THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO “WHAT WAS SHE WEARING?”: LOOKING AT SUSANNA IN GOLDEN AGE SPAIN A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE DIVISION OF THE HUMANITIES IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES BY KATRINA JUNE POWERS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DECEMBER 2017 Copyright 2017 by Katrina J. Powers ii In memory of Erik Toews iii Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... viii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................x Introduction ....................................................................................................................................1 I. The biblical tale and its critics ..........................................................................................3 II. Susanna and rape culture ................................................................................................16 III. Structure and methodology ............................................................................................30 Chapter I: “Ora en el vano yace en gran delectacion”: Susanna in Two Sixteenth-Century Plays ..............................................................................................................................................34 I. Susanna in classical and medieval art ............................................................................34 II. La farsa de Sancta Susaña .............................................................................................37 III. La comedia de Sancta Susaña ........................................................................................49 Chapter II: “Disculpa de mi error en la edad cana”: Susanna in Lope de Vega and Venetian Art .................................................................................................................................63 I. El testimonio vengado ....................................................................................................64 II. Susanna, Venus, and the Renaissance nude ...................................................................72 III. Virtud, pobreza y mujer ..................................................................................................92 IV. La moza de cántaro ......................................................................................................114 iv Chapter III: “Quítase la más ropa que pueda”: Susanna in European Prints and Three Seventeenth-Century Comedias ................................................................................................126 I. Susanna and European print culture .............................................................................129 II. The male gaze and audience identification ..................................................................139 III. Santa Susana ................................................................................................................146 IV. Las maravillas de Babilonia ........................................................................................167 V. El bruto de Babilonia ...................................................................................................185 Chapter IV: “¡Qué candor descubre bello!”: La casta Susana and La justicia y la verdad .194 I. La casta Susana ............................................................................................................195 II. Sympathetic Susannas in art .........................................................................................219 III. La justicia y la verdad ..................................................................................................233 Chapter V: “This picture has great significance”: Susanna in Psycho .................................255 I. Venus and Susanna in the Bates Motel ........................................................................255 II. Art, voyeurism, and violence .......................................................................................269 III. The Production Code and the Council of Trent ...........................................................277 IV. Montage and the art of the unseen ...............................................................................282 V. “They love Norman now” ............................................................................................290 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................299 Bibliography ...............................................................................................................................304 v List of Figures Figure 1: Tintoretto. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1550-1555 .....................................................1 Figure 2: Fresco of Susanna and the Elders. Priscilla Catacomb, Rome ......................................35 Figure 3: Allegorical fresco of Susanna and the Elders. Catacomb of Praetextatus, Rome .........35 Figure 4: Paolo Veronese. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1580 ...................................................74 Figure 5: Jacopo Bassano. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1556-1566 ..........................................75 Figure 6: Tintoretto’s Susanna and the Elders, Vienna (detail) ....................................................85 Figure 7: Annibale Carracci. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1590-1595 ....................................133 Figure 8: Annibale Carracci. Venus and Adonis (detail). Circa 1590 ..........................................134 Figure 9: Peter Paul Rubens. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1620 .............................................136 Figure 10: Agostino Carracci. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1590-1595 ..................................138 Figure 11: Lucas van Leyden. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1508 ...........................................214 Figure 12: Paolo Veronese. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1580s ..............................................215 Figure 13: Artemisia Gentileschi. Susanna and the Elders. 1610 ...............................................221 Figure 14: Gerrit van Honthorst. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1650s......................................225 Figure 15: José de Ribera. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1610-1615 ........................................228 Figure 16: Rembrandt van Rijn. Susanna. 1636 ..........................................................................231 Figure 17: Tintoretto. Susanna and the Elders. Circa 1550 ........................................................245 Figure 18: Titian. Venus with a Mirror. Circa 1555 ....................................................................256 Figure 19: The Capitoline Venus .................................................................................................257 Figure 20: Norman and Venus. Still from Psycho .......................................................................258 Figure 21: Norman, Venus and Susanna. Still from Psycho........................................................259 Figure 22: Marion makes a pudica gesture during the shower scene. Still from Psycho ............261 vi Figure 23: Norman looks at the van Mieris Susanna. Still from Psycho. ...................................262 Figure 24: Rembrandt van Rijn. Susanna and the Elders. 1647. .................................................264 Figure 25: Norman with Susanna #2, about to spy on Marion. Still from Psycho. .....................265 Figure 26: Arbogast with the Venus and the Three Graces image. Still from Psycho. ...............266 Figure 27: Diagram of the Bates Motel parlor as it appears in most scenes. ..............................267 Figure 28: Norman talking to Arbogast in the office. Still from Psycho. ...................................295 Figure 29: Norman after talking to Sheriff Chambers on the phone. Still from Psycho. ............295 Figure 30: Norman and Sam in the parlor. Still from Psycho .....................................................296 Figure 31: Diagram of the Bates Motel parlor as it appears when Sam confronts Norman ........297 vii Acknowledgements I am so grateful to Frederick de Armas for his inspiring example, his guidance and encouragement, and his kindness. His suggestions for my writing have always been insightful and instructive. He has struck a delicate balance between letting me wander into the weeds and calling me back when I started to get lost. He has always been available when I need him. I am grateful to Miguel Martínez, who has been so supportive and so adept at helping me see another side to the text and to my own ideas, and to recommending texts that would help me say what I wanted to say. I am grateful to Carolyn Nadeau for her fresh perspectives and her detailed comments on my work, all the way from questioning the foundation of my argument to suggesting a revision in footnote placement. Words cannot describe how fortunate I am to have had these three serve as my committee and my mentors. My gratitude extends to the University of Chicago, the Division of the Humanities, and the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures for their financial and academic support. I am especially grateful