Speaker: Alison Caplan, Department of World Languages and Cultures, Providence College

Abstract: »This paper proposes a literary analysis that tracks keywords, their variable uses and webs of association across Cervantes’ obra as a means of uncovering hidden tensions of the period. As one example of this sociolinguistic approach, I study Marcela’s deft manipulation of the terms “entendimiento,” “hermosura,” and “voluntad” in Don Quijote I. I map this word cluster in other novelas by Cervantes in order to highlight the depth of Marcela’s fear of sexual harassment and the breadth of her self defense. In both La fuerza de la sangre and La española inglesa, Rodolfo and Clotaldo respond to the “hermosura” of Leocadia and Isabela with aggressive acts of “voluntad” unchecked by any degree of “entendimiento.” According to Christian philosophy, physical attraction should inspire moral goodwill. But as Marcela notes in her lengthy discourse, the concept of “voluntad” is decidedly polysemic and at times contradictory: on the one hand, a vital faculty of the human soul and on the other, synonymous with impulsive appetite. Additionally, she asserts the notion of freewill and reciprocity in love given the common root “voluntad” shares with “voluntario.” By weaving together these semantic possibilities, Marcela issues a powerful rebuke to the predatory society of early modern Spain.« (Source: Online Program)

Wikipedia: History of Europe: History of Spain / Habsburg Spain | Fiction: Fictional victims of sexual assault | Literature: Spanish literature / Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, Novelas ejemplares | Sex and the law: Sexual assault