The Stoic-Christian doctrine in “Constante Florinda”

Abstract

Gaspar Pires de Rebelo’s Infortúnios trágicos da constante Florinda was published in 1625. Given its conspicuous success, a sequel, Segunda parte da Constante Florinda, em que se trata dos infortúnios que teve Arnaldo buscando-a pelo mundo, came out in 1633. Constante Florinda (this is the title both parts became known as), largely disseminated in the 17th and 18th centuries, was nonetheless virtually forgotten in the subsequent centuries. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the profit from the narration of Florinda’s and Arnaldo’s misfortunes reflects 16th and 17th-century stoic-christian doctrine, profoundly advertised by authors such as Justus Lipsius and Francisco de Quevedo. Thus, by analyzing Constante Florinda´s passages, this paper seeks to highlight that the narration is also doctrine, and conveys the (tragic) paths, with stoic exempla, of christian life.