Writers of the Spanish Golden Age

Much has been studied about the Golden Age period in Spanish letters. We know such prestigious and praised authors as Miguel de Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca but... What about women? This was a period of maximum splendor in Spanish culture and, of course, women were also part of that revolution; the problem is that history has always cornered them and they have been relegated to the background. Up to now. In a PROFESSOR we want to make visible the great work of the writers of the Golden Age and, for that reason, in this lesson we will make a summary so that you know the authors most outstanding of the time and that is very worth knowing. Shall we start this journey through the letters?

Index

1. Introduction to the Spanish Golden Age and women writers
2. Writers of the Golden Age born before 1580
3. Writers born between 1590 and 1605
4. Writers of the Golden Age born between 1620-30
5. Writers born after 1650

When we talk about Golden age we are referring to a historical period that dates back to between 1492 (with the conquest of America and the publication of the Grammar of Nebrija) and ends in the 1691 (with the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees between Spain and France and the death of Calderón, the last great author of the time). Almost two centuries in which the cultural and intellectual dominance came from Spain and where the artists and writers who swelled our literary corpus abounded.

But, although the authors of the Spanish Golden Age, The truth is that women writers have taken a back seat and not even in school there is room to study their works. But that they are not visible does not mean that they do not exist because, although there are not yet too many studies in this regard, the truth is that there were female authors who wrote and published their works before the XIX.

The truth is that the writers of the Golden Age can be classified into different stages since before 1600 we hardly have works written by women; however, as of that date there is an increase in production and, above all, in the visibility of female writers. The reason is that, from that time on, writing was no longer so stigmatized for women although, of course, it still did not have the same recognition as men.

However, there are some women who were very recognized in their time and who, in addition, were widely read. A clear example of this is Maria de Zayas, one of the most prominent authors of the period. Next, we are going to review the writers of the Golden Age, classifying them by the time they were born and, therefore, when they published their books.

Image: Slideshare

In order to better cover the broad period of the Spanish Golden Age, we are going to differentiate the authors by their year of birth. And it is that, as we have already said, the first samples of works written by women we have from 1600, for Therefore, women who were born before 1580 are those who are part of this first generation of women literates.

This group of writers published between 1600 and 1610. Above all, we highlight three big names:

• Valentina Pinelo, Book of praises and excellences of the glorious Santa Ana (Seville, 1601)
• Isabel de Liaño,History of the life, death and miracles of Santa Catalina de Sena (Valladolid, 1604)
• Magdalena de San Jerónimo,Reason and form of the galera and royal house ..., (Salamanca, 1608)

Both the work of Pinelo and Liaño is a hagiography in which the life of a Saint is told; in the case of Magdalena de San Jerónimo we find a publication that is a treaty to reform the female penal system.

Also from this period is the poet Cristobalina Fernández de Alarcón that, although she was less renowned, the truth is that she managed to have her work in print. As you can see, we do not have many names of this first generation, however, it is interesting to see how, suddenly, in a short space of time, the authors are dedicated to publishing their works.

We now go to the second generation of writers of the Golden Age to talk about those literary women who published their works from the 1930s on. Unlike the previous stage, now female creation is much more voluminous and, therefore, we have names so prominent What:

• Feliciana Enriquez de Guzmán
• Bernarda Ferreira de Lacerda
• Ana de Castro Egas
• Maria de Zayas
• Luisa Maria de Padilla
• Ana Abarca de Bolea
• Violante do Céo
• Eleanor of the Cave
• Ana Caro Mallén
• Marcia belisarda
• Maria Nieto of Aragon
• Angela Azevedo

There is a very significant change in the productivity of women and, one of the reasons, is that now the authors do not write to themselves but they do it to see their work published, to reach a greater number of audiences and, ultimately, to be read. It is in this period when we can speak of the existence of authentic writers, that is, of women who had the professional intention to work from writing.

These authors began to relate to the literary groups of the Golden Age and to stand out among their ranks. They began to form part of the writers' associations of Madrid, Seville, Zaragoza, etc., and they write continuously. Thank you to your contacts with literary groups, these women get their works to reach to the printing pressTherefore, it is in these circles where they acquire the recognition that will allow them to publish their texts.

Image: Women in History

The third generation of Golden Age writers are women who already have a strong knowledge on feminine writing since the path had already been opened by its predecessors. In addition, they also start from a type of literature that has already begun to settle in the letters and, for Therefore, they already have a defined path on which they can develop and cultivate their own style.

The most outstanding Spanish writers of this period are:

• Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán:Guevara, Escalante's house memorial and della services, Meneses, The steadfast despised, Carvajal, Madrid Christmas and nights entertaining.
• Eugenia Bueso,List of the bullfight that the imperial city of Zaragoça made as a gift to His Highness
• Salvadora Colodro,Affections of a repentant sinner, speaking to a crucifixion saint at the time of death

In these cases, the authors already had models to follow and a much more defined line. Let us not forget that the second generation writers were widely read and known in their time, therefore, it is of suppose that these new writers had also come into contact with his works and formed their style on the basis of they.

The topics these writers speak about also focus on the issues that preoccupied women; They offer a particular and more feminine point of view, giving greater importance to feelings and emotions. A very interesting author is Ramirez de Guzman since in her works it even reaches complain about men and to denounce the situation of women in the society of the moment. His derision against man it goes a step further since he ridicules them, uses satire and mockery to describe them, and so on.

And we conclude this review of the writers of the Golden Age to talk about the fourth generation of authors of that time. Here we leave you the most prominent names so that you can get closer and get to know their work better:

• Juana Josefa de Meneses
• Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz
• Sr. Maria do Céo
• Mariana sallent
• Sister Francisca de Santa Teresa

The best known of them all is, without a doubt, Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz that, despite being Mexican, her works were published in Spain at the time and that is why she is always included in any review of the Golden Age literature. It is important to note that this nun not only influenced the world of letters, but she also had a strong importance in the field of philosophy. This has made Sor Juana one of the most important women of the XII and that she is one of the few that does form part of the study programs. It is also important to note that Sor Juana was one of the first voices in defend women's rights around the world.

The rest of the authors were slightly overshadowed by the unstoppable genius of Sor Juana; However, the Countess of Ericeira published a poem about the disappointment although, also, other works are attributed to her that today are lost. In this period, the religious theme is the most abundant in the works of the aforementioned authors and is expressed in narrative verse.

If you want to read more articles similar to Writers of the Golden Age, we recommend that you enter our category of History of Literature.

• Baranda, N. (2005). Writers without borders between Portugal and Spain in the Golden Age (with some notes on two female poems from the 16th century).
• Montejo Gurruchaga, L., & Baranda, N. (2002). Women writers in the history of Spanish Literature.
• Baranda, N. (2003). Women and writing in the Golden Age: an unstable relationship.