Prototypes and motifs in the configuration of Melior, female protagonist of El libro del conde Partinuplés

Abstract

Literature feeds on motifs that ease the understanding of certain content. This also happens in short chivalric stories, including El libro del conde Partinuplés, in whose foundations we can recognize classical, folkloric, and Arthurian roots. This work analyzes the motifs and models which configure the main female character. This character is important enough to carry the narrative thread. We will focus on how Melior, as a prototype of the fairy lover, incorporates specific traits of the literary tradition to which she belongs, while decoupling from it in the wake of a new context of reception.