The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>

María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>, the fourth tale in her <i>Desengaños amorosos</i> (1641), is one of the most studied novellas in the collection. The reader’s curiosity may stem in part from the main model for the tale, the Apuleian story of Cupid and Psyche,...

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Main Author: Frederick A. De Armas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Humanities
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/4/85
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author Frederick A. De Armas
author_facet Frederick A. De Armas
author_sort Frederick A. De Armas
collection DOAJ
description María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>, the fourth tale in her <i>Desengaños amorosos</i> (1641), is one of the most studied novellas in the collection. The reader’s curiosity may stem in part from the main model for the tale, the Apuleian story of Cupid and Psyche, which has <i>curiositas</i> as its central motivation. Nevertheless, this essay argues that one of the reasons that the tale has attracted so much attention has to do with the vividness of its scenes, the chromatic design that Zayas uses to write for the eyes and the relationship of these topics to curiosity. The text induces characters and readers to marvel not only at a colorful scene but also to seek to understand the choice of colors in eight impacting ekphrasis in the novella. These colors color emotions and arouse our curiosity regarding scene, symbol, shade, and character. In addition, Zayas alludes to a painting included in one of Marguerite de Navarre’s novellas to further arouse curiosity and visual memory.
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spelling doaj-art-4e677b349e3941249ae9c698c2f502e02025-08-20T02:28:28ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872025-04-011448510.3390/h14040085The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>Frederick A. De Armas0University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USAMaría de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>, the fourth tale in her <i>Desengaños amorosos</i> (1641), is one of the most studied novellas in the collection. The reader’s curiosity may stem in part from the main model for the tale, the Apuleian story of Cupid and Psyche, which has <i>curiositas</i> as its central motivation. Nevertheless, this essay argues that one of the reasons that the tale has attracted so much attention has to do with the vividness of its scenes, the chromatic design that Zayas uses to write for the eyes and the relationship of these topics to curiosity. The text induces characters and readers to marvel not only at a colorful scene but also to seek to understand the choice of colors in eight impacting ekphrasis in the novella. These colors color emotions and arouse our curiosity regarding scene, symbol, shade, and character. In addition, Zayas alludes to a painting included in one of Marguerite de Navarre’s novellas to further arouse curiosity and visual memory.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/4/85Maria de ZayasMarguerite de NavarreJean PerréalMary Magdalencuriosityekphrasis
spellingShingle Frederick A. De Armas
The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>
Humanities
Maria de Zayas
Marguerite de Navarre
Jean Perréal
Mary Magdalen
curiosity
ekphrasis
title The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>
title_full The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>
title_fullStr The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>
title_full_unstemmed The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>
title_short The Colors of Curiosity: Ekphrasis from Marguerite de Navarre to María de Zayas’ <i>Tarde llega el desengaño</i>
title_sort colors of curiosity ekphrasis from marguerite de navarre to maria de zayas i tarde llega el desengano i
topic Maria de Zayas
Marguerite de Navarre
Jean Perréal
Mary Magdalen
curiosity
ekphrasis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/4/85
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