[In the following essay, Sims studies negative images of women in Spanish literature, finding it to be "the country in which the most universal negative feminine prototype was created. "]

In view of the attention which is given today to the theme of women's rights, it seems fitting that we examine the literature of the country in which the most universal negative feminine prototype was created. With Fernando de Rojas' Celestine as the motivating personality in our quest for greater understanding of the dilemma of man's distinguished helpmate, we shall investigate in this treatise the literary origins of many of the pejorative characteristics commonly ascribed to woman.

A careful study of the literature of Spain from its genesis through the first half of the year 1560 (the year of publication of Fray Luis de Leon's Perfecta casada) convinces us that, in subsequent centuries, there is probably very little material to be added in the portrayal of the negative feminine archetype. The descriptions of woman's behavior and the multiple interpretations of the various authors who scrutinize customs from the early medieval period through the first half of the Spanish Renaissance can be envisioned as an imaginary literary trajectory which reveals five particular aspects of our theme.

The popular fables, often referred to as "enxiemplos," represent the first literary genre where we discover a predominance of feminine types depicted from a negative point of view. The second grouping includes protagonists from the works of Juan Ruiz, the famous Archpriest of Hita; Alfonso Martinez, more commonly referred to as the Archpriest of Talavera and the notorious Celestine of Fernando de Rojas' Tragicomedia de Calixto y Melibea to which we have already alluded. The works of the second group are distinguishable from those of the first due to the intent of the authors to substitute the generalized portraiture of the protagonists of the fables with a more detailed characterization of the feminine personality.

The third division leads us to a series of sentimental novels where, in a unilateral projection of abstract elements, Juan Rodríguez del Padrón, Diego de San Pedro and Juan de Flores, together with certain personal observations which they manage to express through the characters of their creation, offer their singular interpretations of the misdeeds of several enamoured females. The conduct of woman continues to undergo a similar censorship in the early picaresque novels where, due to political, social or religious influence, the male subconscious persuades him to accept and even, in some cases, to imitate the notorious strategems of the female life style.

The trajectoral cycle completes itself with the humanists Juan Luis Vives, Cristóbal de Villalón and Fray Luis de León presenting a series of didactic treatises describing the vices of both pagan and Christian women. These zealous writers, who see themselves as counselors singularly commissioned to rectify the social ills of their society, direct their advice to the female with the intention of improving her destiny and, simultaneously, that of future generations.

As we have indicated above, the genesis of the misogynist element in Spanish literature is seen in the fables, the greater part of which were introduced to Spain with the migration of various segments of the North African populace. Without taking women very seriously, the members of clergy utilized the antifeminist propaganda from the literature of the "enxiemplos" as didactic anecdotes for their sermons. As they spoke of man's unfortunate counterpart from the pulpit, their sincere efforts to "enseñar deleitando" converted the amusing comportment of the "nice but sometimes wicked little woman" into a predilect theme not only for sermons but for several other literary genres. Consequently, after their long journey of translation from the Arabic to the Romance languages, the Spanish adaptations of these entertaining fables were to become known throughout Europe.

It is apparent, if one thoughtfully considers the image of woman in the literature of the "enxiemplos," that she is rarely depicted in a positive manner. This is not to discount the one or two fables where she is presented as the victim of some thoughtless spouse oras a "poor little creature" unjustly pursued by the less liberal minded forces of her society; however, leaving aside these infrequent exceptions, it is immediately apparent that her scandalous reputation evokes abundant negative narrative for her enthusiastic biographers. In accordance with the findings of John Esten Keller,¹ who has completed a scholarly investigation of the subject matter of more than one thousand exempla, we again emphasize the fact that not all the motifs of the popular fables can be designated as originating with Spanish authors.

In a summary of the various roles which are commonly ascribed to women, the most frequently portrayed archetypes are the adulteress, the procuress, the unscrupulous maternal figure, the temptress and the habitual talebearer. Less frequent but relatively abundant stereotyped figures in the exempla include portrayals of cruel daughters, disobedient wives, avaricious peasants, murderesses and widows who fail to respect the memory of their departed husbands. Feminine types depicted even less frequently in the exempla are women who have allowed themselves to be deceived by fast-talking gentlemen callers, women portrayed as unethical salespersons, participants in incestuous liaisons, servants whose presence in the household precipitate havoc and nuns whose mundane behavior reveals little or no religious commitment. The works which narrate these exempla include the Disciplina clericalis, the Libro de los castigos, Calila e Dymna, the Libro de las consolaciones, Barlaam e Iosaphat, and the Libro de los engaños, which contains the Historia del Principe Erasto, Scala celi and the Historia de los siete sabios.

Among the various sketches of wicked females appears an old woman whose conduct sometimes coincides with that of the procuress. The mother-in-law figure, although she is not considered to be as destructive as the "alcahueta," demonstrates a similar aptitude for instigating illicit love affairs. The comportment of the maternal figure is underscored in the fables when the mother, during the absence of her son-in-law, collaborates in her daughter's extramarital escapades. The daughter's husband has no scruples about leaving the vigilance of his youthful wife to the "little old lady of saintly carriage," but the reputation of the ancient silver-haired relative is destroyed in the "Ejemplo de la espada" (No. XI) which appears in Pedro Alfonso's Disciplina clericalis.

Alfonso presents a doting mother-in-law who was held in such high esteem by her daughter's husband that he, on departing for a business venture in a distant city, considered his home and his marriage secure due to the presence of the older woman. Immediately after his departure, the young wife with her mother's consent, called her lover and while the three of them were enjoying the repast of the day, the husband returned unexpectedly. The experienced elderly woman, who calmly assured the nervous couple she could handle the situation, gave the young suitor a naked sword and instructed him to stand behind the door and to remain perfectly silent. When the suspicious husband saw that the trembling young man would answer none of his accusations he turned to his "amada señora madre" and trustingly accepted her convincing reply:

Fijo honrado, el caso es este. Aquí vinieron tres ombres tras este ombre que está a la puerta queriéndolo matar, e nosotras lo dexamos entrar con la mano en la espada assí, porque entonces estaua la puerta abierta, e él piensa ahora que tu eres alguno dellos, e por miedo que ha non te responde.²

The deceived husband saw only "las buenas acciones" of the two women and, believing they had saved the life of a poor young man, offered the latter his hand of friendship.

Before the fourteenth century the literary portrait of the female in the fables and in most other genres depicted an abstract archtype who often remained nameless and who was repeatedly lacking in individualizing qualities. The authors of the exempla underscored her defects but, in their generalized portraiture, failed to perceive a well delineated feminine figure. During the period following the popular exempla Juan Ruiz initiates the first attempt towards a more concrete literary characterization of women and, followed by Alfonso Martínez, who authored the Corbacho and Fernando de Rojas, who created the Tragicomedy of Calixto y Melibea, the fondness for creating more realistic types increased. With the antithesis of the holy Virgin as his model of the perfect woman, Juan Ruiz managed to express his ingenious comprehension of the human condition in his realistic projection of the vices of women whose eyes were so full of sand ("llenos de arista")³ that they, innocently accepting the friendship of astute procuresses and other individuals of similar ambition, were unable to perceive the traps of the cunning parasites who set about to deceive them ("andan por escarneceríais]").⁴ At the same time, the humorous attitude of the author permitted him to bestow his protagonists with exaggerated sobriquets with which "mocetas," "vejezuelas," "arrepintajas," "magrillas y gordillas" or sensual "tornavacas" and "chatas malditas retozoñas cual cabras monteses"⁵ exchanging their last vestiges of femininity for masculine qualities which almost coincide with the author himself, Juan Ruiz

da todavía un paso más en el proceso de descomposición de un cuerpo femenino presentado como repelente hasta desintegrarse en una odiosa masa de miembros animales . . .⁶

In a clear transition between the Trotaconventos of the Archpriest of Hita and the culmination of the procuress archetype in Fernando de Rojas, Alfonso Martínez, the Archpriest of Talavera, defines several feminine failings that have been earlier cited in the exempla. Not entirely unlike Juan Ruiz, a limitless zest for the observation of the most minute details leads Alfonso Martinez to the intimate confines of the chambers of women from several social classes but, while the first Archpriest infuses life into his characters with his rude mockery of their physical appearance, the Archpriest of Talavera concentrates on their coarse speech patterns. Two similar works in the Catalonian language offering more concrete portraits of female prototypes are the Llibre de les Dones where the less pessimistic Fray Fransech Eiximenis describes the misdemeanors of women of his day from a moralist's point of view. Spill, known also as the Libre de Conseils and written by Jaume Roig, is, in spite of its resemblance to the prose of Fernando de Rojas or the Archpriest of Talavera, a direct forerunner of the picaresque novel. Its author, who was a prominent physician of the pre-Renaissance period, describes in a naturalistic fashion the misconduct of women of society's lower strata, especially in terms of the infirmities related to the state of motherhood.

On passing to the "novela sentimental," the traditional prototype of the wicked woman is counterbalanced, somewhat, by a series of dialogued debates or discourses in her favor. In spite of the absence of the well delineated negative female figure depicted in the awkward "serranas" of the Archpriest of Hita, and even without discounting what has been recognized as the justifiable victory of the male in the famous debate, a well defined antifeminist projection can be traced in the works of Juan Rodriguez del Padrón, Diego de San Pedro and Juan de Flores, three principal authors of the sentimental novel. Among the various themes and subthemes of these novels, the most important emphasis is the authors' underscoring of the various dimensions of tragedy which their male protagonists suffer as they become enamoured of several designing young women. The focus of the misogynist element falls, therefore, not on the innovative debates nor on the multiple and shocking misdeeds of women but, rather, on the one hand, in the manner in which the authors themselves and the various characters of their creation interpret the actions of the female and, secondly, in the unilateral projection of certain abstract elements—Fortune, Honor, and Irony—in the lives of these characters.

The classification of the sentimental novel as antifeminist may be questioned when one considers that the authors of this genre substitute the scatterbrained types of the exempla with discreetly intelligent women who display ability to reason with a profundity heretofore unattributed to the members of their sex. (Bear in mind that the alleged intellectual ability is not the point of view of the authors). The defense of our thesis approaches affirmation with the following observations: Although the women display positive intellectual capacity, there consistently exists a unilateral tendency to ignore their good judgement. A primary example of this biased favoritism comes to the fore when, in spite of the excellent manner in which Braçayda champions the cause of women in her encounter with Torrellas in the famous story of Grisel y Mirabella, Juan de Flores declares the male to be the winner of the debate.

The exemplary virtue of the protagonist of the Cárcel de amor is interpreted from a negative point of view when Laureola, in determining her true feelings for a would-be suitor, refuses to mistake "piedad" for "amor." Although his protagonist feels compassion for the suffering of the rejected pretender, the author, ignoring woman's God given right to select her own mate and, depicting the rejected Leriano as a martyr to love, prefers to underscore the suffering of the male:

. . . dolor le atormenta, pasión le persigue, desesperança le destruye, muerte le amenaza, pena le secuta, pensamiento lo desuela, deseo le atribula, tristeza le condena, fe no le salua, que de todo esto tu eres causa.⁷

Directing our attention now to the ill fame of the woman of the early picaresque novel, it can be stated that an accelerated projection of the vices heretofore cited continues but, this time, the impulse which marks woman's merciless comportment is attributed to the unhappy economic situation to which she finds herself almost permanently condemned. In anti-feminist literature prior to La Loçana Andaluza, the idea of misogyny is communicated in the criticism which society, with the assistance of several favorably disposed authors, inflicts traditional stereotypes on its female inhabitants. Unlike their literary precursors, Francisco Delicado and the anonymous author of Lazarillo de Tormes underscore the negative aspects of the female with indications of (1) woman's own interpretation of her role in society (2) the unscrupulous schemes she employs in order to earn a living in that society and (3) the singular impact of her influence over the persons with whom she comes into contact. Ranpín, as the constant companion of the protagonist of La Loçana Andaluza, is the character whose lifestyle is most significantly altered by his "maestra." In the second novel (Lazarillo de Tormes) the youthful rogue follows in the footsteps of a woman who, at first glance, appears to play only a minor role in the life of her impressionable victim.⁸ With the advent of the Humanist era, the close scrutiny of female customs continues. An unlimited presentation of her vices of past centuries is rendered to meet the Hispanic literary synthesis of pagan and Christian concepts with each writer concentrating on his favorite philosophies of the two currents as he attempts to devise the formula for his ideal woman.

This synthesis of Christian and pagan concepts depicts, first, a woman who, emphasizing the philosophy of Classicism, struggles interminably for the harmonious development of her intellectual facilities. There is also the woman who, ignoring the medieval plea of preparation for the spiritual life after death, seeks complete equality with her male counterpart by concentrating on the pleasures of the flesh. In sharp contrast to this dual idealogy of pagan origin is depicted an exemplary maiden whose chief concern is for the unadulterated teachings of Christianity. With the writings of Erasmus as their primary source of inspiration, these authors depict the female as a weak minded creature whose only hope of salvation lies in their leader's admonition of "la religiosidad interior."

Inasmuch as the above cited philosophies tend to reveal not only the vices of women of earlier times but also some of her more positive qualities, it must be concluded that the humanist writers are neither "for" nor "against" women. They have, however, consistently demonstrated a vital interest in her comportment. We do not negate the well intentioned efforts of these authors in their attempt to present an objective commentary on the unparalleled problems of the women of the era. They view themselves as counselors commissioned to rectify the ills of their society but, in spite of their lack of malice towards the female, their treatment of her misfortune clearly reflects several stereotyped ideas concerning the women of whom they write.

Juan Luis Vives, reiterating the Erasmian philosophy of moderation and inner spirituality, expresses his ideas for the betterment of the female of the species in De institutione Christianae Foeminae. This treatise, which was published in the latter part of 1523, is a relatively vivid commentary on the role of the women of the period and is dedicated to Maria Tudor, the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, his academic advisee. Underscoring the wicked nature of Earth's first female inhabitant, Vives looks upon the women of his day as the unfortunate recipients to which Eve transmitted a great repertory of debilitating evils. Doubtful of the intellectual capacity of women, he discourages their scholarly pursuits suggesting that man's sinful counterpart limit her reading to spiritual literature. In the same manner as Juan Ruiz, Vives criticizes the "flirtatious" women who attend public gatherings solely to be admired by prospective suitors and recommends the young woman's activities be home-centered. If she abstains from associations with other females, her own chaste habits will remain uncorrupted. Vives demonstrates little confidence in the ability of young maidens to wisely select their own husbands and in the same manner in which he counsels young maidens to respectfully submit themselves to their parents he admonishes the female spouse to obey her husband: "¡Estarás debajo del poder de tu marido, y él te dominará!"⁹ Juan Luis Vives shows no mercy for the adulterous woman and condemns the acute tendency towards jealous behavior which he finds prevalent among innumerable housewives. Although he portrays the woman as inferior to her husband, he expects her to be superior in her capacity to forgive the iniquities of the male: "Santifíquese el marido infiel por la esposa fiel." 10

Cristóbal de Villalón, who also writes with the didactic intention of rectifying the ills of the society in which he lives, reconciles his adventuresome spirit and vivid capacity for fictitious production with a singular evaluation of the customs of women he has either known or created from epochs and cultures other than his own. In Turkey he turns his attention to the habits of women who have earned the favor of numerous sultans. El Crotalón takes him to the confines of splendid harems where he observes the intimate life of the country's courtesans in the manner of a twentieth century detective. Villalón is so appalled at his findings that he, in El Scholástico, vehemently advises the young men under his imaginary tutelage to make a concerted effort to avoid associations with members of the opposite sex. The female prototypes of his major works are not as well delineated as those of Juan Ruiz or Fernando de Rojas, but the animated dialogue of El viaje de Turquía and El Crotalón, and the descriptive narration of El Scholástico offer a wealth of information concerning the character commonly ascribed to women.

Villalón's earliest treatise, El viaje de Turquía, takes us to the Muslim household where the men of the nation are depicted as the most cruel misogynists of all time. The indifferent attitude of the male sovereigns towards women is casually revealed in the skilfully directed conversations between Pedro de Urdemalas and Mátalas Callando, whom the author utilizes to summarize his own observations:

. . . que no estiman las mujeres ni hacen más caso dellas que de los asadores, cuchares y cazos que tienen colgados de la espetera; en ninguna cosa tienen voto, ni admiten consejo suyo.¹¹

Despite his recognition of the ill will of the male in matters concerning the female, Villalón does not excuse the conduct of the members of the weaker sex. Women of the general Turkish society are offered very little freedom. Those fortunate enough to reside in palatial harems must resign themselves to the troublesome vigilance of the sultan's loyal eunuchs. Their less fortunate sisters are ordered to cover themselves in public and do so in spite of the physical discomfort occasioned by the unsympathetic climate. Indeed, their modest attire has been so severely designed that frequently members of their own families have failed to recognize them in the market place.

The author explains that the excessive controls with which the male has attempted to regulate the activities of the female have met with little success. The rigid surveillance has resulted in a greater feminine insight for resolving the annoying restrictions to such a degree that they have been widely acclaimed for their ability to convert almost all such obstacles into inconceivable victories. One such example is seen in the traditional group visits of the young maiden to the public bath houses, a weekly ritual which almost becomes a burlesque outing:

.. . y de camino hace cada una lo que quiere, pues no es conocida, buscando su aventura.¹²

Some of the women, instead of utilizing the public bath, invent pretexts for bathing "en privado" and, frequenting the mansions of wealthy gentlemen in order to enjoy the exquisite toiletries imported from the far corners of the globe, willingly engage in prostitution on a regular basis. The women of Turkey are as insistent in their efforts to acquire material goods as the other women we have discussed, but, due to the excessive number of female residents in the most exclusive harems, perhaps their greatest problem is finding a landowner who is willing to support them:

Cuando van por la calle, si les decís amores, os responden, y a dos por tres os preguntarán si tenéis casa, y si decís que no, os dirán mill palabras injuriosas; si decís que sí, dirán se que se la mostréis disimuladamente, y métense allí, y veces hay que serán mujeres de arraeces; otras tomaréis lo que viniere, y si os paresce tomeréis de allí amistad para adelante, y si no, no querrá deciros quien es.¹³

The authors mentioned above have restricted their observations to the negative aspects of female behavior, but Luis de León is the man whose works bear the distinct signature of one seeking an honest solution to the dilemma of his nation's most ridiculed figures. The good friar sets forth his ideas in a treatise entitled La perfecta casada where, in a painstaking analysis of the behavior pattern of the women of his century, he offers the formula by which the members of the weaker sex may restore not only their own good fortune, but that of the entire Hispanic kingdom.

Yielding to the implicit limitations of his vocation, he refused to comment on the misdeeds for which many of his predecessors had censored the conduct of the female members of the cloister and, dedicating his didactic efforts to María Varela Osorio, a young aristocrat on the threshold of matrimony, he prescribed a formula for successful conjugal relationships. The perfect wife must take special care to uphold the good name of her husband. As sole administrator of her household she must untiringly master the skills required to serve its members. The model housewife rises at daybreak. Aware of the hazards of physical fatigue, she nourishes herself substantially but, stressing the benefits of a well ordered kitchen rather than a well rested body, she is frequently the lastto retire:

. . . más debe a su oficio que a su cuerpo, y mayor dolor y enfermedad es traer de contino su familia desordenada y perdida, que padecer un poco . . .¹⁴

Functioning in the role of family comforter, her sympathetic concern for the problems of her spouse and her honest efforts to encourage him in his moments of depression will be rewarded. According to Fray Luis, there are many foolish women who must be held accountable for failing to be responsive to the most important task their Creator has demanded of them. In his exacting reproof of their casual attitude towards the sacred mission which can be effectively executed only by themselves, he attempts their reform reminding them that the well disciplined woman, even in her moments of leisure, devotes her activities to the welfare of her household. Reiterating the value of self-sacrifice, the perceptive friar describes the perils of commissioning another to fulfill one's own responsibilities:

Mucho se engañan las que piensan que mientras ellas, cuya es la casa, y a quien propiamente toca el bien y el mal della, duerman y se descuidan, cuidará y velará la criada, que no le toca y que al fin lo mira como todo ajeno.¹⁵

Fray Luis also reminds his readers of certain calamitous entanglements which can result from unnecessarily provoking the enmity of faithful servants and, with equal fervor, writes of the honor and serenity which can be permanently enjoyed by the woman whose well treated servant contentedly sings her praises at home and abroad. His most severe criticism concerning the delicate bond between housemaids and their mistresses censors the consuming excesses of arrogance of which numerous employers are guilty:

.. . y hay tan vanas algunas, que casi desconocen su carne, y piensan que la suya es carne de ángeles, y la de sus sirvientas de perros, y quieren ser adoradas dellas, y no acordarse dellas si son nacidas; y si se quebrantan en su servicio, y si pasan sin sueño las noches, y si están ante ellas de rodillas los días, todo les parece que es poco y nada para lo que se les debe, o ellas presumen que se les ha de deber.¹⁶

Luis de León criticizes, as did Juan Ruiz, the women who unceasingly admire their own beauty seated before the mirrors of their boudoirs hour after hour. Elaborating on many of the vain displays which echo the statements of Martínez de Toledo when, in his El Corbacho, he identified himself as a spy in the private chambers of several of his country's most illustrious females, Luis de León, with less deliberate self incrimination, reiterates his predecessor's disapproval of the female's unlimited fondness for fine clothing and expensive jewelry. This extended description also illustrates the thoroughness with which he observes the toilet articles of the woman's dressing rooms as he describes the time consuming process with which she, "rodeada de botellas y arquillas,"¹⁷ endangers her vision in an attempt to alter the appearance of her eyes. Alluding to a lack of moderation in her application of powder and rouge, he sees the conversion of what was once a pretty face to a clown-like mask:

.. . en caso que fuesen hermosas, se tornan feas con sus mismas manos.¹⁸

He cites uncleanliness, greed and avarice as vices common to the members of the weaker sex and, like Villalón, suggests men avoid associations with beautiful women. Reiterating the suspicions of earlier members of his profession, he depicts them as unchaste seductresses possessing dangerous powers over the will of even the most temperate men:

.. . la belleza es peligrosa porque atrae a sí y enciende en su cobdicia los corazones de los que la miran.¹⁹

Convinced of woman's inferiority, he discourages her scholarly pursuits and her ambitions in the business world as endeavors unsuited to the feminine temperament:

.. . la naturaleza no la hizo para el estudio de las ciencias ni para los negocios de dificultades. . así les limitó el entender, y por consiguiente, les tasó las palabras y las razones.²⁰

Contrasting somewhat with the educated female protagonist of El Scholástico, Fray Luis suggests the model woman must also learn to sew. This valuable craft will free her from reading

. . . libros de caballerías, y del traer el soneto y la canción en el seno, y del terrero [lugar donde se tiraba al blanco con la ballesta] y del sarao, y de otras cien cosas de este jaez . . .²¹

He condemns the idle women who spend too much time away from home. Loitering about the streets to engage in malicious gossip or in other unbecoming mischief corrupts their minds. He excuses the male members of the species who, as the bread-winners of the family, are obliged to get about in the world in search of their fortunes and suggests only three acceptable missions for which women should be seen in public:

.. . o es visita de algún enfermo, o es ver la misa, o el oir la palabra de Dios.²²

He alludes with approbation to the ingenious manner in which the ancient Chinese managed to restrict the talebearing vagabonds of their society:

... les tuercen a las niñas los pies, por que cuando sean mujeres no los tengan para salir fuera, y porque, para andar en su casa, aquellos les bastan.²³

One of the vices which for Fray Luis is least tolerable is committed by women whose warped conception of motherhood inflicts irreparable damage upon their offspring. Proud of themselves for adhering to the teachings of the Catholic church, they boast of their large numbers of offspring, but almost immediately after giving birth to their children, leave their complete care to doting nursemaids. These self-centered women, in an effort to preserve their own beauty, direct the substitute mothers to breastfeed their newborn, but their profound ignorance of human relationships causes them to react with bitter astonishment when the children demonstrate more loyalty for the ones who truly rear them than for their biological parent. The stepmother was the most frequently ridiculed maternal figure of early medieval literature, but the wicked strategy of the female parents described by Fray Luis easily surpasses the similarly conceived portrayals of the exempla.

Although he has followed the path of former antifeminist proponents in his condemnation of female comportment, it must be concluded that Fray Luis de León does not completely despair. Mindful of the redeeming qualities of spiritual concentration, he prayerfully awaits the transformation of man's "troublesome helpmate" in whose delicate hand lies the key which will open or close for good or for ill the door of his country's future:

S'l souligne fortement la constitutive debilité feminine et ses deficiences nombreuses, ce n'est, semble-t-il, qu'afin de mieux faire ressortir le mérite de la femme vertueuse, qui sait triompher d'une condition defavorable et fragile pour réaliser en elle la perfection morale la plus achevée.²⁴

The general tendency of the above mentioned authors to underscore the negative aspect of almost all facets of the life of women might very well have tempted us to accept this antifeminist current as a biased exploitation with a deliberate attempt to condemn the members of the opposite sex. If, at the same time, one accepts the Biblical rendering of earth's first two human beings and the well known explanation it offers for man's loss of paradise, one will probably ask whether it is reasonable to convict the male of such a grave accusation. In view of Mother Eve's weaknesses in her confrontation with the serpent, the ill fate of womankind has been accepted not as the result of a preconceived campaign on the part of the male but, rather, as the fulfilling of a divine law²⁵ which proposed to punish any earthling who attempted to make himself equal to his Creator. In accordance with this interpretation, the first representative of the members of the feminine gender of the human race was chastized for her desire to become a sage goddess and, thusly, condemned to become the slave of the male.

These ideas, needless to say, are accepted by some and refuted by others but, in accordance with the information we have gathered from our study, we would tend to question the suggestion of a deliberately designed campaign to exploit women. It is true we have discovered a strong misogynist tendency and, if we consider the material herein treated in its entirety, we note in the beginning, a strong element of negativism in the general characterization of the female prototype. What we must remember, however, is that this literary trajectory of negativism is interrupted. The female protagonists of the sentimental novel are permitted to speak in their own defense. Also, after Rojas and the picaresque novel our authors, while continuing to present the vices of the female, make an honest effort to be objective. We submit that total objectivity on our part cannot permit the complete rejection of the authors' professions of sincerity as they explain their purpose: The didactic writers claim to be interested, first and foremost, in the betterment of society and their understanding of the important role of woman in this mission inspires them to instruct her.

There is nothing abnormal in their preoccupation with the fate of woman. Even a cursory glance at Spanish literature reveals that, at least until the latter part of the sixteenth century, the female protagonist has been presented not only to entertain but also to spiritually fortify her reading public. Man's interest in her destiny continues in the present century, but it is difficult to believe that antifeminist portraits could really depict more vices than those we have already encountered.

¹ John Esten Keller, Motif-Index of Medieval Spanish Exempla (Knoxville, 1949), pp. ix-x.

² Pedro Alfonso, Disciplina clericalis, ed. Angel González Palencia (Madrid, 1948), p. 125.

³ Juan Ruiz, Libro de Buen Amor, ed. Manuel Criado de Val (Madrid, 1965), p. 248.

⁴ Ruiz, p. 248.

⁵ Ruiz, pp. 350-351.

⁶ Ruiz, p. 351.

⁷ Diego de San Pedro, Cárcel de amor (Madrid, 1904), p. 16.

⁸ See my book on this subject: Edna N. Sims, El antifeminismo en la literatura española hasta 1560 (Bogota, 1972), pp. 88-94.

⁹ Juan Luis Vives, Obras completas, ed. Lorenzo Riber (Madrid, 1947), p. 1086.

¹⁰ Vives, p. 1089.

¹¹ Cristóbal de Villalón, Viaje de Turquía, ed. Antonio G. Solalinde (Buenos Aires, 1942), p. 241.

¹² Villalón, p. 243.

¹³ Villalón, p. 246.

¹⁴ Luis de León, La perfecta casada, ed. Espasa-Calpe (Madrid, 1963), p. 62.

¹⁵ León, p. 60.

¹⁶ León, p. 85.

¹⁷ Ruiz, p. 221.

¹⁸ León, p. 89.

¹⁹ León, p. 146.

²⁰ León, p. 124.

²¹ León, p. 54.

²² León, p. 113.

²³ León, p. 130.

²⁴ Alain Guy, La Pensée de Fray Luis de León (Paris, 1943), p. 648.

²⁵ Pierre Thomas Dehau, Eve et Marie, ed. las monjas dominicanas del rosario perpètuo (La Crosse, 1958), p. 59.