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The Indiano as Liminal Figure in the Drama of Tirso and His Contemporaries

Edward Said's Culture and Imperialism examines the often uncommented "presence" of the colonial in 19th- and 20th-century European literature which is not "about" the colonial experience. One focus of this work is the role of liminal figures, usually Europeans who are altered by their encounters with native cultures. With some important modifications, Said's book provides a useful paradigm for studies of minority discourses in Golden Age literature. While the year 1992 gave rise to a much-needed examination of the comedia's representation of the New World and its inhabitants, these studies tended to focus on the Spanish presence in the Americas, and on the peoples encountered there. Much less attention has been granted to the representation of the indiano as a presence in Spain. In plays including La verdad sospechosa, Marta la piadosa, and Coda loco con su tema, an indiano plays a crucial role in the dénouement of action which takes place in Spain. The indiano functions as a liminal figure because he is simultaneously a Spaniard, by blood, and a dangerous Other, by virtue of exotic birth and experiences. Such a duality gives rise to an interesting phenomenon in the plays under consideration: there is not a uniform or consistent representation of the indiano figure. This article's analysis of the liminality of the indiano seeks to serve as an exemplum for the study of the representation of many marginalized groups of early modern Spain, including the converso, morisco, and upwardly mobile peasant. (BS)