Queens' illicit passions: Jealousy and envy of Catherine of Lancaster and Isabella of Portugal on the Golden Age stage

Abstract

The aim is to analyze how two important medieval queens, Catherine of Lancaster and Isabella of Portugal ‒wives of Henry III and John II of Trastámara, respectively‒ embody the complementary passions of envy (in the courtly sphere) and jealousy (in the romantic sphere) in seven Golden Age comedies. The selected playwrights are Salucio del Poyo, Mira de Amescua, Luis Vélez de Guevara, Tirso de Molina, and Blas Fernández de Mesa. Considered a virtuous and moderate sovereign, Catherine appears as a jealous woman in only two plays. On the contrary, because she hailed from a country historically hostile to Spain, Portugal, Isabella becomes the quintessential jealous and deceitful queen, as shown in the five comedies where she appears as either a secondary character or the protagonist. The virtuous noblewomen mistreated by the two queens for political and romantic rivalry are María de Albornoz, wife of Enrique, Marquis of Villena; Juana de Pimentel, second wife of Álvaro de Luna; Aldonza de Mendoza, wife of Fadrique Enríquez, Duke of Arjona; and Beatriz de Silva, a lady-in-waiting in Isabella of Portugal's entourage. After a comparative analysis of the studied plays, the author concludes that the expression of jealousy and envy by the two foreign queens follows the descriptive pattern commonly used in Spanish Golden Age literature regarding both passions, and is closely tied to the ideological, political, and social framework that underpins the seven comedies in question.