‘Toda la tristeza de España’: The Tragic Sense of Life in Antonio Buero Vallejo's Las Meninas

Abstract

Buero's mastery of stagecraft would qualify Las Meninas to be considered among his best works, though it has not received the critical acclaim accorded to his other plays. The thesis of this article is that the appeal of Las Meninas consists in its profound reflection on large existential questions similar to those explored by Miguel de Unamuno. For Buero, Las Meninas powerfully captures the atmosphere of impermanence and pretence which surrounds the regime of Philip IV. It thereby encourages audiences, and, more particularly, readers of the text, living under a regime of censorship, repression and false appearances, to see themselves as participants in the collective tragedy of the nation, and by extension of human life in general.