Erotic Magic: Another Look at Cervantes's Los tratos de Argel

Abstract

This essay focuses on the scenes in Los tratos de Argel between Christian captive Aurelio and his would-be Moorish seductress, Zahara, and particularly her servant Fátima's failed attempt at erotic enchantment ( philocaptio ) on Zahara's behalf. Rather than seeking to connect the specifics of Fátima's spell with classical tradition or "la réalité algéroise (Canavaggio), we point out the persistence of episodes of philocaptio in heroic literature, particularly in the chansons de geste and chivalric romance, and thus the chivalric subtext of the episode. We also consider the many pronouncements throughout Cervantes against the power of erotic magic over a Christian endowed with free will, and finally the persistent pattern of attraction and repulsion in his various literary experiments with the seductive Other.