Recollections of Juan de Mena in Lope de Vega's Viuda, casada y doncella

At the beginning of Act III of Lope's Viuda, casada y doncella, the hero, Feliciano, has just escaped from slavery in Morocco and returns to Spain in the company of Fátima, the daughter of his former owner. Speaking from a God's-eye perspective, Feliciano points out to Fátima a number of mainly Spanish and African cities, towns and islands, from the Canaries on the west to Rome on the east. This geographic catalogue, made by a character who seems to speak from a vantage point in outer space, derives from Juan de Mena's Laberinto de Fortuna, stanzas 34 to 54. Feliciano appears to express his joy upon recovering his freedom and religion by opposing Spanish places to corresponding ones in Africa. (DM)