Memory, Will, and Understanding in El veneno y la triaca by Calderón de la Barca: A Cognitive Approach by Alejandra Juno Rodríguez Villar Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Margaret R. Greer, Co-supervisor ___________________________ DeboraH Jenson, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Owen Flanagan ___________________________ David Bell Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for tHe degree of Doctor of PHilosopHy in tHe Department of Romance Studies in tHe Graduate ScHool of Duke University 2017 ABSTRACT Memory, Will, and Understanding in El veneno y la triaca by Calderón de la Barca: A Cognitive Approach by Alejandra Juno Rodríguez Villar Department of Romance Studies Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Margaret R. Greer, Co-supervisor ___________________________ DeboraH Jenson, Co-Supervisor ___________________________ Owen Flanagan ___________________________ David Bell An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PHilosopHy in tHe Department of Romance Studies in tHe Graduate ScHool of Duke University 2017 CopyrigHt by Alejandra Juno Rodríguez Villar 2017 Abstract This dissertation explores the representation of cognition in tHe SpanisH Golden Age tHeatrical genre tHe auto sacramental, witH reference to tHe best known playwrigHt of tHese eucHaristic mystery plays, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and specifically His pre- 1644 auto El veneno y la triaca (The Poison and the Remedy). I contextualize the auto in the Western philosophical tradition in which it was rooted, wHile also probing tHe psychomachia or allegories of mental and emotional processes in relation to philosophy of mind, cognitive literary studies and recent neuroscientific research. How are cognition, emotion, and decision making used and depicted in dramatic structures including cHaracter, plot, performance, and audience reception? This study establishes the relationsHip between organic neurological and psychological processes and literary tropos and arcHetypes that can make the dramatic mimesis of the auto sacramental understandable or successful even in modern secular theatrical contexts. iv Dedication To my parents, Mariluz Villar Otón and Luis Rodríguez Miguez †. Also to my aunt Marina Villar Otón †. Gratitude is not a word wHicH could contain all tHis love. v Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ iv List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... x 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 2. Autos Sacramentales .......................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Autos sacramentales: a brief review of the genre ......................................................... 9 2.2 Cognition in the autos ............................................................................................................. 16 2.3 The case of El veneno y la triaca ........................................................................................ 32 2.3.1 The myth .............................................................................................................................. 32 2.3.2 The metaphor of the physician .................................................................................. 37 2.3.3 The idea of health as a state ........................................................................................ 42 2.3.4 Semiology of the disease ............................................................................................... 45 2.3.5. Noumenal character of the disease ......................................................................... 47 2.3.6 Nosology of the Disease ................................................................................................ 51 2.3.7. Diagnosis and treatment .............................................................................................. 52 3. Memory .................................................................................................................................. 60 3.1 Calderón de la Barca and the memory ............................................................................ 74 3.2 The memory and the Catholic Doctrine .......................................................................... 94 3.3 Contemporary notions of Memory ................................................................................ 103 3.3.1. Sensory memory .......................................................................................................... 103 vi 3.3.2. Short-term memory .................................................................................................... 104 3.3.3. Long-term memory ..................................................................................................... 105 3.3.4 The memory and the future ................................................................................. 109 3.3.5. Damasio and the somatic markers ...................................................................... 110 3.4. The use memory in the play: memory and self ....................................................... 113 3.5 Repetition ................................................................................................................................. 125 3.5 Different types of memory ................................................................................................ 129 4. Will ........................................................................................................................................ 137 4.1. Philosophical approaches to Will .................................................................................. 137 4.2. Will in Calderón de la Barca ............................................................................................. 139 4.3. Will in El veneno y la triaca .............................................................................................. 142 4.4 Action .......................................................................................................................................... 144 4.4.1. Mental Components of action ................................................................................. 150 4.4.2. Characterization of the dramatic personae ...................................................... 175 4.4.3 How the first decision is actually made in El veneno y la triaca ............... 191 4. 5 Mirror neurons, allegory and theater .......................................................................... 207 5. Understanding .................................................................................................................. 212 5.1 Understanding in Calderón de la Barca ....................................................................... 216 5. 2 Understanding the play ..................................................................................................... 230 5. 2. 1. Cause and effect .......................................................................................................... 231 5. 2. 2. Allegory .......................................................................................................................... 241 5. 2. 3. Uncertainty, Anticipations and Suspense ....................................................... 253 vii 6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 265 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................ 272 Biography ................................................................................................................................ 295 viii List of Tables Table 1. Relationships ......................................................................................................................................................... 243 Table 2: Space and time ...................................................................................................................................................... 244 Table 3: Sin and disease ..................................................................................................................................................... 245 ix Acknowledgements ReacHing tHis point Has been a long process wHicH has involved many changes. Changing my country of residence, cHanging my language, cHanging my Home, changing many of my ideas, and in sum and to a great extent, cHanging my life. But as I try to prove in this dissertation about tHeater, change is tHe very essence of life. And change must be welcomed because it forces us to make decisions, to reflect on who we are and wHat we want, and because it pushes continuously to an improved self, so when the curtain falls we can say… it was a good performance. If there is a person wHo Has been key in this process, no doubt it Has been Professor Margaret R. Greer. As Her