Description
Book SynopsisIt is astonishing how deeply the figure of Ophelia has been woven into the fabric of Spanish literature and the visual arts – from her first appearance in eighteenth-century translations of Hamlet, through depictions by seminal authors such as Espronceda, Bécquer and Lorca, to turn-of-the millennium figurations. This provocative, gendered figure has become what both male and female artists need her to be – is she invisible, a victim, mad, controlled by the masculine gaze, or is she an agent of her own identity? This well-documented study addresses these questions in the context of Iberia, whose poets, novelists and dramatists writing in Spanish, Catalan and Galician, as well as painters and photographers, have brought Shakespeare’s heroine to life in new guises. Ophelia performs as an authoritative female author, as new perspectives reflect and authorise the gender diversity that has gained legitimacy in Spanish society since the political Transition.
Trade Review“A masterful and comprehensive study of the myriad manifestations of Ophelia in post-Franco Spain. The book includes all the literary genres—poetry, novel, drama—and the visual arts with stunning illustrations. Shakespeare’s tragic female character has taken on a wide variety of meanings in Spain’s recent culture, displaying an amazing adaptability to new circumstances.”
-- Roberta Johnson, Professor Emerita, University of Kansas
“The author offers a stunning, double-stranded approach to Spanish cultural production in twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature and art. The Shakespearian figure of Ophelia serves as the grounding from which the evolutionary genetics of gender and Spanish cultural history is made visible. This reference to DNA is deliberate: the imprint of Ophelia on contemporary Spanish art and culture is indelible.”
-- Margaret H. Persin, Professor Emerita, Rutgers University
Table of ContentsEpigraph [Series Forward] Acknowledgements List of Figures Introduction Chapter 1: Breaking Silence: Ophelia in the Lyric Tradition of Spain and the Pioneer Innovations of Blanca de los Ríos Chapter 2: Talking Back: Ophelia in Turn-of-the-Millennium Poetry Chapter 3: The Myth of Ophelia in the Narratives of Clara Janés and Menchu Gutiérrez Chapter 4: Ophelia Takes Center Stage Chapter 5: From Madwoman to Cyborg: Artist Marina Núñez’s Ophelias Chapter 6: Ophelia in Front of the Camera Epilogue: Ophelia: Refigurations in the Arts, Reiterations in the Fashion Industry Bibliography
