The Eighteenth Century Theatre In Spain

Author : Kirt Edward Komocki
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 262 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (747 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Download or read book The Representation of Domestic Servants in Eighteenth-century Spanish Theatre written by Kirt Edward Komocki and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: Domestic servants comprised a major sector of the working population in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Madrid, assisting in the completion of daily responsibilities and acting as symbols of status for their superiors. Despite their significant presence and important roles in everyday life in the court city, domestics have generally been overlooked by scholarship that has focused on the rapid expansion of the middle class and top-down social reforms of that time. Recognizing the complexity of domestic service and the lack of primary information on servants themselves, my dissertation examines the representation of domestics in Spanish theatre, using Nicolás Fernández de Moratín's La petimetra, Leandro Fernández de Moratín's El sí de las niñas, and the sainetes of Ramón de la Cruz to gain valuable insight into the profession. The connection between dramatic representation and domestic service solidifies itself during the eighteenth-century, as both areas enter periods of substantial growth and reform. Similarly, domestic service is in many regards a performance, with servants often acting against their will to carry out daily responsibilities and function as status symbols for their superiors. Masters, in turn, act out other roles in these relationships to reinforce their social position, power, and prestige. Studying depictions of the characters of domestic servants, and the world in which they operate, in selected theatrical works, therefore sheds light on the entire profession and helps recreate a major part of Spanish society. Drama, while it cannot completely objectify domestic service, can reveal certain aspects of the profession, namely that servants were vastly present in eighteenth-century Madrid, domestic service was a complex profession in both its make-up and the variety of people who completed service-based tasks, domestic service involved a wide range of tasks both inside the home and in public spaces, and generated fascinating master-servant and servant-servant relationships. Additionally, the expansion of servant responsibilities is paralleled by the increase of theatrical functions of the characters of domestic servants in the selected works, another true testament to their expansion and growing significance. These features, present in the selected theatrical works, help navigate the paradoxical situation of studying representations of a profession that is to a great extent difficult to represent or approximate. My dissertation therefore paints a picture of the service profession in eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Madrid, while evaluating what may have been believable to the general public and audiences of that time. It also suggests that theatrical works can be used as a valid source of information on social, historical and economic issues.