Rabell, Carmen. Rewriting the Italian Novella by carmen rabell

Colecci6n Tamesis SERlE A: MONOGRAFIAS, 199

REWRITING THE ITALIAN NOVELLA IN COUNTER-REFORMATION SPAIN

As they reshaped the Italian novella under the inquisitorial atmosphere of the Counter-Reformation, Spanish narrators labelled their texts as exemplary. However, critics have usually agreed that there is a contradiction between the morals preached in the narrative frames, prologues, and sententiae of Spanish novellas and the content of the plots. This book argues that this ambiguity is a result of the use of the rhetoric of the fictitious case. Spanish novellas rewrite the Italian genre through the rhetoric of the fictitious case and with the specific purpose of either challenging or validating the new set of rules regarding marriage introduced by the Council of Trent. Since civil, canonical, and family hierarchies were based on the same metaphor that conceives power as one body in which, by analogy, the husband is the head of his wife, as the monarch is the head of the state and the Pope is the head of the church, Spanish novellas explore the contradictions between civil and canon laws regarding marriage within the private space of the home in order to suggest further contradictions within the public sphere of the state und the church. The fictitious case provides a rhetoric to test the validity of' the legal grounds of Counter-Reformation Spain. C'AI{MI\N R. RABELL is Associate Professor at the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedrus.

CARMEN R. RABELL

REWRITING THE ITALIAN NOVELLA IN COUNTER-REFORMATION SPAIN

TAMES IS

漏 Carmen R. Rabell 2003

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

CONTENTS

First published 2003 by Tamesis, Woodbridge Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ISBN 1 85566 092 X

Introduction ............................................... . 1

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 catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rabell, Carmen. Rewriting the Italian novella in counter-reformation Spain I Carmen R. Rabel!. p. em.- (Colecci6n Tamesis. Serie A, Monografias. ; 199) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-85566-092-X (hardback: alk. paper) I. Spanish fiction- Classical period, 1500-1700- History and criticism. 2. Italian fiction- To 1400- History and criticism. 3. llulian fiction - 15th century - History and criticism. 4. Novella- History and criticism. 5. Censorship- Spain- History- 16th century. 6. Censorship - Spain - History - 17th century. I. Tille. PQ6147.N68 R33 2003 863'.309- dc21 2003011731

Thill publicutiun is printed on ucic.l-frec pupc1路

Printed In Oreut Brll~tln by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chlppenh~tm, Wllhthlrt

vii

The Theory of the Novella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Francisco de Lugo y Davila and Francesco Bonciani's Forensic Readings of Aristotle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forensic Discourse and the Novella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Role of Law in the Spanish Versions of Italian Novellas . . . . . . . . Buried Alive: Telling the Story of Romeo and Juliet in Post-Tridentine Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Orbecche and Ardenia: The World Upside Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Legend of Two Friends: Changing the Face of the Body Politic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Fictitious Case and the Spanish Novella ................... 'El celoso extremefio': Arguing For and Against the Legal Infancy of Women ............................. Narrating the Impossible: The Resurrection of Women .......... 'El andr6gino' by Francisco de Lugo y Davila: Speaking from a Woman's Body .................................

15 17 30 48 48 68 90

. 110 . 112 . 133 . 140

Conclusion ................................................ . 153 Works Cited ............................................... . 159 Index ..................................................... . 167

AUTHOR'S NOTE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Published translations from the Italian are used when available, and the bibliographical data for these editions, including the names of the translators, can be found in the Works Cited. Unless otherwise indicated, English translations with no page number specifications are by Liliana Ramos.

I would like to thank the Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships for Minorities and the University of Puerto Rico for funding this research; Kathy Eden, Patricia Grieve, James Mirollo, Robert Hanning, Jean Cavallo, Vicente Cantarino, and Luce L6pez-Baralt for their valuable suggestions; Miige Galin and Robin Randolph for proofreading the manuscript; and Liliana Ramos for translating quotations into English. Special thanks to: Patricia Castro (Ortega y Gasset Foundation) for her hospitality; Joaquin Rubio (University of Alcala) for helping me to gather valuable bibliographical material; my friends from the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Puerto Rico for their constant encouragement; and the colleagues, librarians, administrative assistants, and students from the University of Puerto Rico, Ohio State University, and the University of Pittsburgh for their support in this project. Thanks to Jaime, Danilo, and Carla for keeping me in touch with life beyond academia. The author and publishers would like to record their thanks to the University of Puerto Rico for assistance in the costs of publication of this book, and to the Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispanicos for permission to reprint material tirst outlined in 'Notes Toward a Forensic Reading of the Spanish Novella of the Golden Age' (Vol. XXII, No. 1, 1997).

To Narciso Rabell and Secundina Reyes, my storytellers.

INTRODUCTION

To Danilo and Carla, who still believe my stories. This study is an attempt to answer several intriguing questions regarding the transformation of the transgressive Italian novella into its Spanish exemplary counterpart. For a Boccaccio reader familiar with stories in which the established moral and religious order is constantly challenged through the depiction of secular and ecclesiastic characters who commit all kind of transgressions (adultery, incest, homoerotic acts, etc.), Spanish novellas stand out for the constant sententious remarks of their narrators and their tendency to condemn the infractions of their characters. However, they narrate plots which have highly erotic content that could raise serious doubts about the sincerity of their rhetoric. Although both the Spanish and the Italian novella seem to share characteristics associated with a didactic-rhetorical tradition that tends to employ narration in order to prove an argument set out in a clearly stated hypothesis and validated in a conclusion, intrusions by Spanish narrators run profusely throughout their novellas. Furthermore, the highly rhetorical nature of the Spanish novella and its sententious tone seem very distant from Boccaccio's ironic stories (Branca 51), in which even the predominant rhetorical discourses of the Church (confession, the sermon, hagiography) become the object of mockery. Indeed, while Boccaccio's novellas represent a diverse population of both honest and corrupt noblemen, peasants, clergymen, nuns, and merchants, the Spanish novellas rarely revolve around characters related to the Church and avoid any criticism of the sacrament of confession, the celibacy of the clergy, the veneration of saints, or any of the dogmas attacked by the Reformers and firmly defended by the Council of Trent ( 1545-64). On the contrary, Spanish plots tend to narrate love stories and private transgressions (marriage, clandestine marriage, rape, adultery), while ~.:onstantly referring to specific legal procedures and particular laws, -the prenpd post-Tridentine laws regarding marriage. - Considering that Boccaccio, a precursor of the Renaissance and of many ideus urtieulated by the Reformation movement, wrote his stories between I J45 and I J52, and that the Italian genre wus introduced into Spain by Timonedu in 1567 (three ycurs ufter the ending of the Council of Trent), the

uhNcnce of explicit criticism of the Church und the sententious tone of the SpuniNh novellu can he DN!lociuted with the lncreu11inaly reprelllilve atmo1phere uf the Counter-Reformation. Yet, unother un11ettllna queNtlnn remaln11: why the

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CARMEN R. RABELL

INTRODUCTION

Hocxaccian genre, associated with doubtful morality and anticlericalism, was put into practice in Spain after the Council of Trent, during the culture of control associated with the Counter-Reformation? 1 The question regarding the increasingly rhetorical tendency of the Spanish novella leads to a hypothetical association with the repressive atmosphere of the Counter-Reformation, which in turn opens another question to be answered: what was the specific role of the Council of Trent in the Spanish reshaping of the Italian novella? Why did Ihese love stories about secret marriages, adultery, rape, incest, and other private transgressions become so fashionable in the post-Tridentine Spanish practice of the Boccaccian genre? Is there any direct relationship between the marriage reforms introduced by the Council of Trent and the rhetoric of the Spanish novella with its tendency to revolve around the themes of marriage und sexual transgression? This book is an attempt to answer a twofold question by laking a close look at both the rhetorical and the historical significance of the Spanish novella vis-a-vis the Italian practice of the genre.

(novelas ejemplares). However, critics such as Pabst, Talens, and others have usually agreed that there is a contradiction between the morals preached in the narrative frames, prologues, and sententiae, and the content of the plots. More recently, Lasperas has pointed out that this dichotomy is also a result of a non-traditional use of rhetorical devices. Yet, most of the ambiguities of the Spanish novella in the Golden Age are not only the consequences of its nontraditional use of rhetorical devices but also a result of its use of a particular forensic discourse: the fictitious case or controversia. The intricate plot of the typical novella clearly resembles the controversia, a rhetorical practice that flourished during the early Roman Empire as an exercise to prepare students of rhetoric for actual litigation in court. As Controversiae by Seneca the Elder and the Lesser Declamations attributed to Quintilian reveal, a controversia is a fictitious case or 'a practice legal speech delivered within the confines of a particular situation as it related to one or several laws given to the student by his teacher' (Sussman l-2). Usually, the cases under discussion involved either an ambiguous Jaw or a set of contradictory laws. The students' task was, thus, either to defend or to prosecute the accused, applying the letter of the law or presenting their interpretation of its spirit. The main structural difference between an actual court case and a fictitious case is that in the fictitious one, given the absence of an opposing party, the speaker explicitly anticipates and refutes any possible argument by it. In actual cases, lawyers will refute the allegation of their adversaries only if they speak second (Quintilian, lnstitutio 5.13.44-50). They will never give the opposing party the advantage of anticipating any argument against their own interest. Some of the contradictions that critics have perceived between the plots of the Spanish novellas and their narrative frames, and between the direct interventions of the narrators and their plots, might be explained as being consequences of the fact that, as in a fictitious case, when the student lawyer anticipated and refuted a possible objection by the absent opposing party, the narrators of the Spanish novella had to incorporate the voice of the other side. The position of the opposing party might be refuted, but it was still presented as an alternative view that might be embraced by members of the audience. Moreover, fictitious cases are extremely odd. Like the plots of the novellas, they usually involved 'circumstances which could, in one's opinion, so rarely occur in real life' (Bonner 82). According to Bonner, the rarity of these fktitious cases lies in the fact that they are test-cases, for they 'test the validity of a law by posing more and more extreme circumstances' (83).

Tile Rhetorical Question In order to handle the transgressive topics of the Italian Medieval and Renaissance novellas during the culture of control of the Counter-Reformation, Spanish authors developed narrative strategies that: (1) employed the rhetoric of a lictitious case or controversia; and (2) used the regulations of the Council of Trent, particularly those regarding marriage, and other legal codes to document the logic of their novellas. Through an analysis of the so-called 'original' Spanish novellas, and a comparison of the Italian models with the Spanish versions, I will demonstrate how Spanish authors employed legal or forensic discourse to protect their narratives from censorship, while fulfilling the Renaissance poetic requirement of decorum. As they reshaped the Italian genre in the inquisitorial atmosphere of the Counter-Reformation, Spanish authors labelled their texts as exemplary

I Reading culture as a social construct, as a set of control mechanisms, Ann Cruz and Mury Elizabeth Perry edited a group of essays that focused on 'the climate of repression fostered by the Counter-Reformation' and investigated 'the varying forms of social control exerted by Spunish institutions, hoth through the Inquisition and hy less overt but equally powerful meuns' (Culture and Control in Counter Re.f{1rmation Spain, ix-x, xiv). The Council of Trent wus pivotul in establishing the mechanisms of control of the CounterReformation. In rewriting the Italian novella for Counter-Reformntion Spain, Spanish authorM used literary discourse as a means to test the validity of the new set of rules Introduced by it. In doing so, they recogni:t.ed literature us n powerful institution that had un IU.:tive role in establishina mechanisms of control, while nevertheless employing the lttnblauouH rhetoric of the flc:titiouM case to explore extreme situations thut demonstrutcd the lnnpholeN of the law, ltM weaknc11N und contradictions. The term 'culture of contl'ol of the Counter-Rerormatlon' u1â&#x20AC;˘1111 redundancy th11t omph11NbÂˇ.eM uur purtlculur underNtundin~

ot oula.art.

71w Historical Question Because civil, canonical, und fumiliul hierarchies were based on the meluphor tlmt conceived power us one body in which, by analogy, the husband wus the heud of his wife - us the monarch was the head of the stute, und the Pnpe the head of the Chun:h - Spunish nnvclhl!i explored the contradictionN

,.....,.. 4

CARMEN R. RABELL

INTRODUCTION

b~tween civil and canon laws regarding marriage within the private domain of the home in order to suggest further contradictions within the public sphere of the state and the Church. The fictitious case, thus, provided a rhetoric to test the validity of the legal grounds of Counter-Reformation Spain. Indeed, contained in a civil code (Las partidas, 1263), and in a canon code (The Council of Trent, 1545-64), were a set of contradictory laws regarding mmTiage that most Spanish novellas seemed to test through the rhetoric of the lictitious case. Although many Spanish kingdoms had their specific laws (juc'ros), only Las partidas, a compilation of mainly Roman laws codified by Alfonso X, was ever extended to America and the Philippines as the common basic law of the Spanish Empire during the sixteenth century. The Council of Trent, however, had an even greater influence as it applied to Catholic subjects all over the world. Moreover, it was particularly relevant to Spain whose unification as a modem nation was based on the common Catholic faith. In Las partidas, the permanent validity of the contract of marriage was authenticated through a metaphorical representation that also suggested its sucramental value. The esponsal de presente (betrothal) was analogous to the spiritual union of a Christian soul with God; the consummation of marriage symbolized the union between God and human nature by God's incarnation in the Virgin Mary; and the faithfulness and indissolubility of marriage represented the permanent union between Jesus and the Church (Partida IV, Title I, Law V). In this sacred depiction of marriage, men were represented by the holiest elements (God, Jesus, the Word of God) while women embodied the less privileged terms of binary oppositions (the soul of a faithful Christian, the Virgin Mary, the Church, human nature, flesh). 2 The very legal definition of marriage presented by Alfonso X thus introduced the idea of women as contradictory subjects: they represented human nature and flesh and, at the same time, faithful souls and virginity. The sacramental condition of marriage was, therefore, supported by female virginity and faithfulness, by the subordination of the flesh and the human nature of women in order to participate in the 'male holy order'. Of course, this metaphorical representation of husband and wife also recalled St Paul's statement: 'man is the head of his wife, us Jesus is the head of the Church' (1 Cor. 11 :3). This ideology was also expressed in Fray Luis de Leon's book of conduct, Ltl petj.ecta casada, published in 1583, in which, according to Rivera, the metaphor of the state as a human body 3 was transferred to the domestic space of the home, assigning to woman the weakness of a body that must be subordinated to man, who assumed the directive function of the head (21-22). In a way that was reminiscent of the view of the sacrament of marriage expounded in the Partida.\', Fray Luis also implied that family harmony

depended on a woman's ability to submit herself to her husband by overcoming her natural weakness through self-discipline (Rivera 22). Like the mystical union between Jesus and the Church, marriage should be a voluntary and permanent union. Consequently, Las partidas asserted the necessity of the mutual consent of the couple and the validity of secret marriages performed without the consent of parents. However, the same Jaw stating that parents should not marry their children without their consent also gave parents the right to disinherit them for marrying against parental will (Partida IV, Title I, Law X). Furthermore, a man who married a woman secretly and against the will of her parents was supposed to lose his honor by becoming a kind of servant for his wife's family or by losing all his possessions (Partida IV, Title III, Law V). Although secret marriages were valid and the Church defended the mutual consent of couples, in a society where wealth and status were passed on to successors through dowry and inheritance, this mutual consent was limited by parental rights, and children did not actually enjoy the exercise of full freedom of choice. This legal context was especially constraining for women, who depended on their dowries and their husbands' wealth for their means of survival. By granting parents the right to disinherit children who dared to marry without parental consent, Las partidas attempted to protect the civil right of parents to determine the future of their lineage, wealth and power, securing the subordination of the body to the head in the home, while protecting the rigid structure sustained in society. In accordance with a social imaginary, 4 in which hierarchic relationships of power were justified by their similarity to a body subordinated to the authority of the head, according to Las partidas, men were also naturally subordinated to their lords, whom they should serve with love and loyalty in order to preserve their own well-being and to sustain the order established by God (Partida IV, Title XXIV, Laws I-IV). This preestablished 'natural order' was maintained through lineage, which was also the main reason for the institution of marriage (Partida IV, Title II, Law IV), and the close scrutiny of women's sexuality. Indeed, although the Church condemns both male and female adultery, Las partidas explained that the former had no major consequences, 5 while the latter resulted in the social

2 ~

Moreover, In Spanlah, 'aoul,' 'churoh,' 'nature,' 11nd 'llcNh' urc feminine NUhNtnntlveN,

Por 1 oomprthent!ve aNdy ot tbl1 topic, ••• Barkan.

4 According to Beverley, 'it would perhaps be more pertinent to see representation of the stute j ••• ] more as an imaginary- in the Lacanian sense of a projection of desire that Nystcmutically misconstrues the real - of absolutism than as an expression of its actual coherence und authority' (223-24). ~ The adultery of a hu.sband is not perceived as a criminal offence against his wife. A mun is c~msidcred un adulterer if he sleeps with a married woman and the deceived huNhund iN considered the victim of the uct: 'Adulterio es yerro que home face yaciendo a Muhlendus con mugcr que es cusudu 6 dcsposudu con otro; et tom6 este nomhre de dos pnluht'IIN de lnlltt a/trrltt.l' ct toru.l', que quiet·c tunto dccir en romuncc como lccho dotro, purque ht mu~cr cN conlnd11 pur lccho de su mal'ido, cl non 61 dellu' (Particla VII, Title

XVII, L11w 1).

CARMEN R. RABELL

INTRODUCTION

dishonor and damage of the man who cannot determine the legitimacy of his heirs (Partida VII, Title XVII, Law 1). Validating the practice of clandestine marriage while discouraging it through strict punishments, Las partidas attempted to contain the free exercise of consent in marriage and the threat that it represented to the social hierarchy of power. The consent of the couple and its full manifestation in clandestine marriage, defended because of the permanent and sacramental value of this contract, threatened to disrupt a social hierarchy of power that was represented through a metaphor that subordinated the body to the head. The Council of Trent, however, countered the emerging protestant H.cformation by reaffirming the very dogmas that were questioned by the reformers. The sacramental status of penance and marriage were among those dogmas defended by the Church through the enforcement of already existing cunon laws and the establishment of new penalties for those who did not follow the mandates ofthe Church. In Session VII, held on March 3, 1547, the pcnulty of excommunication was established for those who denied or questioned any of the seven sacraments established by Jesus Christ. Regarding the sacrament of penance, in Session XIV, held on November 25, 1551, the Council of Trent established the penalty of excommunication for denying that sacramental confession was a necessary requirement for salvation, instituted hy divine right, or for stating that the mode of confessing in secret with a priest was not a precept of Jesus Christ but an invention of man (CAN. VI). The Council of Trent also established the Index of Forbidden Books, a mechanism for eradicating heresy through the defense of the Church's dogmas (Session XXV. December 5, 1563, Chapter XX). It was perfectly understandable, therefore, that the novellas of CounterH.eformation Spain avoided any direct criticism of the Church and its sucruments, and focused on the private transgressions of lay people. At the sume time, the Council of Trent increased the participation of the Church in the organisation of marriages, even requiring the couple to confess in church before the marriage ceremony, while hindering the power of parents and monarchs to influence the fabric of society. This represented a clash between cunonical and civil power similar to the kind of contradictory and ambiguous luws handled by fictitious cases. Moreover, the 'Decree on the Reformation of Murriuge' was the only resolution of the Council of Trent that was approved with one-fourth of the assembly voting against (Zarri 442). The divided opinion within the Church regarding Tridentine marriage explained why it becume the topic of heated debates both in the controversiae - created by members of the Church to explain the application of the new rules (for Instance, Ledesma, Tomas Sanchez, quoted in Zarri) 6 - and in the novellas written ufter the Council of Trent.

The 'Decree on the Reformation of Marriage' (Chapter I) invalidated secret marriages performed after the Council of Trent, while enforcing the procedures previously established by the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215 (Session XXIV, November 2, 1563). The enforcement of these regulations was safeguarded by the specification of particular punishments for their violators. For instance, in order to avoid the risk of bigamy, adultery and incest posed by secret marriages, in the first chapter of this reform the Council established that marriage should be preceded by public banns and, in the absence of any impediment, the couple should be married in the presence of the Church by their proper parish priest

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II detailed diMCUINlon of the conflh.:tillll Vh.lWN of lhcololllllllN l'tiJI.II'dillll COIINCilt in Trldtntlne marrlqt, 111 Zml.

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[... ] en adelante, primero que se contraiga Matrimonio, proclame el Cura propio de los contrayentes publicamente por tres veces, en tres dias de fiesta seguidos, en Ia iglesia, mientras se celebra La misa mayor, quienes son los que son los que han de contraer el Matrimonio: y hechas estas amonestaciones se pase a celebrarlo a La faz de Ia iglesia, si no se opusiere ningun impedimenta legftimo; y habiendo preguntado en ella el parroco al varon y a la muger, y entendiendo el mutuo consentimiento de los dos, 6 diga: Yo os uno en Matrimonio en el nomhre del Padre, del H(jo y del Espiritu Santo; 6 use de otras palabras, segun La costumbre recibida en cada provincia. (Session XXIV, November 2, 1563, Decree on the Reformation of Marriage, Chapter I) Nevertheless, if there was a probable suspicion that the marriage could be maliciously hindered, the Ordinary7 could either reduce or eliminate the required public banns. With the permission of the Ordinary, the marriage could also be performed by any other priest. However, these exceptional marriages were supposed to take place in front of two or three witnesses. Any marriage performed without public banns, with a priest other than the couple's parish priest (without the required permission) or with fewer witnesses, was declared invalid. Moreover, whoever contracted such a marriage lost the right later to enter into a legal marriage, and both the couple and the priest involved were subject to punishment at the discretion of the bishop. These procedures served the purpose of avoiding such situations as an heir marrying in secret, without the consent of the father, while the father tried to marry the same child in public to a different spouse. However, although this reform asserted the couple's right to consent while at the same time banning secret marriages, it did not address the seeming contradiction between the mutual consent defended by canon law and the parents' civil right to punish their children for marrying without their approval. Moreover, the Church 7 According to Ltdcsmn, lht Ordlnario wns nny clc.wgymun from whom the parish priest rccclvcN m·dcrs (hiHhop, vicur, etc.) (Adtlldmtt•s, Cup. VIII, 'Quul hn de NCI' cl ..:unNcmtlmlcntu de IoM cnntl'llhcntcs', 49),

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' 8

CARMEN R. RABELL

INTRODUCTION

prohibited both parents and temporal lords or magistrates from attempting unything contrary to the liberty of marriage, and from compelling their subjects to marry, against their inclination, partners whom the said lords or magistrates may have prescribed for them (Chapter IX). The civil rights that Las partidas nnd Roman Law (Theodosian and Justinian codes, qtd. in Zarri 457) granted to purcnts were in open contradiction with these canon rules. Moreover, these canon laws inhibited the common practice of 'marriage diplomacy', by whose means monarchs and lords used marriage to achieve peace or territorial expansion. By the Council of Trent, the Church also declared itself the only judge competent to deal with matrimonial causes (Canon XII), intruding into a jurisdiction that previously belonged to the state. Before the Council of Trent, Protestant reformers had already established a murriage ceremony that required public banns, while declaring the possibility or annulling marriages performed without parental consent, and denying the sacramental character of marriage (Zarri 440-1). While Protestants resolved the conflict between the Church and state in favor of the state (Zarri 441), maintaining the right of parents and lords to intervene in the transmission of power and lineage, the Council of Trent threatened the relationships of power within the state and the home by transforming marriage into a sacrament entered into by two individuals who must freely exercise their right to consent. Perhaps as a reaction against Protestant reforms, perhaps as a product of the Church's central doctrine of free will and justification, or perhaps as a result of its sacramentalization of marriage because of its unulogy with the mystical union between Jesus and the Church, the Church opened the possibility of transforming the body politic within the space of the family and the state by privileging the exercise of consent in marriage while limiting the participation of fathers and lords in a ritual that was full of spiritual, social, and political significance. Spanish authors used the rhetoric or the fictitious case to test the apparent contradictions between canon and civil laws regarding marriage, while suggesting further contradictions within the space of the state and the Church. Wolfgang Reinhard has suggested that the Council of Trent provided a model by which diverse types of individuals were integrated into an ordered, governable system through domestication and discipline. 8 Indeed, in the Council of Trent, the Church exhibited a tendency to recognize both the

individuality of its members and the necessity to control them. For instance, while defending the doctrine of free will and justification by both grace and the merit of good works, the Church established the use of sacraments and obedience to the commandments as necessary requirements for salvation (Council of Trent, Decree on Justification, Session VI, January 13, 1547). Salvation was recognized by the Council of Trent as a path voluntarily chosen by the individual. However, faith alone was not sufficient to obtain salvation because only the Church administrated the rites (performative acts) by which each individual secured grace: the cleansing from original sin (in baptism), communion with Jesus through the Eucharist, and the forgiveness of sins committed after baptism and confirmation through confession and penance (Session VII, Decree on the Sacraments, March 3, 1547). Through the sacrament of confession and through penance, for instance, the Church established a mechanism for discipline, punishment, and pardon, directing the free will of individuals in order to secure their integration into the community of the Church. The unity of this community rested on the observance of Christian rules for living. Spanish novellas manifest an anxiety regarding the means of integrating female subjects in possession of free will into a patriarchal hierarchy of power in which female virtue was indispensable in securing paternity and lineage. While the Church used confession and penance as a mechanism to scrutinize the conscience and conduct of women, Spanish novellas, through legal rhetoric, explored the domesticating possibilities of fiction. In their versions of Italian novellas, Juan Timoneda, Diego de Agreda y Vargas, and Matias de los Reyes used the rhetoric of the fictitious case and the regulations of the Council of Trent to explore the threat that the exercise of consent in marriage, especially by women, represented for a patriarchal hierarchy of power, while introducing the modern notion that a state, based on the observance of the law, could secure the integration of its heterogeneous subjects. However, Spanish original authors (Cervantes, Zayas, and Lugo y Davila) suggest that civil codes that limited the juridical capacity of women and other subaltern subjects were in contradiction with the Catholic doctrine of free will, thus hindering the exercise of consent in marriage defended by the Council of Trent and threatening the social stability provided by the institution of marriage. These original Spanish novellas exploited the metaphorical significance of marriage to propose that the expansion of the juridical capacity of subaltern subjects, such as women and young male adults, was a necessary step in order to secure the exercise of their free consent in marriage and their voluntary submission to the hierarchy of the head. While Spanish versions rewrote the transgressive Italian genre to explore the domesticating possibilities of fiction, the original authors used the ambiguous discourse of the tktitious cuse, und the regulutions of the Council of Trent, ns u sufe hnven frum which to propose civilluw reforms.

This pmcess of modernization entails four dimensions: (I) diversification, understood the division of u homogeneous entity into sub-entities of diverse types with different functions; (2) rationalization, understood as ordering und inserting a reality within a IIYHlem in order to render it predictable und governable; (3) individualization, understood IIH the vulorb.ution of the individual in c路elationship to the social unit in whi~.:h he or sh~.: is lnNc.lrled; and (4) domestication, understood us the ~.:ontrol of nuturul rculily. induding th~.: hloloalcal nature of man, which clcvatcH the quality of life hut in tuc路n ~.:c路cutes u dcpcndcn~.:c upon new lnatrumenta of control. Accordlnaly, discipline i11 dcllcted 1111 1111 cKtcmul Intervention In order to render prodlc:tablc the hchttvlur uf 11n Individual <Rolnhllt'd ~I). H

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CARMEN R. RABELL

Combining Legal Codes and Rhetoric

Spanish narrations are usually structured in the light of a group of Spanish laws that can be traced back to Las partidas and the regulations of the Council of Trent. The narrators, therefore, labor to solve a case in which a group of laws seems ambiguous or contradictory. The reading of these stories, moreover, reverses the reception process of a fictitious case. Rather than judging whether the argument presented by the speaker is convincing, the audience must discover the legal issues involved in the case in question, while identifying the laws applied in the argument. This is a sophisticated technique, by which both the author and the reader have the illusion that they are testing the validity of the law. However, the pleasure of identifying actual laws in a fictional case, with an intricate line of argument, can ultimately reside in discovering that there is a familiar and recognizable order that is valid even in the oddest cases of fiction. The use of forensic discourse is even more evident in the Spanish rewriting uf Italian novellas. When Spanish authors, as declaimers of fictitious cases, insert themselves into the Italian tradition as narrators of new versions of particular novellas, they usually use the outlines of the original texts as the given circumstances they must handle. As with students of law developing a prosecution or defense of a given fictitious case, these narrators will exercise their freedom by crafting sententiae, divisiones, and colores (Sussman 44). 1\ ,\'t•ntentia is any 'striking or clever expression [... ] a general maxim, a sententious remark or a moral saying' (Edward xxxiv). A divisio is 'a brief outline of the speech which enumerates "the various points at issue", and how the rhetor arranges them' (xxxv). And colores are 'the pleas alleged by the w.:cused in explanation or extenuation of his act, or by the accuser to make the uccuscd appear guilty or more guilty' (xxxv). If the logic of a plot inherited from the tradition is based on a law or a group of laws that are unfamiliar or contrary to Spanish law, Spanish narrators usually allow themselves to change the facts of the given story in order to satisfy the legal standards of their particular public. Furthermore, in order to avoid censorship, Spanish authors are particularly cautious when deciding between setting their stories before or after the Council of Trent. Frequently, stories with settings before Trent will implicitly refer to Las partidas. Authors who set their stories during the Counter-Reformation will usually modify the facts of the given original plots in light of the regulations of Trent. This book thus builds upon the existing evidence of the so-caiJed dichotomy in the Spanish novella. However, I intend to shift the discussion that has revolved around the identification of contradiction or the defense of coherence in the Spanish novella, to a historical and theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. The study of the use of forensic discourse in the Spanish reshaping of the Italian genre during the Counter·-Reformution will, it is hoped, contribute to a better understandina of the role of luw in the crut\ln~ of' fiction,

~----,~---------.

INTRODUCTION

and, more specifically, in the adaptation of a story for a particular public living in a specific historical circumstance. This study will also elucidate the direct impact of the Council of Trent on the Spanish reshaping of the Italian genre. The study of the transformation of the transgressive discourse of the Italian novella into the Spanish discourse of exemplarity demonstrates how, during the culture of control of the Counter-Reformation, censorship was supported by its power of incitation (Foucault, Historia de la sexualidad 63), and power was perpetuated by its capacity to induce pleasure, to form knowledge, and to produce discourses (Foucault, 'Verdad y poder' 137).

Division by Chapters and Corpus

In order to establish the relationships between forensic discourse, exemplarity, and decorum, the first chapter of this book will be devoted to a close reading of the poetics of the post-Tridentine novella. Francesco Bonciani read his 'Lezione sopra il comporre delle novelle' to the Accademia degli Alterati in 1547, and in 1622, Lugo y Davila published his poetics as an introduction to his collection of novellas (Teatro Popular). These are the only existing poetics of the novella, and both authors attempt to elevate the moral and artistic stature of the genre by classifying their plots as Aristotelian tragedies or comedies. Both Bonciani and Lugo y Davila assign to the novella a didactic end that seeks to refine the reader's judgment and sense of justice, but only Lugo y Davila assigns the narrator an active role parallel to that of a lawyer who expresses sententiae and maxims in propia persona. Lugo y Davila's theory of the novella, thus, reveals the highly rhetorical nature of the Spanish novella vis-a-vis its Italian counterpart. However, using Aristotelian theory to classify the plots of the novella and mentioning the use of maxims and sententiae by Spanish authors does not address the complex rhetoric of a genre which seems to follow the structure of forensic or legal discourse. The second part of the first chapter explains the classical definitions of legal discourse in general, and the fictitious case in particular - its tools of persuasion, arrangement, and close relationship to the practice of the novella. Chapter 2 studies the role of legal rhetoric and codes, especially the regulations of the Council of Trent, in the Spanish novella, drawing a comparison between a corpus of Italian originals by Giraldi Cinthio ( 'Orbecche', in Gli ecatommiti), Bandello ('Romeo et Giulietta', in Novelle) and Boccaccio ('The Legend of Two Friends'- novella 10.8, in Il decameron), and their respective Spanish post-Tridentine versions by Agreda y Vargas, Timoneda, and Matfas de los Reyes. Although Boccaccio, Bandello, and Cinthio were not the only Italian authors that were read and imitated in Spain, they were the most frequently quoted and translated. Moreover, Boccaccio is considered the architect of the ltuliun genre and a precursor of the Renaissance und ol' many ideus thut were Iuter embruccd by the Reformers; Bundcllo

CARMEN R. RABELL

INTRODUCTION

published his collection of novellas in 1554, during the Renaissance (when Reformist debate was still tolerated within the Church); and Cinthio's novellas were published in 1565, one year after the conclusion ofthe Council of Trent. These three Italian authors represent three different historical manifestations of the genre, allowing us to examine how Spanish authors adapt pre-Tridentine and post-Tridentine Italian texts for the culture of control of CounterReformation Spain. Since, in 1567, Timoneda was the first to rewrite Boccaccio for a Spanish audience (El patrafiuelo ), studying his version of 'The Legend of Two Friends' provides the opportunity to examine the role of legal rhetoric and codes in this early Spanish adaptation of the genre. Timoneda published his collection of novellas only three years after the decrees of the Council of Trent were approved with the explicit order that they would be effective within thirty days of its publication. Agreda y Vargas, however, published Novelas morales: utiles por sus documentos in 1620, when the rules approved by the Council of Trent were already well disseminated in Spain. His rewriting of Bandello's 'Romeo et Giulietta' ('Novella XIX', in Novelle), provides evidence of the role of legal rhetoric and Tridentine marriage reforms in adapting a pre-Tridentine story that was published in 1554 and that challenged confession and marriage, two of the sacraments defended hy the Council of Trent. Moreover, the Spanish translation ofBandello's story, published in 1603, also reveals an attempt to adapt the story to the new Tridentine regulations enacted in 1564. The same post-Tridentine ideology may be observed in the Spanish translation of 'Orbecche' (published in 1589), Agreda y Vargas's version (published in 1620), and Cinthio's original story (published in 1565). The Council of Trent influenced the Italian practice of the genre, transforming its trangressive nature. The comparison of one of Seneca the Elder's fictitious cases ('Controversia 6.7', c. 5 BC) with Boccaccio's novella 10.8, Timoneda's 'Patrana XXII', and Matias de los Reyes's versions of 'The Legend of Two Friends' (in El curial del parnaso, published in 1624), provides direct evidence of the use of the rhetoric of the fictitious case and the role of laws regarding marriage in pre-Tridentine and post-Tridentine novellas. It also exemplifies an instance in which the plots of novellas are directly borrowed from a fictitious case of the early Roman Empire. This procedure is also followed by Agreda y Vargas and Matias de los Reyes, who also draw some aspects of their novellas from Father Ledesma's controversiae regarding Tridentine marriage (Addiciones). Chapter 3 analyzes some of the original Spanish authors with the specific purpose of eliciting the use of the structure of the controversia as a narrative strategy to protect the handling of forbidden discourses. The exploitation of the ambiguous discourse of the fictitious cuse becomes evident in Cervantes' 'Bl celoso extremef'lo' (published in 1613, Nove/a.\' e.Jemplart.•,,·), Lugo y D4vlla's'Bl andr6aino' (published in 1622, Teutm popular), und Zuyus's 'EI lmpoalble vencldo' (publl•hed In 1637, Novtla.\' e~mtmmM ,v t}rmplm'f',\') und

'La inocencia castigada' (published in 1647, Desengafios amorosos). These novellas use the structure of the fictitious case to open a limited space within which to articulate alternative views regarding the legal issues raised by Italian novellas and their Spanish versions. Furthermore, these novellas propose a way to correct the contradiction between civil and canon laws regarding marriage, which is the issue explored in most of the Spanish versions of Italian novellas. These corrections are usually supported by an appeal to some Catholic dogmas established by the Council of Trent. This appeal constitutes a clever strategy, because both Catholic states and families are supposed to follow these dogmas. Using an unquestionable dogma established by the Council of Trent as the basis to support a correction of a set of contradictory laws saves the novella from entering the Index of Forbidden Books, while protecting the author from an accusation of heresy. I have strategically limited the Italian corpus of novellas to three canonic authors who represent three different historical stages in the development of the genre, choosing to present a precise, close reading of a limited number of novellas that were both rewritten and translated in Counter-Reformation Spain. By offering a close comparative reading of the use of legal rhetoric and Tridentine codes in Spanish and Italian novellas, I hope to avoid transforming this book into a catalogue of legal codes and techniques, choosing rather to provide a methodology for approaching the study of the role of law in the Spanish reshaping of the Italian genre without exhausting its possibilities of application. I have also intentionally chosen to analyze the seminal works of Cervantes and Zayas in connection with relatively unknown Spanish authors such as Timoneda, Agreda y Vargas, Matias de los Reyes, and Lugo y Davila in order to highlight the wide use of legal rhetoric and Tridentine codes in the Spanish practice of the Italian genre. Lope de Vega has been excluded from this discussion for practical reasons: Lope de Vega: el arte nuevo de hacer 'novellas' analyzes the use of rhetoric and some aspects of forensic discourse in Novelas a Marcia Leonarda. I regret the omission of such authors as Cespedes y Meneses, Perez de Montalban, Tirso de Molina, Salas Barbadillo, Mariana de Carvajal or Rosel y Fuenllana, among others, whose novellas would have provided further evidence to validate my theory. However, I hope thut this work will serve as a useful frame of reference in future analysis of these under-studied writers of novellas.

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA Publishing a collection of novellas under the title of Novelas ejemplares, Cervantes challenged the Italian tradition of the genre or, at least, its generally negative reception among Spanish critics. Indeed, the Boccaccian genre was held in low esteem because of both its questionable morality and its virtual non-existence in the literary theory of the Renaissance. Although some Italian theorists mentioned the novella in their discussion of the highly respected classical Aristotelian genres (tragedy, comedy, and epic), the fact is that not even Giraldi Cinthio, a critic and a novelist himself, devoted time to designing a poetic of this 'new' genre (Clements & Gibaldi 6). Even though Francesco Bonciani and Francisco de Lugo y Davila (an Italian and a Spaniard, respectively)' undertook the task of writing a poetic of the novella, their efforts were isolated; they did not seem to affect the general tendency of mainstream critics like Tasso, Cinthio, Castelvetro, Lopez Pinciano, Guarini, or Mazzoni to ignore the genre. While in Italy critics tended not to acknowledge the literary status of the novella simply by maintaining a general silence towards it, 2 critics in Spain were not inhibited in their attacks on the Italian genre. As a matter of fact, although Cervantes thought that, by naming his work Novelas ejemplares, I Bonciani and Lugo y Davila wrote treatises that were solely devoted to the discussion of the rules of composition of the novella. Clements and Gibaldi state: 'All in all, only one commentator of the age endeavored to treat the novella with any kind of seriousness or depth. In 1574, Francesco Bonciani read to the Accademia degli Alterati his Lezione sopra it comporre delle novelle. Even if Bonciani's work is a transparent attempt to fit a new genre into the critical system of the Poetics, it does reflect a sympathetic attitude toward the novella as well as an apparently intimate knowledge of its tradition, and, refreshingly, it more than once offers original interpretations of the sometimes all too familiar precepts of the orthodox Aristotelian theorists' (7). Lugo y Davila is a Spanish novelist who imitated Cervantes' Nove las ejemplares. As part of Teatro Popular, Lugo y Davila included u treatise on the composition of novellas. This is perhaps the first Spanish poetic that deals with rules of composition for prose fiction. There is very little information available about Lugo y Davila. We know that he was born in Madrid, where he was still a resident in 1656. l-Ie was the Governor of Chiapas (Mexico) from 1622 to 1632. In 1622, his brother, Dionisio, published Teatm Popular in the city of Madrid (Nagy 9). l This silence can be interpreted us u genuine umbivulencc toward the genre. Although ltuliun critics did not posscss un A1·istoteliun context to dclinc or defend the genre, their ft·cquent t'cfcJ'cnce to Bnccuccln's nun.te in their discussion of discovery, pcrlpety, or even

Nlyle, reveal• a conNidorl\ble 1\dmlrallnn for the Dtc-·ammm (Nee CIINtelvotru 3.5, 254, 284).

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

he was separating his texts from the poorly reputed (but indeed widely read and enjoyed) Boccaccian novellas, he was not aware that, between the years 1541 and 1553, Alejo de Venegas had used the very same term to refer both to lascivious narrations associated with the Milesian tales - the old wives' tales condemned by St Paul- and, strangely enough, to Muslim and Jewish heresies alike (88, 93). 3 This generally negative attitude toward the genre is perfectly understandable in a country that, under the spirit of the Reconquista, conceived of itself as the earthly guardian of Catholic dogma: the very order challenged by Boccaccio in his novellas, and, after Boccaccio, by the Reformers (Clements & Gibaldi 213). Yet, the negative attitude towards the novella was based not solely on moral disapproval but on artistic objections too. 4 In the cultural climate of the Renaissance, when every literary work had to be justified and evaluated through classical poetic theories, the novella stood as a non-classical genre. Never mentioned by Aristotle or Horace in their poetics, the novella was, thus, out of the predominant classical literary discourse and virtually unconnected to any theoretical discussion of the Renaissance. Writing their poetics of the novella after the Council of Trent, Bonciani ( 1574) and Lugo y Davila (1622) aimed to restore the moral image of the genre and to establish its artistic value vis-a-vis classical literary theory. Given the preponderance of Aristotelian poetic discourse during the Renaissance, it is not surprising that, even though Aristotle never mentioned the novella in the Poetics, Bonciani and Lugo y Davila refer to him in order to prescribe rules of composition and to justify the very existence of the genre. Nevertheless, in their effort to insert the novella into the predominantly Aristotelian poetic discourse of the Renaissance, both critics had to reinterpret Aristotle's Poetics (334-330 BC). Their re-shaping of Aristotle's poetic discourse was mainly achieved through a forensic reading of the Poetics. 5 Yet, this was not a far-fetched

reading. In their Aristotelian poetics of the novella, Bonciani and Lugo y Davila implied an association between fictional and legal procedures that was also present in the Poetics. For, as Kathy Eden remarked, 'the methods of dramatic poetry and forensic oratory, as conceived by Aristotle, overlap in many essential details' (Poetic 4).

.l This was not an isolated opinion. It is significant that Cervantes was named the Spun ish Boccaccio, not by genuine admirers, but by his literary enemies (Tirso de Molina und Lope de Vega), in a time in which they knew the Decameron was on every Index of the Inquisition. 4 As Mirollo explains, novella authors like Bandello also confronted 'the old problem of justi J'yi ng the creation of novellas in the face of their low generic standing and dubious morul content' (942). ~ Bonciuni's and Lugo y Davila's poetics of the novella follow the same pattern that Javitch has observed in Italian Renaissance genre theory written by poets. This critic holds that when Renaissance poets define classical genres 'as well as ones disregarded by AriKtotle -comedy, for example, which is barely discussed in the Poetics, or post-classical Henres such us the mmanzo- they often followed what they took to be Aristotle's method of defining traaedy: they inferred from 11 reprcscntutive sumpling of prior instum.:es of the aenre its formal and thematic propertieM' ('Self-justifying' 196}. .Juvitch ulso ohscrvcs thut In Italian IJinro theory written by poetM, ancient rrescriptionH und l'ulcs 'wc.wc modified or Mtleoted In order to oonform to and connrm nnrmM eNllthllâ&#x20AC;˘hcd on uthcr ill'nundN'

FRANCISCO DE LUGO Y DAVILA AND FRANCESCO BONCIANI'S FORENSIC READINGS OF ARISTOTLE

While trying to restore the artistic and moral stature of the novella, both Bonciani and Lugo y Davila refer to Aristotle's Poetics, exploiting the didactic potential of three of the qualitative parts identified by the philosopher in tragedy, comedy, and epic: fable (or plot), character, and thought. 6 These qualitative elements of comedy and tragedy are closely related to three tools of persuasion employed by lawyers in court cases: the ability to reason logically, the ability to exhibit character, and the ability to carefully craft a probable narratio that could support a particular version of the case. Although the novella was never mentioned by the Greek philosopher, Lugo y Davila and Bonciani argue that this newer genre shares with tragedy, epic, and comedy the fact that they are representations of a human action. Both critics hence establish a connection between the novella and the fable

('Self-justifying' 196). He further contends that the modification of the Aristotelian and Horatian theory takes place because Renaissance generic norms 'have been determined by the poet's own current practice and even, in some cases, on practice still taking shape' ('Self-justifying' 196). Javitch states that this 'self-referentiality is characteristic of all sixteenth-century Italian genre theory' ('Self-justifying' 197), pointing out that the discrepancy between Renaissance genre theory and the ancient theory in which it is rooted 'can be explained by the poet's need to legitimize their writings by housing them in the stable and rational order that a genre system provides' ('Self-justifying' 214). As Javitch points out about Giraldi Cinthio's theory, Renaissance genre theorists manage to place 'modern practice in a "canonical tradition"' ('Self-justifying' 205). Lugo y Davila and Bonciani might have read the Poetics of Aristotle from a forensic perspective because the practice of the novella exhibits characteristics that belong to forensic rhetoric. However, although Javitch holds that Renaissance genre theories 'are valuable not as records but as fabrications of literary continuity' ('Self-justifying' 214), some instances of Bonciani and Lugo y Davila's forensic readings of the Poetics are rooted in u relationship between Aristotle's poetic principles and his prescriptions for forensic discourse. Iâ&#x20AC;˘ Javitch observes that Aristotle's unalysis of the qualitative parts of tragedy - plot, d1uracterizution, thought, und diction - 'oH'ered an exemplary procedure for the anatomy of uny mujor genre' ('Emergence' 147}. He suggests that 'Aristotle's sketchier qualitative dcl'inilion of epic in chuptcr~ 23 und 24 uircudy illustrutcd how the unalysis of tmgcdy could he ti'UnNfcm~d to other gcnrcN' (.'Emcrllencc' 147). These ohscrvutions ure vulid for Bonclani'M und l.uyn y D4vllu'N pucllcN ut' the novclht.

CARMEN R.

THH THE!ORY OF THB NOYBLLA

!~ABELL

(Bonciuni 168, Lugo y Davila 21-22), which Aristotle identifies as the very 7 NOUI of tragedy (Poetics 6.1450a.35-1450b.5). While transferring Aristotelian categories to the novella, both Bonciani and Lugo y Davila recognize that although the novella shares with the epic its mcuns and mode of representation (narration, language), the Boccaccian stories can either narrate comic or tragic plots (Bonciani 175-76; Lugo y Davila, Prologue). 8 Although the novella differs from tragedy and comedy hccause of its narrative mode of imitation, it can imitate the kind of persons nnd nctions represented by these Aristotelian genres. L'operazioni primieramente essendo dagli uomini fatte, e da'loro costumi procedendo, fra di loro, saranno cosi diverse, come e l'uno uomo dall'altro diiTercnte; sl veramente, che sol ne'costumi questa diversita si consideri, la qualc da due abiti dell'animo nostro si deriva, dalla virtue dal vizio; onde l'imitazione, essendo dell'opere umane: e queste, o per la virtu o per lo vi:t.io diiTerenti: due maniere d'uomini diremo potersi imitare, o buoni o cattivi. Ma perche e'si veda, le persone ordinariamente osservare una certa mezzanita, cos! nella virtu come nel vizio: e nondimeno puo l'intelletto nostro immaginarsi l'idea (per dir cosi) della malvagita o della banta, che in niuno in cos! supremo grado si ritruovano; di qui e, che non solo si possano imitare gli uomini, di quella virtu o vizio dotati, come tutto il di si veggiono; ma qucgli ancora, che di gran lunga gli trapassano, i quali percio migliori o peggiori ne vengono a essere chiamati. (Bonciani 164--165) Actions being mainly the deeds of men, and they stemming from usage, usage will be as diverse among men as one man differs from another; certainly, diversity considered only as to usage, which diversity derives from two habits of our spirit, from virtue and from vice; therefore, imitation, being about human actions: and these being different due to virtue or to vice: we must say that there are two kinds of men to imitate: either good or bad. But in order for it to be noticed, persons must usually stay within a certain mean, in virtue as well as in vice; and nonetheless our mind may imagine the idea (so to speak) of evil and good, which can be found in no one in such a high degree; then, not only everyday men, endowed with such virtue of vice, may be imitated, but also those who surpass them by far, who, for this reason, are called better or worse. These critics thus embrace the Aristotelian definition of tragedy, identifying the gruve novella as an imitation of a human action that involves a change of 7 'Sixteenth-century scholars extend Aristotle's statement that "plot is the soul of tragedy" to read "plot is the soul of poetry", and this phrase becomes an accepted maxim' (Herrick 70). H Javitch explains that, based on Aristotle's statement, 'different kinds of mimesis can be distinguished according to their meunN, their objects, and their modes' 1... 1, 'Italian readerM erected a aeneric 1yatem by which lrugcdy, epic, und comedy, but ulso genres diNreaorded by Arl•totlc' were claultled C'Emcr~&cnce' 146-47).

fortune, instilling in the audience the emotions of fear and pity (Aristotle, Poetics 5.1449b.25; Bonciani 176; Lugo y Davila 23-26). Since Aristotle does not provide a detailed definition of comedy, however, Bonciani further establishes a connection between the tragic end of purgation (catharsis) and comedy. Bonciani thus implies that like tragedy, the grave novella achieves the purpose of instilling fear and pity in the audience, by representing the change of fortune caused by an error of judgment of an agent who is better than average. Furthermore, the Italian critic transfers the concept of purgation to the comic novella, defining it as the representation of a trifling action of an extremely clever agent who commits a ridiculous mistake, producing an unexpected result that moves the audience to laughter (Bonciani 170-71, 207). Bonciani assigns a Jidactic end to the comic novella, defining it as a representation of a foolish though unintended act that the audience should avoid in order to escape ridicule. As Bonciani comments, the novella is both useful and delightful, due to its capacity to make light of other people's faults (170-71 )Y As Herrick states, even though modern scholars find no direct connection between the Ars Poetica, Renaissance scholars agreed that Horace was following Aristotle's poetic and rhetorical theories (3). He further argues that the Horatian purposes of teaching and delighting were 'firmly established long before the revival of Aristotle's Pot' lie's' (41 ). Once sixteenth-century scholars re-discovered the Poetics, they labored to find 'support for the didactic function in Aristotle' (41). They solved this problem by ussigning a didactic end to Aristotle's concept of purgation. Herrick quotes the example of ){ohortdlus, who defends the utility of tragedy by arguing that the spectator, 'by exposure to tragic drama', is 'less shaken by misfortune than is one who has not experienced the lrugic emotions' (42). Although Herrick maintains that the Renaissance theories of poetry 'were partly the l'l'sult of a transfer from rhetorical theory' to 'poetic theory' (I 06), he does not establish a connL~ction between forensic discourse and Renaissance scholars' interpretation of purgution. We believe that moving the public to pursue virtue and to avoid vice further implies a forensic reading of the Aristotelian concept of purgation. It is closely related to whul Philip Sidney has described as the ability of the poet's fiction to move 'its audience to 11 "judicial comprehending" of matters which would otherwise lie dark before the lnudiencL~'sl imaginative and judging power' (Sidney 107, qtd. in Eden, Poetic 4). lionciani's statement, however, assigns a recreational purpose to the novella. The idea of lilL~rnlurL~ as recreation was coupled in the Middle Ages with a therapeutic justification of lktion (Olson 89, 212): 'literary delight is one species of the delectatio that results from nttuining a desired good; it instills gaudium in the reader or listener, which when uppropriately moderated is the ideal emotional state, useful not only in preserving health hut ulso in attaining the finest disposition of mind and body. Thus literary pleasure prmnotes physical and mental well-being' (89). Mirollo states that the narrative frames of the novellas present the concept that 'telling Nlmlcs could be educational as well as recreational' (932), while Clements and Gibaldi IIMMCI't thut the conception of the novella as a 'medium of entertainment seems to be rooted In u hclief in u rccreutional function of both hearing or reading stories' (9). They further dcclut·e thutthis id~a is voiced by Giovanni Pontano- in De Sermone- when arguing that '.IukeN und witty suyings urc meunt to give amusement and recreation after one's labors' (9). They ur11ue thut Pontuno follows Cicero, 'who held conversation to be a natural means of l't·cclnll out· souls from the weurincss of evcryduy Cllre' (9). 9

l'o<'lics and the

"'"O~F

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

Indeed, both Lugo y Davila (14) and Bonciani assign a didactic end to the novella, in which the public learns to either follow or avoid a course of action. Both critics, therefore, coincide with the Italian Renaissance literary theory10 Custelvetro, Giraldi Cinthio, 11 and Tasso, 12 for example- that tends to assign the uudience the role of a judge who approves or disapproves of the conduct of 1ictionul agents, perfecting their judging power while also learning about their own sense of justice. 13

The attempt to give an Aristotelian poetic stature to the novella while assigning a judicial role to the public evidences the existing relationship between Aristotelian poetic and forensic rhetoric. The whole concept of purgation, for instance, is closely related to the legal concept of 'equity'. As Kathy Eden states, 'when the law examines only the act committed (pros ten praxin), equity regards the intention of the agent (pros ten prohairesin) [... ]' (Poetic 45). The intention of the agent is, according to Aristotle, what defines the degree of culpability of an act:

IO Castelvetro, well known for his rejection of a didactic end for poetry, seems to agree with u forensic reading of purgation. He rejects the rhetorical end of persuasion and the diductic end of philosophy (40), arguing that the end of poetry is to delight and entertain lhe populuce, which does not understand subtle arguments (46). However, Castelvetro follows Aristotle's prescription of the representation of an error of judgment, stating that Ihe change of fortune should not be the product of a culpable act (349, 371). At the same lime, he interprets Aristotle's acceptance of a happy ending for tragedy not as a concession lo the weukness of the audience (Poetics 13.1453a.30), but as a didactic tool through whid1 the populace can learn about divine providence (360). Even the tragedy that represents u ehunge from bad to good fortune serves to instill in the audience the belief in I he existence of divine justice. Moreover, Castelvetro argues that the good fortune of a good character instills hope and cmulalion in the uudience, the bad fortune of a good character provokes fear, the good lClrlunc of an evil character produces disgust, and the bad fortune of an evil character imluccs pleasure ( 166-67). The dissatisfaction provoked by both the good ending of a bad d1ur·uctcr and the bad ending of a good character induces pleasure in the audience because it ullows us to recognize the audience's own goodness and sense of justice (167). Hence, uccording to Castelvetro, even a non-Aristotelian plot that does not represent an error of judgmcnl hus the ability to unveil to the public its own sense of justice. II Although Giraldi Cinthio never mentions the novella in his theoretical writings, when discussing the composition of romances, tragedies, or epics, he follows a forensic inlerprelulion of the concept of purgation. He states that the audience of tragedy will feel pily if something horrible happens to a person of intermediate goodness, adding that the spectutor will think that even though this agent might deserve some suffering, he does not deserve such grave evil (Discorsi 217). Cinthio further argues that this sense of justice, mixed with the gmvity of the suffering, induces horror and pity (Discorsi 217). While implicitly ussigning the role of judge and jury to the public, Cinthio also concludes that lmgcdy teaches what should be avoided, through feelings of horror and pity (Discorsi 219). 12 Tasso prescribes that, in order to induce the feelings of horror (terrore) and mercy (mi.l·c•ricordia) in the audience, tragedy should represent the change of fortune of a hero of intermediute goodness (I 02-1 03). l.l Mazzoni interprets the tragic destiny of the princeps in the tragedy as a representation of juslicl~ and law which serve to restrain and moderate their great fortune (1 00). Nevertheless, critics do not always agree in their particular interpretations of the Aristoteliun concept of purgation. Minturno recognizes that the change of fortune of the trngic agent is caused by human error (289). However, he does not make a logical connection between the representation of human error in tragedy and the role of the emotions of fear and pity to appeal to equity in u forensic case, or to exercise the will in pursuing or avoiding a course of action. Perhaps with Plato's objection to the role of emotions in tragedy in mind, Mlntumo argues that through constunt cxposur·e to lrugedies, the public learns to endure pain in actual life (290), facing a chungc of fortune with putiencc (2tl9). ThiN Ia alao tho poaltlon adopted by L6pez Plnciuno, who tu·gucN thutll'lllolcdy cxcilcs tho emotion• of fear and pit)' In order to purl f)' the mind of thcNc pnNNionH <V. I, 17fl ).

[... ] the Rhetoric asserts the crucial distinction between an agent's actions and his intentions and upholds the latter as the standard of measure for analyzing and qualifying the former. An act is culpable only if performed intentionally. The unintentional act is an error of judgement (hamartema) rather than a crime (adikema) and so deserves pity and pardon instead of punishment. (Eden, Poetic 20) Therefore, Aristotle's prescription of the representation of an error of judgement to inspire the emotion of pity relies on a judicial comprehension on the part of the audience. Like the judge or juror in a criminal case, the reader of a tragic plot will experience pity out of a sense of justice. If the act of the agent is involuntary, equity should be considered, and the character, as an accused in a criminal case, shall be regarded as worthy of pity. As Aristotle states: Equity must be applied to forgivable actions; and it must make us distinguish between criminal acts on the one hand, and errors of judgements, or misfortunes, on the other. (A 'misfortune' is an act, not due to moral badness, that has unexpected results: an 'error of judgement' is an act, also not due to moral badness, that has results that might have been expected: a 'criminal act' has results that might have been expected, but is due to moral badness, for that is the source of all actions inspired by our appetites.) (Rhetoric 1.13.1374b.l-15) While in criminal cases an involuntary error of judgment is pardoned, the sume kind of fault usually brings an undeserved change of fortune (from happiness to misery) for a tragic hero. Like a lawyer defending his client, a writer of tragic plots also represents the undeserved fortune of the hero in order to inspire fear in his audience. Since fear is 'a pain or disturbance due lo u mental picture of some destructive or painful evil in the future' (Rhetoric 2.5.1382a.20), Aristotle advises the orator that in order to induce this emotion in his audience, he 'must make them feel that they really are in dunger of something, pointing out that it has happened to others who were stronger thun they are, and is huppening, or has happened to people like themselves' (Rht'loric· 2.5. 13~3u.5-10). Hence, the undeserved misfortune of u lrugic hero is feur-inspil'ing, be~uuse whut hus huppened to un ugent 'better

CARMEN R. RABELL

than we are' could easily happen to us. But the sight of this painful evil also arouses pity in the audience, because if it has befallen 'one who does not deserve it', we might expect it 'to befall ourselves or some friends of ours, and moreover to befall us soon' (Rhetoric 2.8.1385b.l5). The relationship between the tragic effect and legal discourse is evident. As a lawyer laboring to obtain an acquittal appeals to the legal concept of equity by proving the involuntary nature of his client's questionable act, so an author of tragic plots depends on his ability to appeal to equity through the representation of an error of judgment capable of instilling pity and fear in his audience. Furthermore, tragic fiction can also guide the audience to a judicial comprehension of matters and to a refinement of their power of judgment. Since fear is a feeling inspired by a mental picture of some painful evil in the future, the representation of an error of judgment implants a painful image in the minds of the audience, thus affecting their power of judgment. As Eden states in her discussion of the De Anima, 'the mind's power to imagine[ ... ] is also instrumental in its power to judge' (Poetic 78). According to Eden, Aristotle asserts that 'the will is a kind of desire and desire is the efficient cause of movement' (De Anima 433b, 27-30; qtd. in Eden, Poetic 77). Moreover, motion 'is impossible without desire; and desire is impossible without imagination' (77). The imagination (the power of the mind to receive, retain, and retrieve images) is thus activated by the author of tragic fables through the representation of a painful image that will, in turn, be retrieved when the audience is faced with a set of choices parallel to those confronted by the tragic hero. The image created by tragic fiction will, therefore, affect the will of the reader, because his mind 'judges the images provided by the imagination and delivers a directive either to pursue (diokein) or to avoid (pheugein) an object or course of action' (80). Likewise, Bonciani implies that the representation of a foolish though unintended act that moves the audience to Iaugher will prompt the reader to escape ridicule by avoiding the course of action followed by comic characters. Following Eden's argument, although both forensic rhetoric and tragedy represent an error of judgment, this error of judgment produces misfortune in tragedy, while in forensic discourse, an advocate who succeeds in proving that his client has committed an error of judgment, instilling in the audience the emotions of fear and pity, would obtain the acquittal of the accused. Likewise, the authors of novellas frequently narrate an error of judgment followed by a happy ending. This happy ending is parallel to a verdict of acquittal in the law courts. 14 14 According to Castelvctro, even u non-Aristotelian plot thut docs not represent an error of judament has the ability to unveil to the puhlic its own sense of' justice ( 167). CI\Ntclvetro Implies a reinterprctutlon of purgution through u Christiun coJH.:cption of' juNIIco that preachea puniahmont for evil ac!N, l'ewal'd for iUod dcedN, und the f'm·~:~ivcness of human faulta. Cln&blo Alto follow• thl• Idea. whon Nti\UnJ thut trua~ouloN with h11ppy

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

Besides assigning a judicial role to the reader, both Bonciani and Lugo y Davila substitute the rhetorical concept of verisimilitude for the Aristotelian concept of probability. Aristotle articulates his concept of probability by establishing a contrast between poetry and history: while history describes what happened, poetry narrates what might happen, following probability, not factual or random events. He further discloses that 'history has to deal not with one action, but with one period and all that happened in that [period[ to one or more persons, however disconnected the several events may have been' (23.1459a. 20). Since the many heterogeneous and random actions of history are not likely to fit in a well-composed chain of events linked by cause and effect, in the case of poetry, the unity of action must become a central requisite in order to accomplish a probable plot. Unity is, therefore, a step towards the end of achieving a probable plot capable of disclosing causality, while revealing a more philosophical nature than history. While Aristotelian probability prescribes that the incidents of the plot should occur in consequence of one another (Poetics 11.1452a.l ), the rhetorical principle of verisimilitude is associated with the ability of the lawyer

endings are of greater satisfaction and instruction for the spectators because the people who cause the disturbing events, by which the persons of ordinary goodness in the drama have been afflicted, are made to die or suffer great ills (Discorsi 221 ). Cinthio justifies 'his preference for the happy ending in tragedy on moral grounds as on its appeal to the public' (Herrick 89) and believes 'that an exhibition of virtue rewarded and vice punished was instructive as well as delightful' (89-90). In Discorso intorno al comporre dei romanzi, Cinthio also contends that romances portraying Christian heroes should have a happy ending in order to meet the expectations of a Christian audience who believe that God should relieve them from the adversities and dangers in the hands of unfaithful people ( 11 ). 1\dcn observes that Renaissance critics' 'various explanations of tragic catharsis suggests lhc Christian's discomfort with a purgation of pity and fear' (Influence 97). This discomfort is based on a literal interpretation of the Aristotelian concept of purgation (Eden 98). Thus, Renaissance critics labor to accommodate Aristotle to 'Christian sensibilities which celebrate compassion and charity as the fulfillment of all virtue' (99). lknorcs, for instance, interprets that 'the punishment on stage inspire fear in the potential lrnnsgrcssor' while 'the purgation of fear and pity renders the spectator the better citizen, ihnt is, without fear or pity in the defense of his country' (qtd. in Eden 99). On the other extreme, Guarini 'considers tragic catharsis obsolete' because 'a Christian audience [... ] l~ums the proper function of fear and pity from the New Testament' (qtd. in Eden 99-100). Horne contends that Giraldi Cinthio's preference for tragedies with happy endings is a l'Onsequcncc of an adjustment to Christian morality and belief in 'Divine Providence' (qh.l. in Osborn 58-59). Within u classical context, Plutarch contends that one of the advantages of fiction over history is that while history cannot deviate from what actually happens even though the end he unpleusunt, fiction, 'being a verbal fabrication, very readily follows a roundabout mute, and turns usidc fmm the puinfulto whut is more pleusant' ( 16). Even though there Wt'l'l' diverse interp1·etutions of purgution und the chungcs in fortune thut structure the l'nhlt\ most oJ' the critics oJ' the Rcnuissuncc ugrce in ussigning to the puhlic the rule oJ' Judie nnd jUI'Y in the pr·ucess of ltmmJn~:~ either to improvo ur· recu11ni:r.e their sense ol'

Jullllcc,

CARMEN R. RABI!LL

to appeal to the weaknesses, preconceptions, and belief!! ot' the audience in order to compose a credible narratio. Eden explains that Cicero's prescription of verisimilitude 'operates according to laws regarding the nature of the human mind - its vulnerability to error and deception - rather than, as it had for Aristotle, according to laws regarding the nature of ethical action itself' (Poetic and LeRal Fiction, 116-17). Bonciani 's verisimilitude, for instance, resides in the narrator's ability to make the audience perceive as credible a variety of episodes, not by connecting them causally, but by extending the length of time in which these actions take place (187); by emphasizing 'opportunity' as Cicero prescribes in his advice to lawyers: 'the narrative will be plausible (pm/}(lhi/is) I... I if there seems to have been ability to do the deed, if it can be shown that the time was opportune, the space sufficient[ ... ] for the events uhout to be narrated' (De Inventione 1.21.29). Although he does not connect the Aristotelian prescription of unity of uction to the principle of probability, Bonciani indeed defends the unity of action of' the novella, in stating that since the novella, like the epic, does not have restriction of time - which he links to both the internal time of the plot und the time of representation- it can narrate as many episodes in as much time as is necessary, thus better achieving the requirement of verisimilitude: Saravvi ancora un altra differenza, che al comico fara di mestiere tessere Ia sua favola con quelli episodi, che verisimilmente in un sol giorno possono seguire; laddove il novellatore avra il campo largo di fingerli in qucllo spazio di tempo, che a lui parra conveniente; onde e' ne seguira, che lc sue favole avranno sempre pili del verisimile, chela tragedie e commedie non han no. ( 188) 15 ~~ Aristotle prescribes that the length of the tragic fable should be enough to contain a change of fortune focusing on the principle of probability rather than on concerns about the beliefs or expectations of the audience, while Bonciani's explanation concerning length seems to point in a different direction. Alluding to Aristotle, Bonciani claims that tragedy should limit its internal time to its time of representation: one revolution of the sun (I H6-H7). Indeed, even though Aristotle mentions the duration of the representation of trugcdies in the Poetics, he never states that the events of the plot should be limited to a duy. Bonciani, more concerned with verisimilitude as a concession to the beliefs and expectations of the audience, explains that the actions of tragic and comic plots should happen in one day. Cinthio also voices this idea (Discorsi 206-207). However, he argues thut the time of representation of tragedy and comedy should be limited to four and three hours, respectively, in order to keep the public's attention (Discorsi 203-204). Bonciani urgues that for the convenience of the audience, the representation of a tragedy should not he divided over a period of days (186-87). Moreover, to be verisimilar, an action that takes plucc over many days should not be represented in only one day (186-87). He thus implies thut hoth the events of the plot and its representation should occur over the period of a day. Robortellus also prescribes a unity of time for comedy (232), while Madius and Sculiger recommend that the duration of a dramatic action should correspond to the duration of the theatrical performance (Herrick 80). But Spingarn asserts 'that the first modem reference to unity of time appears in Giraldi Cinthio's Discorso sulle Comedie e sulle Tral(edle' (Herrick 78).

TH! Tlflmt'Y'OP 'l'KR N'OVEt.I.A

There is still another difference, that will make the comedy writer, according to the mastery of his trade, weave his plot with those episodes that may verisimilarly take place in one day; whereas the novel writer shall have ample scope to imitate it in such a lapse of time as he deems convenient; therefore, his plots will always have more verisimilitude than tragedies and comedies. According to Bonciani, the novella achieves its verisimilitude by embracing historical time and the arrangement of events. And history is, of course, a kind of discourse generally perceived by the audience as truthful. The Italian critic thus further states that because the novella is not represented on a stage, it can narrate the events in a chronological order that discloses the beginning, middle, and end of an action (187). While implying that the comic novelist should feign the plot and characters because it is easier to believe an invented plot about private persons (191), Bonciani also endorses the idea that employing historical events and persons in tragedy helps to achieve verisimilitude. Hence, it seems clear that shifting from the concept of probability to the concept of verisimilitude tends to transform the Aristotelian contrast between history and poetry into an equation. According to Bonciani, historical events and arrangement can give the novella an air of truth (verisimilitude). Like Bonciani, Lugo y Davila also adheres to the principle of verisimilitude, defining it as any thing that does not harm credibility - 'que no repugne al credito' (23-24)- while limiting this concept to the observance of decorum in the composition of characters. His advice that, in the novella, a shepherd should not speak like a scholar, nor a plebeian talk like a consul, nor an ignorant person lecture like a politician demonstrates his tendency to identify verisimilitude with decorum, accommodating the novella to what is fitting for the place, time, and persons, according to the beliefs and expectations of the audience. 16 Lugo y Davila's application of the concept of decorum to the designing of fictional characters is a manifestation of the As a result of their concern with verisimilitude, Renaissance critics also derived the idea of 'unity of place' (Spingarn 93ff.). For instance, it was not conceived as verisimilar to send a messenger to Egypt and to see him returning in one hour. Renaissance critics, thus, tend to limit the time and space of the dramatic action to the time and space of theatrical performance. For a detailed discussion about the process of reinterpretation of Aristotle during the Renaissance, see Weinberg's article, 'From Aristotle to Pseudo-Aristotle'. According to this critic, the adulteration of Aristotle's principles is a result of both a habit or tendency to develop theories based on the interpretation of isolated phrases and the frequent overlapping of Horatian and Aristotelian discourses ('From Aristotle' 103). 16 Lugo y Davila could have borrowed his prescription from Horace. Horace coincides with rhetorical tradition, and forensic rhetoric, in his greater concern with winning the approval of the audience: 'Now hear what I, and the world at large, expect. If you want an appreciative audience that will sit quiet till the curtain drops and the call for "cheers" hegins, you must observe the characteristics of each age and assign a fitting grace to natures that shift with the years' (Horace 402). Lugo y Davila's concern with the uchicvement of decorum is u gcneml tendency in Renaissance literary criticism. Herrick

CARMEN R. RABELL

shifting from the logical Aristotelian concept of probability to a rather psychological concept of verisimilitude as a 'concession to the workings of human minds', which was also followed by post-Aristotelian orators from Cicero to Saint Augustine (Eden, Poetic 116-17). 17 Cicero, for instance, advises the advocate on how to accomplish verisimilitude in the narration of a legal case in order to sway his judges: The narrative will be plausible (probabilis) if it seems to embody characteristics which are accustomed to appear in real life (in veritate); if the proper qualities of the character are maintained, if reasons for their actions are plain (si causae facto rum exstabunt), if there seems to have been ability to do the deed, if it can be shown that the time was opportune, the space sufficient and the place suitable for the events about to be narrated; if the story fits in with the nature of the actors in it, the habits of ordinary people (ad vulgi morem) and the beliefs of the audience (ad eorum qui audient opinionem). Verisimilitude (veri simi!is) can be secured by following these principles. (De Inventione 1.21.29; cf. 1.29.46, 1.30.47) 18 While for Aristotle probability is a main requirement of the plot, Lugo y Davila associates the pseudo-Aristotelian concept of verisimilitude with only onl! of the components of the representation: the characters or agents. mentions that 'sixteenth-century commentators on Horace who know the Poetics accept the primacy of plot', but 'seize upon any evidence in Aristotle that can substantiate this all-important decorum demanded by Horace and Cicero' (49). Consequently, 'both Aristotelian terms for propriety, fitness, consistency' were accepted by scholars 'as the equivalent of the Latin decorum' (Herrick 50). Besides insisting on using a fitting speech for characters of different ages and social rnnks, critics generally insist on avoiding the use of obscure style and obscene language. Oiruldi Cinthio, for instance, contends that the language of both tragedies and comedies should he natural and not spring from the study or artifice of the author (267). He criticizes [,c/ Ct'lestina, hy Fernando de Rojas, adding that Italian writers should avoid 'Spanish obscurity', which is not suitable for the Italian language (267, 270). Even Spanish scholars criticized the Spanish authors' excessive tendency to use cultism, to abuse 11gumtivc language, and to distort syntax (Jauregui 77-78). However, the authors of novellas seem to follow the prescription of books of courtly conduct (like Castiglione's /l Corte!{iano or Dantisco's El Galatea espafiol), in which the narration of indecent conduct is ullowcd while an indecent way of narrating is strictly censured (Clements and Gibaldi 22, Pabst 205-206, Janssens 145). 17 As Eden explains, whereas Aristotelian tragedy- which the philosopher associates with the practical sciences - 'relies on probability as a principle of order' in sixteenthcentury theory, 'Aristotelian probability, rendered from the Latin "verisimilitudo", denotes not un empirical science but the "opinion of the majority". This identification of probability with popular credibility- what the average audience will believe- culminates In the rules of decorum and 11 theory of verisimilitude, like Castclvetro's, which concentrates on the reulistic details of performunce und their correspondence to "the fucts of life"' (/tlflucmce 104). '" For 11 dctullod dlscUiiNion of verisimilitude nnd J'orÂˇenslc discnui'No, sec lldcn

(PrJitlcâ&#x20AC;˘ 116),

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

By identifying the verisimilar with what seems to be true in the place and time of a particular audience and implying that actual historical events give the novella an air of truth, both Bonciani and Lugo y Davila contradict the Aristotelian differentiation between poetry and history. Furthermore, if the theory of the novella, like the Poetics, overlaps in many essential points with legal discourse, the practice of the genre demonstrates a tendency to follow legal rhetoric and the conventions of fictitious cases in order to achieve verisimilitude. If history is conceived as a more credible source of the grave actions of tragedy, legal cases and rhetoric constitute a reliable source of plots concerning the private actions, of comic or grave nature, of the private citizens or public figures of the novella. Forensic discourse is employed in the novella to appeal to the beliefs and habits of the audience - which are in part regulated by a body of law- to achieve verisimilitude. Forensic cases are to the novella what history is to tragedy and epic. Moreover, in the actual practice of the novella, legal documents are employed in the invention or rewriting of a plot for a particular time, place, and public. Henceforth, by substituting Aristotelian probability with the principle of verisimilitude prescribed by the rhetorical tradition for the composition of the narratio of a case, Bonciani and Lugo y Davila further suggest a relationship between the novella and forensic discourse. Besides discussing the association between the Aristotelian fable and the novella, both Lugo y Davila and Bonciani discuss character and thought, the other qualitative parts of tragedy that Aristotle includes in his discussion of the epic. The epic, like the novella, employs a narrative mode of representation. According to Aristotle, character in a play is 'that which reveals moral purpose of the agents, i.e., the sort of thing they seek or avoid', and thought 'is shown in all they say when proving or disproving some particular point, or enunciating some universal proposition' (Poetics 6.1450b.l 0). The actions and words of an agent can display character if they reveal his moral purpose by disclosing his ethical choices, the sort of things he seeks or avoids. However, Aristotle also defines character and thought in his discussion of forensic rhetoric. Aristotle maintains that the personal goodness revealed by the speaker, as well as his ability to stir the emotions of the audience and to pmve a truth or apparent truth by means of a suitable argument contribute to the orator's power of persuasion (Rhetoric 1.2.1356a.l0-20). Furthermore, 'lhl! party in a case at law is concerned with the past; one man accuses the otlwr, and the other defends himself, with reference to things already done' (Rhetoric 1.:1.1358b.6-20). The task of a defense attorney is to persuade Judge or jury of the innocence of the accused. And in order to obtain a verdict of ncquittul, a lawyer must stir the emotions of his listeners, reveal his own mom I goodness, and prove his version of the events. One of the possible lines uf' ll1'1tUI11Cnt II luwyer CUll foJIQW is Uppeuling to el.jUity by urguing the

lnvuluntury nnturc of the qucNtiunable &&ctionN ot' hiM dlent. To follow thi111ine

CARMEN R. RABELL

of argument, a lawyer, like an author of tragedies, should portray the character of his client and show that his action is the result of an error of judgment or misfortune, rather than the consequence of moral depravity (Rhetoric 1.13.1374b.l-15). ln contrast, unlike an author of tragedies, an advocate represents the error of judgment committed by his client through the construction of a narratio that is based on the available evidence. Although a lawyer has to construct a probable narration, unlike the poet, he must support his version of the events through the available evidence and by employing rhetorical syllogism (enthymeme) or rhetorical induction (example) (Rhetoric l.2.1356b.l-18). 19 Moreover, while the poet of tragedies reveals character and thought through the dramatic representation of an error of judgment of an agent better than ourselves, the lawyer must also disclose his own positive character and his ability to reason logically. Character and thought are thus revealed by means of what an advocate says and the arguments he introduces in establishing his version of the case as the most probable explanation for the existing evidence. To prove his point, an orator can employ maxims or sententiae ('the premise or conclusion of an enthymeme, considered apart from the rest of the argument') (Rhetoric 2.20.1394a.20-25). Maxims are general statements that form part of enthymemes. 20 According to Edward, sententia is any 'striking or clever expression', 'a general maxim, a sententious remark or a moral saying' (xxxiv). While character and thought are revealed through the actions or words of the agents of tragedy, the logical reasoning and character of the lawyer is revealed through his own statements. In the case of poetry, however, as Aristotle states in the Poetics, 'the poet should say very little in propia persona, as he is no imitator when doing that' (24.1460a.5). While Bonciani applies this Aristotelian prescription to the novella (185), Lugo y Davila follows the majority of Renaissance critics in assigning the presentation of costumhre (mores) and sentencia (sententia) to both the narrator and his agents (26-27). 21 Hence, Lugo y Davila's author of novellas further coincides with a lawyer in the presentation of character and thought in propia persona. The example will be defined in the second part of this chapter. According to Aristotle, enthymemes can be based on (1) probabilities (those arguing lhun what is, or is supposed to be, usually true), (2) examples (those that proceeding by induction from one or more similar cases, arrive at a general proposition, and then argue deductively to a particular inference), (3) infallible signs (those arguing from the inevitable and invariable), or (4) ordinary signs (those which argue from some universal or particular proposition, true or false) (Rhetoric 2.25.1402b.IS-20). 21 Minturno also agrees with this opinion when arguing that the author of epics should nut Htnte .l'ententiae in propria per.l'ona (300). Tasso, on the other hand, defends the right of epic poets to judge and praise the customs of lictional churacters ( 149), while Cinthio IUIHI&nâ&#x20AC;˘ to the author of romances the ahility to pruise and censure the virtues und vices of the aaentH (271) and Caatelvetro declare11 that epic poets cun Htate .ft'fl/t>llflat' in pmpria PfrliOM (177). I~

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

[actions of the fable] pues como ensefia el Fil6sofo manifiesto es de estas acciones ser dos las causas: la sentencia y las costumbres: estas, para el adorno del suceso, y aquellas para el adorno de la elocuci6n, y no con menos aprovechamiento. A lo que juzgo, pues, de la sentencia dificultosa y aguda del poeta, de la cuesti6n deseada en la filosoffa y de lo oculto de Ia antigtiedad, daremos lo mas curioso y lo mas util que nos sea posible, adelantando la erudici6n en algunas de nuestras novelas a las que se han escrito por los italianos y espafioles. (26-27) Lugo y Davila assigns to the authors of novellas an active role parallel to that of a lawyer engaged in introducing sententiae and character in propria persona in order to support his particular version of the case. For Lugo y Davila, the didactic end of the novella, like the end of rhetorical discourse in general (and forensic discourse in particular), is achieved through the direct statements of the narrator. As a matter of fact, the generalized use of rhetorical maxims and frequent direct interventions of the narrators in the Spanish novella reveal their close relationship to forensic rhetoric. 22 For in the climate of the Spanish Counter-Reformation, frequent maxims and sententiae were used to state explicitly the moral purpose of the novella and thus persuade inquisitors and readers of the utility of narrations generally regarded as lascivious talk, old wives' tales, or the very origin of heresy. Forensic discourse provides, thus, a suitable rhetoric to present the transgressive topics of the Italian novella under a veil of ethical didacticism. The distinct rhetorical tendency of the Spanish novella is also evident in the fact that Spanish narrators also use the arrangement (dispositio) and division (divisio) of legal cases to structure the narration of their novellas. Bonciani, however, simply discards the quantitative parts of tragedy described by Aristotle - 'prologue, episode, exode, and choral portions: parode and stasinon' (Poetics 12.1452b.l5-25)- arguing that, because of its mode and manner of imitation, the novella does not include the intervention of a chorus and, therefore, it cannot follow the same quantitative parts of tragedy (78). He further coincides with Lugo y Davila's argument that, like Aristotelian tragedies, the length of novellas should be enough to represent a complication, a change of fortune, and a denouement (23-24). In actual practice, however, both Italian and Spanish novelists tend to follow the arrangement of legal cases. These texts usually follow the forensic division

n Mirollo points out that while 'the briefer kind of novella is characterized by an objective nurrutor's voice, swift puce, and concise dialogue, [... ] these norms are often violuted in the lute Rcnuissum:c cxumplcs hy intrusive and digressive comment and dcserÂˇiption or, worse, len~<tthy rhctorieul set pieces' (929). Most of the Spanish nurrutors follow this second tendency. These hi11hly intru11ivc Spanish nurrutors employ the rhetoric of J'urenHh.: caNON to circumvcnt~o:cnHorNhlp durlnl! the CounterÂˇ Reformation.

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

into exordium, statement of facts, proposition, proofs, and peroration. 23 The

of the Spanish Inquisition (Mirollo 950), but no one seems to have realized that, contrary to any logical expectation, most of the Spanish novellas were written after the Council of Trent, precisely under these most restrictive circumstances. Indeed, Spanish narrators could actually devote themselves to the writing of novellas under these adverse conditions, precisely because, after the Council of Trent, all the attacks of the Reformers were answered by clearly stated dogmas. There was virtually no risk for Spanish narrators, since, unlike Boccaccio, Marguerite de Navarre (a sympathizer with the Reformation), or Bandello, they knew that they could not openly attack the dogma of confession, the celibacy of the clergy (or rather their lust), or the sacrament of marriage, without an Inquisitorial objection or, in the best of cases, without being asked to suppress any controversial remarks in their texts. 25 In order to handle the transgressive topics of the Italian novella during the culture of control of the Counter-Reformation, Spanish authors employ the rhetoric of the fictitious case, and use the regulations of the Council of Trent and other legal codes to document the logic of their novellas. They hence employed legal or forensic discourse to protect their narratives from censorship and to fulfill the Renaissance poetic requirement of decorum understood by authors like Cicero and Cinthio, among others, as the accommodation of the speech to the place, the time, and the audience. Although Jolles has stated that the 'simple form' of the novella is 'the case' (qtd. in Bragantini 82), and Pabst has mentioned that the genre probably originated in the fictional cases in vogue during the Roman Empire (33), not many critics seem to have paid any attention to the existing relationship between the structure of the case and the crafting of the novella. 26 Blackbourn has studied the rhetorical devices of novella 10.8 of the Decameron (based on Lhe legend of two friends). However, after proving that this text follows a rhetorical structure by including an exordium, a statement of facts, a proposition, a presentation of proofs, and a peroration, she concludes, while overlooking its forensic features, that novella 10.8 is a rhetorical example (1 0). 27

narratio of the Spanish novella, however, will not always follow Bonciani's prescription of a linear arrangement that presents a beginning, a complication, and a denouement. Sometimes, like some forensic orators, Spanish narrators, such as Cervantes, Matfas de los Reyes, and Cespedes y Meneses, choose not to employ a chronological order but rather to disclose their proofs through a narratio that follows an 'artificial order' with the purpose of creating the illusion that the sequence of events is being reconstructed from the evidence right in front of the audience's eyes.

FORENSIC DISCOURSE AND THE NOVELLA

If the post-Tridentine poetics of the novella reveal an effort to save the artistic and moral stature of the genre through a forensic reading and application of the Poetics, the practice of the novella displays its closer relationship to forensic discourse. Because of the particular historical drcumstances of Spain, moreover, forensic discourse plays an even more central role in the Spanish novellas than in their Italian models. Although, in Spain, the novella had a bad name, associated with lust, heresy, and all that could possibly be regarded as debauched, Italian novelists were widely read and translated both before and during the CounterReformation. The flourishing of the Spanish novella (from the second half of the sixteenth century to the first half of the seventeenth century), 24 however, was very late in comparison to the rest of Europe. It has been argued that the late appearance of the genre was probably due to a generally widespread fear 2l I disagree with Clements and Gibaldi that Bonciani's quantitative division of the novella into prologue, knotting of the action, and unfolding of the action 'could readily merge' with the 'three parts of the classical oration': the 'exordium', the 'narratio', and the 'conclusio' or 'peroratio' (20-21). Bonciani applies his quantitative parts of the novella to its plot. In the actual practice of the novella, narrators usually present their exordium and f}('rtlt'llfio in their direct statements, frequently through the use of sententiae. Aristotle stutes that narration, in its technical sense, is part of forensic discourse only. Clements and Oihuldi also omit the 'presentation of proofs' from their 'ready to merge' categories. Clements and Gihaldi's statement seems to draw a comparison between the example and the novella rather than forensic cases. I will discuss the differences between the example und forensic cases in the second part of this chapter. 24 Critics have estahl ishcd 1635 as the date at which the decadence of the genre started in Spain (Pacheco-Ransanz 410-11 ). This decadence was probably the result of the recommendation of the Junta de Re.formacion to suspend the authorizations for publication nf novellaA in Castilla. The actual prohibition lusted from 1630 to 1640 (417). Whinnom NllllON that the SpaniRh Inquisition WIIS more concerned about doctrinul deviations in roliliouN tcxtN than in fiction (190). However, Boccuccio's novcllus were included on the pONI·Tridcntinc index of 1~83 -lndt!X tlf'QuimHll (Lusp61'UN ~I). The Prench ti'Unslution or Bandello'• novella• Wll al1o forbidden and taken nut of' l:in:uhllion In 11 NCI'll11'1tte document

written In 15113 (53),

l.l Perez de Montalban, for instance, had an encounter with the Inquisition. Luckily, the censor of his hook was his friend Lope de Vega, and his novella 'La mayor confusion' was published after eliminating its last three paragraphs, in which the author seemed to imply thnt the Church condoned incest (Jndice de libros prohibidos of 1632, 1640 and 1790). l'~l't1Z de Montulban's novella was a version of a novella by Margerite de Navarre that was mentioned hy Custelvetro without the slightest moral reprehension (248-49). Ja Even after presenting this suggestion, Pabst does not analyze the relationship hctwccn forensic discourse und the novella hut pays more attention to its relationship with the t1Xnmplc. The identil'icution of the novella and the exumple has been followed by the 1111\lmity of the ~,:ritics of the novcllu (sec, for instuncc, Del Corno 192 und .Janssens 138). II s~·hluuch, who hns ulso cxumincd novdln IO.K, dif'l'cJ'cntiutes it fmm its medicvul MUill\:eN hl.lCIIUNC of' Its UNC or forensic UiNcOUI'NC. She puintN out thut Tito'N Npcech l'oiloWN the rheturlcnl f'nrtn of' 11 'liclf·dof'cnMc'\ She t'utther diMI.lUNMcN Sh· Thumu Blyut'N handllna lhlll Mllllltl Jllut, concludtna thltl he l't!plllctlM BncCIII.lcio'M truculent 'rhuN by • 'plaoatlna.

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

Indeed, although it is undeniable that a close relationship exists between the example 28 and the novella, there is an even closer relationship between forensic discourse and the narrative practice of the newer genre. 29 In his Rhetoric, Aristotle defines forensic, political, and ceremonial discourses, stating both their common grounds and differences. According to Aristotle, the goal of rhetoric (forensic, ceremonial, or political discourse) is persuasion - an end that can be achieved by convincing the audience of the moral character of the speaker, appealing to the emotions of the audience, and arguing logically, using dialectical induction and deduction ( l.2.135a.25). Dialectical induction is equivalent to the example in rhetorical discourse ( 1.1356b.l5). Although Aristotle and Cicero claim persuasion to be the object of rhetoric, and Quintilian, eloquent speech (The Institutio Oratoria I I . I. II), the two Roman rhetoricians agree on the same three methods of achieving persuasion: moving, teaching, and delighting (Quintilian 12.2.11; Cicero, Orator 20.69). Aristotle's 'proving and convincing of the moral character of the orator' is closely related to Quintilian's and Cicero's aim of teaching; his concern with appealing to the emotions of the audience to achieve the goal of persuasion corresponds to Cicero's and Quintilian's aims to move and delight. While sharing the same means of persuasion, forensic, political, and ceremonial discourses pursue distinct ends. Political discourse is supposed to persuade the members of the assembly to decide about future events, forensic discourse has to convince a juryman about past events, and the listeners of a ceremonial oratory of display are observers who merely decide on an orator's skill (Rhetoric 1.3.1358b.5). More specifically, the ceremonial oratory of display 'either praises or censures somebody', while political speaking 'urges

us either to do or not to do something'; and the party in a case at law is concerned with the past: 'one man accuses the other, and the other defends himself, with reference to things already done' (1.3.1358b.10-15). 30 Quintilian further explains that ceremonial, political, and forensic discourses are delivered before 'three kinds of audience: one which comes simply for the sake of getting pleasure, a second which meets to receive advice, a third to give judgment on causes' (3.4.6). Moreover, Quintilian states that 'the task of oratory must either be concerned with the law-courts or with themes lying outside the law-courts. [... J As regard those matters which do not come before a judge, they must necessarily be concerned either with the past or the future. We praise or denounce past actions, we deliberate about the future' (3.4.7). Quintilian also comments that Anaximenes defines forensic and public oratory as genera, while maintaining that there are seven species: exhortation, dissuasion, praise, denunciation, accusation, defense, and inquiry (3.4.9). The first two 'belong to deliberative' (political discourse), 'the next to demonstrative' (ceremonial discourse), 'the three last to forensic oratory' (3.4.9). Quintilian further clarities that since the subjects of these three types of discourse sometimes overlap, he disagrees with 'those who hold that laudatory subjects are concerned with the question of what is honourable, deliberative with the question of what is expedient, and forensic with the question of what is just', arguing that 'we deal with justice and expediency in panegyric and with honour in deliberations, while you will rarely find a forensic case, in part of which at any rate something of those questions just mentioned is not to be found' (3.4.16). Even though the subjects of these three types of discourse sometimes overlap, it is clear that the distinct end of forensic discourse is to defend or to accuse, while the function of its audience is to give judgments on causes (causis). The defense attorney, for instance, must prove either that the alleged crime was actually

fur more persuasive Titus in the face of a hostile audience' (27). Sir Thomas Elyot's character is thus better capable of appealing to his audience. Unfortunately, Schlauch does not study the Spanish versions of Timoneda and Matias de los Reyes in which forensic rhetoric plays an even more central role. Cuomo, who has studied novella 6.10, finds that it resembles a case or a judicial precedent, albeit concluding that this story does not seem to be a novella- 'non sembra ncunche una novella' (248-49). 2H The term will be used following what Lyons has called its 'root sense', its cognitive vnluc. As the term evolved during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it came to acquire u 'truditional sense' that emphasized its injunctive function (20-21). Lyons explains: 'Exumple in this ancient sense was inherently neutral and could only be judged, when used, on the basis of effectiveness. The Academy instead gives priority to the "worthiness" (lj' the example (ce qui est diRne), though the worthiness is linked, not directly to the Imitation, but to the gesture of proposing imitation or avoidance' ( 15-16). In its injunctive MenNe, 'proposing imitation or avoidance', a legal case could he interpreted as an 'example'. l~ ClementN and Olbaldi (38), UN well us Mirollo (931-32) clcurly prove the rehltlonMhlp between the uae of 11 narrative frume in medicvnl collections of cxnmplcs (like El cundfl Lucanor), exemplll')' ortent&d MlorieN (Punchnllu111'11, Bakhtlyar·lltlllla und

StMitiHid•MN), and ltall111 noveUu.

.111 Boccaccio assigns to poetry the ends of political, ceremonial, and forensic discourses. He states that 'it can arm kings, marshal them for war [... ] subdue the criminal, and distinguish excellent men with their proper meed of praise' (Genealogy 40). The terminology employed by Boccaccio to refer to the novella is also related to the rhetorical tradition. Stewart studies the rhetorical affiliation of the other terms employed hy Boccaccio to name the novella- favola, parabola, istoria -pointing out that Quintilian de lines them as part of his prescription for the composition of the narratio (69). She argues thut hooks of rhetoric talk about three kind of narrations, two of which are employed for litigution in court (69). Accordingly, Quintilian identifies the narratio in negotiis, which is n~ntcrcd on fucts, the narratio in personis, which is centered on character. The narratio in m·~otiis indudcs three ditl'erent species: (I )fahula, which is neither true or verisimilar, (2) rlf~tlmt•ntum, whic~ is vcrisimilar albeit not true, and (3) historia, which narrates historical cvt•nts ((!9-70). It is obvious thutthc narratio in nexotiis and the narratio in personis refer In two different upprouchcs in muTuting u version of a case in court, whereas arf<umenta nrc pnt'l of the ur'li11ciul pmofs either· invented m· ligurcd out by the orutm· to prove 11 pt'opoHition (exumples), The arl.(umrntum is uls11 used in polilicul und ccremoniul diNcnurNc.

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

not committed by the accused, or that a crime was not committed at all. In order to follow the second line of argumentation, he can either prove the legality of the act by interpreting the spirit of the law, or simply declare the act's involuntary nature (7.6.5; 7.2.56-57). As can be elicited from what has been stated above, the rhetorical example is a kind of inductive proof used as a means of persuasion either in political, ceremonial, or forensic discourse. It is not, therefore, an exclusive device of forensic discourse. The example is part of inductive proof; it is generally used in rhetoric to support an hypothesis by presenting a parallel but more familiar instance in which the general statement seems to work. 31 In order to reach his goal, a lawyer can use the example as a means of proof and, indeed, another fictional case can be introduced as an example. However, if a lawyer alludes to an actual case, it is not considered an example but a legal precedent (Quintilian 5.1.1-3). Whereas the example is considered an artificial proof, because it is figured out by the orator himself, legal precedents are listed by Quintilian among the non-artificial proofs (5.1.1-3). Another significant ditlerence between a legal case and the example is the fact that the latter does not necessarily follow the aim of reaching a judicial verdict. Aristotle (3.12.1414a.30-1414b.15), Cicero (De Oratore 2) and Quintilian (4. PR.6; 4.1--4) also concur in their definition of the constituent parts of forensic discourse: exordium, statement of facts, proposition, proofs, and peroration. The exordium is intended both to introduce the opening argument and to win the good will of the judge; the statement of facts is a narration exposing the particular version of the events to show either the guilt or innocence of the accused; and the proofs are presented to support the narratio (or particular version of the events) and the proposition deduced from it. The peroratio, in which the orator both recapitulates and implores either acquittal or punishment, follows the narratio and the propositions and proofs introduced to support the particular version of the case. The narratio can follow a chronological or artificial order. In this regard, besides its Horatian source, the Cervantine adoption of the narration in medias res is closely rclutcd to Quintilian's and Cicero's acceptance of an artificial order in forensic narration and to its connection to the disclosure of proofs. As Quintiliun states, the orator reconstructs his narration from signs and evidence, deciding whether to present the narration in a chronological order, followed by the disclosure of proofs (4.2.79), or to present the actual reconstruction of the narration before the public, introducing the signs and evidence before stating each stage of events (artificial order). Matfas de los Reyes' use of artificial order shows that the rupture with a chronological

structure in the Spanish novella has a forensic source that delights the reader through an intriguing plot, teaches the reader through its participation in the reconstruction of the text, and stirs up the reader's emotions through a narrative striptease. Nevertheless, in some cases, the intricate structure of these narrations also allowed their authors to better hide their transgression against Spanish law and decorum. 32 Proofs can be artificial (enthymeme, example) or non-artificial (documents, contracts, testimony, signs). Non-artificial proofs are given while artificial proofs are invented or figured out by the orator himself (Quintilian 5.1.1-3; Cicero, De Oratore 2.24.100). Even though Aristotle privileges artificial proofs because they allow the orator to show his mastery in handling probabilities, he accepts that non-artificial proofs are effective in moving the audience (Eden, Poetic 15-16). Although Aristotle privileges the universals and the handling of probabilities in artificial proofs, he concedes that the soul is moved by particulars. Disclosing evidence (the display of the clothing of a victim, for instance, also mentioned by Quintilian 5.8.1-2) or creating vivid images through language, which Quintilian calls evidentia (8.3.61), are both a means of proving and appealing to the emotions of the judge in hopes of a particular verdict. As Quintilian holds in his discussion about evidentia, an orator fails 'if the judge merely feels that the facts on which he has to give his decision are being narrated to him, and not displayed in their living truth to the eyes of the mind' (8.3.62). Besides being the only rhetorical discourse that employs narration in its technical sense (Aristotle, Rhetoric 3.13.1414a.35), forensic discourse shares with the novellas the handling of cases regarding the private affairs of particular citizens. Political and ceremonial discourses, in contrast, mainly deal with public policies and persons. Although it might be argued that Renaissance critics considered tragic and epic plots to be historical matters portraying public figures (Giraldi Cinthio, Tasso, Castelvetro, Minturno), 33 it

:11 AriNtotlc Mtatcs that 'itH relation to the proposition it supports is not thut or purt to whole, nor whole to part, nor whole to whole, hut of purt to part, c1r like to like. When two 11tatomonta IAl't of the aamo order but one IN more familiar tham the other, tho former is un

"oumple"' (Rhfmrlc I.2. 1357b.25-30),

.12 In 'EI gran celo premiado', for instance, Cespedes y Meneses narrates two closely related plots, focusing on what he temporally presents first in his narration (a man disguised as a friar who almost dies defending the secret of confession). The reader discovers later that the man who demanded the violation of the secret of confession is a hclruycd husband who wanted to find out from the mouth of his rival whether he has u~tually been dishonored. Since the story of the love triangle occupies a second temporal plnnc, the narrator feels free to center his discourse on defending the sacrament of ~.:onfcssion, while condoning (with extreme sympathy) the adulterous action presented in the second temporal plane. ·1·1 Custclvetro distinguishes two kinds of poetry: pleasant poetry (poesia piacevole) and 11rnvc poetry (pmwla severa) (I 06). He identilies tragedy and epic with the latter and l'llllledy with the former (I 06). A<.:<.:ording to Custelvetro, the grave poetry represents a mynl nnd divintJ n<.:tion, while the pleusunt poetry dcpit:ls u privule und meninl nction (llf'IVIIIII t' ,\'l'rv/11') ( J(l')), flor Mintut·no, trugedy und cph.: imilute serious nml illustl'ious llt:tlunH uf l&l'cut und fnmmtH people (~7~. 2'~ I l: for 'l'tlsso, they lmltutc llluNtrlouN uclionN (I O-Il) nf' hiNtlll'i~:lllllt~urcM (~l: fur Rllhcmolluw, tr•taec.ly hnhateM the plly·ln•plrtnaacLton•

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

is evident that, at least in the novella tradition, the public deeds of kings and princes mattered very little in comparison to their private transgressions (incest, rape, etc.) and love affairs (adultery, secret marriages, etc.). 34 These controversial topics were handled, however, with extreme caution. If the prosecutor or the defense attorney has to persuade the jury of the innocence or guilt of the accused, the narrators of the Spanish novella have to convince their readers of the poetic justice they applied to their fictional characters. These narrators used forensic rhetoric in order to handle forbidden discourses, while evading moral objections and censorship. Because most explicitly advocate both of the Horatian intentions to teach and delight, they have to defend the actual contents of their stories concerning adultery, rape, incest, and crimes of passion, by promising a denouement in which vice is punished and virtue is rewarded. Supposedly worried about the moral health of their readers, these authors use their prologues to alert their readers that part of the audience will be tempted by the vices and errors of the lictional characters, falling prey to lustful thoughts or practices. Nevertheless, Pabst (11) and Talens (127) affirm that there is a contradiction between the contents of the novellas and the didactic goals of their prologues and frames. 35 Moreover, Spanish novellas also reveal contradictions within the discourse of the prologues and narrative frames. For instance, some authors implicitly encourage non-canonical readings. After dedicating Cigarrales de Toledo to readers with good intentions and considering how this restriction might narrow his audience, Tirso de Molina concludes his prologue by recommending his book to readers, intending both good and bad purposes. Furthermore, although authors generally defend a didactic end, they persistently imply the possibility of a hidden meaning within the text. The written approvals of the novellas in which censors almost

rephrased the moral goals proposed by authors in their prologues prove that the ambiguous discourse of the narrators and the writers of the prologues successfully passed the censorship of conservative readers. 36 However, the broad reception of these texts suggests that their double discourses were also capable of attracting an audience with different values. The multivalent intention of the novellas' prologues and narrative frames is also present in their individual narrations. Spanish novellas of the Golden Age are skillful narrations that present the improper conduct of their characters within the serious context of an argumentative structure provided by forensic rhetoric. Yet, the narrators of the Golden Age Spanish novella also use pseudological structures. Although they present apparent forensic cases with their respective exordiums, statements of fact, proofs, and perorations as well as frequent rhetorical maxims, their use of these devices sometimes differs from that prescribed by the authors of Classical and Renaissance works of rhetoric. As Lasperas affirms (212-22), sometimes their hypotheses and sententiae are introduced to anticipate what will follow in the story, manipulating the expectations and, thus, the emotions of the reader, as exemplified in Lope de Vega's novellas. 37 In contrast, some narrators, following an authentic method of persuasion, interrupt their stories to criticize the behavior of their characters, or to state a maxim, in order to protect their own moral reputation (Perez de Montalban or Marfa de Zayas, for instance). However, the maxims of Spanish novellas usually contradict the contents of their narrations, and sometimes narrators even use them to suggest erotic scenes. For instance, Lugo y Davila interrupts the narration of 'El andr6gino' to reproach a character who has allowed his wife to stay one month under the same roof with a man disguised as a woman. The judgment is merely an excuse to suggest the unusual erotic scenes that would have taken place between the woman and the cross-dressed man. However, although narrators generally interrupt their storylines to evaluate their characters' actions and separate themselves from their immoral behavior, sometimes they merely present an argument in order to soften the judgment of the audience, justifying a happy denouement in which the punishment of vice does not take place. Some narrators even use their ,\'c•ntentiae to appeal to equity by claiming the involuntary nature of the criminal action in order to save the character from punishment. 38 Hence,

of well-known persons, while comedy imitates 'low and trifling affairs, such as those which take place in the private actions of people' (232); and for Mazzoni, tragedy represents great princes, epic depicts heroic soldiers, and comedy portrays people of low or middle social rank (100). Cinthio believes that when Aristotle states that comedy imitates a worse action than tragedy, he means that the latter imitates an illustrious and myul deed while the former imitates a popular and civil action (202-203). :14 The actual practice of the novella might be closer to Guarini's definition of trugicomic plots. According to Verrato- a fictional character who voices Guarini's defense of the new genre- tragicomedie represents the private actions of great characters (761). · 1 ~ Spieker defends the sincerity of the didacticism of the Spanish narrators by stating that bc~ides disapproving vice while praising the virtue of their characters, bad characters are UIIUally punished while good characters are rewarded (68). He further states that these novellas are exemplary in that they represent an action that should be imitated or avoided (68). Boccaccio's critics are also in disagreement regarding the authenticity of the Decameron's dldacticiNm. Hastinas, however, defends its didactic end, suggesting thut its stories differ from other medieval didactic texts becauNe the morullcs~ons nrc supposed to he inferred hy tho reader him•elf who hu thUI the poN!IIblllty tu cxctociNe 'indcpcndcnt,lud"mtml, insteud of aoceptiftl the ldlu and lntll'pfltldona of otherM without queMtlnnN' (33).

It• The written approvals of the novellas usually state that the texts under consideration rmnish bad deeds while rewarding noble actions, not exhibiting any contradiction with lllllld customs or the Catholic Church. Pabst contends that the written approvals of Spanish nnvellus tend to cpincide with their prologues because, perhaps, censors did not read the ll.lKtN hut mthcr chose to trust the statements of the writers of prologues ( 193-94). II For u detuilcd discussion on this topic, refer to 'Vuriedad y ambivalenciu: uplicaci6n y pui'Odiu de JWdcticus I'Oit'lricus en "Lu pi'Udentc vengun1.n" ' (Ruhcll 60-70). •• The narrulm of 'Lu muyor confuNlt'ln', hy P6J'C7. de Montulhdn, nrgucH in 11 dircct Mlltlomcnl thttllt would huvc hoon bclttlr If F~IIK neve•· found out th11t ho waN murrled to hill

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

forensic discourse functions as an ambivalent mask behind which narrators can play the role of judge, prosecutor, or defense attorney, thus gaining the sympathy of an ideologically heterogeneous audience. Nevertheless, Spanish narrators use forensic devices (the structure of the case, sententiae, etc.) not only in their discourse but also in their designing of the dramatic logic of the novellas, and in their documentation of the texts. Since legal codes play a central role in the internal logic of these texts, the inconsistencies the critics have perceived between the moral goals of the prologues of the novellas and their plots are sometimes the product of an anachronistic reading that ignores the actual legal contexts of the texts. In 'Las dos doncellas', for instance, Cervantes solves a plot by privileging the validity of an oral betrothal followed by consummation, over a written contract promising marriage to another woman. Although this resolution might seem odd for a contemporary reader, privileging the word of one woman over the written contract of another woman who is claiming the right to marry the same man, is compatible with the laws regarding secret marriages and contracts before the Council of Trent (See Laws I, II, and V of Partida IV, Las partidas, in Rodrfguez-Arango Dfaz 737-741). Moreover, the restoration of order in plots involving love triangles often comes about by way of a premeditated murder (Lope de Vega, 'La prudente venganza'). Although the acceptance of a pre-meditated murder might not agree with the standards of justice of a contemporary reader, even a cold-blooded murder was acceptable under the Spanish-Germanic legal tradition, if it was the revenge of a betrayed husband (Perez-Prendes 160). Sometimes, Spanish narrators allude to particular laws in their novellas. Marfa de Zayas, for instance, solves a love triangle by presenting a case in which a woman comes back to life after being pronounced legally dead ('El imposible vencido'). The narrator justifies her new marriage by arguing that the tirst legal and sacramental marriage was dissolved by death according to both civil and canonical laws. Although she quotes particular laws - for example, the number of hours required to certify someone as legally dead (365), and the procedure to obtain a legal marriage according to the Council of Trent (366) - the contemporary reader has no certainty of whether they uctuully existed. Therefore, the non-existence of sufficiently annotated editions leaves the reader of Golden Age Spanish novellas with the option of either believing the narrators or corroborating the historicity of their nrguments. It then becomes relevant to determine if these allusions to the legal system in particular passages were interpretations of actually existing laws or merely rhetorical strategies used to manipulate the beliefs of the

audience. 39 Indeed, in Zayas's story, the second marriage of the resurrected woman strictly follows the procedures established by the Council of Trent: mutual consent, the publication of marriage banns, and public ceremony in church (Session XXIV, November 2, 1563, Decree on the Reformation of Marriage, Chapter 1). However, some of the ambiguities of the Spanish novella of the Golden Age are not only the consequences of their non-traditional use of forensic rhetorical devices, or of our anachronistic readings, but also a result of their use of the structure of fictitious cases or controversiae. If contradiction and ambiguity were part of the very nature of a fictitious case (controversia), it is not surprising that the Spanish novellas, which follow this pattern, have been constantly judged as ambiguous or contradictory. Furthermore, it is possible that some of the contradictions that the critics have perceived between the Spanish novellas and their narrative frames, and between the direct interventions of the narrators and their plots, are consequences of the fact that, as in a fictitious case, when anticipating and refuting a possible objection by an absent opponent, the narrators of the Spanish novella have to incorporate the voice of the other side. Indeed, this is the case of 'La prudente venganza' by Lope de Vega. The narrator presents a case in which a man plots the secret murder of his unfaithful wife and her lover. The protagonist exemplifies a 'discreet revenge' in which he follows his legal right to kill the adulterers without further publicizing his dishonor with a scandal. Nobody will ever know that his honor was ever stained. However, in one of his sententiae, the narrator proposes an alternative point of view that contradicts the code of honor on which he bases his story. Applying the Christian principle of forgiveness ('Forgive us our sins, for we forgive everyone who does us wrong'), the narrator states that betrayed husbands should forgive those who offend their honor in order to be forgiven when they dishonor other husbands (141-142). Although this alternative point of view could be read as an unorthodox sententia, it gives the clear sense that forgiving a case of honor is the same as accepting a reciprocal chain of dishonor. This humorous sententia both anticipates and refutes a possible objection; yet, the application of Christian forgiveness to cases of honor might be embraced by a certain sector of the audience who would forgive anyone who did them wrong in order to be forgiven of their own sexual misconduct. Since the controversiae usually handled cases involving the application of the letter or the spirit of laws that were seemingly contradictory or ambiguous, the use of the techniques of the fictitious case in the novella could, hence, give the false impression that the morality of the text was

daughter, sister, and cousin. This is a novcllu ubout u triple incest. Thut way, Don Felix would huvc been huppy living in ignorunce, while knowing the l'ucts left him no option but tu und hiN l'clutlonNhip or live in sin. Of course, he ulludes to the concept ul' unintentional error, and ho 11 roque11tJna 11 verdict of equity fur his chmâ&#x20AC;˘actcr. 'l'hiH pusHuge wus

1upprened b~ the lnqul.t!don.

1â&#x20AC;˘1 The quotation of non-existent docunwnts probuhly hus u pumllcl in the invention by lnwycl' of u l'nlse stutement of l'uct. Quintiliun docs not hesilute to explain how lo design II credible t'IIINU HIIIICinCIII (4.2.HH~HI.J),'

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

ambivalent. However, the narrator could also use this structure in a genuinely hypocritical fashion, by openly defending an orthodox position while using the anticipation of objections to voice an alternative point of view. As Fairweather explains, Seneca the Elder (c. 5 BC) distinguishes three types of questions which one might treat in a controversia: the quaestio iuris, the quaestio aequitatis, and the quaestio coniecturalis (155). Most of the questions treated in Seneca's cases are of the first two types. Therefore, most of the cases deal with the application of the letter of the law (questions of law) or the interpretation of its spirit (question of equity). Since the facts of a controversia were given, the quaestio coniecturalis, 'in which one conjectured whether something had, or had not, happened' (Fairweather 155) were usually absent in the fictitious cases. Eden explains that in De Oratore, Orator, and Topica, Cicero distinguishes three types of situations from which controversies arise: '(1) the discrepancy between the written words and the writer's intention, routinely formulated as either scriptum versus voluntas or scriptum versus sententia, (2) ambiguity (Lat. Ambiguitas), either in a word or passage, and (3) contradiction (Lat. Ex contrariis legibus), either within a single text or between two related texts, such as two laws' (Eden, Hermeneutics 7-8; De Oratore 1.31.140, 2.26.110; Topica 95-96). Furthermore, these cases were extremely unusual. For instance, in Controversia I.5, Seneca the Elder presents a law stating that a raped woman may choose either to marry her violator or to have him executed. This law is followed by the presentation of a particular situation: in one night a man rapes two women; one demands his execution, the other wants to marry him. The student is then assigned the task of preparing a speech for either woman's attorney (Sussman 2). As Bonner states:

involuntary incest, the Church would not appear to condone it by approving the publication of Montalban's story. Cervantes is more cautious and skillful in his handling of extreme cases. 'Las dos doncellas', for instance, is a perfect example of a fictitious case treating the application of the letter of laws (quaestio iuris) that were seemingly contradictory or ambiguous. Cervantes' novella follows an artificial order, beginning in the middle of the action (in medias res). 40 This narrative structure confronts the reader with a partial knowledge of the case in question. As a matter of fact, some of the relevant facts of the case are revealed at the end of the story. Therefore, as a lawyer in the process of crafting his statement of facts from partial pieces of evidence, the reader is confronted with the possibility of different sequences of events with, therefore, different lines of argument. At the beginning of the story, the reader apparently encounters a variation of Seneca's Controversia 1.5. 41 Instead of two raped women seeking revenge or marriage, there are two women (Teodosia and Leocadia) who have been deceived by the same man (Marco Antonio) under the promise of marriage. If the letter of the law were applied, the impossibility of marrying both women would have left Leocadia and Teodosia with the only option of killing Marco Antonio in order to clean their stained honor. However, it is further learned that Teodosia had consented to sleep with Marco Antonio after he had actually betrothed her using one of his servants as their witness. Initially, the ambiguous words of Leocadia also suggest that she might have also slept with Marco Antonio after obtaining a written contract in which he promised to marry her. If the case were one actually involving two women betrothed to the same man (in which neither of them had sex with the man in question), there would be an apparent conflict regarding the application of the law. Teodosia's betrothal is considered by law an esponsal de presente, an actual betrothal, while Marco Antonio's written promise of marrying Leocadia is considered an esponsal de futuro, a promise of betrothal (Las siete partidas, Law II, Titl. I, Partida IV; qtd. in Rodr!guez-Arango 741). The esponsal de presente had more legal weight than the esponsal de futuro (Rodriguez-Arango 741). Therefore, in light of this particular law, Teodosia's betrothal is legally stronger than Leocadia's. However, given the fact that Marco Antonio has abandoned both women, breaking both of their contracts, they will only be able to apply the law in their favor if they can prove their versions of the events against any particular version Marco Antonio might argue. Under this specific circumstance, Leocadia's written contract represents a better proof against the word of Marco Antonio. Given the unlikelihood that Marco Antonio's servant could speak against him,

IControversiae] not only test the validity of a law by positing more and more extreme circumstances [... ]. They also test the powers of the declaimer; the harder the case is, the more removed from the circumstances of everyday life, where there is nearly always something to be said on both sides, the better the declaimer needs to be to cope successfully with it. If he can produce a reasonably good defence with heaven and earth against him, he should, theoretically, be able to tackle law-court cases with greater case. (83) Perez de Montulban's novella 'La mayor confusion' presents one of these test-cases involving the law against incest. A man sleeps with his mother without knowing her true identity, and years later, he marries a woman who, he discovers, happens to be his sister and daughter. The narrator tries to defend the man with the ready argument of the involuntary nature of his crime, thus identifying it as an instance of a quaestio cu•qultatis. But the quue.vtlo uequitatls was not a convincing urguml!nt for the Inquisition, und the author was ordered to chanao tho endlna of hl11 Ntory. Whether u voluntary ur

The usc ol' artificial order will he discussed in the third part of Chapter 2. The tontmvc•rsim• nrc included in The• Weier Seneca (Declumatinns in Two VnlurncN). 4o 41

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

Teodosia's inability to prove her betrothal (esponsal de presente) would have left Leocadia with a better chance to defend the binding force of her contract. However, we further learn that Teodosia possesses an engraved ring that reads: 'Marco Antonio is Teodosia's husband.' This ring could serve as a proof of Teodosia's esponsal de presente if she can prove that Marco Antonio is actually the author of the words engraved on it. Again, Leocadia's written and signed contract represents a better challenge in the face of a possible refusal by Marco Antonio. This set of circumstances represents a case in which the letter of the law (quaestio iuris) seems to overcome its spirit. As a consequence, as soon as Teodosia learns that Marco Antonio has given Leocadia a written promise of marriage, she starts fearing the worst. The set of circumstances simultaneously confronted by Teodosia and the reader seems to test the validity of the law, challenging its effectiveness to ensure justice in at least extreme cases. Furthermore, since both women are disguised as men and Teodosia has not yet revealed her identity to Leocadia, she has the advantage of being able to learn, in full detail, Leocadia's version of the events. Moreover, when interrogated by Teodosia, Leocadia declares that she never actually slept with Marco Antonio. Like a lawyer creating a statement of facts from his witnesses, the reader thus encounters a different case to the one initially revealed by the statements presented in the story. We have, therefore, a case of a woman who has performed a secret but valid marriage after being betrothed in front of a witness (Las siete partidas, Law I, Titl. III, Partida IV; qtd. in Rodriguez-Arango 739). However, since the story never reveals whether this witness will ever confirm Teodosia's word, or if Marco Antonio wi II accept the authorship of the words engraved on her ring, she is left with the possibility that her lover might deny her allegations, leaving Leocadia in a better position to marry the disputed man. Once more, Cervantes' story confronts the reader with the imperfection of a law that validates clandestine marriages, while not contemplating the virtual impossibility of proving their very existence. As a matter of fact, Las partidas establishes that the validity of a second public marriage predominates over a first clandestine marriage unless the latter can be proved (Law II, Titl. III, Partida IV; qtd. in RodriguezArango 740). Therefore, Teodosia's valid marriage is subjected to Marco Antonio's word or whim. He can ultimately decide to deny Teodosia's allegation, by marrying Leocadia. Nevertheless, Teodosia knows that Leocadia has lost her written contract when she was robbed by a gang of criminals. Therefore, if Marco Antonio ever finds out, he can also refuse to marry Leocadia. Hence, the strength of the law regarding secret marriages and betrothals ultimately resides in the good faith of the people involved in the case. But, after being severely wounded in a fight, and facing the possibility of death, Marco Antonio decides to tell the truth and to follow the spirit of the Iuw by marrying Teodoata, the only woman with whom he hus uctuully conllummutcd u vulid

clandestine marriage. Leocadia is also touched by good fortune: Rafael (Teodosia's brother) marries her, saving her appearance of dishonor. Cervantes, thus, exposes the weaknesses of the laws regarding clandestine marriages by presenting a case in which the actual fulfillment of the law depends on the good faith of a deceiver like Marco Antonio. Moreover, Marco Antonio's good faith is born out of his sudden misfortune, further suggesting that the full implementation of the law regarding the validity of a clandestine marriage is subject to chance or fortune. 42 During Cervantes' time, clear procedures were established in order to avoid secret marriages, polygamy, and other legal disputes. Cervantes' story, hence, serves the purpose of validating the legitimacy of the new rules imposed by the Council of Trent, by unveiling the inconvenience and weakness of the previous order through the presentation of a fictitious case. Regarding his fictional characters, however, Cervantes concludes his novella with a peroration in which he pleads with his readers to lessen the harshness of their judgment against Teodosia and Leocadia - a plea supported by a maxim or sententia: the force of love can lead human appetites to overcome reason: [Rafael and Marco Antonio] vivieron en compafifa de sus csposas, dcjando de sf ilustre generaci6n y descendencia, que hasta hoy dura en estos dos lugares, que son de los mejores de Ia Andalucfa; y si no se nom bran es por guardar el decoro a las dos doncellas, a quien quiza las Jenguas maldicientes o neciamente escrupulosas les haran cargo de Ia ligereza de sus deseos y del subito mudar de traje; a los cuales ruego que nose arrojen a vituperar semejantes libertades hasta que miren en sf si alguna vez han sido tocados de estas que Haman tlechas de Cupido, que, en efecto, es una fuerza, si asf se puede Hamar, incontrastable, que hace el apetito a Ia raz6n. (968) This peroration is a plea to soften the judgment against both the author and his fictional characters. 43 For, while validating the new order established by the Council of Trent through a fictitious case, Cervantes has managed to narrate a story about love, deceit, and seduction. Furthermore, under the rhetoric of a fictitious case, he has also violated the poetic prescription of 42 Pabst states that 'Las dos doncellas' has too many unverisimilar elements to be exemplary (219), while suggesting that truth cannot be proved through the seemingly uhsurd (222). This harsh commentary does not consider the idea that, as a controversia, the novella tests the validity of the law through the presentation of extreme cases. 4.l Cervantes' happy ending differs from Boecaccio's. While in Cervantes' story order is restored and even a proven inadequate law is followed by his fictional characters, Boccaccio's stories suggest the invalidation of the law in the name of nature. While Boccm:cio's stories question traditional views and laws, Cervantes questions the laws uhout secret marriage in u context in which this procedure has been oflieially forbidden. Moreover, the chumctcrs end up submitting to the very archaic luws that arc tested hy <'t<rvuntes' lictitious cusc while the nurmtor further implores the audience to f'orllivc the miNchlcvouM cunductuf' ch~ractcrN thnt'llt'e ulrcudy obscrvlni the luw.

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

decorum by representing two cross-dressed women who are ready to use law or physical force to defend their own honor. As can be elicited from Cervantes' novella, like a fictitious case, the novella deals with a given set of circumstances in light of given laws. Cervantes' story is presented in regard to a group of Spanish laws that can be traced to Las partidas. The narrator works to solve a case in which a group of laws seems ambiguous or contradictory in light of an extreme case. The reader's task is not just deciding in favor of, or against, the position of the narrator or his characters. Reading Cervantes' story reverses the reception process of a fictitious case. Rather than merely deciding whether the arguments presented by the speaker, or fictional characters, are convincing, the reader also has to detect the nature of the case in question. And this discovery is made possible through the identification of the laws alluded to in the plot, either explicitly or implicitly. But Cervantes' special use of the argumentation of a fictional case is possible only when an author is not closely following a plot previously treated by another author. When Spanish authors insert themselves into the tradition, narrating new versions of particular novellas, they usually use the outlines of the original texts as the given circumstances they must handle. They have to develop an original and convincing argument without altering the given facts. Thus, the freedom of these narrators will reside in their crafting of sententiae, divisiones, and colores. A sententia is any 'striking or clever expression,' 1â&#x20AC;˘.. 1 'a general maxim, a sententious remark or a moral saying' (Edward xxx.iv). A divisio is 'a brief outline of the speech which enumerates "the various points at issue", and how the rhetor arranges them' (xxxv). And colores are 'the pleas alleged by the accused in explanation or extenuation of his act, or by the accuser to make the accused appear guilty or more guilty' (xxxv). Sententiae and colores are, therefore, instruments of proof created or 11gured out by the advocate (artificial proofs). Seneca's sententia coincides with Aristotle's rhetorical maxim and with Bonciani's and Lugo y Davila's sententia, which is a forensic counterpart to the poetic thought developed by Aristotle. Cervantes' plea in favor of Teodosia and Leocadia is an example of the use of sententia and colo res as part of his peroratio. While introducing the general statement that the force of love leads human appetites to overcome reason, Cervantes introduces a sententia. This sententia supports a plea in extenuation of Teodosia's and Leocadia's acts: their behavior is the result of having been dominated by the passion of love. Since love is implicitly compared with a kind of temporary insanity, the reader is induced to consider Teodosia's and Leocadia's conduct as forgivable acts of ignorance. When analyzing fictitious cases, Seneca the Elder does not follow the traditional headings in which oratory is usually divided. He, rather, discusses the controversiae by considering ih some detail their sententiae, divisiones, and co/ores (Sussman 44), As Edward states, it is clear that these words 'are not divisions of the speech but elements in the speech revealed by analysis' (xxxlv), Por lnttanoe, Cervantet' dlaclo11ure of proofs throuah a ne~rratio that

follows an artificial order reveals the divisio of his novella, the various points at issue and the arrangement of his fictitious case. Moreover, both Bonner (54) and Fairweather (179) agree with Edward, further stating that the fictitious cases followed the four-fold division into exordium, narrative, proofs, and peroration. 44 As Sussman explains, Seneca's reluctance to go into detail over the traditional four-fold division is probably due to the fact that 'declamation and rhetorical theory were so hackneyed and familiar in the early Empire that the chief attraction of a declamation centered on the originality with which a declaimer expressed himself - the novelty of his sententiae, unexpected lines of argument, and unusual colors' (44). For the writer of novellas, as for the declaimer of a controversia, almost the only possibilities of freedom left when writing a version of a story previously narrated in the tradition were sententiae, colores, and divisiones. Nevertheless, if the logic of a plot inherited from the tradition is based on laws that were unfamiliar or against Spanish law, Spanish narrators will usually exercise the freedom of changing the facts of the given story in order to satisfy the standard of justice of their particular audience. Furthermore, in the face of censorship, Spanish authors were fully aware of the possible implications of setting their stories before and after the Council of Trent. If the story happened before 1564, the logic of the plot follows Las partidas. In this way, Cervantes represents secret marriages that were forbidden by the Council of Trent. Authors setting their stories during the Counter-Reformation modify the facts of the given original plots in light of the new set of rules. Some critics have discussed the relationship between the fictitious case and the Italian novella. Falconi, for instance, has identified Controversia Vl.7, by Seneca the Elder, as the source that examined the topic of love sickness in Decameron 10.8, while Schlauch has demonstrated its distinctive forensic rhetoric in explaining the strategies employed by Tito in his self-defense. Wesley Trimpi has analyzed the structure of the controversiae in Boccaccio's novellas, concluding that 'the leggi which delimit the selection of material for the stories correspond to the declamatory leges (or courtly regulae amoris) which restrict, indirectly, the kinds of incidents to be included in the situations of the controversiae (or quaestioni d'amore)' (342). He further proves that 'the outline, which each tale wears on its forehead (nella fronte) 1. . . ], corresponds to the circumstantial incidents, which, together with the leRes, make up the thema, or 'proposed hypothesis' to be debated' (342). However, Trimpi's conclusion requires modification in the context of the Spanish texts. In the case of Spanish novellas, the laws delimiting the Âˇ14 In 'Lus dos donee II us', for instum:c, the disclosure of proofs has been discussed within the narratio. At the end of the ~tory, the nnrrntor presents u perorntion: u pleu bused un u .~l'llll'nt/u, BccnuMc uf ilM hcyinninsln mn/laol' rr,\' (urtiticlul order), however, the cuMc beslnll with tho narrutlo, ellmlnlltlna th~ exordium.

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE THEORY OF THE NOVELLA

circumstances of the cases are neither given laws of composition nor courtly regulae amoris presented in the narrative frames, but actual laws that predate the texts - especially the new set of canon laws regarding marriage introduced by the Council of Trent. The transgressive nature of the Italian novella has usually been studied by establishing its relationship to law and justice. Davis states that frequently in Boccaccio's novellas there is 'an ending that circumvents justice and instead reaches stability in the avoiding of punishment or in having the would-be punisher punished' ( 12). Janssens contends that 'the main forces dominating man's fate' in the Decameron 'seem to be: nature, customs, law, and fortune' ( 143). But he also states that 'in the name of nature certain moral and social restrictions can be loosened or broken' ( 143 ). He further declares that in Boccaccio's stories 'many acts which are censored as sins according to customs and laws, will be forgiven[ ... ] for love's sake' (144). Langer coincides with Davis and Janssens in pinpointing the transgressive nature of both the Italian and the French novella. He argues that 'the novella does not usually represent a world in which legal justice is reinforced' but rather represents it 'in terms deriving from particular justice, equity or natural law'. He further contends that 'the transgressiveness of these narratives is highly teleological: the disruption of social order takes place so that fairness may be achieved, so that a satisfying ending may occur' (318). Although these critics have discussed the relationship between law, justice and the transgressive nature of the Italian novella, I further argue that Spanish authors use the rhetoric of the fictitious case with the specific purpose of testing the new legal ground created by the Council of Trent, transforming the transgressive discourse of the novella into its exemplary counterpart. Although my main concern in this study is the use of forensic discourse as a strategy for protecting the handling of forbidden discourses in Spanish sixteenth- and seventeenth-century novellas, I will also examine a corpus of pre-Tridentine and post-Tridentine Italian novellas that were rewritten by Spanish novelists after the Council of Trent. Rewriting inherited plots from the Italian tradition, Spanish narrators performed the same task of the declaimer who had to develop a prosecution or defense of a given case. However, Spanish narrators treated these given cases in light of specific civil and canon laws contained in Las Partidas and The Council of Trent. Most of the variations of the Spanish novellas vis-a-vis their Italian models were introduced to satisfy both the customs of the public (which are in part regulated by law) and the Spanish Inquisition. In reshaping the Italian novella, considering what was fitting to the place (Spain), the time (after the Council of Trent), and the people of Spain, Spanish authors used legal codes and forensic rhetoric, obtaining the Inquisitorial approval for the publication of their texts. 45

However, some of the Italian stories, such as Cinthio's novellas, were easier to adapt to Spanish demands. Published in 1565, one year after the ending of the Council of Trent, Cinthio's texts were less transgressive than the previous tradition. 46 In other cases, however, if Spanish narrators were to keep the main circumstances given by the Italian originals, they had to stretch Spanish law beyond the limits of its letter only to find themselves arguing, as lawyers, on the ambiguous ground of the spirit of the law. When rewriting the Italian novellas in a context heavily restrained by the Inquisition, Spanish authors performed the same task as the Roman praetor, who created fictional narratives to predict cases beyond the limits of the letter of the law. Given the inherent ambiguity of the controversia, it is not coincidental that Spanish authors, who follow this structure in their novellas, always feel compelled either to defend or to reprimand the mischief of their characters as if seeking a verdict of equity or punishment by their readers. In this process, Spanish narrators find themselves further away from the original structure of the rhetorical example and closer to the structure of a legal case, with its exordium, statement of facts, proposition, proofs, and peroration. If the example is only one of the possible means of proof employed by the orator, the case involves a broader development that allowed the narrator to gain the sympathy of the judges (readers, the Inquisitors), to defend his own character and that of his fictional world, and to prove his point by both his narrative (statement of facts) and his direct interventions as a narrator (here functioning as orator) who seeks a particular response from his public: a judicial verdict of both his characters and his work.

4~ AM underNtood b)' crltlca liko Olraldi Cinthio, decorum is whut iN f1tth1짜 to tho plucc, till~ time, and the people (On RomGIICitl 56), NeverthclcMM, he WllM moi'C ln~rcNlc.ld in 'liltintf the

text to the actual time and place of the reader, as exemplified in his prescription of anachronism in order to avoid the presentation of old customs that would bore the public (51). 46 Mirollo conte11ds that 'the stories of Giraldi are not as licentious as those of his predecessors, especially Bandello, hut that churchman published his tales before the impact of the Council of Trent begun to he felt, whereas Giraldi had to justify his decision to publish them in u more tense period' (944). Di Maria also recognizes the absence of the 'care-free 11nd mundune spirit of the ./)tt'ctftii'I'On' in the Ecmommltl, pointing out liM predomimmtly nmruiiMlic tcndcnc)' ( 179),

THE ROLE OF LAW

THE ROLE OF LAW IN THE SPANISH VERSIONS OF ITALIAN NOVELLAS The careful comparison of Italian novellas with their Spanish versions reveals that Spanish authors employ the rhetoric of the fictitious case to test the validity of the legal grounds created by the new set of rules introduced by the Council of Trent. Although, as Quintilian explains, forensic discourse sometimes overlaps with the ceremonial discourse of blame or praise (3.4.16), even those Spanish novellas that are closer to the latter exhibit a tendency to modify Italian originals in light of Spanish laws. Moreover, most of the Spanish novellas exploit the possibilities of anticipating, and refuting, the objections of an absent opponent which is a strategy that the fictitious case employs. Like legal cases, these novellas follow a forensic rhetorical arrangement (exordium, narration, proposition, proofs, and peroration). In the case of the Spanish novella, sometimes the narratio is presented through the artificial order prescribed by Horace for poetry and discussed in detail by Cicero and Quintilian, in their respective discussions of forensic rhetoric.

BURIED ALIVE: TELLING THE STORY OF ROMEO AND JULIET IN PosT-TRIDENTINE SPAIN

Agreda y Vargas's version ofBandello's 'Romeo et Giuliettad represents an evident use of legal documentation in adapting a fictional narration to Spanish luw. Aurelio and Alexandra (his Romeo and Giulietta) follow every precept of the Council of Trent, 2 although carrying out a secret marriage. Furthermore, I

This story was also transformed into a play by the popular playwright Lope de

they manage to get a legal marriage through the Church without the complicity of Friar Lorenzo. In the Spanish version, two servants help the lovers in plotting their marriage and in obtaining the sleeping potion. The criticism of the misuse of confession by a clergyman is, therefore, totally erased, sidestepping the objections of the Inquisition. 3 Moreover, since the two servants escape in order to save their lives after the death of the lovers, leaving no witness to the events (Friar Lorenzo is not available to narrate the misfortunes of Romeo and Giulietta), the narrator reveals at the end of the story that the narration, as a forensic statement of facts, has been reconstructed from documentary sources or non-artificial proofs (a marriage certificate, letters, etc.). Reading Bandello's novella (1554) in light of Agreda y Vargas's version (1620) reveals that, even though the Italian author states in his exordium that the purpose of his tragic story is to teach young people to learn to govern themselves with moderation (24-25), his narratio was also read as an implied criticism of the Church. Indeed, as a fictitious case, Bandello's plot represents circumstances involving a set of seemingly contradictory laws. While before the Council of Trent the Church condemned clandestine marriages at the same time as accepting their validity, in the belief that it was the mutual consent of the couple that was the essential requirement for marriage, those who married against the will of their parents were punished very harshly under civil law. Given this legal context, the Church, having access to people's consciences through the sacrament of confession, played a leading role in negotiating consent and, thus, in determining the fabric of society through the institution of marriage. Bandello's exordium seems to introduce an attack on secret marriages- the exercise of marriage against parental consent - and his narratio further implies a denunciation of the use of the secrecy of confession as a tool employed by the Church to influence and control the heirs of aristocratic families. 4 While Agreda y Vargas's version simply erases the complicity of Friar Lorenzo, significantly changing Bandello's version, a Spanish translation published in 1603 alters the content of the original in order to defend the character and actions of the clergyman. The Spanish translation thus functions as a different statement of facts, which aims specifically to

V~:gu -.. 'Castclvincs y Monteses' (Kohler 120). Bandello's story was very well known in

seventeenth-century Spain. There is no evidence to link Agreda y Varga's novella to earlier Italian versions by Da Porto or Massuccio. While Bandello's version was translated into Spanish, and its French translation was included in the Index of Forbidden Books, the versions by Da Porto and MaHsuccio are absent from both the Index and the inventories of private libraries. For a detullcd description of the presence of lluliun novellas in libraries and hook stores in Nixtecnth路 and Heventcenth-century Spain. see Lusp~rus (52-5~. K5-R9). l They marry In a vory amall church using their less-knuwn names when publishing tholr marrlqe banna (In the HJapanlc tradition It IN common tu huve mm-c: thun one name

or hllt name),

J It is important to note that a clergyman, Bisbe y Vidal, contends that the representation of churchmen should be forbidden in Spain. He argues that the representation of lustful clergymen in Germany ended up with the derogation of the practice of celibacy, with ideas of reformation and heresy (54-55). 4 I disagree with Jones's ideu Lhul this novella follows Lhe program of the Counterl~d'ormution hecuusc Bundello cllrninutes uny critk:ism ugninsl the clergy or the siHnoria (7()). As Mii'OIIn explnins, Bundcllo wmle his novellas before the impact of the Council of Trent heil\11 to he fell (944). At the Hllrne time, Bundellu'N nuvclltliN hil!lhly crltic111 nf' the Church.

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

acquit Father Loren<;o from any indirect culpability in the death of Romeo and Julieta. In order to understand fully the purpose of the radical changes made in Agreda y Vargas's version of the case, it is relevant to study Bandello's strategy in the light of the Spanish translation of 1603. In Bandello's novella, the narrator seems to question the judgment of the protagonists, Romeo and Giulietta, 5 while also debasing the character of Friar Lorenzo. For instance, Bandello portrays Romeo and Giulietta as passionate and impulsive beings. 6 Desire directs the actions of these lovers, and obtaining peace between their families is presented in the story as a way to rationalize the already existing passion. As the narrator states in the exordium, the improvement of young people's judgment through the moderation of their passions is the explicit purpose pursued by the representation of the tragic end of Romeo and Giulietta: 'E perche mi parve degna di compassione e d'esser consacrata ala posterita, per ammonir i giovini che imparino moderatamente a governarsi e non correr a furia, la scrissi' (370): I wrote [this story] because it seems to me that it is worthy of compassion, and of being consecrated for posterity in order to admonish young people to learn to govern themselves with moderation [My translation]. If the actions of Romeo and Giulietta are directed by a passionate love, a feeling with which the public could identify, Friar Lorenzo's motive to serve

as their mediator is purely his desire for social advance and power. 7 However, although the tragic end of Romeo and Giulietta is provoked by their own impulsive passion and the ambition of a friar who practices the magic arts and uses secret marriage and confession for a self-serving purpose, the young lovers pay for their transgression with their lives, while Friar Lorenzo escapes punishment for his involvement in the death of the couple. The practice of secret marriage, the misuse of confession, and the immunity of the Church are thus strongly criticized in Bandello's story. This kind of criticism was no longer tolerated within the context of Counter-Reformation. Consequently, the Spanish translation of Bandello's story- published in 1603, after the Council of Trent - alters the original plot in an attempt to defend Father Loren<;o, thereby rehabilitating the image of the Church. The Spanish translation embraces forensic discourse with the specific end of defending Father Lorenzo. In his defense of the clergyman, the translator shifts the responsibility of the tragedy to the lovers, their parents, and the apothecary who provides the poison used by Romeo to commit suicide. The translator eliminates any hint that could belittle the strength of Romeo's passion. This is a strategy to diminish the role of Father Loren<;o in the disastrous end of the lovers. By emphasizing the strong will of both Romeo and Julieta, the translator seeks to increase their responsibility in pursuing their actions, giving a secondary role to the involvement of Father Loren<;o. The idea that Romeo and Iulieta possess invincible wills belongs among the translator's colo res or pleas in extenuation of Father Loren<;o's act.

~ For instance, after being convinced by his friends that he should go out and frequent parties in order to forget an unrequited love (372-73), Romeo follows the advice in a way that is ridiculed by the narrator in a direct statement: 'andava mirando e considerando I' allre per sceglier quella che pili gli fosse a grado, come se fosse andato ad un mercato per comprar cavalli o panni' (373). Romeo chooses his new object of love because of her hcuuly, us someone might buy a horse or bread in the marketplace. Moreover, he instantly transfers the love he felt for another woman to Giulietta: 'E cosi l'amore che a l'altra donnu portava, vinto da questo nuovo, diede luogo a queste fiamme che mai pili dapoi se non per morte si spensero' (373-374). Romeo's love, while qualified by the narrator as a feeling that was only disrupted by death, is, nevertheless, presented as a rather impulsive passion. This representation is an example ofthe kind of juvenile actions the narrator seeks to condemn in his exordium. Cl For instance, while both lovers consider the risk of pursuing their love because of their fumilies' hatred, the narrator states that Romeo has hopelessly surrendered to love's poison before finding out Giulietta's identity (376), while Giulietta's desire is rather i ncrcuscd hy the impossibility and danger of the affair: 'An data poi a dormire, nulla o poco quell a nolle dormf, vari pensieri per Ia mente rivolgendo; rna distorsi d' amar il suo Romeo n6 potevu n6 volevu, sf tierumente di lui accesa si trovava. E combattendo in lei l'incredibli bcllczza de l'amante, quanto pili difficile e perigliosa Ia cosa sua vedeva, tanto pili pareva chc in lei, mancando Ia speranza, crcscesse it disio' (376): Although she went to bed, that night she slept very little, if at all, many thoughts whirling through her mind; but she neither could nor would moderate her feelings fur Romeo, us she wus so pussionutely in luve with him. She struggled to resist her lover's im:rcdihle handsomeness hut. the mmc dlt'tl~:ult and danaeroua the lituatlon appeared, the more her desire Jlrew, despite the

ab1enoe of hope.

•

7 The narrator gives a negative description of the friar. Besides practising magic arts, Friar Lorenzo is presented as a secretive person who enjoys good public reputation without giving up his private pleasures and while safeguarding his position through his relationships with noble people of influence (379). He is depicted as a skillful hypocrite who enjoys the confidence of two public enemies (the Montecchi and the Capelletti), and the privilege of listening to the confessions of almost all the nobility of the city: 'Ne solamente praticava in casa dei Montecchi, rna anco con i Capelletti teneva strelta domestichezza, ed in confessione udiva Ia pili parte de la nobilita de Ia citta cosf d'uomini come di donne. Preso adunque Romeo congedo con I' ordine detto, da Giulietta si partf e ando a casa; e venuto il giomo, si trasferi a San Francesco e a messer lo trate narro tutto il successo del suo amore e La conchiusione fatta con Giulietta. Fra Lorenzo udito questo, promise far tutto cio che Romeo voleva, sf perchC a quello non poteva cosa veruna negare ed altresf che con questo mezzo si persuadeva poter pacificare insieme i Capelletti e i Montecchi ed acquistarsi di pili in pili la grazia del signor Bartolomeo, che infinitamente desiderava che queste due casate facessero pace per levar tutti i tumulti de Ia sua citta' (379): Not only with the Montecchi hut also with the Capelletti he was on terms of close friendship. He confessed most of the nobility of Verona, the men as well as the women. Having decided to do this, Romeo took leave of Giulietta anQ returned home. When morning came, he went to the convent of San Francesco and told the friar of his fortunate love, and what he and Giulietta had determined In do. Heuring this, Fru Lorenzo promised to do all thut he wished, as he could deny him nothing, nnd also hccnuse he felt sure that he could make peace between the Cupelletli and the Montecchi nnd win grente•· fnvm· wit~ Signor Btu·tolomeo Seulo, who wus most desirous that the two hnuNoM Nhould he rccun~.:llcd 11n thllt all Ntrlle In the city mljlht ~:caMe (62-63).

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

Moreover, while Bandello's novella depicts the friar as an ambitious clergyman, the translator characterizes him as someone who enjoys the trust and estimation of everybody because of his well-deserved good reputation. His impeccable character is supposedly the reason why he becomes the confessor and spiritual father of noble families of different factions:

but because of his belief that by these means he would achieve yet another noble end: peace between the two family factions. 9 The translation thus questions Bandello's statement of facts, challenging his depiction of Friar Lorenzo's character and motive. Besides giving emphasis to Romeo and Julieta's responsibility in order to lessen Father Loren~o's involvement, the translator also emphasizes the degree of culpability of Julieta's parents. This is not an attack merely against Iulieta's parents but against a set of civil laws that, by punishing clandestine marriages so harshly, undermines the mutual consent defended by the Church. A woman who marries against parental consent loses her dowry and inheritance. Hence, the punishment for Iulieta would have been comparable to Romeo's punishment for killing Teobaldo. For a nobleman, the penalty for murder was living in exile and losing his possessions. As if the murderer were dead, his inheritors had the right to dispose of his possessions (Partida VII, Title VIII, Law XV). In turn, Iulieta would have lost both her honor and her economic means of survival. Accordingly, her proposition to cross-dress in order to accompany Romeo into exile is a vivid testimony to her position of disadvantage. Even after being dishonored through a criminal sentence, Romeo could face the outside world with his identity intact. Iulieta, in contrast, would have had to hide her female identity to survive. In the case of women, thus, civil law actually undermined the freedom of consent established by canon law. In the translation, the attack against parental rights is clearly voiced by Iulieta herself, who justifies her plan to cross-dress as a way to escape her parents' tyranny: 'Y si os pareciere q no podreys lleuarme comodamete como a vna muger, quiesera parte para q no mude habito? Pues no sere yo Ia primera q lo aya hecho por librarse de Ia tirania de sus padres?' (69). Moreover, while in Bandello's version Romeo rejects Giulietta's plan because of her honor, 10 in the translation, he rejects Iulieta's plan to cross-dress because of his fear of legal punishment and dishonor: 'Y tened entendido, q en sabiendose vra ausencia, nos perseguira vro padre de manera q no podremos dexar de ser descubiertos, y presos: y finalmente seremos castigados con rigor, yo como robador, y vos como hija desobediente. Y quado pesaremos viuir contentos, acabaremos la vida con muerte afrentosa' (70).

Era el Cura Loren<;o, de qui en auemos adelante de hazer menci6, Doctor en Teologia, y ademas de loable profesi6 q auia hecho en letras sagradas, gran Filosofo, y curioso escudrifiador de secretos de naturaleza, y estaua en buena reputaci6 por auer vsado bien de todo ello. Y por su b6dad tenia ganadas las voluntades de los ciudadanos de Verona, y los mas principales della se c6fessauan con el, y no auia quien no le reuerenciasse, de mas de q por su gran saber le llamauan para los negocios mas importantes del gouiemo de la ciudad, y quien mas le fauorecia era el sefior de Ia Escala, que a Ia saz6 lo era de Verona, y las familias de los Montescos y Capeletes, y otras que tabien eran principales. (58-59) The wicked character of Friar Lorenzo is transformed by the translator into a paradigm of virtue. Since the practice of the magic arts was forbidden in Spain (Partida VII, Title XXII, Law II), Father Loren~o is promoted to the level of a doctor of Philosophy who studies nature's secrets (59). Moreover, if in Bandello's original Friar Lorenzo marries Romeo and Giulietta while thinking that the reconciliation of their families would help him obtain the favor of Signor Bartolomeo, in the Spanish translation, Father Loren~o already enjoys the favor of Senor de la Escala. The translator hence eliminates social climbing us the motive of Father Loren~o's involvement in the case. Furthermore, in the Spanish translation, the clergyman labors to dissuade Romeo, but the young man replies that he prefers to die ignominiously8 rather than fail to fulfill his promise to marry Iulieta: A lo qual el bue h6bre le puso delante grandes inconuenientes, que se podian seguir de su matrimonio clandestino, y autorizolos con exemplos. Y tina! mente, le persuadio, mirasse lo que hazia, aunque esto no fue bastante para apartarle dello. Y vencido de su pertinacia, y c6siderando, que este casamiento podria seruir de medio para reconciliar aquellos bandos, vino a condecender con el, y dixole, que de alii al dia siguiente miraria alguna orden con que este negocio se c6cluyesse. (59) According to the Spanish translation, Father Loren~o is persuaded to perform the secret marriage not because of his greed for power and influence M Although Las Partida.\' establishes that the punishment for secretly murrying a woman asalnNt the will of her parents w11s bccomins 11 set路vunt of her fumily, the sume luw forhids mutllatlna or lllklna the life of the hu1band. However路, u mun in Much u comlhlon would live and die wlthol.lt honor (Partida IV, Title lll, Luw V).

9 Another change in the translation aiming to embellish the character of the friar is the fact that, while in Bandello's story Giulietta marries Romeo while her mother is waiting to confess to Friar Lorenzo, in the translation Iulieta convinces her mother to let her go to church accompanied by her servant (60). Besides serving the purpose of presenting the persuasive power of Iulieta, this change eliminates an act that could demonstrate the hypocritical character of a clergyman who appears administering confession to Giulietta's mother, right after marrying her daughter without her consent (381 ), Ill These arc Romeo's words in Bandello's version: '[ ... ] e che quando condurla seco volcssc, non in uhito di pnggio In menurchhc, ma come sua moglie e signora vorrebbe che onorutumcntc c du sun purl nccompngnntn undussc' (385): Moreover, if he took her with him, II should not be In the wurh of u puwc. hut us his ht路ide und his wife, whom he would NCC honorably llltcnder.J 1\M beflttcd her rnnk.

CARMEN R. RABELL

If in Bandello's version Giulietta timidly refuses to marry by simply saying that she does not want to get married- 'io non vo' altrimenti maritari' (387)the translation shows Julieta very clearly stating her refusal to marry the Count while defending her right to do so: 'Estoy admirada, sefiora, de que ayays sido til liberal de vuestra hija, que Ia entregeys avoliitad de otro sin saber primero Ia suya. Bie podreys hazer lo que os pareciere, mas estad cierta, que si lo hizieredes, sera contra Ia mia. Yen quato a lo q toea a! Conde Paris, os digo, que antes perdere Ia vida q consentir q llegue a mi, y sereys homicida por auerme entregado a quien no puedo, ni quiero, ni aun sabre amar' (72). In the case of the Spanish translation, there could be no misinterpretation of Julieta's refusal and of her knowledge that her parents are trying to undermine her right to consent. Her father, understanding her implicit appeal to canon law, answers by calling her ungrateful while reminding her that their Roman ancestors had the right to sell or kill their children for their own sake (73). He also threatens to disinherit and imprison her if she does not consent to marry Count Paris (73-74). The punishment intended by Julieta's father for her refusal to marry is worse than the legal punishment for marrying against parental will and comparable to a sentence for murder. So, Julieta has concrete reasons for fl!aring to reveal her actual situation. The translator therefore, emphasizes the fact that Julieta's desperate resolution is a consequence of her parents' unwillingness to respect her right to refuse to marry Count Paris. Moreover, in Bandello's version Giulietta tells Friar Lorenzo of her intention to leave her house cross-dressed as a man, whereas in the translation she simply states her intention to kill herself. In the translation, therefore, Father Loren<;o's advice to simulate Julieta's death to save her from marrying Count Paris is a better alternative than suicide. Julieta's willingness to follow Father Loren<;o's advice is motivated by the fact that her father has threatened to disinherit and imprison her if she does not consent to marry Count Paris. By feigning her death, Julieta renounces her inheritance and status, a choice which is comparable to the actual legal punishment for marrying without her father's consent. Besides focusing on the degree of culpability of Julieta's parents, the trunslator also presents Father Loren<;o's plot as an act of self-sacrifice which pmves his good character. While in Bandello's story he refuses to administer poison to Giulietta, stating that such an act was a sin against God that would ulso damage his public reputation (392), in the translation he is only concerned with Julieta's well-being (73). If in Bandello's version Friar Lorenzo's plot serves the purpose of both protecting Giulietta's life and his reputation, in the translation, he is presented as risking his own reputation for the sake of Julieta und in defense of the sacrament of marriage: 'Y despues de auer hecho diuersus cOsideraciones, se inclino a Ia mas piadosa, y pareciole seria mejor uu!turar su bOra, q dar lugar al adulterio q se esperuua entre el Conde Paris y Julieta. Y resuclto en esto, abrio vn cofre, y suco c.Jel vnu gurrufu co ciertu uguu, y t'ue11e cO ella dado auia dexado a Julieta' (73-74). According to the

THE ROLE OF LAW

translation, in order to safeguard Julieta from the sin of adultery or suicide, Father Loren<;o persuades her to feign consent to marry Count Paris and, then, stages her death before the wedding. Indeed, while in Bandello's version Giulietta dies of the pain caused by Romeo's death, in the translation, she takes her own life, further proving that Father Loren<;o's fears were well founded. Moreover, while in the translation Father Loren<;o is not motivated by social advantage, in Bandello's narratio, he would have been economically rewarded for seeming to convince Giulietta to consent to marry Count Paris. 11 Another significant change introduced in the translation is the fact that while in Bandello's narratio Pietro - Romeo's servant - and Friar Lorenzo are pardoned after Pietro is interrogated by signor Bartolomeo, the translator states that both were publicly questioned in order to avoid rumors (88). Which rumors? The narrator is clearly referring to Bandello's statement of facts, in which only Pietro is interrogated by signor Bartolomeo, allowing for the inference that Friar Lorenzo is protected either by the sanctity of confession or by the Church's immunity. Indeed, given the strong attack on the misuse of the secrecy of confession to access power by orchestrating a secret marriage

II In Bandello's novella, Giulictta's father tells her: 'Cara figliuola mia, chc Dio ti bendica! Io mi trovo molto di buona voglia, poi che tu cominci a rallegrarti, c rcstiamo pur assai ubligate a questo nostro padre spirituale. Egli si vuol aver caro e soccorrerlo con e nostre elemosine, percio che il monastcro e povcro ed ogni df prega Dio per noi. Ricordati spess di lui e mandagli alcuna buona pietanza' (394): My dear daughter, may God bless you! I am very well because you arc recovering your gaiety and for this we are very grateful to our spiritual father. We should assist him with alms as his monastery is poor and every day he prays for us. Do not forget him- send him a kind gift. Even though Bandello's narratio never explains whether Giulietta actually rewarded Friar Lorenzo for his apparent good deed, the translator eliminates this innuendo from his statement of facts. Instead, Iulieta's father expresses his gratitude to Father Loren<;o for the many times he helped them, and wishes him a long life (78-79). There are many other instances in which the translator changes Bandello's statement of facts in order to defend Father Loren<;o's character. For instance, in the Spanish translation Iulietta states her purpose to kill herself without asking the clergyman to assist her suicide by administering her poison (72). This attitude shows a greater respect toward the clergyman. In contrast, in Bandello's version, when Giulietta wakes up in the arms of a moribund Romeo, she thinks that Friar Lorenzo is sexually assaulting her: 'Giulietta che gh\la vertu de Ia polvere consumata e digesta aveva, in que! tempo si desto, e sentcndosi basciare dubito che il frate venuto per levarla e averla a portar in camera, Ia tenesse in braccio ed incitato dal concupiscibile appetito Ia basciasse; e disse: Ahi padre fra Lorenzo, c questa Ia fede che Romeo aveva in voi? Fatevi in costa' (403): Just then, Giulietta woke, as the effect of the powder had passed off. Feeling herself kissed, she thought it was the friar, who in a mom~nt of carnal impulse was embracing her as he bore her back to his chamber. 'Alas! Fra Lorenzo'; she said, 'is this how you prove the trust that Romeo placed in you'/ Buck, I say!' (1!4). Even though Bandello's narrator st<ltes that Friar Lorenzo enjoyed a good public reputution while prnctising his pleusurcs in private, Giulicttu's uctitms seem tu imply her knuwledje of his double life. These Innuendoes ure eliminuted f'l'um the tr&msh&tlon.

CARMEN R. RABELL

to obtain social advantage, Bandello's omission of Friar Lorenzo's interrogation is highly suspicious. It reveals the impunity of a clergyman who can manipulate the very fabric of society. Henceforth, in order to erase any innuendo against the Church, the translator adds nine pages in which his narratio is supported by non-artificial proofs: testimony of a witness, circumstantial evidence, and documents. Father Loren<_;:o and Pedro are arrested as suspects in the murders of Romeo and Iulieta. Their arrest is based on circumstantial evidence: they are caught at the crime scene, close to the bodies and possessing the tools seemingly used in the murders. Father Loren<_;:o's testimony is recounted by the translator, and his self-defense coincides point by point with the statement of facts already introduced by the narrator. The accused, however, recounts his own story in tears, appealing to the emotions of his judge. He extenuates his act of carrying out a secret marriage by emphasizing his good faith while introducing a new motive that further alters the original: Romeo and Julieta supposedly persuaded him to perform the wedding by threatening to live in concubinage (H9). According to his self-defense, Father Loren<_;:o's motive in assisting a clandestine marriage is the very defense of the sacrament of marriage. This is exactly the same argument he uses to extenuate his involvement as facilitator of the sleeping potion used to stage Julieta's death. His testimony further corroborates the previous statement of facts presented by the translator. Of course, his plot is presented as a means to save Iulieta from committing suicide or adultery (90). At the end of his testimony, Father Loren<_;:o asks for the interrogation of two witnesses who would corroborate his version (Julieta's servant and Pedro, Romeo's page). He also demands a search for the letter that he sent to Romeo explaining the plot of the sleeping potion. Pedro supplies further proofs by submitting Romeo's letter, in which the young man explains to his father his reason for ingesting poison as well as the name of the apothecary from whom he bought the poison (90-91). Our translator thus uses the structure of the case to challenge Bandello's story while sidestepping any possible inquisitorial objections. Moreover, besides presenting a statement of facts followed by the disclosure of proofs, the translator also displays the verdict of the case at the end of the story:

Y al sefior Bartolome de la Escala, despues de auerlo comunicado con los magistrados de su cosejo, le parecio, q la camarera de lulieta, fuesse desterrada perpetuamete de su dominio por auer tenido encubierto este matrimonio clandestino al padre de Romeo: pues si le manifestara en tiepo, vuiera podido ser causa de gran bien. Y a Pedro, por auer hecho lo que le mando su senor, Je dexo en su primera libertad. El boticario, fue preso, y si&lo atormentado y cOvencido del delito, lc mando uhorcur. Y ul buen viejo del padre Loren~o, (assi por el respeto que se tuuo a los beneticios untiguos q aula hecho a la republica de Verona, como u lu buena vidu 'Jue sicmpre sc le aula uiato) le dexo libre, aln nlngunu notu do Infamia. (91)

THE ROLE OF LAW

Although the punishment of the servant for not revealing Julieta's impediment to marry Count Paris seems disproportionate, 12 it underlines the unequal application of punishment according to social status. She receives the same punishment a nobleman would have received for killing a man (Romeo's punishment for killing Teobaldo). Furthermore, she is punished for not providing vital information when she was actually denied the proper forum to reveal the existing impediment for the marriage of Count Paris and Julieta. Indeed, Julieta's parents disregard the marriage banns recommended by the Fourth Lateran Council and fully enforced later by the Council of Trent. Julieta's servant thus functions as a scapegoat who allows the judge to circumvent the discussion of a sensitive topic: the tendency of the nobility to stick to civil law in order to preserve and increase their status through marriages of convenience while ignoring canon law. This law limited their freedom to arrange marriages by affirming mutual consent as an essential requirement of the sacrament or by accepting the validity of clandestine marriages. Regarding marriage, the Church was not always a welcome mediator, and canon law was perceived as a potential threat to the aristocratic order. The confession by torture and the hanging of the apothecary who provided poison to Romeo is another example of unequal punishment. The apothecary is hanged for indirect involvement in a suicide, while Romeo is banished for killing a man. The verdict against the apothecary, however, follows very closely the letter of the law (Partida VII, Title Vlll, Law VII). 13 The translator presents the apothecary as a greedy man who sells poison to Romeo to satisfy his avarice for money (83). Thus, while Bandello presents the danger of the secrecy of confession and clandestine marriage in the hands of an ambitious clergyman who manipulates the aristocracy to gain power and advance socially, the translator points his accusing finger in another direction: the greed for money of a member of an emerging middle class. This scapegoat allows him to avoid discussing the quaestio iuris he has raised in his statement of facts while defending Father Loren<_;:o. If he has altered Bandello's statement of facts in order to defend Father Loren<_;:o, he has also demonstrated that the punishment established by civil law for marrying against parental consent apparently contradicts the couple's right to consent as defended by the Church. He has further demonstrated that these laws were particularly constraining for women, for whom being buried alive in a tomb was only a metaphorical representation of their actual legal situation without

12 As a matter of fact, the narrator presents the servant as a victim of the persuasive power of the lovers. But she does not participate in the secret plot of the sleeping potion, whid1 is fully designed by Father Lorcn~ro. l.l This luw condemns to deuth whoever rrovidcs poison to someone who intends to kill, whether m路 not the murder actually took pluce. In the cuse or the trunslution, Romeo l.lxplicilly uMkN the uputhecury fur 11 poiNpn that could kill u mun in lil'tccn minulcN (K3). The nurt'lltm路 NtutcN that tho 11puthtcary NotiM tho poiNon h1 the lntcrcNt ul' maklna money.

CARMEN R. RABELL

parental approval. However, since these punishments were precisely the mechanisms of repression used by this society to maintain its rigid class structure through the institution of marriage, the translator takes the short cut of pointing his accusing finger at an apothecary greedy for money: a literary stereotype who, in the Spanish context, was always associated with the mnverso (Jew or Muslim converted to the Christian religion), a frequent object of public inquisitorial scrutiny, an unsympathetic other. This literary scapegoat allows the translator to gain the sympathy of a Spanish audience by appealing to their preconceptions and prejudices. This final verdict would huve been perceived by a seventeenth-century Spanish reader as a therapeutic relief for the private and public anxiety felt against the converso, who was supposedly eroding the aristocratic order through money and threatening the religious unity of the state. 14 The converso was perceived as equally threatening by both sides represented in this fictional case. It is perfectly understandable, therefore, that in the context of CounterReformation Spain, Bandello's translator labored to defend Father Lorenc,;o by pn:senting him, not as a social climber who uses the secrecy of the sacrament of confession for self-serving purposes, but as a defender of the integrity of the sacrament of marriage. The translator thus defends the character and motive of Father Lorenc,;o in order to erase any criticism against the potential danger of the secrecy of confession, while further elevating him to the stature of a martyr who suffers legal and public scrutiny for defending a dogma established by the Church. Besides sidestepping the danger of excommunication, the translator secures the approval to publish the text. Enhancing the image of the Church through the emblematic figure of Father Lorenc,;o also saves the translation from the risk of being included in the Index of Forbidden Books, a mechanism also established by the Council of Trent in order to eradicate heresy through the defense of the Church's dogmas (Session XXV, December 5, 1563, Chapter XX). At the same time, the Council of Trent addressed those issues raised by Banddlo in his novella by invalidating secret marriages performed after the Council and enforcing the procedures previously established by the Fourth Lateran Council (Session XXIV, November 2, 1563, Decree on the Reformation of Marriage, Chapter I). These procedures served the purpose of avoiding situations parallel to Giulietta's, in which, for instance, a woman marries in secret against her father's will while her father tries to marry her in public to a 14 Yurhro-Bcjarano observes thut in constructing a Spanish identity, seventeenthCI.lntury Spaniurds followed a process of exclusion and homogenization similar to that described by Homi Bhahha, Benedict Anderson, and Paul Gilroy in eighteenth-century Europe ( 199, 294). She argues that 'the construction of the Jewish and Moorish presence us problem or threat makes posNihlc a unilicd notion of "Spunishness" thut "clearly dem~;~rcateN "authentic and inauthcnth:" types of nutionul helon~inll' (Gilroy 49, in Yarbro-Bejarano 199). For a detwled dlscuNHiun of this topic, Nl.lc the stmlics of Castro, Slc:roff, IU1G Kam•n·

THE ROLE OF LAW

different husband. However, although this reform asserts the couple's right to consent while banning secret marriages, it did not address the quaestio iuris evidenced by both Bandello and his translator: the seeming contradiction between the mutual consent defended by canon law and the parents' civil right to punish their children for marrying against their will. The Church did not recognize the absence of parental consent among the impediments to nullify the sacrament of marriage. 15 The creation of new laws also raises new issues and problems, providing fresh grounds to be explored by fiction. Agreda y Vargas is among those authors who follow the logic of the new set of laws established by the Council of Trent in his rewriting of Romeo et Giulietta. By changing the names of the heroes (Aurelio and Alexandra) and the setting of the story (Sena), Agreda y Vargas pretends that he is actually narrating a different case. Indeed, although his plot shares many aspects with Bandello's, Agreda y Vargas's case is not intended either to defend or attack clandestine marriages or the secrecy of confession. These issues were clearly addressed by the Council of Trent, and our author seems to stick to the resolutions reached by the Church. Moreover, after the public dissemination of the regulations of the Council of Trent, Bandello's questioning of the validity of the secrecy of confession would have been punished with excommunication, while the translator's defense of a clergyman who performs a clandestine marriage would have been perceived as both irrelevant and contentious. Thus, the new set of rules established by the Council of Trent changes the circumstances of the case and narrows the scope of the discussion. By setting his story in the legal context of the CounterReformation, Agreda y Vargas's version of the case seeks to test the effectiveness of the newly established canon rules while posing the problems raised by their apparent contradiction with the civil laws. Contrary to Bandello's protagonists, Aurelio and Alexandra are not depicted as passionate victims of love who rush to govern themselves and thus defy the obstacles posed by the ancestral hatred of their parents. They are rather portrayed as highly introspective adults who act according to their best judgment and knowledge. IfBandello's translator embellished the character of Father Lorenc,;o to defend his involvement in the case, Agreda y Vargas's strategy seems to consist in embracing the defense of the lovers. At least, he seems to oppose Bandello's exordium by eliminating any rush action or passionate decision as the cause of the tragedy. Like Aristotelian tragic heroes, Aurelio and Alexandra are extraordinarily good people who nevertheless wmmit an error of judgment that causes their tragic end. The defense of Aurelio and Alexandra's respective characters is thus an essential component of Agreda y Vargas's version of the case. For instance, 1.~ Fm u very dctaikd summary of the Tridcntine rules regarding murriage and its uhsc•·vuncc in the Spunlsh novellu, sec Lusp6rus's chuphll' entitled 'Pmgrnnunutions J(cliA~iCUNCN, le mnrillk!C Ct HLl CIIKUiNLit(~lc' (241·-bll).

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CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

while Bandello represents Romeo transferring his passionate love from one woman to another in a matter of minutes, Aurelio has been in love with only Alexandra and has served her by following her in public places (in church for example) and festivities for a period of time (1). However, they both keep their feelings secret because of their parents' hatred (1-2). If Romeo and Giulietta's actions are guided by passion, Aurelio and Alexandra are purudigms of discretion and moderation. They both possess the very virtue Bundello prescribes in his exordium in order to avoid Romeo and Giulietta's trugic end. For instance, while Giulietta and Romeo seem to rationalize their pussion by stating that their marriage could put an end to the disputes of their fumilies, Aurelio and Alexandra do not even talk to each other till they have concrete reasons to believe that the reconciliation of their families is possible. In a parallel scene to the fight between Romeo and Teobaldo, Alexandra und her mother witness from their window how Aurelio succeeds in saving the life of Alexandra's brother in a street fight (2). They further observe what uppeurs to be a scene of reconciliation:

conversation, speaking to Aurelio for the first time (4). Contrary to Bandello's version, Aurelio and Alexandra do not fall in love at first sight. Their passion does not grow with their contemplation of each other but as a result of an act of courtesy: Aurelio risks his life to gain the gratitude and admiration of both his lady and her family. His heroic act further strengthens Alexandra's feelings while inducing her to harbor realistic hopes that she can marry Aurelio with the consent of both families. Contrary to any expectation, however, Alexandra's father interprets Aurelio's deed as a strategy to defeat his enemies while gaining favorable public opinion (4). Thus, while the killing in self-defense ofTeobaldo increases the animosity between the families of Romeo and Giulietta, when Aurelio risks his life to save Alexandra's brother, his act of heroism unexpectedly augments the hatred of Alexandra's father. The character of Alexandra's father is attacked by the narrator, who states that the rest of the family was surprised at such ingratitude (4-5). Henceforth, Aurelio had no possibility of marrying Alexandra with her father's consent. Moreover, in Agreda y Vargas's version, the masked ball occurs after all these events, giving Alexandra a valid reason to ask Aurelio to talk to her in secret: he had been risking his life by talking to her openly in her father's house (8). However, while at the first secret meeting of Bandello's lovers Giulietta makes marriage a precondition of sexual intimacy, Alexandra conversely tries to dissuade Aurelio from pursuing her love. While promising never to consent to marry anyone else, she states that, given the resistance of their parents, she would prefer to renounce her love rather than risk her lover's life (15-16). To counter her resistance, Aurelio implicitly appeals to the resolutions of the Council of Trent; that is, he defends their free will in order to persuade Alexandra that the only requirement for their marriage is their mutual consent (17). Besides implicitly alluding to a law regarding marriage, he contextualizes this law within the broader discussion of the idea of free will sustained by the Catholic Church, further using an ideological cause as an argument to achieve his goal. Unlike Giulietta, Alexandra is not easily rersuaded to marry against the will of her father. The narrator states very dearly that she is persuaded after a great deal of resistance:

Tcniendo las cosas este estado, sucedio vn dia, que estando Alexandra a la vcntana, con su madre, y criadas, ocupada en exercicios mugeriles de su labor, decentes, y necessarios a las nobles donzellas, por ser las deuidas ocupaciones que les tocan, que salio de vna casa junto a la suya vn hermano que tenia, acuchilHidose con tres contrarios, que con gana de satisfazerse le apretauan. Passo a este tiempo Aurelio, y agradecido a su buena suerte, de tan buena ocasion, saco gallardamente la espada, y poniendose a su lado le libro en breue tiempo del conocido peligro, y el reconociendo que era su mortal enemigo, quien auia sido su amparo, corrido de auer recebido de su mano el beneficio: pero obligado de la ocasion, le dio las deuidas gracias, alabando su virtud y cortesia, a que siempre se mostraria reconocido. A quien Aurelio deseando ganarle la voluntad, le respondio: sabe el cielo lo que desseara, que nuestros padres fenecieran sus encontradas opiniones para comunicaros, como desseo: pero quando esto no sea possible en mi, quando de vos, y el vuestro reciba las sinrazones, que no espero de tan honrados Caualleros, jamas podre dexar de amaros, y de serviros. (2-3) The virtuous character of the young lady is safeguarded because she is at her window accompanied by her mother. Just in case the reader might question whut u young girl was doing at her window, the narrator introduces a sententia that legitimizes her activity, judging it as the appropriate kind of work for a noble maiden girl: 'exercicios mugeriles de su labor, decentes y necesarios a las nobles donzellas, por ser las ocupaciones que les tocan' (2-3). Aurelio's acts and words also manifest his courtesy and willingness to gain the reconciliation of the two families by risking his own life. Moreover, Alexandra's brother expresses his wish thut their families be reconciled while their mother praises Aurelio. thanking him fur saving the life of her son. After her mother and brother expreu their grutitude, Alexandra joints the

Por ellugar referido se auian hablado los dos amantes algunas vezes, y al fin de mucha resistencia, importunada de infinitos ruegos, y persuadida de que antes podria tener prospero, que aduerso su determinacion, causando el irremediable parentesco la paz de los dos ta desseada. Vltimamente se resoluio, en que como uiesse orden que se casassen, seria con su voluntad, porque solo palabra no auia con ella de tener efecto, ni poner en su esposo dctcrminuci.on, mal ufecto para en ningun tiempo. (9) But if, contrary to Bundello, Agreda y Yurgus embellishes the characters of the lovers us part of hiN nurrution of the cvcntN, he further ulter11 the events

CARMEN R. RABELL

when he presents Liuia, Alexandra's servant, readily offering her service to facilitate the first meeting of the lovers while encouraging the maiden girl to pursue her impossible love against the will of her parents (9). 16 Without Alexandra's permission, Liuia visits Aurelio to volunteer her service as mediator in their love. Agreda y Vargas thus transfers the role of Father Lorenzo to Liuia, while debasing both her character and motives: 'Ella entonces justificando su causa, que quando los efectos no son tales, no hay quien no los dessee amparar con Ia sombra de Ia virtud, le dixo, que creyesse, que a no auer ella coferido consigo misma Ia importancia destos efetos, junto con sus desseos, no bastaran las muchas obligaciones que le tenia, ni el amor q los merecimientos de Alexadra con ella auian grangeado' (12). Besides demonstrating that the obtaining of peace between the families is Liuia's only apparent motive to serve as mediator between Aurelio and Alexandra, the narrator further explains that she is serving her own interest by adding a .\'t'lllentia that explains her motivations as being a more general pattern of hehnvior among people of lower social status: 'conocio que estauan dispuestas las voluntades, cosa que como ella entendia, que de su conformidad pendia su rcmedio, lo desseaua mucho, y lo procuraua con mucha solicitud, que no ay amor verdadero, ni lealtad en gente de pocas obligaciones, quando no se acompafia con el propio desseo, comodidad, y interes' (14-15). Following this line of argument, Aurelio's servant (Atilo) and a Doctor of Medicine are presented as the masterminds of the plot to use a sleeping potion to simulate the death of Alexandra. They share with Liuia the role that Bandello assigned to an ambitious clergyman eager to gain power and social advantage. In this respect, Agreda y Vargas coincides with the translator in accusing the ambitions of other sectors of society as the actual threat to the existing aristocratic order. In 'Aurelio y Alexandra', Bandello's criticism against the secrecy of confession is countered by the fact that Atilo - Aurelio's servant - gains a similar trust without being a clergyman who uses confession to obtain power over his spiritual followers. Atilo manages to get employment at Alexandra's house, gaining the family's trust in order to facilitate the lovers' marriage. He is entrusted with the key to the house and free access to Alexandra. This substitution serves as a clever strategy apparently to erase a direct criticism of a minister of the Church and the sacrament of confession while, nevertheless, narrating a fictitious case which tests the effectiveness of the Council of Trent in solving the ambiguity generated by civil and canon laws regarding marriage. As a matter of fact, Aurelio manages to design a master plan to marry in public, according to the Church, but behind their families' backs. Aurelio asks a notary to apply for the public banns on behalf of two servants who want to get married. However, the public banns proclaim the intended marriage of the Ill Both the tran•latlon and 8andello'11 vcrNinn cnincluc In Ntnllnlllhnt Cliullottu's old Morvant tri11 to dlaa\llde ber wh!lltndln, up perNuadod to help the lover•' fllirpuNe.

THE ROLE OF LAW

lovers, who use their lesser known names (20). After sidestepping this obstacle, Aurelio explains that he wants to marry his servants in a hermitage, using this excuse to obtain the Bishop's permission to perform the wedding with any priest and in a church different from their own (20). Thus Aurelio and Alexandra succeed in performing a secret marriage while following the procedures of the Council of Trent, further proving that the new regulations do not fully protect the interests of their parents nor the integrity of the sacrament of marriage. As in Bandello's version, Alexandra succeeds in marrying according to her will only to later face the option of either refusing to marry her father's candidate or living in adultery in order to escape her father's punishment. However, besides exposing the failure of the regulations of the Council of Trent to stop the practice of secret marriages, Agreda y Vargas's version also attacks the motivations of the aristocracy for not respecting the right to consent defended by canon law. His representation of nobility is rather ambiguous. For instance, Conde Carlos formally asks to marry Alexandra only after failing to win her by gaining her servants' favor (25). However, thinking about social advancement and his own interests, Alexandra's father does not respect her right to consent. Without notifying his daughter, he rushes to make a favorable decision with the same immoderation that Bandello attacks in his young protagonists: El viendo lo que auentajaua con semejante casamiento, y desseoso de gozar los esperados nietos, como salir de guarda de tan peligrosa <mentura, viendo que a su gusto, y comodidad hallaua quien se encargasse della, y a el le librasse de tan penoso cuydado, comunicandolo con su muger, que lo aprouo, al punto solicitandole para que no se perdiesse semejante ocasion, determino de darsela, y respondio al Conde, acetando el fauor, y prometiendosela, y assi los dos se concertaron, que porque era justo hazer las deuidas preueciones, se detuuiesse el efeto quinze, o veynte dias, y hechas las escrituras, quedo entre los dos efetuado, y como cosa que lo estaua, el Conde con licencia de visitar a su esposa, y el muy contento dio Iicencia a la suya del efeto, que lo agradecio con grandes caricias, y luego llamaron a Alexandra, y los padres dandola relacion de todo, la empe~aron a persuadir [... ]. (25-26) Although Alexandra tries to present timid excuses for not accepting the marriage that has already been arranged and announced by public banns, she ends up consenting in order to gain time while finding another solution to the problem (26). In Agreda y Vargas's version, Aurelio is out of town on a business trip, and the only other known witnesses who cun reveal the existing impediment are Atilo and Liuiu. 17 Therefore, ulthough the Council of Trent estublishes the \

17 The marrhtllc ltMcli'IN wltnc•••d tly Atlln anr.t two Ntranaor• (22),

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CARMEN R. RAI:lELL

mechanism to prevent bigamy and adultery, in this particular case, the responsibility for declaring the existing impediment is shared by a girl and two servants who are both economically dependent on Alexandra's father and subject to his punishment. Hence, Agreda y Vargas exposes again the weakness of the new set of canon laws in light of an extreme case. Since the public-secret-legal marriage of Aurelio and Alexandra is an extreme case not contemplated by the letter of the law, the new regulations also failed to predict u cusc in which the freedom of potential witnesses was limited by the same people who wanted to prevent the exercise of the couple's freedom to consent. Agreda y Vargas's extreme case thus tests the boundaries of the application of the luw, demonstrating its limits. Henceforth, even though the letter of the law is scrupulously followed, the trugic end of the lovers is not prevented, thanks to Alexandra's father's greed for social advantage, Aurelio's absence, and the fear of potential witnesses who could have publicly declared the impediment to the marriage of Alcxundra and Count Carlos. In Agreda y Vargas's version, a doctor prepares a powder to simulate Alexandra's death. However, Atilo fails to rescue Alexandra on time, because he ingests part of the sleeping-powder that he accidentally mixes with his sugur-coated biscuits. When Aurelio and Atilo try to rescue Alexandra, they lind that she has killed herself trying to escape, banging her body against the wulls of her grave. After witnessing this scene, Aurelio dies of grief. Thus, through a fictitious case in which a couple exercises the right to consent by following the procedures established by the Church, without the secret complicity of a wicked clergyman, Agreda y Vargas demonstrates that the public ceremonies established by the Council of Trent protected the Church from being attacked by the nobility, but did not address the contradiction bet ween the doctrine of free will and the freedom to consent, or the set of civil luws that meted out harsh punishment for marrying against parental consent. Furthermore, the narrator reveals at the end of the story that, since both Liuiu and Atilo escaped after the tragedy, the story, as a statement of facts, has been reconstructed through non-artificial proofs or evidence: the two dead bodies, their love letters, and their marriage certificate. These proofs provide the grounds for a verdict in which the servants are found guilty for serving as the instruments of the tragedy, while Alexandra's parents are deemed ultimately responsible for the tragedy:

Llcgo en esto Ia justicia [... ], vieron el miserable espectaculo de los dos umantes, y quedaron de modo turbados, como si cada vno esperara semejante fin, y en efecto con infinitos sentimientos, mirandole a el las faltriqueras, le hallaron cartas de Alexandra, por donde rastrearon parte de tan lastimosa desuentura. Acudieron en cusu de los pudrcs de los amantes 1••. I Y haziendo diliacncia, viendo que Liuiu, y Alilo f'ultuuun, crcycron con ccrtidumbre, que ello11 aulan Nido loH inNtrumcntoN de tunto duiio.

THE ROLE OF LAW

Desseando auerlos a las manos, para darles el merecido castigo, y buscando vn cofre que Liuia tenia hallaron entre muchas cartas de Aurelio para Alexandra, la fe del desposorio, con que mas consolados, no juzgaron por afrenta el sucesso, que publicado por Ia manana se sintio generalmente de todos. Dando Ia culpa de semejante desgracia a los padres de los inocentes difuntos, que con sus vandos, y dissensiones auian dado ocasion de que tan conformes voluntades, que pudieran ajustar las suyas, no se gozassen. (40-41) The statement of facts and proofs of Agreda y Vargas's story constitute a defense of the lovers. But his fictitious case further proves that the free will of women was impossible to exercise in a society in which they could not be emancipated from the tutelage of their parents without losing their economic means of survival. In the strictest sense, this society denied women the basic right to be adults. Women passed from the tutelage of their parents to that of their husbands. If their husbands failed to support them, their only means of survival were their dowries. Therefore, marrying without parental consent was not a viable option for women. Aurelio's failure to rescue Alexandra leaves her buried alive and banging her body against the walls of her grave. Alexandra's tragic end represents the actual danger faced by a woman who exercises her own will against that of her parents. However, this highly critical view of society presented by the structure of a fictitious case is ameliorated by the fact that this case is presented as an example. 18 In the same way as with an example in which particular instances are introduced to reach a general conclusion, Agreda y Vargas explains at the end of the story how the conduct and fate of each person involved in the case provide a general moral lesson for people of all ranks in society. Like the narrative frame used by Boccaccio in the Decameron, 19 the rhetoric of the example used by Agreda y Vargas at the end of his story serves to distance his authorial voice from the defense provided through proofs and the narratio. Moreover, the author's strategy is to present a fictitious case that ends like an Aristotelian tragedy. Following very closely the prescriptions of Aristotelian drama, Agreda y Vargas challenges Bandello's representation of the tragic end of two passionate young lovers in order to represent the tragedy of superior people who nevertheless fail to predict the danger involved in their apparently IK Arredondo illustrates how the moralizing tendency of Agreda y Vargas is perceptible in thut the resolution of each of his stories coincides with the moral ethos of his time (87), nnd the moralizing ending is reinforced by a kind of appendix in which the author states the text's ethicul mcssuge (!l6). IV Stiller points out thut Boccaccio individualizes the process of reading and lnll.wpreting hy setting his stories in un cnvimnmcnt in which ull the rules have been rclnKcd (9~-96). Acconlinll to Celli Olivulilnoli, oven the spuciul desc1·iption or the lllli'I'Utlvo l'rume's sollini fulluws u cun~ervutive tendenl.ly within thl.l ReuiiNt trudition (93 ).

CARMEN R. RABELL

well-reasoned and carefully meditated actions. The effect pursued by the narrator is to make the audience experience a feeling of horror and fear similar to that felt by the representatives of the law who found the bodies of Aurelio and Alexandra: they felt that the same danger could befall them. Thus, while demonstrating the limits of the law regarding marriage established by the Council of Trent, Agreda y Vargas's narratio and proofs intend to improve his audience's judgment through the representation of a painful image. Fiction thus seeks to direct the will of the audience by creating painful images that intervene, in turn, in the process of rejecting or choosing a course of action. At least, this is the official message, which the narrator seems to endorse by attaching a moral lesson that explicitly judges every one of his fictional characters to his narratio, proofs, and verdict. Similarly to the narrator of an injunctive example, he interprets Aurelio as an unfortunate young nobleman who saves the life of his enemy, obtains an unexpected result, and pays for his sins with a tragic end (43-44). However, Alexandra's father is also condemned for his irrational hatred and ungratefulness toward Aurelio. The narrator of the injunctive example further warns the audience that, like Alexandra's father, they could overlook an existing impediment if they neglected the will of their children in order to arrange a marriage of convenience (42-43). Nevertheless, the narrator also warns that parents should select their servants carefully, especially if they have daughters (43). He advises parents that in order to avoid dangerous inconveniences, they must choose faithful servants who lead respectable lives (43). While advising noble families to start behaving like good citizens by putting an end to the kind of struggles and unimosities that caused the tragedy in this case (42-43), the narrator also sends a wake-up call to the nobility to make them aware of the potential danger of an enemy in the home. Indeed, since in the urban setting, servants work for a salary inside their masters' home, they constitute a closer threat to the aristocratic order. 20 211 A<.:cording to the narrator, servants pose a double threat with their bad ways of life und unfaithfulness. The first aspect of the threat is based on the general idea that servants belong to a different world in which good customs and laws are somewhat absent. For lnsllm<.:e, sin<.:e servants are not concerned about titles of nobility or large inheritances, they have more freedom to choose their husbands or wives and to practise the mutual consent prcs<.:ribed by the Church. However, the adoption of this relaxed attitude of the lower class hy the nobility would erode the very foundation of an aristocratic hierarchy that depended so much on prearranged marriages. The story shows the dangerous consequences of this problem by representing Aurelio and Alexandra hiding their social status under the diNJUillc of servants in order to obtain a legal marriage behind their parents' bucks. DIKguised as servants, they avoid being subjected to too many questions or to raising any NUMplclon beeauMe of their parents' absence 111 their simple ceremony in u small church. When the priest asks Aurelio why he obtained perml!islon to numy In a chUJ'Ch other thun hiM own, he answers that his master applied for thiN permiNNion while prnmiMinlllll pl'llvidc him with a wec:tdifta oertmoft)'. Aurtllo add• that, Minco hiN ma11t1r d(lOM not Neem to be

THE ROLE OF LAW

Agreda y Vargas suggests that the nobility needs servants who share their ideas about honor, without revolting against them. 21 In an urban setting, Agreda y Vargas seems to suggest the necessity of virtuous servants who would adopt the honorable habits of their masters (good citizens) while rejecting any greed for money. Although his story does not elaborate on designing a discourse that can impose this ideology, as part of his moral lessons, he states that from the experience of Liuia and Atilo, servants should learn to limit their loyalty to their masters for those matters that are just, adding that unjust causes always bring great misfortunes (44 ). Indeed, by the end of the story, Atilo and Liuia become fugitives from the law for not observing this maxim. Agreda y Vargas's story thus intends to persuade the readers belonging to the lower class by representing the dangers of following an unjust course of action. His warning to servants to observe justice while calling noble people to behave as good citizens demonstrates the rise of a new order in which the observance of the law would serve as the cohesive force that contains the

willing to keep his word, as a poor man, he prefers a humble ceremony ruther than living in sin (21-22). As the story shows, even the Church appears to r<.:lax its procedures when dealing with couples of lower social status. The second threat posed by servants, according to the narrator, is the danger of having a potential enemy within the house. In the increasingly urban societies of the Renaissance and the Baroque, although servants share the same physical space with the nobility (the city, the house), their relationships are determined by the newly established salary system. Indeed, the exchange of goods or money seems to be a weak cohesive for<.:e between these two <.:lasses. This is precisely one of the aspects addressed by the narrator when stating, for instance, that Liuia approved the cause of the lovers because her parents received many favors while serving in Aurelio's house (9). However, Atil(), Aurelio's servant, manages to get employed at Alexandra's house to serve the interests of his old master. The new working relationships and horizontal mobility of the lower class, thus, pose a threat to an uristocrati<.: order that heavily depended on the rigidity and loyalty of a feudalist hierarchy. 21 Some of these threats were somewhat solved by transfcning the aristocratic discourse of honor to old Christian peasants who were also supposed to preserve their blood by defending female virginity. This discourse allowed peasant-subje<.:ts to feel pride in their position in society, while safeguarding the supremacy of the nobility. The social mobility of old Christians was ideologically compatible with the spirit of the Reconquista and the Conquest and colonization of America (Maravall, 'La funci6n del honor' 22), while the unification of Spain was based on the predominance of the Christian caste. In Spain, the old Christian blood ofthe peasant was conceived as a kind of nobility. To at least u limited extent, both peasants and aristocrats shared a social imaginary that was sustained hy honor. Correa differentiates between what he calls 'vertical honor' and 'horizontal honor.' While the former refers to the prestige attached to nobility of birth (99), the latter refers to the rcpulation of l\" individual within a community ( 10 I). While vertical honor was a hil~rurchi<.:ul me<.:hanism of sociul diJTerentiation, horizontal honor operated as a me<.:hanism of sociul intcgrntion (I 0 I). Whereus the horizontal honm of u man depended on his virility (munlincss), the honor or u womun wusjud~tcd in uccordnn<.:c with her virtue ur mm·ttl <.:onduct (I 0]), Htll'i:wntul honm· wuM Mhurcd by ut•istoct·utH und plehclunH: It waM lt humua1.1nl:~.lnJ idculuay th11t hrokc ciiiMM h11rriarN ( 101'1).

CARMEN R. RABELL

competitive interests and ambitions of the different sectors of society. Agreda y Vargas's story constructs a social imaginary in which the centrifugal forces of an aristocratic-Catholic state, coexisting with a salary system, could be contained by ensuring that all the heterogeneous sectors of society live under the law, embracing the homogenizing discourse of citizenship. Moreover, the narrator presents Count Carlos as a positive example that should be emulated by the nobility of the Republic. After the tragedy of Aurelio and Alexandra, Count Carlos mediates between the two families to obtain the peace. As Agreda y Vargas advises in his last sententia, the noble sector of society should use its authority and force to safeguard the peace of the Republic (Republica): 'los nobles en materia de cortesia, siempre procuran hazerse cargo de lo que no les toea, procurando su remedio, y que no hay accion mas propia de los senores, que en todas ocasiones interponen su autoridad y fuer9as, para que goze de paz la Republica' (44). However, Agreda y Vargas's Republic gives women the status of secondclass citizens. As a Roman praetor interpreting the limits and the spirit of a set of' seemingly contradictory laws, the narrator of the example tries to smooth over the contradictions between canon and civil law regarding marriage. He thus states that Alexandra's case shows that, since whenever maidens exercise their free will they cause so much misery, they should instead waive their rights: 'En Alexandra se nos ensefia quanta deue las donzellas escusar su disposici5 por su aluedrio, porque siempre es causa de desdichas' (42). Like La vida es sueiio, and so many other texts of the Spanish Golden Age, Agreda y Vargas's narrative undermines the doctrine of free will defended by the Church while preaching to women the need to limit their will in order to sustain the existing aristocratic order. 22 However, the issues raised by his fictitious case also provide female readers with limited room to fantasize ubout testing the validity of those laws that constrain their ability to move, desire, and exercise their will.

0JWECCHE AND ARDENIA: THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN

What would happen to logocentrism, to the great philosophical systems, to the order of the world in general if the rock upon which they founded this church should crumble? [... ] 22 As Cascardi has stated about Segismundo, in the culture of control of CounterReformation Spain, a woman like Alexandra could enjoy the illusion of being a NUbjcct-self as long as she accepted her role as a subject. During the process of formation of a new complex subjectivity that John Beverley has compared with Janus, with one face looklna to the downfall of feudalism and the other to the rise of modcmity, Agrcda y VIU'&aN'N novella, throuah the rhetoric provided by the fictitious case, the example, und AriMtotolian trqocly, Ia al1o an attempt to contain, thruuih the pei'NUUNive methods of fiction, tho wUI of women·al.lbjecta who could threaten tho arl•tucrl\th: hierarchy.

THE ROLE OF LAW

So all the history, all the stories would be there to retell differently; the future would be incalculable; the historic forces would and will change hands and change body - another thought which is yet unthinkable - will transform the functioning of all society. (Helene Cixous, 'The Newly Born Woman')

Even though 'Aurelio y Alexandra' tests the limits of a contradictory set of civil and canon laws regarding marriage, this extreme case is presented within an example that proposes law as the main cohesive force of society, while also proposing women subjects as potential threats to this order. Moreover, both Agreda y Vargas and Bandello's translator choose to explore private cases concerning the domestic space of the home in order to test the validity of the newly established regulations of the Council of Trent and, thus, the public political agenda supported by this new order. The private issues provided by fictitious cases function as analogies to public issues pertaining to the political sphere of society. This procedure is even more evident in Cinthio's 'Orbecche' (1565) and Agreda y Vargas's 'Federico y Ardenia' (1620), in which the representation of private cases of royal characters inevitably touches on issues pertaining to civil power and international law. In order to understand the various legal grounds involved in this case, I will refer to the political theory of Francisco de Vito ria, whose influential writings on civil and canon law attempted to attack the very same protestant dogmas that were later challenged by the Council of Trent. 23 Furthermore, Vitoria is best known as the father of international law, a relevant legal ground explored by Cinthio and Agreda y Vargas in their respective versions of 'Orbecche'. Francisco de Vitoria was the first to theorize about such issues as diplomatic relationships between kingdoms, trading, war, or the treatment of foreigners within a state. First of all, it is relevant to point out that one ofVitoria's main concerns was to counter the Lutheran notion that the authority of secular power depended upon God's grace. 24 As Pagden and Lawrance state in their prologue to Vitoria's Political Writings:

23 As Pagden and Lawrance affirm in the prologue to Vitoria's Political Writings, most ol' his views were embraced by the Council (xvii). Vitoria's ideas were widely known thanks to one of his pupils who indeed was one of the Spanish representatives at the Council of Trent: '[ ... ] much ofVitoria's teaching found its way into more accessible form in his star pupil Domingo de Soto's De iustitia et iure, first printed in Salamanca in 1553, a standard manual on rights amJ justice which could have been found on the shelves of every scholarly lihrury in Europe' (xvii). Although Viloria was invited by Carlos V to attend the Council, he died before the meetings look place (prologue). 24 This theory was llrst urtlculuted in the fourteenth century by .John Wycliff and staled In the tifteenth century hy the Bnh~tnlun refurtnc•· Jnn HuNN (Pujden and Lnwruncc

KVI-KVII).

CARMEN R. RABELL

[... ] the 'modem heretics', the Lutherans, made rights, and hence the authority of secular princes, dependent upon God's grace. On this account only a godly ruler could be a just legislator. Thus, if a prince was a heretic or proved in the eyes of those who chose to judge him to be in a state of sin, his laws could not be binding in conscience (On Civil Power 3.1-6, pp. 32-42), and he might legitimately be deposed. It was this which underpinned the Lutheran and later Calvinist theory of revolution, despite Luther and Calvin's own insistence that no opposition to established authority could be justified in practice. For Franciso de Vi tori a, and later for the Spanish delegates at the Council of Trent, Domingo de Soto and the Archbishop of Toledo Bartolome de Carranza (also a former pupil of Vitoria), it was vital that such a theory, with all that it implied for the c1lective right of lesser magistrates to make war upon their ordained princes, should be discredited. IfVitoria's work can be said to have a single unifying concern, it is with the preservation of the civil state from 'the arguments which heretics and schismatics use to dissuade or inveigle away the hearts of simple men from due obedience to their princes and their priests' (On the Power of the Church 1.2, p. 55). (xvi-xvii) Viloria's political theory is dominated by analogical thinking in which civil power, the power of the Church, and the relationships between parents and children and husbands and wives are determined by the metaphor of power as a body. In this body, there is always a single directive head to which all the other limbs must be subordinated in order to avoid monstrosity and chaos. This metaphor is coupled with a second analogy that continues to direct the politics of modern states: the so-called domino effect. According to this thinking, challenging the authority of husbands or fathers can lead to insurrection against the authority of princes, the pope, and the natural order established by God. In order to counter this heretical notion, Vitoria reinforces 'Aquinas's argument that all rights (iura) were natural and the consequence of God's law, not of God's grace' (Pagden and Lawrance xvi). Vitoria contends that human partnerships, especially civil partnership (ciuilis societas), 'arise for the purpose of helping to bear each other's burdens' and that the city (ciuitas) is 'the most natural community, the one which is most conformable to nature'. He further sustains that this civil association is particularly necessary for 'defence against violent attack'. But if civil associations are necessary in order to protect the very survival of mankind, Vitoria considers it absolutely necessary to have some sort of directive force or power to safeguard the very existence of this civil partnership (Vitoria 8-9). Drawing an analogy between the function of a body and the life of citizens in a community, Vitoria further argues that some form of civil power must exist: Ju8l Uli lhe humun body cunnot remuin heulthy unless some uruerin~ force (uls ordlnatrl.x) directs the ainile llmbM tu uct in concert with the others to

THE ROLE OF LAW

the greatest good of the whole, so it is with a city in which each individual strives against the other citizens for his own advantage to the neglect of the common good. Here we have, then, the final cause, and the most potent, of secular power, namely utility and necessity so urgent that not even gods can resist it. (On Civil Power 1.2; Political Writings) Claiming that 'partnerships cannot exist without some overseeing power or governing force' (On Civil Power 1.3), he thus argues that public power is founded upon natural law. Vitoria further concludes that since 'public power is founded upon natural law, and if natural law acknowledges God as its only author, then it is evident that public power is from God, and cannot be overridden by conditions imposed by men or by any positive law' (On Civil Power 1.3). Hence, Vitoria sustains that the efficient cause of public power is God. However, he states that this 'naturally and divinely appointed power rests in the commonwealth', which is the material cause of civil power (On Civil Power 1.4). By entrusting the government and administration of affairs (such as framing laws, proposing policies, judging disputes, punishing transgressors, or generally imposing laws on individuals) to a certain man, the commonwealth does not transfer its power, but its authority to the sovereign. To clarify the distinction between these two terms, Vitoria draws an analogy to canonical power (On Civil Power, Question I, Article 5; Political Writings). This analogy seeks to establish that, although the pope is elected and crowned by the Church, it does not imply that his power can be overturned or even questioned by those who elected him; the commonwealth does not have the right to depose a legitimate sovereign or to override his power. Like the power of the pope, royal power comes from God's law. Therefore every law enacted by a prince has the same binding force as divine laws (On Civil Power, Question 3, Article 2). Yet, although a prince is free to make laws as he chooses, he cannot choose 'whether to be bound by the law' (On Civil Power, Question 3, Article 4). However, Vitoria's prince is not an all-powerful god. He must observe and create laws with moderation and equity. Vitoria contends that whereas 'for divine law to be just and consequently binding, the will of the Lawgiver is sufficient [... ], for human laws to be just and binding, the will of the legislator is not sufficient, since the law must also be moderate, and useful to the commonwealth' (On Civil Power, Question 3, Article 1). Moreover, a prince is also bound to obey international law (ius gentium): 'No kingdom may choose to ignore this law of nations, because it has the sunction of the whole world' (On Civil Power, Question 3, Article 4; Political Writings). In 0~ the American Indians, Vitoria introduces other notions of international luw, such us the idea that 'it is a law of nature to welcome strungers', thut denizens should be able to acquire citizenship if they want to live in other communities, that the scu shoulu be common property, und that l'urelgncrN Nhould have the riaht tll trude und communicate with the citizens of

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

other nations (Question 3, Article 1; Political Writings). A country can declare war against another nation if the principle of 'natural partnership and communication' (the freedom to trade goods and exchange 'ideas' 25 ) is violated (On the American Indians, Question 3, Article 1). Regarding the legitimacy of war, Vitoria states that (1) 'the sole and only just cause for waging war is when harm has been inflicted', (2) 'since all the effects of war are cruel and horrible [ ... ] it is not lawful to persecute those responsible for trivial offences by waging war upon them' (Question 1, Article 4). Quoting Aristotle (Politics 1295a 19-21), Vitoria also states that '[t]he prince must order war and peace for the common good of the commonwealth; he may not appropriate public revenues for his own aggrandisement or convenience, still less expose his subjects to danger. This is the difference between a legitimate king and a tyrant: the tyrant orders the government for his own profit and convenience, whereas the king orders it for the common good, as Aristotle demonstrates' (introduction to On the Law of War; Political Writings). However, despite Aristotle's argument that a prince who governs for his own sake is a tyrant, Vitoria only accepts the possibility of deposing a prince if he is found to be damaging the people's Christian faith (On the Power of the Church, Question 5, Article 8; Political Writings). Besides this legitimate reason for insurrection, no matter how incompetent or tyrannical a prince might be, not even the pope is empowered to depose him. Even though a prince should be a just lawgiver and an obedient follower of civil and international law, neither the people nor the Church could instil revolt by claiming that a prince has failed to obey this set of rules. The prince could only be judged by the lawgiver. Vitoria further applies his conclusions on civil power and the government of the city to the realm of the home, in which he contends 'the commands of parents and husbands are binding in the same manner as civil laws' (On Civil Powa, Question 3, Article 7). However, since the family is part of the commonwealth, 'the law can determine where the obedience of children to their parents should be required and where it should not' (On Civil Power, Question 3, Article 7). But still, the husband is considered the head of the house, and wives should obey their husbands as children should obey their parents (On Civil Power, Question 3, Article 7; Political Writings). While children (minors) were under the tutelage of their parents only until they reached adulthood, women remained in a state of perpetual childhood. This low status for women is clearly articulated by Vitoria when he compares the legal status of children, women, and American Indians. Again, an analogy allows him to defend the right of the Spaniards to intervene in America, arguing that Indians are comparable to children, who are only potentially, but not actually, rational beings. He recognizes that children have dominium because they can suffer injury and because, in Jaw. their goods are held

independently from those of their guardians. However, he points out that children cannot make contracts and that they own these goods only as their inheritance (On the American Indians, Question 1, Article 5; Political Writings). Like children, women had juridical personality but did not possess the freedom to dispose of their property. The juridical status of a woman was defined as her capacity to suffer injury or to cause it. Therefore, although she was entitled to restitution or punishment, she was unable to execute contracts, business transactions, or to make decisions without the consent of her father, husband, or legal guardian. Comparing American Indians to children and women, Vitoria states that the Castilian crown might be able to claim a right to hold the Indians and their lands in tutelage until they reach the age of reason (On the American Indians, Question 3, Article 8). Furthermore, applying Aristotle's theory of the existence of natural slaves, Vitoria argues that 'it is good that such men should be subordinate to others, like children to their parents until they reach adulthood, and like a wife to her husband' (Question 1, Article 6). While children and American Indians were, in theory, in the process of reaching adulthood in order to claim their rights to their lands and inheritance, women passed from the tutelage of their fathers to that of their husbands. Furthermore, Vitoria's best argument against the Lutheran notion that 'every member of the Church is a priest', is the 'well-known fact' that a woman 'possesses no knowledge of spiritual matters' (On the Power of the Church, Question 3, Article 2). Her status was inferior to that of children or madmen, who 'may possibly come to a state where they are able to exercise power properly' because 'their impediment is [... ] merely contingent, unlike that of women' (On the Power of the Church, Question 3, Article 3). Regarding the ability of women to exercise secular public power, Vitoria quotes Aristotle (Politics 1269b-1270al4), who contends that 'when the rulership and administration devolve to the hands of a woman, it leads to the downfall of the commonwealth' (qtd. in On the Power of the Church, Question 3, Article 1). According to Vitoria's analogical theory of power as a body, the exercise of any source of power by a woman will turn the house, the Church, and the commonwealth upside down. This upside-down world is precisely the image represented by Giraldi Cinthio's 'Orbecche' (1565) and Agreda y Vargas's 'Federico y Ardenia' (1620). The characters of the narrative frame of Cinthio's collection establish human love as their central topic of discussion. 26 This topic is discussed

as Vttorla mentionâ&#x20AC;˘ onl)' the rlaht Lo â&#x20AC;˘prol\d the ChriMllun rollalon (3.2),

26 The frame of .Giraldi Cinthio's collection of novellas demonstrates a tendency to cautiously avoid the Criticism of the Church or any authority figure related to the ideology of the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent. For instance, although the characters of the narrative frame usc storytelling 11s 11 wuy l<l cscupe the hrutul effect of the Suck of Rome in l ~27. the nurrutor slltles Ihut thJs event wus petÂˇformcd by the Ocrmuns, who were etmhunlnttted by Luther'N J'eNtlt'erouN Noct (2), The purllclputlon of ChllrleH V In thla conflict

CARMEN R. RABELL

within a broader context that constructs an analogy between the realm of the home, the city, and the Republic, coinciding with the political theory exposed hy Vitoria. Fabio states that there are two representations of Venus as there are two kinds of love: the first consists in the simple contemplation of beauty while the latter awakens the desire to multiply this beauty through the bodies (Giraldi Cinthio 20). This second type of love instills the enjoyment of copulation, thus securing the survival of the human species. He further states that, while animals follow their appetite, human love should subordinate appetite to reason. Human appetite must be controlled and regulated by reason, and the only legitimate love relationship that satisfies these conditions is marriage (20-21). Promiscuity is presented as a dehumanizing activity that brings man closer to his animal nature, while marriage is perceived as an institution that regulates sex, thus subordinating the body to the control of the head. Within marriage, love is under the law. In promiscuous love, man is abandoned to his lower nature. However, Pontio, another character of the narrative frame, introduces an objection against this institution: given the bad nature of women, it is impossible to enjoy tranquility in marriage (21). He further ridicules the institution of marriage by stating that women are so bad that their fathers are willing to pay dowries to their future in-laws in order to get rid of their daughters (21). Given this belief in the unruly nature of women, Pontio ridicules the notion that love can be regulated by reason within the institution of marriage. He further supports his view by quoting Menandro, who stated that it was preferable to bury a woman than marry her (21). While using the very same image explored by Bandello and Agreda y Vargas in their respective versions of Romeo and Juliet, Pontio's joke implies the need to repress the lower nature of women in order to secure the subordination of appetite to reason in the institution of marriage. His understatement is clear to Fabio, who responds that it is men's duty to use reason when choosing to marry a woman. Man's superior reasoning can enable him to choose a good woman over a bad one (23-24). Marriage and the domestic space of the home are compared to a city (26) in which the wife is her husband's subject (24), and the man should secure his position as the head of the household without employing tyrannical means (25). In marriage, thus, the body is regulated by the head, appetite is subordinated to reason, love is under the law, and the woman should submit to the man. According to Fabio, the institution of marriage secures the legitimacy of lineage and the peace of the Republic (25). However, although men should not behave like tyrants, they also should not be too permissive with their wives. In the space of the home, husbands should keep the same IN not even mentioned by the narrator. Cinthio wrote during the Counter-Reformation. ll would nut have been very wiRe to attack the very monurch who nnlcrcd the Council of

Trent.

THE ROLE OF LAW

balance of power as that between monarchs and their subjects. Marriage should not subvert the image of power as a body subordinated to the head because, within this analogical thinking, such subversion will legitimize revolt in the broader space of the city and the republic. As a matter of fact, Fabio points out the danger of subversion within marriage, by giving the example of Persian kings who behave like tyrants toward their subjects while becoming slaves to their wives within the domain of the home (27). The discrepancy between the balance of power within the home and the state is precisely the topic explored by Giraldi Cinthio in his story of Orbecche, the spoiled daughter of a tyrannical Persian king. 'Orbecche' belongs to the second deca- novella II -of Gli ecatommiti, in which the characters of the narrative frame narrate love stories in which lovers pursue their love against the will of their parents, resulting in either a tragic or happy ending (182). 'Orbecche' is classified in the exordium as a tragic plot that intends to dissuade children from disobeying their fathers, subjects from being disloyal to their kings, or kings from breaking the faith of their subjects. The exordium of the text thus reinforces the ideas previously stated by the characters of the narrative frame: 'II quale mostrera in che stima deono havere i tigliuoli i padri !oro; & che i servitori de i Re deono sempre !oro seruar lealta; & che i Re non deono romper Ia fede a chi data I' han no, accioche Iddio non !asci loro auenir quello, ch'auenne a coloro, de I quali hora vi ragionero' ( 190): Which will show in what esteem children must hold their parents; & that servants must always stay loyal to their Kings; & that Kings must never break the faith to whom they have given it, so that God will not forsake them as he forsook those whom I will now tell you about. The exordium of 'Orbecche' thus promises an ending in which vices are punished, seeking to improve the judgment of the audience in matters regarding both the family and the state. The narrator warns his audience against pursuing the courses of action of his fictional characters, arguing that God might as well punish their acts by giving them a similar end to that found by the protagonists of the story that is about to be narrated. This brief exordium, which predisposes the audience against the protagonists of the case, is followed by the narratio, which represents the events that will help to establish everyone's degree of culpability in disregarding the hierarchy of rower within the home and the state. Indeed, 'Orbecche' is a fictitious case that tests the validity of the same set of contradictory laws explored in the story of Romeo and Juliet. However, the extremity of the case is accentuated by the fact that, in the specific case of a royal family with only one heir to the throne, exercising the right to disinherit the child who marries without parental consent leaves the king without a successor. Moreover, the Council of Trent prohibits temporal lords from compelling theil路 subjects to murry uguinst their inclination or to uttempt nnything contrury to the liberty ~~r murriugc: (Session XXIV, November 2.

I ~63, L)ccree on the Rcfnrmutluii of Murrluge), Since PrlnceNII Orbeccho

CARMEN R. RABELL

secretly marries a humble foreigner from Armenia (an unfriendly nation) and later seeks refuge from her own father in the enemy kingdom of Armenia, the novella also explores issues regarding the application of international law. Furthermore, this fictitious case also explores the negative implications of the practice of 'marriage diplomacy'- prearranging marriages between the heirs of the thrones of various kingdoms- for a kingdom headed by a woman whose duty to submit to her husband in the domain of the home might also imply the subordination of her kingdom to the foreign interests of her husband. When Orbecche weighs the risks and benefits of marrying Oronte without the consent of her father, the King of Persia, she supports her choice by stating that she prefers to elevate a virtuous humble man to the throne rather than marrying any powerful king who is more worthy of being a subject than a ruler (201). Orbecche's defense of her choice is based on the fact that marrying a foreign king - as would have been expected from a princess - would entail submitting herself to the head of another state, thereby converting her subjects into subjects of another king. Unifying two kingdoms through marriage could bring negative consequences for the subjects represented by the body in the metaphorical representation of marriage. These subjects might run the risk of having to adopt the customs and laws of the head of the house and the new state. This is precisely the logic behind the argument used by the king of Armenia to defend Orbecche's decision to marry Oronte: Orbecche prefers to invest a humble foreign man with power rather than become the vassal of a foreign king (197). Marrying Orbecche to a foreign prince is thus presented as a threat to the Republic, rather than a step toward its common good. This argument is introduced in anticipation of an objection: according to Roman law and tradition, King Sulmone has the right to marry Orbecche to a foreign king, because a prince can compel a subject to marry someone if it is necessary l'or the Republic's common good (Ledesma 58). Orbecche's challenge to the custom of marrying a female heir to the throne to a foreign king in order to increase the power of the state does not contradict the Council of Trent. However, she introduces an argument of her own in preferring to marry a foreign low subject over a king: she assumes that a foreigner who is not the head of any other kingdom (like Oronte) would be in u weaker position to convert her into a subject. Even though Oronte would become the head of the house, Orbecche's subjects would have been saved from the risk of being assimilated into the customs and laws of another kingdom. Although Orbecche's challenge to her father's judgment and his traditional perception of marriage (that it will increase international power) could imply a direct criticism of the use of women as commodities at the 11ervice of male diplomacy, this novella also points to the inconveniences of delegating a position of power to a woman who is bound to obey her husband within the domain of the home; she is, therefore, weakened in her duty to defend the well-being of her subjects within the dominion of the state. As the narratio impUea, the dan1er relidea in giving power to a woman, regardless

THE ROLE OF LAW

of whether she marries a foreign man or a foreign king. Women will always empower someone who is foreign to the main blood of the ruling dynasty and will, therefore, threaten the very notion that the well-being of a community is connected to particular lineages. Lineage and titles of nobility, hence, are better safeguarded if inherited by male heirs. The foreign threat posed by a female heir to the throne is further explored by the inconveniences caused by Orbecche's secret marriage to Oronte, a foreigner from an unfriendly nation. Orbecche's argument anticipates and refutes the possible objections of her father, while justifying her decision to marry Oronte in secret. Although the narrator sets his story in a distant kingdom beyond the Catholic world, his characters perform a secret marriage, a forbidden procedure within the postTridentine context shared by both the writer and his public. The distance of place, prescribed by Lopez Pinciano in his poetic theory, serves thus to portray characters performing acts that were forbidden for the contemporary readers of the text. 27 But the readers are not to enjoy the pleasure of transgression allowed by the poetic freedom of choosing a distant setting for the story. The narratio is intended to discourage the reader from pursuing the civil disobedience followed by Orbecche and Oronte in a context in which secret marriage has also been condemned by canon law. zx Indeed, as in the case of 27 Castelvetro criticizes Giraldi Cinthio's dramatic version of 'Orbecche,' because he dealt with unknown royal persons and events that never happened ( 141 ). Castelvetro strongly believed that royal characters should be historical and recognized by the public (252-53). The poet, he contends, must only invent the particulars of a tragic story that the public only vaguely knows by fame or history (252-53). Besides not following this prescription in 'Orbecche', Giraldi Cinthio openly introduces the possibility of creating a non-historical plot for romances, stating that a poet who just follows historical facts is not a creator of fables (On Romances 50). Tasso argues against this procedure, contending that an epic poet can choose to narrate a remote story that could allow the poet to invent without damaging the verisimilitude of the narration (Discorsi 9-1 0). However, while conceding that such a story would introduce old customs that could bore the public, Tasso rejects Cinthio's prescription of anachronisms in the composition of romances (9-1 0). In his prescription of fictional plots for romances, Cinthio argues in favor of using anachronisms to accommodate the customs of a fictional plot that happened in old times to the customs of the public (On Romances 51). Tasso contends that while writing about recent history has the convenience of presenting familiar customs to the public, it also limits the capacity of the poet to invent without harming verisimilitude (10). He thus concludes that the poet should base his epic poem on historical events that are not too old or too recent (1 0). From different perspectives, these theories set the plot in a distant past in order to achieve verisimilitude. Lopez Pinciano also defends the use of distant places for romances, eulogizing Heliodoms for representing kings of unknown lands, of whom it is difficult to enquire whether or not they actually existed (195, V.3). This 'distance of place' is followed by Cinthio in creating his fictional plot for Orbecche. 2K Even though Cinthio sets his fictional case in a distant place, it deals with legal issues that were relcvunt J'm路 the uctual uudicnce of the text. This sputial transference of legul issues is similar to Cinthio's prescription of unuchronisms in romunces in order to uccmnmodute the cuNtomN ubNcrved by the uncient churucllli'N of the plot to those of the

IIClUIIliiUdJcm:c (NCC prcVJOUM 11010),

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

Romeo and Juliet, Orbecche secretly marries Oronte, confronting later the situation of having been pressured by her father to marry the son of the King of Parti (202). Orbecche and Oronte circumvent the problem by escaping to the kingdom of Armenia, where they ask for the protection of King Sulmone's enemy, transforming a private issue of secret marriage into an international wnflict. The fact that Orbecche and Oronte seek refuge in Armenia, the kingdom of Sulmone's enemy, puts the king of Persia in the humiliating position of having to send ambassadors to Setin, requesting the extradition of the lovers in order to bring them to justice. Of course, justice is interpreted by Sulmone from the point of view of a tyrant: he accuses both lovers of treason, promising lands and titles of nobility to whoever facilitates the couple's murder (197), while threatening the king of Armenia with war. This threat to the king of Armenia is an open violation of international law. Because Oronte and Orbecche's trcuson of abandoning the kingdom of Persia in the middle of a popular revolt has not affected Sulmone's position of power, he cannot claim that damage has actually been inflicted against his kingdom. But, King Setin refutes Sulmone's duim that Oronte has harmed his royal honor and that of his kingdom, arguing that the young man married his daughter (196). 2\J Regarding the young man's humble origin, Setin reminds Sulmone that he considered Oronte worthy of a higher position of power when granting him responsibilities within the kingdom of Persia (197). Setin pleads with Sulmone to consider accepting Oronte as his successor, arguing that he would not be the first man to increase his power through marriage (196). If the international conflict provoked by Orbecche's disobedience demonstrates the danger of empowering a woman in the realm of the home and state, as part of his co/ores, the narrator introduces the idea that Sulmone is mainly responsible for this situation. Firstly, although Sulmone is a tyrannical king, he is so eager to please his daughter that his subjects invoke Orbecche's name when they bring petitions and concerns before the king (190). Sulmone, therefore, contributes to Orbecche's idea that she can marry Oronte in secret and later dissuade her father from disinheriting her, Secondly, Sulmone violates a domestic Persian custom that did not allow foreigners to have any contact with Persian women (191), while also awarding Oronte more rights thun the freedom of trade and communication to which a foreign subject was entitled according to international law. King Sulmone actually delegates royal responsibilities to Oronte. When Sulmone has to be absent from the court in order to fight a revolt in the kingdom, he asks Oronte to take over his royal

duties. Moreover, before Orbecche meets Oronte, Sulmone's vassals ask her to warn her father about the danger and injustice of favoring a humble subject from an unfriendly nation over the noblemen of the court who have served him for a long time - an action undermining the dignity expected of a great king (191). Sulmone neglects the advice, arguing that his favoring of Oronte demonstrates his ability to recognize the worthiness of a superior man regardless of his obscure lineage (191). He further argues that Oronte's noble virtues surpass his low fortune, making him worthy of being the son of a powerful king (191 ). Indeed, Sulmone's argument is powerful enough to capture Orbecche's mind, instilling in her a strong desire to meet Oronte. The narrator explains in a direct statement that Orbecche gave Sulmone's argument more credit than she should have given it (191). As part of the colors (co/ores) or pleas in aggravation of Sulmone's crime - who kiJls Orbecche, Oronte, and their children to avenge the secret marriage of the lovers -the narrator implies that Sulmone inadvertently induces his daughter to think of Oronte as worthy of becoming both her object of love and her husband. She has fallen victim to her father's persuasive argument and arrived at the conclusion that Oronte actually deserves to be the heir to the throne of a powerful king like Sulmone. Orbecche is seduced by her father's words long before she plans to marry Oronte. This statement also serves to extenuate Orbecche's disobedience in marrying Oronte without consulting her father. Besides being indirectly responsible for his daughter's act of insubordination (marrying behind the king's back), Sulmone provides the opportunity for the lovers to escape from Persia by leaving Oronte in charge of his kingdom while he fights a rebellion in the country. Oronte breaks his loyalty to Sulmone by abandoning his position of responsibility toward the kingdom at a moment in which Sulmone's power is threatened by the possibility of an insurrection. The foreigner who receives the rights and privileges of a citizen can escape punishment by fleeing the country. Sulmone's relaxation of customs within the domestic realm of the home has weakened his power in the broader context of the state as well as in the international arena. While King Setin of Armenia enjoys the fact that an Armenian has fooled his enemy (196), Sulmone's vassals interpret Oronte's action as an act of treason against a king who favored a foreigner of low origin, born and raised umong enemies, over the noblemen of his own court (195). Indeed, given the attitudes expressed by the characters of the narrative frame, Oronte's treason could be perceived as a logical consequence of the actions of a king who has weakened his kingdom by empowering two subjects of lesser status: a woman and a foreign man born out of wedlock. It is important to remember that Fabio, a character of the narrative frame, argues that marriage is intended us u vehicle to preserve the republic (28), denying the possibility that lineage could be preserved by children bprn out of wedlock (34). They ure rather

2v King Setin further defends Oronte from the uccusution of treason, arguing that his luvc iH nn cxtenunting circumstunce (204). King Selin defends Oronte hy reducing his ull'encc ugulnHt King Sulmone, while implicitly trivinli:r.ing his grounds for waging a just wur aaalnNt Armenta. Waatnaa war aaulnNt Armeniu would hnvc fullow~d the self-serving purpu11e of private revenp.

labeled UN infernal creatureN who!lc 路mothcrN' low charucten cannot suarantee

CARMEN R. RABELL

paternity (34). Meanwhile, although Orbecche is apparently a legitimate daughter, her mother is killed by Sulmone for having committed adultery, which creates further ambiguity in the text. This possibility poses an even more extreme situation because, if Orbecche were not King Sulmone's daughter, she would be an illegitimate princess. Is Orbecche also possessed by an infernal nature? In any case, either as the offspring of an adulterous relationship or as a woman who refuses to obey her father and assume a subaltern position as the wife of a foreign king, Orbecche represents a threat to a monarchy based on lineage. As Fabio explains in the narrative frame, it is the duty of men to restrain women and to submit them to law (20, 27). Sulmone, a tyrannical king, is ironically incapable of restraining the sexuality of his wife as well as the will of his daughter. 3 Female promiscuity and desire for empowerment are equally threatening to a republic based on the concept of lineage. Within this ideological frame, Sulmone emerges as an inept monarch incapable of safeguarding the peace in the space of the house and the republic. Moreover, although Sulmone is entitled to disinherit his daughter for marrying without his consent, he uses tyrannical means to carry out an unjust punishment. King Sulmone uses diplomacy to deceive Oronte, Orbecche, and his own 'wise and venerable' ambassador. He sends Malecche to deliver a message to the lovers in which he supposedly forgives them for their treason. This diplomatic message is accompanied by two symbolic gifts: a scepter for Oronte and a ring for Orbecche (198). While apparently promising the succession of his kingdom to Oronte, Sulmone gives Orbecche her mother's wedding ring (198). This ring, worn before by a wife assassinated for her conjugal treason, functions as a signal of Sulmone's hidden intention of revenge. As a matter of fact, King Setin warns Oronte against possible treason hy King Sulmone (198), but, the couple believe Sulmone's message (delivered hy Malecche), falling victim to a premeditated betrayal. As the narrator promised in the exordium, the end of the story brings to justice everyone involved in breaking the law within the realm of the home, the Republic, and the international community. King Sulmone kills Oronte for his treason and punishes the disobedience of his daughter with the execution of her two children. In turn, Orbecche kills her father to avenge her innocent children and her husband, thus punishing a tyrannical king who has broken his word while using international diplomacy as an instrument of deception. Then Orhecche commits suicide, inflicting upon herself a punishment for having caused the death of her husband, her children, and her father. For an audience living during the Counter-Reformation, her death also represents the eternal condemnation of her soul.

掳

,IU Orbecche's subversion of her role us u woman is ulso represented hy her laking the sexual initiative. She deelareH her love to Oronte, she proposes murriugc to him, and she expcctN to better preserve her power liN 11 queen by murrying u mun who hud nlrcudy been ~ubmiNHlve to her will. In 11 s1nt1ntla, the narrutor IINHerlN thut Orbe~路che IN the first to

declare her love to Orontt beoauae ahe ht 'weaker by mature' (20()),

THE ROLE OF LAW

As the narrator states, the people who discovered their bodies were confronted with a spectacle that filled them with horror and pity. They buried the couple and their children with great demonstrations of pain (202). The very same people who disapproved of Sulmone's cruelty, nevertheless, buried him with all the honors of a king (210). However, Cinthio does not create Aristotelian tragic heroes who commit errors of judgment. Someone who commits an error of judgment is deemed innocent and does not deserve any punishment. Orbecche and Oronte, however, receive disproportionate punishment for their premeditated transgression of getting married without the consent of King Sulmone. It is relevant to mention that in his writings on poetics, Cinthio follows a forensic interpretation of purgation, arguing that the audience of tragic plots will feel pity if something horrible happens to a basically good character because the spectator will judge that even though this character deserves some suffering, he does not deserve such misfortune (Discorsi 217). Furthermore, he contends that this sense of justice, mixed with the gravity of the suffering, induces horror and pity (217), teaching the public what should be avoided (219). According to Giraldi Cinthio, a tragic end contributes to a better understanding of justice and ethical choices. 31 This didactic-forensic purpose is clearly articulated in the peroratio of 'Orbecche', in which the narrator states that 'this was in fact the end of the inconsiderate lovers' and the well-deserved punishment of an inhuman king who did not keep his word (202). The peroratio expresses a harsher judgment against King Sulmone and implies the disproportionate punishment of the couple. However, everyone's unfortunate death is intended to represent a painful image before the eyes of the audience, so that they perceive the plot as a course of action to be avoided. Daughters, vassals, and kings who refuse to be bound by law will turn the world upside down. 'Orbecche' represents an imminent threat: the downfall of the commonwealth. 32

31 Although Rinaldi states that the endings of Giraldi Cinthio's novellas tend to repeat a slate of horror similar to that of the plunder of Rome, represented in the narrative frame, this critic rejects an exemplary reading of these novellas, arguing that evil cannot work as a model lo be followed (214). These endings should be read in light of Giraldi Cinthio's own delinition of tragedy as a representation of horror that teaches what should be avoided (f)iscorsi 219). I agree, however, with Rinaldi's conclusion that in Giraldi Cinthio's novellas I he judicial motif does not assume a programmatic value as the triumph of goodness (239). .l2 In his study of the motif of rape in the Italian novella, Olsen observes that usually Cliraldi Cinthio represents novellas in which lovers of lower class are punished (287). He concludes that althollgh the novella has been considered an element of anti-culture, at least in regurd to love relationships, the novella works to legitimize conservative values ('292 29J ). This slutemcnl is purliculurly true in the cusc ol' Oiraldi Cinthio, who must huve been influenced by the Counlcr-Rcl'onnution culture in which he wrote. His conservative ll'llllMfm路mution ol' the iCill'e served us 11 nwdcl for Spun ish uuthorN who were ulso wrltinll nl\cr the Council uf Tl'cnt. 路

CARMEN R. RABELL

This threat is also explored by Agreda y Vargas in 'Federico y Ardenia'. In his version, Agreda y Vargas omits the exordium, beginning with a narratio und concluding with a long peroratio, in which every character involved is condemned very harshly for breaking the law. Like Cinthio's narrator, Agreda y Vargas's narrator introduces colores in his direct statements, directing the public towards a particular verdict. Setting the story in a Catholic pre-Tridentine context, 33 and writing for a Spanish audience living during the Counter-Reformation, Agreda y Vargas coincides with Cinthio in implying through a tragic ending how loose regulations and attitudes regarding marriage and the realm of the home were threatening peace in the monarchy. The main difference resides in the fact that Cinthio represents this threat in a distant non-Catholic place outside the influence of the Church, while Agreda y Vargas emphasizes temporal distance: the chaos threatening Catholic kingdoms before the Counter-Reformation. His version thus serves the purpose of validating the new order, by representing the inequities brought on by old legal procedures. However, although Agreda y Vargas sets his story in the Catholic kingdom or Hungary, he also keeps a safe spacial distance when dealing with issues that were so sensitive and close to recent Spanish history. The very emergence or Spain as a unified modern state began with a turbulent struggle involving the various issues explored by Cinthio in 'Orbecche'. It is well known that Isabel, the Catholic Queen, was disinherited by her brother, Enrique IV, for marrying Fernando of Aragon. Enrique IV named his illegitimate daughter, Juana 'Ia Beltraneja', as his successor. These events ignited a war of succession in which the noblemen of Castille were divided in their defense of two doubtful successors: Juana la Beltraneja, born out of wedlock, and Isabel, disinherited by her brother for her civil disobedience. Furthermore, Enrique IV opposed the marriage between Isabel and Fernando because Aragon was a truc.Jitional enemy of Castille. Fernando was, therefore, perceived as both the threats embodied in the characters of Oronte and the prince of Parti. Like Oronte, he was a foreign enemy. Like the prince of Parti, he would become the heud of the household while Castille ran the risk of becoming the body of the newly created state. The opposition of a sector of nobility to Isabel was bust1d on feurs that Castille could be subordinated to Aragon, losing, therefore, its traditional privileges (jueros), 34 while the enemies of Juana nicknamed her La Beltraneja, suggesting that she was the daughter of

tl The Council of Trent took place from 1545 to 1564. In 'Federico y Ardenia,' King Vlncislao of Hungary intends to marry Ardenia with the prince of Bohemia in order to unify these two kingdoms. The kingdoms of Bohemiu und Hungury were uctually unified under the Habsburg dynasty in I526. 34 This threat was dlsMipated by the Connmlia de Se~ovla, n lreuly in which the Catholic Kinaâ&#x20AC;˘ promiMed to maintain the tradltionul politlcul identltieN of hoth kingdoms (Cantarlno 114),

THE ROLE OF LAW

Beltran, a courtier of King Enrique IV. From their respective points of view, both sectors involved in the war of succession of the Crown of Castille were fighting against the threat of Orbecche: the empowerment of a foreigner in a hierarchy based on lineage. As a matter of fact, if Cinthio chooses ambiguity when representing Orbecche as a daughter of a queen of doubtful reputation, Agreda y Vargas's female protagonist is actually the daughter of the king's concubine. By representing Ardenia as an illegitimate daughter who also loses her right to inherit the throne because of her civil disobedience, Agreda y Vargas avoids a clear identification with any particular party involved in the actual historical event and universalizes the problem behind the power struggle: the danger that resides in conceding power to women-subjects. Another difference introduced by the Spanish version is its stronger emphasis on the tyrannical means of Vincislao, the King of Hungary. As in the Italian version, the Spanish narrator displays, in a direct statement, a judgment ofVincislao's character: he is both brave and cruel (526). However, he goes on to say that this is a strange combination, introducing a sententia: cruelty is born out of vile spirits (526). While representing an extremely tyrannical king, the narrator protects his negative characterization of a figure of power by pointing out that Vincislao's cruelty is not a general tendency of kings. The representation of a tyrannical monarch is not supposed to be interpreted as a universal attack on the legitimacy of monarchy, but as a criticism of a particular king whose violations of his duties rise to such a level that the narrator doubts his nobility. 35 The narrator of the Spanish version further emphasizes the king's tyrannical means and arbitrariness when stating that he kills his wife because of an unfounded suspicion, leaving his lineage without successors (526). Ironically, Vincislao kills his faithful wife and declares the daughter of a concubine as the heir to the throne (526). Considering the general belief that marriage and female fidelity were supposed to safeguard legitimate paternity and lineage, King Vincislao's actions might have been perceived by the contemporary reader as violations of the spirit and letter of the law: he engenders an heir to the throne from a concubine, while applying to an innocent wife a law that was intended to prevent illegitimate successors. Vincislao is thus represented as an inept interpreter of customs and laws, as a king who fails to fulfil his duty to be bound to the law. In the Spanish version, the negative aspects of Ardenia are more developed. The narrator states, for instance, that although she is beautiful and has an elegant manner, she is also cruel and used to engaging in the kind of activities thut are appropriate for a strong man, such as hunting fierce wild animals

'~ Nntictâ&#x20AC;˘ thut female inndequncy to exercise power is represented as univcrsnl. while muNeuline lnuhlllty iN pm'tl'llyeu liN u cnntin11ency.

,........ 84

CARMEN R. RABELL

(526-27). In a direct statement, the narrator judges her activities as unsuitable for her age and beauty (526-27). Establishing a sententious tone, the narrator criticizes Ardenia's character while hinting to his public that his own violation of poetic decorum might be a consequence of narrating an unusual case. Indeed, even though he does not state it in an exordium, he is dealing with an extreme case: a female character whose behavior counters traditional customs and whose actions illustrate the contradiction between civil and canon law. Ardenia is portrayed as a woman who has usurped the role traditionally assigned to men. The narrator informs the reader that because her father loved her so dearly, she was able to govern him, preventing some of the cruelties to which he was so much inclined (527). Like Cinthio's tyrannical king, Vincislao is manipulated by his daughter. However, if the Persian princess is contined without being seen by foreigners, Ardenia's power is strengthened hy her free access to open spaces. She is portrayed hunting, serving as referee in a royal tournament, and marrying in secret while pretending to be on a hunting expedition (527, 535). Ardenia's subversion of the traditional role of u woman is thus more evident in the Spanish version. As in Cinthio's version, though, the public is directed to sympathize with Ardenia both because she has been empowered by her father and because she uses that power toward a good end: preventing the cruel actions of a tyrannical king. In the Spanish version, the character of Federico is enhanced: he is not an illegitimate son, but a nobleman of illustrious lineage, whose low economic fortune has forced him to undertake military exploits in order to survive (529). In u Spanish context in which money was associated with the conversos and their newly acquired titles of nobility, a poor nobleman was to a certain extent u sympathetic figure. Moreover, Federico's high nobility and virtues are shown in the fact that he surpasses all the knights of Hungary in a royal tournament, equaling King Vincislao (527). The narrator tends to predispose the audience against King Vincislao, who is implicitly blamed for fostering his daughter's unusual character, while directing the public to sympathize with Federico. At the beginning of the story, however, King Vincislao is also portrayed as an efficient defender of his Kingdom against the Ottomans and as a fair follower of international law. In the Spanish version, Federico gains the admiration of the king and the princess after winning a royal tournament. Furthermore, since in the Spanish version some jealous knights of the court actually attack Federico, King Vincislao's effort to protect the foreigner is not born merely out of his royal whim. The narrator interprets the physical attack carried out by some noblemen of the court as a violation of their duty to protect foreigners (528), eulogizing King Vincislao's action by means of a sententia: 'es propia uccion Real, que no deue consentir jamus que se pierda vn punto del deuido rcspeto, ni agruvio de forusteros' (577). The text implicitly alludes ttl the路 freedom of trude and communication established by Vitorita in his writinas on internutionul luw.

THE ROLE OF LAW

In order to protect Federico's rights, King Vincislao interviews the victim, arresting his attackers until they make a truce with the foreigner (531). It is during this investigation that King Vincislao and Ardenia become better acquainted with the foreigner, learning from the interrogation about his noble origin, his occupation as a professional soldier, and his economic misfortunes. In the Spanish version, King Vincislao's favoring of Federico is presented as an effort to comply with his duty to protect the rights of trade and communication of a foreign subject. When explaining that the courtiers asked Ardenia to bring to the King their complaint against his favoring of Federico, the narrator informs the reader that her trade and communication with the foreigner have made her harbor some feelings towards him. He further states that, even if two people are not well disposed towards each other, trade and communication can pave the way between them (530). The Spanish version is, thus, very bold in its criticism of the inconvenience of granting freedom of trade and communication to foreigners. 36 Ironically, the freedom of trade and communication established by Francisco de Vitoria in his writings on international law is intended to create a valid legal ground that could justify the Spanish colonization in America. Accordingly, if the Indians interfered with the rights of the Spaniards to trade and to communicate their religious teaching, Spain could wage a just war against them. Agreda y Vargas's novella explores how the application of this set of international laws in the European territory could affect the realm of the home and the Republic. If in the American context these laws provided the grounds to justify war against those who obstructed the freedom of trade and communication of the Europeans, these very same rules could promote cultural and political colonization of one European country by another. If a female heir to the throne marries a foreign king, the whole country is exposed to the danger of being assimilated by a foreign kingdom. If a male foreigner marries an ordinary female citizen, the family could also run the risk of transculturation. After the Council of Trent, when Europe was divided between Catholics and Protestants, the freedom of trade and communication was perceived as a promoter of inter-cultural marriages and thus as a threat to the cultural and religious homogeneity sought by Catholic countries during the Counter-Reformation. If Europe is no longer homogeneous, marriage is no longer an effective diplomatic tool to achieve peace or territorial expansion. 'Federico y Ardenia' explores the problems posed by the growing freedom of trade and communication during the culture of control of the Counter-Reformation. For instance, as part of his protection of the foreigner, King Vincislao assigns him a post as Ardenia's servant, a job that further fosters communication between the couple (5~0) and their eventual love relationship. Like Orbecche, Ardenia weighs very curefully her decision to marry the foreigner. 路'~ Note thul tho SpuniHh word 'll'lltn' meuns hoth 路u路cutmcnt' und 'tmdc.'

CARMEN R. RABELL

Although, unlike Oronte, Federico is not a son born out of wedlock from an enemy kingdom, Ardenia judges that their unequal ranks would clash with King Yincislao's ambitions. Like Orbecche, Ardenia reaches the conclusion that she prefers to marry Federico without the consent of her father and lose her kingdom. However, the Spanish version introduces a color (color) that is not present in the Italian original: Federico accepts Ardenia's proposal, betraying the faith of King Vincislao both because he loves her and because she is a means to increase his status. In the Spanish version, the narrator counters King Setin's pledge to consider love as an extenuating circumstance by establishing a second motive: ambition. Federico's action is born not only out of his passion but also out of his calculated desire to increase his social status (533-34). Although Federico is portrayed in a more positive light in the Spanish version, his transgression is clearly presented as a premeditated act. Presenting the violations of his fictional characters as premeditated actions, the narrator maintains a sententious attitude, augmenting the degree of culpability of each person involved in the tragedy. A clear example of this procedure is introduced in the representation of the secret marriage of the couple. If Cinthio portrays a secret marriage performed according to the customs of a distant country, Agreda y Vargas represents a secret marriage in a distinct Catholic context. Federico and Ardenia celebrate a religious marriage without parental consent, which is also considered a secret marriage. Their religious wedding is carefully crafted to violate the spirit of the law without apparently infringing its letter. In the pre-Tridentine setting of the story, secret marriages are considered valid by the Church. However, Agreda y Vargas's representation of the secret marriage of his protagonists coincides in many details with a fictitious case created by Pedro de Ledesma in order to validate the application of the Council of Trent to extreme cases. Ledesma represents an extreme case in which a man who is about to die requests a waiver of the marriage banns in order to marry his concubine and thus legitimize his children. Ledesma contends that in this extreme case the parish priest should request a waiver from the Bishop or his superior. The couple should be married by their own priest after obtaining official approval. While discussing the extreme cases that apparently escape the letter of the law, Ledesma states that sometimes someone wants to maliciously oppose a marriage. In such a case, the priest's superior should grant a waiver of the marriage banns after investigating und finding a reasonable cause (Addiciones, Cap. VIII, 'Qual ha de ser el consentimiento de los contrahentes', 48-49). Although living in pre-Tridentine circumstances, Federico and Ardenia cntft their secret marriage following almost every point discussed by Pedro de Ledesma in his fictitious case. While apparently attending a hunting expedition in the countryside, Federico pretends thut he is mortally wounded. A servant (Pontio) aid1 in ftndina a pric11t in u neurby villuge, to whom

THE ROLE OF LAW

Federico lies, saying that his relatives attacked him in order to prevent him from marrying his concubine, naming their children as his legitimate inheritors. He offers the priest money to perform the marriage immediately in order to protect his children and to prevent his attackers from inheriting his fortune. The priest is persuaded to perform the marriage before ministering the sacrament of confession to the wounded man and his concubine. Moreover, Federico persuades the priest that he must try to find help to cure him before performing the sacrament of confession. When the priest returns to the scene with the promised help, he discovers that he has been tricked and decides to keep it secret. The priest ends up performing a secret marriage without marriage banns or the consent of Ardenia's father. Within a pre-Tridentine context, Federico's scheme is only a clever trick to obtain a religious wedding without publicly revealing that he is marrying the Princess without her father's consent. However, for the contemporary reader of the text, this scheme provides an extreme case in which a couple persuades a priest to violate a strict requirement. Moreover, within a post-Tridentine context, the marriage of Federico and Ardenia would have been declared null by the Church. The extreme case also stresses the relevance of the Tridentine requirement to minister the sacrament of confession before the marriage ceremony. The temporal distance used by Agreda y Vargas allows his narrator to represent actions that were forbidden in the context inhabited by the audience. However, like Giraldi Cinthio's version, the text is intended to dissuade the public from following such a course of action. If, in the post-Tridentine context shared by the public, the Church would have invalidated the marriage of Federico and Ardenia, in the pre-Tridentine context of the narratio, they suffer a harsh punishment: she commits suicide and he dies without confession at the hands of her father. Although the end of Federico and Ardenia is harsher than the one they deserved in their pre-Tridentine context, it serves the purpose of discouraging the public from disobeying the procedures established by the Council of Trent. This secret marriage, however, is not only the product of a clever trick but also a result of the persuasive influence of money. The priest is very well paid for his service and the narrator states that, after he discovers the couple's disappearance, he counts the money over and over, fearing that it too might disappear like a leprechaun's treasure (539-40). In a sense, the motivations of this clergyman to minister a secret marriage are similar to Friar Lorenzo's. Although money functions as an incentive, Agreda y Vargas's priest is mainly motivated to help the couple in order to protect the feigned concubine and her children from greedy relatives who oppose the marriage because of their interest in the inheritance. Aguin. Agreda y Vargas softens the criticism uguinst the Church, portruying u priest who fulls victim to his own sense of duty and cumput~ttion.

CARMEN R. RABELL

'Federico y Ardenia' functions, thus, as a fictitious case that tests international law, the laws regarding marriage, and the political ideology of Counter-Reformation Spain. In the realm of the home, the text emphasizes the danger of empowering women subjects. In the international arena, it warns the reader of the danger posed by the application of freedom of trade and communication within a European context. It also reveals that using marriage diplomacy as a vehicle of territorial expansion can entail a threat to the country headed by a female heir: assimilation of a foreigner to the position of leadership. The direct use of a fictitious case by Pedro de Ledesma in tracing the plot of the wedding is clear evidence that Agreda y Vargas consciously used the structure and content of a controversia to test the validity of the laws regarding marriage that were established by the Council of Trent. The existence of the possibility of obtaining a waiver for the marriage banns, cornhined with the possibility of deception or bribery, is presented as a defect that weakens the civil right of the father to intervene in his children's marriages and, thus, in selecting his potential heirs. A priest could be deceived, a father could commit the error of empowering a female heir, and a set of international laws originally designed for the American context could niter the body politic and the homogeneity of the State. 'Federico y Ardenia' thus stands as an example of the intricate power relationships binding private and puhlic domains: empowering a woman subject in the realm of the home alters the balance of power in the Republic and opens the state to potential assimilation by a foreign nation. But empowering women subjects is not simply a 'mistake' committed by parents in the domain of the home. The story of 'Federico y Ardenia' reveals that the Church has empowered women subjects by establishing the consent of the couple as an indispensable requirement for marriage, thus weakening the civil rights of fathers and transforming the power relationship from the head to the body. As in 'Aurelio y Alexandra', women subjects are compelled to waive their exercise of free will for the sake of the Republic. In 'Federico y Ardenia', the narrator adduces an historical example that supposedly happened in postTridentine Spain in order to warn his female audience of the dangers of exercising their canonical right to decide whom they will marry. This example tells the story of a young woman who is murdered by her father after she appeals to the Church for help in marrying against his will. In a direct .\'ententia, the narrator relates the moral of the story to the female audience of the text: 'q tales desdichas causan el disponer de si las mugeres a su aluedrio, y no el de sus padres, a quien les es deuida semejante disposicion, no solo por Ia natural obediencia, sino por los trabajos, y cuydado que les costa su crian~a, y a su tiempo su defensa' (551 ). A woman is thus perceived as her father's property, her breeding as a future investment, and her marriage as an ultimate transaction that must be decided by her owner. The Spanish narrator reaffirms the inferior status of women, representing un upside-down world in which both a tyrannigai kina and the Church huve fulled to contml the body

THE ROLE OF LAW

of a woman by assigning her the functions of the head: the public exercise of power and the private exercise of her free will. As in 'Aurelio y Alexandra', the exercise of power by a woman only leads to a tragedy of great proportions: King Vincislao tries to marry his daughter off to the Prince of Bohemia, but, with the aid of two servants (Violante and Pompeo), Federico and Ardenia escape and seek refuge with the Emperor. King Vincislao deceives the couple, ordering the killing of Federico and his children. He also executes Pompeo and Violante and orders a search for the priest who married the couple in order to complete his revenge. Since the priest has already died, he escapes the cruel punishment planned by the king. As in Giraldi Cinthio's version, Ardenia commits suicide after killing her father to avenge the killing of her husband and children. If Cinthio closes his story with an upside-down world in which the exercise of power by a woman leads to the downfall of the commonwealth, the ending of the Spanish version restores the proper order of the body politic. Since the community is left without an heir to the throne, all the states vote to give their authority to Artemio, Ardenia's uncle and closest relative of the royal family. Artemio, who mediates as an ambassador to grant clemency to Federico and Ardenia, trying to minister justice without any greed for personal power, ends up becoming the head of the state. If Cinthio's ending leaves the reader with the feeling that the legal system fails to work properly, Agreda y Vargas's ending reveals a utopia in which power is kept in the hands of a just male ruler, while a tyrannical king is killed by his own weaknesses and incompetence, and a female heir to the throne is proven to be unsuitable to safeguard the peace of the Republic. Although the text rejects the possibility of insurrection against a legitimate king who behaves like a tyrant, it nevertheless criticizes the transference of authority to a female heir to the throne, representing an alternative: the community should invest its authority in the closest male relative of the royal family. The Spanish narrator closes his narratio with a detailed peroratio in which he judges every individual involved in the tragedy. King Vincislao's death is explained as a punishment for his cruelty, his lack of clemency, and his excessive communication with a foreigner. The end of Federico and Ardenia is presented as a punishment for her disobedience to her father and his treason to the king, respectively, as well as a deserved consequence for a couple who dares to deceive a priest and neglect the respect and devotion pertaining to sacred matters. The narrator judges the death of the servants to be welldeserved punishment for betraying the king, to whom they should keep total loyalty in order to maintain the unity of the Republic. He further states that the servants who performed all these executions fulfilled their duties in obeying unconditionally without judging their prince, whose will has the force of a binding law that must not be questioned. This same passive attitude is implicitly required from the reader when the narrator states that God permitted the killing of Ardeniu's children to punish their parents and to grant

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

them eternal life, which would have been harder to attain if they had reached adulthood. Even King Vincislao's greatest cruelty is depicted as part of Divine will- as an instrument of God's clemency and wisdom (574-75). In the Spanish version, the narrator mentions only very briefly that the kingdom celebrated the death of the cruel king and felt sorry for the death of Ardenia, whom they loved dearly (573). Contrary to Cinthio's peroratio, the Spanish narrator maintains a cold distance from the tragic couple, without inciting the pity and compassion of the public. This attitude is coherent with his emphasis on depicting the couple's transgressions as premeditated actions. The only guilty character who is judged with some clemency by the narrator is the priest who married Federico and Ardenia. As the narrator states, although money paved the way for his deception, God called him before he was cruelly punished by King Vincislao because, even though he was guilty, God did not want the people to lose respect for their Church authorities (576). Indeed, this argument is compatible with the Council of Trent's claim that the Church is the only competent judge to deal with matrimonial causes (Session XXIV, Decree on the Reformation of Marriage, Canon XII). Through his peroratio, the narrator implicitly presents the theory that every member of the commonwealth should live under the law in order to keep the proper disposition of the body politic. Artemio is rewarded with the transfer of authority by the states of the Hungarian kingdom, and the Emperor who protects Federico and Ardenia from King Vincislao is eulogized for his liberality and strength (577). Following the political model of Francisco de Vi tori a, the ending of Agreda y Vargas's story restores a perfect world in which punishment reaches equally a woman who does not submit to her father, a couple who deceives the Church, subjects who betray their prince, and a prince who behaves like a tyrant. The crowning of Artemio further illustrates Vitoria's theory that the prince is invested with authority by the commonwealth. The tragic end of unruly subjects for disobeying their tyrannical prince demonstrates Vitoria's argument that, since power derives from natural law and natural law comes from God, the ruler in power shall not be questioned by his subjects. However, storytelling provides a safe space from which Agreda y Vargas has judged a fictional king who behaves like a tyrant, portraying a noble class that transfers its authority to a just male-ruler of their own. The structure of a fictitious case enables the reader to have the illusion of testing or validating the legal basis of Counter-Reformation Spain.

THE LEGEND OF TWO FRIENDS: CHANGING THE FACE OF THE

Bmw POLITIC

On the one hand, fraternal friendship uppeurs essentially alien or contrary to the f'IS publica: it could never found a politicul system. But on tbe otbtr [, , ,] tiN lffllt phllo.wophtcal and canrmlcal di.\·c·ourse.l' on

friendship have explicitly tied the friend-brother to virtue and justice, to moral and political reason. Let no one accuse me of unjustly incriminating the figure of fraternity [... ] with the supplementary accusation of phallocentrism or androcentrism. Nor is the brother the universal class hospitable to women or sisters [... ]. (Derrida, 'Politics of Friendship') The civil laws regarding marriage contradict the regulations of the Council of Trent in determining to what extent children should submit to the head of the household in exercising their right to consent. Post-Tridentine novellas focus on the disasters that result when daughters apply their right to consent granted by canon law, while disregarding the civil laws that safeguard the right of fathers in prearranging their children's marriage. Such insubordinations are depicted as threats to the structure of power within both the family and the commonwealth. Boccaccio's, Timoneda's, and Matfas de los Reyes's versions of 'The Legend of Two Friends' are extreme cases that test the validity of this same set of contradictory laws. On the one hand, because in these versions the transgressions of the laws regarding marriage are performed by sons who are the future heads of their households, these novellas further explore how the contradictory laws regarding marriage foster a generational struggle for power between sons and fathers. On the other hand, from Seneca the Elder's fictitious case to Matias de los Reyes's version of 'The Legend of Two Friends', the generational struggle for power is represented by narrating extreme cases that explore the contradictions between the general rules of love and friendship and the laws regarding marriage, family relationships of power, and sexual conduct. The fictitious cases of Seneca the Elder (c. 5 BC), Boccaccio (1345-52), Timoneda (1567), and Matias de los Reyes (1624) deal with the problem of whether breaking the law for the sake of a loved one can be considered a legitimate deed worthy of praise. All these fictitious cases attempt to read the spirit of the law in order to determine whether it can be just to break the law in particular cases. From the early Roman Empire to post-Tridentine Spain, authors observe an increasing tendency to change the narratio in order to reduce the criminal nature of the transgression performed on behalf of the loved one. These changes are performed in order to accommodate the stories to the moral beliefs and the legal context of the audience, particularly to the n:gulutions of the Council of Trent. Furthermore, besides helping to smooth the generational stmggle for power between male children and their fathers, the changes of these novellas represent family relationships in a way that vulidules some Plutonic ideus uhout love und justice. As Pluto's writings state: (I) Love longs for the ~~tood (Sympo.~ium 204e tl'.); (2) friends arc good <R•public' 1.33Sa): (3) the 1rood urc friends with the u;ood (l,y,ds 2 ISa):

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THE ROLE OF LAW

(4) a good person is just and 'it is not the function of the just man[ ... ] to harm either friend or anyone else' (Republic 1.335d); (5) justice is what is advantageous or beneficial for the ruler and the established government (Republic 1.336-1.340). Although neither Seneca, Boccaccio, nor Timoneda quote Plato in their llctitious cases, Matias de los Reyes's novella includes an introduction in which the Greek philosopher is presented as the main source of authority regarding the rules of love and friendship. Because Matias de los Reyes's novella is a version that might have relied on Seneca, Boccaccio, or Timoneda as its model, his use of Plato as a source of authority shows that even though neither Boccaccio nor Timoneda quote this philosopher in their novellas, they might have based their arguments regarding love and friendship on a philosophy that was widely known during the Renaissance. Moreover, Boccaccio's protagonists are students of Greek philosophy and their behavior is consistent with Platonic ideas about love, friendship, and justice. In Controversia 6. 7, by Seneca the Elder, a father is accused of transgressing the laws regarding adultery and incest in order to save the life of one of his sons. His other son thus accuses his father of madness. The facts of the case read as follows:

his action and his capacity to exercise power. For instance, the statement of facts introduced by the father establishes that rather than being dispossessed of his wife by his son, he just returned the woman to her rightful owner: 'I handed my wife over to him; but I had stolen her from him. "I call", he says, "on the gods who look after family affection to witness that I fell in love with her before you married her"' (521). This argument establishes that the act of handing his wife over to his son is not a sign of weakness but a just deed. The statement implies that, since the woman actually belonged to the son, an act of madness has not been committed (quaestio coniecturalis). However, anticipating that a part of the audience would not believe this version of the events, considering the stepmother an incestuous adulteress and the father her accomplice to the crime, the accused introduces an extenuating cause as part of his colo res: his act intended to save the life of his son. In Seneca's fictitious case, the father introduces a color in which he states that 'a father who could not tolerate the danger run by his dying son must be forgiven whatever he does' (521). Since the father is being accused of madness and incompetence in exercising his power within the realm of the home, his argument attempts to demonstrate that even if he breaks the law by condoning adultery, this is a particular case in which giving the stepmother to his son follows the spirit of the very institution of marriage: immortalizing the father through the life of his children. Therefore, by means of the interpretation of the spirit of the law (quaestio aequitatis), the father proves that what is labeled by the accusing son as an act of madness is rather an act of love, which was just and beneficial for the ruler who governs within the sphere of the family. The accusing son counters the argument of his father by pointing out that he has employed criminal means to restore his son's health: 'Don't you count it adultery where the husband plays the middle-man?' (521 ). The accuser emphasizes that his father's act involves a crime that is not beneficial for either the father or the government of his family. The accusing son adamantly believes that his brother damaged his father's honor by stealing his wife: 'The one used pandering to treat the patient, the other got better by means of a parricide' (521). If the law only stripped the father of his power as the head of the house for reasons of insanity, the accusing son attempts to prove his father's madness by demonstrating his incompetence in exercising his judging power in the sphere of the home. But, is serving as a middle man in un act of adultery a proof of madness, or merely a proof that a crime has been committed? Since in equity (quaestio aequitatis) an act has to be voluntary in order to he considered a crime, a frequent line of defense is for the accused to claim insunity, un inability to exercise judging power, which, therefore, leads to unintentionully committing u transgression. The accuser intends to reverse this urgumenl und prove thut judging un uct of voluntury adultery us u just deed i11 u Nian of mudneHII.

A man with two sons married a wife. One of the youths fell ill and was breathing his last; the doctors said it was his state of mind that was the trouble. The father went into his son's room with a drawn sword; he asked him to tell him the reason. The son said he loved his step-mother. The father let him have his wife. His other son accuses him of madness. (520-521) The contradiction posed by the act of a father who breaks the laws regarding adultery and incest as a demonstration of fatherly love is discussed within the context of a fictitious law that says that 'legal action may be taken in the event of madness' (Dementiae sit actio [Dec!. 291]). As Bonner demonstrates, this fictitious case was introduced by Valerius Maximus as the story of Antiochus and Stratonice, and is based on a fictitious law. Bonner argues that it is improbable that such a law existed, although Seneca's fictitious case comes close to the actual legal situation, in which an insane man was supposed to be stripped of his rights as the head of the family in favor of the next of kin (93-94). This fictitious case therefore depicts a generational struggle for power. While one son overrides the power of his father over the body of his wife, the other son intends to prove that this act provides irrefutable evidence that his father must be stripped of his position as the head of the house for reasons of insanity. From different perspectives, this is the struggle of two sons trying to take their father's place. The accusation of the son challenges his futher's ability to exercise his power within the domain of the home. However, the uccused mun defends himself by employina arpmenta that intend to expluln both the logic behind

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE ROLE OF LAW

The accuser further implies that the proper order of the house has been altered by his father's moral relaxation, which further suggests that his father is incompetent to judge what is just or beneficial for himself or his family. Madness is thus identified with an erroneous logic that produces an upsidedown world where power is not exercised to keep order (to prevent adultery), but rather to erode it 'The husband drew his sword not to punish adultery but to cause it' (521). Besides condemning the actions of his father, implying that they are proofs of both faulty reasoning and incompetence in handling power, the accusing son also introduces a different statement of facts. According to the accuser, the stepmother and the son had successfully deceived the father, which is, of course, another proof of his mental incompetence: 'Some cures are worse than the dangers they combat ... It was all worked out between the stepson and the stepmother- the pretended illness and the shameful deception of the father' (522-23). The father thus can be considered mad: because he applies a worse cure than that which the illness needs, because he is easily deceived, and because he judges a criminal act as a positive deed. These acts arc proofs of his faulty reasoning, his inability to judge truth from falsehoods, and his failure to properly exercise his judging power. The arguiilent of the accusing son therefore challenges the ability of the father to exercise power in the case of insanity, showing also the difficulty of proving to what extent a criminal act can be considered a sign of madness. In any case, the text deals with the same image of power as a body: when the father does not conform to reason, he can no longer represent the head in the domain of the home. His renunciation of his wife's body is thus interpreted as a demonstration of his incompetence to keep his position at the head of the household. 37 This is, hence, another case that depicts a younger generation of men competing to occupy the position of the father, the highest position of power in a patriarchal Roman family. Boccaccio's version of the case substitutes the rivalry between a father and a son with that of two close friends. This change avoids depicting an explicit case of incest, while nevertheless treating the generational struggle for power from a different perspective. Boccaccio's novella is introduced by the narrator (Filomena) as an example of a magnificent action performed not by a person in u position of power, but by two private citizens like those of the brigata. She contends that their actions deserve praise, because they were carried out by two people who were not empowered to do the magnificent deeds they munaged to accomplish (591 ). Filomena's novella thus follows the end of ceremonial discourse. However, the deeds of friendship which she praises

involve a transgression of the law. Her novella is therefore an example of a case in which ceremonial discourse overlaps with forensic discourse: in order to praise a particular deed of friendship that involves a transgression of the laws regarding marriage, Filomena must demonstrate that this infraction is just. In Boccaccio's novella, Filomena presents two deeds of friendship performed by Tito - the son of a Roman gentleman from pre-imperial Rome 3x - and Gisippo - the son of a nobleman from Athens. One of these deeds involves the transgression of the laws regarding marriage. Gisippo, like the father in Seneca's fictitious case, saves Tito's life by handing his wife over to his sick friend on the night of his wedding. This act violates Sofronia's right to consent as well as her father's right to prearrange his daughter's marriage. Therefore, this text deals with a case in which a deed on behalf of a friend appears to violate the principles of friendship since, as stated earlier, a friend is a good man, a good man is just, and a just man does not harm either friend or anyone else. In this case, Sofronia's family judges that they have been harmed by the action of Gisippo and Tito, which is the cause of a heated controversy ('novella'). It is important to mention that in this particular passage, Filomena employs the word 'novella' to mean both 'controversy' and 'version of the case', a textual and very explicit proof that supports the reading of novellas as fictitious cases:

.17 The f'ulher defends his competence lo exercise power properly within the sphere of the home, by implying thut he demanded un answer from his son, threutening him with a Mwurd. In other wordN, his NOn has not overridden his power. It hus heen the ruther who hus cxorcl•cd hi• power by extraedna a confciiNion from u weak Nick mun: 'I pttNNed hefhrc his oye• with a awordl no one oO\tk! pt away from mo cxllcpt a Nick man' (~21 ),

Questo fu al padre di Sofronia gravissimo, e co'suoi parenti e con que'di Gisippo ne fece una lunga e gran querimonia, e furon le novelle e le turbazioni molte e grandi. Gisippo era a'suoi e a que'di Sofronia in odio, e ciascun diceva lui degno non solamente di riprensione, rna d'aspro gastigamento. Ma egli e onesta cosa aver fatta affermava e da dovernegli essere rendute grazie da'parenti di Sofronia, avendola a miglior di se maritata. Tito d'altra parte ogni cosa sentiva e con gran noia sosteneva; e conoscendo costume esser de' greci tanto innanzi sospignersi con romori e con le minacce, quanto penavano a trovar chi !oro rispondesse, e allora non solamente umili rna vilissimi divenire, penso piu non fossero senza risposta da comportare le lor novelle. E avendo esso animo romano e senno ateniese, con assai acconcio modo i parenti di Gisippo e que di Sofronia in un tempio fe ragunare, e in quello entrato accompagnato da Gisippo solo, cosl agli aspettanti parlo: [... ]. (602) Sophronia's father, who took a very grave view of the matter, complained loud and long to his kinsfolk, as well as to the kinsfolk of Gisippus, and

.IH Sht~ sets her story during the times in which Octuvian Caesar rules Rome as part of n trlumvlmto und wus not yctn powerful cmpemr with the title of 'Augustus': 'Ncltempo ndunlJuc chc Ottuvln11 CcNurc, 11011 nncol'll chiumnto Aut~usto, mu ncllo ufillio chlumuto trlumvlrato lo'mp11rlo dl Romu rcJgcvul ••• I' (~CJ I),

CARMEN R. RABELL

there was a huge palaver, followed in tum by a great deal of gossip. Gisippus incurred the hatred of both Sofronia's kinsfolk and his own, and everyone declared that he deserved to be not only censured but punished most severely. But he maintained that he had acted honourably and in such a way as to merit the gratitude of Sofronia's kinsfolk, inasmuch as he had married her to someone better than himself. For his part, Titus heard all that was going on, and patiently bore the suffering it caused him. But eventually, knowing the Greeks had a habit of raising an enormous clamour and intensifying their threats until such time as they found someone to answer them back, when they would suddenly become not only humble but positively servile, he decided that their prattle could no longer be allowed to pass without a rejoinder. His Roman heart being wedded to the guile of an Athenian, he skillfully persuaded the kinsfolk of Gisippus and Sophronia to foregather in a temple, to which he came, accompanied only by Gisippus. And he addressed the people waiting there as follows: (754) As Filomena explains, Tito defends himself by presenting his version of the case ('novella') in front of a hostile audience. Tito thus has to defend Gisippo's selfless act of friendship, which nevertheless violates the rights of Sofronia, her father, and Gisippo's curators. The young Roman must also prove that he has not done any harm to Sofronia or her family. Instead of questioning the father's authority in an extreme case of insanity, Hoccaccio's encomium of two friends who cleverly transgress the law questions to what extent a young man should submit to his curators if a prearranged marriage would threaten his close relationship with his best friend. Boccaccio introduces a case in which the right of curators to arrange young men's marriages, determining the future inheritors of the family fortune, conflicts with a traditional role that society has assigned to prearranged marriages: to promote male friendship and power. This role assigned by custom to prearranged marriages is clearly stated in books of conduct, such as one by Francesco Harbaro (De re uxoria [1416], qtd. in Jordan 44). Accordingly, 'men with generative women as their private possessions can negotiate "peaceful conquests"'. Women are thus barter tokens of diplomacy by means of which men can peacefully expand states and empires without diminishing their resources (Jordan 44). After presenting his exordium, Tito discloses the divisiones of his speech of defense, stating that he is being 'forced to do two things contrary to his usual practice: (I) to praise himself, and (2) to blame someone else' (Schlauch 21). Tito anticipates that his argument may result in an attack on his character, transferring the blame to those opponents who have forced him to make a speech of self-defense in which, by definition, the speaker has to establish the good character of the accused and discredit that of his accuser. As Schlauch has pointed out, after introducina his dlvt~·lont~~·. Tito attempts to demonstrate that Ol1ippo'• plot wat adeed of friendahlp worthy of prai11e rather than bhune, and

THE ROLE OF LAW

that his switching of husbands actually redounded to the benefit of the bride and her family. As part of his co/ores, he thus exposes an extenuating cause, implying that damage has not been inflicted and that the alleged victim has rather gained from the situation. Tito's argument seeks to demonstrate that the husband-switching benefits Sofronia and her family because it increases both their economic resources and their friendly protection in Rome, the nation to which his Athenian audience is politically subordinated (Schlauch 21-22). Since the very purpose of prearranging marriages is expanding men's resources and friendships, Tito's argument aims to demonstrate that, while violating the right of Sofronia's father, Gisippo has followed the spirit of the custom of prearranging marriages (quaestio aequitatis). This argument also seeks to demonstrate that Gisippo's act of friendship is just because it works to the advantage of Sofronia's father. However, Tito must also defend himself because, while accepting such an act of friendship, he violates Sofronia's right to consent, an act that might be interpreted as a type of rape. He, however, denies that his act constitutes rape, arguing that he did not secretly sleep with Sofronia as a rapist, but as someone who wanted her as his legitimate wife (607). Tito further demonstrates his defense against the charge of being a rapist, arguing that he married Sofronia by using the proper words and giving her a ring (607). Tito thus shifts the blame to Sofronia for not having demanded a proof of identity from him. According to Tito, he possesses sufficient proof that he did not rape Sofronia (quaestio iuris), but rather married her by following the appropriate procedures. If, while defending Gisippo, Tito argues in favor of interpreting the spirit of the law, he now argues in favor of the strict application of the letter of the law. Moreover, this argument is directed toward the goal of persuading Sofronia's relatives that they have insufficient evidence to prove an accusation of rape in a criminal court. 39 Tito thus presents a self-defense and a defense of his friend by proving that their act of friendship was just, because it resulted in the benefit of Sofronia and her father. Within Filomena's ceremonial discourse, the defense introduced by Tito works to transform a questionable act into a deed of friendship worthy of praise. The second act of friendship that is eulogized as part of Filomena's ceremonial discourse also involves a transgression of the law. In this case, l'! As Bonner states, according to Attic Law, the normal procedure would have been to lilc either a criminal or civil accusation: 'under the former, the death-penalty might occasionally be imposed (see Lysias I, 32; Dinarchus, I, 23), but under the latter it was more normul to inllict a line, even if force was used (Piut. Solon c.23; Lysias I, 32-3), and If this line were not puid, the seducer, it appears, could be ordered to marry the girl .. .' (IN 90). Given the ubsence of physicul violence und the fact that Sofronia's ring is a nonIU'tiliclul proof of her cnnstmt, Tltn's worst punishment would huvc been puying u fine, leuvln11 Sofmnlu in u Htutc of dlshuno1· thut would only have uffected her chances nf

m11rryln1J Mnmcnno ohte.

CARMEN R. RABELL

both friends commit the transgression of lying in court. Motivated by the false assumption that Tito did not want to talk to him because he arrived in Rome as a beggar, Gisippo pleads guilty to a false accusation of robbery and murder. Yet Tito, recognizing his friend during the court proceedings, decides to incriminate himself on behalf of Gisippo, who has been sentenced to death. Since the true killer comes forward, clearing both friends from the accusation of murder, the praetor liberates both friends after interrogating them about their motives for lying in court. This deed of friendship therefore presents a case in which a false self-incriminating testimony on behalf of an innocent friend moves the true killer to confess. The act of friendship is worthy of praise because it also works to achieve justice. The story ends with a utopian situation in which Tito, a young man who has legally occupied his father's position upon his death, decides to share his fortune with his friend by marrying Gisippo to his sister Fulvia. Filomena explains that Gisippo becomes a Roman citizen, which further suggests that the peaceful expansion of the family as well as the empire is in the hands of young men. This is, then, a story about the struggle for power of young male adults. Anticipating the objection that empowering young men would threaten the hierarchy of the family and society, the story's ending suggests that young men's emancipation would not imply a radical change in the family hierarchy, for both young and old men use women as passive objects of exchange to obtain peaceful conquests and expand their power without exhausting their resources. Tito and Gisippo's transgression is not told only as part of a private criminal case because it also constitutes a political achievement worthy of public ceremonial display: their youthful act proposes that changing the face of the body politic by granting full rights to younger men will only strengthen the hierarchy of the head. The thin boundary between public and private issues is, hence, articulated through a hybrid rhetoric that combines ceremonial and forensic discourse. A reduced version of this legend was introduced in Spain by Timoneda. Timoneda's version, however, is an ·example of how Federico's sacrifice on behalf of his friend Urbino resulted in a negative change of fortune that is subsequently reversed by Urbina's act of gratitude. Like Boccaccio's version, Timoneda's example narrates a court case where Federico is accused of robbery and murder. Nevertheless, because of the brief nature of the example, the case involving the husband-switching is virtually eliminated from this version; the defense of Urbino is summarized, suppressing the broad display of forensic rhetoric introduced by Tito in Boccaccio's version. At the same time, two young men's struggle for power is softened by the fact that Urbino does not articulate his own defense by asking Federico's father (Guillermo) to intervene on his behalf so that Antonia's relatives will accept his 'clandestine' marriage to the girl. Guillermo, as the head of the family,

exercises the power of producina persualiive discoun~es while Federico and Urbino are portrayed u two )'O\Ull men who, after trickina Antonia and her

THE ROLE OF LAW

family, are unable to articulate their self-defense to persuade their audience. Guillermo's defense is briefly summarized in Timoneda's version: he eulogizes Urbino, revealing that he is the son of a Roman proconsul and Antonia's family should feel honored to accept him as their in-law. Indeed, since in this version Urbino possesses a higher status than Federico (son of a merchant from Bolonia), the husband-switching could be considered by the contemporary reader of the text as a restoration of order rather than a transgression. The two young men arrange a marriage between equals (she belongs to a rich and illustrious family) saving Antonia from having to marry someone from a different class. However, even though Antonia's relatives accept Urbino, they secretly harbor bad feelings towards Guillermo. When he dies, Antonia's relatives help Guillermo's creditors in an etiort to ruin Federico. The narrator of this Spanish version changes the plot in order to reduce the transgression of his characters, transforming them into exemplary paradigms. For instance, Urbino falls in love with Antonia long before her family arranges her marriage to Federico. Furthermore, since, in addition to sharing a deep friendship, Federico and Urbino look alike, Urbino manages to take the place of Federico in the public wedding ceremony. This change in the plot eliminates the possibility that Urbino could have been considered a rapist. Indeed, his marriage to Antonia is not even clandestine, as it has been performed before the eyes of her relatives. This, then, is the story of two friends who manage to save their friendship by creating a deceptive plot in which they strictly follow the letter of the law, yet violate its spirit: they manage to obtain a marriage without the consent of Antonia or her father. Moreover, the changes made by the narrator further function to extenuate the circumstances: by marrying Antonia to an equal from a prestigious family rather than to someone from a lower status, they have accomplished the traditional role of prearranged marriages. Federico's reward for recognizing the superior status of Urbino and the persuasive power of his father is translated into social advantage: he marries Urbino's sister, improving his social status while regaining the economic wealth lost by his act of friendship. Timoneda's story alters Boccaccio's novella by transforming a narrative about transgression into an example: 40 an individual who lives under the law occupying his place within the family and society is to be rewarded with both economic and social ascent. 411 In his prologue to Nove/as ejemplares, Cervantes claims to be the first writer of novellas in Castilian. Avalle-Aree argues that 'far from being a show of literary arrogance, !Cervantes' sltltementl is nothing but the truth' (198). Ayllon calls Timoneda's stories 'mere imitations of the Italians' (219). However, in using legal codes and rhetoric to adapt Jtuliun novellas, Timoncdu opened the possibility for Spanish writers to pmetise the genre. Indeed, the so-culled ol'iginul wl'itcrs of novdlus creute thdr own extreme cuscs while pl'cNcrving the rm1ln structur·e nf the t·ontrovt•r.l'/tJ, in thut they tcst the vnlidity nf un nmhlaunuM htw nr 11 Not nf Noornlnjly cnntrudlctm·y lnws. Althouah crlticN like Chevalier

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In comparison to Boccaccio's novella, post-Tridentine Spanish versions show an increasing tendency to alter the facts of the plot in order to reduce the transgression performed by the protagonists of the story. While Boccaccio leaves the reader with the impression that young men often challenge their lower position within the family, demonstrating that their free consent in marriages is limited by the rights of their guardians, Spanish versions tend to soften this contradiction, depicting a fictional world in which parents and young men can reach agreements that serve their common interest. While Tito and Gisippo can only exercise their right to consent in marriage and to dispose of their inherited goods upon the death of their fathers, suggesting the need for emancipation of young men, Timoneda's protagonists are able to exercise their right to consent in marriage by negotiating parental consent. Boccaccio's version emphasizes the existing legal contradiction while Timoneda depicts an accommodation that works. Matias de los Reyes's post-Tridentine version also displays this tendency to reduce the criminal nature of the characters' acts while softening criticism of the generational struggle for power fostered by a legal system in which young men's rights are limited by the rights of their guardians. But if Boccaccio's stories of private transgressions appealed to the public because they provided a space in which to enjoy the illusion of challenging the existing order, Matfas de los Reyes's version shifts the reader's attention to the narrative form. His story follows an artificial order (ordo artificialis) in which the reader participates in reconstructing the narratio from pieces of evidence and the testimony of witnesses. His strategy consists in shifting the pleasure of transgression into a playfu I and active process, by means of which the reader is eventually persuaded that everything works out for individuals who live under the law. As Maravall has stated, Spanish Baroque culture fulfilled its program of fully integrating its subjects into the interests of the state not only by means of repression but also by persuasion (La cultura 154-59). Accordingly, since persuasion requires the individual's active participation, it better secures the integration of subjects' interests with those of an absolutist monarchy. Matias de los Reyes's version of the case is a perfect example of how Spanish authors reshaped the Italian literary genre to serve the program ofthe Counter-Reformation. Like Timoneda, Matias de los Reyes introduces the story as part of an example of friendship. From the very title, the case is presented as an example that verities a proposition: 'En que se muestra como han de ser los arnigos. Pone por ejemplo un caso de dos arnigos en que se verifica esta proposici6n' (30). Quoting Plato, the narrator of the narrative frame provides a list of the differentiate Cervantes from Timoneda because the former creates contemporary settings !hat ure both spatially and temporally specific ('Lu cmergcncia' I 64), we should ut leust give some credit to Timoneda for introducing the use of legul sources as u wuy of creating thiN llluâ&#x20AC;˘lon of temporal and apaclalspeclflcity. Chevalier further 1tate1 that Cervanteâ&#x20AC;˘ UNIR traditional SpaniNh folk tuieN liN outlines for

hl1 plotl ('Del G\llftto' 119),

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characteristics of true friendship, explaining, for instance, that a man should suffer any type of inconvenience on behalf of his friend (31-32). However, the narrator informs us that his example of friendship will not be drawn from an ancient or foreign context but from a recent event that took place in court last Thursday: 'Y por no andar mendigando ejemplos extrangeros y antiguos que confirmen esta doctrina, me valdre del suceso que sucedi6 en esta corte el jueves pasado; que este servin1 de norma y ejemplo a todos los que quisieren aprobar en tan divina ciencia, el cual servira hoy de aviso, aunque largo, por lo que tiene de admirable; el cual pas6 como dire' (32-33). A court case is thus introduced as an injunctive example. Moreover, court cases are implicitly portrayed as superior stocks of examples because of their extreme spacial and temporal proximity to the public. Besides identifying the story as a court case he has witnessed, the narrator further explains that he has followed the narratio introduced by the prosecutor: 'A la postre sali6 nuestro preso, objeto principal desta visita, y habiendo hecho el relator relaci6n de su causa, segtin yo Ia tengo referida' (36). This narratio is mainly based on non-artificial proofs: the physical evidence gathered at the crime scene, and the testimonies of Lisardo, Ricardo, and Andronio, the robber who confesses his crime, clearing the two friends from the accusation of homicide. As in Timoneda's version, Matfas de los Reyes changes the novella in order to lessen the transgressions involved in Lisardo and Ricardo's respective acts of friendship. These changes help the narrator to portray their acts as just deeds that are also beneficial to the family's governing. For instance, in this version, Ricardo, the friend who suffers from lovesickness, has betrothed Laura in secret, struggling to balance his promise to Laura to keep their relationship secret and his friend's demand to share every secret with him. Lisardo has to threaten Ricardo with terminating their friendship in order to learn the cause of his sickness. Upon learning the motive of Ricardo's illness, they plot the husband-switching with Laura's approval, securing the legitimacy of her consent in order to safeguard the validity of the marriage. According to Ricardo's version of the events, the two friends only violate the civil rights of parents to intervene in prearranging the marriage of their children, erasing any suspicions either of rape, or about the legitimacy of the marriage in question. Matfas de los Reyes reshapes the plot to underline the importance of the consent of the couple, the requirement reaffirmed by the Council of Trent to guarantee the legitimacy of marriage. Indeed, in order to modify his plot, Matias de los Reyes might have referred to hypothetical cases that were circulating in post-Tridentine Spain. For instance, when discussing ambiguous cases regarding the sacrament of marriage, Fray Pedro de Ledesma contends that marrying in ignorance someone who has usurped u false identity invalidates the marriage because of luck of consent (Addiciones, Cup. XI, 'Del impedimenta del error', 67). This legul interpretation is cleurly reflected in Matfus de los Reyes's depiction of

two protaaonista who know they murtt Necure Luura'N con11ent to obtain a valid

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marriage. Regarding the existing contradiction between the civil rights of parents and the required consent of the couple, although civil law granted parents the right to disinherit their children, it did not invalidate the legitimacy of the marriage itself. Indeed, Ledesma's interpretation is that, in case of contradiction, canon law predominates over civil law (Segunda parte, 'Tratado VIII, De la virtud de Iusticia comotativa, Cap. XXII, De Ia injusticia del luez', 358). As in Timoneda's version, the generational struggle for power is softened by the fact that Lisardo and Ricardo concede that Federico (Lisardo's father) is in a better position to defend Laura's marriage in front of her relatives, negotiating an agreement between the heads of the households involved (Laura's and Ricardo's). Moreover, these young men follow the law in every detail without manifesting an intention to subvert the hierarchy of power within the family. Ricardo thus provides a valid reason for inventing a self-incriminating confession in a court. Since Lisardo renounces a convenient marriage by respecting Ricardo's secret betrothal (esponsal de ,/ilium) to Laura, which, in essence, saves Ricardo's life, Ricardo wants to reward Lisardo by dying on his behalf. Another important innovation introduced by Matfas de los Reyes is that his narratio follows an artificial order. Eden states: 'Whereas taxis or dispositio refers to a straightforward organization of the material, one that follows both the natural order of events and the conventional order of composition, oeconomia follows a more indirect, artificial organization, one altered specifically to accommodate the circumstances of the case, with the special end of arousing the audience's emotions' (Eden, Hermeneutics 28). Eden further explains that artificial order - oeconomia - 'takes as its starting point a decisive relation between the whole and its parts. Indeed, it presupposes the whole in composing the parts' (Hermeneutics 29). In Matfas de los Reyes's version, the court case involving the respective selfincriminating false confessions of Lisardo and Ricardo is narrated first and the case involving the husband-switching is introduced as part of Ricardo's testimony. Ricardo narrates the case regarding the husband-switching when he is interrogated about his motives for lying in court by confessing to a murder he hus not committed and to which a beggar has already confessed. The plot of the husbund-switching thus functions as a color because it is a plea in extenuation of Ricardo's transgression: he has a reasonable cause to lie in court. As Ledesma states when discussing his hypothetical extreme cases, a false confession is only justifiable for a reasonable cause (Segunda parte, 'Tratado Vlll, De Ia virtud de Iusticia comutativa, Cap. XXVIII, De la detraccion y murmuracion', 406). By narrating the deed of friendship performed by Lisardo, Ricardo proves that he has a just cause to invent a false testimony. 41

Furthermore, by subordinating the case of the husband-switching to the case in which both friends invent false testimonies and are ready to die on behalf of the other, Matias de los Reyes re-focuses the novella, giving more relevance to the deed of friendship which involves both the lesser transgression - false testimonies - and the greatest demonstration of friendship - being willing to die either on behalf of a friend or because of the apparent loss of a friend. Through artificial order, the narrator also arouses the emotions of the reader, who is directly involved in discovering the truth from partial and sometimes misleading pieces of evidence. For instance, the narratio begins in medias res, with a vivid description of the crime scene. The weather and the setting are depicted in full detail through Baroque language. The wordplay transforms the reader into a detective engaged in deciphering both the meaning of the evidence found in the crime scene and the truculent language employed by the prosecutor whose narratio is being followed by the narrator.

41 However, IIH pllrt of 11 hypotheticul cusc, Lcdt~smu conk~nds that ir. without any rcuNon, lln lndlvlduaiNnl tho rl1k of Joalnaullmh m his lire ror rcvculing u secret crime, It will be a morcal lin to oonflu, Conf11111lna In thiN Hitulltion, h13 contl3ndN, wnuld he

Nubes pardas, si bien a la mitad de su curso, impedian a Ia universal lampara Ia comunicaci6n de su importante luz a los mortales, dando el teucro Acuario agua en abundancia, tanta, que los pequefios arroyuelos eran caudalosos Nilos, cuando una tropa de ministros de justicia, obligados con una particular comisi6n de Apolo, en raz6n de buscar los agresores de un robo famoso que en esta corte se hizo pocos dfas ha a un prfncipe de ella, no desanimados de Ia incomodidad del tiempo riguroso, por entre brefiales y escabrosos riscos, dieron en una inhabitable y espantosa gruta, fabricada por naturaleza y vestida por el tiempo de funestos cipreses y espinosos enebros, habitaci6n mas propia de dragones, grifos y basiliscos que de persona humana. (33) The narrator's prolific use of metaphors (he alludes to Acuario to imply that it was raining, to the Nile river to state that the brooks were flooded or to the 'universal lamp' to refer to the sun, etc.) and double adjectives ('uninhabitable and dreadful cavern') absorbs the reader in an abstruse process parallel to that experienced by the ministers of justice who discovered the evidence. Furthermore, although the narrator reconstructs the narratio from the evidence found on the scene, the language he employs when displaying this evidence tends to influence the audience by mirroring its emotions and

contrary to nature (Sef?unda parte, 'Tratado VIII, De Ia virtud de Iusticia comutativa, Cap. XXVIII, De Ia dctraccion y murmuracion', 411). Although, alluding to the example of Suints, Ledcsrnu argues !hut sclr-incrimination could be an act of virtue if done for a reusonublc cuuse, he also muintuins thut stuting u lie under oath constitutes mortal sin (St'!(UIIcla porte, Trutudo VIII, C'up. XXVIII, 406). Since Lisurdo's guilty plea stopped the pt'tlc13dure or the court CliNe 111 an eurly Htuge, he h11s not committed pe~jury. None of the protayoniNtN ol' lho â&#x20AC;˘tory IM quo1tion13d under oath.

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prejudices. For instance, before stating that the ministers found Lisardo in a cavern, close to a body and a desk in which some stolen jewels were kept by their owner (34 ), the narrator describes this place as dreadful and uninhabitable, more suitable for dragons, griffons, and basilisks (33). Indeed, the character of the accused is tainted by virtue of a metonymic association. Furthermore, the deposition of the accuser simulates objectivity when displaying evidence while, nevertheless, manipulating the audience by appealing to its common beliefs and prejudices. For instance, the narrator describes the miserable clothes and appearance of the man found in the cave, concluding 'objectively' that he looks like a beggar: Ala puerta de esta mas infernal que terrestre espelunca, hallaron un hombre miserable, en Ia edad de hasta veinte y cinco afios, en el talle mendigo; porque su color era palida y percudida su cabello y barba crecida, mas por descuido que por cuidadosa advertencia, pues su descompostura y enhetramiento lo decia; el vestido humilde y con remiendos muchos. Finalmente, todo el representaba un retablo de duelos. (33-34) Under the appearance of objectivity, the reader is induced to assume the worst about the man in question, even before the hard evidence is introduced. The apparent low status of the man in question, and the dreadful place where he is found, close to a body and an empty desk where the stolen jewels are missing, constitute signs that he might be the perpetrator of the murder and the robbery. This is the conclusion that the reader is induced to reach through his own reconstruction of the events from the evidence. Indeed, the narrator explicitly states that the ministers of justice reach the same conclusion after putting together the signs gathered from the crime scene: Estaba sentado dentro y junto a el otro hombre de mejor h:ibito, y en edad de cuarenta y mas afios, tendido muerto, pasado el cuerpo de muchas y muy crueles heridas, y lo que mas es, junto a ellos un escritorio todo desmantelado y despedazado, que luego que fue visto por los exploradores del robo, fue reconocido por la custodia de las robadas joyas en cuya pesquisa andaban. Este indicio tan vehemente y el cadaver que en el suelo estaba, oblig6 a aquellos ministros a poner manos en el vivo, persuadiendose sin duda que el era el agresor del robo que buscaban. (34) As Quintilian prescribes, in order to influence the judge, the advocate should not merely narrate but represent the facts by creating vivid images (evidentia) (8.3.62). In this case, since the narratio uses the prosecutor's statement of facts as its source, the reader is misled into believing that Lisardo, a poor beggar, is both a thief and a murderer. By employing artificial order, Mut!us de los Reyes adds an ingredient of NU!ipense to the case involving robbery, murder, and false testimonies, an element which ia abaent from Boooaccio'a orljinal. for instunce, Mince the nurrator

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misleads both the reader and the judge - King Apolo - into believing that Lisardo is guilty, Ricardo's sudden false confession comes as a total surprise. Moreover, the unequal status of the men who want to die on behalf of each other further attracts the reader's curiosity and desire to uncover the truth of the case. 42 In fact, judging the unequal status of both subjects, considering that one is a well-known gentleman and the other appears to be a vile man, the judge finds it very strange that they wanted to be sentenced on behalf of each other (38). The narrator records that the judge further interrogates both men, who insistently maintain their confessions. In order to exculpate his friend, Ricardo argues that Lisardo has probably confessed to the crime for fear of being submitted to further torments or moved by a 'melancholic passion' (39). Ricardo thus implies that, unlike the beggar, he does not have any plausible motive to invent a false confession. Ricardo's argument is intended to raise doubts about Lisardo's credibility in order to save his friend's life. As the narrator states, the competition between these men to be sentenced to death causes confusion among the listeners because they judge it contrary to nature. Given the fact that both Lisardo and Ricardo confess to the same murder, the confusion and surprise shared by both the judge and the public attending the proceedings point up the legal ambiguity of the case they are witnessing. At least one of the confessions must be untruthful, but the unequal status of the subjects involved in the case does not provide an obvious motive (friendship) for one man to die on behalf of the other. Pedro de Ledesma argues that when the testimonies of the opposing parties are equal in a criminal case, the judge must rule in favor of the accused (Segunda parte, 'Tratado VIII, De Ia virtud de Iusticia comutativa, Cap. XXII, De Ia injusticia del Iuez', 355). However, in this case, in a system in which the testimony of a nobleman carries more weight than that of a beggar, the judge has to balance very carefully whether the signs incriminating Lisardo and his confession are stronger than the testimony of a respectable witness who has no apparent 42 The reader does not learn Lisardo's reason for appearing in Rome as a beggar until he testifies regarding his reason for falsely confessing to having committed murder. He reveals his identity, explaining the circumstances that have brought him to Rome: upon his father's death, the family was ruined by Federico's creditors and Laura's relatives. Lisardo's condition is caused by his selfless deed of friendship and by his father's profession: 'for the wealth of a businessman lasts as much as his credit' (59). In order to understand the sententia regarding the profession of Lisardo's father, it is important to notice that the Spanish word for credit (credito) also means credibility or good reputation. Lisardo's deed of friendship damaged the credibility of his father in front of Laura's relatives, motivating them to satisfy their creditors' greed (59). Lisardo's violation of the civil rights of Laura's parents on behalf of his friend made him suffer the consequences of a secret revenge. As in Timoneda's and Boccaccio's versions, Lisardo contends that he confessed to the murder believing thut Ricardo pretended not to recognize him because of his present deplorublc stutus. Accordingly, his confession is nn attempt to end his miserable lilt, which hns no mcunin11 without Ricurdo's friendship (63-64).

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motive to lie. King Apolo is thus confronted with an extreme case that seems to exceed the limits of the law. 43 As in Boccaccio and Timoneda's versions, the true murderer and robber comes forward, saving the judge from the legal entanglement caused by Ricardo and Lisardo's contradictory confessions. Nevertheless, Andronio is not moved by pity or the will of the gods, but by a criminal mind that drives him to prove his ability to defy the law without suffering any consequences. Andronio uses King Apolo's desire to seek justice and truth to obtain a promise that his life will be forgiven in exchange for his testimony: 'Si V. Majestad me otorga Ia vida, me prefiero a desatar el intrincado nudo del t!nigma que a todos los presentes confunde. DescubrinS, digo, el verdadero homicida y el verdadero robador de las joyas, porque en el mundo solo yo Io

sabe; que Io que estos hombres dicen es locura y disparate, pues no saben cosa del presente caso' (40). King Apolo grants Andronio his petition, motivated by his desire to find the truth about the case (40). 44 Although this case represents the legal entanglement that can be caused by the contradictory testimonies of apparently unequal subjects, pointing out the weakness of a legal system susceptible to deception, the fact that the testimony of an outlaw solves the case also strengthens the idea that the credibility of witnesses is not weighed by the apparent status of the witnesses alone but by the consistency between testimonies and the evidence gathered for the case. The story thus gives the reader the illusion of testing the failure of a system that assigns different values to the testimony of unequal subjects. However, the possibility of deception is depicted as an element that is outweighed by the capability of a just judge who recognizes the nature of an ambiguous case, the necessity of granting clemency to a criminal for the sake of discovering the truth, and the need to weigh testimonies against the other evidence of the case. If both the public and the judge (King Apolo) could be deceived by appearance, the latter is empowered to use his legal knowledge and authority to overcome appearance in his search for the truth. He alone has the power to exercise equity in order to elucidate an ambiguous case. As in Timonedas's version, the reader is conti-onted by a world in which the legal system works to perfection even in the most ambiguous cases. Moreover, in Matfas de los Reyes's version, the wise judge who uses law and equity to secure the just treatment of different subjects (a beggar, a nobleman, or a thief) is the Monarch. Indeed, after hearing Andronio's confession, the king keeps his word to pardon the life of the criminal, banishing him from the

4.1 Besides explicitly identifying the source of his narration as a statement of fact introduced by a prosecutor in a court case, the narrator also very closely follows the legal procedures prevailing in post-Tridentine Spain. For instance, Ledesma explains that a judge can interrogate someone through accusation (as opposed to inquisition or denunciation), if there is imperfect proof (semiplena prohacion) or explicit and vehement signs against him: 'Si el juez procede por via de acusacion, o denunciacion a preguntar a! reo, justamente procede, si hay semiplena probacion: o si ay expressos y manifiestos indicios [... ]Semiplena probacion se llama, quando ay un testigo, sin excepcion ninguna. I-tJS indicios se quieren may ores, o menores, conforme a Ia qualidad del delicto. [... ] Han de scr indicios: porque pocas vezes basta vn indicio, si no es que sea vrgentisimo, y vchcmentisimo. Tambien han de ser expressos, y manifiestos, quanto a tres cosas. Lo vno, quanto al delicto: lo otro, quanto al delinquente: y finalmente quanta a! processo. De sucrtc, que han de mostrar euidentemente el delicto, y Ia persona que le cometio, y han de cstur cxpressos en el processo' (Segunda parte, 'De !a virtud de lusticia comutativa, Cup. XXIIII [sic.], De !a injusticia que puede auer de parte del reo', 364). The narrator explains that a vehement sign (the empty desk) and the body found close to the suspect made the ministers believe that the man was the robber they were looking for. The legal language employed by the narrator suggests to the reader the complexity of the cusc in question. Although there is only a single sign that the suspect might be involved in the rohbery (the desk), the narrator qualifies this sign as 'vehement.' But there is also a sign thut the suspect might be involved in the murder of the dead man found in the cave. The narrator implies that, motivated by a possible reward for solving the case, since the ministers of justice have not found the stolen jewels, they proceed to harass the suspect. In order to gather further evidence against the suspect, they accuse him of both robbery and murder: 'Vaya cl famoso ladr6n, vaya elladr6n; que el dini donde tiene las robadas joyas yen confesundo su criminoso exceso, pagara con !a vida el hurto y muerte de este infelice' (~5). Indeed, the accused confesses to being the murderer, stating that he killed the victim because of a question of honor (35), yet denies the robbery even after being tortured. The narrator states that the judge, King Apolo, sentences the suspect to death because of hiM tirm confession and absolves him of robbery because there were only some Incriminating signs against him. The sentence reached by the judge thus follows very strict legal standards: 11 confession consistent with a 'vehement' sign constitutes sufficient proof tn convict the HUNpect of murder, while an incriminating sign alone (the desk) is insufticient tu prove hiM Involvement In the robbery. Contrary to the ministers of justice, who were motivated by 11 poaMlble reward for flndlna the jewelM, the judge Hcpat路utcs the evidence plt'tllnlna to two dtfrertnt IIIUH.

44 Andronio's confession evidences a close knowledge of forensic procedures and rhetoric. Following a chronological order, he presents his version of the events confessing to both crimes and revealing his motive: he killed his accomplice to the rohhery in order to keep all the stolen jewels for himself. He further supports his testimony by displaying manifest proofs of his involvement in the double crime: he is in possession of the stolen jewels and the bloodied knife used to perpetrate the murder (42). Matfas de los Reyes's picaresque character finds a more convincing motive for his self-incriminating confession, providing the public with a convincing explanation. He is not moved by pity or the will of the gods but by a twisted scale of values according to which fame is proportional to the ability to defy law and punishment: 'Y habiendo visto Ia competencia de Ricardo y deste miserable y que querfan usurparse para sf mi gloria, nolo pude tolerar, antes movido de una cmulaci6n de fama, sabiendo que en !a sutileza de ingenio en mis hurtos he excedido a Caco, guise publicarme, arrebatado el animo a no permitir deslustrar Ia acci6n que con tnnta sutilcza ejccute. Lo que he referido es lo cierto, como se infiere de los testimonios que tcngo aducidos que no admitcn duda. Las joyas desde luego las entregare, contcnlandome con lu fama que del rninisterio mfo de aquf sacare, acordando a V. Majestad su real palabra en ruzon ue lu preservuci6n de mi vida, que por eminentc en mi arte de justiciu se me debe' (42--4:' ). Andronio's skillful usc of forensic procedures evidences thut his ability to escape puniHhmcnt depends on hiM uhlllty to live us u lutll'-outsider: knowing the luw from the uutNidc路h1 cnhllnl.lcM hiM chancoN nf NurvlvlngtiN an outlaw.

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kingdom, and pardoning the friends for lying in court. King Apolo, thus, expels the outlaw, amputating the sick limb from the body politic. King Apolo's legal authority is, thus, portrayed as a force that secures the just order of society. This representation of the monarchy is, hence, compatible with the Counter-Reformist theory, according to which the authority of the monarch is derived from natural law. In contrast, if Boccaccio's version emphasizes the generational struggle for power fostered by the civil rights of parents to disinherit their male children for marrying without their consent, Matfas de los Reyes shifts the blame to the increasing influence of money in prearranged marriages. Federico regrets his son's deed of friendship because he renounced a large dowry. The two friends have to invent a complex scheme based on their anticipation that Laura's parents would reject a foreign suitor of whose social status they knew nothing. The revenge for Lisardo's transgression comes in the form of an economical punishment: Laura's relatives ruin him after his father dies. In a world in which money has replaced lineage as the main concern in prearranged marriages, the mutually friendly deeds of Lisardo and Ricardo und their unconditional observance of law stand as examples to be emulated hy the audience. As the end of the story suggests, King Apolo, a monarchical tigure who follows law and equity in forgiving Ricardo and Lisardo, and in hunishing Andronio from his kingdom, is the only authority who can secure peaceful coexistence in this competitive world. Not surprisingly, in this version, Lisardo, who has lost the fortune amassed by his father through trading, recovers his status not by negotiating a marriage with his friend's sister but through the recognition and rewards granted by King Apolo. The king is, thus, the one who weighs, balances, and judges, securing the order by expelling outlaws from the body politic, while rewarding his obedient subjects:

well as the presentation of the course of events through different voices (the prosecutor, Ricardo, Lisardo, Andronio, and the factual narrator) capture the reader's interest, while depicting a world in which the right to consent in marriage, defended by the Council of Trent, is accommodated to the civil laws that also regulate this sacrament, as well as to Plato's rules for justice and friendship. 45 In Matfas de los Reyes's version of the case, the friends are good men who perform a just deed, because they do not harm the head of the house or the commonwealth. Lisardo and Ricardo accommodate their mutual love and friendship to what is just, according to both civil and canon law. By keeping their friendship under the law, they receive a higher reward: the friendship and protection of their king (64). Like Timoneda and Agreda y Vargas, Matias de los Reyes uses the rhetoric of the fictitious case to explore the threat that the exercise of consent in marriage poses for a patriarchal hierarchy of power. However, while Spanish novellas generally suggest that only observance of both civil and canon laws can secure the preservation of lineage and power, Matias de los Reyes further proposes that a monarchy based on the rule of law can successfully contain and integrate heterogeneous subjects possessing free will.

109

El cual, cierto de tan verdadera amistad, se levant6 de su real solio y bajando las gradas, lleg6 a ellos y los levant6 del suelo a sus reales brazos pidiendoles le recibiesen por tercero en su amistad; al verdadero robador de Ius joyas las mand6 restituir, confirmandole Ia gracia que de Ia vida habia hecho, con que perpetuamente saliese desterrado del Pamaso; y llevando consigo a Palacio sus dos nuevos amigos les hizo y va hacienda muchas mercedes. (64)

If Seneca the Elder's fictitious case portrays a mad father who poses a threat

to the patriarchal hierarchy of power within the domain of the home, Matias de los Reyes's just king validates the hierarchy of the head in the domain of the Republic. Mat!as de los Reyes's story, hence, engages the audience in an active process in which the narratio is reconstructed from pieces of evidence and the testimoniea of different whne11e1. The rupture of the linear narrative form as

4~ Maravall connects Baroque obscurity and difficulty with the persuasive end of this litcruturc. Accordingly, the active participation on the part of readers helps to catch their nltention, lixing the message in their minds (447). As the name of Matfas de los Reyes's just King Apolo suggests, urt fultils herÂˇe the operative function of legitimizing the existing order, lntearutlni its suh,lects to the ideolojly of the uhNolulist monurchy. Forensic rhetoric is thuN UMI:Id â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ u hidden Ntrina that workM to mnnlpulate the public to voluntnrily Mubmlt to law.

THE FICTITIOUS CASE

3 THE FICTITIOUS CASE AND THE SPANISH NOVELLA [... J when the value of a literary sensibility to Jaw is expressed in terms of the profit to be derived from reading imaginative literature, it is too easily inferred that the literary imagination can have no place in the actual practice, critique, and reform of law. (Binder and Weisberg 4) [... ] rules are texts. They are in need of interpretation and cannot themselves serve as constraints on interpretation. (Stanley Fish, 'Fish v. Fiss') The study of Spanish rewritings of Italian novellas demonstrates the increasing role of forensic discourse in reshaping the genre during the Counter-Reformation's culture of control. Even though the structure of the lictitious case can be traced back to Boccaccio's novellas, the use of forensic discourse by Spanish writers has peculiar characteristics. To begin with, if the lictitious case provides Italian authors like Boccaccio or Bandello with a space within which they can challenge the existing order, Spanish narrators tend rather to validate in their stories the new set of rules established by the Council of Trent. But the anticipation of objections in fictitious cases also provides a space from which to point out the weaknesses and limitations of the new set of rules created by the Council of Trent. For instance, even though Agreda y Vargas strategically eliminates Father Lorenzo from his story - transferring his motive of social climbing to an emerging middle class composed of servants who change employers at their convenience and apothecaries who sell poison in exchange for money- his story reveals the failure of the Council of Trent to deal with its clash with a set of civil laws that limit the exercise of free will in marriage. While defending an aristocratic ideology that rejects and perceives as a threat the social mobility introduced by money, and displaying a great deal of respect for the Church by avoiding depictions of treacherous clergy, Agreda y Vargas also points out thut the doctrine of free will, applied to female subjects in the sacrament of murriuge, cun crude u sociul order ba1ed on Uneqe, The ouatom of permittlns the exercl11e of public power by u

111

woman, as well as the application of the Church's doctrine of free will to female subjects, are presented in this text as threats to the domain of the home, the Republic, and the international arena. Spanish narrators also exhibit a tendency to diminish the transgressive nature of the Italian texts through the condemnation of characters who hatch deceptive plots in order to violate the spirit of the law while apparently observing its letter (Federico and Ardenia), or through the representation of exemplary characters who fail to observe every aspect of the law, even in cases involving existing legal contradictions (Aurelio and Alexandra). These Spanish narrations sometimes also modify the original Italian plots in the light of fictitious post-Tridentine test-cases that discuss many issues previously raised by Italian novellas (Matias de los Reyes's husbandswitching plot and Agreda y Vargas's representation of the marriage of Federico and Ardenia). The Council of Trent actually encourages Spanish authors to rewrite the Italian novellas using the structure of the fictitious case to explore the fresh legal situation provided by the new set of rules. It is interesting that, while the post-Tridentine translation of Bandello's 'Romeo et Giulietta' alters the original plot in order to articulate a defense of Father Lorenzo and the sacraments of marriage and confession, Cinthio's 'Orbecche' and its Spanish version 'Federico y Ardenia' share the same postTridentine ideology. 1 The Council of Trent hence changes the transgressive nature of the Italian novella, allowing Spanish writers to practise this genre without running the risk of being placed, like Boccaccio, on the Index of Forbidden Books. Furthermore, the image of the body employed by legal writers to depict family hierarchy and civil and canonical power allows these narrators to discuss issues pertaining to the public sphere of society through the representation of private cases of transgression. Fiction provides a safer and more ambiguous arena in which to discuss the politics of a monarchical tyrant or the potential danger of applying the doctrine of free will to female subjects without attracting the harsh scrutiny of an inquisitorial reader. Besides observing a tendency to alter the original Italian plots to explore the applicability and limits of the new set of rules introduced by the Council of Trent, some Spanish post-Tridentine authors use artificial order in their novellas, allowing readers to actively participate in the reconstruction of the version of the case from pieces of evidence. Cervantes, for instance, employs this arrangement in 'Las dos doncellas' in order to manipulate the expectations and emotions of the reader. In the case of Matias de los Reyes, I While the Spunish post-Tridcntinc translation of 'Romeo et Giulietta' alters the originul in order to mukc the story ucccptublc for the Counter-Reformation audience, the Spunish trnnslution of 'Orhecchc' is very l'nithl'ulto Cinthio's story. Although Cinthio sets his story In 11 pre-Trident inc contcxt, the vulues cmhruced by the churnclcrs of his num\live l'rumc r.:olnr.:ldo with Counter-Rororm!Mt .ldooloay.

~~""'"'""""

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the rupture of the linear narrative and the active participation of the reader in the reconstruction of the case is another subtle mechanism of persuasion that works to make the public voluntarily submit to law and to an absolutist monarchy, which derives its power from natural law. Forensic artificial order is thus another instrument of persuasion employed by Baroque culture to give its subjects room for manoeuver. This chapter analyzes a corpus of original Spanish novellas with the goal of exploring how the structure of the fictitious case opened a limited space from within which to articulate alternative views regarding the legal issues raised by both Italian novellas and their Spanish versions. Moreover, Zayas, Cervantes, and Lugo y Davila exploit the ambiguous discourse of the fictitious case to propose means to correct the contradiction between civil and cunon laws regarding marriage, which is the issue explored in most of the Spanish novellas. These corrections are usually supported by appealing to some Catholic dogmas established by the Council of Trent. This appeal constitutes a clever strategy, because both Catholic states and families are supposed to follow the dogmas established by the Council of Trent. Using an unquestionable dogma established by the Council of Trent as the basis to correct a set of contradictory laws works to save the novella from entering the Index of Forbidden Books and protects the author from an accusation of heresy.

mas detenerse, comenz6 a hacer un gran mont6n de discursos, y hablando consigo mismo decia: "ella es nifia: sus pocos afios pueden asegurar mis sospechas. Casarme he con ella; encerrarela y harela a mis mafias, y con esto no tendni otra condici6n que aquella que yo le ensefiare"' (903). However, as the story progresses, the narrator introduces subtle objections to Carrizales's discourse, suggesting that limiting Leonora's full exercise of her free will by encouraging her state of childish ignorance would rather contribute to her fall. Furthermore, if Carrizales's argument fails to work and his attempt to control Leonora by fostering her innocence results in his deception, the counterarguments introduced by the narrator could provide the basis for a possible defense of the girl: whoever performs an act in ignorance cannot be judged as guilty of a crime (quaestio aequitatis). As established in Chapter I, since a crime is the result of a voluntary action against the law, a transgression does not constitute a crime if there is no intention to commit the offense. Because Novelas ejemplares does not employ a narrative frame, the main argument in 'El celoso extremefio' is introduced by the voice of Carrizales, while the objecting argument is articulated through the narrator's statements. These brief interventions on the part of the narrator tend to characterize Leonora as both an innocent and ignorant girl. The narrator of the story assumes the voice of the opposing party, taking over Leonora's defense long before she is even exposed to the possibility of her fall. Furthermore, Carrizales's argument indicates the actual legal status of women and the counter-arguments of the narrator raise objections to the status quo. When discussing the history of law from the High Middle Ages to the seventeenth century, Perez-Prendes and Azcarraga explain that a woman had a limited juridical personality and that her sex was the modifying circumstance that restricted her legal capacity (240). As Father Vitoria explains when constructing his representation of power as a body, women, children, and American Indians had limited juridical status. When women reached adulthood, they gained the legal capacity to marry an instance in which they were supposed to exercise their will by either consenting or refusing to marry. Once married, the husband became the new guardian to whom the wife had to render total obedience. Like children, women were the owners of their dowries, but their husbands administered, invested, and profited from them. Hence, when Carrizales states his idea that Leonora's young age can guarantee his ability to mold her according to his own will, he is basing his argument on an existing legal system in which women do not enjoy a complete juridical personality. Leonora's young age is just a projection of the metaphorical infancy of women implied by her actual limited juridical status. According to Perez-Prcndcs and Azcarraga, the juridical status of women was contradictory; they were attributed a high value and a low status. This contradiction wus usually leveled by uppeuling to honesty und decorum (240). Hut the iJround wus never nctuully leveled between men and women. It is true

'EL CELOSO EXTREMENO': ARGUING FOR AND AGAINST THE LEGAL INFANCY OF WOMEN

The little girls and their 'ill-mannered' bodies immured, well-preserved, intact unto themselves, in the mirror. Frigidified. But are they ever seething underneath! [... ] We the precocious, we the repressed of culture, our lovely mouths gagged with pollen, our wind knocked out of us, we the labyrinths, the ladders, the trampled spaces, the bevies - we are black and we are (H. Cixous, 'TheLaugh of the Medusa') beautiful. In 'EI celoso extremefio' (1613), the narrator employs anticipation of the objections of the other side to articulate a criticism against a system that perpetuated the legal infancy of women. This is a story about a jealous old husband named Carrizales, who intends to secure the conjugal fidelity of his young wife by confining her body in order to preserve her mind in an eternal state of child-like innocence. Carrizales chooses to marry Leonora, a fourteenyear-old girl, 2 assuming that he can easily mold her to his will: â&#x20AC;˘y fuego, sin ~ Boyâ&#x20AC;˘ wore ablo to marry at aao 14and alriN ut

UÂĽC

12 !LcdcHmu 117),

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that they received the same penalties for committing homicide or other crimes, and indeed, they had the right to inherit or to become the guardians of their children. However, women were not supposed to exercise public functions or to inherit immovable estates. Furthermore, in the law courts, the testimony of a noblewoman of good reputation counted as much as the testimony of a villain, and the testimonies of two noblewomen equaled the testimony of one nobleman. However, Perez-Prendes and Azcarraga state that the testimonies of women were usually circumscribed to cases in which they were directly involved: rape, dishonest abuse, childbirth, marriage, sodomy, and so on. Furthermore, the punishment for sexual offenses against women depended on their marital status (virgin, married, or widow), and adultery was harshly punished especially in the case of women (Perez-Prendes and Azca.rraga 240-41). The high value of women, on which the honor of the whole family depended, did not coincide with their low juridical status. Women were supposed to follow severe ethical codes because of the high esteem and value they were supposed to preserve, but they were not fully recognized as juridical persons, a fact that gave their testimonies a lower degree of credibility, while their judgment was deemed incapable of exercising positions of power or of disposing of their possessions. As Perez-Prendes and Azcarraga argue, this legal system endorsed the commodification of women (241). Indeed, the most notable contradiction of this legal system was the fact that women's ability to exercise their will was limited because of their inherent inferior reasoning, yet they received the same penalties imposed on men, who enjoyed complete juridical capacity because of their position as the head of the body - where all reasoning activities take place - in the power structure. In a legal system in which crime was defined as a voluntary act against the 3 law, and women were deemed limited in their capacity to exercise their will, it was highly inconsistent to apply equal punishments to such unequal subjects. This inconsistency was even more evident in the case of adultery, in which the subjects with the lowest capacity to exercise their will were the only punishable adulterers. 'EI celoso extremefio' depicts the ambiguous legal status of women while pmposing to level the contradictions implied in applying equal or harsher punishments to subjects who are limited in exercising their free will. This story is thus a fictitious case that tests the validity of a legal system with three seemingly contradictory rules: the definition of crime as a voluntary act, .1 Lc~.v Partida.\' shows the tendency to measure the degree of intentionality involved in u tranMaresMion in order to establish culpability and punishment. Homicides, for instance, nrc not punished if they are the product of an accident or if committed by mud people or mlnorH lesN thun ten and a half ycarH old who urc unuhlc to untlcrstund their transgression (Partida VII, Laws m and IV). Sc"ualtrunsarossions und dumugc to the kingdom or the kina are not punlahed In the caae of minor• 14 yeurM old or younal.lr hccuusc they nrc unable 10 undentlnd IUOh • (l'arrldl VU, Law IX).

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115

the limitation of the legal capacity of women due to their 'inferior judgment', and the existence of equal punishment for female or male transgressors of similar social classes. Adultery, however, was only penalized in the case of women, 4 although canon law disapproved equally of male and female adultery (Ledesma 60). Moreover, the limited juridical status of women was based on the conviction of their inferior capacity to exercise their will, thus presenting a further contradiction to the Catholic doctrine of free will. Pivotal to CounterReformist theology, the free-will doctrine recognized the capacity of every individual to choose his/her own path towards either salvation or eternal condemnation. By tracing the Erasmian implications of 'El celoso', Forcione arrived at a similar interpretation of this story. He explained that Erasmus reiterated 'the meaning of Christ's gift of liberty and his deliverance of his followers from the burden of the law' (72). Forcione further indicated that Carrizales denied Leonora the opportunity to reach adulthood, which conferred authenticity on a human being and was won through experiences and trials: 'Erasmus insisted that one is not born a man but rather becomes one through education in "good living" and the acquisition of the capacity to engage in mature moral action' (Forcione 76). Although the Church officially adopted the doctrine of men's free will in the Council of Trent (Session VI; January 13, 1547), it did not address the contradiction of the application of this doctrine to female subjects who were limited in their legal capacity both to acquire education and to make actual decisions. As a moral lesson at the end of the novella suggests, 'El celoso extremefio' is an injunctive example that represents a course of action to be avoided: 'Y yo quede con el deseo de llegar al fin de este suceso, ejemplo y espejo de lo poco que hay que fiar de Haves, tornos y paredes cuando queda Ia voluntad libre, y de lo menos que hay que confiar de verdes y pocos afios si les andan al oido exhortaciones de estas duefias de monjil negro y tendido y tocas blancas y luengas' (919). However, the subject of the example is a private case involving adultery in which the course of action to be avoided by the reader is not that followed by the alleged adulteress, but the one followed by the alleged betrayed husband, who attempts to secure the conjugal fidelity of his wife by confining her to the guardianship of a dueiia, an old woman who dresses like a nun. Indeed, Cervantes appeals to the Catholic doctrine of free will in order to criticize the limited legal status of women, while representing an extreme case in which a husband weakens his position as the head of the household by 4 The lcgulily of uxoricide in CIISC~ oJ' proven udultcry is reminiscent of the pre-existing Roman und Visigothlc lcgul trudition. Accmding to Visigothic luws, the hushund hud the right tu kill, cnMiuvo, ut· Nell hiM lltlullct·nuM wife und koop her dowry (P6re:r.·PrcndcM 11nd A:t.r.:4rraya 14,-1'1, 11'10).

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fostering the infantilization of his wife. Moreover, Cervantes exploits the pre-existing analogy between family hierarchy, and civil and canon law, suggesting that the methods used by Carrizales in order to secure the conjugal fidelity of Leonora are parallel to those employed by the Church in preserving the purity of the faith of its members. The novella further suggests that the jealous censorship and restrictions imposed by the Church hinder the exercise of free will. The allusion to the habit-like dress of the old maiden in charge of Leonora is just one of the many instances in which the narrator suggests a relationship between Carrizales's methods of confinement and the discipline that the Church imposes on its members. 'El celoso extremeiio' introduces a case about adultery as part of an injunctive example. However, this novella is also a fictitious case that tests the laws regarding adultery. The punishment for female adultery is death. If the husband applies this punishment without the intervention of the court, he loses the dowry of his wife and the right to remarry (Ledesma 121 ). Since Carrizales is both extremely old and rich, the prospect of losing money or the right to remarry is not a strong enough penalty to prevent him from killing Leonora and Loaysa upon finding them sleeping in the same bed. Although the reader knows that Loaysa fails in his attempt to persuade Leonora to (.:Ommit adultery, the evidence incriminates her. 5 The fact that Leonora and her servants give a sleeping ointment to Carrizales to help Loaysa break into the house further constitutes evidence that they have premeditated at least to let a stranger intrude into the house. Given the existing incriminating evidence, the court can grant Carrizales the right to kill Leonora. Furthermore, whereas the court is supposed to weigh the evidence against the wife in order to grant the husband the right to execute her, the unwritten rules of honor followed by Spanish society usually skip the judicial process. Spanish society of the seventeenth century judges a person's honor by evaluating the existing social opinion regarding that individual. The social opinion about a man depends in part on the opinion regarding his wife's virtue, and a stained honor can only be cleaned with the blood of the ones perceived as adulterers. The penalties applied to a husband for punishing his wife based on suspicion and without the intervention of the court is therefore outweighed by the advantage of regaining his reputation within the community. 'EI celoso extremeiio' represents the inequities of a judicial system in which a woman is perceived as a subject of high value on whom the honor of the family depends, while being assigned a low juridical capacity because of her inherent poor capacity to reason. The social opinion of a family thus depends on a subject who is inherently unable to make choices. ~ In the earlier unpublished version of 'El celoso,' the uct of udullery takes plucc. In the published version, however, the narrator defends Lconoru even when she docs not commit adultery. By changing the events in the Mecond version, Cervuntes stresses the incquulity of a Myatem that judges female honor accordlna to appeurnnce. (For u ctllnpur·ison of both vor•lon• ot' 'Bl celo10', He Poroione.)

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In order to secure the honor of their families, men usually hindered the will of wives and daughters by confining their bodies, since this society believed women to have inferior reasoning capacity. Furthermore, the narrator implies that the methods employed by Carrizales to constrain the will of his wife are similar to those practised by the Church, further suggesting that these practices contradict the Catholic dogma of free will. Given the absence of a narrative frame in Novelas ejemplares, the case opens with the narratio, assigning the reader the active function of reconstructing the proposition implied by those brief statements in which the narrator characterizes the agents involved in the case. For instance, the tendency of the legal system of seventeenth-century Spain to view women as commodities is shown by Carrizales perceiving marriage as a business transaction, through which he will attempt to produce heirs to whom he will pass his wealth (903). Furthermore, Carrizales's jealous sentiment toward women mirrors his selfish attitude toward some Peruvian bars of gold, which he neither trades nor shares, but keeps for himself. Like gold bars, women for Carrizales have such a high value that, in order to prevent the loss of his wife, he keeps her from freely circulating, trading, or growing. Carrizales's parallel attitude toward both gold and women exemplifies the same protective mentality that seemingly assigns women a high value, while limiting their legal capacity to trade, speak, exercise a position of power, or even administer their own possessions. 6 Indeed, the narrator states that Carrizales suffers an attack of jealousy before the actual betrothal, presenting symptoms similar to the anxiety he suffered upon arriving in Spain with his hands full of gold bars (Cervantes 903-904, El Saffar 42). Furthermore, Carrizales's jealousy in safeguarding Leonora's conjugal fidelity mirrors the Church's jealousy in preserving

6 Carrizales's commodification of Leonora is further shown by the fact that, since she belongs to an extremely poor noble family, he provides her dowry. The dowry was supposed to be provided by the parents of the bride as a reassurance that, in the event that she is abandoned by her husband, she will have some economic protection. In Leonora's case, the dowry is just the currency with which Carrizales buys the private possession of his wife and his right to limit her freedom in order to mold her at his will. El Saffar explains: 'Carrizales's dominant characteristic is his solipsism, a trait perceptible not only in the house he constructs in his old age, but in his earlier role as wasteful womanizer. [... ] His controlled accumulation of wealth while in America, his lack of friends and family upon his return to Spain, and his inability to share his wealth with the poor, of whom he is expressly conscious, nil reveal a man who has retreated into himself. Carrizales's choice of a wife further reiterates the point. Her youth and inexperience, while ostensibly guuranteeing her chastity, otTer in fuel the possibility thut she can be ussimiluted by him. The libei'Ulily whil.:h he shows with respect to her- the dowry, the dresses, the sweets, the gins - is u reussertiun uf the eat•lier u·uit uf free-spending, fur C11rril'.llles ~Jives to Leonora becauMc he huN converted her Into a vct'Niun ui'- hhnNelf' (41 ),

,......-118

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the purity of its members. 7 For instance, the narrator explains that waiting until buying a house of his own to consummate the marriage was one of Carrizales's signs of jealousy. Before taking Leonora's virginity, Carrizales transforms the house in which they will live into a place of confinement where he can prevent Leonora from any possibility of commiting adultery. The house hence is supposed to function as a secondary virginity that will bar uny attempt of penetration by an external intruder. Only Carrizales handles Ihe master key of the house, imposing his phallic power over his wife's virgin hody.x

and his ability to express his sexuality. Indeed, besides being a safeguard to Leonora's conjugal fidelity, the eunuch slave shares her limited legal status. As a woman, Leonora has to follow her husband's will. As a slave, Luis has to pay unconditional obedience to his master, which is guaranteed by the sexual mutilation of his body. A eunuch, however, does not have the right to marry (Ledesma 110), while a woman is somewhat limited in the exercise of this right. Furthermore, the emasculation of the slave is parallel to Carrizales's attempt to cover every existing hole of the house: windows, doors, and roofs. The confined space built to preserve Leonora's conjugal fidelity works as a metonym of Leonora's body, which Carrizales intends to keep out of the reach of any external intruder. 9 In both the case of a eunuch slave and a woman, the obedience to the head of the house is secured by restraining the body. Moreover, the sterility of an emasculated slave frees his owner of any fear regarding the paternity of his children. The confined space is thus built to enslave Leonora's body as much as the body of the eunuch, or the bodies of the two black female slaves who will serve in the house. As he uses a hot iron to mark the face of his two white slaves to prevent any attempt at emancipation from his ownership, Carrizales also signals his sole possession of Leonora's body by secluding her within rooms in which the enclosed windows and doors prevent any view of the outside world, forcing the inhabitants to look up to the sky. The vertical optic secured by this enclosed space denies any possibility of a horizontal or earthly experience in order to foster asexual and heavenly behavior. The secluded space built by Carrizales is hence a secular version of the confinement and celibacy observed in a monastery: one is intended to safeguard conjugal fidelity; the other, fidelity to God. Carrizales behaves like a jealous God who secludes and marks his subalterns in order to guarantee their obedience and salvation. The Erasmian resonance of this passage is undeniable, since this 10 description could also be read as a criticism of confining monastic life. If a nun or a monk is supposed to die to the world, the secular monastery built by Carrizales is also perceived by Leonora's parents as their daughter's tomb. Thus, when Carrizales takes Leonora with him, her parents mourn the loss of their daughter: 'y teniendolo todo asf aderezado y compuesto, se fue a casa de sus suegros y pidi6 a su mujer; que se la entregaron no con pocas lagrimas, porque les pareci6 que la llevaban ala sepultura' (904 ). If Bandello and Agreda y Vargas use the tomb as a metaphoric representation of the legal limbo of a

La scgunda sefial que di6 Filipo fue no querer juntarse con su esposa hasta tcnerle puesta casa aparte, la cual aderez6 en esta forma: compr6 una en docc mil ducados, en un barrio principal de la ciudad, que tenia agua de pic y jardfn con muchos naranjos; cerro todas las ventanas que miraban ala callc, y di61es vista al cielo, y lo mismo hizo de todas las otras de la casa. En cl portal de la calle, que en Sevilla llaman casapuerta, hizo una cahallcriza para una mula, y encima de ella, un pajar y apartamiento donde cstuvicsc cl que habfa de curar de ella, que fue un negro viejo y eunuco; lcvant6 las paredes de las azoteas de tal manera, que el que entraba en la casa hahfa de mirar al cielo por linea recta, sin que pudiesen ver otra cosa; hizo lorno, que de la casapuerta respondfa al patio. Compr6 un rico menaje para adornar la casa, de modo que por tapicerfas estrados y doseles ricos, mostraha ser de un gran senor; compr6 asimismo cuatro esclavas blancas, y hcrr61as en el rostro, y otras dos negras bozales. Concert6se con un dcspcnsero que le trajese y comprase de comer, con condici6n que no durmicse en casa ni entrase en ella sino hasta el tomo, por el cual habfa de dar lo que trajese. [... ] Hizo asimismo llave maestra para toda la casa, y cnccrr6 en ella todo lo que suele comprarse en junto y en sus sazones para Ia provision de todo el afio [... J. (904) In the main entrance of this place of confinement, Carrizales places a black eunuch slave, a subaltern subject who has been deprived of both his free will 7 The Council of Trent approved a provision for the enclosure and safety of nuns. This provision prohibits nuns from leaving their convents, even for a brief period, except for Nome lawful cause approved by the Bishop. It also makes it unlawful for anyone to enter within the enclosure of a nunnery without the written permission of the Bishop or the Supcr·ior, The Council of Trent also ordered nunneries established outside the walls of a city or town to move to new or old convents within cities or populated towns (Session XXV, On Regulars and Nuns, Chapter V, December 3 and 4, 1563). (For a discussion on the ell'cct of these rules on the role of women in the Church, sec the works of Conrad, and Perry.) H The gold bars are transformed into currency in order to build a conlincd space to Hecure the private possession of Leonora's hody once the marriage is consummated. With part of the money left, Carrbr.aleH obtains a quit-rent, placing the rest in the bank. CnrrhmleN'N tendency to reNtrict the free circulation of his money pul'llllels his uttempt to cuntrol Leonora'M body. Like Boccacclo (Selig), Cerv11ntes ulso introducllH the world 11nd

hmauaae nf commerce and trade Into hla literary reulity.

Y Forcionc implies this meaning when stating that seclusion has a 'powerful central symbol in the tradition of some of Boccaccio's most concentrated tales, [and] takes shape only us an agglomerate or objects and spaces related to the theme of confinement and the uction of penetrating harriers. All that we see or Carrizales's bedroom is a mattress, concculing 11 key. u locked door, und 11 smull hole at the base of the wall' (35). to In mo~lo tit' Ia /oC'tmt, for instllm:c, monks arc depicted ns scpurutcd not from the world but J'rnm education: 'cr•cen que In mcjor formu de picdud es estur tnn alejados de lu educucl6n que no Huben nl leer' ( I09 ).

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woman who marries against the will of her father, Cervantes uses it to symbolize the lack of legal capacity of a woman who passes from the tutelage of her father to the jealous guardianship of a husband. Hence, Cervantes does not use the image to prevent disobedience to parents, and thereby to persuade women to submit to civil law, accepting the will of their fathers regarding marriage. As this passage implies, the married state of an obedient daughter will become her metaphorical tomb because of the limited legal capacity of women, which places them at a disadvantage within the institution of marriage. By using an image that suggests that Leonora's tomb is similar to a monastery, the narrator is also implying that the Church submits its monks and nuns to a kind of bondage in which they are deprived of the ability to choose between good and evil; they are rather forced to look up to heaven. While describing the anguish of Leonora's parents, the narrator depicts the total innocence of the tender girl who does not realize what has happened to her. This is, indeed, one of the many instances in which the narrator portrays Leonora's ignorance or limited participation and understanding of her own actions.

words seem to manifest the free exercise of her will, her body language implies that she is ignorant of what she is agreeing to do. Likewise, Carrizales asks his slaves and servants to make the same promise, although they have no option but to obey their master. The narrator emphasizes that Carrizales's agreement with his wife and servants does not actually include the genuine consent of all the parties involved. Leonora fails to understand what he is talking about, while his servants and slave have no option other than unconditional obedience to their master. Carrizales thus limits Leonora's freedom as much as that of his slaves and servants. Carrizales's perception of his subalterns (slaves, servants and wife) parallels the comparison employed by Francisco de Vitoria when explaining women's limited juridical status. Of course, the limited juridical status of these subaltern subjects is based on their alleged inferior capacity to reason. Indeed, the narrator states that Leonora deals with her subalterns as an equal:

La tierna Leonora m:in no sabfa lo que la habfa acontecido, y asf, llorando con sus padres, les pidi6 su bendici6n, y despidiendose de ellos, rodeada de sus esclavas y criadas, asida de la mano de su marido, se vino a su casa y entrando en ella les hizo Carrizales un sermon a todas, encargandoles la guarda de Leonora [... ]Prometi6les que las tratarfa y regalarfa a todas de manera que no sintiesen su encerramiento, y que los dfas de fiesta, todos, sin faltar ninguno, irfan a oir misa; pero tan de manana, que apenas tuviese Ia luz Iugar de verlas. Prometieronle las criadas y esclavas de hacer todo aquello que les mandaba, sin pesadumbre, con pronta voluntad y buen animo; y la nueva esposa, encogiendo los hombros, baj6 la cabeza y dijo que ella no tenfa otra voluntad que la de su esposo y sefior, a quien estaba siempre obediente. (904) Leonora does not understand the actual motive for which her parents are crying, an innocent attitude that might reassure Carrizales's hypothesis that her childlike innocence, aided by seclusion, would secure his ability to mold her at his will. The similarity between Carrizales's methods and those employed by the Church is further suggested when the narrator states that upon entering the new house, Carrizales delivers a sermon before his slaves and servants, charging them to guard Leonora while commanding their obedience. The sermon is received by Leonora like someone who has not understood a word of what is said by the preacher. As the narrator explains, Leonora promises to obey him while hunching her shoulders, lowering her head, and saying that she has no other will but her husband's. Although Leonoru expresses a verbal agreement to obey her husband, her body lunguuge implies thut she might not have fully understood what lhe has been aNked to do. Hence, while Leonora's

Leonora andaba a lo igual con sus criadas, y se entretenfa en lo mismo que elias, y aun di6 su simplicidad en hacer mufiecas y en otras nifierfas, que mostraban Ia llaneza de su condici6n y Ia terneza de sus afios; todo lo cual era de grandfsima satisfacci6n para el celoso marido, pareciendole que habfa acertado a escoger Ia vida mejor que se Ia supo imaginar, y que por ninguna vfa Ia industria ni la malicia humana podfa perturbar su sosiego; y asf, solo se desvelaba en traer regalos a su esposa y en acordar Ia pidiese todos cuantos le viniesen al pensamiento, que de todos serfa servida. (905) However, while suggesting that Carrizales's equal treatment towards his wife, his servants, and slaves has driven Leonora into childish activities that demonstrate her tender age, simplicity, and openness of character, the narrator further implies that she is as ignorant and as deprived of her capacity to exercise her will as a slave or servant who is commanded by his master. As the narrator states, Carrizales encourages Leonora's condition with the belief that, by fostering her childish behavior, he will prevent any malicious attempt to disrupt his tranquility (905). ll However, the narrator anticipates that, II Carrizales's discourse appears to be proven as truthful at the beginning of the story. For instance, Leonora's inexperience makes her unable to recognize Carrizales's limited sexual capacity: 'Hecha esta prevenci6n y recogido el buen extremefio en su casa, comenz6 a gozar como pudo los frutos del matrimonio, los cuales a Leonora, como no tenia experiencia de otros, ni eran gustosos ni desabridos [... ]' (904). Her simplicity thus guarantees her husband's peace of mind; she has no previous experience that can move her to desire a more gratifying sexual adventure. Yet, the reader knows that Carrizales marries Leonora with the belief that he can conceive a child who can inherit his fortune: 'Y no soy tan viejo que pueda perder Ia esperanza de tener hijos que me hereden' (903). Indeed, an old man unable to procreate loses his right to marry. Even in the case that he is able to have an erection, if unnhl~ to ejueulatc, he loses his lcgul right to marry hccnuse of his inubilily to prncroutll (Addldmte.l路, Cup. XX. 'Del impedimento do Ia impotoncin', I09). Reaardlna mnrrlu11c, an old man unahlc In pruci'Oiltc hnd the Hllmc legal rcNtrlction liM a eunuch.

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although Leonora and her servants pass their noviciate year professing to follow this kind of life until their death, Carrizales's order would be destabilized by the sagacious disturber of humankind (905). Comparing Leonora's seclusion to that of a monastic life while employing rhetorical anticipation to evidence the futility of confinement in preventing transgression, the narrator articulates an implicit criticism of the Church. Moreover, this rhetorical anticipation is followed by a thorough listing of some of Carrizales's strategies to prevent Leonora's adultery, which coincide with the censorship exercised by the Church in order to secure the purity of its members. For instance, Carrizales proscribes the entrance of any male animal in his house (905), which could be a satirical allusion to the celibacy and confinement observed by nuns in a monastery. Moreover, Carrizales deprives his female animals of male companions in order to naturalize the celibacy observed by the female inhabitants of the house. By treating female animals and women in a similar fashion, Carrizales reveals his belief in women's inferior reasoning. While suggesting that the Church applies a parallel discipline in monasteries, Cervantes further criticizes the celibacy imposed on the clergy. Moreover, if the Church censors literary discourse through the Index of Forbidden Books, the jealous man also censors any kind of visual or verbal representation articulated within the walls of his house: 'Las figuras de los panos que salas y cuadras adornaban, todas eran hembras, flores y boscajes. Toda su casa olfa a honestidad, recogimiento y recato; aun basta en las consejas que en las largas noches del invierno, en la chimenea, sus criadas contaban, por estar el presente, en ninguna ningun genero de lascivia se descubrfa' (905). 12 However, the narrator explains that the decency of the stories is preserved because of the ever present Carrizales, suggesting that the absence of sexual innuendo is a result of the censoring presence of the jealous man, rather than the free choice of the storytellers. Given that the narrator has anticipated that all these censoring measures would fail to protect Leonora

from the sagacious disturber of humankind, this passage can be read as a direct attack against both Carrizales and the jealous censorship exercised by the Church in regulating art and representation. Post-Tridentine censorship is therefore represented as an attempt to exercise power through sexual repression, a useless effort to hinder people's free exercise of their will. Once more, the narrator cloaks criticism of the censorial power of the Church in the reaffirmation of a pivotal Catholic dogma: the doctrine of human free will. However, if, as the narrator has anticipated, Leonora betrays Carrizales because someone's ingenuity manages to break his censorship, the novella would show that what is censored by both Carrizales and the Church works to seduce Leonora into committing a transgression both against her husband and against marriage, a sacrament instituted by the Church. However, after enumerating the precautions of the jealous old husband, the narrator introduces a correction of his previous rhetorical anticipation which he now identifies as Carrizales's presumption: perhaps Leonora did not actually fulfill Carrizales's worst fear, but he thought she did: 'y con todo esto, no pudo en ninguna manera prevenir ni excusar de caer en Io que recelaba; a lo menos, en pensar que habfa cafdo' (905). In this way the reader is motivated to discover whether Carrizales's hypothesis is mistaken, thus proving the erroneous nature of his discourse. Moreover, since Loaysa uses discourse and images as his main instruments of persuasion in his attempt to seduce Leonora, his failure to drive her into committing adultery further illustrates that the free circulation of images and discourses would not drive people to sin and transgression, but rather would train them to exercise their wills. The fact that Leonora chooses to be faithful to her husband while he is sound asleep, and after being confronted with the beauty of Loaysa's body and the power of his seductive discourse, further illustrates the idea that people genuinely exercise their free will when they have the possibility of choosing between different alternatives without being forced to act according to someone else's will. Leonora's triumph over Loaysa's seductive words suggests the futility of censorship. However, the story does not deny the power of persuasion. Rather it stresses the point that Leonora almost becomes the victim of a seductive and persuasive discourse because of her ignorance and her inability to exercise her will, which is a result of her husband's repression. However, while being exposed to the danger ofLoaysa's power of seduction, Leonora gains the ability to choose by herself, training her will by actually being in the situation of making ethical choices. The narrator also suggests that the methods that Carrizales employs to secure Leonora's conjugal fidelity might lead her into transgression. Her seclusion fosters her simple and innocent condition, while depriving her of the opportunity to refine her judgment by making actual choices. The rhetorical anticipation und its correction thus confront the reader with the possibility thut Leonom's ignorance might muke her an eusy prey to someone'll malice either by drlvlna her to udultery or by puttlns her in a

But the narrator keeps Carrizales's condition as an enigma, and the reader never knows if his d'fort to seclude his wife surrounded by female servants and a eunuch is, perhaps, an nllcmpt to eliminate any possible sexual comparative reference that might reveal to Lconorn her husband's limitations. The ambiguity of the text suggests that Carrizales's phullic power might be just a fictitious illusion enhanced by the repression of the sexual cupucity of his subaltern subjects and his exclusive possession of the master key of the house. Regun.ling sexual expression, Carrizales's goal is to secure Leonora's unconditional obedience by limiting her ability to choose, thereby hindering the free exercise of her will. 12 Although the Council of Trent establishes the Index, it does not specify the rules to upply in the process of censorship. However, it does regulate the representation of saints, Netting un example of how censorship can be applied to other modes of representation. For lnMtancc, while recognizing that images arouse piety and excite people to adore and love Ood, the Council of Trent also prohibits these figures from being painted or udorned with a beauty excltlna to lulit (Seaaion XXV; On the lnvocution, Vcncrution, und Relics, of

Salnta, and of Saoted lmap1; DIK!embor 4,

1~63).

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compromising situation that might affect her reputation. Either way, Carrizales's honor would be stained as a result of his repressive methods and his deliberate attempt to maintain the ignorance of his wife. The transgressive act of a simple girl would be the result of Carrizales's faulty reasoning, since, when producing his discourses in order to justify Leonora's confinement, he does not consider the possibility that prohibition can work as an incentive for transgression. The narrator points out Carrizales's failure to predict the negative consequence of prohibition by comparing the women of his household with 'guarded golden apples' (905). In Greek mythology, these forbidden fruits, secluded in the Garden of the Hesperides, become Hercules's opportunity to test both his ingenuity and physical strength by trying to steal them from the jealous vigilance of a dragon. Since Carrizales's argument is based on his ability both to produce discourses - un gran mont6n de discursos- and to build a confined space, it will thus appear as a challenge to others to test their power to produce discourses and to penetrate seclusion. Carrizales's fortress hence excites Loaysa to try to capture it by employing either his strength or his ingenuity:

himself through music. However, this freedom of expression is really a mechanism of control, because wine has impaired Luis's ability to judge and to realize that his guitar is missing some strings and is totally out of tune (908). Hence, Loaysa secures his power over the slave by persuading him of his capacity to produce discourse rather than by inhibiting his untuned expression. If emasculation and seclusion are used as vehicles to secure the power of the master over the slave, Loaysa employs music to persuade Luis to voluntarily surrender his will and his body. Power is thus sustained not only through repression but also through persuasion. As long as Loaysa is in control, it is in his best interest to persuade Luis of his incredible talent and his ability to express himself through the language of music: 'y el negro, aunque era casi el alba, quiso tomar lecci6n, Ia cual le di6 Loaysa, y Ie hizo entender que no habia mejor oido que el suyo en cuantos discfpulos tenfa: iY no sabfa el pobre negro, ni lo supo jamas, hacer un cruzado!' (910). Hence, Loaysa uses the persuasive power of music to break into Carrizales's fortress. Yet, as music penetrates the ears of the female slaves and servants of the house, they also want to enjoy the pleasure of being able to see the musician. Indeed, Loaysa persuades the women to open up a hole in the door so that they can enjoy the musical spectacle. 13 The seclusion that was supposed to protect the body of Leonora is violated thanks to the power of an apparently self-gratifying freedom of expression: the slaves and servants dance to Loaysa's rhythm, exorcizing themselves from the control of their master while being possessed by demonic music. 14 As Loaysa mesmerizes his audience with his music, the narrator describes them as a flock of women (909). The comparison with a flock of sheep implies that these women have been subdued by music. 15 Like animals, they will surrender their will to their new master. Hence, Loaysa's music frees the bodies of these women from the constraint imposed by Carrizales. But their dance is just an illusion of freedom, for music is just a vehicle of persuasion that will open a space through which Loaysa will attempt to intrude into Carrizales's bed.

Uno de estos galanes, pues, que entre ellos es llamado virote, mozo soltero que a los recien casados Haman mantones- acert6 a mirar Ia cas a del recatado Carrizales, y viendola siempre cerrada, le tom6 gana de saber quien vivfa dentro; y con tanto ahinco y curiosidad hizo la diligencia, que de todo en todo vino a saber lo que deseaba. Supo la condici6n del viejo, la hermosura de su esposa y el modo que tenfa en guardarla; todo lo cualle encendi6 el deseo de ver si serfa posible expugnar, por fuerza o por industria, fortaleza tan guardada [... ]. (905-906) The strict morals imposed on his slaves, servants, and wife, and Leonora's restricted use of her own will, both designed to prevent adultery, are precisely the weak points of Carrizales's case. Her lack of knowledge of the use of her will is a state of ignorance that could lead Leonora involuntarily to transgress the law. The insistence of the narrator on characterizing Leonora as a simpleton suggests that, as she has been forced to accept her husband's will, she could be easily manipulated to follow someone else's will. In fact, both Leonora and her servants and slaves are persuaded to commit a transgression, because they fall victims to someone's power of persuasion. For instance, Louysa breaks into the house by using the seductive power of persuasion. He uses music to convince Luis to let him into the house so that he can give him singing lessons. He further convinces the slaves that he has learned how to sing when, in fact, Luis lacks any musical talent (908). While Carrizales's power over his black slave depends on Luis's sexual mutilation and physical constraint, Loaysa will exercise his power by apparently freeina the slave from his restraint. And this freedom comes in the form of dilcourae, for Loayaa atves Luis the illusion thut he is expressing

13 Forcione explains that the songs interpreted by Loaysa- 'Star of Venus' and songs of Abindarniez and Abenamar - are 'texts dealing with the passions and frustrations of youthful love, tyrannical repression of a maiden, and the theme of confinement' (36). 14 Upon Loaysa's entrance into the house, the narrator exhibits a tendency to introduce more dialogues (Stern 337). Lugo y Davila - who is studied in the last section of this chapter- rewrites this novella with an even stronger emphasis on the representation of the diulogues and monologues of the tictional characters. The tendency to introduce more developed dialogue in the novellu is attributed to Bandello (Herczeg 365). ~~ Forcionc pinpoints these images und their ussociation with 'innocence und fragility, und uwakcning instinctuulity of the femule world enclosed in the house' (39). He explains thut upon the entrunce of Lnuysu, this l!ll'oup,of women is trunsformed 'inlo u swur路m und u friahtcmed 11m:k of pr路edutory doves' (39), This system uf imuacN NUiJCHIH that the

obedlonco obtained by ropreulon ltctually lJOtlerateM lnNurroetlon.

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Loaysa thus uses music to persuade Luis and the female slaves and servants, convincing them that he has freed their dancing, singing and playing from Carrizales's bondage. Indeed, they use their newly gained freedom to persuade Leonora to agree to open the house to the musician, while burying the repressive conscience of Carrizales in a deep sleep. Since, as the narrator suggests, Leonora does not possess a will of her own, in the absence of her repressive husband she is easily persuaded by her slaves and servants:

music gives these women an illusory freedom. The secluded space that aids in cultivating their sheep-like conformity also strengthens the power of the image and discourse produced by the seducer. 16 The use of images as a vehicle of persuasion is illustrated in the passage in which Loaysa enters into the house:

Vino la noche, y Ia banda de las palomas acudi6 al reclamo de Ia guitarra. Con elias vino la simple Leonora, temerosa y temblando de que no despertase su marido; que aunque ella, vencida de este temor, no habfa querido venir, tantas cosas le dijeron sus criadas, especialmente la duefia, de Ia suavidad de Ia musica y de Ia gallarda disposici6n del musico pobre - que sin haberle visto le alababa y le subfa sobre Absal6n y sobre Orfeo- que Ia pobre sefiora, convencida y persuadida de elias, hubo de hacer lo que no tenfa ni tuviera jamas en voluntad. (910) Female servants and slaves are compared with doves - traditionally associated with submissiveness and innocence. Carrizales cultivates the passive obedience and simplicity of his subaltern female subjects and, as a consequence, they are easily persuaded by the more pleasurable power of Loaysa's discourse. As the narrator states, Leonora surrenders to the persuasive words of the servants, doing something that she did not wish to do. Discourse works hence as a powerful force that overwhelms the will of a simple girl. Thus, besides failing to predict that Leonora's seclusion could excite someone's will to penetrate the fortress, Carrizales also fails to perceive Leonora's simplicity and passive obedience as a weakness that will hinder her ability to override the power of persuasive discourse. Carrizales's defective discourse is therefore the one to blame for Leonora's surrendering to Loaysa's power of persuasion. Indeed, when these women are able to see Loaysa through a hole in the door, they think that they are contemplating an angel (910). But it is the constraining circumstance of these women that dupes them into believing that Loaysa is as beautiful as an angel. Their seclusion, which was supposed to fix the eyes of these women on their master and the vertical power he represents within the space of the house, contributes to triggering a desire to fully enjoy the first image that appears through the hole they open in the door. Rather than hindering their ability even to imagine any other life behind the confined walls of the house, the limitations imposed by seclusion magnify the seductive power of the newly discovered horizontal view. The attempt to control desire by limiting the availability of images and discourses hence cripples the ability to judae when confronted with actual choices. Carrizules's jealous censorship of imaaes and discourse fails to retine the judgment of his •laves and aervanta, con.tributJna to his own deception. Indeed, Louysll's

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Y tomando la buena Marialonso una vela, comenz6 a mirar de arriba a abajo al bueno del musico, y una decfa: 'jAy que copete que tiene tan Iindo y tan rizado!' Otra: 'jAy que blancura de dientes! jMal afio para pinones mondados, que mas blancos ni mas lindos sean!' Otra: 'jAy que ojos tan grandes y tan rasgados! jY por el siglo de mi madre que son verdes, que no parecen sino que son de esmeraldas!' Esta alababa Ia boca, aquella los pies, y todas juntas hicieron de el una menuda anatomfa y pepitoria. Sola Leonora callaba, y le miraba, y le iba pareciendo de mejor talla que su velado. (914) When Loaysa breaks into the house, violating Carrizales's censoring of the production of images and discourse, Marialonso uses a candle to better appreciate the body of the musician, liberating the speech of the female slaves and servants, who erupt in a sequence of similes which the narrator describes as an anatomy made of words, a verbal 'body stew' (pepitoria). This 'body stew' made out of words appeals to the reader as much as to the quiet girl who begins to appreciate Loaysa's beauty. However, while the slaves and servants can freely express their appreciation of Loaysa's body, Leonora remains

16 Leonora also falls victim to Loaysa's rhetorical power: he pronounces a deceptive oath promising to respect her honor: 'Mas para que todas esten seguras de mi buen deseo, determino de jurar como cat6lico y buen var6n; y asf juro por intemerata eficacia, donde mas santa y largamente se contiene, y por las entradas y salidas del santo Lfbano momtc, y por todo aquello que en su proemio encierra Ia verdadera his tori a de Carlomagno, con Ia muerte del gigante Fierabras, de no salir ni pasar del juramento hecho y del mandamiento de Ia mas minima y desechada de estas senoras, so pena que si otra cosa hiciere o quisiere hacer, desde ahora para entonces y desde entonces para ahora lo doy por nulo y no hecho ni valedero' (913). On the one hand, Loaysa swears as a good man and as a Catholic, and yet he pronounces an obscene oath that alludes to the body of the Virgin Mary as the place where her power is contained (her virginity). On the other hand, his words are as 'truthful' as the historical and fictional characters of a romance (Carlomagno, Fierabras). Moreover, the consequence for not keeping the oath by disobeying these disregarded (desechadas) women is that the oral agreement would be nullified. Loaysa thus pronounces a meaningless oath in front of a group of women who have no power to enforce it or even to discern its deceptive nature. Leonora's ignorance thus breaks the confined world built hy Carrizales in order to presc1·vc his honor. Yet, because of her ignorance, Leonora believes in the validity of Loaysa's burlesque oath, congratuluting herself for her net of wisdom: ' ·- Pucs si hu jurudo dijo Lcoll\11'11- , asido lc tcncmos. jOh, que! uvisudu que 1111duve en hucerle que Juruse!' (IJ! ~ ), Although Lcunorurecoanizcs the powerful nuturc of diMcnurNc, Mhc IN un11hle tn re11ll~e th1tt Hhc hiiM hccn nverrlddcn hy thl• power.

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silent. Ladies of higher rank were supposed to maintain discretion. 17 Loquacity and verbal eloquence was not a virtue in a noble woman. As Francesco de Barbaro states in his book of conduct, the eloquence of a woman is silence, which is a sign of sexual modesty (qtd. in Jordan 45-46). Thus, the free expression of the female slaves and servants manifests their sexual desire in a way that is not available to Leonora. 18 Ironically, the narrator of Novelas ejemplares declares in his prologue that he would not write anything that might inspire a bad thought in his readers, avoiding the depiction of 'body-stews' (pepitorias) (769). But, as Loaysa frees the speech of female slaves and servants, our narrator frees himself from his self-imposed censorship and his promise to avoid the depiction of bodies, wherein lies temptation. Moreover, the narrator of the prologue promises to cut off his own hand if he fails to keep his promise not to induce any bad thought in the minds of his readers (770). As the eunuch slave would have cut off his arm to break his confinement in order to listen to the songs of Loaysa (906), the narrator is willing to risk the hand he uses to write his stories. Indeed, if the narrator introduces brief statements characterizing Leonora as ignorant or simple in order to suggest objections to Carrizales's discourse, this counter-argument is made explicit in the song interpreted by Marialonso upon Loaysa's entrance into the house: 'Si la voluntad/por sino se guarda,/no lu haran Ia guarda/miedo o calidad;/por la misma muerte,/hasta hallar la suertelque vos no entendeis;/que si yo no me guardo,/no me guardareis' (914). The song introduced by Marialonso works both as a sententia and as a prolepsis or anticipation: the reader expects the fall of Leonora, whose will has been confined by the enclosed space created by Carrizales. Through this rhetorical anticipation, the reader is compelled to discover whether, in the absence of her guard, the ignorant girl surrenders to the seductive power of Loaysa's discourse. In fact, Loaysa convinces the duefia (Marialonso) that he will sleep with her if she convinces Leonora to sleep with him. Leonora hence becomes the target of Marialonso's persuasive and seductive arguments. Power is thus exercised through a seductive discourse, a fact that is evidenced by the words

employed by the narrator in describing Marialonso's attempt to convince Leonora. As Aristotle states, images intervene in the process of desiring, moving, and willing. Therefore, language constitutes a powerful tool in creating images that might intervene in our process of making choices. Thus, by creating a pleasurable image through language, Marialonso attempts to direct Leonora's will, exciting her desire for Loaysa:

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17 In her discussion of 'the construction of woman' in Lope de Vega's honor plays, Yurhro-Bejaruno explains that in these texts 'just as the virtue of chastity keeps [the] female body closed, the cultivation of verguenza, or shame, closes woman's mouth' (17). IK Churnon-Deutsch studies the conventions regarding women of different social classes hy studying u novella by Zayas, in which a noblewoman who has been raped dresses as u Moorish slave to control her destiny and to gain an independence that is U!lually denied to women ( 18-19). Vollendorf interprets this disguise as an enactment of the phyHical and psychological enslavement felt by a raped woman (99). Both critics coincide with Boyer in her appreciation of Zayas's novella us an attempt to highlight the Nocial role of men and women in seventeenth-century Spain (262-6::1). Cervantes makes u Mlmllar association between the situation of women und slaves, portruying their commodttlcatlon while IUIJeltlnl that a noble woman like LennmÂˇu is even mme repre11td than 1 alavt in hw &bWt~ to exproâ&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ her Nexu&d deMire.

Fueronse las criadas, y ella acudi6 a Ia sala a persuadir a Leonora acudiese a Ia voluntad de Loaysa con una larga y tan concertada arenga, que pareci6 que de muchos dfas Ia tenia estudiada. Encareci6le su gentileza, su valor, su donaire y sus muchas gracias; pint6le de cwinto mas gusto le serfan los brazos del amante mozo que los del marido viejo, asegurandole el secreto y Ia duraci6n del deleite, con otras cosas semejantes a estas, que el demonio le puso en Ia lengua, llenas de colores ret6ricos, tan demostrativos y eficaces, que movieran no s6lo el coraz6n tierno de Leonora, sino el de un endurecido marmol. (915) As the narrator implies, inspired by the devil, Marialonso emerges as a powerful rhetorician who creates vivid images through language (evidentia), and who knows how to create pleas in explanation or extenuation of an act (colores ret6ricos), capable of moving not only Leonora's tender heart but also a heart made of marble. Because of Carrizales's repressive and confining strategy, Leonora's tender heart is not used to resist the tempting and powerful discourse of the devil, who speaks through Marialonso. Ironically, if Leonora surrenders to the deceptive discourse of Marialonso, the narrator has implicitly stated his argument in extenuation of the tender girl's error. The narrator thus coincides with Marialonso in employing colores ret6ricos as part of his discourse. But, even though he embraces forensic rhetoric in his narration, he distances himself from Marialonso by attacking her character in a sententia followed by specific denunciation of her conduct: j Oh duefias, nacidas y usadas en el mundo para perdici6n de mil recatadas y buenas intenciones! j Oh luengas y repulgadas tocas, escogidas para autorizar las salas y los estrados de senoras principales, y cuan al reves de lo que debfais usais de vuestro casi ya forzoso oficio! En fin: tanto dijo la duefia, que Leonora se rindi6, Leonora se engafi6 y Leonora se perdi6, dando en tierra con todas las prevenciones del discreto Carrizales, que dormfa el suefio de la muerte de su honra. (915-16)

The narrator imprecates Marialonso while stating that although the duefias cover their heads with long hoods in order to appear as figures of authority, they usually pervert honest and good intentions. Although very similar to the habit of a nun, Marialunso's long hood (ruther than functioning as a sign of virtue and authority) concealM her long repreMHed sexual de11ire (Nhe haM been

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forced to occupy her position). Hence, the single old maid employed by Carrizales to protect Leonora's honor, like all his methods of repression, functions as a seductive agent inducing Leonora to stain the reputation of her husband. While condemning Marialonso, however, the narrator puts forward an argument in defense of Leonora: she has honest and good intentions. Because Carrizales fosters Leonora's ignorance, the honest and wellintentioned girl is manipulated through the seductive power of Marialonso's rhetoric. Moreover, as Marialonso says in her song, the repression to which Carrizales has subjected her has only increased her desire (914 ). However, if Leonora is defended by appealing to equity (quaestio aequitatis), Marialonso is condemned because her rhetorical ability to produce a persuasive discourse is evidence of her ability to reason and thus to exercise her will. Following the principle of equity, Marialonso is fully responsible for her acts, because she possesses the experience and ability to understand the subtleties of rhetorical manipulation. But, while condemning Marialonso, the narrator also points to Carrizales's defective discourse as the cause of his stained honor (honra). 19 Moreover, while alluding to Carrizales's physical precautions (muros, etc.) and arguments (persuasiones), the narrator states that Marialonso and Loaysa defeat Carrizales by attacking the principles on which he bases his way of thinking:

has actually been dishonored by Leonora and Loaysa, he blames himself for it: 20 'Yo fuf el que, como el gusano de seda, me fabrique Ia casa donde muriese, y a ti no te culpo, jOh niiia mal aconsejada! - diciendo esto se inclin6 y bes6 el rostro de la desmayada Leonora - no te culpo, digo, porque persuasiones de viejas taimadas y requiebros de mozos enamorados facilmente vencen y triunfan del poco ingenio que los pocos aiios encierran' (918). The objections suggested by the narrator and by Marialonso's song are also voiced by Carrizales, who recognizes his error of judgment while taking the stance of defending Leonora. As a judge who examines the intentions of an accused in order to condemn or acquit, Carrizales determines that by fostering Leonora's ignorance (poco ingenio), he has hindered her power of judgment and her capacity to exercise her will. However, while Carrizales is unaware that Leonora has actually followed a virtuous course of action, the reader knows that when confronted by the power of Loaysa's seductive discourse and the beautiful image of his body, Leonora chooses Carrizales. By breaking from her seclusion, Leonora surmounts Carrizales's control of her body and her access to images and discourses. Nevertheless, her capacity to choose develops, thanks to an evil intruder who opens up a hole through which she can experience the outside world and its free circulation of seductive and deceitful images and discourses. Leonora and Marialonso provide two cases of the potential of women when they are released from their space of confinement and their limited legal status. The case of Marialonso demonstrates that granting a woman the experience and freedom to produce her own discourse also grants society the right to hold her responsible for her actions. The narrator condemns Marialonso's actions, and Carrizales punishes her by excluding her from his will. However, Carrizales forgives Leonora and his other servants and slaves. He leaves his fortune to Leonora, grants freedom to his slaves, and secures the economical survival of his other servants (except Marialonso). However, even though Leonora's newly gained experience serves as a tool for her to exercise her will, her lack of education cripples her ability to defend herself and to mend her husband's stained reputation. Moreover, within Leonora's context, even if she were able to articulate her own defense, arguing that she has not committed the alleged transgression (quaestio coniecturalis), her discourse would have had the same credibility as a villain's testimony (like Loaysa), and half the value of a nobleman's testimony (like Carrizales).

Bueno fuera en esta saz6n preguntar a Carrizales [... ] ad6nde estaban sus advertidos recatos, sus recelos, sus advertimientos, los altos muros de su casa [... ] y si ello oyera y acaso respondiera, no podia dar mejor respuesta que encoger los hombros y enarcar las cejas y decir: 'jTodo aqueso derrib6 por los fundamentos la astucia, a lo que yo creo, de un mozo holgazan y vicioso, y Ia malicia de una falsa dueiia, con la inadvertencia de una muchacha rogada y persuadida!'. (916) Carrizales's precautions fail to control the access of his subaltern subjects to the free circulation of images and discourses outside his secluded walls. While condemning Carrizales's defective strategy and the malice of Murialonso and Loaysa, the narrator implies a defense of Leonora: she is persuaded, because she does not have a full understanding of her act. Although Leonora triumphs in defending her honor, she is unable to mend her husband's stained reputation (honra). For, in Carrizales's opinion, Leonora has stained his honor, and the presence of Loaysa in his bed also contributes to the loss of his reputation. But, even though Carrizales is convinced that he IY Custro identif1es lumra with social opinion, supporting his interpretation with the following paNsuge: 'Honru es aquella que consiste en otro. Ningdn homhre es honrudo por s( miNmo, que dol otro recibo Ia honra un homhre ... Ser virtuoso un homhrc y tener mdrltoM, no eN 1er honrado , , â&#x20AC;˘ De dondc es cierto, que It\ honru eNl4 en olro y no en el ml1mo' (J..opt de V.... l.M Hlfllllflt:uJorfN ell Ct1rtlnbu; qld. In Dl'ltl C'tlutl t.'tJI(/lltâ&#x20AC;˘tlva 7~ ),

2o Atkinson explains that 'Carrizales paid the tina! penalty not for Leonora's indiscretion hut for his own, and it was artistic gain to limit hers to the minimum necessary to set the trugic train in motion' (205). Indeed, Currizales makes an error of judgment by keeping Leonora in ignomnce to preserve his honor. However, the narrator confronts the reader with the ironic siluution thutnlthough LeonmÂˇu hus not committed udultery, Cal'l'izales thinks she did, dying in the belief thut he ~rnvokcd his dishonor. This tcxlltiNo ~uints out the truaic effect of u cudc nl' hunur thlll IN buMcd on ~ulentiully deceptive oplniunM.

132

CARMEN R. RABELL

THE FICTITIOUS CASE

Furthermore, women's testimonies were mainly required in cases of sexual offense, in which they were directly involved. Therefore, if Leonora were to speak in her own defense, she would play the same role as a woman who had suffered a sexual offense, corroborating Carrizales's suspicions. Reaffirming Catholic theology, Leonora exercises free will, while preserving her honor. But, in the light of a legal system that denies her recognition as a juridical person with full capacity to act and speak, her reputation is stained by disobeying the commands of her legal guardian and helping Loaysa to enter the house. The narrator closes the story with an enigmatic question: 21 'Solo no se que fue la causa que Leonora no puso mas ahinco en disculparse y dar a entender a su celoso marido cuan limpia y sin ofensa habfa quedado en ague! suceso; pero Ia turbaci6n Ie at6 Ia Iengua, y Ia prisa que se di6 a morir su marido no dio Iugar a su disculpa' (919). The unswer might be found by referring to Spanish laws. In a world in which a woman was considered an infant waiting to pass from the tutelage of her father to that of her husband, the private act of equity exercised by Carrizales is not a definitive answer to the problems posed by the ambiguous legal status of women and the contradiction it presented with the Catholic doctrine of free will. 22 Where honor is affected by reputation or social opinion, there is not much room for the discernment of honest and good intentions. Carrizales's act of equity, however, can also be read as an implicit proposal to emancipate subaltern subjects by granting them full capacity as juridical persons. Moreover, in his will, Carrizales intends to grant Leonora her wishes by asking her to marry the young man he named in secret (Loaysa). However, to Loaysa's dismay, Leonora decides to enter a convent. 23 Leonora's refusal to marry Loaysa, together with her choice of a convent, are attempts to free

herself from her legal bondage: being under the tutelage of a new husband, or obeying the last will of Carrizales. If civil law does not grant her the full capacity to speak or to exercise her will, she has no other option but to escape to the only space where the concept of free will is seemingly applied to both men and women. But, while implicitly appealing to the doctrine of the Church as an argument in favor of the expansion of the legal capacity of women, the narrator uses the ambiguous discourse of the fictitious case in order to demonstrate that Carrizales's means of repression, and his censorship of images and discourses, are futile attempts to control free will. The narrator thus suggests that the repressive methods of Carrizales and the Church are in contradiction with the Catholic doctrine of free will. Moreover, the control over the production and circulation of images and discourses is an attempt to limit the freedom of society as much as society limits the legal capacity of women. Within the culture of control of the Counter-Reformation, repressing, secluding, and confining wills and bodies could incite a eunuch slave to sacrifice a limb for the pleasure of music, sharpening the ingenuity of a narrator who risks the hand with which he writes in order to represent forbidden discourses. As Cervantes states in 'El viaje del Parnaso'(Sl): 'Yo he abierto en mis novelas un camino/por do Ia lengua Castellana puede/mostrar con propiedad un desatino.' By narrating a fictitious case as part of an injunctive example, Cervantes employs forensic discourse in order to delight his readers with a story about transgression (desatino) while fulfilling the poetic principle of decorum (propiedad), which, according to Renaissance critics, involves, at least in part, an accommodation to the audience's beliefs.

Pabst interprets Leonora's silence as a sign of her guilty conscience (233). By representing Leonora's muteness, Cervantes further portrays the commodification of women in Spanish society. Carrizales's treatment of Leonora is strikingly similar to his representation of the 'barbaric island' in Los trabajos de Persiles y Set-:i.wnunda. As De Armas pinpoints, 'this island sustains a community of isolated males whose "Law" or ritual idolatry dictates a continual circulation of women. Purchased "with chunks of gold ore and extremely precious pearls," these foreign women are then fctishizcd as incubators for the horde's potential messiah. This male traffic in women, the text is careful to note, has not brutalized the barbarians: whether "purchased or robbed," the women arc "well treated by them, who only in this show themselves not to be barbarians". The only notable deprivation for women on the island would appear to be speech' (153). As De Armas suggests, Cervantes further breaks the dichotomy between barbarism and civilization by portraying parallel male traffic in the Western 'civilized' context ( 155-6). 23 Whereas Loaysa attempts to outsmart both Carrizales and Leonora, he ends up feeling that he has been fooled. This situation is similar to that found in Boccaccio's twvtlla dt hfljfa (novella of mockery) (Cocceti 305). The smart munipulutor of imugcs und diMcourHCM int1uences Leonora but ultimately fuils to conquer .her will. 'El ccloso' ulso repre11entM the terrible conaequencoâ&#x20AC;˘ of lrrcMponHiblc mockery, combining comic and tragic elomenta.

NARRATING THE IMPOSSIBLE: THE RESURRECTION OF WOMEN

133

[... ] By writing her self, woman will return to the body which has been more than confiscated from her, which has been turned into the uncanny stranger on display - the ailing or dead figure, which so often turns out to be the nasty companion, the cause and location of inhibitions. Censor the body and you censor breath and speech at the same time. (H. Cixous, 'The Laugh of the Medusa')

Like Cervantes, Marfa de Zayas y Sotomayor explores the possibility of expanding the limited legal capacity of women. She also shields her highly controversial proposal by appealing to a practice sanctioned by the Catholic Church: the devotion to images and the belief in their capacity to perform miracles (Session XXV; On the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics, of Saints, and of Sacred Images; December 4, 1563). 'El imposible vencido' ( 1637) is ulso an extreme case, in the light of which the upplicubility of the rules concerning murriage established by the Council of Trent ure tested.

134

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THE FICTITIOUS CASE

In 'El imposible vencido', Dona Leonor is deceived by her parents so that she consents to marry Don Alonso, a wealthy suitor, under the false assumption that Don Rodrigo, the man with whom she has performed a secret hetrothal, has married another woman in Flanders. Since Don Rodrigo fails to return to marry Leonor within three years, which the narrator states is the expiration time of the betrothal (Zayas 355), she believes the lie that her parents invented. In fact, civil law does establish three years as the expiration time of a betrothal, in case one of the parties involved was absent from the country (Ledesma 27). Yet, this is not the only instance in which the logic of the plot is based on actual laws. Furthermore, at the end of the novella, the narrator explains that the story of Rodrigo and Leonor is an actual case discussed by the students of Salamanca (367). The readers therefore learn that the story has been reconstructed through the different testimonies provided by the persons involved in the case (364-67). This case tests the validity of the Tridentine rules regarding marriage, by posing an extreme circumstance that seems to escape the limits of the law. The extreme nature of the case is accentuated by the fact that Leonor, who was Don Alonso's wife, marries Don Rodrigo when she comes back to life after being declared dead. Moreover, the narrator states that Leonor's resurrection is a miracle granted by God in answer to Don Rodrigo's prayers hefore a crucifix:

states that even though marriage dissolves a previous betrothal, if the person who breaks the promise becomes a widow/er, she/he must marry the person to whom she/he was previously betrothed (Addiciones, Cap. III, 'De los desposorios', 26). Although marriage is dissolved by death, a widow is not supposed to receive nuptial blessings in her second marriage (Addiciones, Cap. XXX, 'De las segundas bodas o segundo casamiento', 143). Yet, Ledesma states that a woman can receive nuptial blessings if her first marriage is dissolved by the Church before it is consummated (Addiciones, Cap. XXX, 143). Zayas's fictitious case thus resembles some of the fictitious cases discussed by Ledesma in order to explain the laws regarding marriage established by the Council of Trent. Indeed, Leonor's second marriage follows very strictly the procedures established by the Council of Trent: mutual consent, the publication of marriage banns, and public ceremony in church (Session XXIV, 'Decree of Reforms Regarding Marriage', Chapter I, November 2, 1563). However, the narrator skillfully avoids giving any interpretation of this legal entanglement, summarizing the arguments employed by each person in defending their respective versions of the case. Don Alonso testifies that Dofia Leonor was his wife, stating that she was buried alive because her doctors were deceived when she fainted (365). Hence he demands the return of his wife (365). Yet, the narrator previously states that Leonor's dowry was the sole motive for Don Alonso's claims: 'no porque le obligase el amor que le tenfa, sino Ia cudicia del gran dote que le habfan dado con ella' (363). Don Rodrigo answers Don Alonso's allegation, defending the validity of his marriage by an application of the letter of the law: marriage is dissolved when one dies, and the woman involved in the case was certified as dead. Furthermore, Leonor's resurrection is presented by Don Rodrigo as a miraculous deed: God answered his devout prayer. Don Rodrigo also argues that he has written proof of his betrothal to Leonor, adding that she married Don Alonso under false assumptions (365). Thus, Don Rodrigo implicitly interprets the fact that the woman was deceived by her parents as a violation of the principle of consent essential to a legitimate marriage. Furthermore, having established that Leonor's first marriage was invalid both because it was dissolved by death and because it was performed against Leonor's will, Don Rodrigo proceeds to defend the validity of his marriage, by arguing that it was made possible by the intervention of a divine miracle and in accordance with all the rules prescribed by the Council of Trent:

Volvi6 los ojos al altar en que estaba el devoto crucifixo, y como ni por amante ni por desdichado perdiese la devoci6n, se arrodill6 delante del, y despues de haberle pedido perd6n de haber en su presencia hablado con aquella difunta de aquella suerte, con una devota y fervorosa oraci6n le pidi6 su vida, pues para darla a los muertos habfa ofrecido la suya en la cruz, prometiendole una promesa de gran valor. jOh fuerza de la oraci6n que tanto alcanzas! jOh piadoso Dios, que asf oyes a los que de veras te llaman! (359) The narrator thus solves the love triangle, by presenting a case in which a woman comes back to life after being pronounced legally dead. Yet, the nurrator states that before marrying Dona Leonor, the protagonist consults with a theologian who concludes that God granted the miracle of resurrecting the woman, so that she could fulfill her promise to Don Rodrigo: 'consult6 don Rodrigo el caso a un te6logo, el cualle dixo que lo hiciese, haciendo leer sus umonestaciones en Salamanca, teniendo por sin duda que Dios habfa vuelto a dof'la Leonor a este mundo, para que cumpliese Ia primera palabra. JQu6 exemplo para los que jamas cumplen ninguna!' (361). Following Tridentine procedures, Don Rodrigo authenticates the miracle granted by the crucifix through the competent authority established by the Church (Session XXV; On the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics, of Saints, and of Sacred lmaaea; December 4, 1!63), The interpretution of this tictiunul theologilm is

aimilar to a ftotitioua

0111

diaouaaed by Ledesmu. For inHtuncc, LedcNrna

Y que su divina Majestad, como el mas justo juez, se lo habfa concedido como vfun, dnndolc nucvu vidn para que el como legftimo duel'lo lu gozase. Y de que ern verdudcro pnscedor lo dccfun sus diligencias, siendo con juMto tfLulo to~u mujer, pueH puru Nll cusumit!nlo, dcmdN de haberNe UCllllNcjadtl con te61oyoH y Jetr11dos, habh1 preccdldu -todiiN h111 Nolcnldadoa quo â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ requloren,

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como lo manda el Santo Concilio de Trento, como sus padres de aquella senora y don Alonso eran buenos testigos, en cuya presencia se habfan lefdo las amonestaciones, sin haberlas impedido, y que de industria se habfan velado en su presencia[ ... ]. (365-66) Dofia Leonor confirms the testimony provided by Don Rodrigo, adding that she never consummated her marriage to Don Alonso (366). This new point would have made the previous arguments unnecessary, since a nonconsummated marriage was easier to nullify. However, by stating that Don Alonso never consummated his marriage, Dofia Leonor provides an argument that justifies having nuptial blessings in her second marriage. Therefore, Zayas's story follows a line of argument that covers a range of points: from quaestio iuris (the woman involved followed the letter of the law, her first marriage was dissolved by death), to quaestio aequitatis (the validity of the woman's first marriage is questioned by interpreting the fact that she was deceived as a violation of the principle of consent) and quaestio coniecturalis (in the light of the non-consummation of her first marriage, and the existence of a second consummated marriage, no crime has been committed and she might be free to live with Don Rodrigo, her legal husband). The case ends up being solved on unexpected grounds: the narrator ultimately reduces it to a discussion of whether to grant validity to an unconsummated marriage without true consent on the part of the bride, or to a consummated marriage that has scrupulously observed the rules established by the Council of Trent (366-67). Even though Zayas's story demonstrates a skillful ability to win the favor of the public, the verdict of the case is pronounced by the students of luw from the University of Salamanca, a strategy that would have freed the uuthor should she be censured for her peculiar interpretation of civil and cunon law: Viendo el Obispo esto, se acompafi6 en el pleito con un famoso catedr:itico de Ia misma ciudad. El cual, estando en lici6n, por ser el caso tan grave, no quiso ser solo en juzgarlo, y asf, se le cont6 a los estudiantes, proponiendoles el derecho de cada uno, los cuales juntos y de un comun acuerdo, daban voces diciendo: 'j Densela a don Rodrigo, densela a don Rodrigo, que suya es!' [... ] Esta relaci6n supe de uno de los jueces de este mismo pleito, que fueron como he dicho los estudiantes de la Universidad de Ia insigne ciudad de Salamanca. (366-67) Thus, while affirming the historicity of the story, the narrator reveals its source: a case discussed by students of law. The range of points covered by Zayas's extreme case can be interpreted from various perspectives. Indeed, a conservative reader can interpret the final sentence in favor of the second marriage as an approval of Tridentine procedures. However, Zayas's story also reveals thut, given the lower social and leaal status of women, the mutual conNent eMtabliMhed by the Council of

THE FICTITIOUS CASE

137

Trent can only be enforced if women were granted the miracle of a resurrection to a new life, in which they could be fully emancipated from the tutelage of their parents. This reading clearly unveils the failure of a canon rule that is impossible to enforce within a legal system in which women, as perpetual children, have juridical personality but do not possess the freedom to dispose of their free will. The ideal Tridentine marriage, in which women are supposed to exercise their free will, is thus a virtual impossibility that needs a miracle and the blessing of the saints to be effectively implemented in Spanish society. Zayas's novella is therefore a perfect example of how Spanish authors use the ambiguous structure of fictitious cases as a discursive strategy to allow them to actively engage their readers in testing the validity of the law in the safe arena of storytelling. 24 Moreover, Zayas's greatest achievement is her new representation of women, for she envisions a woman who is resurrected from her legal entrapment. If Bandello uses the image of a tomb to symbolize the limited legal status of women, Zayas depicts her death to this world of limitations and her resurrection as a full juridical person emancipated from the tutelage of her father. 25 While Bandello tells of the tragic end of a woman who agrees to be buried alive, representing the legal entrapment of a daughter who dares to marry against the will of her father, Cervantes alludes to the same image as evidence that, given the limited juridical capacity of women, an obedient daughter who accepts the marriage prearranged by her father can also run the risk of being buried alive by a jealous husband. Zayas further exploits this pre-existing painful image to articulate a criticism against the institution of marriage in 'La inocencia castigada' (1647), a story about an innocent wife, Ines, who is walled-up by her vindictive husband for staining his honor. As Grieve has stated in her essay 'Embroidering with Saintly Threads', 'La inocencia castigada' can be read as a subversive re-writing of a 'Churchsanctioned genre' - the hagiography - and as a challenge to Cervantes' depiction of women in 'El celoso extremefio' (86, 90). Grieve's article 24 I agree with Brownlee's interpretation that the Baroque subjectivity of Zayas's writings exhibits the 'simultaneous subversion and reconfirmation of hegemonic discourses of thought and practice' (27). 25 Foa explains that although the representation of the dispute between two men over a woman who comes back to life was a traditional theme, Zayas infuses this traditional story with feminist intention by also portraying Dofia Leonor defending herself (132-33). Amezua also points out that Zayas's story resembles Bandello's 'Romeo et Giulietta,' while challenging Edwin B. Place's argument that her novellas were versions of Italian texts (XV-XVI). More recently, Rabell reads this story as a criticism of the limited juridical status of women and as a plea for their emancipation from the tutelage of their male legal guardians ('Notes Towa1Âˇd ... ,' 73). Thmugh a Lacanian reading, Greer also interprets this novella us a fant&IHY of' 'a pc1Âˇfcct satisfaction of desire in an ideal love that ovci'Comcs the triple opposition of the law: us 1lls exci'Ciscd in pllrcntuluuthorily, in civil and ecclclllaNtlcllllnMtltutlonâ&#x20AC;˘ (267 ),

138

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analyzes how Zayas employs the discourse of hagiography, and particularly the narrative of the penitent whore (92), to represent marriage as a secular martyrdom (104). However, as Grieve states, 'In exhorting women to resist emulation that leads to their detriment and downfall, Zayas dismantles the very foundation of hagiography, whose goal was to inspire women to emulation, to martyrdom if need be' (104). Grieve also studies 'La inocencia castigada' as an attempt to answer the enigmatic question posed by the narrator of 'El celoso extremefio' at the end of the story: 'Why would a woman in Leonora's position not speak?' Grieve argues that Zayas challenges Cervantes' assertion 'that experience might facilitate the successful moral exercise of free will [... ] because society assures the failure of women on every level' (91). 'La inocencia castigada' further shares with 'El celoso extremefio' its discussion of the problems posed by the limited legal capacity of women in a society that is not inclined to consider intentions when dealing with matters of honor. In 'El celoso extremeno' Carrizales applies the principle of equity when he absolves Leonora of the alleged adultery. However, the honor of a woman was not based solely on her actual chastity and virtue, but on her social reputation. According to Correa, Spanish society made a distinction hetween vertical honor, which is inherent to an individual by virtue of his/her social status or extraordinary merits (100), and horizontal honor, which refers to the reputation of the individual according to social opinion (101). Thus, horizontal honor is a social construct: reputation. In the narrative frame of 'La inocencia castigada', the narrator suggests that even if women are bad, men should not treat them injuriously: 'Y asf, en Iugar de desengafiar, quisiera aconsejar y pedirles que, aunque sean malas, no las ultrajen, y podni ser que asf las hagan buenas' (263). By narrating the undeserved punishment applied to a woman who has been declared innocent hy the court, 'La inocencia castigada' demonstrates that even if the court applies the principle of equity to absolve a woman of adultery, society tends to judge her by applying the letter of the law regardless of her intentions. Thus slating that men should not treat women injuriously, even if they are bad, the narrator of the frame makes an implicit plea for the decriminalization of female adultery. 26 'La inocencia castigada' thus proves the cruelty of men by

narrating a case in which the brutality of a husband, a brother, and a sister-in-law manifests the social tendency to readily apply the letter of the law without leaving any room for the consideration of intentions. Cruelty here is depicted as a result of a failure to read intentions, and as a tendency to construct reputation through the superficial reading and application of the letter of the law. And the letter of the law does not contemplate any punishment for male adultery, while assigning capital punishment for the adultery of women. As Grieve states, Dona Ines enjoys the experience of, and access to, open spaces denied to Leonora in 'El celoso extremeno'. Moreover, she is verbally articulate and able to defend herself, proving her innocence in two different instances. In the second case, a moor prepares a vudu doll with a candle on top of the head. This doll has the virtue of hypnotizing Ines, suppressing her will while controlling her movements. Don Diego sleeps with Dona Ines while she is unconscious and unable to exercise her free will. A magistrate applies the principle of equity, clearing the woman from the charge of adultery, while the Inquisition applies capital punishment to Don Diego. However, Dona Ines's husband (Don Alonso), brother (Don Francisco), and sister-in-law pretend to accept this verdict, while plotting a punishment even more cruel than that prescribed by the letter of the law. Moreover, everyone draws attention to them, which is a clear sign that their social reputation has been stained. Ines is thus perceived as an adulteress both because of a general mistrust of the credibility of women (which is supported by the lower value the law assigns to the testimony of women), and because the general tendency to interpret honor according to social reputation is coupled with a literal interpretation of adultery that disregards intentions. Zayas thus answers Cervantes by depicting a down-to-earth reality: honor is a social construct and the transgression of adultery is evaluated through the literal application of the letter of the law. Whereas the depiction of a woman walled-up for an unintentional adultery serves to instill fear in the audience, the purpose of the narrator is to persuade women not only to follow virtue but to avoid marriage. 27 Indeed, Zayas's heroine emerges from the obscurity of her confinement, while her husband, brother, and sister-in-law are sentenced to death. At the end of the story, Ines's beauty and health are restored (not her vision). With the death of her brother, husband, and sister-in-law, she also becomes the sole inheritor of the family estate. Dofia Ines thus escapes from the bondage of tutelage, emerging from her confinement as a woman in possession of economic power and, for the first time, the free exercise of her will. Like Leonora, she escapes to a convent. 28 Zayas's story demonstrates the inequity of a society

l~ Volltmdorf argues that 'through women characters, Zayas offers up women's stories with the effect of constructing what Grosz calls "a biography, a history of the body, for !lach individual and social body"' (142). Vollendorf concludes that 'using women's voices, ZayaH teliR the story of the collective feminine body and society; she thus lays out the tenets of an early modern corporeal feminism that engages and politicizes the female body In order to mobilize mule and female readers and society ut large to enm:t reform that would Improve the treatment of women' (89). Mcllonl aiNo reada Zayaa from a femlniHt perspective, pointing out thut her displuy of mule cruelty aaalnat women I• a compolllna Ntrateay to make women 1'eull1.e thut in order to •urvtve, they need to ldnttf)' man •• the enemy who maralnallr.oM wumen ( I02-103 ).

27 Clamurro points out !hut Zayas's novel! us tend to represent the inevitable tragic end or uny marriage or love rclutionship und the need for women to r1.1jccl mcnund secular life (405). 2H Muntcsu judiCN thut cscupina to u convent is un unti·femlnisl proposul (I ~5-6). However, this resolution furthcl' d•·umutlli.IN the limited puNsibllltics fur women, while HtrcMNlnll the need to t11ke Nholtcr In u f'omnlc c.:timmunlty.

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that perpetuated the legal bondage of women, regardless of their ability to reason and articulate discourses. But the ending of the story seems to imply that the free will preached by the Church could become a reality for women if they were to be freed from the tutelage of their brothers and husbands and from the repression of other women who perpetuated male domination. The painful image depicted by Zayas suggests that marriage is not an option in a society in which the value of a woman is not measured by her ability to reason, speak, or exercise her will, but by a chastity that is judged according to social opinion. Although both Zayas and Cervantes argue in favor of the expansion of women's juridical capacity, Zayas proposes a further step in leveling the legal treatment of men and women: the decriminalization of female adultery.

'EL ANDROGINO'

BY FRANCISCO DE LUGO Y DAVILA:

SPEAKING FROM A WOMAN'S BODY

Like Zayas, Lugo y Davila responds to Cervantes by creating a new version of 'El celoso extremeiio' in 'El andr6gino' (1622). 29 In Lugo y Davila's collection of stories - Teatro popular - each novella is narrated within a frame that represents dialogue between a group of friends: Fabio, Celio, and Montano. 'El andr6gino' is preceded by an exordium explaining that the story to be narrated teaches about the danger of marriages involving people of unequal ages. However, this story is also narrated within the context of an intense debate regarding the meaning of a verse, in which Ausonius affirms that he has been transformed into a woman: 'Ecce ego sum factus foemina de puero' (Lugo y Davila 192). Celio declares that he will narrate a story to provide an example of how Ausoni,us's transformation into a woman might have been possible. Celio thus narrates a story that is actually a version of 'El celoso extremefio' and, like Cervantes' novella, deals with the issue of the limited juridical status of women. Regarding the plot, the main difference between these two stories is that in Lugo y Davila's, the girl had a lover before her parents prearranged her marriage with a jculous old man. The fortress constructed by the old man is thus penetrated by a different trick: the lover of the young girl enters the house dressed as a woman. Like Zayas, Lugo y Davila portrays an articulate and intelligent girl who, regardless of her ability to speak and to argue logically, fails to dissuade her parent11 from marrying her to an extremely old man. Like Zayas, Lugo y z~ Nuay uarccN with our interpretation thut Lugo y D!lvilu might huvc followed 'EI ~.:cloNn cxtromcfto' in compo•lna 'BI andr6aino' (23), cxpluinin111 their dlffertmees us due to the comlo treatment of the latter, which WIIN alNo cxplurcd by CcrvanhlN in u short pluy

ontltled 'BI viejo celo1o' (31-2),

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Davila seems to attempt to show why a woman in a similar position to Leonora's would not speak in her own defense. He explores this issue, however, in order to challenge the notion that the inferior value ascribed by the courts to female discourse, as well as her limited juridical status, is a natural consequence of her inherent inability to reason and to argue persuasively. Like Zayas, he also does not agree with Cervantes' idea that education and experience would improve the ability of women to exercise their free will and to articulate persuasive discourse. In order to demonstrate the fallacy that sustains the limited legal status of women - her identification with a body that must be subordinated to the commands of a reasoning head - Lugo y Davila introduces the figure of a witty young man dressed as a woman. This cross-dressed man will unveil the arbitrary nature of the legal limitations imposed on women, for whom society has constructed an identity as contrived and interchangeable as a woman's dress. 30 The story of Laura and Ricardo is a fictitious case that tests the same contradictory set of civil and canon laws regarding marriage that informs the logic of most of the Spanish novellas. In this particular case, Ricardo's parents oppose a marriage with Leonor because of her low economic fortune. Like 'El celoso extremefio', 'EI andr6gino' illustrates the increasing int1uence of money in prearranging marriages and its role in the tendency of parents to disregard the right of children to consent in marriage. The materialistic motivation behind the tendency to violate the Tridentine procedure regarding marriage is shown by the narrator through a highly ironical statement in which he says that even though fortune did not award Laura's parents with economic wealth, she gave them gold, pearls, and rubies in Laura's hair, teeth, and lips (193). This sequence of similes belongs to a poetic tradition that idealizes female beauty through the use of sumptuary images (Gongora, Quevedo, Shakespeare, etc.). Moreover, Laura is as virtuous and inaccessible as the 'belle dame sans merci' of the courtly love tradition, since she does not pay attention to any of the men who pursue her love. However, if the 'belle dame sans merci' is inaccessible because of her superior status, Lugo y Davila reverses the tradition of courtly love by representing a woman who virtuously refuses every sexual advance outside marriage in a society that would not value her hair of gold, her teeth of pearls, and her lips of rubies. Lugo y Davila parodies the sumptuary metaphors and similes employed in the description of women, unmasking the materialistic mentality behind an imagery that assigns a greater value to luxury objects with which the real woman is compared. Marrying Laura is thus impossible. A beauty

.l!l Butler stutcs thut cr·oss-dr·cssinlll dcnuturuli1.es sex und li!C:Ilucr· 'by mcuns of perf"rmuncc which avuwN their ~IMLhMnoMM and.urllntlllizcN tho culturul moch11nl•m of the f11brlc1tted unity' (I ~M),

,....,....

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comparable to objects of high value is not a good object of exchange in prearranging the marriage of a woman of low economic status. The narrator further states that Laura's suitors are hopeless because she will only consider an honorable marriage, which is presently prearranged not according to the beauty, virtue, and nobility of a woman, but according to her wealth ( 193-4). The narrator therefore suggests that sumptuary metaphors and similes depict women as commodities, a construction that is also validated by a society that ignores the actual beauty, nobility, or virtue of women, assigning them a value proportional to their monetary worth. Indeed, the narrator states that Laura rejects the 'generous offerings' and 'gifts' of her suitors, implying that these men had actually assigned her a price. If the narrator ironizes the imagery employed by poets in describing their ladies, he seems to stick to the traditional view that identifies female virtue with chastity. This view is the basis that legitimizes the harsher punishment for female adultery, as well as a limited juridical status that subordinates women to the commands of their fathers and husbands. While depicting Laura's virtue as her ability to refuse the advances of her suitors, the narrator highlights the superior ingenuity and knowledge of letters that Ricardo possesses: 'tan favorecido de la naturaleza en la hermosura y discrccion y todas las demas buenas partes que hacen a un caballero perfecto; porquc con ser tan pocos los afios, era tan superior el ingenio, que florecfa en letrus con admiraci6n de sus maestros, yen las demas agilidades del cuerpo, que lc tenfa admirable' (194). The narrator employs a ready-made description of the perfect courtier when praising Ricardo's intelligence and physical agility, while also describing his daily activities: arms practice, playing musical instruments, and handling horses. 31 Following a traditional view that legitimizes the full juridical capacity of men because of their position as the reasoning heads of their families, the narrator emphasizes Ricardo's intelligence and his inclination to the study of letters. Moreover, Ricardo's superior capacity to reason is demonstrated by his rhetorical ability. For instance, when his parents ask him to study in Valencia in order to separate him from Laura, Ricardo tries to find historical and literary examples of subjects of limited fortune with whom he would trade places if, by renouncing his wealth, he could marry Laura (196-7). Ricardo even alludes to the myth of the Golden Age, stating his desire to recover an epoch of equality when money did not exist (197-8). This long digression thus shows Ricardo's ability to find appropriate historical and literary examples to express his feelings and to reach a conclusion while elaborating a sententia that implies that gold is the cause of both the corruption of men and Ricardo's misfortune:

.ll ThiN doaorlptlon coincide• In m11ny dotttiiN with the pm'lrult of the perfect cour·tier in 'The Buok of the Courtier' (C&Itlallono 1.20, 1.21-22, 1.2HJ.

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i Oh, si nuestros tiempos se tomaran a aquellas costumbres antiguas! Mas i ay! Que el amor de las riquezas y el deseo de adquirirlas arde mas que el monte Ethna.(,Quien fue el primero que hall6 (desentrafiando la tierra) los preciosos peligros del oro? Este maldeda Ricardo, pues ya que la fortuna le habfa ofrecido en Laura nobleza heredada, perfecta hermosura y virtud propia, por haberla negado la riqueza, le condenaba a destierro sus padres. ( 198)

By means of a long digression describing Ricardo's thoughts, the narrator hence demonstrates his ability to reason logically and to find the historical examples and literary topics that better suit his argument. Ricardo thus possesses the persuasive power of a rhetorician. Although Ricardo possesses superior intelligence and beauty, he lacks power within the family, because he cannot occupy the position as the head of the family unless he marries with the consent of his father. For his disobedience to his parents, Ricardo could be punished by disinheritance. On the contrary, Solier, a seventy-year-old man, possesses the power that Ricardo lacks: money. Yet, when Solier falls in love with Laura on first seeing her, the narrator portrays him in the act of thinking about the possibility of marrying her. Solier analyzes their differences - she is not yet fifteen while he is over sixty; she is beautiful and he is not very handsome; she is graceful whereas he carries the burden of his old age- arriving at the conclusion that while he adores Laura, she might despise him (200). However, the narrator says that after arriving at this conclusion, Solier lies to himself, rejecting his well-reasoned objections to marrying Laura, arguing in favor of the persuasive power of money (200). At the same time, by alluding to examples from Classical literature, the Bible, and his actual circumstance, Solier defends the idea of marrying this girl, asserting that an old man like him could engender a child to whom he could leave his fortune (200-1). Solier thus employs examples to defend his ability to procreate, providing artificial proofs that would support an old man making such a marriage. Through rhetoric, Solier circumvents an actual legal limitation that might represent an obstacle to marrying Laura: the law denied the right to marry to older men incapable of procreating (Ledesma 109). Solier thus possesses the ability to reason and to prove his arguments through examples, but he decides rather to rely on the power of money. Solier's attitude reflects the general tendency of families to disregard Tridentine procedures that require the consent of children in marriage. Regarding marriage, the influence of the Church is overriden by the power of money. If the limited legal capacity of women and their subordination to fathers and husbands is based on the belief in women's inferior ability to reason, Laura's eloquence demonstrates the fallacy of this argument. Although when first describing Lauru the narrator does not mention her intelligence, her own actions and wordN demonNtrute that she iN also able to defend her views throujh un urticulutc di~r~cuur11c. Contrary to Lcunora, Lauru dcmonNtrates un

144

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extraordinary rhetorical eloquence. Indeed, when Solier asks for her hand in marriage, Laura objects to marrying him, defending her views in a long speech that manifests her rhetorical ability. For instance, Solier says to Laura's parents that his decision to marry the girl has been well thought out, declaring that he came to Zaragoza with the purpose of meeting Laura and asking for her hand in marriage. Laura states her disbelief regarding Solier's statement, alleging that his love was, rather, an impulsive passion (207). According to Laura, Solier's love would soon vanish, like a melted candle that burns and dies quickly, and like big flames that soon burn out (207). She thus demonstrates her ability to create examples or artificial proofs in order to reduce the value of Solier's love. Moreover, Laura attacks Solier's credibility, reminding her purents that the old man came to Zaragoza to transact business, arguing that if it were true that he came from Valencia with the intention to marry her, he would have announced his plan through a letter or a messenger (207). She further supports her argument by reminding her parents that upon arriving at Zaragoza, Solier refused to stay in their house, for fear of feeling obligated to return the favor to his poor relatives (207). Thus, Laura points at the lack of evidence- in this instance non-artificial proofs- in support of Solier's version. She proves her own narratio by pointing to her opponent's lack of evidence (if Solier came with the intention of marrying Laura, why did he refuse their hospitality?). Her version is further strengthened by her attack on the credibility of Solier's account and her simultaneous implied attack on the character of Solier, who falls in love at first sight and then invents a lie to cover up the actual motive of his choice: a physical passion. After attacking Solier's credibility and demonstrating his motive in marrying her to be an ephemeral passion, Laura demonstrates the drawbacks of such a marriage. Although Laura presupposes her parents' good intentions, she attempts to demonstrate that marrying Solier would not be to her advantage. She argues, for instance, that someone who saved so much m<,mey while he was young is probably a miserly old man with whom she could never enjoy prosperity, living instead as a slave to his poor health (208). She also challenges her parents' good intentions, arguing that selling their daughter as a slave is not a demonstration of love, while appealing to their emotions by portraying herself as a widow who loses her youth in unfortunate slavery (208). According to Laura, she would have no option but to end her life in a convent, u course she is presently willing to follow if Solier demonstrates his generosity by supporting her in her choice (208). Although she demonstrates her ability to reason logically and to put together a speech that can move her public to feel pity towards her, Laura closes her argument by stating that since, as a daughter, she is not supposed to have a will of her own, she would not dare attempt to dissuade her parents from doing what they wanted. However, as part of her peroratio, she suggests that they delay the decision, communicating Solier's proposal to their friends and relatives. As the narrator states, Laura'N speech is su well reasoned und so

well delivered, that it moves her parents to delay their decision and to seek further opinion from other people: 'Dijo Laura sus razones con tanta eficacia y acciones tan vivas, que dej6 movidos a sus padres, si no a negar de todo punto el matrimonio, por lo menos a dilatarle y comunicarle' (209). Unfortunately for Laura, her expectations are not met, nor are her objections considered to be reasonable. On the contrary, when her parents communicate Solier's proposal to their relatives and friends, Ricardo's parents offer to arrange the details of the wedding, hoping to frustrate Ricardo's plan to marry the poor girl (209). Like Laura's father, who neglects to consider Laura's happiness (gusto), and is very happy (according to the narrator) with Solier's proposal because of what it means for his own economic advancement (206), Ricardo's parents manipulate the situation in order to prevent their son from marrying the woman he has chosen. Thus, neither Laura nor Ricardo have any actual ability to choose a partner of their liking, because they are bound to obey their parents. Civil law contradicts canon law by limiting the right of the couple to exercise their free will. If, as in Laura and Ricardo's case, the will of a son or daughter does not coincide with the will of their parents, the child runs the risk of losing his or her economic means of survival. Ironically, although Laura's will has actually been disregarded by her parents, she marries Solier by following every formal precept established by the Council of Trent (209). Her marriage is an obvious violation of her right to consent, since, in contrast to Leonor, Laura had previously chosen another lover - Ricardo - and has stated her objection to marrying Solier through very convincing arguments. However, the narrator repeatedly suggests that neither a well-reasoned demonstration nor an emotional delivery has the same power to move people as money does. But if a young man and a woman are both equally powerless regarding their inability to handle their possessions while living under parental tutelage, the story shows that a woman has a greater disadvantage: her will is usually neglected, regardless of her ability to reason or to deliver a speech supporting her views. Her discourse has no value. This attitude is parallel to the low status that women are given in court; their testimonies are considered to have half the credibility of the testimonies of men from the same social class. Moreover, the testimonies of women are mainly introduced when dealing with cases in which they are the victim of sexual offenses. Society limits woman's discourse to very restricted circumstances. Indeed, the low social stature of women is shared with homosexuals, who were assimilated in Spain to the legal status of women (Perez-Prendes and Azcarraga 240-1). The limited legal capacity of women and homosexuals in the Spanish legal system is perhaps inherited from the Roman tradition. In one of his controversiae, 'Raptus in Veste Miliebri', Seneca the Elder introduces the cuse of u young mun who is raped while he is dressed as a woman. Although his rapists ure convicted, the young mun is barred from speaking in public. Accurdlna to Bunner, there were Oreek and Roman laws

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barring unchaste men from speaking in public (Controversiae 489, n. 3). 32 Therefore, a man who dresses as a woman risks losing his higher juridical status. The loss of his right to speak in public is therefore associated with his assumption of the sexual role of subordination assigned to women. If Cervantes asks why Leonora fails to defend herself, Lugo y Davila depicts the futility of trying to speak from a woman's body. Perhaps this is the rcuson why the narrator of 'El andr6gino' omits Laura's superior reasoning und rhetorical ability in his first description of the young lady, while highlighting the same characteristics in his description of Ricardo. This society thinks that the eloquence of woman is silence, interpreting her verbal eloquence as a sign of promiscuity. When a woman speaks, she loses her good reputation because her discourse is given a sexual meaning: not restraining her words from flowing out of her mouth shows a lack of chastity. Even when testifying in court, she is allowed to open her mouth only because she has ulreudy been violated either by a seducer or a rapist. Because women's discourse is circumscribed in the law courts to cases in which they are the victims of a sexual offense, the discourse of women comes to be associated with licentiousness and is interpreted as evidence that the speaker has been either seduced or violated. This dubious nature of women's discourse is illustrated by the fact that, although Ricardo demonstrates his ability to reason and to produce persuasive discourses," when impersonating a woman, he renounces his erudition and the use of historical and literary examples and favors a highly erotic Jiscourse. Ricardo designs a plot in which he will not need to break into the walls of confinement built by Solier, knowing that Solier will willingly open his door to Bernardina. As Bernard ina, Ricardo enacts the story of a persecuted woman who -like so many female protagonists of novellas - has fallen victim to the greed of her guardian, who wants to violate her right to consent in marriage. According to the cross-dresser, her guardian wants to marry her to a rich man from Toledo although she has performed a secret betrothal to a man from Madrid. The man from Madrid obtains help from another of Bernardina's uncles, with whom he plans to appeal to the Vicar in order to marry her. Both men become injured in a fight, and the Toledan suitor accuses Bernardina of ordering his death. The story that Ricardo invents is hence a fictitious case

that addresses the existing contradiction between civil and canon laws regarding marriage and the influence of money in prearranging marriages. In Ricardo's plot, however, Bernardina travels as a woman, rejecting a resource usually employed by the female characters of novellas: dressing as a man to protect themselves from rape. While, in Cervantes' 'Las dos doncellas', two women who have seemingly lost their honor protect themselves by crossdressing, Ricardo feigns a woman who has been defamed by a criminal accusation in a case involving a love triangle and, who, rather than covering her identity, travels from one place to another without considering the risk of being sexually assaulted or being apprehended by the ministers of justice. By impersonating a seemingly dishonored woman, one who does not take the precaution of protecting herself by cross-dressing, and what's more has been the cause of a passionate fight between two suitors, Ricardo seeks to portray himself as an ignorant and victimized woman, one who needs protection from sexual predators. Moreover, while inventing the woman's melodramatic story, Ricardo has chosen a very revealing name for the fictitious female role. 'Bernardina' means 'verbal entanglement': this is a kind of discourse totally devoid of meaning, used as a means for deceiving an audience. According to Sebastian Covarrubias: 'Bernardinas son unas razones que ni atan, ni desatan, y no significando nada, pretende el que las dize, con su dissimulaci6n, engafiar a los que le estan oyendo' (Tesoro 1611, qtd. in Sobejano 247). When Ricardo dresses as a woman, he is conscious that, as part of his role-play, he will be embodying a subject devoid of meaning and reason, who is also identified with deception. He thus embraces the identity that society and the law courts have assigned to women, renouncing well reasoned discourses in favor of erotic ones. The story of a woman who is a fugitive from the law for causing a passionate fight between two men to whom she is betrothed has the power to capture the imagination of her listeners. Indeed, seduced by just such a story about violence, passion, and honor, Solier decides to offer shelter to Bernardina. The cross-dresser persuades Solier to open the door of his house, not through reasoning and argument, but through an erotic discourse that arouses the old man's sexual desire:

In The Book (~{the Courtier, the Count affirms that effeminate men should be treated 'public harlots, and driven not only from the courts of great lords but from the society of all noble men' ( 1.19). Oubur explains that 'the asymmetrical status accorded to men and women [... ] is provocatively illuminated by the different attitudes we inherit toward cross-dressing in the IWO HCXCN' (483), ~~ Ricardo even convinces hiM tutor, Zuhutelo, tn help him in his plot to penetrate Soller's hou1c drcuod 11 a woman. .12

Crey6lo Solier de la.misma suerte que la hortelana [...] se volvi6 a contemplar a don Ricardo, moviendo en Solier el objeto de las pasiones naturales de modo que por largo rato estuvo como fuera de sf; unas veces, dejandose llevar de Ia clemencia [... ] Otras, alentando avoluntad el apetito movido con Ia hermosura de don Ricardo, de quien se enarnor6 en poco tiempo mucho; y otras, disponer entre sr c6mo llevarsela a su casu[ ... J. (240)

If Luuru's well-reuHoncd und drumatlcully delivered diHcour~o~e fuilH to diHHuadc her parent!!, Bernardlna'N erotic Ntory achlevell Rlcurdo'11 goal of

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appearing to appeal to the pity of the old man, while in fact he is dominating his will by arousing his sexual desire. By using the erotic discourse that society and the law courts attribute to sexually victimized women, Ricardo uchieves his purpose of entering the fortress of the jealous old man. Women urc therefore, perceived as capable of influencing men not by reasoning or eloquence, but only by seductive and deceitful discourse, which appeals to their appetites and emotions. Solier thus takes Bernardina to his house, and the lovers are provided with the place, the time, and the opportunity to consummate their love. The narrator interrupts the story to challenge Solier, condemning his attempts to prevent Laura from exercising her free will:

about his wife, have a limited juridical capacity that parallels Laura's: they have to obey their guardians unconditionally and are limited in their capacity to make use of their inheritances, to enter into contracts, and to marry until they reach adulthood. Thus, the precautions employed by Solier demonstrate that Lugo y Davila understood the implied criticism in Cervantes' novella. However, he further expands Cervantes' idea that repression incites transgression by designing a plot in which the jealous censor is seduced into breaking his own censorship, demonstrating besides that jealous censors attempt to repress their own inclinations in other people: Solier represses the body of his wife, yet expresses his own appetites. Thus, the censoring power of Solier, associated also with the Church, is unmasked as a hypocritical and arbitrary demonstration. Indeed, although Solier pretends to Laura that he is giving shelter to a woman who is worthy of pity (243), he actually attempts to victimize her. However, when Solier attempts to rape Bernardina, he discovers the true sexual identity of the cross-dresser (251). Yet, before exercising his right to kill the intruder, Solier asks Ricardo to disclose his actual identity. Ricardo defends his life by contending that he is in fact a woman, while continuing to impersonate Bernardina with her tendency to manipulate her listener through emotive discourse. 'She' begs Solier to kill her so that she can end her misfortunes, but states that she prefers to die at the hands of bandits in Castilla rather than die in Valencia, where nature has changed her body in such a way that in Solier's opinion, she will die without honor (252). While imitating the emotional discourse of a woman who defends her stained honor - virtually the only instance in which the testimony of a woman was allowed in court - Ricardo maintains that he was actually a woman but has naturally transformed into a man. In this way, Bernardina achieves her purpose: to move Solier, by manipulating his emotions, into believing her improbable yet passionately delivered lie. By appealing to Solier's emotions, Ricardo makes him consider whether killing Bernardina is an act of injustice against a poor woman whom God has transformed into a man, in order to punish him for attempting to rape her (253). Like a judge who must decline to give a verdict in case of doubt (Ledesma 356), Solier decides to confine Ricardo to a bedroom while he enquires among philosophers and doctors whether the transformation of a woman into a man is actually possible (253). Whether Solier is to avenge his honor by killing Ricardo will depend on the ability of an expert witness Professor Salt - to prove whether a woman could be naturally transformed into a man (253). While Solier visits the schools in search of the professor, Laura manages to access the excommunicated prisoner, learning from Ricardo what has happened. Taking his role as a judge very seriously, Solier interrogates Luuru upon urriving home, in order to tuke account of the testimony of the two people uppurently involved In the crime of adultery . Solier uttemptN to extruct L~tur"'ll cont'oNNion while threutonlna to kill her with

/,Ad6nde vas? (Le pudierarnos decir). Mira lo que dejas en tu aposento. /,De que te sirvieron las guardas? L,D6nde est<i ellicenciado Burgos, dragon del vellocino dorado? L,C6mo no parlan los nifios? L,Que Medea los enmudece? L,Que importan las diligencias humanas donde la suerte ayuda, y menos para guardar y reprimir los actos voluntarios? jQue bien pudiera decir Laura a Solier: Guardas me poneis;/si yo no me guardo/mal me guardareis. (243-4) The narrator summarizes the methods of repression employed by the jealous old man, pointing up the intertextual relationship between the story he is narrating and Cervantes' 'El celoso extremefio'. The narrator states that, given Solier's failure to control Laura's free will, she could have performed a song, which happens to be the same one that Marialonso sings when Loaysa breaks into Carrizales's house. This hint invites the reader to compare Solier's methods of repression with those of Carrizales', a comparison that is full of humorous implications. For instance, while Carrizales shields the vestibule of the house with a eunuch slave, Solier employs an ignorant clergyman of humble origins - Licenciado Burgos- who says mass for the women of the house through a grille in order to protect them from the eyes of the indiscreet men who frequent church, searching for women (216-17). This substitution makes the criticism of celibacy explicit. Moreover, Solier tries to improve Carrizales's precautions by placing three little boys in the outer room of the house, 34 avoiding any contuct between the female slaves and servants and the outside world. Although in her speech Laura compares herself to a slave being sold by her parents, the fact that Cervantes' eunuch slave is substituted by a lowly and ignorant clergyman, reveals the similarities between the legal situations of these subjects. A clergyman of humble origin, like a woman, does not have the freedom to express his sexual desire, nor will he ever occupy a high position in the hierarchy of the Church. At the same time, the innocent children, whom Solier expects to manipulate into giving him information .14

This Ia, pcrhapa, an allualon to the eNlablishment of scminurics l'or clerics (Session

XXlU, July 1!, 1!63, Decree on Reformation, Chupter XVIII).

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a knife, employing a similar torture to that applied by the law in order to secure the veracity of testimony provided by persons of inferior status. Laura is believed for the first time, however, while playing the role of an ignorant victim who knows nothing relevant to her interrogation (255). She even manipulates her husband into begging her forgiveness, while adopting the role of a jealous and offended wife (256). Laura thus escapes punishment for her adultery by applying Ricardo's lesson: a woman should not articulate well reasoned discourses if she wants to persuade her audience; she will only be listened to if she plays the role of an ignorant victim who defends her abused body. Lugo y Davila seems to imply that the eloquence of a woman has been limited by the law courts to the emotive and passionate expression of the pain of her victimized body. While Laura's well-reasoned discourse and delivery fail to persuade her audience, her feigned discourse as an offended jealous wife convinces Solier of the truth of her lie. In contrast, Solier is persuaded by Professor Salt's seemingly well-reasoned and well-delivered discourse supporting the possibility that a woman could be transformed into a man. Monitored by Ricardo's guardian, who is suspicious of the reason why Solier is interested in this peculiar topic, Professor Salt delivers a speech in which he proves that it is possible that a woman could be naturally transformed into a man: 'De todo lo cual concluyo que mudarse de hembra en var6n, es natural y verdadero; mudarse por el contrario, de var6n en hembra, como de sf dice Ausonio: Yo en hembra de var6n me he transformado. Es bemardina y fabula, y por tal la tenga todo hombre cuerdo.' Con esto baj6 la catedra, quedando Solier (que atentfsimo habfa estado) satisfecho de que naturalmente se habfa vue!to su Bemardina var6n, sin reparar en la malicia de las postreras palabras del catedratico, donde agudamente le dijo la verd<,td. (268) Professor Salt demonstrates his capacity for obfuscation. He concludes that a woman could be naturally transformed into a man, while the transformation of a man into a woman is just a 'bernardina' (i.e. a 'verbal entanglement; discourse devoid of any meaning'). While relying on his ability to trick his audience by making them perceive, as historical examples, what are actually passages extracted from classical mythology and literature, and while quoting examples of contemporary history that are actually fictitious stories, the farfetched discourse of Professor Salt demonstrates that his ability to persuade depends on the predisposition of the audience to believe in the truth of a discourse enunciated by a male figure of authority: a professor of medicine. 35 3~ Luao y Dlivila's novella also denaturalizes the mcdicnlreprcscntutions of l'emule nnd male bodh,N, from Hlppocratea to Huarte de San Junn, hy dcpictina n cross-d1·csser who manipulates theae dl&cour•e• to con1tructa lie. Sllhlchill,IICI' e11plainN: Jn the anolont world, HtPJ~I, AriiiCOtlt, and Oalon drew 1 picture of' the n11turc nl' women that prcMdelt' a ~I juatiftoatlon of womon'N Inferior Noc:lal NtntuM.

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Lugo y Davila, therefore, answers Cervantes' question by providing an example that proves that society and the law courts have predetermined that a woman's discourse is devoid of any meaning or reason, choosing to be moved by her words only when she speaks as an ignorant victim who passionately defends her victimized body. However, an authorized masculine figure like Professor Salt can actually persuade his audience by creating a well-composed lie, albeit equally devoid of meaning and reason (a bernardina). 36 Lugo y Davila demonstrates that, like Ricardo, a woman possesses a will of her own and a superior ability to enunciate a well-reasoned discourse, but like Bernardina, she has to learn to play the victim to manipulate her male judges through a discourse that appeals to their pity and carnal passions. Women seem to be trapped in a role-play defined by their clothes. And this female dress, as Ricardo reveals, has been made out of the fabric provided by literature and the law courts. Lugo y Davila's story denaturalizes the prejudice about a woman's lesser capacity to reason, exercise her will, and enunciate persuasive discourses, by narrating a story in which a very witty and learned young man speaks from the body of a woman, demonstrating that the lower juridical status of women is a matter of preassigned roles, discourse, and costumes. A woman in Leonora's position does not speak, because she is playing the role of a socially constructed identity. And this role is also based on a woman's dress. Moreover, Lugo y Davila seems to point to the fact that men's domination over the production of well-reasoned discourses also secures their ability to

Aristotle argued that women are colder and weaker than men, and that women do not have sufficient heat to cook the blood and thus purify the soul. Galen, following the Hippocratic doctrine of the four humors, believed that women are cold and moist while men are warm and dry; men are active, women are indolent. The medical assumptions of these ancients were incorporated into medieval thinking with few revisions and dominated much of Western medical literature until well into the seventeenth century. (46) Following Galen's model of sexual representation, Bernardina, the cross-dresser, argues that Solier's sexual advances provoked a heat that transformed her female body into that of a man. Laqueur explains that for Galen, 'understanding the machinery of sex thus becomes essentially an exercise in topology: "Tum outward the woman's, turn inward, so to speak, and fold double the man's, and you will find the same in both in every respect." Galen invites his readers to mentally practise the admittedly difficult inversions' (4-5). Bernardina uses this difficult exercise of anatomical representation to compose her false testimony, evidencing the fictional nature of medical discourse. 36 Lugo y Davila writes within a context in which women were absent from the academy. As Sylvania explains, while during the rule of Queen Isabel there was some udvance for women in the acudemy, during the seventeenth century, the position of women was lowered (9--1 0), During Quccnlsnhcl's r·ulc, Antnniu de Nehriju occupied the position of Prol'cssm ol' Philusnphy und Rhetoric 111 the Univei'Nity of Alcuh'l, while similur posts wc1·e llllcd by women Ill nthcr univcrNitlcN (\I-I 0), However, Sylvllnlu explain• thllt 'sradu111ly woman wore not toloratod In the untverMitlo• , , , With the oolTUptlon and docndoneo th~tt roll upon !lpllln, tho po•lllun of wumon Will luwored, , ,' (9-10),

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CARMEN R. RABELL

manipulate justice in their favor. For, as an expert witness, Professor Salt persuades the jealous old husband that Ricardo's false testimony might be true; and Solier, like a judge, decides to absolve Bernardina and Laura from the alleged crime of adultery. The old man dies of remorse, believing that it was his sexual harassment that caused such an unnatural transformation. However, Laura and Ricardo live happily ever after, enjoying their love while sharing the prosperity provided by Solier's money. 37 Solier's idea that he could rely on the persuasive power of money is thus proven false, for Lugo y Davila's novella implies that money should also be accompanied by the seemingly wellreasoned discourse of an authorized male figure and the emotional and erotic discourse of a victimized woman. Through the self-made identity of a crossdressed man, Lugo y Davila discloses the travesty of justice in a culture whose literary and legal tradition naturalizes the fictions by which women's identities are constructed. 38 Lugo y Davila, like Cervantes and Zayas, employs the rhetoric of the fictitious case to underline the contradiction between canon and civil laws regarding marriage, while suggesting that the expansion of the juridical capacity of all women and young male adults is a necessary step towards securing the exercise of consent in marriage. These novellas exploit the metaphorical significance of marriage to timidly suggest that the expansion of the juridical capacity of subaltern subjects such as women and young male adults is a necessary step to secure their exercise of free will in general, and their exercise of consent in particular, thus preserving the social stability provided by the institution of marriage.

.17 Lugo y Davila's novella resembles Boccaccio's, in that 'the husband usually never knows for certuin that he has been cuckolded, ... the lover is assigned an important role In the adultery,' and the woman's adultery has no 'far-reaching or serious consequences' (Baker 234-5). Baker implies that in Boccaccio's texts, female adultery is condoned if it ill coupled with discretion (236-7). Ironically, Solier dies thinking that his honor has not been Mtained by his wife, while feeling remorse for his attempt to rape Bernardina. This situation ridicules the social fabrication of honor. JM De Armas Ntudies the Implications of cross-dressing in Cervantes's Los trahqjos de Pfr.rl/l,f y SIRismunda. She explains that 'by posing gender us socially constructed through cullural flats - lhrouah "law11" or maximN, whoNc crruncy is punningly cstuhlishcd - the text eallâ&#x20AC;˘ Into queatlon a 11xual eoonomy that rcllcH on the loudeN! voices of its "barbll'lana" and the IINtlntll of Ita woman' ( 152).

CONCLUSION In attempting to compose a poetic of the novella, Bonciani and Lugo y Davila labor to enhance the moral image of the genre, while also elevating its artistic value. They achieve their goals by incorporating the novella into the Aristotelian poetic tradition. Although the novella was never mentioned by the Greek philosopher, Lugo y Davila and Bonciani argue that this newer genre is like tragedy, epic, and comedy, in that they are all representations of human action. Both critics thus establish a connection between the novella and the fable, which Aristotle identifies as the very soul of tragedy. While transferring Aristotelian categories to the novella, both Bonciani and Lugo y Davila recognize that although the novella and the epic are similar in their means and mode of representation (narration, language), the novella can narrate either comic or tragic plots. Although the novella differs from tragedy and comedy in its narrative mode of imitation, it can imitate the kinds of people and actions represented by these Aristotelian genres. These critics thus embrace the Aristotelian definition of a tragedy, identifying the grave novella as an imitation of a human action that involves a change of fortune, instilling in the audience the emotions of fear and pity. Since Aristotle does not provide a detailed definition of comedy, Bonciani goes on to establish a connection between the tragic end of purgation and comedy. He thus implies that like tragedy, the grave novella succeeds in instilling fear and pity in the audience by representing the change of fortune caused by an error of judgment committed by a superior agent. Furthermore, the Italian critic transfers the concept of purgation to the comic novella, defining it as the representation of a trifling action of an extremely clever agent who commits a ridiculous error, thus producing an unexpected result that moves the audience to laughter. By establishing this connection between tragic and comic plots, Bonciani assigns a didactic end to the comic novella, defining it as a representation of a foolish, though unintended act that the audience should avoid in order to escape ridicule. Indeed, both Lugo y Davila and Bonciani assign a didactic end to the novella, whereby the public learns to follow or avoid a course of action. Both critics, therefore, coincide with the Italian Renaissance literary theory (Cnstelvetro, Giruldi Cinthio, nnd Tasso among others) that tends to assign to reuders the role of u judge who upproves or disapproves of the conduct of

tictionul ugentN, thus perfecting their ability to judge while ulso learnini t~bout

their own 11enae of juâ&#x20AC;˘tice.

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Besides discussing the association between the Aristotelian fable and the novella, both Lugo y Davila and Bonciani discuss character and thought- the other qualitative parts of tragedy that Aristotle includes in his discussion of the epic. However, Aristotle also discusses character and thought in his discussion of forensic rhetoric. While character and thought are revealed through the actions or words of the agents of the tragedy, the logical reasoning and character of the lawyer is revealed through his own statements. In the case of poetry, however, as Aristotle states in the Poetics, 'the poet should say very little in propia persona, as he is no imitator when doing that' (24.1460a.5). While Bonciani applies this Aristotelian prescription to the novella, Lugo y Davila follows the majority of Renaissance critics in ussigning the presentation of costumbre (mores) and sentencia (sententia) to both the author and his agents (26-27). Hence, Lugo y Davila's author of novellas further coincides with a lawyer in the presentation of character and thought in propia persona. After the relationship between forensic discourse and Bonciani's and Lugo y Davila's poetics of the novella had been established in the first chapter, the hypothesis was introduced that, in actual practice, Spanish and Italian authors tend to follow the arrangement of a forensic case, which usually contains an exordium, a narratio, propositions and proofs, and a peroration; furthermore, that the novella follows the specific rhetoric of a fictitious case or controversia. Indeed, since the Spanish novella flourished after the Council of Trent, during the repressive culture of the Counter-Reformation, the idea was put forward that prohibition actually incited these narrators to experiment with the Boccaccian genre at a time when Boccaccio was on the Index of Forbidden Books. Moreover, in rewriting Italian novellas, Spanish texts exhibit an intertextual relationship whereby each narrator attempts to establish his own version of events, while also changing the narratio in order to accommodate the legal context of the Counter-Reformation. Legal sources ure used as a means of achieving decorum. Through the study of Timoneda and Agreda y Vargas's versions of Boccuccio, Bandello, and Giraldi Cinthio's novellas respectively, the second chapter demonstrated the important role of law in the Spanish reshaping of the Italian genre. It was concluded that, while Italian authors tend to use the Ntructure of the fictitious case to denounce the abuses of power of the existing order, unveiling the limits of existing contradictory laws that fail to work in the light of extreme cases, Spanish versions usually depict a complex world in which the failure to render complete and unconditional obedience to law, reaardless of its apparent contradictions, is condemned by the narrators of the texts. However, the rhetoric of the fictitious case - particulurly the anticipation and refutation of the argument of the other side - has also provided the space for authors to test the validity of the laws, drawing attention to their inconsistencies and weaknesseN, while keeping u sufe diatance from tho very objectionâ&#x20AC;˘ they raise 1111 part of their araumcnts.

CONCLUSION

155

The comparative analysis of Spanish versions of Italian novellas demonstrates that Spanish authors exploited the ambiguous rhetoric of the fictitious case, in order to introduce the transgressive Italian genre into Spain in the post-Tridentine repressive atmosphere. In a sense, the ambiguous structure of the fictitious case opened up for these narrators an opportunity to voice their criticism through the anticipation of objections, while nevertheless maintaining a safe distance from the sometimes unorthodox views introduced by the controversial issues discussed in their test-cases. Furthermore, with the exception of Cervantes and Timoneda, these postTridentine authors of novellas usually identified their texts as legal cases. Indeed, this was a hint for the contemporary reader of these texts. When the author made it explicit that the text was following the convention of a fictitious case, the non-conformist reader would be incited to uncover the alternative points of view introduced by the anticipation of objections, while an Inquisitorial censor would perhaps be satisfied by the fact that these objections were introduced in order to be refuted. The very structure of the controversia thus accommodated different kinds of readers. Moreover, by identifying their stories as court cases, these narrators attempted to establish the historicity of their novellas. Fictitious cases purported to tell the true stories of private subjects, just as tragedy and epic purport to imitate historical events. Furthermore, in their love stories based on cases of private transgression, Spanish authors exploited the image of the body employed by legal writers to depict family hierarchy, civil and canonical power. This pre-existing representation of power allowed both Spanish and Italian narrators to discuss issues pertaining to the public sphere of society through the representation of private cases of transgression. In addition, the contradictory set of civil and canon laws regarding marriage represented an instance in which civil and canonical powers seemed to clash. Fiction provided a safer and more ambiguous arena from which to discuss the behaviour of a tyrant king or the potential danger of applying the doctrine of free will to female subjects, without inviting the harsh scrutiny of an Inquisitorial reader. Besides altering the original Italian plots to explore the applicability and limits of the new set of rules introduced by the Council of Trent, some Spanish post-Tridentine authors used forensic artificial order, encouraging the reader to actively participate in the reconstruction of the version of the case from pieces of evidence. In the case of Matias de los Reyes, the rupture of the linear narrative and the active participation of the reader in the reconstruction of the case are subtle mechanisms of persuasion that work to legitimize the notion that civil power derives from natural law. Forensic artificial order is thus employed by Mntfas the los Reyes as a technique to give his readers an illusion thnt they ure actively engaged in reconstructing a story, while they are nctuully beini manipulated into shurlng the authorship of n very traditional meaaaae. Hla use of artificial order exempllt1e11 1ome of the effective

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mechanisms of persuasion employed by Baroque culture to give its subjects illusory room to manoeuver. A corpus of original Spanish novellas is discussed in the third chapter with the goal of exploring how the structure of the fictitious case opened a limited space from which to articulate alternative views regarding the legal issues raised by Italian novellas and their respective Spanish versions. Indeed, Zayas, Cervantes, and Lugo y Davila exploit the ambiguous discourse of the fictitious case as a strategy to release the self-contained subjects of the Counter-Reformation's culture of control. 'EI celoso extremefio', for instance, employs the anticipation of the objections of the other side. Its narrator exploits the pre-existing analogy between family hierarchy and canonical power in order to criticize both the limited juridical capacity of women and the atmosphere of censorship created by the Council of Trent. This novella further introduces the notion that censorship presupposes and perpetuates people's ignorance, hindering the exercise of their free will, while also inciting the desire to transgress prohibition. While pointing at the incompatibility of censorship and the exercise of free will, Cervantes suggests the inherent contradiction in a Tridentine set of rules that defended the doctrine of free will while creating Ihe Index of Forbidden Books and requiring the enclosure of nuns. However, Cervantes also uses the Catholic doctrine of free will strategically as an argument for expanding the juridical capacity of women. Moreover, by portraying Carrizales's last act of equity, through which he leaves his possessions to Leonora- granting her the right to remarry in the event of his death - while freeing his slaves and securing some of his servants' means of economic survival, Cervantes proposes the emancipation of these subaltern subjects. The anticipation of the objections of the other siqe is thus employed by Cervantes as a way of proposing an alternative point of view, in which the Catholic doctrine of free will strategically becomes the pivotal argument in favor of the full emancipation of subaltern subjects and the liberation of a whole culture from a stage of infancy. Zayas also exploits the structure of the fictitious case by narrating an extreme case in which a woman, who has been forced to marry against her will, dies, comes back to life, and marries her true love. Zayas's novella is a test-case that seems to validate the applicability of the rules regarding marriage established by the Council of Trent, while also suggesting that the ideal Tridentine marriage, in which women are supposed to exercise their free will, is a virtual impossibility that needs a miracle to be effectively Implemented in Spanish society. Like Cervantes, Zayas bases her novella on aspects of Catholic tradition rcaftlrmed by the Council of Trent: the belief in miracles and the veneration of Images. However, Zayu employs these Catholic beliefs to envision u new woman who dill in a world of limitationâ&#x20AC;˘ and Iâ&#x20AC;˘ re1urrected 111 a full juridical

CONCLUSION

157

person, emancipated from the tutelage of her father. Like Cervantes, Zayas argues in favor of women's legal emancipation, while also portraying her proposal as a mechanism for correcting the tendency of parents to disregard Tridentine procedures by violating the consent of the couple in marriage. Henceforth, Cervantes and Zayas appeal to the beliefs sanctioned by the Church in an attempt to release subaltern subjects from their legal limitations. Like fugitives from the law trying to take sanctuary in a church, these narrators shield their controversial views behind the Catholic dogmas clearly reaffirmed by the Council of Trent. Lugo y Davila represents a deviation from this general tendency. In 'El andr6gino', he attempts to answer Cervantes' question about why a woman in Leonora's position would not defend her innocence before her jealous old husband by creating an intelligent and articulate female character who defends her right to consent in marriage, even while failing to dissuade her parents from marrying her to a jealous old man. In contrast, the emotional discourse of a cross-dresser succeeds in manipulating the old man, and the hilarious speech of an authorized male expert witness convinces the jealous husband to absolve his adulterous wife in the belief that a woman - actually a lover in female costume - could naturally be transformed into a man. Through the self-made identity of a cross-dressed man, Lugo y Davila discloses the travesty of justice in a culture whose literary and legal traditions naturalize the fictions whereby female identities are constructed. Lugo y Davila implies that men's domination over the production of well-reasoned discourses secures their ability to manipulate justice in their favor. 'El andr6gino' points at the reality that for the society of Counter-Reformation Spain, reason just does not speak from the body of a woman. In summary, in reshaping in reshaping the Italian genre in the repressive atmosphere of Counter-Reformation Spain, Spanish narrators exploit the ambiguous possibilities provided by the rhetoric of the fictitious case. They could seemingly validate the set of rules introduced by the Council of Trent, while exposing its contradictions and weaknesses. Ironically, these narrators were incited to experiment with the Boccaccian genre at a time when Boccaccio was on the Index of Forbidden Books. Although Spanish authors began their process of reshaping the novella in Counter-Reformation Spain by smoothing over the transgressive nature of the Italian genre while albeit timidly voicing the objections of the other side, they soon discovered that they could fully voice their objections if, as fugitives from the law, they took sanctuary in the Church. This sanctuary was provided by the resolutions of the Council of Trent, which clearly defined the boundaries between orthodox thinking and heresy. Timonedu, Agreda y Vargas, and Mut!as de los Reyes use the rhetoric of the 11ctitious cuse and the reaulations of th~ Council of' Trent to explore the threut thut the exerch1c of free will In marriii&J, llpeciully by women, repreaent11 for u patriarchal hierarchy of power, while lntroductna the modern notion that a

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state based on the observance of the law can secure the integration of its heterogeneous subjects. However, Cervantes, Zayas, and Lugo y Davila suggest that the civil codes that limited the juridical capacity of women and other subaltern subjects (slaves, for instance) were in contradiction with the doctrine of free will, thus hindering the exercise of consent in marriage defended by the Council of Trent. These original novellas exploit the metaphoric significance of marriage to timidly suggest that the expansion of the juridical capacity of subaltern subjects, such as women and young male adults, is a necessary step in securing the exercise of their free will and their voluntary submission to the hierarchy of the head. But a hierarchy of power that aspires to contain its heterogeneous subjects while simultaneously asserting their individuality (free will), needs to create both disciplinary and persuasive mechanisms to keep them subject to the law. The Spanish novella, through the rhetoric of the fictitious case, rewrote the Italian transgressive genre to pursue just such a mission of persuasion. 1

I The Council of Trent, through its regulation of the sacrament of confession and pcnuncc, might huve ulso provided u model of how to employ disciplinary meusurcs in urdct· to domcH!icute the exercise of free will, securing the integration of heterogeneous lndlvldunls to 11 bro11der community. The Ntudy of the discourse of confession in the pleot'CNquc novel, which represent• the life of mnralnul unci hnrdcrllne ct·iminnl chnrnctt~t·s. tnlaht provide evldenet~ of the lmpaot of the Council nt' Trent in modeling modern

moohanl•m• or dl•otplmellldJNWibmtat.

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INDEX

Adultery: 1-2, 4-5, 5 (n.5), 7, 36, 55-56, 63-64,80,92-94, 114-16, 115 (n.4), 116 (n.5), 118, 122-124, 131 (n.20), 138-40, 142, 149-50, 152 Agreda y Vargas, Diego de: 9, 11-13, 48 (n.l), 49-50,59,61-65,65 (n.18), 66-68, 68 (n.22), 69, 73, 74, 82-83, 85-90, 109-11, 119, 154, 157 Alfonso el Sabio: 4, 159 Amezua y Mayo, Agustfn: 137 (n.25) Anderson, Benedict: 58 (n.14) anticipation of objections: 3, 39-40, 48, 76-77,98,110,112-13,128,131, 143, 154-57 Aristotle: 16-36, 16 (n.5), 17 (n.6), 18 (n.7, n.8), 19 (n.9), 20 (n.1 0), 24 (n.15), 26 (n.16, n.17), 28 (n.20), 30 (n.23), 34 (n.31 ), 35-36 (n.33), 44, 72-73, 129, 150 (n.35), 153-54 Arredondo, Marfa Soledad: 65 (n.18) artificial order: 1-2, 30, 34-35,41,41 (n.40), 44-45, 45 (n.44), 48, 100, 102-104, 111-12, 155-56 Atkinson, W. C.: 131 (n.20) Ausonius: 140, 150 authority: 69-71, 89-90 Avalle-Arce, Juan Bautista: 99 (n.40) Ayll6n, Candido: 99 (n.40) Baker, Mary J.: 152 (n.37) Bandello, Matteo: 11-12, 16 (n.4), 30 (n.24), 31, 47-65, 47 (n.46), 48 (n.1), 49 (n.4), 53 (n.9, n.IO), 55 (n.11), 62 (n.16), 69, 74, 110-11, 119-20, 125 (n.l4), 137, 137 (n.25), 154 Burharo, Francesco de: 96-12H Burkun, Leonard: 4 (n.3) hctmlhul: 4, 3H, 41~2. 102, 117, IJ4-J5, 146 l.hwcr1cy, John: S (11.4), !'lH (n.22) Bhaba, Homl: ~II (n, 14)

Binder, Guy ora and Robert Weisberg: II 0 Bisbe y Vidul, Frvctvoso: 49 (n.3) Blackbourn, Barbara L.: 31 Boccaccio, Giovanni: I, 11-12, 15 (n.2), 16, 16 (n.3), 30 (n.24), 31,31-32 (n.27), 33 (n.30), 36 (n.35), 43 (n.43), 45-46,65,65 (n.l9), 91-92, 94-96,98-100, 104, 105 (n.42), 106, 108,110-11, 118(n.8), 119(n.9), 132 (n.23), 152 (n.37), 154, 157 Bonciani, Francesco: II, 15, 15 (n.l ), 16-20, 16-17 (n.5), 17 (n.6), 19 (n.9), 22, 23-24, 24 (n.l5), 25, 27-30, 30 (n.23), 44, 153-54 Bonner, S. F.: 3, 40, 45, 92, 97 (n.39), 145-46 Boyer, H. Patsy: 128 (n.18) Bragantini, Renzo: 31, 160 Branca, Vittore: I Brownlee, MarinaS.: 137 (n.24) Butler, Judith: 141 (n.30) Calvin, John: 70 Cantarino, Vicente: 82 (n.34) Can路anza, Bartolome de: 70 Cascardi, Anthony J.: 68 (n.22) Castelvetro, Ludovico: 15, 15 (n.2), 20, 20 (n.l 0), 22 (n.14 ), 26 (n.17), 28 (n.21 ), 31 (n.25), 35, 35 (n.33), 77 (n.27), 153 Castiglione, Baldesar: 25-26 (n.16), 142 (n.31), 146 (n.32) Castro, Americo: 58 (n.14), 130 (n.19) celibacy: 1,31,49(n.3), 119,122,148 Celli Olivagnoli, Franca: 65 (n.19) <.:cnsorship: 2, 2 (n.l ), I 0-11, 22, 29 (n.22), 31, 31 (n.25), 36-37, 37 (n.36), 45, 116, 122-23, 122 (n.l2), 127-21!, D3, 149, 155, 156

ccr路llmunhll diMcourNo: lS,411,1,14-9~,97

32-~~. ~~

(11.30),

168

INDEX INDEX

Cervantes, Miguel de: 9, 12-13, 15, 15 crime (criminal transgression): 113 (n.l), 16 (n.3), 30, 38,41-45,43 cross-dressing: 37, 43-44, 53-54, 141, (n.42, n.43), 99 (n.40), 111-12, 141 (n.30), 145-47, 146 (n.32), 149, 115-17, 116(n.5), 118(n.8), 119-20, 150 (n.35), 152, 157 122, 128 (n.l8), 132 (n.22), 133, Cruz, Ann: 2 (n.l) 137-41, 140 (n.29), 146-49, 151-52, Cuomo, Luisa: 32 (n.27) 152 (n.38), 155-58 Cespedes y Meneses, Gonzalo de: 13, 30 Dantisco: 26 (n.l6) character (characterization): 17, 17 (n.6), Da Porto, Luigi: 48 (n.l) 27-28, 28 (n.21), 29, 32, 37, 47, 49, Davis, Walter R.: 46 50, 52-53, 53 (n.9), 55 (n.ll ), De Armas Wilson, Diana: 132 (n.22), 152 58-62,79-80,82-84,96,104, Ill, (n.38) 113, 117, 124, 128-29, 142, 144, decorum: 2, II, 25, 25-26 (n.l6), 26 146, 154 (n.l7), 31, 35, 43-44, 46-47 (n.45), Charles V: 73 (n.26) 84, 113, 133, 154 Charnon-Deutsch, Lou: 128 (n.l8) Del Corno, Carlo: 31 (n.26) Chevalier, Maxime: 99-100 (n.40) De Navarre, Marguerite: 31, 31 (n.25) Cicero: 19 (n.9), 24, 25-26 (n.l6), 26, Denores: 23 (n.l4) 31-32,34-35,40,48 Derrida, Jacques: 90-91 Cixous, Helene: 69, 112 DiMaria, Salvatore: 47 (n.46) Clumurro, William H: 139 (n.27) Dinarchus: 97 (n.39) Clements, Robert and Joseph Gibaldi: divisio: 10, 29, 44-45, 96 15-16, 15 (n.l), 19 (n.9), 26 (n.l6), 30 (n.23), 32 (n.29) Eden, Kathy: 17, 19 (n.9), 21-22,23 Cocccti, Fabio: 132 (n.23) (n.l4), 24-26,26 (n.l7, n.l8), 35, Co/ores: 10, 44, 45, 51,78-79, 82, 86, 93, 40, 102 97, 102, 129 Edward, William A.: 10, 28, 44-45 comedy and the novella: 15, 16 (n.5), 17, El Saffar, Ruth: 117, 117 (n.6) 18, 18 (n.8), 19, 22, 24,24 (n.l5), Elyot, Sir Thomas: 31 (n.27) 25, 27, 35 (n.33), 132 (n.23), 140 enclosure of nuns: 115-16, 118-20, 118 (n.29), 153 (n.7), 122 confession, sacrament of: 1, 6, 9, 12, 31, end of rhetoric: 20 (n. 10), 29, 32 35 (n.32), 49, 51, 51 (n.7), 53 (n.9), enthymeme: 28, 28 (n.20) 55, 57-59, 62, 87, Ill epic: 15, 17-18, 17 (n.6), 18 (n.8), 20 confession, testimony in court (see also (n.ll), 24, 27, 28 (n.21), 35, 35 proof, non-artificial): 57, 94 (n.37), (n.33), 77 (n.27), 153-55 102, 105-107, 105 (n.42), 106 (n.43), Erasmo de Rotterdam: 115, 119, 119 (n.IO) 107 (n.44), 149-50, 158 (n.l) error of judgment (hamartia): 19, 20 Conrad, Ann: 118 (n.7) (n.IO, n.l3), 21-22,22 (n.14), 27-28, Commvnsia (fictitious case): i, 2-4, 6, 37-38 (n.38), 59, 81, 131, 131 8-13,27,31,39-41,41 (n.41), 43-49, (n.20), 153 43 (n.42, n.43), 62, 64-65, 68-69, 68 example: 28 (n.l9, n.20), 30 (n.23), (n.22), 75-76, 86, 88, 90-93, 95, 31-32, 31 (n.26), 32 (n.28, n.29), 99-100 (n.40), 108-12, 114-16, 34-35, 47, 65-68, 115-16, 133, 140, 133-35, 137, 141, 145-47, 152-58 142-44, 146, 150-51 Curreu, Gustavo: 67 (n.21 ), 138 exordium: 29-31, 30 (n.23), 34, 37, 45,45 Council ofTrent: i, 1-2, 4, 6-13, 16, 31, (n.44), 47, 49-50, 50 (n.5), 60, 75, 38-39, 43, 45-49, 49 (n.4), 51, 80,82,84,96,140 57-.59,61-64, 66, 69-70,69 (n.23), 73 (n.26), 75-76, 8 I (n.32), 82 lithic (plol): I, 3, ICl- II, 17-18, 17 (n.6), (n.33), 85-88,90-91, JOt, 108-12, Ill (n.7J, 20 (11.10), 21 27,22

115, I 18 (n.7), 122 (n.l2), 133, 145, U4-!8

1~5-36,

(11.14), 23 cn.l4), 23-24 (n.I5J, 25~2tl (11, 11'1), 21.1, 30 (n.23J, 35-3tl,

36 (n.34), 38-39,44-46,49, 51, 59, 75,77 (n.27, n.28), 81, 88,99-101, 99 (n.40), Ill, 134, 140, 153-55 Fairweather, Janet: 40, 45 Falconi, Roberto: 45 Fish, Stanley: II 0 Foa, Sandra M.: 137 (n.25) Forcione, Alban K.: 115, 116 (n.5), 119 (n.9), 125 (n.13), 125 (n.l5) forensic discourse: 2, 3, 10-11, 13, 16-17 (n.5), 19 (n.9), 22,26 (n.l8), 27, 29-35, 30 (n.23), 31 (n.26, n.27), 33 (n.30), 37-38, 46, 48, 51, 95, 98, 110, 133, 154 Foucault, Michel: 11 Fourth Lateran Council: 7, 57, 58 free will: 9, 61, 64-65, 68, 88-89, 109-11, 113-19, 123, 132-33, I 37-39, 141, 145, 148, 152, 155-58, 158 (n.l)

i' ~'!

路'

Galen: 150-51 (n.35) Gilroy, Paul: 58 (n.l4) Giraldi Cinthio, Giovanni Battista: 11-12, 15, 16-17 (n.5), 20, 20 (n.ll), 22-23 (n.l4), 24-25 (n.l5), 25-26 (n.l6), 28 (n.21), 31, 35, 35-36 (n.33), 46-47 (n.45), 47, 69, 73, 73-74 (n.26), 74-75, 77 (n.27, n.28), 81-84, 81 (n.31, n.32), 86-87, 89-90, 111, Ill (n.l), 153-54 grace and authority: 9, 69-70 Greer, Margaret Rich: 137 (n.25) Grieve, Patricia E.: 137-39 Grosz, Elizabeth: 138 (n.25) Guarini, Battista: 15, 23 (n.l4), 36 (n.34) Gubar, Susan: 146 (n.32) hagiography: 137-38 Hastings, R.: 36 (n.35) Heliodorus: 77 (n.27) Herczeg, G.: 125 (n.l5) Herrick, Marvin T.: I 8 (n.7), 19 (n.9), 23 (n.l4), 24 (n.l5), 25-26 (n. 16) Hippocrates: I 50-51 (n.35) history: 22-23 (n. I 4), 23, 25, 27, 77 (n.27), 82 honor: 5, fl, 35 (11.32), 31J, 4 I, 4J 44, 52 (11.11), 5J, 67, ()7 (n.21 ), 711, II I, ll.l,

97 (n.39), 1111, 106 (n.43), I 14, 116-111, llt'l(n.5), 123-24, 127 en. IC'l), 1211 (n.l7), 1;1(),32,

169

130 (n.l9), 131 (n.20), 137-39, 142, 147, 149, 152 (n.37) Horace: 16, 17 (n.5), 19 (n.9), 25 (n.15, n. 16), 34, 36, 48 Horne: 23 (n.14) Huarte de San Juan: 150 (n.35) Huss, Jan: 69 (n.24) Index of Forbidden Books: 6, I 3, 16 (n.3), 30 (n.24), 48 (n.l), 58, 111-12, 122, I 22 (n.12), 154, 156-57 intention and equity: 20 (n.l3), 21, 22, 27-28, 37, 37 (n.38), 47, 93, 113, 114 (n.3), 129-32, 138-39, 156 international law (ius gentium): 69, 71-72, 75-76, 78-80, 84-85, 88 Janssens, Marcel: 26 (n.l6), 31 (n.26), 46 Jauregui, Juan de: 26 (n.16) Javitch,Daniel: 16-17(n.5), 17(n.6), 18 (n.8) Jolles, Andre: 31 Jones, Barry: 49 (n.4) Jordan, Constance: 96, 128 Juan Manuel (El Conde Lucanor): 32 (n.24) juridical status of women: 9, 65, 68, 72-73, 110, 113-17, I 18 (n.7), 119-20, 131-33, 136-48, 137 (n.25), 138 (n.26), 150-52, 156, 158 compared to American Indians: 72-73, I 13 compared to children: 72-73, I I 3 compared to homosexuals: 145-46 compared to slaves: 73, 118-19, 121 Kamen, Henry: 58 (n.l4) Kohler, Eugene: 48 (n.l) Langer, Ullrich: 46 Laqueur, Thomas: 151 (n.35) Lasperas, Jean-Michel: 3, 30 (n.24), 37, 48 (n.l), 59 (n.l5) Ledesma, Fray Pedro de: 6, 7 (n.7), I 2, 76, 86, 88, 101-102, 102-103 (n.41), 105, 106 (n.43), 112 (11.2), 115-16, 119, 134--35, 143, 149 lcgul precedent: 31 (n.27), J4 l.e6n, Jll'uy LuiN de: 4-5

l.upo do Voaa. Jldllx: 13, 16 (n.3), 31 (11.25), 37-31.1, 411 (n.l ), 128, 130 (n.lll)

170

INDEX

Lugo y Davila, Francisco de: 9, 11-13, 15-20, 15 (n.1), 16 (n.5), 17 (n.6), 23, 25-29, 25-26 (n.16), 37, 44, 112, 125(n.14), 140-41, 140(n.29), 146, 149-54, 150 (n.35), 151 (n.36), 152 (n.37), 156-58 Luther, Martin: 69-70, 73, 73 (n.26) Lyons, John D.: 32 (n.28) Lysias: 97 (n.39) Madius: 24 (n.15) Maravall, Jose Antonio: 67 (n.21 ), I 09 (n.45) marriage: i, 1-2,4-9,6 (n.6), 12-13,31, 35-36, 38-39, 41-43, 43 (n.43), 45-46, 48 (n.2), 48-49, 51-64, 59 (n.15), 63 (n.l7), 66-69,66-67 (n.20), 74-83, 80 (n.30), 85-88, 90-91,93,95-102, 108-13, 117-18, 118 (n.S), 120, 121-22 (n.11), 123, 133-47, 139 (n.27), 152, 155-58 Massucci a, Salernitano: 48 (n.l) maxim (see also sententia): 10-11, 28-29, 37, 43-44, 67, 152 (n.38) Mazzoni, Jacopo: 15, 20 (n.13), 36 (n.33) means of persuasion: 32, 34 Melloni, Alexandra: 138 (n.26) Menandro: 74 Minturno, Antonio: 20 (n.13), 28 (n.21), 35 (n.33) Mirollo, James V.: 16 (n.4), 19 (n.9), 29 (n.22), 30-31, 32 (n.29), 47 (n.46), 49 (n.4) Molina, Tirso de: 16 (n.3), 36 Montesa Peydro, Salvador: 139 (n.28) Nagy, Edward: 15 (n.1), 140 (n.29) narratio (statement of facts): 17, 23-24, 26-31, 30 (n.23), 33 (n.30), 34-35, 37, 41-42, 44-45, 45 (n.44), 47-50, 53, 55-56, 55 (n.11), 57, 61-62, 64-66,75-77,82, 87, 89, 91, 93, 100-104, 106 (n.43), 108, 117, 144, 154 Ncbrija, Antonia de: 151 (n.36) Olsen, Michel: !! I (n.32) Olson, Olending: 19 (n.9) ONhorn, Peggy: 23 (n.l4) Puhst, W111tcr: 3, 26 (n.l6), 31,31 (n.26), 36, 37 (n.36), 43 (n.42), 132 (n.21)

Paeheoo路Ranaanz, AraenJo: 30 (n,24)

INDEX

Paguen, A. and Jeremy Lawrence: 69-70, 69 (n.23, n.24) Partidas, Las: 4-6, 5 (n.5), 8, 10, 38, 41-42, 44-46, 52-53, 52 (n.8), 57, 114 (n.3) Perez de Montalban, Juan: 13, 31 (n.25), 37,40-41 Perez-Prendes, Jose Manuel and Joaquin de Azcarraga: 38, 113-14, 115 (n.4), 145 peroratio: 29-31, 30 (n.23), 34, 37, 43-45,45 (n.44), 47-48, 81-82, 89-90, 144, 154 Perry, Mary Elizabeth: 2 (n.l ), 118 (n. 7) Pineiano, Alonso Lopez: 15, 20 (n.13), 77, 77 (n.27) Place, Edwin B.: 137 (n.25) Plato: 20 (n.13), 91-92, 100-101, 109 Plutarch: 23 (n.l4) political discourse: 32-33 Pantano, Giovanni: 19 (n.9) power: i, 3, 5-6, 8-9, II, 50-53, 55, 57, 62, 69-80, 80 (n.30), 83-84, 83 (n.35), 88-94, 94 (n.37), 96, 98, 100, 102, 107-14, 117-18, 123-29, 127 (n.16), 143, 145, 147-49, 152, 154-58 probability: 23-27,24 (n.15), 26 (n.17), 31 proofs: 30, 30 (n.23), 33 (n.30), 34-35, 37, 44-45, 45 (n.44), 47-48, 56, 65-66, 93-94, 97, 106 (n.43), 154 artificial proof: 35, 44, 143, 144 non-artificial proof: 35, 41-42, 49, 56, 64, 97 (n.39), 101, 107 (n.44), 135, 144 propositio: 27,28 (n.20), 29-31, 33 (n.30), 34, 34 (n.31), 47-48, 100, 117, 154 purgation (catharsis): 18-19, 19 (n.9), 20 (n.IO, n.ll, n.12, n.l3), 21,22-23 (n.14), 81, 153 quaestio aequitatis: 40, 93, 97, 113, 130, 136 quaestio coniecturalis: 40, 93, 131, 136 quaestio iuris: 40-42, 57, 59, 97, 136 Queen Isabel: 82-83, 151 (n.36) Quintilian: 3, 32, 33 (n.30), 33-35, 39 (n.39), 48, 104 Ruhcll, Curmcn R: :17 (n.37), 137 (n.25) rupc: I. :16,40-41. HI (n.:l2), ')7, 101, 114, 128 (n.IH), 14!1-47, 149, 152

(n.37)

Reinhard, Wolfgang: 8, 8 (n.7) Reyes, Matfas de los: 9, 11-13, 30, 31-32 (n.27), 34, 91-92, 100-104, 107-109, 107 (n.44), 109 (n.45), 111-12, 155-57 Rinaldi, Rinaldo: 81 (n.31) Rivera, Olga: 4-5 Robortellus, Franciscus: 19 (n.9), 24 (n.l5), 35-36 (n.33) Rodrfguez-Arango Dfaz, Crisanto: 38, 41, 42 Rojas, Fernando de: 26 (n.16) romance (romanzo): 16 (n.l5), 20 (n.11), 22-23 (n.l4), 28 (n.21), 46-47 (n.45), 77 (n.27, n.28), 127 (n.16) sacred images (veneration of Saints): 122 (n.l2), 133-34 Saint Augustine: 26 Saint Paul: 4, 16 Scaliger: 24 (n.l5) Schiebinger, Londa: 151-52 (n.35) Schlauch, Margaret: 31-32 (n.27), 45, 96-97 Selig, Karl-Ludwig: 118 (n.S) Seneca, Lucius Annaus: 3, 12, 40-41, 41 (n.41), 44-45, 91-93,95, 108, 145 sententia (see also maxim): i, 3, 10-11, 28-29, 28 (n.21), 30 (n.23), 37-40, 43-45, 45 (n.44), 60, 62, 68, 80 (n.30), 83-84, 88, 105 (n.42), 128-29, 142, 154 Sicroff, Albert A.: 58 (n.l4) Sidney, Philip: 19 (n.9) Sobejano, Gonzalo: 147 Solon: 97 (n.39) Soto, Domingo de: 69 (n.23), 70 Spieker, Joseph B.: 36 (n.35) Spingarn, Joel Elias: 24 (n.15) Stern, Charlotte: 125 (n.14) Stewart, Pamela D.: 33 (n.30) Stiller, Rainer: 65 (n.19) Sussman, Lewis A.: 3, 10, 40, 44-45 Sylvania, Lena E. V.: 151 (n.36)

171

Talcns, Jcnaro: 3, 36 Tasso, Torcuato: 15, 20 (n.l2), 28 (n.21), 35-36 (n.33), 77 (n.27), 153 leaching and delighting: 19 (n.9), 32, 34-36,49, 81, 81 (n.31), 140 thought (see also sententiae, maxims): 17, 17 (n.6), 27-28, 44 Timoncda, Juan de: 1, 9, 11-13,31-32 (n.27), 91-92,98-99,99-100 (n.40), 101, 105 (n.42), 106-107, 109, 154-55, 157 tragedy and the novella: II, 15, 16 (n.5), 17, 17 (n.6), 18-19, 18 (n.7, n.8), 19 (n.9), 20 (n.10, n.11, n.l2, n.l3), 21-22,22 (n.l4), 24-25,24-25 (n.l5), 25 (n.16), 26 (n.l7), 27-29, 35, 35 (n.33), 49-51, 59-60, 64-66, 68, 68 (n.22), 75, 77 (n.27), 81-82, 81 (n.31), 86, 88-90, 131 (n.20), 132 (n.23), 137, 139 (n.27), 153-55 Trimpi, Wesley: 45 Unity: 23-24, 24 (n.15) uxoricide: 38-39, 115 (n.4) Venegas, Alejo de: 16 Verisimilitude: 23-24, 24-25 (n.l5), 26-27,26 (n.17, n.18), 33 (n.30), 43 (n.42), 77, 77 (n.27) Vitoria, Francisco de: 69, 69 (n.23), 70-74,72 (n.25), 84-85,90, 113, 121 Vollendorf, Lisa: 128 (n.18), 138 (n.26) Weinberg, Bernard: 25 (n.l5) Whinnom, Keith: 30 (n.24) Wycliff, John: 69 (n.24) Yarbro-Bejarano, lvonne: 58 (n.14), 128 (n.17) Zarri, Gabriella: 6, 6 (n.6), 8 Zayas y Sotomayor, Marfa de: 9, 12-13, 37-39, 112, 128 (n.18), 133-41, 137 (n.24, n.25), 138 (n.26), 139 (n.27), 152, 156-58