Women Writers of Early Modern Spain: A Feminist Overview

Abstract

Spanish women writers of the early modern period have consistently been undervalued owing to the lack of documentation available. New research, however, has uncovered many more female authors than previously known and has also dedicated time to the study of their historical context such as their education and social status. Women’s cultural production may thus be divided by religious and secular women, as well as by noble and non-noble women, although all contributed to such literary genres as poetry, novels, short stories, and plays. Women writers also took up the pen to write ego-documents such autobiographies, conventual foundational histories, and correspondence, and numerous women participated in literary academies and tournaments. Most importantly, however, women writers created and participated in their own lettered communities.