Love in the �corral�: Conjugal Spirituality and Anti-Theatrical Polemic in Early Modern Spain

Spanish drama provoked a serious and ongoing debate on the moral character and cultural value of such a popular form of entertainment among elites of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. At the heart of the polemic over theatrical licitness are repeated references to Christian theological tradition, which systematically exalted virginity and celibacy while attempting to justify matrimony and conjugal love. However, the presence of women on stage and in the audience served as a catalyst for a larger debate on the role women were to play in public and private discourse. This study reviews in detail the discursive history of the licitness issue and examines how specific dramatic texts both reflect and react to the many concerns raised.

The Author: Thomas Austin O’Connor is Professor of Spanish at the State University of New York, Binghamton. He received his Ph.D. in Spanish literature from the State University of New York, Albany. In addition to numerous articles in professional journals, he has published Myth and Mythology in the Theater of PedroCalderón de la Barca and edited El encanto es la hermosura/La segundaCelestina by Salazar, Vera Tassis, and sor Juana. He also serves as series editor for Spanish Classical Texts.