This thesis examines the image of the absent mother, and its implications, in a limited selection of plays by Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The characters studied are Segismundo and Rosaura from La vida es sueno , Semiramis from La hija del aire and Focas, Eraclio y Leonido from En la vida todo es verdad y todo mentira. The study was done from a psychoanalytic perspective, using as reference the theories of Erik Erikson, Jacques Lacan and John Bowlby. Erikson's ideas are based on Freud but with some changes, since he represents the ego's functions as well as a greater elaboration of classic psychoanalytical concepts. His main argument is that the ego's nature is determined not only by inner forces but by social and cultural influences. His theory encompasses a series of psychological development stages that occur throughout an individual's life cycle. Jacques Lacan obtained international fame through his personal interpretation of---and rupture with---Freud. The main emphasis of his work is in the importance of language as the mirror of the unconscious mind. John Bowlby is considered one of the most important psychiatrists of the twentieth century. His attachment theory is one of the principle theoretical developments in psychoanalysis in the latter part of this century. The purpose of this investigation was to give an explanation of the selected characters and their psychological development based on the proposed theories. The consequences of maternal deprivation and isolation manifest themselves in the development of the personality of the characters, mainly impeding the normal formation of the ego and super ego.

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