Honour in Spain

The value of honour, in 17th century Spain, surpasses that of life. In fact, justified or not, the vengeance of offended honour remains one of the favourite themes of the greatest dramatic creations of the time.
Tirso de Molina will say :
Never does a Spaniard make wait for death he who gives offence.
But is it a question of honour (honra) or reputation (fama)?
It is sometimes difficult to make the distinction between the person's individual value (honra), and the social value that one risks losing because of others (fama).
Man with hand resting on chest - El Greco -
The Prado Museum - Madrid
   
Corrida
Is it the honour of a nation proud and jealous of its liberties as illustrated by the conquistador,
or that of the man who alone faces the bull and death in a corrida or is it only susceptibility used rightly or wrongly like a social reflex that has become automatic ? In the Burlador de Sevilla, Don Juan is going to revel in this ambiguity and to play on the complexity of sentiment among his contemporaries.
When he proclaims :
I am a Tenorio
as the Commander will say :
Me, I am an Ulloa (Third day)
he displays without hesitation the honour that his rank deserves.
As he does when he says (Third day) :
    Don Juan :
    I am a man of honour and I keep my oaths, because I am a gentleman.
   
But he also relishes confronting the honour of ostentation, the fama, which envelopes the high society of the time. This is how he abuses women, as much to provoke their honour as that of their husbands or their hoodwinked lovers. He thus satirises after having deceived Batricio, saying :
    Don Juan :
    I defeated him with his honour, because the wicked always flaunt it and only swear by it.
    (Third day).
And the society that he perturbs agrees with him because honour passes before all other considerations. Thus, when Duchess Isabella does not hesitate to say, after having been abused by Don Juan :
    Isabelle :
    No excuse can repair my mistake, but the damage is not after all so serious, if it is repaired by the hands of Duke Octavio (First day).
It is necessary to understand that appearances (and therefore honour) remain intact even though the guilty party she welcomed in her room is still free!
The duke of Miranda
by Juan Carrendo de Miranda -
XVIIth century - The Prado Museum -
Madrid
   
Duel of honour in the XVIIth century
In the same way, in the malevolence of the Commander's words before his death, and after having surprised Don Juan leaving his daughter's apartments :
    The Commander :
    (…) Useless honour, she said… Woe is me! And her wagging tongue spreads the news abroad! (Second day).
One must understand that he dies in duel to save his daughter's honour but without having been able to prevent her staining his reputation by her screams …. This honour that protects from shame and valorises man's dignity is inseparable from the virtue of women, because by their good conduct they are its guarantor.