Female Psychosexuality in Tirso's El vergonzoso en palacio

El vergonzoso en palacio combines Tirso's interest in sexual themes with his insight into women to produce one of his most psychologically provocative plays. The work's three main female figures, the sisters Madalena and Serafina, and the latter's lady-in-waiting Juana, represent a feminine sexual spectrum— a heterosexual, a narcissist, and a latent lesbian. Besides offering this female sexual typology, El vergonzoso traces the sexual development of the two sisters and Juana. All three begin the play in a state of ignorance concerning their basic sexual natures, but after encountering the catalyst of their particular sexual chemistry, are driven to some form of sexual activity. (RC)