Icons of Saturn - Astrologer-Kings in Calderons Comedias

7/29/2019 Icons of Saturn - Astrologer-Kings in Calderons Comedias

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ICONS OF SATURN :ASTROLOGER-KINGS IN CALDERON'S COMEDIAS*The prevalence of kings, horoscopes and imprisonm ents of young childrenwho are considered persecuted by the stars could lead to the belief tha t thereare many characters who resemble the Basilio of La vida es sueiio in Calder6n'sdramaturgy. Although Blanca de los Rfos discovered ten Segismundos,1 asearch of this playwright's secular dramas reveals only three astrologer-kings.2 Basilio is the earliest representative of diis type , while the oth er two

are found in mythological dramas written more than twenty years later. Inspite of this chronological and genre gap, the three figures have much incommon Perhaps Calder6n's return to the astrologer-king in later years mayhave been influenced by his understanding of the mythical import of thistype. Edwin Honig asserts in his study of La vida es sueiio "Since Rosaura aswell as Segismundo have been dishonoured by their father, how can theyredress their personal grievances widiout ruptu ring the. relauonship of onegeneration with the next, the succession of life itself? The old myths stirbeneadi the surface: Zeus dethroned Chronus ... "' The father-son conflictin this play parallels the Chronus-Zeus struggle, while the astrologicalimagery points to the more complex Medieval and Renaissance manifesta-tions of Chronus as the astral deity Saturn.4 The mythological substructureof La vida es sueiio becomes apparent when we recall that the pagan god wasknown as the d evourer of children du e to a prophecy that told that one of hisoffspring would depose him. To prevent this from happening, Saturn insti-tuted the macabre dinner B utjup iter escaped thanks to the cleverness of themother and eventually overthrew the ruler of heaven. Basilio fears a similarprediction and banishes Segismundo to avoid dedironement. Like Saturn,he must eventually face his rebellious son. In order to underline the impor-tance of the Saturn rnydi in La inda es sueflo, Calder6n includes the figure ofAstraea, a nam e taken by Rosaura at Court. The goddess of justice lived onEarth during Saturn's rji'e, but withdrew to the heavens as the constellationVirgo once men became corrupt. Astraea in Calder6n's play is not the com-panion of Basilio-Saturn since he represen ts th e negative or tyranical aspectsof the god.5 She fulfils a different role. The return of Astraea-Virgo to theworld is to be a signal of the coming new age of justice . As a figure parallelto Segismundo, she clarifies the prince's role as that of restore r of a goldenage.6 This essay will analyse the astrologer-kings of Los tres afectos de amor andApolo v Climene in order to show how they resemble Basilio as icons of themalefic aspect of Saturn.

The resolution of the father-son conflict brought about by Segismundo'smagnanimity in La vida es sueno, brings to an end Calder6n's concern withthis problem in his theatre according to Alexander A. Parker.7 And yet, of the


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118ten Segismundos discovered by Blanca de los Rios, most belong to die thirdor final period of Calde r6n's dram atu rgy , spa nn ing the years from 1650 to1681, a period characterised by Co urt spectacle dram as wh ere ma ny comedws"take place in the mythological world" 8 During this period the horoscopemotif reappears as the cause for the incarceration of a child by a pare nt. Butthe father-son conflict is replaced by either a mother-son opposition as in Elmonstnw de losjardines (1650-53?)and Eco y Naraso (1661) or a father-daughterrelations hip as in Los tres afectos de amor (1658) an d Apoloy Cltmene (1661).9 Inthe first gr ou p, the m oth er (T etis, Liriope) is die object of sexual violence a ndthe resulting child (Aquiles, Narciso) is raised by her in seclusion due toominous predict ions. On the other hand, the second group of plays wherethe father incarcerates a daughter, continues the line of the astrologer-kingfirst depicted in La vida es siieiio.

In Las cadenas deldemoruo, a play purpo rtedly written by Ca lder6n at mu chthe same time as his masterpiece, King Polem6n has imprisoned his daughterat birth due to a horoscope. But the monarch is not an astrologer, since heorders his counsellors to prepare die natal "juicio" (p.646).' It predicts diatIrene would be:el principal instrumentode otra nueva ley de un diossu pe rio r a todos ellos (p.646)

Las cadenas del demonio is thus concerned with conversion and focuses onthe struggle between paganism and Christianity. The images and ambiencefound in this religious play where Demonio and San Bartolom batde to win diesouls of die protagonists are very different from diose encountered in La mdaes stieiio an d its successors Los tres afectos de amor- a n d Apolo y Chmene w h e r e p e r -sonal, political and mythical con cerns take prece denc e over religious struggles.

Los tres afectos de amor, performed at the Buen Retiro on November 28,1648, was com pos ed to celebra te Felipe Pr6spe ro's first birthd ay. Only a yearbefore, Queen Mariana had almost died giving birth to the prince, a subjectto which CaJder6n refers in the loa to the Laurel de Apolo as a "grosseroaccidente"." This near-tragedy may be reflected dramatically in Los tresafectos de amor when King Seleuco explains to his da d g h te r

Naciste tan desde luegoprodigiosa , que hecha humanavibora, al materno alberguede las piadosas en trana sque te hospe daron, pagasteinculpablemente ingrata ,dando en precio de una vidauna m uer te . . . (p . 1187)

Rosarda repays her modier's "hospitality" in the womb by killing her atchildbirth. Queen Mariana's "grossero accidente" may have remindedCalder6n of his concern widi the viper birth more than twenty years before


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119in plays such as La devocwn de la ana and La vida es siieOo Seleuco's wife, likeBasiho's Clorilene has died giving birth. Both monarchs speak of their off-spring in terms of a viper. Renaissance and seventeenth-century wnters stillheld to the belief formulated in Pliny's Natural History diat at birth this ser-pent invariably killed its parent. The violent and tragic situation waspopularised in emblem books and was thought to signify "children plottingagainst their parents".12 Thus, the viper birth reinforces die myth of Saturnwho also fears his children These om inous images from mydiology andnatural history may be the key to Segismundo's imprisonment by his father.In La devocidn de la oitz, Curcio narrates his wife's pregnancy and childbirthin a manner reminiscent to Basiho's and Seleuco's tragic tales. However, hisversion adds a new perspective. Cu ra o believes diat his children are the pro-duct of an adulterous relationship and warns his wife R osmira.

en tus entrafiascomo la vibora, traesa quien te ha de dar la muerte.Indicio ha sido bastanteel parto infame que esperas (p.405)This link between an illicit sexual relationship and a viper birth that killsdie mother is repeated in La hija del atre. Here Semframis is born as the result

of the seduction of the nymph Arceta. Like Segismundo, she is born un deran apparently inauspicious horoscope which claims diat she will become atyrant She also suffers incarceration like the prince of La indaessueiio. Moreimportant, the mother dies at childbirth and Semframis relates this tragicoccurrence to the viper "pues vibora hum ana yo, / rompi aquel senomaterno" '3The image of the viper birth is associated in both La devocidn de la cruz andLa hija del aire to an illicit sexual relationsh ip. A possible explanauon of thislink may be found in the fact that traditionally adultery, incest and rape werethought to produce monsters as offspring.14 In La inda es sumo, Basiliorecounts just such a monster birth. His reaction to the child is one of greatviolence and cruelty because he may be looking at him with suspicion andhatred. Seg ismundo, the viper that killed Clorilene may not be his own son:he appears as an alien and murderous element intruding in Basiho's grief.The relauonship between a monster birth and an illicit sexual relationship isless clear in Los tres afectos de amor, although the circumstances surroundingIsdaura's pregnancy are far from ordinary The couple had not enjoyed anentirely happy conjugal life:Vivimos nuestra doradaedad en el desconsuelode no tene r hijos. (p. 1187)

Only after years of prayers and sacrifices to Venus, die tutelary goddess ofCyprus where they abide, does Isdaura become preg nan t But, if the childRosarda is to be considered as a gift of heaven for the couple's piety, it seems


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120unlikely that she would bring about the m other's death. Is Rosarda the resultof an illicit relationship fostered by die goddess of love, but condemned byanother deity, perhaps Saturn? No clear answer is provided in the dramauctext, but Seleuco does replace Rosarda's pleasant "materno albergue", diewomb, with a less pleasurable incarceration.

Seleuco is a most suited figure through which Saturn can manifest its in-fluence. In Manilius' Astronomtca, there is a typical descripuon of the seventhplanet: "Saturn exercises die powers diat are his own: cast down himself inages past from empire in the skies and the th ron e of heaven, he wields as afather power over die fortunes of fathers and die p light of the old".13 Thus,the planet is endowed with power over fadiers because the god is oftenviewed in diis role. Furthermore, as ruler of heaven, Saturn is oftenassociated with kingship The bipolar natu re of god and planet is evinced indie two different types of monarchs he can represent, the benevolent rulerof the golden age or the tyrant that has to be overthrown by Jup iter.16 Inaddition, since his empire was the skies, he is said to have imparted astro-logical knowledge to humanity, a fact noted by Baltasar de -Vitona in hisTeatro de los dwses de la gentdidad.]~ Seleuco as father, king and astrologer is notonly a figure who clearly falls under the influence of the sevendi planet, butas an icon of Saturn on Earth, he mirrors its attributes and radiates its in-fluence. The monarch imprisons his daughter at birth, recalling Saturn 's fearof his children. Fu rthermore , according to most astrological treatises, dioseinfluenced by diis malefic planet often suffer incarceration.18 As Rosardagrows up imprisoned, she often thinks of suicide as die only liberauon possible-

que mil veces he queridoque ese pidlago, que fuede Venus cuna de plata,tiimulo de nieve seaa mi fortuna . . .que enajenada de midesde aquesas pefias aJtastengo de arrojarme al mar . .. (p.1187)

The seas that surround Cyprus and which had witnessed the birth ofVenus, are seen by Rosarda as a potential tomb and a means of liberauonThis desire for deadi also evinces the im pact of Saturn on Rosarda, for dieseventh Ptolemaic planet is often related to sadness and violent dea th.19 Thestern and saturnine fadier is not a totally negative figure since Rosardabelieves that he appears to love her in spite of having incarcerated her:Y aunque es verdad que su am ortan uernamente me ama . . .con todo eso, es cosa claraque en sola la libertad,todo lo demas me falta. (p 1186)

The astrologer father also expresses his love, albeit misguided, throughthe evidence he provides for die need to shelter his child from destiny The


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121porten ts he points to include a solar eclipse as in Laindaessueno. More impor-tant, Seleuco describes what is perhaps the most specific horoscopal configu-ration in Calder6n's comedias "y retrdgrado en la cas a/d e Venus, Saturno"(p. 1187). Th is reference to Saturn in a play composed in the late 1650s mayreflect a specific astral event diat became much debated all over Europe atthis time. Astrologers were particularly unsetded since die solar eclipse ofAugust 12, 1654 was to take place in the zodiacal sign Leo, a fiery sign dia tthus com pounded the eclipse's malefic influences. Furtherm ore , diis was tooccur at a time when Saturn and Mars were conjunct in this same sign. Sincethe umes of Ptolemy, diese were considered as the two most malefic planets.It was calculated diat die eclipse would last two hours and twenty minuteswhich m eant d iat its effect would begin to be felt two and a diird years later.Indeed, 1656 was believed to be the num ber of years after creation when thedeluge took place. A second destruction, diis time by fire, should d ien takeplace in die year 1656 after Christ. Th ese apocalyptic fears were felt all overEurope. Honors Bouche-, a doctor in dieology in Aix explains that: "Al'occasion d'une Eclipse qui arnva sur les neuf ou dix heures du maun . ilse fit de plus grandes sotuses, non seulement en Provence mais encore partoute la France, l'Espagne, l'ltalie et rAllemagne."20 It may be diat Los tresafectos de wnor revives the astrologer-king who ponders upon the significanceof an eclipse in order to mirror this recent event. Seleuco's fears come tonaught dius parallelling die baseless concern demonstrated by many. Men-tion of Saturn could well be a clue that Calder6n was alluding to diisastral event, since even Pascal in his Pensies refers to the event as "l'entrde deSaturne au Lion".

However, die horoscope described in the play is different from dieastrological configuradon that worried Europeans from 1654 to 1656 Whilediese astrologers po inted to a Saturn-Mars conjunction, Seleuco is most con-cerned by the presence of the planet Saturn, retrograde, in the house ofVenus at Rosarda's birth. He precedes the naming of die most malefic ofplanets with the term retrdgrado. In an astrological sense, diis adjective is used"to describe a planet diat appears to be moving backwards dirough diezodiac, from east to west".21 The negative connotations of retnogradationwere well known in the epoch , dius increasing the sevendi planet's malignity.The King interprets the horoscope thus:

Halle\ digo, que tenien doen tu hor6scopo contrariainfluencia tu nermosura,peligro te amenazabade violenta muerte . . . (p.l 188)

The monarch's conclusions are certainly consonant widi traditional as-trology. Venus provides Rosarda widi tiermosura. T he presence of the maleficSaturn retrograde points to the fact diat her beauty could lead to disaster.Indeed, the vwltnta muerte predicted by Seleuco stems from the relationship


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122of the seventh planet to violent death. While the father-son conflict in La vulaes svefw represents a displacement- of the Saturn-Jupiter myth, in Los Iresafectos de amor the main conflict is viewed astrologically as a Saturn-Venusone. T he malefic influence of die first must be tempered by the benefic influxof die second. If Seleuco is an icon of Saturn, Rosarda is often seen as Venusin her beauty. T he planet that trium phs will determ ine the resolution of thecomedia as tragic or happy.Once the children grow up, the fathers, Basilio and Seleuco, reconsidertheir cruel and saturnine actions. They express the notion diat a horoscopedoes no t have to be fulfilled since a wise person can tr ium ph over the stars.The ancient motto "Sapiens homo dominatur astns"2* is echoed in bothcomedtas by die apparendy repentant fathers. In Los tres afectos de amor,Seleuco declares-

que no siempre su palabracumple el hado, y que el prudentesobre las estrellas manda. (p. 1188)Other reasons given by die King of Cyprus for his belated release of hisown daughter include his loving awareness of her unhappy condition andthe kingdom's need for a successor. Seleuco's decision also allows him to dis-claim any responsibility for what will follow: "que no quiero ser en nada /

c6mphce de tu fortuna" (p. 1188). As in La vida es siieno, the question of themonarch's maliciousness must be raised. After all, both Basilio and Seleucohave witnessed a viper-birth, and have reacted in a saturnine fashion. Bothmonarchs have imprisoned their offspring at birth and bodi release themwhen they grow up believing d iat they will fail. Does Seleuco secredy blamehis dau gh ter for Isdaura's deadi-" Does the monarch suspect diat Rosarda isillegitimate? None of diese questions are answered, bu t die monarch, as anicon of Satu rn, is certainly suspect With Rosarda's release, the play shiftsfocus from the fadier-daughter relationship to Rosarda's future choice ofhusband. While amorous pursuits in Cyprus, the island of Venus, reignsupreme, the dan ger of Saturn's malefic influence looms in the backgroundlending increased tension to the situation.

As violence and confusion increase, die King pressures Rosarda to makea decision concerning her m arriage She announces that she will consult thetemple of Venus, a goddess she resembles dirough her beauty (p. 1208). Andyet, she is a Venus unde r a malefic infliijo. Her rival Ismenia takes acarabmaand fires it. T ru e to its reputadon die seventh planet seems to have been thecause of a tragedy of love. King Seleuco, on hearing the news, finds it to bea confirmation of his interpretation of the horoscope:que yo, aJ propio am or atentoir a cuidar a Rosarda,por si hay en su mal remedio,al mirar cudnto infaJibleen los fatales decretoscumple su am enaza el hado,cumple su palabra el cielo. (p. 1210)


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123At the close of the second act, it appears as if Saturn has prevailed over thebenefic influences of Venus. And yet, the \asijoniada belongs to the planet oflove. Rosarda, as it turns ou t, was not even wounded It was the horse thatwas shot, sprinkling its blood on Rosarda King Seleuco now rejoices

I Felice, Rosarda, el diaque cumplido el hado esquivo,lo que prom etio sangnentovino aejecu tar benigno! (p. 1212)The ineffective Seleuco reacts to the stars. He again retreats into a back-groun d figure as Rosarda proceeds to untangle amorous intrigues. In a finaland desperate effort to move from the delays and frustrations of Saturn to

the benefic and amorous circle of Venus,24 she asks die goddess to judgewhich one of the suitors is best suited to be her husband. In surrendering toVenus, Rosarda manages to neutralise the malefic effects of Saturn. Thegoddess confirms Rosarda's choice, Libio. The King reluctandy accedes,again surrender ing to forces that seem beyond his control:Pues a 6\ Venus le ofreceel premio que yo en Rosardaes preciso que le en tregue . (p. 1221)

Saturn has direatened the island of Cyprus, die house of Venus, whereRosarda, a figure akin to the goddess in her beauty, wishes to live in freedomand marry happily. The powers of the most malefic of planets wane in thehouse of its benefic opponent. In spite of its threats, die only violence thatSaturn can produce within the time of the play is the death of a horse Incar-ceration has taken place in an alcazar and not in a tower, the power of Venustem pering the rigours of the seventh planet. Even Seleuco, an icon of Saturn,is seen as weak and ineffective. Whatever suspicions and maliciousness theremight have been in his early attitude towards his daughter, have been tem-pered by Venus. He did evince traces of cruelty but more than anydiing hehad succumbed to a misguided love, tainted with planetary fear.

An alcazar is again the locadon from which a character contrasts herimprisonment with the freedom of the ave,fiera and pez (pp.1827-28). InApolo v Climene a stern father has incarcerated his daughter since birth due toadverse predictions. Astral and terrestrial omens from La vida es sueiio andLos tres afectos de amor are repea ted ' a solar eclipse, a malefic horoscope and aviper birth (p 1830).The omens are taken to signify that the King's daug hter will give birth toFaet6n, an impetuous youth who will cause a mighty fire in d ie k ingdom ofEuopia. A. Valbuena Briones claims that: "La intransigencia y crueldadegotista de Admeto aparece obvia en Apolo y Climene y no se esconde tantoentrefilosoffasabstractas por el bien del pueblo, como en el caso de Basilio"(p. 1815). But Admeto, like Basilio, invokes political reasons and appears tobe thinking of his kingdom: It is predicted that his daughter's son will in-cinerate it, and he acts to prevent this from happen ing.


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124Admeto differs from his predecessors, Basilio and Seleuco, in diat heasks for advice before imprisoning his daughter. He consults Fit6n, amagician who uses certain occult sciences to produce a prediction consonantwith Admeto's forecast. Although the possible hidden and personal motivesfor incarceration seen in both Basilio and Seleuco can also be perceived inAdmeto since Climene's birth is related to the viper, the fact that he consultsFit6n makes his actions less suspect. Both the astrologer and the magiciancoincide in their interpretation of the po rtents so that personal motives seemnot to interfere with objective analysis of the signs in nature. However,Adm eto's decision to imprison his daughter is his own. As a cruel father andjailor he is as much an icon of Saturn as Basilio and Seleuco

The effect of incarcerauon on Climene is a "mortal tristeza" (p. 1817),death and sadness being attributes of Saturn. F urtherm ore, she is repeatedlydescribed as being melancholy (pp. 1821, 1823). According to medical theoryof the epoch , the planet Saturn is in sympadiy with the melancholy humoursince both share dry and cold qualities. Th e melancholy person is thought tobe solitary and studious, often becom ing well-known for wisdom. Th is is thetype of melancholy that Marsilio Ficino and his followers extol. But Renais-sance philosophers also warn against the negative aspects of this influenceand elaborate an astral magic to prevent it 25 Melancolla, if not checked, canlead to madness. However, the sufferer is at times able to experience pro-phetic visions. William McCrary explains that most treauses on melancholystress die strange visionar)' ability of those subject to it. Andr Du Laurens,for example, affirms that the melancholies "oftentimes ... foretell and forgevery strange things in dieir imagination".-6 The mysterious apparitions inthe forbidden garden and palace of Climene take on a strange and visionar)'quality. Wishing to help an intruder, Climene and her maids have recourseto the language of imaginative contemplation typical of die melancholy person:

.. al fin todo esto esilusi6n sin alma y cuerpo,pero con cuerpo y con alma,ilusi6n que a tin mismo tiem poes objeto de los oiosy es exhalaci6n del viento. (p.1827)The paradoxical description points to die visionar)' nature of thepheno menon, although Climene is also embellishing her tale so as to protectthe handsome in truder She adds that diis appa rition coincided with a celes-

tial portent: el de haber visto tal vezarrancado d e su asientoel sol, anegar la uerraen pieiagos de hu mo y fuego . . .de cuyas cenizasacaso has visto til m esmolas ruinas de Clicie y Flora. (p. 1827)


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125Such a descripuon is not far from the truth of what she had previouslyexperienced:

c No veis, no veis que su carro ,de la continua tareaerrand o el curso, y cayendoprecipitado a la u erra,abrasa montes y mares,de cuya encendida hoguerason las espum as cenizas . . . ?jQ ue m eq ue m o! jQue meabraso! (p 1821)Climene does not see the sun's chariot falling, but perceives it in a visionwhich she immediately denies as "jQue' fantasia / tan loca!" (p. 1821). Her

maids ascribe diese "fingidas sombras" to her "tristezas" (p. 1821). T he visionhas its source in Climene's sadness, in her excessive and even adust melan-choly triggered by her imprisonment. But the melancholy individual'simaginative perception often points to a truth that can be propheticClimene's vision contains important insights into celesual affairs. Sheobserves the sun's fall at a ume when Apolo is expelled from heaven byJup iter. Apolo is the mysterious intrud er d iat Climene wishes to protect. T hefallen god has stumbled into her garden. Climene's vision is not only true, butit is also prophetic From the union of Apolo and Climene a son will be bornFaeton will be the impetuous youth who will ask to drive his father's celesualchariot and will fall to earth destroying much of Etiopia. Admeto's mcarcer-auon of Climene has made her subject to the melancholy fantasies andprophetic visions of Saturn.Sol is one of the three benefic planets singled out by Marsilio Ficino in Detnpha inta, where he delves into astral magic in order to m itigate the maleficinfluence of Saturn in his own horoscope. Sol-Apolo's appearance inClimene's garden signals a reprieve. Admeto, with a tardy repentance,repeats his predecessors' dictum that free-will can triumph over the stars(p.1830). He adds that he does not want to be considered a tyrant Hissecrecyand arbitrary and cruel actions certainly point to this saturnine tendency inhim.27 The monarch is ready to assuage his daughter's "graves melancolfas"(p. 1831) and grant her freedom. However, he warns that Climene mustremain chaste as a priestess of Diana, in this manner foiling the negauvehoroscope Infringement of this law, he asserts, is punishable by death .T he ambience of the play is suddenly transformed. From the sadness andtyranny of Saturn, the comedia moves to the joys of Sol. Admeto, like diecourtiers in La vula es siieiw,-* is aware that music can tem per melancholy andhe orders that:

bailes, musicas y danzasdestierren de sus ideaslas confusas som bras vagas. (p.1831)But the songs that emerge are dedicated to Venus, a goddess whoalthough benefic, is incompauble with the chastity of Diana. Climene and


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126Apolo fall in love. Amorous intrigues are short-lived as the influence ofSaturn is again felt Adm eto threatens to lull his own daughter on mere sus-picion (p . 1846) Climene's lover is described by one of the maids as:infausta, negradeidad nocturna es, pues pudo,para que nadie se atrevaa entrar aljardin, causartempestades y tormentasla noche que fue senudo. (p. 1845)

Apolo, the solar god, is now described as a nocturnal deity. He has becomea sol niger, which is a name given by astrologers to the planet Saturn.29Climene 's lover has a dual natu re He is bouh the joyous Sol that brings lightand happiness and the malefic Saturn of delays, confusions, sadness, dark-ness and death.While an understanding of Apolo in this comedia must take into account hisdouble nature, an analysis of the icons of Saturn in this work must includeboth Admeto and Fit6n. The father wishes to capture his runaway daug hter,but the magician provides her and her lover with santuary in his cave Trans-formed into a palace, the subterranean abode becomes the place whereApolo and Climene can safely experience the joy of amorous union . WhenAdmeto comes searching for Climene, Fit6n even lies to his friend, claimingthat Apolo and Climene have drowned in the river. Fit6n should not beregarded as reflecting a positive aspect of the bipolar Saturn. The magician'spurpose is not to bring happiness to the lovers Rather, he is prou d of hisoccult learning and wants the tragic prediction to come true :

No ire' si no a ver si logroque ellos salgan verdaderosantes que yo mentiroso. (p. 1849)Admeto and Fit6n rep resent different aspects of the malefic Saturn. T hefather exhibits the secret, tyrannical, cruel and murderous attributes of theplanet, while Fit6n, although closer to the Renaissance's Neoplatomcinterpretation of Saturn as the planet of the highest wisdom, is excessivelyproud of his magical expertise30 and willing to sacrifice the lovers to beproved right. Climene is unable to escape the multiple mirrors of the maleficcelestial body. In Fit6n's palace-cave she joins with Apolo, but the solar deityis also a sol ruger who will leave Climene pregnant widi a child who will havethe potenual of scorching his native land As Apolo departs the Earth, Fit6n

is confident tha t his prediction of doom will come to passAlexander Parker has claimed tha t Calder6n solved the father-son conflictthrough Segismundo's magnanimity in La vida es siieiio and had no need toreturn to this problem. But Calderon's masterpiece is an exception ratherthan a permanent resolution. Although Basilio learns from his son'sbehaviour, later fathers do not show this wisdom and understanding in playswhere the father-son struggle is substituted by a father-daughter conflict


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127triggered by a horoscope. Los ties afectos de amor and Apolo y Chmene, composedmore than twenty years after La xnda es siteno, portray a cruel, tyrannical,proud and secretive father and king who delves into astrology and otheroccult sciences and makes a ju d g m e n t tha t in his eyes justif ies the mcarcera-uon of his child. Personal reasons, such as the suspicion of illegitimacy aremasked by appeals to astral fear or poliucal expediency. The weak and in-effective Seleuco seems afraid of Saturn, but his acuons mirror the influenceof the m alefic aspects of this pla ne t W ith Ad m eto , the father as icon ofSaturn achieves his most negative portrayal in Calder6n's comedias, as incar-cerauon is followed by threats of assassination. He certainly resembles themythical god depicted as de vo ure r of children W hile in La inda es stietio thebenefic Ju pi te r personified in the transfo rme d Seg ism un do had been able totemper the influence of the seventh Ptolemaic planet, and while in Los tresafectos de amor Venus in its own house could avert the deadly influence ofSaturn retrograde, in Apolo v Chmene, Sol is unable to overcome the maleficinflux. Climene's happiness is overshadowed by the fact that her celestiallover is not only the benefic Sol, but also the 50/ mger, another name forSaturn . H er child appe ars doo me d Inde ed, in El hijo del Sol, Faetdn, theimpetuous youth fulfils his deadly promise when he demands proof of hisfather 's love. The celestial Apolo had abandoned his earthly son who nowasks for recognition Pe rha ps it is th ro ug h this feeling of loss an d betrayalexperienced by sons and daughters that the "heterodox" aspects of Calderon'sdram aturg y noted by Robert ter Horst can be explored.31 The ear thly fatheris linked to a heavenly one, but he often emerges as a planetary deity, diemalefic and cruel Satu rn of as trologers and my tho grap hers .

FREDERICK A DE ARMASLouisiana State University

NOTES* Pan of the research for this article was supported b> a fellowship from the National Endow-ment for the Humanities for in-residence work at the Newberry Library in Chicago1 "El tipo de Segismundo con las inseparables arcunstancias de cnae rro en gruta o en torrepara rehuir la fatalidad de un horoscopo y las inevitables quejas de la vfcuina que envidia su liber-tad al a\e, al bruto y al pez, aparece no menos de diez veces en las producaones calderonianas"

(p 23) The ten Segismundos listed by this cniic are found in La vida essueflo (auto and comedta),El moiistnio de losjardmes, La hija del aire, Las cadenas del demonio, Apolo v Chmene, Eco y Narciso, Hadov dwivi de Isonuio y Marfisa and En esta vida todo es verdad y todo es menlira, with two SegismundosBlancade los Ri'osde Lamperez, "La vida es sueilo" 1 los diez Segismundos de Caldertin (Madrid. Centrodel Iniercambio Cultural Intelectual Germano-Espafiol, 1926) In a comedia burlesca attributed 10 Calderon, Tebandro is an "astrologer"-king who imprisonshis twin daughters d ue to ominous portents at birth The tone is vastly different from the twopla\s studied in this essav Indeed, the porten ts are not astrological but belong to the realm offolklore


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128Su p ad re el rev es tan diestroque en esto de echar las habas,que las ha echado a p erder ,solamente po r ganar lasNo s qu le dijo un dfaun cedacico en su estaca,uno s berros en su ar tesa,una candela en su ara,un chapfn en sus ujeras,en su onnal una clarade h uev o, y en f in, de aho rcadouna soga en su garganta,pues s in mis m mas, cqu h i zo 3Naciendo de un par to ent rambas ,de un pa no l as desnaa6

Pedro Calderon de la Barca, C^fl /ovPocra,ed Alberto Navarro Gonzalez (Salamanca Ed iaon esAlmar, 1979), p . 193 Edwin Honig, Calderdn and the Seizures of Honour (Camb ridge Harv ard Univ Press, 1972),p 159

4 On the dev elo pm ent of Satu rn as an astral god in astrological, mythological and Neo -platonic treatises see Raymond Klibansky, Edwin Panofsky and Fntz Sax], Saturn and Melancholy(London Th om as Nelson, 1964) See also Jea n Seznec, The Sun'tval qftlie Pagan Cods, t rans ,Barb ara Sessions (Princeton Princeto n Univ Press, 1972)5 Frederick A de Armas, "El planeta mds impio Basiho's Role in La vida es sverlo", MLR 81(1986), 900-116 Frederick A de Arm as, "T he Retu rn of Astraea An Astral-Imperial Myth in Ca ld er on 's / ^vida es sueHo", in Calderdn at the Tercentenary Comparatwe Views, eds, Wendell M Aycock and

Sydne y P Crav ens (Lubbock- Tex as Te ch Press, 1982), p p 135-597 Alexan der A Parker , "The F ather-Son Confl ict in the Th ea tre of Calde ron", FMLS 2(1966), 99-113 However , Th om as A O 'Con nord ocu me nts Calderon 's conu nued concern overthe father-son relat ionship in "Th e Father Figure on Fortunas de Andrdmedav Perseo A C o m m e n ton the Father-Son Mouf in Calderonian Drama", paper presented at the f i f th annual GoldenAge Spanish Drama Symposium, at the University of Texas at El Paso, March 6-8, 1985" William R Blue, The Development of Imagery in Calderdn's Comedias (York, South CarolinaSpanish Literature Publications, 1983), p 1170 In a rece nt book, A A Parker includes Apolo v Clemene, Eco v Narciso an d El m onstmo de /asjardines in his analysis of the p hilosop hy of love held by Cald eron Tlie Philosoplit ofLove in SpanishLiterature (Edinbu rgh Edin burg h Univ Press , 1985), pp 174-21510 All textual reference s to Ca ldero n's plays, unless specified, are from Ped ro Calde rdn d e laBarca, Obrascompletas, ed , Angel Valbu ena B no ne s (Mad rid Ag uilar, 1966), Vol 111 Pedro Calderon de la Barca, Comedias, eds, D W Cruickshank and J E Varev (Lond onGr eg g Inte rnatio nal Publishers, 1973), Vol 8, p 189 T his \o lu m e is a facsimile ediu on of the

Tercera parte de comedias (Madrid, 1664)" Beryl Rowland, Animals with Human Faces (Knoxvtlle T h e Univ of Te nn ess ee Press, 1973),p 158 For a discussion of the pop ularity of the viper tale in Go lden A ge Spain see Frederick Ade Armas , "Th e Serpent Star Dream and Horoscope in Calderon 's La vida essueiio", FMLS 19(1983), 208-23" Ped ro Calderon de la Barca, La hija delaire, ed , Gwyne Edwards (Lond on Tam esis , 1970),p 35, w.875-7614 For examp les from the AmadU de Caula and El cabellero del cisne see Frederick A de Armas,"T he Serpent Star . Dream and Horoscope in Calderon 's La vida es suetlo'15 Mamhus, Astronomica, t rans a n d e d . G P Goold (Cambr idge Harvard Univ Press , 1977).p 15716 On Saturn as benefic ruler see Harry Levin, The M^th o f the Golden Age in the Renaissance(Oxford Oxfo rd Un iv Press, 1969), p 112 O n the tyrannical Satu rn see B erc ho nu s' discussionated in Raymond Klibansky et aL, Saturn and Melancholy, p . 17717 Baltasar de Vitona, Teatro de los diosa d e la gentibdad (Madrid Im pre nta Real, 1676) SeeCh apte r Six, "De como S aturn o fue tenido p or un o de los s iete planetas", pp 19-24 Most of the


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129characteristics of Saturn discussed in this essay are mentioned by Vitona and were thus easilyaccessible to Calderon Saturn as the "lm en tor " of astrology is not a com mo n view A m oreprev alent op inion is given by Ju an de Pineda w ho, in his discussion of astrologia states "cuyoinven tor dice Phnio hab er sido Atlante He later adds "otros acu den , dtciendo qu e J6m co , hijode Noe , tu \o reve laa6n de la astrologfa y que did avisos a Ne m broth para edificar a B abi lonia 'Juan de Pineda , Didlogosfamihares de h agncuUura cnstiana (Madrid Adas, 1963), Vol 3, p p 293-4The nouon that Nembroth spread astrological knowledge to the Babylonians may have beenon e of the reasons for the asso aau on of astrology with Saturn s ince the deity is often equ atedwith Nembroth as in Natal is Comes, Mxthologu, t rans Jean Bau douin (New York Gar land,1976). Vol l , p 121

" Saturn causes "great prysonmeni ' according to The KaUnder of Shtepehards (c 1585), ed SK H en ing er (Delmar, New York Scholar's Facsimilies, 1979), p 162 T hi s is an ancie nt con cep-uon that can be traced back to the Arabic astrologers such as Albu masar See R aym ondKlibanskye/ al, Saturn and Melancholy, p 131' '' "Les mo rts violenies sont I 'ceuvre des de ux bo urre aux astrologiques, Sa tu m e et M ars" (A

Bou che-L eclerq, L'As/ro/ogKgr-oi [Chicago Bo lchaz y-C ardu ca, 1979, rpt 1899 ed | , p p 422 -23) "A nd this planet is cause of hasty dea th" (The Kalender ofSheepehards, p 162)m Elisabeth Labrou sse, L'Enlric de Satume an Lion (La Haye Ma runus Nyhoff, 1974), pp 25-2651 Laroiisse Encyclopedia ofAstrology (New York McG raw-Hill, 1980), p 241 , andj C Eade,77tfForgotten Sky A Guide to Astrology m English Literature (Oxford Cla ren do n Press, 1984), p p 31 -3 2The relauonship between retrogradauon and Saturn produced an extremely negauve influenceMarsilio Ficino, for example, wrote a letter to his fnend Giovanni Cavalcanu, explaining thathe was hav ing d ifficulty solvi ng p rob l ems s i nce ! . . . . . ^ n f my Sa turnretrogressing in Leo" Tlie Letters ofMarsilio Fiano - _ Vol 2, p 30" O n the nou on of displacem ent see N orth rop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism (Princeton Prince-ton Un n Press, 1957), p 137

Ptolemy See Ray mo nd KJibansky et al, Saturn and Melancholy, p 184M O n the opp osiuo n between the malefic Saturn and th e amoro us Ven us in the dram a of theperiod see Frederick A de Arma s, "T he Satu rn Factor Examples of Astrological Image ry inLope de Vega's W orks", in Will iam C McCrary and Jos e A M adng al , edx, Studies in Honour ofEvere tt W Hesse (Lincoln, Neb raska Society for Span ish an d Spa nish Ame rican Studies, 1981),pp 63-8053 Marsi l io Fiano was the Renaissance phi losopher who was most preoccupied with the in-fluence of Sa turn His theories are exp lained by Frances A Yates "M elancholy stude nts whoha\ e used u p their vital pow ers in their studies are advised to a\ oid as far as possible plan ts,herbs, animals , s tones, and the l ike belonging to Saium, and to use and surround themselves

with plants , herbs, animals , s tones, people, belong ing to the m ore fo rtunate, cheerful and l ife-gi un g planets , of which the chief are Sol, Ju pi t er an d V enu s" (Giordano Bruno and the HermeticTradition [Chicago T he Un n of Chicago Press, 1964], p 63) Th ese three planets are used in thethree plays that deal with a saturnine astrologer-king in Calder6n to combat the malefic in-fluence of plan et and icon In La vida es sueilo, Jup i ter 's inf luence is exerted t hro ug h Segis-mundo . i n Lo s Ires afectos de amor, the benefic Ve nus is able to tem per the m urd ero us rays ofSaturn, and in Apoloy Climene, Apolo is the Sol that attempts to transform the malefic planet 'shoroscope91 William C McCrary, Th e Goldfish and the Hawk A Study of Lope de Vega's Tragedy "El cabalUrode Olmedo" (Chap el Hill Un i\ of No rth Caro lina Press, 1968), p 121 T ere sa S Soufas echoesthis assessment of melancholies in her discussion of King Pedro in El midico de su honra- "Formelancholies were often tho ug ht to be endo wed with the pow er to see into the future " See h erstu d\ . "Be>ond Just ice and Cruel ty Calde rdn's King Pedro", JHP6 (1981), 6117 On secrecy as a com mo n a t t r ibute of tyrants du rin g the Spanish Golden Age see Dian Fox,"Kingship and Communi ty in La vida es sueilo" , BHS 58 (1981), 217-28*" W hen Seg ismu ndo is dru gge d and taken to the palace, he awakens in a melancho ly s late"iQu melancolico esta1" (v. 1248) T h e court iers und ersta nd that he need s music and song tocom bat this cond iuon , but the pn nc e rejects benefic sounds m favour of mart ial music "lasmusicas militares / solo he gust ado oir" ( w 1258-59) Pe dro Calde ron d e la Barca, La vida essuefto

(cornedmy loa), ed . Enriqu e Rull (Madrid Alha mb ra, 1980)


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130w T h e relation ship betw een Sa turn an d d ie sun goes as far back, as Babylonian astrologv,according to Raymond Klibansky el al, Saturn and Melancholy, p 136 A Bouchd-Leclerq com-me nts "Pe ut-e tre les Ch alde ens se repre senta ient-ils Sa tu m e com m e un soleil, vieilli , refroidi,ra lenu" (L'Astrologiegrecque, p 93) The hero ine of Laesliella de Sevilla has been portrayed as asol

nigcr "She is described in term s of a black light which can eclipse the bright light of ihe sun T h eone re ma ining plane t is Sa tum which in astrology and alche my w as considered a black star andasol niger" (James F Burke, "The Estrella de Sevilla and ihe Tradi t ion of Saturn ine M elanchoh" ,BHSbl [1974], 144)50 For Saturn as the planet of magic see Raymond Klibansky el al, Saturn and Melanchoh,pp 131, 149" Ro bert ter Ho rst, "A New Literary History of Don Pe dro Ca lder6 n", in Appioacliei to Ihe

Theatre oj Calderdn, ed , Michael D M cCa ha (W ashington Um v Press of Am erica, 1982), p 39

Icons of Saturn - Astrologer-Kings in Calderons Comedias

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