The Pathos of Mencía's Death in Calderón's El médico de su honra

To this day, criticism of El médico de su honra has not emphasized sufficiently the genre to which this play belongs, the dramatic functions of the characters, and the ambiguous imagery which, contrary to current opinion, would seem to indicate that Doña Mencía (like the wives of the other honor plays) is both guilty and innocent of the social upheaval which endangers the social order of King Pedro's court. To better understand what honor plays seem to portray, the author attempts to deconstruct the usual bilateral positions (if not quilty, innocent; if not Christian, pagan, etc.) which have obfuscated our vision of the tragic in Calderón's theater.