Persephone's Girdle: Narratives of Rape in Seventeenth-Century Spanish Literature

by Marcia L. Welles

Overview

A bold, gender-inflected reinterpretation of secular Spanish texts of the early modern period that focuses on sexual violence as expressive of cultural and political issues.

Marcia Welles applies her extensive knowledge of Spanish Golden Age literature and her insightful grasp of current literary theory to synthesize a wide range of material into a uniquely engaging and refreshing interpretation of well-known texts. While the subject of rape and violence has been studied in other European literatures, Persephone's Girdle is the first to do so in the field of early modern Spanish literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826513519
Publisher:	Vanderbilt University Press
Publication date:	02/21/2000
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Marcia L. Welles is professor of Spanish at Barnard College. Her previous works include Style and Structure in Gracian's "El Criticon" (1976) and Arachne's Tapestry: The Transformation of Myth in Seventeenth-Century Spain (1986). In her articles she has examined the relationship between verbal and visual art and focused attention on both contemporary and Golden Age women writers.

Editorial Reviews

Persephone's Girdle is an excellent study of the relations of gender and power in early modern Spain. It will constitute a valuable contribution to our understanding of Spanish culture in the seventeenth century.
—Lia Schwartz-Lerner, Dartmouth College

From the Publisher