Natalina Popat

a) ‘I think it is wrong to say that ‘El médico de su honra’ condemns honour’ (Don
Cruickshank). Do you agree?

In El médico de su honra Calderón does not explicitly condemn honour hence it can
be argued to some extent that the play does not denounce the harsh honour codes of the 14th
century. The King’s admiration of Don Guiterre savaging his honour by orchestrating his
wife’s murder may be interpreted as Calderón endorsing social reputation as the most
important element in society. Nonetheless, the play does negatively portray the controlling
force of honour and the danger of it becoming all-consuming. It is possibly more likely for a
twenty-first century audience to see the irony of honour dominating society; whereas, a
more contemporary audience may have felt more in agreement with the King’s perspective.
Death as a fitting punishment for the loss of honour, or the threat of it, is a shocking climax
which highlights the power of the honour codes in El médico de su honra. This evokes
questioning by the audience of whether the honour killing was just. Thus, in this play
Calderón does condemn honour in an allegorical manner.

El médico de su honra can be interpreted, as Don Cruickshank argues, as not

condemning honour: the King’s approval of Don Guiterre becoming ‘el médico de su
honra’1 in a private manner. Pring-Mill defines honour as 'the demands made on the
individual by the conventions of a society of which he is a member’. 2 The Kingdom of
Castile is illustrated as a highly structured society with social reputation as the principal
priority of all citizens. Hence, the concept of honour in the play can be understood as a
national obsession that takes all characters as victim. The obsession with appearances
signifies that dishonour cannot be made public; Don Guiterre understands that ‘que agravio
que es oculto//oculta venganza pide’.3 The repetition of ‘oculto’ manifests the need to keep
any threat of honour private due to the fear of social shame. Melveena McKendrick explains
that in this contemporary society "the concept of honour and that of social reputation were
virtually indistinguishable”.4 The seeming similarity between honour and social reputation
highlights the danger of Don Guiterre’s belief that Mencía has brought shame upon him by
violating the principals of the community; it is clear he values his repute as more important
than Mencía’s life. It can be argued that Calderón manifests that the essence of the
individual in this society is not found within their inner self but rather the individual’s
honour as measured by other members of the social group. This is evident in the King’s
explanation to Enrique of how ‘El honor es reservado//lugar, donde el alma asiste.’5 The
King understands and promotes the concept of honour as a place which consumes and
engages the soul. The fact that the King, the pinnacle of the social hierarchy and thus the
most influential admires Don Gutierre’s and highlights the immense importance of social
reputation may imply that the play does not condemn honour but rather promotes the
concept.

Nevertheless, it must be understood that the play does reveal the negative sides of
honour and, although it does not explicitly disagree with it, there are implicit criticisms of
the characters who are more committed to the concept of honour than their selves. Mencía is
demonstrates her dedication to preserving her honour by marrying someone who she did not
1 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra line 2952
2 Pring-Mill, Robert, F. Included by Thacker, J in A Companion to Golden Age Theatre
3 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra lines 2313-2314
4 McKendrick, M. Identities in Crisis: Essays on Honour, Gender and Women in the Comedia, pg 12
5 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra lines 2195-6
 Natalina Popat
truly love because "tuve amor y tengo honor // esto es cuanto se de mí”.6 She values ‘cuanto
se de mí’ by her commitment to her social reputation which is priced higher than herself and
her true love. This silence is a factor in directing the play’s tragedy: "yo soy quien soy....
Viva callando, pues callando muero”.7 She is passive and ‘callando’ in both life and death
thus allowing herself to be dictated by the honour codes. The repetition of ‘callando’ reveals
the futile influence that women had over their fates in the 14th century. Similarly, men feel
that they have no choice but to follow the extreme honour codes. Don Gutierre questions
"¿no hay un rayo para un triste?”8 - he recognises that it is ‘ un desdichado muerte’9 which
he does not truly want to commit. However, his ultimate priority is his commitment to the
honour code. Wardropper strengthens this argument by stating that as ‘el deshonor se
equipara a la enfermedad’ ‘para curar su honor enfermo ha de recurrir a un verdadero -
literal - sangrador’.10 Societal norms have distorted his morals to the extent that he feels the
only way to cure this dishonour is to drain all life from his wife. Although these examples
are not explicit condemnations of honour, I believe that such an extreme obsession with
social reputation portrays the honour codes as horrific, violent and unnecessary.

The pinnacle criticism of the society is displayed in the honour killing as it implies
that death is a more favourable loss than social reputation. Doña Leonor explicitly explains
this relationship: ‘¡ay de mí!, mi honor perdí / ¡ay de mí!, mi muerte hallé’.11 This
exemplifies the extreme importance honour held in the contemporary society. The repetition
of the exclamative phrase ‘¡ay de mí!, mi’12 illustrates the immense pain felt by Leonor at
the threat of losing her honour. The loss is equivalent or perhaps equals death as she feels
‘muerte’. The use of í-é romance rhyme intensifies the sensitivity of Leonor’s emotions.
Margaret Greer comments that ‘many protagonists engage [honour] in an anguished
monologue with honour as an inflexible and all-seeing Superego.’ 13 The idea of honour as a
‘superego’ implies that these social standards are part of a person’s mind and act as a self-
critical conscience. Leonor’s extreme self-condemnation in her ‘anguished monologue’
could evoke the audience to question the harsh honour codes set in society. Coquín
questions ‘¿heme de dejar morir por solo bien parecer?’14. This is the most direct
condemnation of the ludicrousness of the honour code through which he scythes. The
expression of doubt over whether ‘bien parecer’ outclasses living may evoke the audience to
also question the prominence that the fear of public shame holds over them. Don Gutierre
demonstrates his awareness of this dominating force when he apostrophises honour and
misfortune: ‘solos estamos//honor, lleguemos ya; desdicha, vamos’.15 The poetic apostrophe
evokes sorrow and personifies ‘honor’; Don Gutierre refers to it as a partner in his lonely
journey for vengeance with the nosotros form ‘solos estamos’. This demonstrates how he
plays a servile role to the demands of honour. Hence, Calderón employs the characters to
demonstrate the dangerous and overbearing power of honour. His intention by portraying
death as a fit punishment for shame or dishonour may have been to evoke questioning from

6 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra lines 573-574

7 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra lines 133 and 153
8 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra line 2328
9 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra line 2327
10 Wardropper Amezcua, Mujer y enfermedad en el Médico de su honra pg 585
11 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra lines 1019-1020
12 Ibid
13 Greer, M. The foundations of the Comedia
14 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra line 1280
15 Calderón de la Barca. El médico de su honra lines 2454-55
 Natalina Popat
the audience; as it did from Coquín. Likewise, Don Gutierre losing himself and his morals
as a result of the authority of honour may also be an attempt by Calderón to condemn
honour. The play questions morals in a allegorical manner by allowing the audience to
question the unchecked power of honour.

In conclusion, it is true that El médico de su honra does not explicitly condemn

honour. The King’s admiration of Don Guiterre plotting the assassination of his wife, due to
the assumption that she has brought dishonour and shame upon him, may be interpreted as
Calderón approving of this act by employing the highest social figure as his mouthpiece.
However, it can be argued that this was intended to show how deeply embedded the honour
codes are in this society. The play highlights the negative consequences of honour
especially as it is prioritised over death and self. Honour is illustrated as a consuming force
which strips away all morals from the characters. It can be confidently argued Calderón’s
intention was to evoke anger and feelings of injustice from the audience for Mencía. This
allegorical play challenges the honour codes by demonstrating their dangerous nature; thus
it does subtly condemn honour.