Resumen
En La casa del tahur, de Mira de Amescua, se evidencia una objetivación continua de los personajes femeninos en la mirada masculina. Sin embargo, esto no debe leerse como gesto de misoginia por parte del dramaturgo, puesto que él pone en yuxtaposición este intento de objetivizar a la mujer con elementos feministas que se oponen a ella. La mirada de los personajes masculinos es voyerista e interesada, dado que proyecta las expectativas masculinas en los personajes femeninos y espera que acepten esta imposición como si fueran una página en blanco en la cual se puede inscribir el deseo masculino. Aunque los personajes femeninos no pueden evitar esa mirada, sí pueden decidir si la aceptan e 1 Anna-Lisa Halling is currently working on her dissertation, «Feminine Voice and Space in Early Modern Convent Theater,» which explores plays written by nuns in Spain and Portugal. She has concentrated on early modern Iberian literature, and is particularly interested in feminist theory, spatial theory, and performance criticism. She has presented papers on Spanish Golden Age prose and drama, from María de Zayas’s exemplary novels to Sor Juana and Sor Violante do Céu’s villancicos. She is also interested in theatrical production as a teaching, learning, and outreach tool, and she has participated in several such productions as both an actor and a director. Miríada Hispánica, 4 (Abril 2012). ISSN 2171-5718: pp. 69-84 Anna-Lisa Halling1 Vanderbilt University – anna-lisa.halling@vanderbit.edu Artículo recibido: 15/01/2012 – aceptado: 02/02/2012
Palabras clave: La mirada masculina, la teoría feminista, Mira de Amescua, La casa del tahur, misoginia
Abstract
Evidence abounds in Mira de Amescua’s La casa del tahur of an ongoing objectification of the female characters which results from the male gaze. Nevertheless, to accuse the playwright of misogyny is unwarranted, since he juxtaposes this objectification with feminist elements that counter that gaze. The gaze of the male characters is voyeuristic and selfserving, since it projects male expectations onto the female characters, and expects them to accept this imposition as if they were a blank canvas on which to inscribe male desire. Although the female characters cannot avoid being looked at, they can decide whether or not to accept and internalize this gaze. Thus, misogynist and feminist traits exist side by side in Mira de Amescua’s play, which is more complex and deserving of study than many scholars previously assumed.
Keywords: Male gaze, feminist theory, Mira de Amescua, La casa del tahur, misogyny By the year 1641