La concepció de l'heroi al "Curial e Güelfa"

Abstract

The special heroic conception of the late medieval Curial, which is examined here, results from the tension between the "perfect knight" Curial and his weaknesses, above all his indulgence towards the Cupiditas, which repeatedly throws him off course. It is shown here –among other things in comparison to Martorell's heroic conception in Tirant– how Curial's tension is represented narratively in that he appears in two opposing dimensions: a "public" dimension, which shows the courtier and good knight, and a "private" one, in which he exposes himself with his weaknesses and his ridiculousness; two dimensions that are constituted both by the direct description of facts and by the image of Curial in the utterances of the novel’s other characters.