Palabra, memoria y aspiración literaria en La española inglesa

Abstract

At the beginning of La española inglesa, the third-person narrator distances himself from the characters. Isabela at first appears as a stereotype embodying the Neoplatonic concept of feminine beauty which inspires love in the beholder. Initially presented as the “donna” of Renaissance poetry, she is later envisioned in chivalresque terms as the prize for the knight who must win her love through his heroism in battle; both literary traditions converge in the creation of the two lovers Isabela and Ricaredo. The novella thus develops the three themes of love, letters, and arms; and in doing so, it constantly evokes the model of the poet-soldier Garcilaso de la Vega and his illfated love for Isabel Freyre. The distanced and laconic presentation of Isabela gives way to a much more detailed, first-person narration to recount the (largely autobiographical) heroic deeds of Ricaredo. Near the end of the novella, the narrator confides that it was Isabela herself who committed the story to writing. Thus, she not only inspired Ricaredo's words but also immortalized them.