Desesperadas: el suicidio femenino en la tragedia española de la década de 1580

This paper examines female suicide (or “despair”) in the Spanish tragedy of the 1580s. First, it addresses the issue of honor, because in the imaginary of the time, although suicide was abo-minable, it was legitimate to give one’s life for honor in codified spaces such as duels or war. This raises the question of womens honor, which, in the absence of such codified spaces, led plausibly, within the framework of tragedy, to “despair”. I analyze a series of suicidal female characters in plays by Cervantes, Juan de la Cueva, Lupercio de Argensola and Cristóbal de Virués. The despairing women are portrayed in different ways. In Argensola’s case, they are covered with guilt; in the others they are usually portrayed as paragons of virtue. It always concerns honor suicides because this is the only way this act, under specific conditions, such as the characters being pagans, could be represented on stage.