Abstract

Literary works recreated in a religious sense from a profane work are known as «contrafactae». They were developed between the 13th and 16th and even during the 17th century. A contrafactae- writer chooses a profane theme and develops it extensively in order to show an idea related to the Christian tradition. In its most concentrated way of expression, the divinization of profane themes carries out the literary resource of allegory. During the 16th century, many moralized versions of the myth of Narcissus were widely spread. Most of them recreated the one included in Ovid’s (43 a.C.-16 d.C.) Metamorphoses. Such is the case with the auto sacramental El Divino Narciso by the Mexican nun sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, as well as with Eco y Narciso by the Spanish playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca. The present work analyzes similarities and differences between dramatic moments in both plays. Though sor Juana recreates some aspects from Eco y Narciso’s plot and semantics in her play, it is my opinion that the literary resource of allegory allows her to explore many significance levels related to religious matters, particularly to the Sacrament of Eucharist, a subject of utmost relevance to the auto sacramental as a literary genre. Therefore, I consider that El Divino Narciso cannot be taken as a contrafacta, in a strict sense, of Calderon de la Barca’s drama play Eco y Narciso.