The Desiring Subject and the Promise of Salvation: A Lacanian Study of Sor Juana's El divino

Narciso
Author(s): Matthew D. Stroud
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Hispania, Vol. 76, No. 2 (May, 1993), pp. 204-212
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
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ments,sacraments,
responsibilities),
onewill splitintheunconscious,
aSpallungin Freud's
204

HISPANIA
76 MAY
1993

The Desiring Subject and the Promise of Salvation:

A Lacanian Study of Sor Juana's El divino Narciso
Matthew
D.Stroud
Trinity 1/niversily

Abstract
Both
SorJuana's
Eldivino
Narciso
and
Jacques
Lacan's
psychoanalytic
writings
deal
with
thenature
of
humankind
andthenature
ofGod.
This
article
examines
theplay
and
itsreligious
philosophy
inlight
ofLacan's
imaginary,
symbolic,
andrealregisters,
aswell
asLacan's
important
concepts
oftheOther,
thedivided
subject,
y?uissance,
and
thedeath
drive.
Ultimately,
both
Lacan
and
Sor
Juana
arrive
atthesame
conclusion,
that
thebasis
ofthereligious
experience
isgrounded
inthe"back"
inboth
thesubject
and
God,
and
that
only
death
canbring
the
promised
state
ofpurity.
KeyWords:
Juana
Infu
debaCruz
(Sor),
Divino
Narciso
(EV,
auto
sacramental,
Lacan
(Jacques),
psychoanalyRending
SorJuana's
seventeenth-century
autoreligion,
ister
ofrivalry,
deception,
andegodefenses.
sis,
othemess,
split
subject
(LchspaltunA)
death
drive,
17th
century
Mexican
literature
,

heovertmessage
ofSorJuana
Inksde The Imaginary Register
la Cruz's
EldivinoNarcisois
quite
clear:
if onegives
upthepleasures
and Central
toJacques
Lacan's
conception
of
palnsofthislife(love,sex,honor,rivalry)
in thehumancondition
is thenotionofthedifavorofthedutiesoftheChurch
(command-videdsubject
Everyone
suffers
fromaradical
berewarded
withthetranquillity
ofasociety terminology.
Asaresult,
thesubject
iswhole
marked
bylawandorder,
andinthenextlife inneither
essencenorbehavior.
Todelineate
onewillachieveecstaticunionwithGod. thevarious
levelsonwhichthesubject
acts,
Nnturalezn
Humana,
bysubmitting
herde- Lacan
created
theconcept
of"registers"
and
sirestothecommandments
ofGod,endsthe redefined
common
termstodenote
them.
The
playinanapotheosis
ofunion
withNarciso,
a "imaginary"
register
istheresultofthe"mirsublimation
ofhernature
asahuman
subject rorstage"
through
whicheveryone
passesas
Eco,ontheotherhand,
remains
unredeemedaninfantByviewing
itselfina mirror,
orin
attheend,leftoutofthegloryofthehappy themirror
imagethatothers
provide,
thesubcouple,
because
shewasunwilling
tosetaside jectleamsjubilantly
thatitis aunified
whole
herownlustandrivalry.
Thismoral
lessonis and,despairingly,
thatitisconstructed
around
quitetypicalofthereligious
theaterofthe a lack,aninability
evertounitewithothers.
Spanish
Baroque
thatattempted
to putfor- Theresponse
ofthesubject
tothisdevastatwardadoctrinal
whole.Themodern
render, ingrevelation
istheidentification
withznagos
however,
canlookbeyond
theprimary
mes- thatgiveonetheillusion
ofwholeness,
ofausageto a consideration
ofthenature
ofthe tonomy,
ofpower.
Theimaginary
isthelocus
human
subject
anditsrelation
toothers,
the oftheegoandofrelationships
between
subOther,theobjectofdesire,speech,fantasy,jectandobjectinwhichthesubject
is really
anddeath,
concepts
thatareattheheartofthe involved
onlywithitsowndesires
thatitfinds
psychoanalytic
writings
ofJacquesLacan. echoedtoitfromtheobject'ItisalsothereginthelightofLacan's
twentieth
century
theory Theworidofthecharacters
atthebeginhighlights
thecommonality
ofbothtextsin ningoftheEldivinoNarcisois
marked
byintheirunderstanding
ofthehuman
condition,tenseimaginary
activity.
Thebasicplotstructureisthatoftherivalry
forNarciso
between

&im
tengo
Inaire
deprocurarte
11151),
asweseeinEco'swords: Naturaleza
nection
toego
Humana
defenses
indicates:
andrivalries,
lovepro-

theme.
The
imaginary
manifestations
ofNARCISO
loveare
a
ALACANIAN
STUDY
OFSOR
JUANAS
EL
DIVINO
205
filustrating
Lacan's
psychoanalytic
theory, function
ofthesubject's
desireforanother,
Ecoaction
andNaturaleza
Humana,
a relation
thatWhen
one
asksthe
often
repeated
question,
the
oftheplay
isstructured
byimages
anobject,
thatwill
make
itwhole.
This
passion
isdescribed
as"rencor,"
"penn,"
"odio
mortal,""Qu es lo quemiro?",
theanswer
is most
and"rabiosa
queja"
(657-60)
,2inshort,jeal- oftentheimageofone'sowndesires.
Inthe
ousy(see,forexample,
230ff.,
1891-94).
Totry poolof water,Narcisosees anotherwith
to seduceNarciso
whilefoilingNaturalezawhichhewantstobejoined
andheseeshimHumana's
identical
plan,Ecoinvents
decep- selfsimultaneously
inthesameplace.When
tonsandtrickssothatherrivalmightappear Eco,hearing
Narciso,
asksthesamequestion
unattractive
ordistorted
toNarciso
(413-23, (1306),
sheseestheobject
ofherdemand
for
622-28)
or,evenbetter,
sothatNarciso
might lovewhodoesnotseeher:thereisnospecular
neverlayhiseyesonheragain(453-54,1701-imaginary
relationship
here,onlytheonebe2) andthathewillforgetherentirely
(1706- tweenEcoandherfantasyof unionwith
9).AttheheartofEco'sdesperate
measures Narciso,
whichis doomedto fail(seealso
isadesireonherparttoconquer,
toeliminate1318).
notonlyherrivalbut,whenhe rejectsher, Thisspecular
relationship
isclosely
related
Narciso
aswell.Itis a struggle
tothedeath, tothemoregeneral
concept
oflove,whichis
thefundamental
characteristic
ofhuman
re- bothbasedin andsustained
byimaginary
lations
in
the
imaginary
register
(Lacan,
identifications,
at
least
in
part.4
thereflection
thatNarciso
seeswhenhelooks
vuelvebaimagen
clara Withitsconintothepoolofwater:
debabeldad
deNarciso,
condeclarados
odios
duceseffects
typical
ofimaginary
anxieties,
as
--

bamuerte,
para
ver
simipena
implacable
muere
conquetiimueras,
oacaba
conqueacahes.
(813-18)
Inaddition,
sheisfilledwithpride
andself-love
(301-15;
seealso641-42),
bothofwhichappearas characters
justto underscore
the

fri

Miimagen
representa
siNarciso
repara,
clara,
clara;
porque
abmirarba
sienta
delamor
losefectos,
ansias,
deseos,
bAgrimas
yafectos.
(1113-18)

of mirrors
(1981-85)
andofthesimilaritiesispartofthehuman
condition,
acharacterisbetween
subjects
thatlendtotherivalries
and ticofbeing"hombre
nomis"(683),andrefdeceptionsjust enumerated.
Stephanie erences
tohunger
andthirstarefrequent,
as
Merrim
(112)hasnotedthevarious
"layers
of whenNaturaleza
Humana
saysthatshehunmirroring"
present
intheplay,notonlyinthe gersforGodjustasshehungers
forherown
basicplotlineinvolving
narcissistic
reflectioncenter(110-11),an
incontrovertible
reference
andtheloveofsimi.larity,
butalsobetween
the tothesearch
foranobject
thatwillmakeher
ba andtheplay,Christianity
andnon-Chris-feelcomplete.
WhenGracin
tellsNaturaleza
tianreligions,
andtruthandfiction
(allegory).Humana
tofindclearwaters
(likeamirror)
in
Eco'sspecular
relation
withothersisobvious order
towaitfor
Narciso
toslakethethirst
that
eveninhername,whichrecalls
abasisinre- burnsinhim(1024-77),
weseeinherwords
fiection
andidentity.
Likewise,
wearetoldthat notonlythespecular
nature
ofdesire,
atleast
Naturaleza
Humana
ismadeinNarciso's
im- ononelevel,butalsothefantasy
offulfilment
age(455-56;
cf.215),aconcept
madeconcrete inthehopethatthethirstcanbequenched:
whenEconotesthatNaturaleza
Humana's
is
sumisma
semejanza
contemplando
estA
enelba,
ymirando
alaNaturabeza
Humana
enella.
(1318-22)

queentisoba
seretrata
conperfecci6n
subebleza,
sinborr6n
susemejanza!
(1054-58)
The imaginary
promiseis alwaysone of

206HISPANIA
76 MAY 1993
wholeness,
whether
itis expressed
interms thatnotonlyprevents
satisfaction
bytheother
of power,of absoluteindependence,
or of a butevenprecludes
thepossibility
ofanykind

consuming
love,asEcoimplies:
Todo,
belbo
Narciso,
sujeto
amidictamen,
sonposesiones
mias,
sonmisbienes
dotabes.
Ytodo
senituyo,
sifitconpecho
afabbe
depones
losevero
yblegas
aadorarme.
(795-802)
suffering,
hate,5
and
metaphorical
death:

ofrealrelationship.6
Thespecular
nature
of
thelovebetweenNarcisoandNaturaleza
Humanais notguaranteed
by anyexternal

truth.Itsinstability
is madeapparent
when

Ecocloudsthewaters(withsin),destroying

thereflection
(622-28).
The
Symbolic
gether
toagreeRegister
onanything
atall.Ahealthy

The
subjecthopes
can speak.
Asthe
the
hoped-forwholeness
Ya,
yablego, thatthishappypromise
Inplaywams,
thetermsof
the
play,Eco'ssymp-

fulfillitswishes;Naturaleza
Humana
antici- andunitysimply
cannot
beattained
through
patesthejoysoflove:
self-love
andegoistic
action,
thatis,through
theimaginary
register
alone(1574-76).
Inor.ybogra
mideseo
dertoreachoutto others,thesubject
must
lasabegres
promesas
amorosas...
(887-88)
firsthaveaccessto,andsubordinate
itselfto,
Whilespecular
loveappears
torequire
reci- athirdtermthatwillprovide
aninterface
beprocity,
aswhenNaturaleza
Humana
declares tweentwosubjects:
symbolization,
language,
herintention
to "solicitar
los amores de the law,the Other,allof whichcomprise
Dios"(121-22),actually,
as Gracin
states, Lacan's
"symbolic"
register.7
Thelaw,aswe
thereislittledifference
between
loveofone's aretoldbySinagoga
andGentilidad
(40-41),
selfandloveofone'smirror
image:
shouldbewritten
ontheheartsofallpeople
viendo
enebhombre
suimagen,
towamthemofthedangers
oftheimaginary
seenamor6
desimismo.
rivalry
tothedeath.
Without
thelaw,onelives
(2019-20;
seealso460-64,1543)
inerror.
Thesymbolic
promises
aguarantee
--

of objective
truthofferedin thetermsofthe

Becauseof theegoisticshortcircuitin playbytheChurch

(37-38).
Thistruth
isseen
whichitistrapped,
loveintheimaginary,
and tobesomething
almost
tangible
thatresides
theimaginary
register
in general,
areinca- intheOtherwhois supposed
to know(see
pableoffulfilling
thedemands
ofthesubject, Lacan,
Ecrzs94-96).Oneexpects,evendeasNarciso
notes:
mands,
thetruth
fromtheOther,
andNarciso,
Mirando
loqueapetezco,
in his role as the son of God,reassures
estoy
sinpoder
gozarbo.
(1454-55)
Naturaleza
Humana
ofhis"inmensasabidunn"
(1934-35).
Thefrustration
causedbyincompletion
and Speechistheagency
thatbothstructures
insatisfaction
results
ineffects
thatgobeyond andallowsaccesstothesymbolic
register.8
thejealousy
andrivalry
already
mentioned
to Onlythrough
speechcansubjects
cometo--

humansubject
isjustthatonlyinsofar
asitcan

abhirmino
fatal
pormiquerida..
tom,herspeechdysfunction,
herability
only
(1602-3;
seealso1742-54)
torepeatthelastwordssaldtoher(1332-59,
Sincetheimaginary
register
is boundup 1390-1439,
1471-1602),isn
concrete
example
onlyintheconnections
between
aninsatiableofherfailure
to submit
tothesiguifier,
the
ego andimpossible
objects,alleffortsto symbolic.
Throughout
theplay,therearerefachieveanykindof satisfaction
are,as Eco erencestobothspeechandsilence,writing
says,"envano"
(see428-38);
likeNaturalezaanderasure(264-66,
575-76,669-70,1332Humana,
onefeelsaloneandhelpless
(1797); 59,1660,1715-18,
1967-68).
Indeed,
JaneB.
"olvidado
desi"(674).Everysubject
inthe Ackerman
hasstatedthattheplayhasone
imaginary
iscaught
inanegoistic
shortcircuit focus:
"theefficacy
oftheWord"
(63).Itispre-.

stitutesthesubject,
thesubject
thatcannot of EcoandNaturaleza
Humana's
feminine

ALACANIAN
STUDY
OF
SOR
JUANAS
EL
DIVINO
NARCISO
207
ciselytheaccession
to language,
theinsis- egosofEcoandNaturaleza
Humana
inaweb
tenceofthesiguifier
inthesubject,
thatcon- ofloveandrivalry
(182-84)
1O
Heisthetarget
reachitsobject
exceptthrough
language,
the wiles:theytrytogethimto desirethemas
subject
denoted
byitsfallings,
asweseein muchastheydesirehim(121-22)InaddiNnturnlezn
Humana's
complaints
ofincom- tontobeingthedesired
object,
heisalsothe
pletion(201-40
and1797-99).
desiring
subject,
whosepassion,
likeNaturnThe
role
of
the
symbolic
father
(as
opposed
leza
Humana's,
is
expressed
in
terms
ofhunNarcisocontains
sparksof thefirstorigin subjectThisobject,
andthelackcreated
by
totherealoranyotherkindoffather)
is es- gerandthirst(1232,1235).
Inatheatrical
repsentialin thenecessary
functioning
ofthe resentation
ofthedesireoftheOtherwhich
structuring
signifier
of
the
unconscious,
is
both
the
cause
andtheobject
ofathe
subject's
submits
herpassionto thesymbolic,
gives registers,
arethemselves
partof
third
regiswhichLacan
callsthe"phallic
siguifier"
or, desire,Narciso,
atthesametimethathe is
metaphorically,
the"Name
oftheFather."9
In soughtby Naturn-leza
Humana,
likewise
theplay,thefigurethatembodies
thesym- seeksheroutasa shepherd
looksfora lost
bolicregisteris Godthefather.Hisis the sheep(1133-36,
1147-50).
Thathe engages
namethatwe areto praiseeternally
(6-7, actively
intheimaginary
lovetriangle
isseen
2146).Hispower
functions
bothdirectly
and notonlyinhisobviously
specular
(narcissisthroughintermediaries
suchas theChurch, tic) relationship
withNaturalezaHumana

represented
hereasSinagoga
(7,42).Godis (1543),
butalso,aswasthecasewithEco,in
the
representation
of
the
Other
as
father,
the
his
very
name.
Asamember
ofthis
imaginary
desire(83-101,399-400,413-23,819-20, sge,7o, but
in being
dividedby
submitting
to
deadfather,
thepowerful
father,
kingforever relationship,
heisbynomeansexempt
from
(539,547,1221,895-96,1873-74;
seeRegunulttheegoistic
actions
andthoughts
typical
ofa
46-47,61-62).
Hisisthenameinvoked
when lover(1211-20,1486-88).
Although
onemight
oneappeals
totheOtherforhelp(545).His wishtoescapetheimaginary
forthepromise
promise,
asNarciso
tellsus,istogivethesub- ofthesymbolic,
onecanneverleavebehind
ject"remedios
a suspeligros"
(1905),
to be theimaginary
register.
Thereisnoactual
prothereforthesubject
whenever
itneedsHim gression
fromtheimaginary
tothesymbolic;
(1979-21).
Perhaps
theclearest
example
of thesubject
isalways
engaged
inboth.
thesymbolic
mediation
ofdesireistheinstitutionof marriage.Eco andNaturalezaTheRealRegister
Humana
bothlustafterNarciso;
bothbelieve
theycanfuffill
theirdesires
forhimbybeing According
toLacan,
allspeaking
subjects
hiswife(385-86).
Thisconcept
ofsymbolicalways
hopethattheOther
willbeabletofill
unionisreminiscent
ofthePlatonic
notion
of thegaps,toreplace,
oratleastcoverover,the
thenostalgia
fora primordial
unionwiththe object
thatismissing,
theo4itathnt
"falls
out"
One,towhichEcoalludes
whenshesaysthat atthemoment
oftheoriginal
splitting
ofthe
whichthenoblebeingremembers
(528-30). itsomission,
although
theyproduce
important
OnlyNaturaleza
Humana,
however,
actuallyeffectsinboththeimaginary
andsymbolic
herselfovertothesacrament
(2127):
shebe- ter,the"real,"
impossible
to attain
andinaccomesNarciso's
spouse(1296,1865).
cessible
inanydirect
wayineithertheimagiFora fullyfunctioning,
speaking
human naryorthesymbolic
(Lacan,
Ecrits195-96,
subject,
one'sdesireisthedesireofthesym- 286,296,319-20).
Acasecouldbemadefor
bolicOther,
inbothofitspotential
meanings:theequation
ofthisdivision
ofthesubject,
its
one'sdesireis thedesirefortheOther,
and irrecoverable
separation
fromtheOther,
and
one'sdesireis theOther'sdesire(Lacan, original
sin.Inthiscase,thesinisnotinhayEcrits
312).Narciso
istheattractive
object
of ingbeenborn,asCalder6n
saldinLa vida es
1849),ableto seduceeventherocksand theNameoftheFather,
areligious
tautology
mountains
(194-98),
thelurethatentraps
the inwhichGodinessencecausesthefallure
of

fades
must give
before
up the pleasure
primacy of the ego
signifier.
(the imIn

76
208 HISPANIA

Ecrits
"Seminar
154).onBecause
The Purloined
of the subject's
Letter"'constitu72). The

MAY 1993

It is the decentered
the More
subjectimportantly,
not
itself of
is the
the Othernature
human being that causes the "errors" in both
the imaginary and symbolic registers: one way
or another the human subject is always looking for something to fill the gaps at its core
becausein the
160,326). Butresides
(Lacan,Truth,
Semz'zarl4
the
in psychoanalysis,
tion.13
lack is inherent to the human condition, the
symbolic promise to span the gap and recover
the lost object is not only doomed to fallure, it
also has significant negative consequences. It
promises satisfaction, but in return for the
Submisdemands.
individual
sacrifice
The
object
for theego
impossible
desire
subject's of
sion to the Other is accompanied by an enormous sacrifice of the self as in the example of
God's commandment to Abraham to kill Isaac
(551-62) as a sacrifice to the law. The subject

and
and
of perception of
interpretation,
systems
thatwe
incompletion
The consequences
because there is no error that is not posed as
truth, the only certain truth in a psychoanalytic
sense lies in the subject's desire (see Lacan,
Ragland-Sullivan, "MagSeminar/ 168,263;
385,392).
netism"
father, the author of law, the guarantor of the
Even language, the basis of symbolic medintion, is itself uncertain, changing, shifting,
deficient, as we see in Naturaleza Humana's
assertion:

or
fading,
no functions
subject without
fact,
there is are
of the
of mastery,
and wisdom
as soon as the subject "appears
aphanz,
somewhere as meaning, he is manifested elsewhere as 'fading,' as disappearance".12 One

comthefather
Other,
withthe
tive
relationship God
hasdirect
no signifi326,351,2146).
munication with another subject is, in a very
real sense, impossible; one's message is returned to the sender but inverted (Lacan,

age of autonomous unity) for the assurances

of law and order. Moreover, the promise is not
open-ended: Eco tells us that Narciso is of
such a nature that, if one offends him even
once, one cannot return to grace (428-30),
and, even if one accepts the offer, "nadie es
cnpaz / de satisfacerla" (431-32).

clearest example of the fallure of language is

Eco's dysfunctional speech.14 For Merrim, this
destabilizing use of language demonstrates
Eco's ability to "wrest others' words from their
original context and oblige them to serve her
own purposes" as well as her inability to speak
except by "figuring others' words" (114).

whole; there is no Other of the Other, no guarantee of the absolute, objective truth that the
subject demands of the Other; the symbolic
simply cannot fulfill its promise of comple-

see in matters relating to truth, language, love,

and the subject become even more problematic and interesting with regard to the nature
of God. God is supposed to be the omnipotent

desire of the subject, which is in turn desire

of the Other. lf God represents the Other, then
saying that God represents the truth at one
and the same time puts God in the locus of
truth but only insofar as He constitutes the

universe. But He, as the Other, cannot be a

unified whole. He is not all-powerful and allencompassing: the devil also has power, and
His creatures have the free will to reject Him.
He is not all. The benefit of His incompletion

truth that we want the Other to guarantee is

always relative to the desires of the subject
that asked for it, desires that spring from the
subject's incompletion. Lacan has noted that
the usual ways in which one looks for truth

He is therefore able to have a personal,

intersubjective relationship with His creations
(see Regnault 32-47). The clearest example
of this quality of not-all is His division into
three: father, son, and holy spirit (see 156-59,

ego, that are related to what he calls the "pannoinc principle of human knowledge" (Ecrfts
138). Because one is always separated from
any "objective" truth of the worid by imperfect

cant theatrical role in the play, but we can see

the consequences of His incompletion in the
character of His son, Narciso, who, aswe have
seen, suffers from the same divisions, the

entiende"philosopher's God,"
es bathe
queperfect
unlike
is una
that,cosa
y otracosa baque oye. (154-55,see also 502-6)
Since the Other can provide no absolute guarantee, the signifiers are constantly sliding,
causing speech to be always relative (Lacan,

the(1202,
Other,
1205)
his lack also serves as a lure be-

lack
but Eco
at the
is not
coreoffered
of herthe
being.15
same But
benefit16
we have
By

A LACANIAN
STUDY
OFSORJUANASELDIVINO
NARCISO
209
same imaginary relationship, the same desires as do Eco and Naturaleza Humana. At
the same time, he is also the son of God
(1675), the incamation of the Other, Christ
who died so that our sins might be mediated
(2087-2100). His roles are doubled (and perhaps tripled): Narciso's handsomeness is an
imaginary
but, sincehis
he image
also represents
structures lure,
her identity:
is in her

perfection, and thatthe subject is carried away

and made one with the Other (and, in the process, lost as an individual subject), as in the
marriage of Naturaleza Humana and Narciso
at the end (1299). Naturaleza Humana is like
every subject when she calls to the Other, she
wants the Other to respond as the omnipotent,
nil-seeing,
all-knowing God
whofarwill
fill in any
the
love, but ay?uisaucethat
goes
beyond

cause
is in
that unsymbolized
place in
(1221),ititis
simultaneously
an assertion
of the
his
Other that the subject finds the outline of its
lost and irrecoverable object a. Narciso maintains his love relationships, but he also wishes
to hide his face from his flock:

seen
the auto
has real,
structured
the characto
thethat
register
of the
and leads
us to a
ters of God and Narciso as divided speaking
subjects unable to fulfill the promise of
completion for Eco. While she is indeed abandoned because of her unwillingness to submit
to the law, God's grace, which no one can eam
by any symbolic means, is also applied unevenly: Gracia embraces Naturaleza Humana

Yo esconderemi cara.- de este ingrato,perverso,infiebganado.

Later
on, heoftells
Echo
notistoa hope
to see his
apotheosis
unity.
There
clear indication
eyes (1590) and Naturaleza Humana not to
touch him (1872). One is specifically forbidden from looking upon the face of God; to see
the face of God is to die. The phallic signifier
must remaln veiled (Lacan, "Desire" 48).
The disunity of his character is clearly indicated by the text of the auto. Eco realizes
that Narciso is the son of God and notes that
he was born to a "verdadera mujer" (603-4),
and perhaps we may conclude that he inherited his complex nature from his mixed parentage. Even in his aspiration to perfection in
the Other, he will always carry with him the
part that comes from the real woman, that is,
he can never be whole on that account At the
same time, he is not just an object of Naturaleza Humana's desire, he is an imago that

juxtaposing
the to
offer
of the
salvation
closer one gets
God,
more and
one the
npincompletion of God, EldivzzoNarcis'o shows
up the basic flaw in the symbolic promise: one
must already be inscribed in the symbolic in
order to hear its promise; in order for God to
offer salvation, one must first have already
accepted itby believing in Him. In light of the
inability of either the imaginary or the symbolic to fulfill their promises of wholeness, this
unity, and, indeed, the message of the play itself, can only be seen as the fantasy of the
subject

(215). When he says that he is "soberano"

comfort provided by the other two registers,

imaginary wholeness and the supposed omnipotence of the Other. God, the Other, is also
Narciso, the other. Narciso's actions both as
a subject in his relations with Eco and
Naturaleza Humana and as the Other in his
divinity cause us to question the harmonious
unity posited by the message of the play.
The action follows a trajectory toward an

direct confrontation with death.Jouisauceis

not pleasure in the normal, conscious meaning of the term. In fact, the experience of it in
the real is quite unpleasant Rather,y?wisance
is the unconscious celebration of the lack of
the subject, of the Ichspaltung, closely related
to hysteria, psychosis, and the death drive
(Lacan, Ecn318-20,
"Kant"60-61, 95n) . The

that God supposedly moves from not-all, from

being able to have an intersubjective relation
with the subject, to a totalizing, and totalized

proachesy2uissance (Ragland-Sullivan, "Dora"

213,216,219,222-23,225;
Regnault 101,108).
Complete unity with God, as the mystics de-

The Death Drive

That God is an object of fantasy shows that,
in asking for completion from God, one asks
not just for symbolic mediation or imaginary

some of the discourse

("mi

tury psychoanalysis. The metaphysical, mys-

scribed it, would go beyond whatever the symbolic can offer to an impossible ex-stasy, a
being outside of one's being, and, of course,
the disappearance of the subject itself. Lacan
termed this state plus-de-kufr, an excess and
a cessation of fr'uzsance at the same time
(Lacan, Femirn>ze 144-45). Thus, union with

ject dies, its structuring signifiers, its relation

to the Other, and the promises of wholeness,
die in their fulfillment The life of the subject
is therefore liffle more than "a defect in the
purity of Non-Being" (Lacan, Ecrits 317);
through death, salvation is a return to purity.

210 HISPANIA
76

of mysticism

MAY 1993

Godimpliesthe deathof the subject,which Conclusion

is in a real sense absolute ybuz.sance, np/usde-;?uir. This is the ultimate expression of
Christian desire.
Even though Naturaleza Humana uses
divino amado," 939), this play is not mystical:
there is no conjoining of the two entities except in a symbolic, metaphorical sense (marriage). Still, when Narciso looks for Naturaleza Humana as a lost sheep, he says that he
would rather die than give up the search
(1162-65). He says specifically that itwas love
that made mortal him who was immortal
(1496-99, see also 1742-54, 2033-38). The

he

spliffing of the human subject and

flits relationship to the Other is not just

En

fictional construct of twentieth-cen-

tical characteristics of Golden Age theology

also leave no doubt about their understanding
of the divided nature of the human subject and
its relation to God. Just as the human being is
not complete within its being, neither is God
rational, distant, perfect, and uninterested.
Each participant in the relationship must necessarily be lacking in some area to which the
other can appeal, but that very lack under-

Otheras anabstraction,
theperfect,non-ex- minesthepromisemade.Christian
theoretiistent Other that is supposed to resolve the
subject's misery, that may be conceived of as
independent of the subject, is immortal, but
once it partakes of human subjectivity, it too
is subject to mortality. When Narciso dies, sin
is forgiven: "Seborran nuestras ofensas" (66970). Narciso's goal is death ("baja a morir,"
1548), which is both symbolically metaphorical of imaginary paln, and captions the death
drive in the real. As Narciso points out, death
should be the end of sin, the end of suffering,
the end of mortality, the end of the subject's
division:
Yabicenciaala muertedoy:ya entrego
el alma,a que del cuerpola divida,
aunqueen elbay en l quedariasida
mi deidad,que las vuelvaa reunirbuego.
Sed tengo:queebamorque me ha abrasado,
auncon todoebdolorque padeciendo
estoy, mi coraz6natmno ha saciado.
Padre!,Por qu en un trancetantremendo
me desamparas?
Ya estriconsumado.
En tus manosmi espirituencomiendo!(1606-15)

cians have given considerable thought and

importance to the lack of unity in the concepts
of God, namely the fact that one man, Jesus
Christ, could have both divine and human
natures, while God Himself has three manifestations (father, son, holy spirit) 17 Enormous psychoanalytic intuition is atwork in the
religious theater of the Golden Age, whether
in the corned/a orintheauto sacramental. As
Henry Sullivan has noted (613-14, 617),
Calder6n's view of the human subject seems
to anticipate modern psychoanalysis, not so
much in clinical practice with its emphasis on
the individual unconscious, but paradigmatic
psychoanalysis with its ability to tell us some-

thingaboutthehumansubjectingeneral.
Sor
Juana, too, seems to share Calder6n's vision
of the human condition, and El div/noNarciso
provides a case study of the paradigmatic role
of psychoanalysis in literary texts. In their rejection of Cartesian certainty and the illusion
of wholeness, pre-modern literature and post-

moderntheoryconverge
intheirstudyofthe
Like Naturaleza Humana, Narciso views his
union with his Father in terms of a fantasy to
be crossed. In this regard, this union is perfect ecstasy in all registers, but one can only
achieve this ex-stasy in death. When the sub-

human subject
U

NOTES
1Lacan's
discussionof the mirrorstage appearsas

A LACANIAN
STUDY
OFSORJUANASELDIVINO
NARCISO
211
the first selectionin EcrissA Selection,1-7. For over- imaginaryrealm of love. See Lacan,Ecrits 289-91;
views of Lacan'sdefinitionsof the imaginaryregister, Safouan110.
see Lee (17-30) and Ragland-Sullivan,
JacquesLacan
12Lacan,
FourFundamental2l8,
221.Sce alsoLacan,
(130-59).
"OfStructure"194,andFeminine35, 94, 104,120;Lee
2Thestandardeditionof SorJuana'sworksis the 4- 146-54;MacCannell13.
volume Obrascompletasedited by Alfonso Mndez
'3Lacan,
"Desire"25;Ecrits195,311;Feminine168.
Plancarte(Mexico:Fondode Cubtura
Econ6mica,1955). See also MacCannell55, 68, 81.
ThelinenumbersforEl divinoNarcisoareunfortunately
14Merrim
(114)has notedthe similaritywitha techin erroraboveline 909.As a result,the citationshere niqueof AthanasiusKircherby whichone formsnew
arefromRipollandValdespino'santhology.Exceptfor wordsby removingone or two bettersfromthe preyoccasionalpunctuationand capitalization
differences, ous word (clamore,amore,more,ore,re). OctavioPaz
the textis identicalto thatfoundinthe Obrascompletas. has dealtat some lengthwiththe influenceof Kircher
3See also 251-54. NaturabezaHumanais an even on SorJuana.He notes thatthe idea to cast Christas
moreinterestingfigurethanthenormalallegoricalchar- Narcissusshows an "extraordinary
similarity"to the
acters of autossacramentales.
Not only is she at once firstsectionofthe Corpus
Hermeticum,
andhe suggests
bothconceptandpersonification,
thereis also her robe thatSorJuanamighthave been inspiredby Kircher's
as mother,the "madre/ comtinde todoslos hombres" version(462-64).Imanob
SanJose Azuetaagrees,add(28-29).Althoughit is beyondthe scope of this study, ingthattheparticubarversion
ofthe Narcissusmyththat
anotherfruitfulapproachto this playmightbe in terms SorJuanamusthavefollowedcame notfromOvidbut
of the motheras "therealOtherof demand,whose de- fromPausanias(115-19).0
sire (that is, her desire) one wishes she would as15Cf.
Lacan,Ecnr320:"Onlymyformulation
ofphansuage..." (Ecrits321).
tasy enablesus to revealthatthe subjecthere makes
love in the imaginaryis fundamentally
a narcissis- himselfthe instrumentof the Other's;?uissance."
tic illusionandis closelyrebated
to theego ideal(Lacan,
16Although
Graciais a characterinthisauto,her robe
Seminar];112,126,142,180),butlovedependsonmore is not doctrinallyimportant.Whilegrace is cabled"ba
thanjust the imaginary:"Nolove can be functionally mejorprendadel alma"(1007-8),Graciamainlyserves
realisablein the humancommunity,saveby meansof here to informNaturalezaHumanaaboutwhatshe is
a specificpact,which,whatevertheformittakes,always doingandshoulddo, andat one pointthe two charactends to becomeisolatedoff intoa specificfunction,at tersareplacedon stagein such a wayas to appearto be
one andthe same timewithinlanguageandoutsideof bookingat eachother,yet anotherinstanceof specular
it.Thatis whatwe callthe functionof the sacred,which identification.
See also 1131ff.,961-68,2023-24.
is beyond the imaginaryrelation"(174;see also 217,
170nboththehypostaticunionandthe natureofthe
276-77).
Trinity,especiallyin relationto Calder6n'sEl diablo
5AsEco says, "enodio truecoel amor"(403).One mudo,see Dietz"Theology"
98,102-4. Concerningthe
findsloveatthejunctureofthe symbolicandthe imagi- allegoricalrepresentation
ofGodas threedifferentcharnary,whilehatelies atthe intersectionof the imaginary actersin Cabder6n's
auto,La vidaes sueffo,see Dietz,
andthe real (Lacan,Seminar];271;see also 276-77). "Conflict"
180-81.
Whenthe symbolicfailsto hold,imaginaryrivalriesand
defensestakeover.
U
WORKS CiTED
6SeeLacan,Ecnr307.Merrim(113)describesEco's
roleas thatusuallyassignedto the devilin the autosac- Ackerman,JaneE. "Voicein EldivinoNarciso."Bulleramental,and sufferingfromthe same loss of resemtin ofthe Comediantes39
(1987):63-74.
blancethatLuciferdiduponhis fall.
Cruz,SorJuanaInks de ba.El divinoNarciso.Teatro
7Fora general discussion of the symbolic, see
hispanoamericano.AntologiaCritica.Ed. Carbos
Ragband-Sullivan,JacquesLacan,
130-37,145-83.
RipollandAndrs Valdespino.2 vobs.New York:
5Theimportanceof speech to the subject,andthe
Anaya,1972.1:223-66.
essential relationshipof speech and the symbolic,is Dietz, DonaldT. "Conflictin Cabder6n's
AutosSacradiscusseddirectlyin "TheFunctionandFieldofSpeech
mentales."Approachesto
theTheaterofCalder6n.
Ed.
and Languagein Psychoanalysis"
in Ecrits.Sce in parMichaelD. McGaha.Lanham,MD:UniversityPress
ticularpages 56-77;see also 125,285-86,305.
ofAmerica,1982,175-86.
9SceLee64-67;Ragland-SublivanJacquesLacan,
55, ________- "Theologyandthe Stage:The Godfigure
305.Reguaubt
dealswiththe paternalmetaphorina spein Cabder6n's
AutosSacramentales,"
Bulletinof the
cilicallyreligiouscontexton 61-62, 91,95,100.
Comediantes34
(1982):97-105.
105eealso 323-28. For Lacan'sdiscussionof sight, Lacan,Jacques."Desireandthe Interpretation
of Desire
the gaze,andthe lure,see FourFundamentalConcepts
in Hamlet."LiteratureandPsychoanlysis.
TheQues93, 102-03.
tion ofReading.-Otherwise.
Ed. ShoshanaFelman.
11There
is somethingof masqueradehere, a referBaltimore:
JohnsHopkinsUP, 1982,11-52.
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is the masculine.Thismas- ________- FeminineSezualizy.
Ed.JulietMitchelland
querade will serve as a lure to capture God in the
JacquelineRose.Trans.JacquelineRose.NewYork:

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