Female Character Development in Select Works by Lope de Vega, María de Zayas, and Calderón de la Barca

This thesis is an examination of three works of the Spanish Golden Age:Peribáñez y el comendador de Ocañaby Lope de Vega,La traición en la amistadby María de Zayas, andLa vida es sueñoby Calderón de la Barca. The focus of this work is on the main female protagonists: Casilda, Fenisa, and Rosaura, respectively. Applying feminist and visualization theories, the thesis examines these women in regards to how they conform to and subvert prevailing stereotypes of the time. The characters are analyzed based on personality, as illustrated through the choices they make; their roles in the microcosm of the play in contrast to their traditional societal roles; and their integrity, as seen through the opinions of other characters. Biographical information about the authors that may have influenced their character development is included, such as Lope de Vega\u27s relationships and each author\u27s educational background. This analysis leads to conclusions about the purpose for which each author intended the specified character. This study shows an emergence of a new model female, one who is more liberated that previous women, but is still confined to societal expectations. The three works address different social classes and different developmental spaces, but a comparison will show that this new model is presented in each. In subverting the commonly portrayed and accepted stereotypes, the characters embrace the masculine side of their personalities. This bisexual duality is what leads us to conclude that these women are innovative for their time

Making Sense of New Orleans Flood Trauma Recovery: Ethics, Research Design, and Policy Considerations for Future Disasters

Abstract OnlyThis article details the justification and plans of a research team for studying and helping evacuees of Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans to recover by encouraging experimental participants to disclose information about their related experiences in guided interview sessions. Team members' consideration and practice of ethical principles as researchers dealing with the potentially traumatized victims of a disaster are portrayed. Finally, related recommendations for researchers and policy makers are offered

Racial differences in systemic sclerosis disease presentation: a European Scleroderma Trials and Research group study

Objectives. Racial factors play a significant role in SSc. We evaluated differences in SSc presentations between white patients (WP), Asian patients (AP) and black patients (BP) and analysed the effects of geographical locations.Methods. SSc characteristics of patients from the EUSTAR cohort were cross-sectionally compared across racial groups using survival and multiple logistic regression analyses.Results. The study included 9162 WP, 341 AP and 181 BP. AP developed the first non-RP feature faster than WP but slower than BP. AP were less frequently anti-centromere (ACA; odds ratio (OR) = 0.4, P < 0.001) and more frequently anti-topoisomerase-I autoantibodies (ATA) positive (OR = 1.2, P = 0.068), while BP were less likely to be ACA and ATA positive than were WP [OR(ACA) = 0.3, P < 0.001; OR(ATA) = 0.5, P = 0.020]. AP had less often (OR = 0.7, P = 0.06) and BP more often (OR = 2.7, P < 0.001) diffuse skin involvement than had WP.AP and BP were more likely to have pulmonary hypertension [OR(AP) = 2.6, P < 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.7, P = 0.03 vs WP] and a reduced forced vital capacity [OR(AP) = 2.5, P < 0.001; OR(BP) = 2.4, P < 0.004] than were WP. AP more often had an impaired diffusing capacity of the lung than had BP and WP [OR(AP vs BP) = 1.9, P = 0.038; OR(AP vs WP) = 2.4, P < 0.001]. After RP onset, AP and BP had a higher hazard to die than had WP [hazard ratio (HR) (AP) = 1.6, P = 0.011; HR(BP) = 2.1, P < 0.001].Conclusion. Compared with WP, and mostly independent of geographical location, AP have a faster and earlier disease onset with high prevalences of ATA, pulmonary hypertension and forced vital capacity impairment and higher mortality. BP had the fastest disease onset, a high prevalence of diffuse skin involvement and nominally the highest mortality

The Limits of Privilege and the Sins of Don Juan

Don Juan Tenorio is one of the most famous characters of world literature, and certainly Spanish literature. Oft translated and reimagined, this figure has been attracting attention since 1630 for a multitude of reasons. Perhaps one reason particularly relevant for the twenty-first century is that Don Juan’s story shows the limits of privilege. Going back to Tirso’s El burlador de Sevilla, we see that Don Juan has all the comforts of his time: money, title, charm, prestige, family honor. However, he turns his back on his upbringing, choosing to squander his time with deceptive conquests. In spite of his affluent background, Don Juan does suffer for his crimes. Slowly but surely, his punishment builds, culminating in a personal escort to hell. This phenomena is in direct contrast with the prevailing idea that those of means are able to commit crimes, in varying degrees of severity, and escape with minimal or no punishment. In this paper, we will seek to establish the fascination with Don Juan into the twenty-first century, relating the work to contemporary situations, as we approach the 500th anniversary of its publication

The Irony of Music

Several historians and critics, including José Antonio Maravall, have observed the general disdain held for the lower classes of society during the Spanish Golden Age, manifested oftentimes as a lack of intelligence of or inappropriate comments from these characters. Many plays of the time also include cancioneros and choruses to further the plot, inspire the story, or explain what has just transpired. The grand irony of this device is that it is usually the lower classes that provide these verses. Even though they are clearly considered to be at the bottom of the societal pyramid, they play fundamental roles in many plots. In this paper, we will examine El caballero de Olmedo by Lope de Vega, and Don Duardos by Gil Vicente. Spanning an entire century, these two works bring together the uncouth lower class and their juxtaposed verse. We will attempt to explain this irony as a feature of the subtle criticisms undertaken by the aforementioned playwrights in regards to the societies each represents

The Tapado as a Symbol of Progress and Panic

Early sixteenth century Spain reached an unprecedented level of wealth and growth due to the “discovery” of the New World and the territories added as part of the Holy Roman Empire. Naturally, cities and industry grew as capitalism came to replace feudalism as the primary mode of production, and international commerce brought foreign goods and fashions to Spain. Of particular interest to this investigation is the tapado fashion seen most prominently in Sevilla, the cosmopolitan center of the time. Symbolizing one’s belonging to such an internationally ostentatious center, the veiled fashion also came to be associated with infidelity and questionable morals. The tapado was a physical manifestation of the anonymity afforded by the booming new cities, a condition which allowed the individual to hide her actions and movements behind the veil. In this paper, we will examine how the tapado fashion represented the rapid economic progress and development of the time. We will then explore the negative connotations of it, which is to say, the alienation and isolation that accompanied the urban demographic shift. Ultimately, we will show how such a seemingly innocuous piece of material came to epitomize the social crisis in which Spain found itself by the seventeenth century

The C. difficile clnRAB operon initiates adaptations to the host environment in response to LL-37.

To cause disease, Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile must resist killing by innate immune effectors in the intestine, including the host antimicrobial peptide, cathelicidin (LL-37). The mechanisms that enable C. difficile to adapt to the intestine in the presence of antimicrobial peptides are unknown. Expression analyses revealed an operon, CD630_16170-CD630_16190 (clnRAB), which is highly induced by LL-37 and is not expressed in response to other cell-surface active antimicrobials. This operon encodes a predicted transcriptional regulator (ClnR) and an ABC transporter system (ClnAB), all of which are required for function. Analyses of a clnR mutant indicate that ClnR is a pleiotropic regulator that directly binds to LL-37 and controls expression of numerous genes, including many involved in metabolism, cellular transport, signaling, gene regulation, and pathogenesis. The data suggest that ClnRAB is a novel regulatory mechanism that senses LL-37 as a host signal and regulates gene expression to adapt to the host intestinal environment during infection