Occultism in Hispanic Drama

University of Kentucky UKnowledge Spanish Literature European Languages and Literatures 1995 Dark Prisms: Occultism in Hispanic Drama Robert Lima Pennsylvania State University Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Lima, Robert, "Dark Prisms: Occultism in Hispanic Drama" (1995). Spanish Literature. 5. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_spanish_literature/5 STUDIES IN ROMANCE LANGUAGES: 38 John E. Keller, Editor This page intentionally left blank ROBERT LIMA ---+--- Dark Prisms ---+--- Occultism In• Hispanic Drama THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s Ministry of Culture and United States Universities. Copyright © 1995 by The University Press of Kentucky Paperback edition 2009 The University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-8131-9286-4 (pbk: acid-free paper) This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America. Member of the Association of American University Presses To Sally This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix PART ONE: Evolution I Supernaturalism in Medieval Spanish Drama 3 II Esoterica in the Golden Age Drama of Spain 15 III The Demonic Pact and the Quest for Esoteric Knowledge 28 PART Two: Devolution IV Ancient Ways: Occult Lore in the Plays of Ram6n del Valle-IncIan 49 V Toward the Dionysiac: Pagan Elements and Rites in Federico Garda Lorca's "Yerma" 69 VI The Devil in the Blood: Genesis and Subversion of the Demonic Pact in Alejandro Casona 88 VII Illuminati, Devils, and Witches: The Unholy Plays of Domingo Miras 95 VIII The Orishas oflfe: African Deities in Cuban and Brazilian Drama 115 PART THREE: Bibliography IX Drama of the Occult: A Bibliography of Spanish and Latin American Plays 137 Notes 164 Works Cited 177 Index 183 Humankind cannot bear too much reality. T.S. Eliot, "Four Quartets. Burnt Norton (I)" It is one thing merely to believe in a reality beyond the senses and another to have experience of it also. Rudolf Otto, The Idea ofthe Holy That which is magical unequivocally takes on that nature when it surges from an unexpected alteration of reality (the miracle), from a privileged revelation bf reality, from an unusual or singularly favorable illumination of the unsuspected richness of reality, from an amplifi cation of the range and categories of reality, perceived with a particular intensity by virtue of an exaltation of the spirit. Alejo Carpentier, "Pr610go," El reino de este mundo Preface Prisms are transparent bodies, usually with a triangular base, used for dispersing light into its components (the spectrum of insensible tan gencies in the procession from the color of the longest wavelength, red, to that of the shortest, violet), or for reflecting light beams. The title Dark Prisms is metaphorical, not oxymoronic; it is meant to convey the passage of occult cultural icons from Hispanic life through the prism of drama, the images inexorably flowing from the bright side to the dark side of the spectrum. The resultant is a metaphysical state. Metaphysics is not used here in the manner of the Aristotelian con struct of exegesis on such as existence, causality, truth, among other first principles, nor does it refer to the seventeenth-century school of English poets whose principal exponent was John Donne and whose chief concern was expressing intellectual and philosophical matters through exotic conceits and ingenious wit. Rather, metaphysics is employed here in the sense conveyed by the protagonist in Christopher Marlowe's The Tragicat History of the Life and Death ofDoctor Faustus (1588) when, filled with excitement at the prospect of acquiring esoteric knowledge from the tomes placed into his hands by the thaumaturges Valdes and Cornelius, he exclaims: These metaphysics of magicians And necromantic books are heavenly; Lines, circles, signs, letters and characters- Ay, these are those that Faustus most desires. [Scene 1, 52-55] It is the variety implicit in Faust's statement that concerns us in this study, for the sigils, symbols, seals, signets, and other semiotic elements in the grimoires consulted by Faust in his search for the meaning of the cosmos are but the external manifestations of a complex, universal, and interrelated system of arcane traditions whose origins may be lost in antiquity but whose impact is still felt. The quest of Faust is a uni versal one. x Preface And perhaps because these modes of thought and being were first ex pressed through formal gesture, elevated speech, rhythmic movement, and ritual action-all basic elements of the ancient worship that gave rise to drama-they have continuing vitality in the written dialogue work and its counterpart, theater, the play on stage. The chapters in this book present a comparatist's view of mytho logical, folkloric, and religious beliefs of the Western cultural heritage that have prompted a long and ongoing history of esoteric themes in theater and drama, from the Middle Ages to the present, in Spain and the Americas, either intact or syncretically. The terms occultism and occult are used here principally to describe the many ways that human beings have sought to fathom a secret knowledge intuited to exist but held to be inaccessible through normal means; turning to other possi bilities, humans have sought the aid of supernatural agencies through alchemy, angelology, asceticism, astrology, demonolatry, divination, ecstasy, magic, necromancy, possession, santeria, seances, voudoun, witchcraft, and so on. Because the list is extensive, the terms are meant to be more inclusive than exclusive. The peoples of Europe were loath to give up the deities of millenia when Christianity confronted the pagan religions and overwhelmed them with its dogma and status after the fall of Rome. But despite the Church's drive and commitment to eradicating ancient beliefs it con sidered inimical to its message and mission, the peoples of Europe re tained the old gods, nurturing them in the very cradle of the new faith, often vesting them with new identities and elevating them to saint hood without the formalities of canonization. Their festivals were integrated into the Church calendar in each vicinity, and their rites were practiced openly as if condoned by the religious authorities, as indeed was the case in the face of popular insistence. The result was that a pagan substratum thrived beneath what was in effect the veneer of Christianity. That pagan tradition is still extant, not only in, Europe but also in other geographical areas as well, including the Americas and Africa (indeed, wherever European colonizers took Christianity as part of their cultural baggage and imposed its tenets on the indigenous peoples they encountered, ever interpreting their religions as myths and damning their practice as sinful). Despite ongoing attempts at eradication, pre Christian beliefs have persisted, continuing to inform and shape much modern thought. Hispanic drama is no exception. Divided into three parts, Dark Prisms distinguishes the general from the specific in its assessment of theater and drama in Spain and Latin Preface xi America. The chapters in Part One present overviews of the topics they cover, while those in Part Two deal at length with the pertinent works of playwrights in which the occult canon is at the core. I have selected specific plays to discuss because of their focus on the occult. Some play wrights address this theme with greater frequency and import than others, thus their inclusion in Part Two. Part Three, the bibliography, is a compilation of plays in which occultism is central to the theme or is an important element therein. In the chapters that follow, I first of all address, in addition to the metaphysical aspects of particular works, the human desire to know and connect with a supernatural order, whether through the formal worship of an established religion or through the attempt to effect personal control of the cosmos by the varied machinations of what is termed "magic." Be it the materialization ofRell on the medieval stage or the efficacious presentation of demonic pacts, astrology, alchemical operations, Cabbalism, witchcraft, Satanism, and so-called voodoo, the mechanism in human nature that prompts belief in these matters is the same: an intuitive sense of the existence of something beyond human cognition

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