The Hunter and the Twins: Astrological Imagery in La Estrella de Sevilla

THE HUNTER AND THE TWINS: ASTROLOGICAL IMAGERY IN LA ESTRELLA DE SEVILLA FREDERICK A. DE ARMAS Louisiana State University References to astrology in the literature of the Spanish Golden Age are plentiful, thus reflecting continuity in this belief from what has been called the«star-crossed» Renaissance. ' These astral passages may be autobiographical as in the case of Lope de Vega's La Dorotea;2 they may embellish an amorous deceit and provide comical stituations as in Calderón's El astrólogofingido;1 they may serve to criticize this occult science as embustera as in Salas Barbadillo's El subtil cordobés Pedro de Urdemalas4 or Vêlez de Guevara's El diablo cojuelo 5 or they may deal with the fundamental question of fate and free will as in Ruiz de Alarcón's El dueño de las estrellas6 or Calderón's La vida es sueño. 7 Thus, the astrólogo estilo noted in La estrella de Sevilla, as well as the presence of an eponymous heroine, «with all the astrological connotations of her name, as a symbol of purity and nobility», as J. L. Brooks has stated/ ought to have led critics to investigate the function of this occult science in the comedia. We might have looked in vain for such an elucidation, if two articles had not appeared that have gone a long way in helping to fill this lacuna. Sara and Harlan Sturm have carefully studied the images of the sun and the guiding star in this «tragedia», associating the first with the King and the second with the heroine: «The King's transgression is the attempted misuse of Estrella, his refusal to accept the guidance which she, together with Busto, provides.»' James F. Burke, while accepting this interpretation, has juxtaposed a second astrological reading. The scene portraying the King's entrance into Sevilla, he states, is reminiscent of Giulio Camillo's memory theater in Renaissance Italy: the seven women on a raised platform represent the seven Ptolemaic planets. '"Estrella is equated with Saturn: «She is described in terms of a black light which can eclipse the bright light of the sun. . . . Saturn, in astrology and alchemy, was considered a black star, and a sol niger.»" Burke could have added that such representations were not restricted to occult mnemonic devices in Renaissance Italy. In England, Robert Henryson's The Testament of Cresseid (1460) portrayed the seven planets sitting in judgment: while a few years before the composition of La estrella de Sevilla, John LyIy 11 12Bulletin ofthe Comediantes«personified the seven planets and employed them as the modus operandi in his comedy The Woman in the Moone (q.v. 1597).»" Not only are planets significant in the interpretation of La estrella de Sevilla, but signs of the zodiac are as well. Estrella and her brother Busto are compared to the sign Gemini, the twins, as Martel and Alpern, editors of a standard anthology of the comedia note: Nuestra hermandad envidiaba Sevilla, y todos presumen que éramos los dos hermanos que a una Estrella se reducen, (vv. 2094-2097)" Both the Sturms and Burke have accepted this observation, but have not fully investigated the implications of the zodiacal imagery nor have they related the signs to the planets in question. This is the subject of our essay. The sign Gemini is perfectly suited to Estrella and Busto. They are brother and sister, identical in their high regard for honor. Their closeness and their shining virtue are emphasized by Don Arias: . . . que en la esfera sevillana es Sol, si estrella es su hermana; que Estrella y Sol se han juntado, (vv. 172-174) Yet, as Claude Aníbal once pointed out, these are not the only people who resemble the twins in the comedia. Stressing the originality of the author of La estrella de Sevilla, as opposed to the obvious and prosaic style of Andrés de Claramonte, Anibal comments: For Claramonte to think of two gentlemen, or even of Ferdinand and Isabella, as 'el Geminis del Cielo de Castilla/ Castor y Polux bellos' is much less original than is Estrella's application of the figure to lovers and with particularly fine imagery to...