Interrupted mysticism in Cervantes's Persiles

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

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Abstract

This essay discusss how Miguel de Cervantes refashions mysticism in his novel The Trials of Persiles and Sigismunda within the context of the secular and material world of early modern Spain. In the episode of Feliciana de la Voz, Cervantes questions the value of the mystical experience by first leading readers to believe that they will witness a supernatural event and then defying their expectations, interrupting the supposed mystical moment right before its climax. In broad terms, Cervantes casts Feliciana's episode as a perspectivistic exploration of mysticism itself. More specifically, he legitimizes the yearning for supernatural divine intervention by highlighting the protagonist's mother-quest, while clearly making the point that the resolutions to her earthly problems are to be found exclusively in the realm of the empirical world.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationA New Companion to Hispanic Mysticism
EditorsHilaire Kallendorf
PublisherBrill Academic Publishers
Pages367-390
Number of pages24
ISBN (Electronic)9789004183506
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010

Publication series

NameBrill's Companions to the Christian Tradition
Volume19
ISSN (Print)1871-6377

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • History
  • Religious studies

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