Abstract: Novel or novela sentimental, the generic labels traditionally applied to the Cárcel de amor by the Castilian humanist Diego de San Pedro do not take into account the specificity of this work nor its reliance on the epistolary exchange. The analysis of the narrative structures, the epistolary types employed, and the polyphonic games produced allows us to underline the theatrical dimensions of the narrative drive and its points of contact with the epistolary novel.
