María de Zayas / The Disenchantments of Love - Day 2

Please address three of the topics below or come up with your own (at least three) topics for a discussion.

1. Before the story of tale four begins, its narrator (Filis) has some opening remarks about men and women (pp. 139-40). How do you interpret these remarks? How do they serve as an introduction for what comes later in the story?

2. In both the 4^th and 5^th stories we have the theme of the “image of a woman.” We have spoken about this before, but what does this theme bring to these two stories? (An understanding of the myth of Pygmalion helps here.)

3. What do you think is the significance of the skull in story four? Think about what a skull might mean in a variety of contexts (especially the skill as the remains of a head – what are the functions of a head?).

4. Think about the role of doña Inés in story 5. What agency does she have in the story (or does she have any at all)? She is replaced by a dress, a statue, and then trapped in a wall (where she goes blind). How do you interpret this?

5. In story 6, we have the androgynous Esteban / Estefanía. Gender here is much more complicated than biological predeterminacy – everyone takes the biologically male Esteban for the female Estefanía since s/he conforms to what society considers “female.” How can this character aid in a rereading of gender and traditional gender roles? (Think, we still have gender-bending as an element in films today – men masquerading as women or vice versa. Why this fascination with such a topic?)

6. In story 6, Esteban / Estefanía sings a poem (pp. 219-23) invoking tales of desire from classical mythology. What kind of desire is portrayed in these tales (those used in the poem) and how can they relate to the type of desire typified by Esteban / Estefanía? What is the irony here once s/he reveals him/herself?