Probabilismo en Cervantes: La gran sultana como caso de conciencia

The strange story of La gran sultana doña Catalina de Oviedo by Miguel de Cervantes has sometimes led to contradictory readings that have interpreted the play as a burlesque piece and sometimes as a praise of religious tolerance, but they do not explain the comedia’s inconsistencies. All these appar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCriticón (Toulouse, France) Vol. 109; pp. 167 - 186
Main Author Luis Gómez Canseco
Format Journal Article
LanguageSpanish
Published Presses universitaires du Mirail 14.05.2010
Subjects
casuism
Cervantes Miguel de
free will
probabilism
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Summary:The strange story of La gran sultana doña Catalina de Oviedo by Miguel de Cervantes has sometimes led to contradictory readings that have interpreted the play as a burlesque piece and sometimes as a praise of religious tolerance, but they do not explain the comedia’s inconsistencies. All these apparent nonsenses can be overcome with the help of contemporary theology, because Cervantes designed the main plot as a case of conscience in which the protagonist had to choose inevitably between two mortal sins. The solution to this dilemma, which affects issues such as free will and eternal salvation, is consistent with the proposals of moral probabilism, which justified actions in the light of the circumstances surrounding the individual. Theological influences concern also the construction of such characters as Rustán the eunuch or Catalina’s father and affect even the definition of the play as a genre.
ISSN:0247-381X
DOI:10.4000/criticon.14974