Resumen de Of Rodajas, Redomas, Ruedas, Vitro, Vitriolo, V.I.T.R.I.O.L, Vidriera: The Occult Symbolism of the Title Character Names in "El licenciado Vidriera"
In the Prologue to the Novelas ejemplares of 1613, Miguel de Cervantes indicates that the stories in the collection were created for entertainment, but also that within the lines of the stories there were hidden mysteries that made them worthy of the readers' attention, without explaining the nature of those mysteries: "Sólo esto quiero que consideres: Que pues yo he tenido osadía de dirigir estas novelas al gran conde de Lemos, algún misterio tienen escondido que las levanta" (770). Previously in the Prologue, Cervantes also emphasizes the didactic nature of the stories: "Heles dado nombre de Ejemplares, y si bien lo miras, no hay ninguna de quien no se pueda sacar algún ejemplo provechoso" (769). The objective of this study is to offer an interpretation, from an esoteric, and specifically alchemical point of view, that may reveal the nature of some of the hidden mysteries in the story of "El licenciado Vidriera," drawing attention to the specific significances of the names accorded to the main character, the way Cervantes addresses the sequence of events in the novel, and their relationship to alchemical imagery and symbolism.
