The Transformation Of The Witch In The Works Of Maria De Zayas

In my thesis, I argue that the 17th-century Spanish writer, Maria de Zayas y Sotomayor, in a unique form of mimesis, uses elements of magic to transform the popular concept of the Spanish witch. Drawing on theories from Jacques Lacans mirror phase, Homi Bhabha and Barbara Fuchss notion of mimesis, and Judith Butlers idea of gender performativity, I demonstrate how Zayas frees the witch from the subjugated language constructed by the Catholic Church and society of her time. I examine six of the short stories in her two novels to show how the author alters the role of the witch associated with the devil, transforming her to a saint associated with lo magico de los cielos, assigning the diabolical role to the man.