Diana and wild boar hunting: Refiguring gender and ethno-religious conflict in the pastoral imaginary

This article suggests that the pastoral trope of wild boar hunting is not merely an aristocratic pastime, but that it is transformed in early modern Spain into an exhibition of Old Christian male identity. Special attention is paid to symbolic overtones that refer to secular opposition against both the ethno-religious and the feminine Other. Also addressed is how wild boar hunting is coined as a literary device that serves to contain both Others by controlling the reception of the image of the classical Diana. By analysing several literary genres from the late Middle Ages through to the seventeenth century, it is shown that, although the denotation of wild boar hunting is rarely made explicit, the contexts in which it is often used demonstrate that it holds an oppositional value.