About the Inconstancy of Fortune: the Presence of the Grotesque in Constante Florinda by Gaspar Pires de Rebelo

Abstract

Reading the Infortúnios Trágicos da Constante Florinda of Gaspar Pires de Rebelo (divided in two parts published respectively in 1625 and 1633, in Lisbon), causes a remarkable impression on the reader, even on the most prudent one. This work aims to show how this impression results from the application of the grotesque to the universe of the Portugueses exemplary novels, and it also tries to explain the contours and the results of this situation within the context of Baroque literature.