Feminine Modesty As a Thematic and Structural Principle in Mariana De Carvajal Y Saavedra’S Navidades De Madrid Y Noches Entretenidas
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2004 Feminine Modesty as a Thematic and Structural Principle in Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra’s Navidades de Madrid y noches entretenidas Shane Elizabeth Vande Brake University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Modern Languages Commons Recommended Citation Vande Brake, Shane Elizabeth, "Feminine Modesty as a Thematic and Structural Principle in Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra’s Navidades de Madrid y noches entretenidas. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2004. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2276 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Shane Elizabeth Vande Brake entitled "Feminine Modesty as a Thematic and Structural Principle in Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra’s Navidades de Madrid y noches entretenidas." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Modern Foreign Languages. Bryant L. Creel, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Nuria Cruz-Camara, Salvatore DiMaria, Laura Howes Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Shane Elizabeth Vande Brake entitled “Feminine Modesty as a Thematic and Structural Principle in Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra’s Navidades de Madrid y noches entretenidas.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Modern Foreign Languages. Bryant L. Creel Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Nuria Cruz-Cámara Salvatore DiMaria Laura Howes Accepted for the Council: Anne Mayhew Vice Chancellor and Dean of Graduate Studies (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Feminine Modesty as a Thematic and Structural Principle in Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra’s Navidades de Madrid y noches entretenidas A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Tennessee, Knoxville Shane Elizabeth Vande Brake May 2004 ii Copyright © 2004 by Shane Vande Brake All rights reserved. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Gary and Sherry Lam, whose endless sacrifice and continual support made it possible for me to fulfill my dreams, and to my sister, Robin, whose love and acceptance inspire me to believe in myself and make every day worth living. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank all of those who helped me complete my Doctor of Philosophy degree in Spanish literature. I especially want to thank my major professor, Dr. Bryant Creel, whose guidance and patience made the completion of this project a reality. His continual support and faith in my abilities were a constant source of encouragement during my career as a graduate student. I am indebted to him for his knowledge and friendship, without which this degree would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Nuria Cruz-Cámara, Dr. Sal DiMaria and Dr. Laura Howes, for their support throughout the dissertation process. I also extend my thanks to those professors who have been instrumental in my graduate career, specifically Dr. Denise DiPuccio, Dr. Óscar Rivera-Rodas and Dr. Gregory Kaplan. I also thank my undergraduate professor of Spanish, Dr. Beatriz Macione, who urged me to continue in my study of Spanish and has continually been both a mentor and friend. In addition, I would like to recognize and thank MARCO (Medieval and Renaissance Curriculum and Outreach Project) for their financial support in granting me a year-long dissertation fellowship, which allowed me to focus my attention solely on my dissertation for that year. I particularly thank Dr. Laura Howes, who served as the director of MARCO and continually supported me throughout the dissertation-writing process. I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Ingrid McMillen, who not only answered all my questions during my time as a graduate student, but also became my good friend. I would like to thank Katherine Vande Brake for lending an ear when I felt the need to complain v and Sandra Grubbs for her continual prayers. I would especially like to thank my friends Marcie, Michelle, Martha, Holly and Catherine for never letting me give up and believing in me up to the very end, and my family for their support and prayers. Lastly, I want to thank my husband, Matthew, whose friendship, love and support extend far beyond the demands of graduate school and permeate every aspect of my life. vi ABSTRACT This study analyzes Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra's Navidades de Madrid y noches entretenidas as a work that explores issues relating to certain social attitudes of central importance to Spanish women in the seventeenth-century and that advances a specific perspective and point of view in relation to those attitudes. The book is seen as addressing the problem of the nature of feminine modesty and of its character as a virtue. The theme of modesty is analyzed in all the novellas that comprise the Navidades. My first chapter focuses on what is known of Carvajal, aspects of historical background, and the genre in which she wrote. The second chapter discusses criticism on Mariana de Carvajal to date for purposes of clarifying both the degree to which she is recognized as a seventeenth-century female author and the light in which scholars have viewed her. For example, note is taken of the critics' penchant for comparing her with María de Zayas. The third chapter analyzes modesty in various perspectives in order to arrive at a better understanding of how the Navidades portrays modesty on different levels. That chapter focuses on the female characters in the work and how modesty is manifested through those characters. The fourth chapter discusses the male character types and their influence on behavior of women with regard to the issue of feminine modesty. It also names four types of modesty that are suggested by groupings of characters in the novellas. The fifth chapter discusses symbolism in relation to feminine modesty and examines both the prevalence and implicit significance of modesty in the text. The last chapter summarizes my findings and draws some general conclusions concerning vii Mariana de Carvajal's uniqueness as a seventeenth-century Spanish female author and possibilities for future study. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1. Mariana de Carvajal and the Court Novella. 1 Origins and Historical Significance of the Novela Cortesana. 7 Structure of the Navidades. .19 The Widow as Protagonist. 22 Modesty as a Central Issue in the Navidades. .28 2. A Closer Look at Carvajal: Criticism to Date. .37 Caroline Bourland. 37 Julio Jiménez. 47 Negative Criticism. .50 Carvajal and Zayas. .53 Poetry and Space. 58 Female Characters and Women. 64 “La industria vence desdenes”. .71 3. Female Modesty in the Navidades. 81 Modesty Defined. 85 Doña Leonor of the Framing Narrative. 91 Floripa and Venus. 94 Doristea. 102 Teodora. 109 Blanca and Narcisa. .115 Beatriz and Leonor. 121 Lisena. 127 4. Male Characters, Their Honor and Its Relation to Female Modesty. 131 The Father. 134 The “Burlador”. 157 The Scoundrel of Noble Status. 162 The True Noble. 166 5. Symbolism and Its Relation to Modesty in the Navidades. 184 The Garden. 186 Traditional Modesty. 191 An Absence of Displays of Modesty. 200 Contrasting Extremes of Modesty: Absent and Present . 204 True Modesty. 218 ix 6. Conclusions. 229 Works Cited. 237 Appendix. 250 Synopses of the Navidades de Madrid. 251 Introduction. 251 “La Venus de Ferrara”. 255 “La dicha de Doristea”. 262 “El amante venturoso”. 269 “El esclavo de su esclavo”. 274 “Quien bien obra, siempre acierta”. 284 “Celos vengan desprecios”. 292 “La industria vence desdenes”. 304 “Amar sin saber a quién”. 317 Conclusion. 335 Vita. 342 1 Chapter 1 Mariana de Carvajal and the Court Novella Very little is known about the life of Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra and even less is known about her non-literary personality. There have even been discrepancies relating to her exact last name, which has been written as Carvajal, Carabajal, and Caravajal. The small amount of information that we do have about her is found principally in Manuel Serrano y Sanz’s Apuntes para una biblioteca de escritoras españolas desde el año 1401 al 1833. Here, Serrano y Sanz offers us a brief biography, in which he states that she was born in Jaén at the beginning of the seventeenth century (236). The date of her death is unknown. Serrano y Sanz believes that she died some time before 1664 (238), but Julio Jiménez points out that the Enciclopedia universal ilustrada says she died in Madrid around the year 1670 (“Introd.” 11).1 Her father was Álvaro de Carvajal of Granada and her mother was María de Piédrola of Jaén. She is said to be one of the ancestors of San Carlos y de Rival; however, Serrano y Sanz disagrees with this claim because of the lack of data to support it (236). When Mariana was a small child her parents moved to Granada, where she spent her youth.