A prevalent convention in House of Trials is mistaken identity. Sor Juana uses mistaken identity to create moments of tension such as when the lights go out and Don Pedro is unsure who he is even fighting. He even has a moment on stage when he recognizes Don _____ and tries to guess at what would bring him to his house. Don Carlos grabs Dona Leonor during the kerfuffle, thinking she is Dona Ana, and proceeds to bring her straight back to Leonor's own father, thinking that he is preserving Dona Ana's honor. The duration of the plot twists that rely on mistaken identity create the idea that subterfuge is incredibly important to this type of play.
Honor, itself, is heavily relied upon to provide a driving force for this play. Each character is willing to go to all lengths necessary to protect their own honor. In Don Carlos's case, he is also willing to do whatever he must to protect Dona Ana's honor since he believes that she has saved him from the police. Dona Ana is so concerned with her own honor that, in the end when it is revealed that the man she has stolen away from the fight is Don Juan, she agrees to marry the man she does not love in order to keep her honor in tact. The repetition of honor needing protection makes it seem like it would be a common trope in Spanish plays if Trials is any indication.
mistaken identity is huge in this play because most of the characters are mistaking everyone round them since they have no clue who they are surrounded by in this big strange house, the only people who do not mistake the identities of other were Dona Ana, Don Pedro, and Celia
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