A Jewish Heroine in Early Modern Spain

In this chapter, I explore three different Iberian manifestations of Queen Esther. The model text and most well-known is La Hermosa Ester (1610), written by renowned Golden Age playwright Lope Felix de Vega Carpio. This text sets the stage for Iberian representation of the Esther story in this period and I compare it with Felipe Godinez’s two texts, written on either side of his incarceration and Inquisition trial: “La Reyna Ester” (1613) and “Aman y Mardoqueo” (1628) reflect the “corrective behavior” that he received by the Inquisition.