'Descuidóse la poeta; ustedes se lo perdonen': El gracioso en las comedias de Ana caro

Most studies on Spanish female playwrights of the Golden Age have not taken into account how their use of some of the most recognizable and conventional rhetorical devices of the Golden Age Theatre help them put their own authorial stamp on the plays from a feminine perspective. This essay focuses on the particular use of the gracioso character in Ana Caro's two extant comedias (Gaulín from El Conde Partinuplés, and Tomillo and Ribete from Valor, agravio y mujer) to analyse the way in which these figuras del donaire - usually misogynists and censors - create a subtle and paradoxical strategy to defend female writing. Rather than as an opposition, Caro establishes with her gracioso characters an identity that subtly emphasizes differences, and makes the gracioso highlight the feminine nature of the author and strengthen her public image and fame as a playwright.