Homometries : Representations of Homosexual Desire in Spanish Golden Age Literature traces literary representations of homosexuality during this period. Traditional criticism is written from a perspective that reflects the heteronormative idiosyncrasy that permeates this literature. In my study, I interpret the authors' textual imaginings and how they manipulate hegemonic ideals of identity and sexuality to highlight overt or encoded attempts to subvert the concept of transhistorical heterosexuality. My study valorizes "anachronistic" queer literature. It differs from those in the 1990s by averting from the consideration of homosexuality as a recent "invention". I revisit Spanish Golden Age texts to illustrate how human relations in this era can provide the spaces where alternative sexual identities can take hold. I propose five imperatives, one, it is necessary to admit that these texts incorporate not only hegemonic ideals but all the intensities of human desire; two, when these intensities have to do with homosexuality they are registered in three levels: codified, embedded in a homophobic concept, or silenced; three, when the codification appears in a positive context it can be identified through the rhetoric of homoeroticism or masculine love (homosociality would be the asexual variation and feminine love its lesbian counterpart); four, homophobia can be recognized in condemnatory, moralistic, or mockery situations; and five, the language of the closet exists in textual suggestions, in what is not pronounced but can be identified. Each chapter deals with and elaborates on each of these imperatives, with Chapter 1 acting as the theoretical platform. Chapter 2 focuses on homoeroticism through the poetry of don Juan de Arguijo. Chapter 3 studies a feminine man in the episode of Leandra and Vicente in Don Quijote, here, I propose the term, "homoscapes" (homo-relieves) as the identifiable characteristics of hegemonic gender transgressions. In Chapter 4, I revise Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's homosociality to show how homosexual relationships between men could have been maintained in La boda entre dos maridos, a Lope de Vega play. Chapter 5 analyzes homophobia and its representations in Celos con celos se curan, a play by Tirso de Molina. And, Chapter 6 deals with the interpretation of the language of the closet in El castillo de Lindabridis, a play by Calderón de la Barca. / text

This thesis presents the first sustained analysis of the reception of the Aristotelian golden mean in early modern Spanish literature. It argues that the critically-neglected ethical credo of moderation was an important part of the classical inheritance on which Golden-Age authors frequently drew, and that despite its famous origins in moral philosophy rather than literature, it was subject to just the same kind of imitative reworking as has long been acknowledged for literary predecessors. The analysis is divided into two sections. The first takes a synoptic view of the period, assessing the transmission of Aristotle's doctrine to the Renaissance and exploring what it meant to the Golden-Age mind. That includes identifying a particular early modern reformulation of the mean, which I argue was an important factor in the popularity of the Icarus and Phaethon myths, as analogues for Aristotle's moral. The body of the thesis then comprises three case studies of the role of moderation in works which span the period's chronological and generic range: the poetry of Garcilaso; Calderón's 'El médico de su honra'; and Gracián's 'Criticón'. These studies explore three important general trends in the reception of the mean: the association of excess and moderation with particular literary models; the incorporation of the mean into Christian thought; and its parallel existence as non-technical, commonplace wisdom. However, each chapter also constitutes an innovation within its own field, offering a reassessment of Garcilaso's relationship to literary tradition; a re-reading of the characters and plot structure of 'El médico', including the controversial King Pedro; and an analysis of the elusive moral approach behind Gracián's allegorical novel. The mean is thus remarkable for both the breadth and depth of its incorporation into literature, and a focus on its treatment offers substantial new insights into some of the canonical works of the age.

This is a study about María de Zayas y Sotomayor, a seventeenth century Spanish writer who has slowly but surely started to become one of the most read and researched female writers of her time among current scholars. Zayas’s work is that of a baroque writer and as such her critics are notorious for having divergent views about her work. The purpose of this study is to discern the reason behind the controversy that exists about her narrative. The present study is an attempt to elucidate the ambiguity around the feminist views Zayas has been adjudicated. Taking into consideration her context as a female writer amidst a patriarchal society and her social status as a member of the nobility, this study analyses some of the apparent contradictions that critics underscore to support their conclusions. It has been the purpose of this study to include a diverse group of critical views in order to come to a conclusion about her literary opus: her only known dramatic play La traición en la amistad followed by her two collections of short stories Novelas amorosas ejemplares and Desengaños amorosos. Additionally, this study considers other realms of study that would benefit from a more profound study by future researchers.