SOURCE: “Judith and Leocadia: The Intertextual Heroines of Buero Vallejo's El sueño de la razõn,” in Estreno, Vol. XXII, No. 2, Fall, 1997, pp. 42–8.

In the following essay, Ridley presents three representations of the character Leocadia in Buero Vallejo's El sueño de la razón.

As the character who holds the key to Francisco de Goya's survival or demise in Buero Vallejo's El sueño de la razón, Leocadia Zorrilla, the painter's young mistress, has been decidedly overlooked as one of the drama's central figures. She has been studied primarily from the perspective of her role as the young, passionate woman who serves as a constant reminder to Goya of his declining virility and old age.¹ Although this facet of her character provides the audience with greater insight into Goya's disturbed mind, Leocadia's role is far more complex and intriguing than that of a beautiful temptress...