El doble y la duda: la crítica al escepticismo en el teatro breve de Juan Rana

Abstract

This paper focuses on the theme of the double in the entremeses and loas of Juan Rana. The objective is to unravel how the various doubles of the gracioso (the reflection, the portrait, the statue, the shadow, the soul) articulate the skepticism of the cultural moment in early modern Europe. Methodologically, the readings of the interludes are framed within the ideas of the double and the mirror presented by psychoanalysisand the theory of the Doppelgänger. I argue that the ontological uncertainty provoked in the gracioso when confronted with his double is interpreted as a parody, both laughable and critical, of skeptical currents, exemplified by authors such as Sixto Empírico, Francisco Sánchez, and Pedro de Valencia. This work contributes to Golden Age studies by exploring cultural realms —skepticism— previously ignored in canonicalreadings of Juan Rana’s entremeses.