Las lágrimas de Hernán Cortés en la "Historia verdadera" de Bernal Díaz del Castillo

Abstract

This article analyzes the function of Hernan Cortes’ tears in the Historia verdadera by Bernal Diaz del Castillo. Some critics have read Cortes’ weeping as a sign of weakness. Actually, the tears of the hero are a manifestation that links the figure of the conqueror —and by extension the whole text— to the classical epic tradition, as well as to an incipient concept of tragedy.