Tuerto Masculinity and Feminine Foresight: Gender and Sight in Ercilla's La Araucana.
This article examines how Alonso de Ercilla's epic poem La Araucana (1569–1590) presents gender through the motif of sight. It argues that Ercilla develops what could be termed tuerto masculinity : a heroic blindness in which male warriors' ocular injuries expose their limited understanding of the A...
| Publicado en: | Hispanic Review Vol. 94; no. 3; pp. 419 - 441 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Pennsylvania Press
Summer2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=195931619&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 195931619 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00182176 HIR jtl: Hispanic Review issn: 00182176 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Summer2026 vid: 94 iid: 3 pid: 4636 pub: University of Pennsylvania Press artinfo: ui: 195931619 10.1353/hir.2026.a997066 ppf: 419 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 359KB tig: atl: Tuerto Masculinity and Feminine Foresight: Gender and Sight in Ercilla's La Araucana. aug: au: Newman, Mary Katherine affil: University College London su: Masculinity Feminism Social movements La Araucana (Book) Blindness sug: subj: Masculinity Feminism Social movements La Araucana (Book) Blindness keyword: Alonso de Ercilla Arauco War Chile Colonial Literature Early Modern Epic Poetry Femininity Gender La Araucana Mary Katherine Newman Neoplatonism Prophecy Reche Sensory Studies Sight Spanish Empire Vision ab: This article examines how Alonso de Ercilla's epic poem La Araucana (1569–1590) presents gender through the motif of sight. It argues that Ercilla develops what could be termed tuerto masculinity : a heroic blindness in which male warriors' ocular injuries expose their limited understanding of the Arauco War. In contrast, Indigenous female figures such as Tegualda, Guacolda, and Fresia possess prophecy and foresight that allow them to perceive the conflict's human cost. Drawing on early modern theories of vision, particularly Neoplatonism, the study shows how Ercilla links sight to knowledge and power, making the eye a site where gendered experience and imperial ideology converge. By opposing the blindness of his warriors to the foresight of his heroines, La Araucana reveals that the true tragedy of the Arauco War lies not in defeat but in the failure to see beyond it. This article examines how Alonso de Ercilla's epic poem La Araucana (1569–1590) presents gender through the motif of sight. It argues that Ercilla develops what may be termed tuerto masculinity: a heroic blindness in which male warriors' ocular injuries expose their limited understanding of the Arauco War. In contrast, Indigenous female figures such as Tegualda, Guacolda, and Fresia possess prophecy and foresight that allow them to perceive the conflict's human cost. Drawing on early modern theories of vision, particularly Neoplatonism, the study shows how Ercilla links sight to knowledge and power, making the eye a site where gendered experience and imperial ideology converge. By opposing the blindness of the warriors to the foresight of the heroines, La Araucana reveals that the true tragedy of the Arauco War lies not in defeat but in the failure to see beyond it. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Hispanic Review is the property of University of Pennsylvania Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Hispanic Review holder: University of Pennsylvania Press dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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