Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles
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Julene Abad Del Vecchio
Abstract
Abad Del Vecchio examines Thetis’ reception in Tirso de Molina’s1 El Aquiles, focusing in particular on the agency of the goddess in the play. Abad Del Vecchio’s chapter reveals Tirso’s fleshed-out vision of Thetis, as well as the playwright’s close, intertextual reading of Achilles’ mother as she appears in the Achilleid of Statius. Thetis in El Aquiles has more agency and plays a more crucial role than previous scholarship has acknowledged. At the same time, the dialogue enacted also discloses some of Tirso’s predilected scenes of the Achilleid which feature Thetis. In keeping with the tradition of Chiron as the fosterfather of Achilles, Tirso’s play is also seen to engage in the ‘denial of motherhood’ trope that we see elsewhere in the Thetidian tradition. Abad Del Vecchio maintains that El Aquiles creates a humanized figure of Thetis, and overall demonstrates Thetis’ everlasting appeal in the Spanish Baroque tradition.
Abstract
Abad Del Vecchio examines Thetis’ reception in Tirso de Molina’s1 El Aquiles, focusing in particular on the agency of the goddess in the play. Abad Del Vecchio’s chapter reveals Tirso’s fleshed-out vision of Thetis, as well as the playwright’s close, intertextual reading of Achilles’ mother as she appears in the Achilleid of Statius. Thetis in El Aquiles has more agency and plays a more crucial role than previous scholarship has acknowledged. At the same time, the dialogue enacted also discloses some of Tirso’s predilected scenes of the Achilleid which feature Thetis. In keeping with the tradition of Chiron as the fosterfather of Achilles, Tirso’s play is also seen to engage in the ‘denial of motherhood’ trope that we see elsewhere in the Thetidian tradition. Abad Del Vecchio maintains that El Aquiles creates a humanized figure of Thetis, and overall demonstrates Thetis’ everlasting appeal in the Spanish Baroque tradition.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of Tables and Figures XI
- Introduction: The Power of Thetis, 30 Years On 1
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Part I: The Powers of Thetis - Strife, Succession, and Cosmic Balance
- The Power and Failures of Thetis in Early Poetic Traditions and Beyond 19
- The Rape and Binding of Thetis in Its Mythological Context 43
- Divine Even If Not Olympian: The Mobility of Thetis in the Iliad 75
- Suggestions and Themes in Thetis’ rhesis in Euripides’ Andromache 87
- Thetis in Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo: Dynasty and Succession 107
- Secrets and Lies: The Power of Thetis in Roman Culture 147
- Neque ... sine numine uincis: Thetis, Medusa and (Literary) Creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses 181
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Part II: Thetis’ Family Matters
- In the Bosom of the Goddess: Thetis and Dionysus in Il. 6.130–140 207
- Motherhood and Shapeshifting in Depictions of Thetis 225
- Forging Families with Thetis: “Tentacular Thinking” and Queer Kinship in Homer’s Iliad 257
- Mourning Mothers and Premature Deaths: Thetis’ Example in Greek Funerary Epigrams 277
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Part III: Material Culture
- ‘A Dread and Revered Goddess’: Thetis and Other Gods in Attic Vases 299
- Saviour Mermaids of the Ancient Mediterranean: Thetis and the Nereids as Patrons of Ancient Greek Mariners 315
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Part IV: Reception – Thetis’ Aftermaths
- The Wicked Witch of the West? Thetis’ Controversial Transformations in 14th- Century Middle English Vernacular Poetry 341
- Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles 369
- Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden 395
- Thetis of the Silver Screen: The Vengeful and Cosmic Goddess in Clash of the Titans 411
- Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007) 429
- Reception in Performance: Interview and Poetry 471
- Afterword to the Staying Power of Thetis 485
- List of Contributors 495
- Index Locorum 501
- Subject Index 519
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of Tables and Figures XI
- Introduction: The Power of Thetis, 30 Years On 1
-
Part I: The Powers of Thetis - Strife, Succession, and Cosmic Balance
- The Power and Failures of Thetis in Early Poetic Traditions and Beyond 19
- The Rape and Binding of Thetis in Its Mythological Context 43
- Divine Even If Not Olympian: The Mobility of Thetis in the Iliad 75
- Suggestions and Themes in Thetis’ rhesis in Euripides’ Andromache 87
- Thetis in Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo: Dynasty and Succession 107
- Secrets and Lies: The Power of Thetis in Roman Culture 147
- Neque ... sine numine uincis: Thetis, Medusa and (Literary) Creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses 181
-
Part II: Thetis’ Family Matters
- In the Bosom of the Goddess: Thetis and Dionysus in Il. 6.130–140 207
- Motherhood and Shapeshifting in Depictions of Thetis 225
- Forging Families with Thetis: “Tentacular Thinking” and Queer Kinship in Homer’s Iliad 257
- Mourning Mothers and Premature Deaths: Thetis’ Example in Greek Funerary Epigrams 277
-
Part III: Material Culture
- ‘A Dread and Revered Goddess’: Thetis and Other Gods in Attic Vases 299
- Saviour Mermaids of the Ancient Mediterranean: Thetis and the Nereids as Patrons of Ancient Greek Mariners 315
-
Part IV: Reception – Thetis’ Aftermaths
- The Wicked Witch of the West? Thetis’ Controversial Transformations in 14th- Century Middle English Vernacular Poetry 341
- Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles 369
- Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden 395
- Thetis of the Silver Screen: The Vengeful and Cosmic Goddess in Clash of the Titans 411
- Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007) 429
- Reception in Performance: Interview and Poetry 471
- Afterword to the Staying Power of Thetis 485
- List of Contributors 495
- Index Locorum 501
- Subject Index 519
