Voicing Dissent in Seventeenth-Century Spain: Inquisition, Social Criticism and Theology in the Case of __El Criticón__

Although the Spanish Inquisition looms large in many conceptions of the early modern Hispanic world, relatively few studies have been made of the Spanish state and Inquisition s approach to book censorship in the seventeenth century. Merging archival and rare book research with a case study of the fiction of Baltasar Gracián, this book argues that privileged authors, like the Jesuit Gracián, circumvented publication strictures that were meant to ensure that printed materials conformed to the standards of Catholicism and supported the goals of the absolute monarchy. In contrast to some elite authors who composed readily transparent critiques of authorities and encountered difficulties with the state and Inquisition, others, like Gracián, made their criticisms covertly in complicated texts like El Criticón. Policing Printed Matter -- (not) Enforcing The Indices -- Discordant Voices In The Inquisition -- Sending Mixed Signals : Gracian And The Didactic Tradition -- Landing On La Isla De La Inmortalidad -- The Reader's Journey -- The Jesuit Subtext. By Patricia W. Manning. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book combines archival and rare book research with a case study of the fiction of Baltasar GraciAn to investigate the degree to which the Spanish elite circumvented Inquisitorial and state publication controls in early modern Spain