Life is a Dream: Themes, Characters, and Tragedy of Freedom
Life is a Dream: Sources and Context
The play Life is a Dream (La vida es sueño) and its sources are dated by some scholars to 1632. It premiered in 1634 and was published in 1635 in two editions: the first part a comedy by Don Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and the second part thirty comedies by several famous authors. The plot of a man who falls asleep and is transferred to the palace, believing he is a king, comes from the oriental tradition. The prediction of misfortunes that will befall a human being also originates from Eastern literature. In the Greek tradition, Oedipus is delivered to death to ensure compliance with the horoscope. Sigismund’s character also recalls the biblical figure of Moses. Rosaura’s story is based on the tradition of honor.
Themes in Life is a Dream
We can distinguish two main actions or themes:
Main Theme
- Sigismund’s proof of life as a dream
- The power of free will against fate
- Education
- The redemption of the prince himself
Secondary Theme
- The restoration of honor for Rosaura
The Tragedy of Freedom
Life is a Dream is a drama about the freedom of man. The acquisition of full freedom comes through victory over sin, which is achieved through the experience of disappointment, focusing on Sigismund. The main character’s journey begins in a state prior to the possession of freedom, not only physically but also without even being aware of his personal freedom. He must win this freedom by passing the tests to which he will be submitted. Calderón uses the image of a person in whom reason does not govern the passions, precisely because the domain is associated with instinct and a lack of freedom.
When Sigismund awakens in the palace, he asks to rid the skies of the deception that he senses, because his reason tells him that this is impossible. It must be shown if the fates and his father were aligned or were wrong. The conquest of full freedom does not occur; the playwright surely remembers how Plato said that if the cave man suddenly turned their faces to the light, at first they would be dazzled and would prefer the darkness of the cave. The disillusionment experience is represented by his return to the tower. What he thought was reality is presented as a dream. Obviously, the metaphor of the dream represents the inconsistency and brevity of human life, after which comes the awakening, which symbolizes death.
Characters in Life is a Dream
We can relate Sigismund to the Greek hero Oedipus, enchained and convicted for his rebellion against the gods. In Sigismund, there is no divine rebellion, but rebellion against his father. Some moments remind us of Hamlet.
Basilio is the figure of the wise king and intellectual. His figure has a dual role: as King, that is, as the embodiment of power, he faces a political and ethical problem of succession of the kingdom, and as an intellectual, he faces a complex issue: free will against the power of destiny.
Clotaldo is the schoolmaster. His doubts, his loyalty to the King despite the fear he inspires in the prince, his respect for Astolfo although Rosaura has offended him, make him a character who is not one-dimensional.
Rosaura embodies a variety of themes: the honorable woman, the lady who disguises herself as a man to win the love of a man. She is the daughter of an affair, and she comes to avenge an insult; that is, she represents shame and lust.
Structure
The internal structure has been particularly carefully crafted. The story is not presented chronologically, but rather begins in medias res. Calderón has combined two different stories.