To What Extent Is

“El Médico De Su Honra” Principally A Play About Honour. Essay, Research Paper

........... Honour was one of the prominent issues in the

Spanish Golden Age dramas of which Calderón and Lope de

Vega were the main exponents. Indeed, the play is called a

“drama de honor”.. The very fact that Calderón

chose to include the word ‘honra’ in the title of the

play ‘El Médico de su Honra’ indicates that

indeed a certain element of honour must be present within. One

must find out whether honour is the principal cause of the play

or if other themes hold more importance.... ........... In the “Diccionario de Autoridades”

– the first dictionary of the Spanish language,

“honor” is described as: . “Se toma muchas veces por reputación y lustre

de alguna familia, acción u otra cosa…Se toma

assimismo por obsequio, apláuso o celebridad de alguna

cosa. Significa tambien la honestidad y recato en las

mugéres.” . “Honra”, while interchangeable with

“honor” in many regards, has been said to impart

honour with a more interior connotation, as in “respect for

personal worth”: . “Reverencia, acatamiento y veneración que se hace

á la virtúd, autoridad ò mayoría de

alguna persona…Significa tambien pundonór,

estimacion y buena fama, que se halla en el sujeto y debe

conservar…Se toma tambien por la integridad

virginál en las mugéres .” . Despite using “honra” in the title,

Calderón uses “honor” far more frequently in

the play. In the first act, “honor” appears almost

exclusively and mostly refers to the honours of the women

Mencía and Leonor. In Act Two, Gutierre addresses his

honour as if it were a person: . .“¡Ay honor! Mucho tenemos que // hablar a solas

los dos” (1401) . In terms of the whole play however, “honra” is

invoked with relative infrequency and usually as a synonym for

“honor”. It is safe to say that Calderón used

the former for variety and for purposes of rhyme and rhythm since

“honra” is stressed on the first syllable and

“honor” on the second. ...... ........... Honour is often embodied, in ‘El

Médico de su Honra’ as social reputation by those

involved in it. The vast majority of the characters are of noble

birth; the King Don Pedro I, the ‘Infante’ Don

Enrique, Don Gutierre, Doña Mencía and Doña

Leonor. Perhaps it is Doña Leonor who, early on, sets the

climate which indicates the importance that honour will acquire.

She shows that she is a slave to public opinion and her

reputation. Thus arises her obsession to regain her honour which

was put in jeopardy when her lover, D. Gutierre, failed to marry

her “Diome palabra de que sería mi

esposo” and thus dishonoured her because of his

suspicions concerning her fidelity. Don Pedro, who is renowned

for being just in matters concerning honour, knows that

Doña Leonor’s grievance must surely be true, for she

dares to tell him of her dishonour in public: “Hablad

agora, porque si venisteis // de parte del honor, como

dijisteis,//. indigna cosa fuera //. que en público el

honor sus quejas diera”. . Yet, despite her private desire for his

‘deshonra’, in public she keeps up appearances and

defends his name when confronted about him by Don Arias by

stating that he is “Un caballero que en todas las

ocasiones con obrar y con decir, sabrá muy bien cumplir en

sus obligaciones”. Importantly, it is seen via her

actions and also through those of other characters, namely Don

Gutierre and Doña Mencía that a passion for honour

is more important than love itself. . Doña Mencía is an interesting character.

Throughout the play she struggles against her desire to restart

her love affair with Don Enrique who clearly is very willing for

this to happen. However, due to the fact that she is married,

although this may have been against her will, she remains

faithful: “Tuve amor y tengo honor”.

Ultimately perhaps she pays the price for her various acts of

imprudence, as envisioned via various small yet vital things that

she does, such as writing a letter to Don Enrique, only for Don

Gutierre to find it as the play reaches its climax. The letter

appears to condemn her actions and thus fuel Don Gutierre’s

rage even more, whereas in fact, had she been given the chance to

finish the letter, her actions would have been explained and

Gutierre would have seen that she was indeed still faithful to

him. . Don Gutierre’s actions are dictated by the need to

uphold social reputation in the form of self-dignity; ultimately

honour. He is the character which relies most on the supposed

“injustice of dishonour” to justify his a

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