Burla y risa en El celoso hasta la muerte de Alonso de Castillo Solórzano

Abstract

This article explores the function of mockery and laughter in the short novel El celoso hasta la muerte by Alonso de Castillo Solórzano. I interpret this text as a “novela de burlas” or comic novella, a specific type of narrative in which mockery is a central device. The analysis pays close attention to the mechanism of the “canned laughter” that reveals the function of ridicule and the role of both the victim as scapegoat and his victimizers. At the end, this short novel reflects the literary sensitivity of the aristocratic audience to whom it is addressed: a small group of noble families and friends that the author met during his stay in Valencia.