"Force of Habit," by Guillén de Castro, translated by Barbara Fuchs and the UCLA Working Group
Can gender be learned and unlearned?
Félix and Hipólita, two siblings separated at birth, are brought up in the habits of the opposite gender. Kept close by his mother’s side, Félix is timid and sensitive. Hipólita, trained by her father on the battlefield, is fiercely attached to her sword. When the family is reunited, the father insists on making the siblings conform to traditional gender roles. Helped along the way by their respective love interests, the two gradually assume traditional positions, but their journeys expose the limitations of the gender system.
The UCLA Working Group on the Comedia in Translation and Performance has brought an engaging and lively translation of Guillén de Castro’s comedia to light.
This volume is part of the Diversifying the Classics project at UCLA, which seeks to foster awareness and appreciation of the Hispanic Golden Age and give theater professionals the materials and tools to explore its rich tradition.
Series: UCLA Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies: the Comedia in Translation and Performance, #5
ISBN 978-1-58871-352-0 (PB)