Militancia y compromiso literario de Juana Manuela Gorriti

Abstract

Juana Manuela Gorriti, the most renowned argentine novelist of the XIX century, was born in Horcones in the Province of Salta, Argentina, into a family involved in the independence struggle.

The political rivalry between Unitarians and Ferderalists forced the Gorriti family to abandon their land going into exile in Tarija, Bolivia. At the young age of 15, Juana Manuela marries the controversial Bolivian General Manuel Isidoro Belzú.

Abandoned by her husband, she subsequently migrates with her daughters to Peru, where she consolidates her literary career, founds a women’s college, and starts her own literary circle.

Through a consideration of two of her autobiographical pieces, this paper will show how as an educator, novelist and literary critic, Juana Manuela actively participated in public life and became involved in important historical events involving the three mentioned countries by then devastated by civil strife.