the nun,
and Carrizo with Carrizo fingido, makes the impersonation of both characters by one actor
an impossibility in each case.
67 If we accept Case’s claim on the use of special effects in the form of the
different levels on the stage, then the emergence of the angel ‘en lo alto’ and the use of the
‘discovery’ endow the action with a type of supernatural authority. The outer audience’s
recognition of Lope’s subtle use of stage techniques would have conditioned its sensibility
to divine intervention at this point in the drama. See chapter 2, p. 70, n. 71 and p. 71
for further details on Case’s comments on the three levels of staging in the comedia de
santos.
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124 ELAINE CANNING
While the complexity of reception cannot be denied, there is no doubt that

both the outer and inner audiences ultimately are persuaded to accept the
superiority of divine love to human love in both the inset and main plays.68
As Bryans indicates, ‘Human love must give way to that more perfect love,
the divine love for which it is a preparation’.69 Essentially, Ginés exchanges
his love for Marcela for love of God and contentedly prepares for martyr-
dom.70 His rapid conversion from pagan to Christian is further evidence of the
inconstant nature of reality and the unruly essence of destino. Ginés describes
his transformation into the ‘mejor representante’ (III, 282v) to the inner and
outer audiences and to his compañía in theatrical terms:
Césares, yo soy cristiano,

ya tengo el santo bautismo,
esto represento yo,
porque es mi autor Jesucristo;
en la segunda jornada
está vuestro enojo escrito,
que en llegando la tercera
representaré el martirio.
(III, fol. 282v)
However, in spite of Ginés’ deliberate destruction of mimetic reality,

Diocleciano repeats his inability to distinguish between fiction and reality
which he demonstrated at the end of the first play within the play. Following
Ginés’ speech, he questions him: ‘¿hablas de veras, Ginés?’ (III, fol. 282v). His
uncertainty serves to underline the pagan’s inability to identify ‘real’ life which
is divinely inspired. Ginés is indeed speaking the truth; in fact, his movement
towards a divinely-inspired love is emphasised through the use of theatrical
language. Ginés himself explains:
Puso Dios en mi papel

estos pies, que no pudiera
68 For a comparison between human and divine love in both La hermosa Ester and La
buena guarda, see chapters 1 and 5 respectively. On the relationship between human and
divine love in Lo fingido verdadero, Trueblood states: ‘We now see the full irony in
Genisus’ [sic] earlier assertion that role and reality coincide for the lover: the words are
true of divine love, not of human.’ See Alan S. Trueblood, ‘Role-Playing and the Sense’,
p. 314. Trueblood devotes pp. 312–15 of this article to a study of Lo fingido verdadero.
69 See ‘Fortune’, p. 141.
70 El Amor Divino appears as an allegorical character in Act III of Santa Teresa de
Jesús. A clear identification between this character and Christ is established as Amor
Divino emerges with a crown of thorns in his hands and is aided by Teresa to carry his
cross. The saving grace of divine love is underlined by Teresa’s reaction to the presentation
of the crown of thorns to her. She comments that the thorns ‘Hoy, en mí, / no son sino
clavellinas’. See Obras, Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, 186–87, XI–XII (Madrid: Atlas,
1965), XII, 247–305 (p. 302).
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seguirle si no pusiera
todos estos pies en él.
Con éstos le voy siguiendo
en la comedia y comida
de su mesa, y de la vida
y gloria que en Dios pretendo
(III, fol. 282r)71
In essence, the double meaning implicit in pies suggests not only that God is
the autor of Ginés’ role, but that a definitive transition from pagan to Christian
occurs. Effectively, Ginés becomes involved in a new paso created by God.
His shift to that particular ‘scene’ is underlined by the angel who instructs him
‘camina, Ginés, camina, / Ginés’ (III, fol. 282r). Indeed, Ginés now enjoys
control, which he did not have in his first inset play, when he hands himself
over to God. In contrast to Ginés who is engaged in a forward journey, Fabio
expresses a desire to retreat when he appears to play the part of the angel.72
The capitán informs Diocleciano ‘quería / volver al paso’ (III, fol. 282v).
Carino, in opposition to Ginés, lacks direction, as he tells Celio and Rosarda
‘estoy / desocupado de pies’ (I, fol. 266r). Moreover, Carino stresses the fic-
titious, unstable nature of his existence in his reference to the relationship
between his ‘pies’ and poetry: ‘que en tratando con poetas, / pienso que están
en sus rimas’ (I, fol. 266r).
Fundamentally, both Fabio and Carino represent the antithesis of Ginés. In
other words, paganism is debased while Christianity is extolled in the play.
Ginés alludes to the redeeming power of divine love in a comparison between
the heavenly and demonic troupes of players. According to him, Nicodemus,
a member of God’s company, buries individuals who later rise from the dead:
‘Nicodemus mete muertos, / pero luego resucitan.’ On the other hand, the
pecador is responsible for the burial of the dead in Lucifer’s compañía, ‘mas
no vuelven a vivir’ (III, fol. 284r).73
71 On the importance of dining in a religious context, see chapter 2, p. 71, n. 72.

72 In La buena guarda, Félix is involved in a forward movement towards the
consummation of human love. He declares: ‘pasos, no volváis atrás’ (I. 344).
73 It should be noted that Roman emperors, representatives of paganism, are debased by
Ginés since they are assigned to Lucifer’s company of players. According to Ginés, ‘en esotra
compañía / Judas hacía traidores, / romanos Emperadores, / la crueldad y tiranía’ (III, fol.
284r). According to Dassbach, when the demonio is absent from the comedia de santos, ‘Hay
una tendencia en los actores a asociar, o encarnar, las fuerzas del mal en otros personajes,
claramente identificados con grupos de creencias religiosas no cristianas: judíos, moros, o
paganos’. ‘En El niño inocente de La Guardia, las fuerzas diabólicas aparecen encarnadas en
los judíos; [. . .] en Lo fingido verdadero, en los paganos’ (La comedia hagiográfica, pp.
112–13; p. 122, n. 37). By extension, other characters in Lope’s comedias de tema religioso
are also embodiments of such fuerzas diabólicas. See, for example, Amán in La hermosa
Ester and the gentlemen who attempt to lure Clara in La buena guarda (III. 375–78).
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126 ELAINE CANNING
While Ginés’ comparison of both compañías serves to define the

predominance of amor divino, it is precisely his description of diabolical,
Biblical and saintly characters as roleplayers which is particularly striking.
Ginés’ second inset play makes explicit reference to the theatre of the world
metaphor and reinforces the contemporary theocentric view of real life after
death. Accepting his sentence resolutely and rejecting the worldly for the
divine, Ginés abandons the company of the devil and moves to that of Jesús.
With God as his scriptwriter, Ginés announces: ‘mañana temprano espero /
para la segunda parte’ (III, fol. 284v). Following his baptism, Ginés addresses
God: ‘representad conmigo desde hoy más’ (III, fol. 282r). His request not
only anticipates his participation in the comedia divina at the end of the play,
but also emphasises the theatrical nature of human existence which has
prepared him to assume his true role. Ginés underscores the image of the
individual as a roleplayer in a speech in which he reveals God’s involvement
in his role. As far as he is concerned, everyone is a ‘representante’.74
Interestingly, Diocleciano is also responsible for the reinforcement of the
theatrum mundi concept. He recognises that he must perform the part of
restorer of justice following Ginés’ confession.75 Hence, he orders the convert
‘morirás en comedia, / pues en comedia has vivido’ (III, fol. 282v), and
assigns roles to Léntulo and Sulpicio:
y acabaré mi papel
con que Léntulo y Sulpicio
prendan y examinen luego
a cuantos vienen contigo.
(III, fol. 282v)
In the final analysis, the rejection of paganism is presented alongside the

abandonment of lo fingido of existence for lo verdadero of the afterlife.
Ultimately, despite the fact that self-referential devices generate varying
levels of audience estrangement throughout the play, Lo fingido verdadero is
undoubtedly an example of a well-crafted metadrama. In fact, the ‘seeing
double’ which is fundamental to metatheatre is not only presented through the
incorporation of two inset plays within the main drama, but also as a result of
the double images of characters within the inset plays themselves. Moreover,
the unexpected role-changes of both Diocleciano and Ginés prove that destino
cannot be controlled, and at the same time debase the concept of a restrictive
existence. The illusory nature of life is highlighted through the characters’
inability to detect the roles which they must assume, while the reality of the
74See his speech in III, fol. 282r.

75The final restoration of order was one of the conventions of the comedia. As
McKendrick highlights: ‘Often there are representatives of law and order – dukes, princes,
kings – who contribute in some way to the solution at the end’ (Theatre, p. 73).
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afterlife is underscored in Ginés’ reference to the comedia divina. The estab-

lishment of identity is presented as a complicated process for the individual
concerned (such as Ginés) and for those who witness his behaviour.
Ultimately, Lope’s play expresses a sense of disillusion with life. While the
relationship between amor divino and amor humano is not the principal focus
of Lo fingido verdadero, the play does discredit negative attitudes and forms
of behaviour associated with human love, while divine love triggers Ginés’
martyrdom and assumption of his true role. As the following study of La
buena guarda will demonstrate, Clara, like Ginés, is also prompted to assume
a number of roles as a result of a preoccupation with love, both human and
divine.
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5
DOÑA CLARA – SAINT OR SINNER? ROLE-PLAYING
WITHIN THE ROLE IN LA BUENA GUARDA
Written in 1610 and first published in 1621, La buena guarda presents the
plight of Clara, abadesa, who is forced to confront the effects of both human
and divine love.1 Based on the legend of the monja sacristana, a devoted nun
who abandons the monastery with her lover and who is replaced by the Virgin
or an angel in her absence, La buena guarda focuses on the flight of Clara with
Félix, the mayordomo.2 The play opens with a diatribe against female vanity
as Carrizo, the sacristán of the monasterio, criticises the female preoccupation
1 An autographed manuscript of this play, dated 16th April 1610 and entitled
La encomienda bien guardada, is currently held at the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid. The
play was first published with the title La buena guarda in Decimaquinta parte de las
comedias (Madrid: Fernando Correa de Montenegro, 1621). For full bibliographical details
of the edition of the play used for the purposes of this study, see chapter 2, p. 77, n. 88.
This play has attracted little critical attention, although there have been some interesting
analyses in recent times. See especially Fernando Lázaro Carreter, ‘Cristo, pastor robado
(Las escenas sacras de La buena guarda)’, in Homenaje a William L. Fichter: Estudios
sobre el teatro antiguo hispánico y otros ensayos, eds David A. Kossoff and José Amor y
Vázquez (Madrid: Castalia, 1971), pp. 413–27; María del Carmen Artigas, ‘Edición crítica
y anotada de La buena guarda de Lope de Vega’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of
Virginia, 1990), ‘El mito del paraíso en La buena guarda (1610) de Lope de Vega’,
Explicación de textos literarios, 19 (1990–91), 29–36 and ‘ “La mancha en la sangre versus
la mancha en el alma” en La buena guarda de Lope de Vega’, RN, 32 (1991), 127–32.
2 The legend of the monja sacristana was extremely popular in Europe between the
twelfth and sixteenth centuries. According to both Giménez Castellanos and Menéndez y
Pelayo, the text written by Cesáreo de Heisterbach, a Cistercian monk, constitutes the oldest
known version of the legend. (See La buena guarda, p. 10, and Estudios, II, 86.) In ‘Edición
crítica’, however, Artigas states on the origin of the legend: ‘Añadiremos que es nuestra
opinión que el primer autor de la leyenda no es Heisterbach, sino que probablemente fue
compuesta unos años antes por un monje inglés, cuyo nombre desconocemos,’ (p. 8).
Artigas’ work is an invaluable study which not only presents an annotated edition of
La buena guarda, but also includes an examination of Marian literature in the West, in Spain
and in Lope’s work, with specific reference to the legend of the sacristana in Spain and in
Lope. It should be noted that, while La buena guarda is not a comedia de santos, it is
included in an analysis of Lope’s hagiographic plays by both Menéndez y Pelayo (Estudios,
II, 85–95) and Garasa (Santos, pp. 76–78). Dassbach categorises this play as a comedia
piadosa (La comedia hagiográfica, p. 5, n. 3), while Aragone Terni includes it in a list of
commedie apologetiche e devozionali (Studio sulle, p. 84).
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ROLE-PLAY: LA BUENA GUARDA 129
with physical appearance.3 Subsequently, the action concentrates on Félix’s

declaration of love for Clara, the efforts of both to overcome human passion,
and Clara’s ultimate decision to become his lover. In Act II, the extent of
Clara’s devotion to the Virgin is illustrated through the lengthy monologue
which she offers to her patron and in which she calls upon the Mother of God
to protect her flock. Outside the monastery, Clara and Félix consummate their
love while an angel plays the role of Clara, abadesa, under orders from the
Virgin. At the end of Act II, Clara resolves to win divine favour, having been
abandoned by Félix. Thus, in Act III, Clara, disguised as Juana, the labradora,
returns to the monastery after three years of penance, confronts the angel who
has been playing her part and regains her authority as abadesa.
Unlike Lo fingido verdadero, La buena guarda is not a fully-developed
metaplay, but it does concern itself with the metatheatrical device of role-
playing within the role. Through the exploitation of this technique, the play
emphasises the problematic nature of identity in terms of both physical
appearance and the inherent characteristics of the individual. Audience disso-
ciation is not only generated as a result of the enactment of various roles by
Clara, abadesa / adúltera / labradora, but most significantly, through the
presentation of the complex double image of Clara, protagonist, and Clara, the
angel who takes her place in the abbey.4 Indeed, the replacement of Carrizo
during his absence from the monasterio with Carrizo fingido, another angel,
also contributes to the estrangement of the audience.5 Essentially, angels
perform Clara’s and Carrizo’s original roles as they assume new ones. As will
become evident in the course of this chapter, Clara’s engagement in role-
playing is defined by her shifting concern with human and divine love. In fact,
Clara plays three discrete parts within the drama as ‘esposa de Cristo’ (I. 334),
‘adúltera’ (II. 138) and ‘labradora’ (III. 692), which are conditioned by divine
love, human love, or a combination of both. As a result of her movement away
from the status of saint to sinner and her return to that of saint, Clara, like Ginés,
ultimately recognises the pre-eminence of divine love to human love.
3 The topos of female preoccupation with physical appearance has its roots in classical
elegiac poetry and was often a standard criticism in anti-feminist discourse of Spanish
medieval literature. In La Celestina, Sempronio even alludes to the elegant appearance of
women in his condemnation of intrinsic female characteristics. He warns Calisto: ‘considera
qué sesito está debaxo de aquellas grandes y delgadas tocas, qué pensamientos so aquellas
gorgueras, so aquel fausto, so aquellas largas y autorizantes ropas, qué imperfición, qué
alvañares debaxo de templos pintados.’ See Fernando de Rojas, La Celestina, ed. Dorothy
S. Severin, 6th edn (Madrid: Cátedra, 1992), p. 97.
4 In the 1621 edition of La buena guarda, several amendments were made. The
monasterio of the manuscript became a casa de señoritas and the names of Spanish towns
and cities were omitted. Clara herself was reduced from the status of abadesa to a nun who
had not yet taken her vows. It would seem that this last change was made in order to avoid
any criticism of religious orders.
5 While I will concentrate on the various roles played by Clara in the play, reference
will also be made to the double image of Carrizo and Carrizo fingido where appropriate.
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130 ELAINE CANNING
Unlike Ginés, who is only inspired by divine love towards the end of
Lo fingido verdadero, Clara is introduced to the audience as a devout, God-
fearing, saintly abadesa, endowed with ‘honestidad’, ‘paciencia’ and ‘inocen-
cia’.6 Nevertheless, the abadesa abandons her role in order to pursue human
passion. This ‘ángel en velo humano’ (I. 625), according to Carrizo, is
prompted to adopt an alternative role within the play by Félix, the enamoured
mayordomo.7 In spite of the fact that she manages to resist Félix’s advances
on two occasions, Clara finally surrenders to her lover when he professes his
love for a third time. She insists:
y así, vengo a suplicarte

con lágrimas en los ojos,
que me lleves o me mates.
(I. 955–57)
By doing so, she runs the risk of losing her ‘gran santidad’ which, in Félix’s
opinion, is common knowledge.8 Essentially, Félix is the intratextual dramatist
who is responsible for redirecting the course of Clara’s existence.9 He intro-
duces her to the concept of human passion by declaring his personal love for
her.10 Clara makes this point explicit:
el día que me dijiste

amores o disparates,
no pude dormir, pensando
los efectos que amor hace;
y de pensar los efectos,
me nació el determinarme
a quererte; [. . .]
(I. 918–24)
6See Félix’s speech, I. 649–713 (678–85).

7Ironically, Clara perfectly fits Carrizo’s description when an angel impersonates her
in Acts II and III. As far as Félix is concerned, he embodies the typical characteristics of
the courtly lover. In the belief that he is pursuing an impossible love for an unattainable
woman, he states: ‘que no hay mal que tenga igual / a amar imposiblemente’ (I. 329–30).
Additionally, he describes his state in terms of Petrarchan conceits: ‘Ponme esa nieve /
sobre aquestos labios presto; / ponla presto, que me abraso’ (I. 746–48). Likewise, Cosme,
who subsequently falls in love with Clara, describes his condition in a similar fashion: ‘A
mí me incita y me mueve / tan vivo desasosiego, / que es nieve, y me abrasa el fuego, / y
es fuego, y me hiela en nieve’ (III. 224–27). See chapter 1, p. 23, n. 38 for a brief
discussion of courtly love poetry and Petrarchism.
8 Félix tells Clara: ‘Dicen mil cosas aquí / de vuestra gran santidad’ (I. 407–08).
9 See chapter 4, p. 102 for Larson’s definition of the intratextual dramatist.
10 This is a clear example of the force of eloquence which can be found in other plays
by Lope. For instance, in La dama boba, Finea is awakened to love through the power of
rhetoric, that is, through what Laurencio tells her.
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Although it is Clara who ultimately chooses to become, in Félix’s words, his

‘esposa y eterno dueño’ (II. 100), the mayordomo represents the external
factor which influences her decision. In addition, Clara specifically refers to
a particular inner factor which shapes her course of action. In a lengthy mono-
logue in which she regretfully redefines herself as ‘adúltera’, Clara pinpoints
passion as the uncontrollable force which determines her change of role. She
addresses the Virgin in the following manner:
Con lágrimas lo digo, Virgen bella:

adúltera soy ya; yo voy perdida;
que un ciego amor me arroja y atropella,
y una pasión en vano resistida.
(II. 137–40)
Through the rejection of legitimate love/God, Clara unwillingly becomes the

embodiment of Eve, the sinner. Consequently, the establishment of the
saint/sinner or Virgin/Eve dichotomy means that the Virgin functions almost
as the alter ego of Clara on a divine plane. Clearly, then, while Clara’s engage-
ment in role-playing within the role cannot be defined as involuntary, the
impact of the factors outlined above upon her transformation would have
affected the degree of audience estrangement generated.11 Moreover, since her
involvement in role-playing, like that of Ginés and Diocleciano in Lo fingido
verdadero, is fundamental to the development of the plot, the intensity of the
metadramatic experience for the outer audience might have been limited,
depending on familiarity with the legend of the sacristana. Nevertheless,
there can be no doubt that some level of dissociation would have been
produced as a result of Clara’s various transformations.
What is particularly thought-provoking about Clara’s assumption of the role
of adúltera, or lover of Félix, is the fact that the former abadesa is endowed
almost with a reluctance to embrace the part. As already stressed, she agrees
to adopt this specific role, but at the same time recognises that she is
consciously about to undertake a negative form of role-playing. In opposition
to Carino and Apro, who also play negative parts in Lo fingido verdadero, but
are free from any form of guilt, Clara describes her behaviour to the Virgin as
‘tan gran maldad’ (II. 154) and takes flight with Félix in spite of her sense of
‘vergüenza’ (II. 141).12 Thus, while it cannot be denied that Clara becomes a
sinner as she abandons her flock, ‘de seglar’ (II, 63), in order to consummate
her love with Félix, the outer audience might have been forced to sympathise
with this character. Clara is not solely responsible for her actions, but
11 See chapter 4, p. 98, n. 12 for Hornby’s definition of involuntary role-playing within
the role.
12 For an analysis of Carino and Apro in terms of role-playing within the role, see
chapter 4, pp. 98–105.

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132 ELAINE CANNING
apologises regardless before leaving the monasterio. Indeed, the explicit refer-
ence within the play to the Virgin’s protection of Clara’s reputation during her
absence might have conditioned the audience’s judgement of the abadesa’s
actions. The Virgin, in the form of an offstage voz, which, as we have seen
throughout the course of this study, constitutes an important link with the
supernatural in Lope’s comedias de tema religioso, instructs an angel:
Al punto te transforma
en esta miserable, que, perdida,
a su esposo desprecia desta forma.
De su rostro y sus hábitos vestida,
sirve su oficio, y las demás informa
de divinos consejos.
(II. 187–90)13
Therefore, rather than interpreting Clara’s departure from the convent as a

selfish, despicable act, it is more likely that the audience would have regarded
it as the actions of a confused, manipulated individual.
The change in Clara’s status from saint to sinner is accompanied by a
significant alteration in Félix’s discourse. The earlier eulogy of her inner
virtue is now replaced with a detailed description of her physical beauty. In
Act II, Félix compares his beloved’s beauty both to nature and to several
mythological characters and concludes that Clara is more beautiful:
aquí, donde las flores

parece que se esfuerzan diligentes
a vencer tus colores,
aunque las desengañan las corrientes,
espejo de sus hojas,
contigo menos blancas, menos rojas,
puedes, hermosa Clara,
pasar aquesta siesta calurosa,
si no es que el sol se para
a verte entre las flores, y más hermosa
que Daphne y que Jacinto,
(II. 383–93)
The association of human love with physical attractiveness and divine love with
inner beauty which is established by Félix is a concept which is underlined
13 Clearly, the Virgin/Voz safeguards Clara’s role as abadesa by putting an angel in her
place. In Acts II and III, the pastor/Christ who appears to Clara and urges her to return to
the convent also has an impact on Clara’s course of action. Clara remarks: ‘Quizá este
pastor es ángel, / y me anima a dar la vuelta’ (III. 524–25). It could therefore be argued
that both the voz and the pastor function as divine intratextual dramatists within the play.
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throughout the play. It is illustrated particularly through Clara as she undertakes

her quest to regain divine favour (which she believes she has lost) in the guise
of Juana.14 After Félix’s reluctant abandonment of his beloved following his
discovery that she is still secretly wearing the scapular of her order, Clara simul-
taneously assumes the roles of Juana, the labradora, and of repentant sinner.15
Clara’s change of role is significant because it is provoked for a second time by
the behaviour of Félix. In spite of her obvious, constant religious devotion, Clara
is unable to detach herself from Félix. The separation of the couple is imposed
upon her. Hence, it is only when she is abandoned that Clara fearfully seeks out
her ‘first husband’:
¿Qué haré? Toda estoy turbada.

Ya tiemblo mi airado Esposo,
y no sé por dónde vaya
a buscarle, aunque jamás
cerró sus puertas al alma
que le llamase contrita.
(II. 959–64)
In effect, the audience might have regarded Clara’s repeated failure ‘to act’
without the influence of external factors as a sign of the protagonist’s
weakness. Clara is in fact a ‘reactive’, rather than a ‘proactive’ role-player.
However, it is also possible that Clara’s ability to manipulate unforeseen and
uncontrollable events would have generated audience commendation. This is
possible because Clara maintains a constant, identifiable relationship with the
divine in spite of the imposition of roles upon her.
As adúltera and sinner, Clara’s scapular represents a visual sign of her
dedication to her previous role. Subsequently, as she impersonates Juana, the
labradora and pastora (an appropriate role for an abadesa, which foreshad-
ows her return to positive role-playing), her explicit task of looking after her
flock is overshadowed by her personal mission to indulge in prayer, fasting
and penance in an attempt to receive divine forgiveness for her past actions.
14 Carrizo also emphasises the relationship between human love and physical beauty by
stating the reasons why he would like to travel to Toledo. He informs Félix and Clara of the
attractions which Toledo offers: ‘gente noble, entendimientos / raros, damas siempre
hermosas’ (II. 619–20). The italics are mine. At the beginning of Act I, in the role of the
hypocritical sacristán, Carrizo criticises women who spend an excessive amount of time on
beauty treatments because, in his opinion, their physical appearance will attract the attention
of potential suitors at Mass. Carrizo laments: ‘y si ellas vienen ansí, / esos, ¿miráranme a
mí?’ (I. 175–76).
15 Félix highlights his grief to Carrizo before abandoning his beloved: ‘a Clara he
escrito esta carta, / aunque breve de razones / de pesadumbre bien larga’ (II. 883–85). In
addition, he explains that his course of action is determined by his fear of God’s reprisal –
‘el temor de la justicia, / de su presencia me aparta’ (II. 894–95).
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134 ELAINE CANNING
Cosme, the labrador who seeks Clara’s hand in marriage, informs his father
regarding her pious lifestyle:
Vive como una santa, recogida

en oración perpetua y en ayunos;
métese en esas peñas que coronan
las márgenes del Tajo, y dase en ellas
tantos azotes, que sus carnes bellas
las hacen jaspe con la sangre viva;
(III. 194–99)
Essentially, her love for the divine is not explicitly substituted with human
love, but in fact constitutes a latent preoccupation for the protagonist. As she
relinquishes the role of adúltera for that of Juana, Clara/Juana becomes
increasingly described in terms of her inherent, saintly characteristics, rather
than her physical beauty. For both Cosme and Gentilhombre 2o, she is an
‘ángel’;16 she is subsequently described as a ‘virtuosa’ who is invested with
‘honestidad’.17 The redefinition of Clara as Juana, both in terms of her pious
nature and in terms of Juana’s occupation as pastora serves as a preparation
for the play’s dénouement, when the saint/sinner will embrace the position of
abadesa once again.
It is evident, then, that while it is difficult to ascertain the level of audience
dissociation created as a result of the performance of several roles by the prin-
cipal character, the metadramatic strategy of role-play focuses the audience’s
attention on the question of identity. Clara demonstrates that the individual is
a composite of oppositional, intrinsic characteristics – strength/weakness,
perfection/imperfection – and is driven by both rational and irrational forces.
The complexity of individuality is highlighted further through the introduc-
tion of an angel, in the guise of Clara, into the play.18 As the following analy-
sis will demonstrate, the incorporation of Clara fingida into the action causes
the destruction of mimetic reality for the outer audience, who witnesses the
acceptance of Clara fingida as the absent Clara by a range of characters.
The complicity between the outer audience and the playwright functions on
various levels and ultimately produces what Palomo describes as a ‘mensaje
inequívoco’.19 In the first instance, the corral audience not only witnesses the
presentation of both Clara and Clara fingida onstage in Acts II and III, but is
also privy to the Virgin’s instructions to the angel to assume the role of the
16See III. 241 and III. 374, respectively.

17See the remarks of Gentilhombre 1o, III. 384 and Gentilhombre 2o, III. 381, respectively.
18 For the purposes of this study, and in an attempt to underline the relationship between
the angel and Clara, I will refer to the angel as Clara fingida.
19 See chapter 4, p. 110, n. 41 for further details on Palomo’s analysis of the complicity
between Lope and the corral audience in Lo fingido verdadero.

Mono204-05.qxd 4/7/04 10:08 AM Page 135
absent nun. Consequently, the outer audience is explicitly informed by the

dramatist that Clara fingida is indeed a fictitious representation of Clara.
On the other hand, the characters in the play who remain within or in contact
with the monasterio following Clara’s disappearance are unaware of the fate
of their former abadesa, and, therefore, are ignorant of the true identity of
Clara fingida. Their inability to differentiate between this new leading female
and the previous one is hardly surprising since the Virgin has instructed the
angel to assume both the ‘rostro’ and ‘hábitos’ of her predecessor.20 Carrizo,
Félix and indeed Clara herself remain ignorant of the state of affairs at the
monasterio. Clara may have beseeched the Virgin to protect her flock from
the ‘hambriento león’ (II. 167), but she has not witnessed the outcome of her
request. This means, therefore, that only the corral audience ‘sees double’
where Clara is concerned.21 Secondly, the cast list provided by Lope at the
beginning of his play highlights the fact that Clara and Clara fingida, and
indeed Carrizo and Carrizo fingido, were not played by the same
actress/actor.22 As a result, the use of two actors in each case would not only
have been necessary, given the fact that the characters ultimately confront one
another, but also might have served to underline the distinction between the
real and fictional self for the corral audience, despite Lope’s attempts to
approximate the physical appearance of both. When Clara fingida first
appears, the stage directions read: ‘Entren el Angel en figura de Doña Clara,
y don Carlos’ (II, 83). Similarly, Carrizo fingido ‘entre con el traje que traía
el que se fue con Félix y con Clara’ (II, 71). It is highly probable that the delib-
erate presentation of the fictitious characters in the garb of their true counter-
parts might have made the characters’ acceptance of them as the real Clara
and Carrizo more convincing to the outer audience.23
Fundamentally, the impact of the double image of Clara upon the outer audi-
ence is twofold. Firstly, the inability of the characters to uncover the true iden-
tity of Clara/Clara fingida stresses the individual’s susceptibility to delusion by
20 See p. 132 of this chapter for the Virgin’s complete instructions to the angel.
21 It should be noted that, while Carrizo and Clara eventually come face to face with
their respective fictional selves when they return to the monasterio, neither has the
opportunity to conduct a thorough comparison between himself/herself and his/her
namesake.
22 In the 1621 edition of this play, the cast list is omitted. Below the list of ‘figuras de la
comedia’, the text simply reads: ‘Representóla Riquelme’. See Decimaquinta parte, fol.
204v. It should be noted that Carrizo, who deludes other characters with his false saintliness,
is replaced with Carrizo fingido, the angel who warns Ginés against ‘mujeres’ and ‘juego’,
the ‘terribles enemigos’ (II. 375–76). The play subsequently shifts between the presentation
of Carrizo fingido, the devout sacristán, who is accepted as Carrizo, and Carrizo, the
gracioso, whose primary concerns include food and women. See chapter 2, p. 60 for Case’s
definition of the conventional gracioso.
23 While this play negates the relationship between costume and identity, costume is an
outward sign of role and status for Diocleciano in Lo fingido verdadero.

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136 ELAINE CANNING
outer appearances.24 Not even Clara’s father, Don Pedro, suspects that he is
conversing with a supernatural being, rather than his daughter, when he
informs her of the behaviour of his philandering son-in-law, Carlos.25 On the
other hand, Clara is unable to detect any similarity between herself and the
so-called doña Clara de Lara with whom she comes face to face. Following
Carlos’ revelation to her of the abadesa’s name (III. 700), Clara questions the
unrecognisable stranger: ‘¿sois, señora, la Abadesa?’ (III. 724). Most signifi-
cantly, however, Clara’s reassumption of the role of abadesa presents no prob-
lems in terms of acceptance by the other characters. Hence, in spite of her
father’s inability to distinguish between his daughter and the angel, Clara’s
own inability to recognise any similarity between herself and the character in
question, and the distinction drawn by Carlos between the abadesa and the
visiting labradora, Clara’s transition from Juana to abadesa is a fairly smooth,
uncomplicated one. Nevertheless, Clara finds herself having to improvise
when she resumes her role. The role is that of abadesa which she had carried
out previously, but the role is now prescribed by the angel’s playing of it. In
several asides, Clara emphasises that she is out of touch. In one of these, she
states: ‘A todos tiemblo de hablarlos, / porque no sé la ocasión’ (III. 828–29).
The outer audience is aware of Clara’s need to improvise, while the characters
surrounding her, a type of inner audience, mistakenly believe that she is out of
touch because she is elevada. Essentially, in the wider context of seventeenth-
century Spain, the case of doña Clara stresses to the corral audience the diffi-
culty of discovering the legitimate identity or personality of the individual in a
society which has abandoned itself to illusionism. In other words, the illusory
nature of life, which lies at the heart of the seventeenth-century concept of
theatrum mundi, is highlighted through doña Clara.
24 While the portera notices some recent change in the abadesa, claiming ‘de unos días
a esta parte / está en ángel convertida’ (II. 814–15), she is completely unaware of the
truthfulness of her statement. Likewise, Ginés’ observation of slight changes in the character
of the sacristán does not prompt him to dispute the identity of the latter whom he simply
accepts as Carrizo. He tells Carlos: ‘no tiene aquellas señales / que en el hermano se ven. /
Es el mismo y no es el mismo; / más modesto y más compuesto / trae el hábito y el gesto’
(II. 335–39). At the beginning of Act I, Carrizo emphasises the artificiality of physical
appearance in his discussion of female beauty treatments. He refers to their use of ‘fingido
color’ and their ‘canas mal disimuladas’ (I. 125; 133). A play which deals with the concept
of susceptibility to delusion by outer appearances is very much in keeping with an obsession
of the literature and art of the period, often called the theme of Ser/Parecer. At the heart of
the literature and art of seventeenth-century Spain was the notion of the individual’s
susceptibility to engaño, a concept which was encapsulated in Velázquez’s Las Meninas. On
this theme, Jeremy Robbins states: ‘So obsessive are the questions of appearance and reality,
of deceit and disillusionment, in Spanish baroque fiction that such fiction can justifiably be
viewed as Spain’s major and distinctive contribution to the early-modern preoccupation with
knowledge.’ See his The Challenges of Uncertainty: An Introduction to Seventeenth-Century
Spanish Literature (London: Duckworth, 1998), p. 41.
25 See the conversation between Pedro and the angel, III. 529–54.
Mono204-05.qxd 4/7/04 10:08 AM Page 137
The second effect of the double image of Clara upon the audience relates
to how the characters evaluate Clara fingida, and how they relate to the vari-
ous miraculous occurrences attributed to the angel. In basic terms, the outer
audience is confronted with the parallel images of Clara, the sinner, and Clara,
the saint, as the words and deeds of the angel are associated with the real Clara
by individuals within the play. As a result, the main protagonist becomes more
saintly, at the same time that she violates Holy Orders. Indeed, she is not only
a santa, but a unique being with supernatural powers. Miraculously, she dis-
covers Carlos’ intentions to punish Don Juan, a gentleman who has won the
favour of Elena, Clara’s sister, and also Carlos’ subsequent, illicit affair with
Ana following his marriage to Elena.26 However, even more striking is the
explicit presentation of Clara fingida (Clara, of course, to the other charac-
ters) as a miracle worker, who saves Magdalena. The miracle, which is pre-
sented offstage, is related to Carlos and Ginés by the hortelana:
Para que no te vayas sin que sepas

un milagro tan raro, y seas testigo,
así como llegó Clara al estanque,
entró por él, y sin mojarse el hábito,
asió de un brazo a soror Magdalena,
y la sacó a la orilla viva y sana:
dilo a su padre y a su amada hermana.
(III. 659–65)
In addition, the implicit references to the relationship between Clara and the
Virgin within the play serve to exaggerate the holiness of the imperfect
abadesa. Ultimately, Clara becomes the buena guarda of the play, a role
which she attributed originally to the Virgin prior to her departure with her
lover. Before her exit from the monasterio, Clara declares: ‘¡Virgen, en vos
les dejo Buena Guarda!’ (II. 185). Consequently, the exaltation of the repent-
ant sinner, particularly through the incorporation of Clara fingida into the
drama, stresses the redeeming power of divine love. Clara is elevated to a
saintlike status, which she of course must assume and develop at the end of
the play when she replaces the angel. Ultimately, she will devote herself
wholeheartedly to amor divino. Naturally, Clara highlights that human frailty
is not only permissible, but in fact is also found in even the most pious of
individuals.27 The association of divine love with forgiveness is underlined by
26 See II. 671–78, and III. 621–27.

27 The idea that there is scope for human error is one which also presents itself through
the development of the character Tirso in La juventud de San Isidro. See chapter 2, p. 83
for further details. It is not surprising that Lope would have dealt with these issues in his
plays. Lope’s own behaviour was motivated by very human and divine impulses. He was
torn throughout his life between amor humano and amor divino. This has been well
documented by critics.
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138 ELAINE CANNING
Félix in a statement which can be categorised as one of the most patent morals
of the play:
Errar es de hombre mortal,

y más en esto que ves;
pero de demonios es
perseverar en el mal.
(III. 81–84)
It is only unrepentant persistence in sin that earns damnation. Indeed, the

determination of the pastor, Christ himself, who appears twice in the play in
his search for ‘la oveja / de más hermosa y cándida pelleja’ (II. 447–48), which
‘en la frente sola / una mancha tenía’ (II. 480–81), stresses the relationship
between compassion and amor divino.28 While Félix’s decision to desert Clara
serves to associate human love with rejection and abandonment, the pastor’s
constant quest for his lost sheep, in spite of physical suffering, symbolises the
very opposite.29 In fact, for Christ, pain becomes almost pleasurable when it
is endured for a worthy cause. In his description of his search to Clara, he
states: ‘que aun por ella entre espinas / andar juzgan mis pies por calvellinas
(sic)’ (II. 489–90).30
Thus, while La buena guarda cannot be defined as a well-developed
metadrama like Lo fingido verdadero, there is no doubt that Lope’s exploitation
of role-playing within the role within the play causes the outer audience to ques-
tion the essence of identity. The illusory nature of existence, a predominant
theme in Lo fingido verdadero, is reinforced in this play primarily through the
deceptive nature of physical appearance. In addition, Lope’s exploitation of the
double image of the main protagonist serves to define amor divino as a forgiv-
ing, ennobling love, in contrast to amor humano, conveyed as a degrading and
destructive force. Ultimately, Clara, like Ginés, abandons human love for divine
love and allows divine love to redefine her role. Ironically, this is the same
role which the audience saw threatened at the outset. By finally ‘proactively’
assuming this role, Clara too discovers the saving grace of God.
28 For an analysis of the appearance of Christ to Isidro in both La niñez de San Isidro
and La juventud de San Isidro, see chapter 2.

29 See the pastor’s speech, III. 427–49 for details on his various forms of suffering.
30 The pastor’s reaction to the thorns is analogous to that of Teresa to the crown of
thorns in Santa Teresa de Jesús. See chapter 4, p. 124, n. 70. This image would have caused
the audience to recall Christ’s own crown of thorns, and to contemplate the themes of
sacrifice, suffering and redemption.
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CONCLUSION
While this study consists of two discrete parts, together they offer a coherent
analysis of the origins and key features of Lope’s comedias de tema religioso.
In part I, it is evident that through the re-creation of his models, Lope is able
to generate a variety of forms of audience reception, as well as to re-create
identifiable and instructive images of the biblical Esther and Isidro. In La
hermosa Ester, the reconstruction of episodes taken from the Book of Esther
enables Lope to problematise socio-literary themes such as love, honour and
the role of woman. In addition, susceptibility to a more subversive form of
audience reception serves to elevate the Jew above the dramatic representa-
tion of the Spaniard. The pre-eminence of divine love over human love which
is presented in La hermosa Ester is also a principal theme in Lope’s plays
which deal with the life of Madrid’s patrón. Through the re-creation of the
source material, Lope establishes a link between the child Isidro and his adult
equivalent in La niñez de San Isidro. Lope’s innovative manipulation of the
written source material in La juventud serves to present Isidro as a Christ-like
and humble figure, who is willing to sacrifice human love for divine love.
Moreover, the fact that Lope’s dramatic re-creations of the saint were pre-
sented to the seventeenth-century public when Isidro’s actual canonisation
was being celebrated stresses the interplay between illusion and reality which
prevails in these plays.
The connection between role-playing, language and costume which char-
acterises Lo fingido verdadero and La buena guarda in part II serves to high-
light the complexity of identity and the relationship between role and destino.
Above all, Lope’s engagement with self-referential devices underlines the
illusory nature of life and the link between lo verdadero and lo divino, which
constitute the very essence of the theocentric world view of seventeenth-
century Spain. While varying degrees of audience estrangement are a possi-
bility, particularly in Lo fingido verdadero, Lope also draws attention to the
relationship between divine love and human love in both plays.
It is evident that in his comedias religiosas, Lope deals with a variety of
contemporary issues which he also treats in his secular plays. In La hermosa
Ester, for example, there is an explicit preoccupation with anti-Semitism and
honor/honra, while in Lo fingido verdadero, some members of the corral audi-
ence may have interpreted Diocleciano’s elevation to the status of emperor as
criticism of class division. The conflicting imperatives of human and divine
Mono204-Conc.qxd 4/7/04 10:09 AM Page 140
140 CONCLUSION
love are treated in all of the plays studied in this book, and as is to be expected
in a comedia de tema religioso, role is ultimately defined in terms of its rela-
tionship with the divine. Lope’s shifting concern with the positive and negative
effects of human love throughout this study is perhaps evidence of his personal
ambivalence to amor humano.
Although I have addressed several characteristic features of Lope’s comedias
religiosas, there are many issues still to be explored. The themes examined –
the reworking of biblical and hagiographical texts and the relationship between
the comedia religiosa and metatheatre – can naturally be applied to other reli-
gious plays. A detailed study of the use of comedy, as well as an examination
of allegorical characters in Lope’s religious plays, also merit attention. Of
course, there are a wealth of investigative opportunities for the scholar interested
in comparative analysis with Lope’s secular drama. The representation of the
female in both types of comedia, together with the similarities between Lope’s
exploitation and re-creation of source material in historical/legendary plays and
the comedia religiosa, are just two areas which lend themselves to potential
research. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, the scant availability of
modern editions of Lope’s religious plays needs to be addressed.
In a fairly recent article, Robert Morrison made the following comment
about religious drama in general: ‘Among the multitude of dramas written
during the seventeenth century were several hundred religious ones. [. . .] The
autos have been repeatedly studied. The comedias devotas – comedias bíblicas
and comedias de santos, for the most part – may be still awaiting full appreci-
ation.’1 It is hoped that this study has gone some way towards redressing the
balance.
1 ‘Graciosos’, p. 33.
Mono204-App.qxd 4/7/04 10:10 AM Page 141
APPENDIX: LOPE’S COMEDIAS DE TEMA RELIGIOSO1
1590–1604 Santa Teresa de Jesús

1594 Comedia de San Segundo
1596–1603 La gran columna fogosa
1598–1603 Los locos por el cielo
1598–1608 (prob. 1603) El niño inocente de la Guardia
1598–1608 (prob. 1604–06) San Isidro, labrador de Madrid
1598–1610 (1604?–10) Juan de Dios y Antón Martín
1605 El rústico del cielo
1606–1615 (prob. 1609) Historia de Tobías
Before 1607 El santo negro Rosambuco
1608 (approx.) Lo fingido verdadero
1610 (approx.) El divino africano
1610 La hermosa Ester
1610 La buena guarda
1610 El cardenal de Belén
1610–1615 (prob. 1610–12) El serafín humano
1610–1615 (prob. 1610–12) La madre de la mejor
1611 Barlaán y Josafat
1613 San Diego de Alcalá
1613–1615 El nacimiento de Cristo
1613–1615 (prob. 1614) San Nicolás de Tolentino
1613–1616 (prob. 1615) El Capellán de la Virgen
1618 La limpieza no manchada
1615–1622 El robo de Dina
1622 La juventud de San Isidro
1622 La niñez de San Isidro
1625 La niñez del Padre Rojas
1629 La vida de San Pedro Nolasco
1620–1630 Los trabajos de Jacob
1 All dates for Lope’s comedias de tema religioso are taken from Morley and Bruerton,
Cronología de las comedias de Lope de Vega (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1968).

Mono204-Bib.qxd 4/7/04 10:12 AM Page 142
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Mono204-Index.qxd 4/7/04 10:15 AM Page 151
INDEX
Abel, Lionel, 5, 87, 88, 90 Dassbach, Elma, 2, 57, 60 n.48, 71 n.72,

Ahasuerus, see Xerxes I n.74, 75, 98 n.9, 120 n.58, 123 n.66,
Apocrypha, 15 n.19, 18–20, 39 n.73 125 n.73
Aragone Terni, Elisa, 2 De Armas, Frederick A., 38 n.72
Artigas, María del Carmen, 128 n.1, n.2 Deuterocanonical additions, see Apocrypha
Azar, Inés, 103 n.25 Diocletian, emperor, 95
Dixon, Victor, 3, 28 n.51, 31 n.56, 44 n.1,
Bentley, Eric, 90 n.14 61 n.50, 89, 93 n.21, 96 n.3, 97, 98
Bleda, Jaime, Vida y milagros del glorioso n.10, 100 n.16, 110 n.41, 111 n.43,
San Isidro el labrador, 52 n.30 120, 121, 122, 123
Book of Esther, 13–20 Dunn, Peter N., 88 n.6
Book of Tobit, 12 n.9
Brockington, L. H., 18 n.27, 23 n.39, Edwards, Gwynne, 28 n.51
43 n.85
Browning, W. R. F., 43 n.85 Farrell, Anthony J., 3
Bryans, J. V., 96 n.3, 124 Fischer, Susan, 89, 90, 96 n.3, 104, 106,
Burkort, Haydee Macera, 2 110 n.40
Butler, Alban, 46 n.9, 47 n.11, 48 n.15 Fishlock, A. D. H., 14 n.16
Fita, Fidel, 47 n.11, 52
Calderón de la Barca, Pedro, 10 n.5 Flasche, Hans, 10 n.5
El gran teatro del mundo, 93 n.20 Forster, Leonard, 23 n.40
La vida es sueño, 59 n.43, 63 n.55, Friedman, Edward H., 11 n.8
93 n.20
Cancionero general, 114 n.47 Gallego Roca, Miguel, 3, 45 n.7, 54 n.36,
Casa, Frank P., 88 63 n.52, 64, 70 n.71, 71 n.74, 74, 76
Case, Thomas, 45 n.5, 60, 70 n.71, 71, n.83
89, 92, 123 n.67 Garasa, Delfín Leocadio, 1, 51 n.27, 54
Catechism, 10 n.6 n.36, 71 n.73, 76 n.84, 97, 111 n.42
Cervantes, Miguel de, 27 n.47 García Lorenzo, Luciano, 26 n.45
Cesáreo, Mario, 54 n.36 Genesis, 12 n.9, 33 n.59, 64
Clines, David J. A., 18 n.27, Genesius, St, 95; see also Lo fingido
19 n.31 verdadero
Códice de autos viejos, 13 n.14 Gilson, Catharine, 46 n.10, 60 n.47
Cofradía de San Isidro, 44 n.3 Glaser, Edward, 14 n.16, 15 n.20, 19,
Concejo, Pilar, 3, 14 n.16, 42 n.82 23 n.39, 29 n.52, 41 n.77
Connor (Swietlicki), Catherine, Glenn, Richard F., 99 n.14
11 n.8 Godínez, Felipe
Corbacho, 80 n.100 Amán y Mardoqueo, 13 n.15
Council of Trent, 9, 10 n.6, 11, 19 n.30 La Reyna Ester, 13 n.15
Courtly love, 23 n.38, 26 n.44, n.45, Goldberg, Alice, 13 n.15
27 n.49 Gracioso, 60–1
152 INDEX
Grant, Helen F., 63 n.56 intratextual dramatist, 102

Green, Otis H., 23 n.38, 26 n.44, 45 n.4 play within the play, 94 n.24, 110, 115
Guerrero, José Ramón, 10 n.6 role-playing within the role, 98, 106
Metzger, Bruce, 18, 19 n.31
Heiple, Daniel L., 42 n.83 Mexía, Pero, Historia imperial y cesárea,
Hornby, Richard, 4, 65 n.61, 93, 94 n.24, 95 n.2
98, 106, 110, 115 Mira de Amescua, 10 n.3
Moir, Duncan, 31
Inquisition, 9, 10 n.6 Monja sacristana, 128
Isaac, Old Testament, 33 n.59 Montesinos, José, 1
Isidore of Seville, St, 65–6, 70 Moore, Roger, 89, 91
Isidro, patron saint of Madrid, 44–8; see Moreno, Francisco, 44, 46 n.10, 47 n.11,
also under Vega Carpio, Lope de; n.12, 49, 51 n.27, 52, 54 n.35, 55
El Isidro; La juventud de San Isidro; n.38, 57, 65 n.59
La niñez de San Isidro; San Isidro, Moreno, Joseph, 90
labrador de Madrid Morley and Bruerton, Cronología de las
comedias de Lope de Vega, 1 n.4
Javier, Francisco, 48 n.15, 73 Morreale, Margherita, 10 n.6
Josephus, Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, Morrison, Robert, 2, 60 n.48, 73 n.78,
15–20, 24 n.41, n.42, 27 n.48, 30 83–4, 140
n.54, 31 n.55, 34–5, 39 n.73 Mroczkowska-Brand, Katarzyna, 92 n.19
Juan Diácono/Juan the Deacon, Leyenda Mundo al revés, 63
de San Isidro, 44 n.2, 47 n.11, 51–4
Nalle, Sara T., 10 n.6, 11 n.7
Kidd, Michael, 89 n.11 Navarrete, Ignacio, 23 n.38
Kirby, Carol Bingham, 89, 91 Nebuchadnezzar II, 14 n.17
Kirschner, Teresa, 63 n.54 Nelson, Robert J., 87 n.3
Knight, Alan E., 12 n.9, 43 Neri, Philip, 48 n.17
Lama, Víctor de, 23 n.38 O’Connor, Thomas Austin, 87, 88, 93 n.20
Larson, Catherine, 4, 87, 88, 89, 91–2, 93, Orozco Díaz, Emilio, 76 n.85
94 n.25, 102, 103 n.25, 105, 107 n.34 Ortiz Lucio, Fray Juan, Flos Sanctorum,
Larson, Donald, 28 52 n.30
Lavine, Roberta Zimmerman, 14 n.16,
42 n.83 Palomo, María del Pilar, 93 n.21, 96 n.3,
Lázaro Carreter, Fernando, 128 n.1 101 n.19, 106 n.32, 110 n.41, 121,
Lipmann, Stephen, 88–9 122, 123, 134
Lowes, John Livingston, 26 n.45 Paredes L., Alejandro, 89 n.10
Loyola, Ignacio de, 48 n.14, 73 Parker A. A., 23 n.38
Petrarchism, 23 n.38, n.40, 26 n.45,
Madrigal, José A., 89, 90–1 27 n.49, 111 n.43
María de la Cabeza, 46 n.10, 49 Philip II, 44 n.3, 48, 56
Mayberry, Nancy, 14 n.16 Philip III, 47–8, 51 n.28, 99 n.13
McCrary, William, 89 n.9 Philip IV, 48, 51 n.28, 56, 73
McGaha, Michael, 97, 99 n.13, 105 n.29 Prince, Albert, 103 n.25
McKendrick, Melveena, 38 n.72, 99 n.14, Purim, feast of, 15 n.18, 18
108 n.36, 126 n.75
Menéndez Onrubia, Carmen, 14 n.16 Racine, Jean, Esther, 13 n.13, 30 n.54,
Menéndez y Pelayo, Don Marcelino, 1, 12, 31 n.57
20 n.36, 48–9, 54 n.36, 95, 97 Reichenberger, Arnold G., 88, 90 n.14
Metatheatre, 87, 90, 93, 94 n.25, 98 n.12 Rivadeneira, Pedro de, Flos Sanctorum,
ceremony within the play, 65 n.61 95 n.2
INDEX 153
Robbins, Jeremy, 136 n.24 Justa poética y alabanzas justas, 49

Rojas, Fernando de, La Celestina, 129 n.3 n.21, 50, 51 n.29
Ross, Cecilia, 2 La buena guarda, 77 n.88, 113 n.45,
119 n.56, 123 n.66, 125 n.72, 128–38
Sacks, Diane, 14 n.16 La dama boba, 130 n.10
Sáinz de Robles, Federico Carlos, 20 La hermosa Ester, 12–13, 14 n.16,
n.36, 50, 54 20–43
Seneca, De Clementia, 25 n.43 La juventud de San Isidro, 45–6, 55, 56
Ser/Parecer, 136 n.24 59–61, 66–9, 72, 73–84
Shervill, Robert, 2 La limpieza no manchada, 41 n.78, 45
Sicroff, A. A., 14 n.16, 40, 42 n.5, 110 n.40
Simerka, Barbara, 11 n.8, 42 La madre de la mejor, 55 n.39
Sito Alba, Manuel, 93 n.20 La niñez de San Isidro, 45–6, 55–73,
Sloane, Robert, 88 n.6, 90 74, 77, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84
Smith, Dawn L., 38 n.72 La niñez del Padre Rojas, 55 n.39
Soufas, Teresa Scott, 26 n.45 La vida de San Pedro Nolasco, 45 n.5
Stoll, Anita K., 38 n.72, 89, 92, 93 n.21 Las mujeres sin hombres, 38 n.72
St Thérèse of Lisieux, 48 n.15 Lo fingido verdadero, 95–127
Los locos de Valencia, 26 n.45
Teresa de Ávila/Teresa de Jesús, 48 Los locos por el cielo, 46 n.10, 99 n.14,
n.16, 73 110 n.40
Thacker, Jonathan, 89, 93 n.21 Los trabajos de Jacob, 12 n.9, 64 n.57,
Theatrum mundi, 92, 97, 100–2 83 n.107
Ticknor, George, 74 n.81 Relación de las fiestas en la
Tirso de Molina, 10 n.4 canonización de San Isidro, 45 n.6,
El burlador de Sevilla, 11 n.8, 71 n.72 n.7, 46 n.8, 49–50
Torres, Isabel, 31 n.56 San Diego de Alcalá, 46 n.9, 66 n.64
Trueblood, Alan S., 88 n.6, 124 n.68 San Isidro, labrador de Madrid, 12
n.10, 41 n.77, 50–1, 54–5, 59–61,
Valencia, Juan O., 32, 37 66–9, 72, 73–83
Vallejo González, Irene, 54 n.36 Santa Teresa de Jesús, 123 n.66, 124
Vega Carpio, Lope de, 1, 5, 137 n.27, 140 n.70
El alcaide de Madrid, 65 n.61 Vega García-Luengos, Germán, 14 n.16, 20
El arte nuevo de hacer comedias en n.36, 41 n.77
este tiempo, 23 n.37, 25 n.43, 83, 99 Velázquez, Las Meninas, 136 n.24
n.14, 108 n.36, 112 n.44 Vélez Quiñones, Harry, 89 n.11
El castigo sin venganza, 25 n.43, 28 Villegas, Alonso de, Vida de San Isidro
n.51, 99 n.14 labrador, 52 n.30
El divino africano, 70 n.71 Vulgate, 19
El Isidro, 41 n.77, 50, 54, 56, 63 n.53,
65–8, 70 n.70, 72, 73–9 Wardropper, Bruce W., 88 n.6
El niño inocente de La Guardia, 37 Weiner, Jack, 2, 13 n.12, 14 n.16, 15
n.68, 55 n.39, 110 n.40 n.20, 24 n.41, 37, 40–1, 42
El perro del hortelano, 28 n.51 Weisinger, Herbert, 92
El robo de Dina, 12 n.9, 83 n.107 Wilson, Stephen, 47 n.12, n.13
Fuento Ovejuna, 29 n.53, 38 n.72,
46 n.9 Xerxes I, 14 n.17
Historia de Tobías, 12 n.9, 35 n.64, 36
n.67, 69 n.69 Zavala, Iris M., 23 n.38

Lope de Vega'S 'Comedias de Tema Religioso' Re-Creations and Re-Presentations

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LOPE DE VEGA'S `COMEDIAS DE

LOPE DE VEGA’S COMEDIAS

© Elaine M. Canning 2004

The right of Elaine Canning to be identified as the author of this work

All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation

First published 2004 by Tamesis, Woodbridge

ISBN 1 85566 030 X

Tamesis is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Canning, Elaine M., 1973-

This publication is printed on acid-free paper

Printed in Great Britain by

PART I: RE-CREATION AND RE-PRESENTATION:

PART II: DRAMATISING THE DRAMATIC:

I would like to express my thanks to Dr Isabel Torres of Queen’s University,

BCom Bulletin of the Comediantes

Estudios Históricos, 1935), pp. 189–90.

of the genre are examined by Aragone Terni in Studio sulle “Comedias de

University of North Carolina, 1958).

State University, 1983).

VIII Congreso de la Asociación Internacional de Hispanistas, ed. A. David Kossoff et al.,

10 Pilar Concejo, ‘Función y simbolismo de la mujer en La hermosa Ester y en La judía

attempted to represent the life of Madrid’s patrón. Chapter 2 explores the

Hisp, 75 (1992), 1343–47, (p. 1343).

concerned with a definition of Clara as saint or sinner, based on her engage-

Modern Spanish Theater’, Gestos, 9 (1994), 43–59; Edward H. Friedman, ‘Postmodernism

RE-CREATION AND RE-PRESENTATION:

Crítica, 1994), p. 171.

dramatists of the Golden Age, including Mira de Amescua,3 Tirso de Molina4

casa; La vida y muerte de Herodes; La mejor espigadera; Tanto es lo de más como lo de

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 11

Similarly, the contemporary audience was well acquainted with hagiography.

The Book of Esther

de Madrid (1598–1608) (probably 1604–06) in order to promote his canonisation. The

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 13

first published in Madrid in 1621 in Decimaquinta Parte de las Comedias de

preliminar, biografía, bibliografía, notas y apéndices de Federico Carlos Sáinz de Robles,

a Jesuit, published a dramatic poem entitled Mardoqueo (Madrid, 1791). The

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 15

is Esther, daughter of Abihail, a Jewess who has been brought up by her

Apocrypha, the fourteenth is also the date given.

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 17

24 In Josephus, the recommendation to destroy Mordecai is made by Haman’s wife, not

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 19

Hebrew and written by St Jerome. Jerome was commissioned by Pope Damascus to

Addition E (pp. 445–51).

detail.34 References to the omniscience of God abound in this text. Mordecai’s

Lope’s La hermosa Ester

In Josephus, pp. 425–29 are based on this addition.

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 21

En este bosque del Rey

Egeo is also responsible for introducing the king on stage. He declares:

Mas oye: que sale el Rey

Sólo el poderoso Asuero,

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 23

sensibilities of the seventeenth-century audience – love, honour and the role of

y por las dos hermosas

Si con sus damas está,

RE-CREATION: LA HERMOSA ESTER 25

Afuera amor; que no es justo

Tares Amor es una pasión

Bien parece que mi amor