La palabra en el tiempo de las letras: Una historia heterodoxa (review)

In this very ambitious book, Carmen Benito-Vessels explores what she considers a particularly Spanish preoccupation with the relationship between words, letters and things – which, she argues, reflects an enduring Jewish influence on Castilian theories of language, from Alfonso X's "imperio de pergamino" (113) to the Real Academia Española's Al pie de la letra (2001). Benito-Vessels lays the basis for her argument with an overview of Kabbalistic interpretative practices, focusing on the work of Moisés de León (Zohar) and Abraham Abulafia in thirteenth-century Castile. Kabbalistic language theories posit that language is of divine origin and endowed with creative powers, as God created the world with his Word and then bestowed the gift of language on Adam. The proper interpretation of secret letter combinations and of the numerical value of letters can enable an adept to understand hidden meanings in sacred and secular texts and thereby approach the divine. Kabbalistic esoteric reading practices incorporated and built on Christian exegetical theories and were in turn adopted by Christian mystics. Benito-Vessels suggests that Kabbalistic language theories informed the work of the Jewish translators in the Toledo School; their ideas influenced Christian readers who incorporated Jewish linguistic theories into their writings.

Benito-Vessels then turns to an analysis of canonical Castilian literature to demonstrate the enduring influence of Kabbalistic language and reading theories. She argues that Alfonso X was a "gramático heterodoxo" (114) whose analysis of the sacred meaning of the seven letters of his name form part of his imperial writing project that aimed to create a new Jerusalem in the Iberian Peninsula. She contrasts the Libro de buen amor's celebration of arbitrary signs and elusive meanings with Juan Manuel's concise and exact language in the last three parts of El Conde Lucanor; both texts, she suggests, address the obscurity of the written word and the need to limit access to those few who are capable of properly decoding language. Her discussion of late fifteenth-century literature starts with an analysis of Antonio de Nebrija's exploration of the political power inherent in grammar and language choice. She then turns to the "sacroprofan[o]" (153) power of language in Diego de San Pedro's Cárcel de amor. In what may be the strongest part of the book, Benito-Vessels demonstrates that Cárcel de amor contains secret meanings invisible to the Inquisition but apparent to those versed in Jewish literature. She argues that La Celestina parodies Cárcel de amor through the way in which it uses language to exercise a secular power whose secrets can kill.

Benito-Vessels' approach is most convincing when applied to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century literature and language. After a discussion of the debate over Hebrew and Basque as sacred languages, she examines Fray Luis de León's linguistic and mystical theories, arguing that he created a Castilian that had the Kabbalistic properties of Hebrew and was superior to Latin. Gregorio López Madera used the Lead Books of the Sacromonte to prove the purity of Castilian, arguing that it derived from Hebrew, not Latin. Benito-Vessels then addresses the influence of Erasmus on Cervantes's language theories in "Coloquio de los perros" and "El licenciado Vidriera".

In the final chapter, Benito-Vessels discusses Castilian literature and language theories from the eighteenth century to the present. She addresses the foundation of the Real Academia Española as an attempt to restore Castilian to its Golden Age prestige, a project criticized by Miguel de Unamuno and Antonio Machado as impeding the future development of Spanish. Benito-Vessels explores Unamuno's mystical language in Niebla and the problem of time, life and the word in Machado's poetry. She concludes with a discussion of Al pie de la letra, a collection of essays by members of the Real Academia Española in praise of the letter on the...