Resumen de Alma, aire, bocas: el beso de Auristela en el Persiles
The theme of air in Cervantes¿s writing is the subject of a project on which I have been working for over a year. The El Toboso conference has given me the chance not only to address this theme from a literary perspective but also to examine the possible influence of the religious, philosophical, and popular beliefs articulated with regard to the binomial air/soul. My analysis focuses on Chapter XIV of Book III of Persiles, where the classical topos of the portrayal of the soul departing the body, and the corresponding ritual kinetics, appear. My study of the theme is organized in two stages: 1) individuation of sources ¿examination of filters/modalities of reproposition in the Cervantine novel; 2) reflection on the configuration of the episode by means of two literary topoi: ¿apparent death¿ and ¿deceiving the eyes.¿
