Representaciones de la ciencia en Viage somniaéreo a la luna, o Zulema y Lambert

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine the scientific elements, as well as others of plausible or pseudoscientific nature, that Castillo y Mayone represented in a scarcely studied work: Viage somniaéreo a la luna, o Zulema Lambert (1832). In the first place, we examine the tradition of Western literature about travels to the moon from Classical antiquity to XX century. The specific analysis of these elements is structured in three sections: scientific technique and the balloon; the burning glass and the orbit of the moon; and the store of rarities and the perpetuation of lineage. It is concluded that these elements, apart from working as literary devices, are used by the author, probably in a deliberate way, to convey social criticism.