Abstract

In this essay, I study different forms in which violence manifests in La Aurora en Copacabana by Calderón and its relation with two visions of the world that are in conflict during the entire 17th century: the Neo-Platonist vision personified by the character of Yupangui and the Aristotelian vision marked in specific moments of the First Act, and especially, during the entire Third Act. I expose how the sacrifice attempt of Guacolda, language violence (miscommunication among indigenous people and Spaniards) and displacements of protagonists’ names to Spanish names (Yupangui and Guacolda change their names to Francisco and María) form the connecting thread and the frame in which the representational conflict between the Aristotelian vision and the Neo-Platonist one produces. Even though Calderón seems to opt for Neo-Platonism (to favor the topic of Christian faith), nonetheless, the same representation of violence in this and other plays such as El médico de su honra or El pintor de su deshonra arises a continuous conflict due to perfection search through human relations and dramatic representation.