| Fernando
de Rojas’s Celestina (1499) is perhaps the
second greatest work of Spanish literature, right after Don
Quixote, and Francisco Delicado sought to surpass it
with La Lozana andaluza (1530), an important precursor
of the picaresque novel. Both works were written during the
height of the Inquisition, when the only relatively safe way
for New Christian writers of Jewish extraction like Rojas
and Delicado to express what they felt about the discrimination
they suffered and their doubts regarding the faith that had
been forced upon their ancestors was to do so in a covert,
indirect manner. Some scholars have detected this subversive
element in Rojas’s and Delicado’s corrosive view
of the Christian societies in which they lived, but this book
goes far beyond such suggestions, showing through abundant
textual evidence that these two authors used superficial bawdiness
and claims regarding the morality of their respective works
as cover to encode attacks against the central dogmas of Christianity:
the Annunciation, the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, and the
Holy Trinity.
This book, which will generate controversy among Hispanists, will be
of interest not only to students and scholars of Spanish literature, but
also to those involved in Jewish studies, Medieval European history, and
cultural studies.
"This is a magnificent book. It makes for delightful reading,
as over and over it explains and clarifies crucial aspects
of two sometimes misunderstood early Spanish masterpieces.
It breaks new ground, the exposition is brilliant, and it
will be must reading for anyone interested in medieval and
early modern Spanish literature." Samuel G. Armistead,
University of California, Davis
"Fontes goes beyond other scholars who have detected
subversion in Rojas' and Delicado's works to suggest that
these authors used superficial bawdiness and claims of morality
to encode attacks against the central dogmas of Christianity."
Book News, May 2005
"Costa Fontes examina todos los aspectos en que Rojas
estaría parodiando, con acidez criptojudaizante,
la ... figura de la Virgen María. ... El análisis
es bien convincente, pese a algún ocasional punto
disputable. ... Costa Fontes [también] enumera y
revisa los extremos que permiten la lectura de La Lozana
como un respuesta, o réplica, y ello a varios niveles,
a Celestina; ... nos parece que estamos en presencia
de un título que ocupará de inmediato un lugar
importante dentro del vasto mar de la bibliografía
celestinesca." —Juan Carlos Conde, Celestinesca
For the full review, see Celestinesca 29 (2005):
247-57.
"Este libro de Manuel da Costa Fontes aborda el muy
espinoso problema de la interpretación conversa de
dos textos en especial, La Celestina y La Lozana
andaluza. El autor se decanta por una repuesta decididamente
afirmativa a la pregunta de si sus autores son conversos
y a la de si estos dos textos pueden (y deben) leerse como
literatura conversa....Estamos, en fin, ante una obra de
lectura obligada. Obra densa, que recoge un gran caudal
de crítica, fuentes secundarias, y que es indiscutiblemente
reflejo de una vida dedicada a pensar sobre estos textos.
No nos queda sino felicitar al autor y recomendar la lectura
(y crítica) de su obra." Adelaida Cortijo
Ocaña, eHumanista
Read the full review in eHumanista, Volume 6,
2006, at http://www.spanport.ucsb.edu/projects/ehumanista/
volumes/volume_06/index.shtml
"Scholars and students alike will undoubtedly benefit
from this thoroughly documented study that encompasses most
of the complex historical, social, religious and political
issues of medieval and early modern Spain."—Horacio
Chiong Rivero, La córonica
Read the full review in La córonica 34.2
(2006): 324-28.
"with this book, the reader gains a more thorough
understanding of Celestina and Lozana
and of their authors' world. It is very organized, easy
to follow, and engaging in its approach to the topic. This
study adds to our understanding of these two works by going
beyond existing interpretations. As such, it remains a valuable
addition to scholarship on Rojas and Delicado as well as
to Medieval and Renaissance literature generally."
—Mark J. Mascia, Calíope
For the full review, see Calíope 12.1 (2006):
107-10.
"Libro polémico éste, bien escrito,
mejor aún argumentado, ... donde [Manuel da Costa
Fontes] recoge algún trabajo suyo anterior y se lanza
a una magna labor de defensa del carácter converso
de La Celestina y La Lozana andaluza....
Estamos ante una obra que merece una lectura reposada....
Quién esté en desacuerdo con Da Costa—y
habrá muchos—deberá embarcarse en una
labor igualmente exchaustiva de desencajar una a una las
múltiples piezas del puzzle sobre las que el autor
ha cimentado su cuidada interpretación." —Antonio
Cortijo Ocaña, Iberoamericana
For the full review, see Iberoamericana 6.21 (2006):
223-28.
For more reviews of this book, see:
Bulletin of Spanish Studies 83 (2006): 986 (Thomas
R. Hart)
Sephardic Heritage Update 28 Mar. 2007: 1-6 (David
Shasha)
Manuel da Costa Fontes, Kent State University, is author and editor
of several books and has published widely on the Portuguese ballad, crypto-Judaism,
and medieval and Renaissance Spanish literature. His most recent book
is Folklore and Literature: Studies in the Portuguese, Brazilian,
Sephardic, and Hispanic Oral Traditions.
1-55753-348-2
2004. Vol. 30. xiv, 346 pp. Paper $44.95
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