El encanto de ver y ser visto en El Arenal de Sevilla de Lope de Vega

Abstract:Lope de Vega's El Arenal de Sevilla (1618) encouraged spectators to observe one another within the playhouse. By collapsing boundaries between Seville's Arenal—the bustling waterfront that anchored Spain's transatlantic commerce—and theatrical space, and by presenting fictional characters as exemplars, Lope's drama offers cues for audience members to observe and hear. Audience members might see attractive faces, enjoy public disorder, and gather information about others. Through textual analysis and consideration of corral architecture, this study argues that the play incentivized spectators to engage in the same watching behaviors depicted on stage—transforming the audience itself into a supplementary spectacle. This strategy offered an immersive theatrical experience that potentially undermined official surveillance mechanisms by encouraging private observation rather than public denunciation. The play thus reveals how commercial theater could foster conduct at odds with political and religious authorities' interests.