¿Dónde está el cabeza de familia?: El gobierno de Teresa Panza, razón de estado y ejemplaridad doméstica

The aim of this paper is to analyze the governmental practices that Teresa Panza adopts as a domestic administrator during the absence of her husband, Sancho. In response to the temporary lack of a family patriarch, the welfare of the Panza household falls into the hands of Teresa who assumes the role of surrogate governor of the family. I argue that her government, distancing itself from the impractical and unrealistic expectations of her husband, is imbued with the Machiavellian and Tacitean principles of reason of government and of state. The domestic administration set forth by Teresa serves as a model for the governmental practices subsequently employed by Sancho at Barataria. More precisely, her administration prognosticates a new relationship between the state and the individual, fomenting a reflection of politics that is more cognizant of the field of economics. Initially, Teresa is guided by a prudent government that is limited to the precepts of Christian morality, with its moral and ethical responsibilities and a static perception of time. However, after receiving confirmation of her husband’s government, Teresa develops a modern moral subjectivity marked by a shift towards a desire for selfpower and the fulfillment of personal interests, clearly displacing a medieval mentality based on a normative understanding of Christian virtue and tradition.