Harlan: Moreto’s “El desden” 
7 ? 
herself deceived, she begins to have a new sensation which 
she admits is love. But she loves both Melchor and Antonio, 
since she feels jealous of both, and her anxiety comes in mak- 
ing the choice between the two. As long as Melchor makes 
her jealous of Bernarda, she is miserable, but when she knows 
that he has only been deceiving her, and really loves her, she 
is no longer jealous, and, by her own argument, no longer loves 
him. On this point, her whole evolution, from being a scorner 
of all men to falling in love with one who loves her, turns. To 
a certain degree she is defeated “at her own game”, — that of 
being deceived when she would deceive, — but it is no such un- 
relenting battle of her deception pitted against that of Melchor, 
as is the disdain of Diana and Carlos’ disdain in El desden 
con el desden. It is due rather, as suggested, to the element 
of jealousy which comes in as the result of Melchor’s — and 
Sabanon’s — deception. Juana plays a much more incidental 
part than Diana. She reminds one much more of Laura in 
Lope’s La vengadora de las mujeres than of Diana, in her ut- 
terances of avenging her sex. Her reasons are not so well 
motivated as Laura’s ; in fact they seem quite arbitrary. The 
resemblance between Juana and Diana lies in the fact that 
each expresses the determination to make men fall in love with 
her, only to scorn them mercilessly afterwards. Juana, how- 
ever, has this idea about all men to begin with, while Diana is 
brought to it by the indifference of Carlos, and directs her 
efforts toward him alone. Both fall in love, Juana thru jeal- 
ousy, and Diana thru being squarely defeated and made to 
realize that she was wrong in the beginning. 
Sab anon suggests Polilla in that he takes upon himself the 
responsibility of bringing Juana to terms. Instead of calling 
himself “medico de amor”, as Polilla styles himself, he calls 
himself “cirujano” and expresses his intention in Act II, say- 
ing: 
A la hinchazon de ser vana, 
Cirujano de mas ciencia 
La he de poner un emplasto 
Que madure su dureza; 
A1 veneno del desprecio 
He hallado la contrayerba, 
Con la flecha de su ardid 
Presumo hacer que se hiera; 
Dejadme obrar y callad, 
Yq hare a esta amante gallega 
