Alejandro y Diógenes: Inversión e ironía en El villano en su rincón de Lope de Vega

This study considers how the classical anecdote of Alexander the Great and Diogenes, recalled by the king of France in admiring Juan Labrador's lifestyle, underscores the monarch's ideological role in El villano en su rincón. Although the anecdote may appear to be an insignificant element, its importance can be clarified by comparing it to the inverted still-life paintings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In these religious paintings materiality, elaborately displayed in the foreground, ironically underscores the spiritual elements that are relegated to a tiny portion of the background. Similarly, in Lope's play, admiration of Juan Labrador's material wealth and peaceful lifestyle dominate the comedia, while the monarchy, although remaining in the background, is central to the ideology of the play. The reference to the classical anecdote and then the reversal of the historical account in act 3 emphasize the centrality of the monarchy and demonstrate that Juan Labrador's philosophy of social autonomy is detrimental to the concept of the Absolute Monarchy of Golden Age Spain. (CDM)