Picaras, moriscas and conversas: the double-marginalization of the "Oriental Other" in Spain's early modern picaresque novel

In this project, I explore the pícara's representation as both prostitute and woman of hybrid origins. I argue that the pícara's representation as a racialized prostitute is designed to generate a distorted mirror image of those aspects of society that do not fit within the idea of a homogeneous Christian/European Spain. The situation of Spain during the Early Modern period posits a challenge when evaluating its multicultural background. Although the Spanish state strived to create an image of a Spain pure and free of Oriental cultures, the presence of these cultures in various aspects of Spanish life gives evidence of the fact that there was indeed a cultural contact from which Iberian culture borrowed and adapted aspects of Muslim culture. The application of postcolonial theory and recent cultural studies theory is an important tool for understanding the tensions and strains that this cultural contact brings into the formation of a European/Spanish identity as a nation. Literary production, such as the picaresque novel, delves into problematizations of identity through its marginal characters. In the case of the female picaresque novel, the double-marginalization of the protagonist becomes apparent. The crafting of this double-marginalization is achieved through the exposition of an ambivalent attitude toward the pícara of both fascination and repulsion, reflecting the dynamics of desire between the male/subject and the woman/object, as well as the attitudes that the Christian community had toward the ethnic minorities of the Iberian Peninsula. This dissertation focuses on the analysis of the following works: La Lozana andaluza by Francisco Delicado (1528), La pícara Justina by López de Úbeda (1605), and La hija de la Celestina by Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo (1612). In their portrayal of the three main pícaras, Lozana, Justina and Elena, the diegetic masculine voices take advantage of prevalent stereotypes and perceptions about the Muslim and Jewish communities. All three of these pícaras are products of a long tradition of maurophilia and maurophobia in Spanish literary production. They are alluring in their beauty (due to maurophilia) and objectified, demonized and exploited without fear of reprimand (due to maurophobia). The historical context within which these works are written only exacerbates these maurophilic and maurophobic tendencies. Contextualized within the fantasy of the nation, the pícara is that which Spain as European nation should not be.

PÍCARAS, MORISCAS AND CONVERSAS: THE DOUBLE-MARGINALIZATION OF THE "ORIENTAL OTHER" IN SPAIN'S EARLY MODERN PICARESQUE NOVEL by María Electra Gamón Blanch Fielding A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Languages and Literature The University of Utah May 2012 Copyright © María Electra Gamón Blanch Fielding 2012 All Rights Reserved Th e Uni v e r s i t y o f Ut a h Gr a dua t e S cho o l STATEMENT OF DISSERTATION APPROVAL The dissertation of María Electra Gamón Blanch Fielding has been approved by the following supervisory committee members: Elena García-Martín , Chair 1/20/2012 Date Approved Gary Atwood , Member 1/20/2012 Date Approved Gema R. Guevara , Member 1/20/2012 Date Approved Isabel Moreira , Member 1/20/2012 Date Approved Jerry Root , Member 1/20/2012 Date Approved and by Fernando Rubio , Chair of the Department of Languages and Literature and by Charles A. Wight, Dean of The Graduate School. ABSTRACT In this project, I explore the pícara's representation as both prostitute and woman of hybrid origins. I argue that the pícara's representation as a racialized prostitute is designed to generate a distorted mirror image of those aspects of society that do not fit within the idea of a homogeneous Christian/European Spain. The situation of Spain during the Early Modern period posits a challenge when evaluating its multicultural background. Although the Spanish state strived to create an image of a Spain pure and free of Oriental cultures, the presence of these cultures in various aspects of Spanish life gives evidence of the fact that there was indeed a cultural contact from which Iberian culture borrowed and adapted aspects of Muslim culture. The application of postcolonial theory and recent cultural studies theory is an important tool for understanding the tensions and strains that this cultural contact brings into the formation of a European/Spanish identity as a nation. Literary production, such as the picaresque novel, delves into problematizations of identity through its marginal characters. In the case of the female picaresque novel, the double-marginalization of the protagonist becomes apparent. The crafting of this double-marginalization is achieved through the exposition of an ambivalent attitude toward the pícara of both fascination and repulsion, reflecting the dynamics of desire between the male/subject and the woman/object, as well as the attitudes that the Christian community had toward the ethnic minorities of the Iberian Peninsula. This dissertation focuses on the analysis of the following works: La Lozana iv andaluza by Francisco Delicado (1528), La pícara Justina by López de Úbeda (1605), and La hija de la Celestina by Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo (1612). In their portrayal of the three main pícaras, Lozana, Justina and Elena, the diegetic masculine voices take advantage of prevalent stereotypes and perceptions about the Muslim and Jewish communities. All three of these pícaras are products of a long tradition of maurophilia and maurophobia in Spanish literary production. They are alluring in their beauty (due to maurophilia) and objectified, demonized and exploited without fear of reprimand (due to maurophobia). The historical context within which these works are written only exacerbates these maurophilic and maurophobic tendencies. Contextualized within the fantasy of the nation, the pícara is that which Spain as European nation should not be. To Michael for his support and constant encouragement. To Jasmine and Christian who grew up along with my writing. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... viii Chapters INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................1 I REPRESENTATIONS OF THE "EXOTIC OTHER" IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN LITERATURE ...............................................................................24 La convivencia: Maurophilia and Maurophobia .................................................34 The Moor, the Morisco and the Converso in the Literary Text ..........................46 The Hybrid Pícara: Conversas and Moriscas ....................................................74 II MAGIA DE LEVANTE: EXOTICISM, SEXUALITY AND THE BODY IN LA LOZANA ANDALUZA ...............................................................................................88 The Jewish Diaspora: Authorial Experience in the Text ....................................97 Magia de Levante: Selling the Exotic ...............................................................113 Aldonza/Lozana/Vellida: Eloquence and Wit ..................................................117 (Re)Invention: Body, Sexuality and Negotiation of Identity ............................126 III THE MANY FACES OF THE PÍCARA: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE "PUTIDONCELLA" IN LA PÍCARA JUSTINA ..........................................................138 The Woman and the Pen: Manipulating Language in the Text ........................146 The Racialized Pícara: Body as Text ...............................................................163 The Chameleonic Pícara: Negotiation of Identity and Maurophobia ..............175 IV CELESTINA'S SPAWN: THE DEMONIZATION OF THE EXOTIC OTHER IN LA HIJA DE CELESTINA ......................................................................................183 Maurophobia: The Morisco in Sixteenth-Century Spain ..................................191 (Re)Presentations of Race: The Pícara Morisca and Her Many dentities........199 Pícaras and Cristianas: The Temptress and the Virtuous Woman ..................211 The Pícara's Punishment and the Authorial Voice ..........................................216 vii CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................225 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................233 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would never have been able to finish this dissertation without the guidance of my supervisor, the support of my committee members and my colleagues, and the encouragement of my husband, family and friends. I would like to thank first and foremost my supervisor, Dr. Elena García-Martín who painstakingly advised, suggested and lovingly guided me from the very first stages of this dissertation through its completion. I am especially grateful for her timely responses, her help during my research and her professionalism. I can honestly say that I have grown as a scholar thanks to her direction and example. I would like to also thank Dr. Jerry Root, who reviewed the first drafts of the manuscript and who always had a word of encouragement while guiding me in the right direction. I would like to thank Dr. Gary Atwood, Dr. Gema Guevara and Dr. Isabel Moreira whose suggestions and insights were always a source of inspiration in order to strengthen my project. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in the Department of Foreign Languages at Weber State University for their constant encouragement and for accommodating my work schedule in order to give me ample time for research and writing. I would like to especially thank Dr. Alicia Giralt whose enthusiasm convinced me that I could indeed apply to a PhD program and succeed in my endeavors. I am extremely thankful for friends and family on both sides of the Atlantic who always offered their help and their unconditional support. Finally, I would like to ix especially thank my husband Michael, and our children, Jasmine and Christian. Only they know the rewards and the sacrifices that this experience has entailed for me personally and for us as a family. They have been my biggest source of strength, support and love. INTRODUCTION "seis nombres de P, conviene a saber: Pícara, Pobre, Poca vergüenza, Pelona y Pelada" La pícara Justina In her description of the picaresque lifestyle, Justina very shrewdly "forgets" the sixth P that defines the three pícaras studied in this project: the P for prostitute. Pícaras, perhaps not as popular or well received as their male counterparts, appear in various works of Spanish Early Modern literature. The picaresque genre is traditionally identified with el pícaro, the rogue that tells the reader, in a confessional mode and an entertaining style, the adventures and misadventures of his life. Some of the most famous pícaros of Early Modern Spanish literary production are Lazarillo de Tormes, Guzmán de Alfarache and don Pablos. These pícaros have been the center of many critical studies and have been habitually considered the three canonical figures of the picaresque genre. One common trait of the picaresque novel is "the unreliable biographical stance of a lower-class rogue who changes his identity to suit his material needs" (Cruz, "Introduction" 3). The efforts to classify certain works as canonical picaresque novels (Lazarillo de Tormes, Guzmán de Alfarache or El Buscón) have resulted in the relegation to obscurity and exclusion from canon of those works that do not completely fit the traditional description of the picaresque novel. Jannine Montauban, for instance, explains how recent canonical picaresque criticism is still influenced by traditional approaches and a repetition of the same themes (Otra margen 10). Some of the works on the borderline 2 of the picaresque classification belong to the female picaresque tradition. As Anne Cruz remarks, because the female picaresque novel shares only a few of the traits regarded as part of the canonical picaresque, some critics do not consider it part of the genre ("Introduction" 7). The term ‘female picaresque novel' is understood to refer to a work that exhibits picaresque traits and whose main protagonist is a pícara, a female rogue. The vast majority of the female picaresque in Early Modern Spain has been authored by male writers. As a matter of fact, it is almost impossible to find examples of picaresque novels authored by women.1 Although the female picaresque novel does not always fit within the parameters established by the picaresque canon, such as the biographical first person narration, the central role of hunger, the many masters the pícaro serves, or the violence suffered by the rogue, current studies demonstrate that there exists a cohesiveness in the female picaresque novel, from which shared points of departure for a critical reading and understanding of the pícara narrative can be found. In recent years there has been a newfound interest in the female picaresque novel of Early Modern Spain. The latest studies along these lines include works by critics such as Anne Cruz, Edward Friedman, Jannine Montauban and Enriqueta Zafra. These critics have centered their analysis on poverty and the dynamics of economy, sexuality and reproduction, witchcraft, 1 "El castigo de la miseria" by María de Zayas, includes picaresque elements, although it is not a picaresque novel with a pícara as protagonist, but only as one of the characters. Anne Cruz also remarks that "some female narratives are linked to the picaresque because of their autobiographical stance and rebellion against social rules" ("Introduction" 7-8). Some critics read La monja Alférez as a picaresque novel, but considering that Catalina de Erauso lived most of her life as a man, and considered herself one, it would be difficult to classify his/her book as written from the perspective of a woman. Although seriously contemplated to be included in this project due to the duality of masculine/feminine voices and its undeniable picaresque traits, La monja Alférez is not contextualized within the world of prostitution. Furthermore, the protagonist, Catalina herself, is a Basque woman. The Basque country is considered to be one of the areas of the Iberian Peninsula with the least Middle-Eastern influence. Consequently, because Catalina/Alonso/Antonio does not practice prostitution and is not racialized, she or he is not included as part of this study. 3 delinquency and prostitution. These traits are common to the canonical picaresque novel, however, they have different implications when contextualized within a story where the main protagonist is a woman. For instance, poverty is a common denominator in both the canonical picaresque and the female picaresque novel. But whereas the pícaro is constantly hungry due to his poverty and comes from a destitute background, the pícara does not suffer hunger because she sells herself in order to avoid poverty. She is also an indigent, but she is able to subvert her seemingly inescapable fate as a member of the poorest classes and procure a good life (in most cases) for herself. Poverty is a common theme, but it is approached from a different perspective depending on the gender of the protagonist. Although these studies make reference to issues such as prostitution or delinquency, that are essential for an understanding of the female picaresque novel, they forgo analysis of a trait shared by most of these pícaras: their hybrid origin. The recognition of the hybrid nature of the pícara enhances her role as a deviant member of society. My contribution to current literary criticism that focuses on pícaras and female picaresque novel is the exploration of how the pícara's hybridity shapes the representation of the pícara as prostitute. I will show how the manipulation of the pícara's hybrid background and her subsequent exotization become crucial in order to deconstruct the figure of the pícara. The utilization of the term hybrid and/or hybridity in this project will fit within the parameters of recent Postcolonial theory. In his book The Location of Culture, Homi Bhabha speaks of hybridity as "a difference ‘within', a subject that inhabits the rim of an ‘in-between' reality" (19). The hybrid subject is considered different from mainstream society in certain aspects, and belongs in an "in-between" 4 space. The hybrid subject is caught between worlds. In the case of the female picaresque novel, we encounter three pícaras who share a mixed origin: all three of them are racialized and their apparent white/Christian origin is mixed with Orientalized elements. Bhabha's definition is suited to these pícaras who are perceived as different from mainstream society and who inhabit a liminal space where they are able to negotiate their identity. They usually present themselves as Christian to society and to the reader, but there are recognizable markers in their appearance and customs that identify them as members of Spain's ethnic minorities. A tension between what is seen and perceived and what lies beneath the surface emerges. In a society concerned with projecting itself as a homogenous white Christian population after the Reconquista, the fact that ethnic and religious minorities could bend the system and make themselves pass for the majority preoccupied the Spanish state.2 Bhabha's perspective on hybridity problematizes the question of identity. If these pícaras are racialized members of ethnic communities, why can they so effectively fool others into perceiving them as white Christian women? Because the hybrid subject inhabits a liminal space, she is able to move between worlds, an ability that all three pícaras studied in this project, Lozana, Justina and Elena, will demonstrate. The pícara's ability to pass herself for others and her constant negotiation of identity includes an effort on her part to hide those markers that would identify her as a member of an ethnic minority. This chameleonic nature of the pícara brings up the question of colonial mimicry, as posited by Bhabha: "colonial mimicry is the desire for a 2 La Reconquista refers to the time period between 718 and 1492 during which Christian forces, relegated to the North of the Iberian Peninsula after the Muslim invasion in 711, begin taking territory from the Arabs. La Reconquista was started by Pelayo in Asturias, Northern Spain. Since then, Northern Spain has been considered the place where Spain's Christianity was never under Muslim rule. Even today the crown prince of Spain carries the title of "Príncipe de Asturias" (Grieve 12-13). 5 reformed recognizable Other, as a subject of a difference that is almost the same, but not quite" (122). The emergent Spanish nation during the Early Modern period wished for a uniform Spain, and the way that this uniform Spain could be achieved was by assimilating the perceived Oriental other, whether Jewish or Muslim, into mainstream Christian Spanish society. A "reformed recognizable Other" would give the impression of cohesion and social homogeneity, but it would also allow for identification of difference. In Spanish Early Modern society, it was necessary to be able to identify the difference in those who were descendants from these ethnic minorities from those who were not. Serious social consequences flow from these differences: demonstrating "purity" of Christian blood, avoidance of persecution by the Inquisition, and becoming a functioning part of the mainstream community. The pícaras will successfully fool, deceive and subvert their projection as an exoticized other many times, although the writer will always leave markers in the text that will guide the reader to understand that the anti-heroine is indeed an exoticized other. This duplicity provides the author with the opportunity to utilize the prevalent stereotypes that were applied to minorities and create an (anti)heroine that fits within those perceptions. The dual nature of the (anti)heroine will serve as a source of entertainment, as the reader is aware of the pícara's attempts to fool others through the reinvention of her identity. The three pícaras included in this project are women whose genealogy and appearance make reference to an ethnic origin that is not fully Christian/European. Taking this trait into account, a new perspective of the representation of the pícara emerges. This new perspective gives this (anti)heroine a different dimension which is directly tied to Iberian literary production. Racialized and nonracialized pícaras do share 6 common traits, such as avoidance of poverty by marriage and/or tricking men, their eloquence and the ease that they show when communicating verbally, and finally, a peculiarity that is common to both pícaros and pícaras alike: el ingenio or wit.3 The racialized pícaras studied in this project operate within the world of prostitution, a trait that distinguishes them from other nonracialized pícaras.4 Thus, the main protagonists of the female picaresque novels that will be analyzed in this project share two defining attributes: they are all exotic women from a white/Christian perspective, and they are all prostitutes. This exotic element creates an ambivalent reaction in those who come in contact with them, including the reader: these prostitutes are appealing, yet they bear markers of difference. Their ancestry is mixed with the other ethnic groups that had co-habited with the Christian community in the Iberian Peninsula: Jews and Muslims. All three pícaras are described as beautiful and alluring. Men who see them cannot help but desire them. But again, the exotic element, their difference, while making them objects of desire, cannot be hidden. The clues in the text mark them, always, as different, subversive and even as a danger to maintaining the social order in a (white/Christian) patriarchal society. 3 Examples of nonracialized pícaras are the (anti)heroines in works such as Teresa de Manzanares, Las harpías en Madrid or La garduña de Sevilla, all three novels written by Alonso de Castillo Solórzano in the first decades of the seventeenth century. In these cases, the novel resembles a courtesan novel and the tricks played by these pícaras seem more playful than harmful. The novels also avoid any graphic allusions to the sexual activities of the pícara. 4 The term racialized and the concept of race will be approached in this project as social constructs that are completely arbitrary. They will be contextualized according to how race is perceived by Europeans in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. I will follow Paul Gilroy's concept of identity: "Identity helps us comprehend the formation of that perilous pronoun ‘we' and to reckon with the patterns of inclusion and exclusion that it cannot help creating" (Gilroy 99). Identity, thus, is a fictitious construction that does not have anything to do with the physical appearance of the body, but on how the body is read by others. Reina Lewis also emphasizes the concept of race as based on perceptions and the historical background of a cultural group. She explains that race is "a historically variable process of racialization - the processes by which groups or individuals come to be ascribed a racial identity - and not as a word that simply denotes a given, innate, static, neutral classification" (2). 7 Taking into consideration the cultural and historical framework within which these works were produced and consumed (these books emerged during the expulsions of Jews and Muslims from Spain), it is not surprising that the representations of these racialized pícaras reflect the preconceptions, misconceptions and prejudices of Early Modern society, as well as the perception of the non-Christian exotic woman by the male Christian narrator. In diegetic terms, we know that the actual author is not always a Christian free of ethnic minorities in his genealogy. There is enough evidence to assert that Francisco Delicado was a descendent of Jewish converts, while Francisco López de Úbeda is assumed to be so as well. However, the diegetic voice presents itself as masculine and apparently Christian. This voice will comment from a Christian perspective on the pícaras' behavior. Depending on the narrator, some of these comments are harsher and more critical than others, as it will be seen. Although the male counterpart of the pícara, the pícaro, also shows signs of hybridity, he is not sexualized in the same manner that the pícara is. The pícaro's main goal is to fill his stomach and avoid hunger, while procuring a more comfortable life for himself. He is under the tutelage of various masters and learns from experience how to achieve his goals. The occasional references to the pícaro's mixed origin become a natural part of the confessional, autobiographical mode of the canonical picaresque novel. Other than mentioning his ancestry in this autobiographical context, he does not manipulate or use to his advantage his ethnic background. The pícaro does change his identity, not in the context of race, but rather in the context of class. The pícara utilizes both her hybrid body and her ability to disguise herself to move between ethnic groups and different social spaces. The racialized pícara does not answer to various masters; she works alone 8 or with partners.5 This may be because in the Early Modern period many prostitutes preferred to work alone rather than being subject to the rules and control of a prostitution house (Zafra 21). The pícara is sexualized both because of being a woman and because of her exotic nature, but unlike the pícaro, she willfully uses her body to procure for herself a more comfortable life and to survive in a society where she is perceived as a subversive element: Mientras ellos están sometidos a los avatares del hambre y la miseria, ellas - debido a los réditos de la prostitución - rara vez pasan hambre y poseen, además, la posibilidad de ocultar su condición mediante el disfraz que les permite alternar con clases más elevadas. Si no son víctimas del hambre, son en cambio, víctimas predilectas de la vejez, del deterioro físico y de las enfermedades venéreas. (Montauban, Ajuar 79) The main difference between the pícaro and the pícara is precisely the pícara's ability to sell her body, to present herself as exotic and appealing, and gain that way the pecuniary gain that will bring her stability and some food to the table. Pícaros such as Lazarillo de Tormes or don Pablos invoke a mixed genealogy, but they do not take advantage of their hybridity to negotiate their identity. The pícara's hybrid body becomes a tool and the means of her earning money, comfort and security. While the archetypal pícaro suffers constant hunger, the pícara lives a comfortable life, although venereal diseases and poverty in old age are a reality that concerns these stories. The pícara is also aware of how, by manipulating and negotiating her identity, she is able to reinvent herself and make herself pass as mainstream white, or as an ethnic minority member. Although the pícaro also negotiates his identity and makes himself pass for others, the pícara is quite 5 An exception would be Elena, the protagonist in La hija de Celestina, who is under the control of Montúfar, her partner in crime, pimp and husband. However, Elena shows and expresses time after time a desire to leave this relationship so that she can be on her own. 9 successful in her endeavors, while the pícaro is in many cases discovered.6 This chameleonic aspect of the pícara is a result of her hybrid nature: because she is in a liminal space, between two different worlds, she can negotiate her identity and fool others into perceiving what she considers most advantageous to her situation at that particular time. In this project, I explore the pícara's representation as prostitute (also witch, courtesan or public woman) and woman of hybrid origins. I argue that the pícara's representation as a racialized prostitute is designed to generate a distorted mirror image of those aspects of society that do not fit within the idea of a homogeneous Christian/European Spain. This mirror image serves as a means of determining the role of ethnic minorities in Spain and to bring to light the existence of this marginalized, but very real part of Spanish society. This distorted image emphasizes the reality of the Spanish people as a hybrid nation, rather than as the fantasy of a pure Christian/white nation. The result is a dichotomy between the image that Spain tries to project and the reality of the Spanish people. This dichotomy also shows the anxiety that the presence of ethnic minorities and the inability to read the Other's body as such produces in Spanish society. Although the pícara carries the stigma of belonging to Spain's ethnic minorities, she is also an object of desire. The pícara is an ambivalent representation of those ethnic minorities and the conflicting impressions that their presence produces in the Spanish imaginary. 6 There are various examples of the pícaro's unsuccessful efforts to pass himself for others, among them: Lazarillo in Lazarillo de Tormes, makes himself pass for a mouse and a snake while living with the priest in order to steal bread from him. His ruse is discovered in the most violent manner. Don Pablos in El buscón makes himself pass for a rich gentleman when courting a young lady when he is discovered by one of his previous masters. 10 The situation of Spain during the Early Modern period posits a challenge for scholars when evaluating its multicultural background. Although the Spanish state strived to create an image of a Spain pure and free of Oriental cultures, the presence of these cultures in various aspects of Spanish life gives evidence of the fact that there was indeed a contact between Iberian and Muslim culture. Postcolonial theory and recent cultural studies theory, such as the work of Homi Bhabha, provide an important means for understanding the tensions and strains that this cultural contact brings into the formation of a European/Spanish identity as a nation. Literary production such as the picaresque novel delves into problematizations of identity through its marginal characters. In the case of the female picaresque novel, the protagonist is doubly marginalized because of the inferior status implied in her gender and race. This double-marginalization also exposes an ambivalent attitude toward the pícara: fascination and repulsion, reflecting the dynamics of desire between the male/subject and the woman/object, as well as the attitudes that the Christian community had toward the ethnic minorities of the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, could it be argued that the pícara is in reality a mirror for Spanish society's fears of a loss of identity when confronted with the truth of its own hybridity? As Patricia Grieve remarks, While the ancient traditions that cast women as harlots or saints can thrive anywhere and anytime, in Spain they are linked, legendarily and historically […] to the virulent anti-Semitism that characterized Spanish society, and the treatment of Jews and Muslims through the centuries. In other words, sometimes a woman is more than a woman. (33) It is, after all, the woman, the essentialized feminine, who carries and transmits culture. By portraying in the female picaresque novel protagonists who are women and members of ethnic minorities, the writer is representing a hybridized Spain that does not fit within 11 the concept of Spain as Christian/white/patriarchal nation. The pícara is more than just a deviant woman. Additionally, because the feminine is linked to the idea of motherland (Heng 31), even to the idea of representations of nation, it is possible to argue that the pícara signifies a deformed reflection of nation. At this moment in history Spain is emerging as nation-state, and part of this emergence involves presenting itself as a European power, with no traces of ethnic difference within it. The pícara is precisely the contrary to that ideal: because of her ethnic origins, she is hybrid, mixed and of "impure" blood. The fact that these pícaras do not raise children, connotes the notion that they are not able to transmit their culture and their customs to the next generation, and foreshadows the fate of Spain's ethnic groups as needing to be either expelled or assimilated into mainstream culture. This dissertation focuses on the analysis of the following works: La Lozana andaluza by Francisco Delicado (1528), La pícara Justina by López de Úbeda (1605), and La hija de Celestina by Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo (1612). These works represent the pícara as a prostitute and as a woman of hybrid origins, of a mixed genealogy, both through direct references in the text and through markers left for the reader to examine. The fact that these three works are conveyed through masculine voices allows for an analysis of how the masculine gaze perceives the racialized prostitute. The specific historical placement of these works influences the portrayal of each pícara and her fate in the storyline. La Lozana andaluza is written in the immediate years following three events important to Spain's status as a nation: the finalization of the Reconquista in 1492, the shift from nation-state to emerging empire with the colonization of America, and the expulsion of the Jews, also in 1492. These events, especially as they 12 relate to ethnic minorities, have an effect in Delicado's writing, an exiled convert himself. Lozana is portrayed as a Jewish convert and her story shows the life of those Jews who were exiled to different places, including their lifestyle and customs. La pícara Justina and La hija de Celestina allow for a view of Spain's society within a decadent empire. La pícara Justina is written but a few years before the final expulsion of moriscos from Spain in 1609, while La hija de Celestina is written in the years following this expulsion. Justina's representation highlights her wit and her ability to negotiate her identity to, in the end, achieve her goals and be successful. Justina is both of Jewish and morisco origins, and in her story there are multiple markers that identify her as such. In the last work, La hija de Celestina, it is possible to also find negative representations of the exotic other, a reflection of the historical and cultural changes regarding moriscos, especially after the enforcement of the "Pragmática sanción de 1567" and the rebellions in Las Alpujarras, in Southern Spain. La hija de Celestina highlights negotiations of identity, but the main protagonist suffers the harshest punishment of the three pícaras, which may very well be interpreted as a reflection of the ramifications of the final morisco expulsion. In both La pícara Justina and La hija de Celestina we find also a negative representation of the exotic other, a representation filled with maurophobic undertones that underlines the shift in perceptions towards a more negative view of an exotic other degraded to the point of demonization. In all three works, the pícara functions within parameters of objectification and exotization: she is objectified as a woman and exoticized as an ethnic minority. The result is an ambivalent effect: the pícara is both desired and rejected, even demonized. She is desired and objectified because she is beautiful, a beauty that comes precisely 13 because of her mixed blood, but she is also rejected by mainstream society because of her hybrid origin. Bhabha's theories on the stereotype coincide with the dynamics of social relations in the Iberian Peninsula at this point in history. The relationships between colonized and colonizer of Bhabha's theories are certainly applicable to the relationships which existed between the Christian majority and the Jewish and Muslim minorities in Early Modern Spain. Bhabha explains how the stereotype is characterized by fixity and essentialization of difference. This essentialization and fixity of the stereotype can be found in the female picaresque novel in that these pícaras exhibit a number of similar traits with few variations through their portrayal as hybrid objects. Some of these traits are exotic beauty, the suffering of venereal diseases, use of discourse and body to achieve their goals, mobility and sexual wantonness. These characteristics are repeated, exaggerated and fixed because the pícara (colonized, hybrid, minority) cannot escape her stereotyped nature. The objectification and exotization of the pícara gyrate around one central aspect of her character: desire. The nature of desire is twofold in the female picaresque novel because it is perceived (in most cases blatantly) when the pícara becomes the object of male desire, but it can also be observed in the pícara's sexual desire for the man. The pícara is desired precisely because of her difference: she is exotic, she is alluring and she will accommodate whatever the man desires to please him. The pícara is other because of her gender and because of her ethnicity, and as a result she is construed as a subject completely foreign to man. Furthermore, the pícara represents an aspect of the feminine that is completely out of bounds from the patriarchal system: she does not comply with the ideal feminine (chaste, passive, virtuous). As a matter of fact, she is portrayed in 14 complete opposition to it, becoming a subversive entity. In this project there will be references to Tratados de conducta written during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by authors such as Joan Lluís Vives and Fray Luis de León, in order to understand the ideal of the Christian feminine and how the pícara is constructed in opposition to this ideal. These Tratados de conducta usually expressed a "desire to shape behavior and regulate the body to conform to norms of what was considered acceptable" (Harllee 203). The pícara's behavior fights these norms of conduct while her body, instead of conforming to moral standards will be utilized as a commodity. The pícara becomes a negative image of the ideal Christian woman. In his book Orientalism, Edward Said suggests that Europe defines itself in direct opposition to Oriental cultures, and that Oriental cultures were traditionally "linked thus to elements in Western society (delinquents, the insane, women, the poor) having in common an identity best described as lamentable alien" (207). According to Said, Europe defines itself not only by establishing the Orient as everything that Europe is not, but also by making a direct connection between the marginalized of European society and the Oriental other. Robert Dainotto takes this idea a step further: "Europe, in the context described by Said, could fathom its identity not only by opposing itself to the Orient but by matching itself against those internal elements of Western society" (Dainotto 54). By internal elements, and following Said's Orientalism, Dainotto refers to specific societal groups, mostly marginalized groups that have no say in a white patriarchal society. Women are included among these marginalized groups. The representations of women belonging to an ethnic minority would be utilized to, in the process, define the ideal Christian woman. If the white Christian woman is supposed to be virtuous, then the 15 racialized pícara would be the complete opposite. These oppositions are observed continually in the portrayal of all three pícaras, who on a regular basis represent everything that the idealized Christian woman is not. As a matter of fact, because the authors' (anti)heroines are racialized prostitutes these authors are allowed more freedom in describing deviant behavior. The result is the emergence of an Orientalized pícara in the female picaresque novel who is represented as such by the masculine voice of the narrator. This Orientalized pícara is such because she is given qualities perceived to be "Oriental." In the relationship between narrator and protagonist, the protagonist, the pícara, is constantly under the influence of the narrator. Even though she can speak for herself, the narrator always functions as the filter through which the reader perceives the pícara. This creates a situation of control over the pícara. Said maintains that "The Orient was Orientalized not only because it was discovered to be ‘Oriental' in all those ways considered commonplace […] but also because it could be […] made Oriental" (5- 6). The Orient, according to Said, is made oriental because there is a relationship of power between Occident and the Orient, in which Occident has the control to create a certain image of the East. This image is constructed based on the perceptions and stereotypes of the European male voice. The pícara takes on the role of femme fatale, the temptress who is man's main weakness, an Eve that will destabilize the patriarchal discourse and in the process bring about the fall of man. On the other hand, because these pícaras are part of minority ethnic groups, it is expected that they would subvert Christian mores because their character, due to stereotyping, would be considered to be naturally destabilizing. 16 But why would a white man desire the pícara if she is so far removed from convention and the demure behavior expected of the Christian woman? And what effect does the pícara's own articulation of desire have in her performance? Although the pícara is portrayed as beautiful and enticing, an object of desire, she also expresses desire and becomes an active participant in sexual relations. Lozana choses Rampín as her lover and has no qualms expressing her attraction to him. Justina marries various times, and although there are few references to her sexual encounters, in her story she comes forth as knowledgeable and straightforward in the matters of lovemaking. Elena's beauty is the source of her income and the perdition of men, but she also shows desire independently from pecuniary gain. The pícara is a desiring subject herself, even when she would seem to be at the mercy of the control of the masculine narrative voice. In this expression of desire, and especially in her eloquence, the pícara emerges as an antagonist to the ideals of the virtuous Christian woman; however, her portrayal is not innovative or even unanticipated. It is the product of years of the Orientalized other's representation in Iberian literature. The pícaras' direct discourse and eloquence serve two purposes. First, they allow the reader to know the (anti)heroine first hand. In the case of Lozana, the dialogued form of the work allows the reader to accumulate a direct knowledge of Lozana's character and motives. Justina tells her story written in the first person, allowing again for first-hand knowledge of the pícara. Finally, Elena is dominated by the third person narrative voice, but she is able to tell about her childhood and formative years in a chapter of first person narration. Regardless of the narrator's control over the pícara, there is little doubt that these three women utilize and manipulate speech masterfully, in order to trick and 17 deceive. This is a characteristic common to all pícaras and pícaros, racialized or not, who depend not only on their appearance, but also on their speech to trick and deceive. Second, their eloquence sets them apart from the ideal of the demure Christian woman, who is traditionally to be silenced and to remain silent, since it was believed that women are naturally not inclined to speak and to reason because they are limited in their intellect (León 125). Furthermore, because their eloquence is also taken as a sign of their straightforwardness and of non-Christian behavior, this voice and type of discourse connects them directly to previous literary representations of Orientalized women. Besides eloquence, the three pícaras share various characteristics common to the stereotypes of Orientalized women in Medieval and Early Modern literary production. These representations are characterized by the woman's eloquence, her straightforwardness, her beauty, and her active role when in an amorous relationship. I will compare and contrast the pícaras to those other female literary representations of Jewish or Muslim origin that precede them or are contemporary to the pícara in order to establish an evolution of these representations. Excerpts from Las jarchas, Cantigas d'Escarnho e de Mal Dizer, and from the novela morisca will be used in order to frame the cultural context within which the exotic woman is defined in Early Modern Spain, and to unveil the pícara as a result of this historical portrayal of the exotic woman. Oriental women have been traditionally represented, according to Said as "the creatures of a male power-fantasy. They express unlimited sensuality, they are more or less stupid, and above all they are willing" (207). Although Lozana, Justina and Elena are definitely not naïve and exhibit a bright intellect and a domination of discourse, they are represented as sensual beings who are active participants in the matters of love, a 18 characteristic that appears in previous representations of the exotic woman. These three pícaras, however, are different from their literary ancestors in that they demonstrate a different type of sensuality in their constant search for financial comfort. This study will also frame the development of the exotic other (both male and female) within tendencies of maurophilia and maurophobia. Maurophilia and maurophobia are reactions to the presence of Moors and moriscos in the midst of Iberian society, and reflect the ambivalent attitude of love and hate toward them. These tendencies remain in the Spanish/Christian imaginary and consequently influence the representations of ethnic minorities, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in the writings of literary authors. Subversive identities represented by women, however, are not limited to only racialized prostitutes. There are also transgressing identities within literary representations of Christian women. This study will include, as well, examples of these identities, specifically within Early Modern Theater. Theater allows for an understanding of mainstream culture, especially when taking into account works by Lope de Vega or Calderón de la Barca who were extremely popular among the masses. Having in mind that the picaresque genre was also written for entertainment (many picaresque novels became "best-sellers), albeit from a marginalized perspective, the comparison and the analysis of the differences between pícaras and transgressing cristianas will produce new insights when stressing traits such as exaggerated sexuality or wit in the racialized pícara. While the pícara demonstrates a forward sexuality and unquestionable sexual desire, the transgressing cristiana is not allowed these demonstrations. A love interest, rather, is the motor that will push the transgressing cristiana into motion. Also, the fact that she is under the tutelage of the patriarchs in her family, whether fathers or brothers, will require 19 her to leave the home under disguise and to trick and deceive those around her. However, while the pícara maintains her agency, the transgressing cristiana will need to bend to patriarchal mores in the end. She achieves her goals of marrying her beloved, but first she will be discovered, reprimanded and even threatened. It also becomes necessary to recognize those pícaras who are not racialized, such as the main protagonists in Teresa de Manzanares or Las harpías de Madrid. These Christian pícaras also subvert patriarchal modes, but the graphic sexuality and the deviant character of the racialized pícaras are not exploited. La Lozana andaluza, La pícara Justina, and La hija de Celestina exhibit strong picaresque traits and have been considered part of the Early Modern female picaresque group of works by previous and current literary criticism. In these narratives, it is possible to observe the exotization of the pícara, a pícara who is both alluring and repulsive, a woman both desired and abhorred, a hybrid subject living in the margins of society who negotiates her identity willingly in order to survive, and who reflects all that the virtuous woman is not. The pícara's racialization also allows for her placement within the world of prostitution because of society's assumption that an Orientalized woman would be more promiscuous than a Christian woman.7 As previously mentioned, Early Modern Europe equals its identity to Christianity and utilizes the Orient in order to define itself, since the Orient is that which Europe is not. In the same manner, the pícara is constructed as a polarized representation of the ideal Christian woman. In the process, if woman is equated to nation, the pícara serves as a means of defining a white/Christian Spain through the Orientalized nature of the pícara. In the fantasy of the nation, the pícara is that which Spain is not. 7 This concept will be fully developed in the subsequent chapters, especially Chapter I. 20 Before entering a study of the main primary texts, it is necessary to understand the cultural context of Medieval and Early-Modern Spain, specifically the relationships between the three main religious/ethnic groups that cohabitated the Iberian Peninsula at this time, Christians, Jews and Muslims. Chapter I will include a study of the maurophilic and maurophobic tendencies found in Spanish literature and general culture during these time periods. This chapter will comprise as well a study of the Orientalized other in Early Modern Spanish literature through the survey of two tendencies found in the writings of the period. Firstly, the representations of moriscas and conversas (and their male counterparts) will be examined in various works of Peninsular literature, starting with Las Jarchas in the Medieval period and then progressing through other works up to, and including, the Early Modern period. Secondly, this chapter will analyze the situation of the Christian woman within Early Modern society and how this ideal clashes with the hybrid pícara. This chapter will explore the reasons why the authors of these works may have felt inclined to represent a racialized feminine in the form of the pícara, rather than representing a nonracialized feminine in the form of a European/Christian woman. Once this cultural context is established and the historical background of representations of the Orientalized other is understood, it is possible to begin an analysis of the primary texts, starting with La Lozana andaluza in Chapter II. The texts are organized chronologically precisely to better observe the degradation that the representation of the exotic woman suffers as intensified maurophobic feelings, stricter laws toward controlling forms of cultural expressions, and the last expulsions of ethnic minorities become a reality. This chapter will focus on Lozana's origins and hybridity, 21 her use of language and the utilization of her body and sexuality. I will show how Lozana manipulates the stereotypes of the exotic other in order to construct herself as an attractive and alluring subject in the eyes of Western Europe. Lozana not only takes advantage of her knowledge of the "magic of Levant" that she has learned in her travels, but she also uses her body and language to achieve her financial goals, to meet the needs of her sexuality, and to become a central and essential figure in the Jewish quarters where she lives. In La Lozana andaluza, the body becomes a means of achieving pecuniary gain, but it also becomes a "text" that carries the markers of Jewishness and prostitution that Lozana will not address directly. This chapter will make reference to Francisco Delicado's life, a Jewish convert himself whose parallels with Lozana are impossible to ignore. I will also address the significance of the fact that this pícara escapes unpunished, even though she is a subversive societal element, and thrives in the slums of Rome, becoming one of its most influential inhabitants. A few decades after La lozana andaluza is published in Rome, La pícara Justina lands in the hands of Spanish readers for their entertainment and for helping men learn about the danger that the pícara represents. Chapter III will entail an analysis of Justina as pícara and the role that her hybrid heritage plays in her portrayal. This chapter will also present an analysis of Justina's use of language by both the male narrative voice and the female pícara voice, the use of her body and sexuality, and Justina's constant negotiation of identity. I will show how Justina's mixed heritage and racialization allows the pícara to subvert, deceive and survive in a society that is becoming more reticent to accept those who come from cultural minorities. In this chapter I will address Justina's use of language and how it becomes essential to read between the lines and to interpret 22 the text in order for the reader to decipher aspects of her autobiography that are hidden in between layers of meaning. However, just like the reader needs to search between the lines of the text, the reader also needs to read the different markers in Justina's body in order to separate the written word from Justina's actual situation. Because of the hermetic nature of Justina's prose, the reader faces a difficult text that constantly misleads and confuses meaning, reinforcing the idea that Justina, an ethnic minority, is not trustworthy and consequently extrapolating this perception to others who are also of a mixed heritage. These negative perceptions of Spain's ethnic minorities are even more pronounced in the last work that comprises this project, La hija de Celestina. By the time Salas Barbadillo writes this novel, the final expulsion of the moriscos has already taken place. Chapter IV will take into account these historical and cultural circumstances in the analysis of Elena as pícara and the fact that her punishment is the harshest suffered by any of the three pícaras included in this project. In this chapter I will examine as well the effect that the use of third person narrative produces in the text as opposed to the narrative voices in the other two primary works analyzed in this project. Finally, I will also show how Elena utilizes her exotic beauty and her wit in order to manipulate others into believing what she wants them to believe, always with the prospect of pecuniary gain. Throughout history, Europe has constructed its identity based on difference (Dainotto 19). Furthermore, for a time during the Middle-Ages, Europe equated its identity directly with Christianity. The Iberian Peninsula stands caught between two worlds, the east and the west, and shows the influences of three religious groups: 23 Christianity, Judaism and Islam. After 700 years of Muslim presence in the Peninsula, and many more of Judaic presence, it would be simplistic to assume that there was not a profound cross cultural contact between peoples. Once Spain emerges as an important power in Europe, it will do everything possible to rid itself of those ethnic minorities that challenge its Europeanness. The female picaresque novel offers a window into the stereotypical representations that the exotic other is subjected to in three different moments in time, moments that are key in Spain's construction of itself as a Christian nation. These three pícaras are a negative mirror image of the idea of a homogenous Spain. Doubly marginalized because of their gender and their ethnic background, the pícara will subvert, deceive, lie and do everything in her power to survive. Her racialized body becomes the source of her income, and although she bears the marks of otherness, she is able to manipulate through both language and appearance the perceptions that others may have of her. Although the reader might feel repulsion when faced with Lozana's deforming syphilitic lesions, Justina's comments on her loss of hair or Elena's ruthless nature, these pícaras demonstrate the wit and the charm necessary to do everything possible in order to survive in a world that has relegated them to the very outer margins of society. CHAPTER I REPRESENTATIONS OF THE "EXOTIC OTHER" IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN LITERATURE According to legend, in the early 700s, the last Visigoth King of Spain, Rodrigo, hid behind some shrubbery and watched as Florinda La Cava and the Queen's handmaidens bathed in the waters of the river Tajo by the city of Toledo. Rodrigo became enamored of the beautiful girl, and soon after forced her to be his lover, leaving her pregnant. La Cava was the daughter of don Julian, Count of Ceuta, and had been sent to the court in Toledo to be one of the Queen's handmaidens while her father remained in Africa. Upon learning of the affront, don Julian made a secret pact with Muslim forces and allowed them to cross the Strait of Gibraltar into the Iberian Peninsula (Fogelquist 12). In a matter of months, the Iberian Peninsula was under Muslim dominion, and Rodrigo lay dead at Muslim hands in the waters of the Guadalete river, completing the circle to his undoing. This story, reminiscent of the biblical David and Beth-Sheba, is one of the many explanations constructed to explain the rapid conquest of the Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula by the Muslims. Don Julian's revenge was fulfilled in the year 711 when Arabs from Damascus entered the peninsula and occupied almost all 25 of the Christian territory in both Portugal and Spain, successfully ending Visigoth rule (López-Baralt 3).8 The Christian Visigoths, however, were not the only inhabitants of the peninsula at this time. Among the Christians, the Muslims also encountered Jews, who had established themselves in Spain as early as the second century B.C., during the time of Carthage's supremacy in the Mediterranean (López-Baralt 26). During Arab occupation, these three cultures maintained contact through a porous, variable border between predominantly Christian and Arab territories. Because both Christians and Jews were "people of the Book," they were protected under the dhimma, a Muslim law that allowed them to practice their religion while living in Arab territory (Dodds, Menocal and Krasner Balbale 17). Arab influence in Christian territory (and vice versa) and evidence of a common ground were especially noticeable in various expressions of culture such as architecture, clothing, societal customs, literature, and foods, among others. Architecture, for instance was influenced by both cultures to the point that features such as the horseshoe arch may be believed to be of Arab influence when in reality its origin was Visigothic: "Today we often think of the horseshoe arch as a characteristic of Islamic architecture, but in early Medieval Spain it resonated with the Visigoths, nearly all of whose churches used the horseshoe arch […] to create an elegant partitioned space" (Dodds, Menocal and Krasner Balbale 84). Christian churches also utilized Arabic elements in their architecture such as the Muqarnas found in the church of San Andrés in 8 In this chapter the term Spain will be used to refer to what today is known as Spain, having in mind that the nation-state Spain had not been created yet at the time of the Arab colonization of the Peninsula, and would not be founded until centuries later with the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile in 1469. The term Al-Andalus will be used to refer to the Arab territory in the Peninsula (territory that fluctuates and changes during the centuries of Muslim presence in the Peninsula). 26 Toledo (Dodds, Menocal and Krasner Balbale 139).9 These cultural elements, rather than remaining distinct from each other and easily labeled as Christian or Muslim, become integrated within each other. This integration produces a mixed cultural expression that is difficult to separate into its "original" elements. As Jerrilynn Dodds, María Rosa Menocal and Abigail Krasner Balbale conclude, the identity of Iberian architecture "is evolving in a process far more layered and nuanced than a dance between two religions" (138). Architecture is only one of the many examples that show how the three cultures benefited from their contact with each other during the period referred to as La convivencia. Regardless of the tensions in the battlefield, there was a relatively peaceful cohabitation and respect among the three religious groups in various main Spanish cities for extended periods of time. However, the influence, contact and familiarity between Arab and Christian cultures also produced an awareness of the Muslim and the Jew as Other to the European concept of Christianity. This awareness resulted in perceptions about the Other's culture, some positive and others negative. Once these observations of difference were embedded in the Christian imaginary, after years of cultural contact and political conflict, they appeared in general societal behavior toward ethnic minorities. Furthermore, they made their way into cultural forms of expression, such as songs or literary production. These perceptions and/or stereotypes appear in Medieval and Early Modern literary production in both poems that stem from oral tradition such as Las Jarchas and Cantigas d'escarnho e de mal dizer, and from written literature, such as El Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa, Las guerras civiles de Granada and "Historia de Ozmín y Daraja." The oral tradition, passed from generation to generation and by word of 9 Muqarnas are a sculptural expression that shows "the taste for intricate cerebral ornament driven by geometry and meditative complexity" (Dodds, Menocal and Krasner Balbale 139). These three-dimensional sculptures are utilized on walls and domes, creating a puzzling effect. 27 mouth, would be a reflection of popular or non-elite tendencies and their representations of ethnic minorities. The written word would be available to a more select group, although with the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, literature became increasingly accessible to different social classes, not only the affluent. In this chapter I demonstrate how the literary representations of the Moor, the morisco, and the converso in Medieval and Early Modern works include perceptions and misconceptions about the exotic other, both positive and negative. The term exotic other will refer to those members of Spanish society that are of either Jewish or Muslim origin. The exotic other is perceived as different from mainstream society, even deviant, yet alluring and attractive. The view of the exotic other as different also highlights the preoccupation of the Spanish state with creating a division between "them" and "us." As it will be shown, the goal of presenting Spain as a European nation in the eyes of Early Modern Europe was rendered problematic by the presence of exotic elements within Spanish culture. This perception of the exotic other was ambivalent because "Spanish interaction with things Moorish was actually too proximate or intimate to fall under this mode of objectifying, distant fascination" (Fuchs Exotic Nation 7). Because of this closeness, the exotic other is viewed as alluring, but it is also rejected. These ambivalent notions about the exotic other elucidate the cultural context within which literary works were produced and consumed. I will concentrate on works that include representations of the exotic other in a protagonist role. By utilizing the lens of gender, I focus on the representation of the Orientalized woman or morisca / conversa and show how these representations, influenced by the Christian imaginary, permeate the construction of the pícara in the female picaresque tradition. Traits and perceptions of 28 the orientalized woman that have traditionally appeared in Spanish literary production will be developed and exploited in the female picaresque tradition, specifically in those pícaras who are racialized. As indicated in the introduction, the female picaresque tradition shares similarities with the canonical (masculine) picaresque, but the pícara cannot be deemed a female pícaro per se due to her manipulation of racial identity and the utilization of her body in order to gain pecuniary gain. Because the pícaras studied in this project are racialized and Orientalized, they are able to negotiate their identities: they can perform as Christian women, as moriscas or as conversas, according to their needs of the moment. The awareness of their own hybrid origin gives them a fluidity that allows them to cross between ethnic and religious groups. The pícara is able to mimic those traits that allow her to fit within a certain community or to fulfill certain expectations. The pícara may be perceived as object due to her gender and being under the control of the masculine voice of the narrator. However, she also demonstrates qualities that establish her as subject, especially in her talent for subverting social mores and norms, even if this deviation comes with consequences. As Edward H. Friedman explains: Male authors bring women into the domain of the picaresque without giving them freedom of speech and without liberating them from the constraints of their social inferiority. The female rogues achieve a degree of success by plotting against men, but society at large, if not the individual, avenges their deviation with behavioral norms […] Like their male counterparts, the female protagonists achieve an identity in spite of the factors that work against them, and some manage to escape the silence that threatens their discursive authority. (71-72) By escaping the silence that Friedman refers to, the pícara establishes her identity and projects herself as a speaking subject. This dichotomy of object/subject exemplifies the pícara's nature, which is always dual and ambivalent. The pícara constantly deceives those who come in contact with her, including her reader. She may be apparently 29 identified as an object, but she exhibits traits that make her a speaking subject who manipulates those who come in contact with her both with her words and appearance. In his book The Location of Culture, Homi Bhabha problematizes questions of identity, specifically the identity of the marginalized (immigrants, minorities, women, the colonized) within a hegemonic system. In Chapter 8, "DissemiNation," Bhabha looks for the space where the voice of those who are marginalized can be found. In order to do this, he construes time as a double concept. He shows how the nation relies on a "double narrative movement" in order to define itself (208). This double movement is formed by a pedagogical narrative and a performative narrative. The pedagogical narrative reinforces the idea of a common historical past: "the people are the historical ‘objects' of a nationalist pedagogy, giving the discourse an authority that is based on the pre-given or constituted historical origin in the past" (208). The complexity of the people as members of a nation is not solely based on the pedagogical narrative, but also on the performative narrative. The performative narrative references that which is part of quotidian life: "The scraps, patches and rags of daily life" (209). That is, those actions that the individual repeats time after time on a regular basis creating the "essence" of the nation's character. It is in this hybrid space between the pedagogical and the performative expression that identity emerges. This is why Bhabha advocates for a new reading of the nation that is not only based on historical facts, but also on cultural expressions. Through the pedagogical narrative, the subjects of a nation learn how to act. Through the performative, they repeat those traits that are part of living within that specific culture. The tension of this "double-time" produces the space where identity can emerge. The pícaras studied in this project are precisely caught between the pedagogical narrative and 30 the performative narrative: the monolithic history that Christian Spain strives to impose on the Peninsula (the illusion of a Christian nation free of blood mixing), and the everyday culture that contains traits of those voices belonging to Spain's ethnic minorities.10 The pícara finds its place in this liminal place of hybridity. This liminal space permits the pícara to negotiate her identity according to her needs of the moment: she is portrayed as an Orientalized woman, which allows her to become Christian if necessary, or Jewish, or Moorish. It all depends on who she is trying to deceive or what her goals of the moment are. The development of this illusion of Spain as a homogenous European nation can be observed, for instance, through the story of Florinda la Cava. As with many legends that have been passed from generation to generation through the oral tradition, the story undergoes significant changes. These changes reflect the progression of the exotic other's perception in the Christian imaginary. In the early versions of the story, Florinda is an innocent maiden raped by King Rodrigo. However, by the sixteenth century, other versions appear portraying Florinda as a seductress who brings about the "subjugation" of Spain to the Muslims (Fogelquist 21-22). La Cava is even construed as an Eve who causes the fall of Christian Spain: The Hebrew for Eve is Chava, and it seems crystal clear that writers - Christian, Muslim and Jewish - have long connected her to Eve […] In the history of Christian Spain, the ruler's sexual sins cause a downward spiral into events of 10 During the Middle-Ages, the concept of Europe is equated with Christianity. Roberto Dainotto observes that it is during the thirteenth century that the concept of Europe "begins to disengage itself from Christianity" (30). During the fifteenth century, however, there needed to be some type of differentiation between "us" (Europeans) and "them" (Muslims and Turks). Christianity was part of this differentiation: "a linguistic shift from Christianity to Europe had to occur once Christianity had lost any cementing power. It is not that, to be sure, Christianity disappeared altogether; simply, some of its moral and political signification was being transferred, relocated, and translated into the idea of Europe" (Dainotto 33). Europe defined itself having Christianity as a basis, and utilizing the Orient as its opposite. Spain's blood mixing and Orientalized culture threatens Spain's position as European nation. 31 political and spiritual decline, resulting in the perdition of the Christian nation, of both the land and its inhabitants. (Grieve 35) Just like Eve produces the downfall of men, La Cava is to blame for "the fall" of Spain. Florinda is the daughter of a Christian Count, but born and raised in Africa. She carries within her a difference from other Christian Spanish women. Spain, in order to present itself as a nation free of Orientalizing elements, needs to shun the influence of ethnic minorities in its culture, or at least, degrade their presence and construct them as negative. Although Florinda is, among the maidens of the Queen, the most virtuous and beautiful, her downfall is her attire: "She allows both her face and her foot to be seen: her face is not veiled (sin anfaz) and her dress is too short to hide the sight of her foot" (Folgequist 22). The evolution of Florinda from victim of rape to being portrayed as a femme fatale showcases this negative portrayal of the exotic other (or at least a negative portrayal of those who may be construed as different). It also highlights the weakness of women and their role as seductresses. The racialized pícara falls under both these categories. In this chapter I also show how the construction of the racialized pícara seems to contravene the ideal of the virtuous Christian woman or cristiana, producing a direct opposition between the two. Tratados de conducta, prevalent during the Early Modern period, clarify the expectations of women during this time. However, there were also deviant representations of Christian women in literary production, specifically in Early Modern drama. Because both theater and the picaresque novel are genres directly tied to mainstream entertainment, they allow for a comparison and exploration of the differences between the representations of racialized pícaras and transgressing cristianas. Through this comparison I will show how the masculine voice presents the female body and 32 character in a different light when the protagonist is Orientalized, as opposed to a deviant cristiana. There are two perspectives in the representations of the exotic other in Medieval and Early Modern literary production. These perspectives can be classified as either maurophilic or maurophobic, but there exist also representations of the exotic other that are simply caught in between both tendencies. Due to the many years of La convivencia among the three main religious groups, the feelings towards the exotic other can be best described as ambivalent. It is impossible to speak of a white and black division between maurophilia and maurophobia because there are varying shades of grey in between. It would be expected that during the relatively peaceful times of the La convivencia, representations of the other would be mostly positive, while during the times of the expulsions of both Jews and moriscos, the representations would be negative. In many instances, this is the case; however, when literary production is examined, it is possible to observe both positive and negative representations coexisting during the same time frame. Even those voices that defend the presence of ethnic minorities in Spain during the early years of the seventeenth century, such as Pérez de Hita or Miguel de Luna, fail to maintain a maurophilic perspective, writing in some cases a "literatura desesperada que habla a dos voces y que se contradice una y otra vez" (López-Baralt 153). It is a desperate, contradictory literature because it stems from the experience of those who are caught between feeling an affinity toward the exotic other, but also wishing to become a part of the homogenous nation that Spain is striving to build. The revision of these ambivalent feelings, sometimes contradictory, latent in the Christian imaginary during the centuries of Arab presence in the Iberian Peninsula and beyond their expulsion becomes 33 necessary in order to better comprehend the representations of the exotic other in Early Modern literary production. Iberian Early Modern cultural and literary production has been revisited in the latter years and new approaches to the dynamics of power in Early Modern Iberian society and its marginal cultures have emerged in the academic field. These studies that concentrate on marginalized communities include areas of interest such as La convivencia, gender, and cross-cultural relations across the border between the Christian and Muslim worlds. These investigations and approaches become necessary at the time of creating a base for understanding how cultural contact between peoples would affect the perceptions of the exotic other in the Christian imaginary during the years of shared territory and communal spaces. Barbara Fuchs has recently studied the cultural intermixing that occurred in Spain during the Early Modern period. In her book Exotic Nation, she outlines the obvious and the veiled influences of Moorish culture in Early Modern Spain and the differing reactions toward these influences by a people who were striving to establish themselves as a firm Christian nation, while rationalizing their Arab legacy. Fuchs articulates these conflicting approaches basing her study in the term coined by Georges Cirot, maurophilia, or love of the Moor. However, where Cirot applied this term solely to literary production, Fuchs argues that "the canon of maurophilia invokes the lived practices, the costume, and the architecture in which the hybridity of Spain emerges more fully" (Exotic Nation 5). Fuchs contextualizes the literary text within the cultural practices in the Iberian Peninsula at the time and uses maurophilia as a concept applicable beyond literary production. Maurophobia, or fear of the Moor (a fear articulated in many occasions through hate), is the counterpoint to 34 maurophilia. Maurophobia demonizes the other, while belittling and accusing of sodomy those who show attraction, love or respect for the Moor or things that are clearly Moorish. According to Fuchs, maurophobia also may be explained by Spain's efforts to exorcise any orientalist tendencies that might make it seem different in the eyes of Europe, especially Northern Europe (Fuchs, Exotic Nation 20). I will use Fuchs' understanding of maurophilia and maurophobia in order to analyze the presence of these two tendencies in literary works of both the Medieval and the Early Modern period, and their influence in the representations of the exotic other, and consequently, the Orientalized woman. As in the case of Florinda La Cava, who is at first characterized as a victim and as time passes as seductress, representations of Orientalized women in literature also fall within these same paradigms. The Orientalized woman is either innocent and naïve or a temptress. She either awakens feelings of sympathy in the reader or of loathing. Because the pícara is construed as an Orientalized woman and she exists within a society that is still coming to terms with its own mixed heritage, sometimes accepting it, other times rebuking it, maurophilia and maurophobia become valuable tools in order to better understand the pícara's characterization and depiction and her intended effect on the reader. I will contextualize the representation of the pícara within these maurophilic and maurophobic tendencies and will show how these tendencies affect the pícara's representation. La convivencia: Maurophilia and Maurophobia The contact between cultures in the Iberian Peninsula during the Medieval period brought not only intellectual exchange, but also a physical exchange, or, as Fuchs calls it, 35 a "forced intimacy" (Exotic Nation 13). As the Reconquista pushed the Christian- Muslim border further South, Christian immigrants relocated to territories previously occupied by the Arabs and lived in Arab homesteads, utilizing their everyday utensils, their houses, even imitating some of their clothing styles, such as the toca, or head-wrap utilized by Christian peasants, or the veils worn by Christian women when going out in public (Fuchs, Exotic Nation 13-14). Housing still bears heavy Arab influence in Southern Spain, where many dwellings are constructed around an interior patio, and Arab inspired tiles are used to adorn walls and floors. The introduction of the estrado (a low platform covered in pillows, tapestries and luxurious materials for the usage of women) in Christian households is another example of Arab influence in everyday life. Gastronomy is also influenced by cultural contact, such as the usage of almonds and honey in sweets, or the use of spices (saffron, cumin) in cooking. La convivencia, as Fuchs remarks, refers precisely to this daily usage of objects and the dissimilar values placed upon these very items. For instance, the Christian recognizes some objects as special because of their Arab origin: silks from Al-Andalus are appreciated and coveted for their beauty and craftsmanship, their usage becoming a marker of high status, while being openly recognized as items of Muslim origin (Fuchs, Exotic Nation 13). However, other simple items (such as foods, kitchen utensils, or games) that are used as part of daily life are not recognized as "borrowed" items from a different culture.11 These quotidian items are construed, in the end, as "Spanish," producing an exotic vision of Spain that is veiled to Spaniards, but apparent to those who observe from outside the 11 In her book Exotic Nation, Fuchs explores the influences of Arab culture in Christian quotidian life when compared to the rest of Europe. Fuchs explains how those customs that Spaniards would consider theirs were in reality a result of the existent cultural exchange, hence being perceived as different by European visitors. 36 Spanish borders. This perception of difference from outside of the Spanish borders interprets Spain as an exotic nation, different from the rest of Europe, but at the same time alluring and to a certain extent, commodified. The reactions that foreign dignitaries have upon entering in contact with Spanish culture can be found in formal documents and literary examples. One such example of the difference of Spain in the eyes of visitors from other European countries is contained in the description that Antonio de Lalaing, chamberlain of the Habsburg's, makes of the Spanish Court upon the arrival of Felipe el Hermoso to Toledo. Antonio de Lalaing accompanies the son-in-law of Isabella and Ferdinand in his first visit to the Castilian city in 1501. Upon arrival, they are treated to a mock "escaramuza," a reenactment of a battle between Moors and Christians.12 Lalaing's observations bring to light the ease with which Spanish Christians imitate the customs of their former Arab neighbors: iban vestidos a la morisca, muy lujosamente. Llevaban albornoces de terciopelo carmesí y de terciopelo azul, todos bordados a la morisca. La parte baja de sus mangas era de seda carmesí, y además de eso grandes cimitarras, y también capas rojas, y sobre sus cabezas llevaban turbantes […] con cerca de cuatrocientos jinetes, todos vestidos a la morisca, salieron de su emboscada con banderas desplegadas, y vinieron a hacer la escaramuza adonde estaban el Rey y el Archiduque, lanzando sus lanzas a la moda de Castilla. (López Estrada 203) This description presents aspects of transcultural contact along with tendencies of maurophilia and maurophobia. The Christian knights dress as Moors and their knowledge of Arab customs and apparel becomes obvious when taking into consideration the detailed description of rich fabrics, elaborate embroidery and fine weaponry. In this 12 This reenactment could be construed as a precursor of today's cultural spectacles customized for the foreigner such as flamenco dancing shows in Spain geared toward tourists, or tango dancing shows in Argentina for the same purpose. It is a way of commodifying and selling the nation by performing those aspects of culture that are most exotic and different to a foreigner and present it as an expression of national identity. This, of course, opens other paths of discussion, since Spain is presenting itself in the eyes of the foreigner not only as Christian, but also as knowledgeable of Moorish customs. 37 case, the Christian dresses as a Moor in order to perform a mock battle against Christians dressed as Christians.13 While nothing is said about Christian apparel, the Moorish side is described in terms of colors and richness of textures, having an objectifying effect when reading the passage. Maurophilia is apparent in the admiration for the clothing implied in between the lines, but maurophobia is also a part of this passage since "Moors" and Christians engage in a battle that represents how "hacen los moros escaramuzas contra los cristianos" (López Estrada 203). The narrator very clearly specifies that the Moors are the ones who ambush and attack the Christians first, implying a negative quality in them. There is also the underlying marker of difference: in the eyes of the outsider, the Spaniard is able to dress, mount and fight like the Moor, imitating the other perfectly, or at least as far as the knowledge of the foreign observer goes. The Spaniard imitating the Moor takes advantage of his knowledge of Moorish culture, but also plays with the stereotypes: the Moor dresses in sumptuous fashion, and the Spaniard imitating the Moor gives this to the foreign observer. Antonio de Lalaing witnesses this escaramuza as an outsider, and perceives it as "exotic," due to the presence of Oriental elements, such as clothing and battle strategy, while the Spaniards are unaware of the effect that their performance is having on their foreign observer. Although Lalaign is aware that the Spaniards are performing, he mentions various times in the short description the fact that the Spaniards are dressed "a la morisca" (203). He concentrates on a detailed description of Arab clothing, rather than on the action itself. 13 These escaramuzas still take place in parts of Eastern Spain in the festivities known as Moros i Cristians. In these festivities, some dress as Moors, some as Christians and then perform escaramuzas in which the Christian side always prevails over the Moor. The parallelism of these festivities with the excerpt by Lalaing is uncanny: it is a well-known fact among participants and observers that the most detailed and impressive apparel belongs to the Moorish side or filaes. The same objectification of the Moor that Lalaing does in this passage occurs during the festivities of Moros i Cristians, in which the audience objectifies the Moor. 38 He does not describe the soldiers that dress as Christian soldiers. This emphasis on the different type of clothing that the Spaniards wear and its implied recognition of visual difference, could very easily be translated into a conclusion that Spaniards imitate the other well because they themselves are exposed to the other's culture and consequently are "contaminated." About the cultural contact that takes place in the Peninsula while all three cultures share the same physical space, called La convivencia, Luce López-Baralt remarks that "suponer que los cristianos españoles no tomaron nada de prestado de sus cultísimos compatriotas árabes y judíos es juzgarlos como provincianos y faltos de toda curiosidad intelectual" (2). López-Baralt's words confirm the obvious: contact between peoples will inevitably produce a cultural exchange, and introduce customs and habits that will become an intrinsic part of each other's culture. However, it has been only in relatively recent critical studies, starting with Américo Castro's La realidad histórica de España (1954), that the influence of Arab and Jewish cultures on the Iberian Peninsula are starting to be thoroughly explored.14 In their book The Arts of Intimacy, Dodds, Menocal and Krasner Balbale propose a different approach to La convivencia. Instead of speaking of influence between cultures, they present the idea of the cultural contact during La convivencia as a kaleidoscope striving to present itself as stable when in reality it is always in movement (6). As they elucidate: "We are accustomed to think of the arts, of language and literature, as being irrevocably attached to the religious and political context in which they were created. So that, from the beginning, linguistic or artistic 14 Américo Castro's proposal that Spanish culture had been permeated by Muslim and Semitic elements was supported by some and rejected by most. López-Baralt, however, recognizes its initial value and shrewdly points out the fact that a country of hybrid origins such as Spain has not produced "grandes orientalistas hasta el siglo XX" (33). 39 forms that go on to cross political or religious borders seem anomalous" (5). The cultural contact between the three main ethnic groups in the Iberian Peninsula is more complex, deep and unstable than simple influence between cultures. This complex cultural contact is also bound to generate judgments and perceptions about the other culture. The two tendencies of maurophilia and maurophobia, positive and negative, permeated the imaginary of the Christian community, finding a form of manifestation in literary expression. The historical shifts of physical territorial power may have influenced these attitudes of acceptance and/or rejection. López-Baralt explains that in the beginning of La convivencia, the influence and financial prowess of the three groups (Christian, Jew, Muslim) was mostly equal, resulting in acceptance and respect among them (31). Perhaps one of the most well-known results of this acceptance is the School of Translation in Toledo, where the three cultures worked together translating texts into Hebrew, Latin and Arabic and in the process exchanging knowledge. This resulted in Spain becoming a bridge of knowledge exchange between Europe and the Orient. However, once the Christian forces gained control of Muslim territory and became the Iberian Peninsula's dominating power after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), discrimination and xenophobia toward Jews and Muslims became more rampant and accepted (López-Baralt 32). Distrust of the Iberian Peninsula's ethnic minorities reached its peak with the orders of expulsion for the Jews in 1492 and for the moriscos in 1609. Given the circumstances surrounding La convivencia, a more positive representation of the Moor would be expected during the years of relatively peaceful cohabitation between the three cultures in Spain, when Christian and Muslim power were 40 equalized, and even in later years as a reminiscence of a romanticized past.15 The same holds true of negative representations. It is possible to find popular texts of maurophobic undertones in the Iberian Peninsula that date back to the time of La convivencia, such as Cantigas d'escarnho e de mal dizer. However, as time goes by and Jews and Muslims suffer persecutions in the Iberian Peninsula, there is a distinct change in attitudes toward the exotic other. These representations become more strongly tinted in negative tones once Christians start to campaign against the Muslim forces and gain power, and serious efforts for a cultural cleansing through the conversion of members of the other two religions are reinforced and supported by the state. These negative representations affect as well the portrayal of conversos and moriscos in Iberian literary production, and become more pronounced after their expulsions. These representations feed on common stereotypes such as construing the Jews as traitors or concerned with pecuniary gain, or portraying Muslim men as liars and Muslim women as sexually promiscuous. There is also a demonization in that Semitism and Islam are directly linked with dark magic, which would explain the proliferation of witches of mixed blood that exist in literary production, such as Celestina. We can also find in Iberian literary production positive representations of the Moor. David Darst maintains that "there existed in the early sixteenth century a literary view of Moors that was humanistic and egalitarian" (71-72). This egalitarian view of the Moor is developed in the motif called the "Sentimental Moor," in which the challenges of love between the idealized Moor and his lady are the focus of the literary work (Darst 72). It is also possible to find the "Sentimental Moor" in literary production that contains 15 Critics such as López-Baralt or María Rosa Menocal point at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 as the moment when this balance tips in favor of the Castilian forces. 41 chivalric aspects, such as El Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa. In this short tale, besides the challenges of love that the couple faces, the insertion of the Christian lord, the bravery of the Muslim knight, and the homosocial relation between Moor and Christian brings a new dimension to the representation of the "Sentimental Moor." It is a tale where friendship and mutual respect between Christian and Moor are highlighted. However, even though it is viewed as an expression of maurophilia, this motif could be also be construed as a means of emasculating the Muslim man, who is portrayed as weakened due to an emotional state (in love), and not fit for battle, even "a figure of political, religious, and personal submission, a convenient other to the superior Christian" (Hernández-Pecoraro 430). This portrayal of the Sentimental Moor shows that, even though the text may seem maurophilic, there are maurophobic tendencies within it that elucidate the tensions and preoccupations with the conversion of Muslims and their assimilation into Spanish culture. The outlets through which maurophilia emerges are numerous, literature being just one of the many: foods, architectural design, juegos de cañas, garb, and even social behavior are some of the traits adopted, accepted and embraced from Al-Andalus into Christian culture. However, after 1492, as Spain becomes a more prominent power in Europe, it strives to institute itself as separate from Al-Andalus and it establishes the construction of a homogenous Spanish nation based on a "genealogically verifiable Gothic identity […], the increased persecution of the Moriscos, and the construction of a national myth that cast Spain as heir of imperial Rome and defender of the Church" (Fuchs, Passing 10).16 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella played an important role in 16 This Gothic identity references the illusion of a Christian past upon which the Spanish state bases its reasonings to expel the Moor from the Peninsula: "NeoGothicism is a myth of national origins and identity 42 establishing Spain as a defender of the Christian faith. While crusades against the "infidel," launched as early as the eleventh century, had taken place in the Middle-East, Spain was fighting its own crusade on European soil. The papacy provided Ferdinand and Isabella with financial resources to continue on and finish the Reconquista: "three-quarters of the crown's costs in the war were covered by Church taxes conceded by the papacy" (Kamen 16). The support of the papacy became crucial in Ferdinand and Isabella's final victory in 1492 with the taking of Granada, and it exacerbated the idea of Spain fighting a "holy war" against non-Christians: "From 1488 many of the Spanish soldiers wore crusader crosses on their uniform, and a huge silver cross (sent to Ferdinand by the pope) was carried before the troops" (Kamen 17). The imbalance of power between religious affiliations in the Iberian Peninsula became more prominent after 1212, and it probably provoked an exponential increase in negative representations of the Moor, the convert, and the Jew in literary expression. These negative representations, however, become more obvious once the expulsions come into effect, beginning in 1492 with the expulsion of the Jews and those Moors who did not convert to Christianity. The idea of Spain as a defender of Christianity, supported by Ferdinand, Isabella and the papacy, would only increase the force of these negative representations. Fuchs explains how maurophilia could become a means of channeling maurophobia. She gives the example of Isabel of Castile's campaign against her half-brother Enrique IV. In order to undermine the King's efforts to pass the throne to his daughter Juana, Isabel's campaign presented the King as a "lover" of everything Moorish, hinting at accusations of sodomy. Maurophilia in Enrique IV's portrayal was that defines a Spaniard as a Christian whose roots extend back to the eighth century, specifically to those western Goths who survived the invasion of Muslims in 711" (Grieve 24) 43 constructed as a negative movement that "corrupted" true Christian culture, in this case, corrupting even the representative of the crown, the King himself (Fuchs, Exotic Nation 17-18). The overt expression of maurophilia brings about accusations not only toward the Moor, but also toward the Christian that expresses a love for things Moorish. These accusations imply that the Christian that shows maurophilic sentiment acquires the very characteristics of the exotic other, in most cases making reference only to the negative aspects, such as accusations of sodomy. If maurophilia can bring about maurophobia, could it be expected that maurophobia could bring about a positive representation of the exotic other? It seems that both tendencies are interdependent. For instance, Spain made the decision to present itself as a fully European power and to conceal its assimilation of ethnic minorities. In 1567 there was a new law passed by the court of Felipe II known as "La Real Pragmática de 1567" that: "quitó a los moriscos su estilo de vida, prohibiéndoles, entre otras cosas, hablar, leer y escribir en árabe, vestir y celebrar fiestas a lo árabe, usar nombres árabes, e inclusive bañarse en baños artificiales" (Case 14). Because the Spanish state desired an image of Spain free of Orientalized qualities, any expression of Arab or Semitic culture was silenced. This is an obvious case of maurophobia, as Muslims were forced to either assimilate into Castilian mainstream culture or to go into exile. Even moriscos were forced to reject cultural markers such as clothing and customs. However, not all wished for the expulsion of the moriscos and there were great efforts made to keep them in the Peninsula, in part because of the economic stress that their departure would and did produce. For instance, moriscos worked farm lands, and their expulsions and relocations meant that these lands would be unattended, unless Christians were willing to move into 44 these lands and tend them. Nobles who depended on moriscos to work their lands appealed to Felipe II to let some of them stay and continue their work (Perry, Maiden 133). The strain resulting because of the imminent expulsion of the moriscos produced desperate displays to maintain them in Spain. Among these displays are Los libros plúmbeos del Sacromonte, a collection of books written on leaden plates found in Granada in 1588. These books written in an early form of Arabic and Latin, concentrate on the commonalities of Islam and Christianity rather than the disparities, and establish the Muslims as the first true Christians that inhabit the Iberian Peninsula. These books also "presented an Islamic version of the Trinity" (Perry, Maiden 142). The supposed author of this fifth gospel was the Virgin Mary. The books were proven forged, but they are a testimony of the efforts to avoid the expulsion of the moriscos from Spain (Case 13). It is believed that Miguel de Luna, a morisco who worked in the Spanish court, helped in their creation. As López- Baralt explains, Miguel de Luna is ambivalent about where his loyalties lie: "No sería fácil ser un criptomusulmán a sueldo de las autoridades cristianas" (153). Although Luna is a morisco himself, his work at the court defines him as an assimilated morisco, who perhaps put himself in danger by participating in the forging of these books. What is unquestionable is that the "finding" of these books brought hope to moriscos in establishing a commonality between Christianity and Islam. As a matter of fact, the people of Granada "celebrated the discoveries with torches, trumpets, flutes, and special fires" (Perry, Maiden 142). These efforts to reach a religious understanding between Christians and Moors are a clear case of maurophilic expression brought about by maurophobia. 45 Maurophilia and maurophobia coexist and could even be defined as a reaction to each other's presence, but there is a noticeable change in attitudes once Christianity takes over the Iberian Peninsula. This budding change in the perceptions of the Moor and oriental cultures has its repercussions in the literary sphere: Gone are the symmetry, balance and harmony of equal parties vying with each other to practice the best good deed imaginable […] Now the Christian remains honest and generous and virtuous, but the Moor created by the Catholic mind becomes a stingy, petulant weakling who deserves the disrespect and persecution he has received over the centuries. (Darst 77-78) Darst utilizes the example of the early fourteenth and sixteenth century versions of El Abencerraje and contrasts their portrayal of the Moor to Lope de Vega's version of the same story, El remedio en la desdicha written in the seventeenth century. The change from the early noble and valiant Moor to the latter despicable and cowardly infidel is a polarizing transition. Darst points to the Counter Reform as one of the main reasons for this major shift in literary representations of the Moor, the morisco, and the converso. Once the expulsion of the Jews, and later the expulsion of the moriscos take place, there is a more noticeable inclination in literary production to portray the Moor as untrustworthy, as a liar, and even as a demonic presence, as Lope de Vega's portrayal demonstrates. The development of these representations affects the Christian imaginary, a form of background consciousness where history, culture, values and definitions of identity has an effect on, in this case, Spanish society, slowly forming a stereotype of the exotic other and consequently, of the Orientalized woman that will permeate literary production. 46 The Moor, the Morisco and the Converso in the Literary Text It is possible to find various representations of Spain's cultural minorities in Early Modern literature, representations that attest to both maurophilia and maurophobia, and even a mixture of the two. These representations begin as early as the tenth century in the form of Jarchas. Even though Jarchas are part of the Middle-Eastern tradition and are written by Hebrew and Muslim authors, they are composed in an early form of Romance language. Jarchas are a couple of short verses that appear at the end of the longer poem moaxaja, which is written either in Arabic or Hebrew (Solá-Solé 12). 17 Although these final verses are written in Romance, the poet uses either Arabic or Hebrew characters to express them, presenting them as a hybrid construct that echoes the situation of the Iberian Peninsula at the time. The Jarchas, brought to light by S.M. Stern in 1946, are a problematic genre: "La combinación de elementos lingüísticos diversos dentro de un romance hispánico primitivo casi desconocido y escrito, por añadidura, en caracteres árabes o hebreos […] dificultaba considerablemente su llana lectura e interpretación" (Solá-Solé 10).18 The Jarchas are a product of a bilingual and multicultural society (García Gómez 35-36). While some Jarchas contain only one or two words in Arabic, there are various gradations of usage of Arabic versus usage of Romance. Some Jarchas use Romance and Arabic at a rate of fifty-fifty, while there are other Jarchas that are written entirely in Arabic (García Gómez 36-37). 19 The Jarchas 17 Emilio García Gómez maintains that the Jarcha is composed prior to the moaxaja. The moaxaja is written to incorporate the Jarcha (). 18 According to Josep Solá-Solé, S.M. Stern was not the first critic to notice the presence of Jarchas at the end of Moaxajas. Previous philological studies, such as the ones by J.M. Millás or Menéndez Pelayo, had already referenced these early verses in Romance, and had expressed puzzlement at their very existence (Solá-Solé 8). 19 The critic Emilio García Gómez maintains that there are also Jarchas written completely in colloquial Arabic as well as classical Arabic in the Andalusian region of Spain and in the Levant. Thematically, 47 reflect both cultures not only in form, but also in content, since there is a mixture between characteristic themes of Arabic classic literature and distinctive topics of the Occident. As Josep Solá-Solé elucidates, the Jarchas are "a caballo entre el recato de las canciones de la Antigua lírica hispánica y cierto impudor, propio de la lírica musulmana" (10). In the interpellations that call directly to the lover, the female speaker uses Arabic, calling him "al-habib" or "sidi" as opposed to the usage of Romance when referring directly to the female listener, the mother, "matre" or sisters, "yermanellas": Garid bos, ay yermanellas, ¿kom kontenere meu male? Sin al-habib non bibreyo ed bolarey demandare. Tell me, O my little sisters, how can I bear my pain? I can't live without my lover; I shall fly away to find him! As can be seen in these verses, the female voice refers to the lover in Arabic, while using Romance to tell her story and address her female listeners. The fact that the female voice uses Arabic to address her lover, but old Spanish to address her friends, indicates the double nature of this form of literary production, and it highlights the literary traditions that the two languages represent. As Solá-Solé explains, the Arab would be associated with the more sensual traditions of Muslim poetic production, while old Spanish follows the more traditional content of Western poetry. The sensuality associated with the use of Arabic follows on the cultural traditions of its poetic production; however, the Christian listener perceives it as perhaps overtly sensual and exotic because he/she perceives and recognizes that cultural difference between both traditions. however, they share very similar traits, and he believes that the Jarchas written in the Levant are an imitation of Andalusian Jarchas. This raises questions as to the classification of the Jarchas (39). 48 For this project, the study of Jarchas is important not only because of their hybrid nature, but also because of the Orientalized thematic and representation of the exotic woman. The great majority of Jarchas represent the voice of a woman (Solá-Solé 20), giving us a glimpse of the characteristics associated with the Orientalized woman, which contrast with the representations or expectations of the Christian woman. As with most works during the Medieval and Early Modern periods, the voice of the woman is an apparent feminine voice. These verses are for the most part authored by a male poet.20 It is through the filter of the male author that the voice of the woman is known to the reader, in the same way that later on the pícaras will communicate their stories to their audience. This masculine filter allows a glimpse into how women were perceived, or at least, were predicted to behave when placed under certain circumstances. In the case of the Jarchas, the young woman is placed in a romantic setting where she suffers the absence of her lover. Solá-Solé clarifies that in the Jarchas, it is possible to find a "cierto matiz picante e incluso en algunas ocasiones cierto impudor" (20). The voice of the woman in the Jarchas expresses feelings of love and passion for her lover, and in most cases, she speaks directly to her friends and/or mother of her feelings towards her lover. If the Jarchas can be considered proof of a cultural contact between the Orient (including both Hebrew and Arab traditions) and the Occident, specifically in the physical context of the Iberian Peninsula, could it be assumed that the thematic found a place into the Iberian/Christian imaginary? The Jarchas represent the Arab woman as more straightforward and passionate than the idealized Christian woman. This image will 20 In Josep M. Solá-Solé's study of the Jarchas, Las jarchas romances y sus moaxajas, all of the Arab and Hebrew poets mentioned by name are male. I haven't encountered any references in any of the books included in the selected bibliography about female poets who wrote Jarchas. 49 persevere in the Christian imaginary and will have a consequence later on in cultural production. Besides the Jarchas, there are other lyric traditions in the Iberian Peninsula at the same time that also give us a representation of female subjectivity. Frenk Alatorre explains how in Portuguese popular poetry, the voice of the woman belongs to "una doncella, además, es una doncella casta, enamorada platónicamente" (79). The Portuguese tradition and the Jarchas tradition represent this female voice.21 The difference is that while in the Portuguese tradition the young woman is portrayed as chaste and suffering of platonic love, in the Jarchas love is suffered, experienced and evoked with passion and desire. One of the main themes of the Jarchas is the absence of the beloved, and the pain and anguish that this absence produces. Love is like a disease and the presence of the lover as the only medicine that can cure it: Oh madre, si no cesa la locura (de amor), enseguida moriré. Traed mi vino de (casa de) el hagib […], acaso sanaré. (Solá-Solé 70) In these verses it is possible to sense the desperation in the young woman's voice as she pines for the presence of her lover. Her confidante in this case is her mother, and the young woman compares love to madness. The only remedy for it is the wine that only her lover can give her. The complication in this situation is the absence of her lover. Similar ideas are observed in verses such as: ¡Oh corazón mío, que quieres amar bien! Mi corderito 21 Frenk Alatorre explains that women in the Middle Ages were "las principales ‘consumidoras' de canciones y bailes" (79). It is also hypothesized that women were the authors of this early form of popular poetry, prior to the 1100's (80). 50 se va y tú no le dejas de amar. (Solá-Solé 81) There is once again desperation produced by the absence of the lover and the idea of love as an obsession or addiction that cannot be overcome. The absence of the lover becomes an agonizing burden. Perhaps the most important thematic aspect of the Jarchas is the sensual nature of the woman. The female voice pines for her lover and expresses the desire to be alone with him, to kiss him and to love him Mi señor Ibrahim, oh tú hombre dulce, vente a mí de noche. Si no, si no quieres, iréme a ti, dime a dónde encontrarte. (Solá-Solé 83) Verses such as these convey the desire of the young woman to meet with her lover. There is a sense of veiled sexuality as the meeting is to happen at night, and the woman remarks that she is willing to leave her household to go and meet him herself. Other Jarchas offer an unabashed expression of sexual desire: Sí, sí, ven, oh señor mío, cuando (si) venís aquí, la boquita roja alimentaré (de besos) como la paloma rojiza. (Solá-Solé 85) In this Jarcha there is no hesitation to declare feelings for the beloved. The female voice expresses the need to have her lover with her and the desire to kiss his mouth. The usage of the color red, associated with passion, erases the idea of a simple chaste kiss, implying a passionate encounter with the lover. Even the image of the dove, usually white, is 51 changed to red, as innocence changes to passion. Similar images are found in the following Jarcha: Boquita de perlas, dulce como la miel, ven, bésame. Amigo mío, ven a mi lado, a unirte conmigo, amando como en otro día. (Solá-Solé 156) In this case the female voice expresses the desire of a union with the beloved ("a unirte conmigo, amando"). Although the passion of the color red disappears, desire is still implied when the mouth is described as being "dulce como la miel," a treat that cannot be denied. While the male lover appears to be passive (he needs to be coerced by the female voice to join her), the woman takes charge of the situation, alluring him to kiss her by describing her attributes ("Boquita de perlas, / dulce como la miel")22. The woman takes on an active role, in opposition to the role of the passive male lover. In the Jarchas, the lover does not physically appear; he is only spoken to or spoken about. The woman seems to be the one who arranges for a meeting, who pines for him and who asks to be joined to him. The whole expression of these verses revolves around the absence of the lover and the need to be with him, yet the lover never takes the first step to be reunited with the young woman. These short poems of hybrid origins present a vision of the Oriental woman that may very well have been passed to the Christian imaginary through cultural contact. The Oriental woman would be thus construed as being active in the matters of love. She is the 22 It is not clear whether or not the physical attributes are a description of the speaking woman or the lover's. If the Jarcha describes the physical attributes of the lover, then it can be assumed an objectification by the woman of the man, accentuating the role of the man as passive and contrasting with the activeness and subject quality of the woman. Either interpretation, however, emphasizes the role of the woman as straightforward and dynamic in the pursuit of her lover. 52 one who lures the lover and who takes action, even by leaving her own household in order to meet with her lover. The descriptions of her lover do not give a clear image of who he is or what he looks like, but appear fragmented: lips, mouth, eyes, neck, curls. These anatomical aspects are described, but they do not appear altogether to form the image of the lover. These fragments, such as the mouth, evoke sensuality and give the impression of objectification. By objectifying the male, the woman is presented as a speaking, active subject. Some of these verses are extremely sensual, making repeated references to the mouth as a means of achieving contact with the lover through a kiss, even making reference to a union, which can be interpreted as the sexual act. The female voice begs and asks repeatedly for this kiss, and entices the lover to give her what she desires. It could be argued that the male author/poet is projecting his own desire for a sexually active counterpart seeking his love. However, these Jarchas seem to be part of an oral tradition, the fragments of short songs transcribed into a written format. It could be inferred that the Jarchas are really the voice of women and the male author serves as a mediator who preserves these short songs in the written form for the consumption of all.23 As Solá-Solé elucidates, the sensual, even provocative thematic is characteristic of Oriental literature. However, when compared with the Christian emphasis on chastity and purity of thought, it is possible to see how this approach to sensuality might have been construed as promiscuity by the Iberian/Christian imaginary. The image of the promiscuous Oriental woman would be then constructed as a seductive, alluring identity that entices the man. 24 She is also straightforward and active in her role of lover. These 23 There have been studies by María Jesús Rubiera that present the notion that the feminine voice of the Jarchas is the voice of slave-singers, who would remember and sing these short songs (Bernabé Pons 145). 24 The Jarchas utilized in this paper are all part of moaxajas written originally in Arabic. There exist as well Jarchas that form part of moaxajas written in Hebrew. 53 attributes are to be found in later representations of the Oriental woman, and fit within those characteristics of the hybrid/exotic pícara. While some of the Jarchas were literary productions by poets, others were part of an oral, popular literary production (García Gómez 40), like the Romancero, making it a very likely possibility that the Jarchas and their thematic influenced the view of the Oriental woman as perceived by the Iberian/Christian imaginary. These perceptions, as tensions arise and grow between Arabs and Christians, could have very easily become tinted in negativity, changing from recognizing a difference between cultures to assuming deviant behavior in the Oriental woman and her relationship with her partner. An example of this transformation in perceptions of the exotic other is the assumption that moralists and Inquisitors made regarding heterosexual relationships between Muslims: "some of the accused purportedly took the passive role prescribed for women in heterosexual relations, thus perverting the gender order and subverting the order of ‘nature'" (Perry, "Veil" 52). The motif of the active Oriental woman opposed to the passive Oriental man that the Jarchas represent in their verses, appears centuries later as part of a stereotype, while being utilized and manipulated to persecute moriscos. The idea of a feminized (male) Other and the representation of the exotic woman as a sexualized Other is a common pattern in colonial texts and it establishes the dynamics of the relations between colonizer and colonized: "it needs to be recognized that fantasy and desire, as unconscious processes play a fundamental role in the colonial relation that is established with the colonized" (Yeğenoğlu 2). This concept does not only appear in the Jarchas, but it repeats itself in Spanish literary production, as it will be seen in Cántigas or in El Abencerraje. By the time that the female picaresque novel 54 appears, there is already an established tradition in Spanish literature of feminized representations of the (male) Other and the exaggerated sexualization of the Orientalized woman. The Iberian Peninsula is by its historical background a transcultural context. Having this in mind, it becomes necessary to recognize that "transcultural mixture alerts us […] to the purifying-defying metamorphoses of individual identity in the ‘contact-zones' of an imperial metropolis" (Gilroy 117). For as much as the Spanish state strives to erase markers of difference, they are an intrinsic part of Spanish identity. As Paul Gilroy states, these markers are part of one's identity and this identity will morph according to the constant changes in a "contact-zone" society. Because these markers remain, the representations of the exotic other will reflect those differences that are most evident from the "us"/"they" perspective of the Christian hegemony: the feminized (male) Other and the Orientalized woman as a sexualized Other. The Oriental woman, as portrayed in the Jarchas, is active both in action and in her capacity of speech: she is the one who tells the story rather than being silenced. Although some critics have insisted that poetry in a woman's voice is characteristic of Occidental literature, other critics such as James Monroe problematized the difference between classical Arab poetry and popular poetry, while Emilio García Gómez concluded that "árabes andalusíes cantaban canciones de mujer" (Frenk Alatorre 132-133). If the Jarchas are indeed part of a popular tradition, it is likely that they were introduced into the Iberian imaginary by means of cultural contact. The image of the Oriental woman as active in her relationship with her lover is found in Iberian literary production in various occasions. For instance, in the case of El Abencerraje y la Hermosa Jarifa, there is a portrayal of the Orientalized woman as being passionate, straightforward and alluring, 55 taking an active role in her relationship with her lover, while the male takes on a more passive role in the context of love. El Abencerraje y la hermosa Jarifa (1565) is probably one of the best known works that contains the motif of the Sentimental Moor or Moor in love. In this tale of the frontier, the Arab lord Abindarráez, in love with Jarifa, is captured by a Christian governor, Rodrigo de Narváez. Rodrigo frees Abindarráez upon hearing of his love for Jarifa and his desire to marry her. Abindarráez goes back to Jarifa, marries her, but he needs to go back to his imprisonment in order to fulfill his duty. He tells Jarifa that "De suerte, señora, que vuestro captivo lo es también del alcaide de Alora" (127). Jarifa, now bound to Abindarráez, accompanies him. Upon arrival, Rodrigo welcomes both of them, serves as an intermediary in order for Jarifa's father to accept her marriage to Abindarráez, and Moor and Christian part under bonds of eternal friendship. The treatment of the Moor in El Abencerraje is that of sympathy and respect for the other culture, even, as Darst points out, a "tale of love and friendship" (72). Although on the surface this seems to be a short story that highlights the nobleness of the Moor and the magnanimity of the Christian, there is, however, a clear message of Christian superiority exemplified by the fact that Abindarráez is attacked and subdued by a group of Christians (albeit the unfairness of the fight is apparent, since Abindarráez is only restrained after sustaining a grave injury), and made prisoner by Rodrigo. Upon entering the forest, Abindarráez is described in detail: "él era grande de cuerpo y hermoso de rostro y parescía muy bien a caballo. Traía vestida una marlota de carmesí y un albornoz de damasco del mismo color, todo bordado de oro y plata" (107). The description continues in even more detail about his attire, describing the portrait of Jarifa that he 56 carries on his right arm. The narrative voice emphasizes various times the appearance and rich garments of the Muslim. The objectification of the Moor is even more apparent when Narváez is portrayed as admiring the physical aspect of Abindárraez: "Rodrigo de Narváez iba mirando su buen talle y disposición" (111). The admiration that the Arab produces on those observing his entrance into the forest has an objectifying effect in his description. Abindarráez is recognized as the enemy, but he is also a source of appeal to the Christian soldiers. This creates a tension between enmity and admiration, rejection and appeal towards the other. As the story progresses, a friendship develops between Narváez and Abindarráez. In the dynamics of the relation between Narváez and Abindarráez, it is possible to observe a power dynamic between both warriors. Narváez is presented as superior in power to Abindarráez, but he is generous. Abindarráez is the conquered Moor, who nevertheless is as noble as his Christian counterpart. There is no demonization of the Other in the portrayal of Abindarráez, but an expression of equal nobleness of character in both Christian and Moorish knight. After the ambush, Narváez binds himself the Moor's wounds: "le ayudó a levantar, porque de la herida que le dio el escudero en el muslo y en el brazo, aunque no eran grandes, y del gran cansancio y caída quedó quebrantado; y tomando de los escuderos aparejo, le ligó las heridas" (110). This scene brings to mind a similar one from classic literature: the binding of Patroclus' wounds by Achilles, and the friendship between both men. The relationship between Abindarráez and Narváez could be construed as a homosocial relationship. When Abindarráez shows his love for Jarifa: "él dio un grande y profundo sospiro, y habló algunas palabras en 57 algarabía, que ninguno entendió" (111), Narváez allows him to leave his captivity and reunite with his bride in order to fulfill his promise to marry her. The story focuses heavily on the men of the story, highlighting the homosocial relationship between the two. Jarifa, the female protagonist of the story is relegated to the margins of the plot as she observes the association between both men develop and deepen, while she is left outside of those bonds of friendship. Because this is a relationship of friendship within a homosocial context, Jarifa has no influence or a place within it. Jarifa's portrayal follows the stereotyping ideas of the Oriental woman. As a matter of fact, her characteristics are very similar to those that are found in the Andalusian Jarchas: Jarifa is the one that actively pursues a consummation of her marriage to Abindarráez. She is the active element in their relationship, while Abindarráez is left as the passive element that will do as she wishes. He is also passive in his relationship with Narváez, since he is bound to his word that he will return to the Christian lord's castle: he is acted upon, he does not seem to act of his own free will. Regardless of her active role, Jarifa cannot enter the relationship between Abindarráez and Narváez. As a matter of fact, Abindarráez would have left Jarifa's side in order to return to Narváez. Since Jarifa takes an active role, instead of waiting for her husband's return, she travels with Abindarráez back to Narváez's castle. Jarifa, in her portrayal as an Orientalized woman, is first and foremost defined by her tantalizing sexuality. Abindarráez first describes his initial love for her in platonic terms: Jarifa and Abindarráez grew up as brother and sister, raised in the same household. It is after the discovery that they are not really blood-related that their relationship changes: "aquel amor limpio y sano que nos teníamos, se comenzó a dañar y se convirtió 58 en una rabiosa enfermedad, que nos durara hasta la muerte" (118-19). The metaphorical description of love as a disease and the beloved as the one who has the means to "cure" that disease is the same motif that appears in the Jarchas, where love is an ailment and the lover the one who can cure it. The portrayal of Jarifa since the very beginning mirrors that of the feminine enamored voice in the Jarchas. Once Abindarráez and Jarifa reunite, it is Jarifa who pushes for a clandestine marriage that takes place in the presence of one of her maids: "Yo os mandé venir a ser mi prisionero, como yo lo soy vuestra y haceros señor de mi persona" (124), and its consummation afterwards: "Y llamando a la dueña se desposaron. Y siendo desposados se acostaron en su cama, donde con la nueva experiencia encendieron más el fuego de sus corazones" (125). Although Jarifa tells Abindarráez that he is the one who is going to be the master of her being, it is obvious that she is the one active element in their relationship: she calls to him, allows him into her house, marries him and they consummate their marriage on her bed.25 As Rosilie Hernández-Pecoraro explains: "Jarifa's playful seduction is an unanticipated challenge to the expectations of demure feminine behavior that accompanies traditional amatory convention" (434). Jarifa is put into the position of the seductress, of the active element in the male/female dynamic, and in the process she is also framed within the stereotype of the Orientalized woman. Jarifa is active, even aggressive in her sexuality, but she does comply first with societal rules. The circumstances of her marriage to Abindarráez are in part realistic from a Christian perspective, since clandestine marriages did happen on a regular basis. Cervantes, for instance, includes one of these cases in Don Quijote in the episode that 25 Abindarráez was on his way to see Jarifa after receiving a message from her when he was ambushed by the Christian soldiers. 59 makes reference to Dorotea's story, where the Christian woman is victimized, tricked by her lover, and then abandoned. Barbara Mujica explains that "Clandestine marriages, in which couples made their vows in private without parental consent, witnesses, or clergy, put the woman at a disadvantage" (xxxviii). This disadvantage is obvious, since the man could be only interested in sexual favors, and then abandon her, as the example previously mentioned. The issue of clandestine marriages became so severe that the Council of Trent (1545-63) requested the presence of clergy in a marriage, where before it had recognized this type of marriage (Mujica xxxvii-viii). Although it may seem that Jarifa goes against societal rules when she insists on the marriage rather than waiting to speak to her family first, it is necessary to recognize that this was a common practice, at least among Christians. This story presents the exotic other as someone with similar values and customs as Christians, which would explain the situation of a clandestine marriage between Moors, a situation to be found in other literary production. Jarifa