The Pretender, by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, a new translation of El semejante a sí mismo by UCLA’s Center for 17th and 18th Century Studies.
It’s a strange new world, indeed! Who knows what is true? As seventeenth-century Spain experiences the growing pains of change, discovery, and globalism, playwright Juan Ruiz de Alarcón exploits the public’s receptiveness with the ultimate gaslighting romance. Alarcón’s protagonist tests the loyalty of his beloved by pretending to be Cousin Diego from Flanders. Strangely, and uniquely in Spanish drama, there is no costume involved in the trickery—only lies and disinformation. Even close friends and family believe the lie (or do they?) ... and who learns the lesson?
With this new translation, the team at UCLA’s Center for 17th and 18th Century Studies brings Alarcón’s play El semejante a sí mismo to an English-speaking audience.
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Series: UCLA Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies. The Comedia in Translation and Performance, 16
ISBN: 978-1-58871-396-4 (PB) $25