The Consumption of Desire. On the Noches lúgubres by José Cadalso

Abstract

According to Noches lúgubres, by José Cadalso, the fulfillment of desire is a gloomy enterprise surrounded by horror; its main character, Tediato, sets out to unbury the corpse of her lover just to lie in bed with her while burning down the house. Taking Tediato at his word, this paper will explore the dark side of desire as constructed by different associative fields: one related to the unburying of the body and the other to the torching of the house.