Event Details
The Department of Spanish &
Portuguese welcomes everyone
to a lecture by incoming Fall
2023 Visiting Professor
Magaly Ortiz
Wednesday, March 8 4:45-6:00pm ArtCom 102
The Veils of Spain: Veiled Characters and the Use of Veils in Medieval and Early Modern Iberian Narratives
Prof. Ortiz analyzes the images of the veil from the first known Hebrew maqāma (a
short narrative written in rhymed prose with intervals of poetry) from Medieval
Iberia titled “Asher in the Harem” (12th century) and “The Unhappy Marriage,” from
the monumental Tahkemoni, by Juda al-Harīzī (1170–1235) to examine echoes of
veiling in more early modern texts including the collection of short stories
Desengaños Amorosos by María de Zayas (1590–1661). She will argue how the veil is
used to maintain their ideals of youth and innocence as components of female
beauty while giving women, particularly those on the peripheries, visibility in a
voyeuristic world. Prof. Ortiz explores how the veil allows space for cross-dressing
and gender fluidity among complex power dynamics. She argues that the veil
functions as a vehicle for the creation of enigmatic identities that facilitate the
endeavors of socially marginalized figures.
