Feminist History: Forgotten Women Writers of the Generation of 1927 in Spain

Headnote

Abstract

This study primarily focuses on the women writers of the Generation of 1927 in Spain who rose to prominence in the 1920s. Often referred to as Las Sinsombrero, these women writers have made significant contributions to gender equality and literature; however, despite their outstanding achievements, knowledge of this literary movement tends to focus only on the male writers, and it is only in recent years that the women writers in this generation have been rediscovered. The historical context in which these writers emerged-a period marked by the rise of feminism in Spain-is considered as an important part of understanding the development of Spanish women s history. A defining feature of this era was the development of women s education, from its beginnings in the 18th century to legal advancements in the 19th century. This progress continued into the early 20th century with the establishment of influential institutions like the Residencia de señoritas and the Lyceum Club, which propelled women s education into practice. These institutions fostered the growth and exchange of feminist ideas, allowed women writers to express their thoughts and needs, and offered women a space to escape from the traditional role of acting as caretakers in the home. Against the backdrop of this rise in women s education, Las Sinsombrero wrote about women s consciousness and rights, encompassing a wide range of literary genres, including drama, poetry, novels, and even film scripts. Among the many outstanding women writers of this generation, we have selected Carmen Conde (1907-1996), Concha Méndez (1898- 1986), and Luisa Carnés (1905-1964) for our comparative analysis. Their diverse and rich contributions exemplify the literary characteristics of the women writers of the Generation of 27 in Spain. Understanding their contributions is crucial for recognizing their significant role in shaping contemporary Spanish literature and advancing women s rights. An analysis of their lives and the characteristics of their works can reveal both the commonalities and differences within the women writers of the Generation of 27 and illuminate the path of women s liberation in Spain.

Keywords: Las Sinsombrero, Residencia de Señoritas, Spanish women writers, The Lyceum Club, the Generation of 1927,Spanish literature, Carmen Conde, Concha Méndez, Luisa Carnés

Introduction

The influence of important women writers in Spanish literary history can be traced back to the Spanish Golden Age, including figures such as Teresa de Jesús (Teresa of Avila) (1515-1582), Maria de Zayas Sotomayor (1590-1650), and Josefa Amar y Borbón (1749-1833). Particularly in the 18th century, women in Spain began to emerge in the public sphere, advocating for women s education and gender equality, although the concept of feminism had not yet taken shape during that period. In the early 21 st century, a renewed interest in and redefinition of women s literature gained momentum, driven by the rediscovery and publication of works by forgotten women writers. Additionally, certain anniversary commemorative events have stimulated academic interest in early-20th-century women writers. For example, events like the centennial celebration of the founding of Residenda de Señoritas (Residence of Ladies) in 2015 have facilitated the rediscovery of the history of women writers closely associated with the institution, especially those from the Generation of '27. The 2015 event was accompanied by a series of workshops, conferences, and scholarly publications. These served as valuable platforms for advancing the historical exploration of women's education in Spain and for enriching cultural research (Serafín Porto Ucha, 2016). Similarly, in 2019, during the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Spanish Republic in exile by Instituto Cervantes, the contributions of forgotten women writers and their works from that period were brought to light.

The Generation of '27 in Spain was a cultural group comprised of writers and poets that emerged in the early decades of the 20th century. This cultural group was predominantly composed of men writers whose names became widely recognized in literary history. However, their women counterparts from the same period did not receive sufficient attention and recognition within the literary circles of their time. In early anthologies dedicated to the Generation of '27, it is challenging to find the names of women writers. One of the most significant examples of this bias is the 1932 publication of Poesía Española Contemporánea. Antología 1915-1931 [Contemporary Spanish poetry. Anthology 1915-1931] by Gerardo Diego, which listed only men poets. Although the 1934 second edition included Ernestina de Champourcin and Josefina de la Torre, there was no recognition of other equally deserving women writers of the same period. During this time, attention and interest were primarily focused on male intellectuals, while women continued to face exclusion, neglect, criticism, and even stigmatization. Subsequent anthologies and studies of writers from the Generation of '27 followed a similar trend, "demonstrating a manifest imbalance between observed and reflected reality" (Nieto Caballero, 2022, p. 47, [translation by author]).

Therefore, the rediscovery of women writers of the Generation of 1927 contributes significantly to our understanding of the historical development of feminism in Spain and the history of women's literature. It illuminates the trajectory of women who were undeniably among the most prominent figures to step onto the public stage but were subsequently forgotten and marginalized. Investigating their backgrounds and the characteristics of this literary group not only helps in rectifying this historical neglect but also provides a more comprehensive view of literary history.

Background to the Current Problem

To investigate the reasons behind the formation of women writers of the Generation of '27, it is essential to revisit the origins and historical development of women's education. Sánchez Blanco and Hernández Huerta (2012) offer an in-depth analysis of the development of women's education from 1857-2007 in various political contexts, including the setbacks in girls' education during the Franco dictatorship and the path towards modern women's education. Further, Gimeno Puyol (2017) supplements the discussion by exploring the early stages of women's education in the 18th century. However, neither of these works delves into the specific educational backgrounds that influenced the formation of the women writers of the Generation of '27.

It was not until Fagoaga's (2015) work on the Student Residence and the Lyceum Club that this gap was partially filled. Fagoaga (2015) explains the exchange activities between the Residence and the Lyceum Club and how they fostered women's education and literary development. Interest in these women writers surged into the public eye with Balló's (2016) publication of Las Sinsombrero: Sin Ellas, la Historia No Está Completa [The Hatless: Without Them, the Story Is Not Complete}. Through extensive interviews and literature collection, this work introduced the life stories of some women writers and contributed to the restoration of their reputation.

However, numerous writers, such as Luisa Carnés, remained in obscurity. Martinez Fernández and Olmedo's 2019 interviews, along with Iglesias-Aparicio (2019), filled in the missing information and sparked academic interest in Carnés. Collectively, these works illuminated the educational and social factors that influenced the women writers of the Generation of '27 and rectified the historical oversight regarding writers like Luisa Carnés.

Other women writers like Carmen Conde and Concha Méndez have received more attention from researchers, with numerous studies analyzing their life and literary works. Calles Moreno (2014) and Nieto Caballero (2022) offered considerable research into the biographies and literary contributions of Conde and Méndez and paved the way for this current study. However, there are no studies that explore the internal connections and differences among the women writers in this group, a gap which this study attempts to fill.

Women's Education and Women Writers of the Generation of '27

After experiencing unequal and incomplete preliminary reforms in women's education in the late-18th and 19th centuries, the early 20th century in Spain was a period of vigorous development and shifting attitudes and policies regarding women's education. However, it is important to note that early women's education in the 18th century did not permit the majority of women to access higher education. The opportunity to receive a university education was limited to women of the privileged aristocratic class, including María Pascuala Caro Sureda (1768-1827), Inés Joyes y Blake (1731-1808), and Margarita Hickey y Pollizzoni (1728-1801) (Carrosa, 2007). The case of Maria Isidra de Guzmán y de la Cerda is important; in 1785, she obtained a doctoral degree from Alcalá University under the authorization of Carlos III. However, de la Cerda's case was rare and did not truly represent the educational status of the vast majority of women in Spain. However, as Gimeno Puyol (2017) pointed out, during this period, many texts about European women's education were translated or introduced into Spain. Texts such as Fenelon's Tratado de la Educación de las Hijas [A Treatise on the Education of Daughters} (1769-1770), Charles Rollin's Educación y Estudios de los Niños y Niñas y Jóvenes de Ambos Sexos [Education and Studies of Boys and Girls and Young People of Both Skreš] (1781), and Madame de Lambert's Nuevas Reflexiones Sobre las Mujeres. Carta Sobre la Verdadera Educación [New Reflections on Women. Letter on True Education} (1727) contributed to the discourse. Intellectuals like Benito Jeronimo Feijoo (1676-1764), Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1744-1811), and Josefa Amar у Borbón engaged in numerous discussions on reforms of education, with some of them attempting to overturn the prevailing discrimination against women's intelligence and physiology. This nascent discussion of equality in the 19th century was carried forward by figures like Emilia Pardo Bazán. In the early 20th century, the women writers of the Generation of '27 furthered these ideas and made efforts to enable women to receive higher education and enter the public educational system.

Concha Méndez's memoir, Memorias Habladas, Memorias Armadas [Spoken Memories, Armed Memories}, vividly portrays the long-standing existence of educational inequality until the beginning of the 20th century:

We girls were taught different subjects in school compared to what the boys learned. They were being prepared for higher education, while we, on the other hand, received courses on grooming, home economics, manual labor, and other things that would transition us from schoolgirls to wives, society women, and mothers. In reality, we paid for school to be taught how to entertain ourselves and acquire social graces, (as cited in Ulacia Altolaguirre, 2018, p. 50)

Within her narrative, a stark contrast between the education of boys and girls remains conspicuously evident. This contrast, particularly concerning girls' education, underscores the persistent adherence to deeply ingrained traditional gender roles and societal expectations within a patriarchal society. These gender norms dictated that women should primarily occupy domestic spaces and fulfill the role of homemakers, known as the "Angel of the Home" (Calles Moreno, 2014, p. 155). This shared experience of navigating a childhood and adolescence marked by gender bias and societal norms represents a fundamental aspect of the collective memory shared by many of the women writers of the Generation of '27. These "new women" were born into a society characterized by misogyny and entrenched patriarchy (Bianco, 2018), and they were acutely aware of the challenges they faced. In this society, their aspirations and potential were often dismissed or overlooked.

In 1910, the Residencia de Estudiantes [Student Residence] was established by La Junta para Ampliación de Estudios [the Board for the Expansion of Studies], which was one of the main initiatives of La Institución Libre de Enseñanza [The Free Institution of Education]. Five years later, a women's group called the Residencia de Señoritas was organized and had taken the building of the Student Residence. It was inaugurated by the Board for the Expansion of Studies with the primary goal of promoting women's university education, and its leadership was entrusted to the pedagogue Maria de Maeztu y Whitney, who also played a huge role in the establishment and development of the Lyceum Club in April of 1926 with the first vice president Victoria Kent and Isabel Oyarzábal, also with Zenobia Camprubi as secretary (Trueba Mira, 2002).

The official university attribute of the Residence symbolized the opening of doors that had previously been closed to women in university and college classrooms, paving the way for women to access higher education. However, its impact was limited, as women workers, farmers, and women from remote areas remained excluded (Calviño Tur, 2019). As Hierro pointed out, these groups of women could not access education due to evident economic reasons, soo education was limited to bourgeois women in this era (Hierro 2006, as cited in Calviño Tur, 2019).

The Lyceum Club and Women Writers of the Generation of '27

The first Lyceum Club in London, known as The International Lyceum Club for Women Artists and Writers, was established by the writer Constance Smedley-Armfield and her friends. Carmen Baroja and Carmen Monné traveled to London in 1925 and stayed at the Lyceum Club. There, they were inspired by this new model of strong relationships between women. Carmen Baroja stated:

At that time, a few of us women were gathering with the idea, which had been long familiar to us, of forming a ladies' club. This concept seemed a bit exotic in Madrid, and most of us had encountered it during our experiences in London, where such clubs were, and I suppose they still are, abundant. (Baroja, 1998, p. 89).

Therefore, the idea of creating an exclusive space for "women with a broad spectrum of interests, ranging from the arts and sciences to social work" (Fagoaga, 2015, p. 315) gained the support of many women intellectuals.

There was a high degree of overlap between the members of these two organizations, and collaboration and mobility between them were quite frequent. It can be said that the educational backgrounds of most women writers in Spain were connected to these two groups. However, due to factors such as geography and social class, primarily bourgeois women writers within the cultural sphere of Madrid participated in these activities, as Broullón-Acuña (2021) notes:

Founded in Madrid in 1926 by a group of bourgeois women, the Lyceum was of an elitist nature and inspired by the British and North American models. Among its members were writers, creators, intellectuals, professionals, as well as wives of writers, poets, and other prominent professionals. In other words, it was exclusively composed of members who had received at least elementary education and, therefore, were considered "cultivated" and interested in establishing a place of their own for organizing women's gatherings. Its purpose was to promote socio-cultural and artistic development, which their own bourgeois status denied them, and by forming this community, they challenged the values of their social class, (p. 4)

This club became a social hub for the women writers of the Generation of '27, allowing them to showcase their talents, make friends, and exchange ideas. It was within this club that they first began to question their societal and legal status as women, while also challenging the prevailing views of women's inferiority put forth by men intellectuals and scientists (Bianco, 2018). Among the participating artists, writers, and intellectuals, the following notable figures should be highlighted: Ernestina de Champourcin, Maria de Maeztu, Zenobia Camprubi, Clara Campoamor, Victoria Kent, Margarita Nelken, Elena Fortun, Carmen Monné, Carmen Baroja, Maruja Mallo, and Concha Méndez. Most of them actively engaged in the activities of both organizations; they were part of the feminist movement that emerged in the early 20th century, advocating for improvements in women's social, political, and legal conditions (Biesa, 2014, as cited in Ferrer Echávarri, 2018).

However, it is worth noting that not all women writers involved in these organizations identified themselves as feminists, even though their goals included the liberation of women and "the subversion of the traditional nineteenth-century female model defined as the 'Angel of the Home'" (Calles Moreno, 2014, p. 155). Concha Méndez explained what feminism was for her in a 1928 interview conducted in the halls of the Lyceum Club:

My opinion on feminism? I'll start by telling you that I don't know if I'm a feminist or not. Any idea that contains a collective sense is morally repugnant to me. I am: individuality, personality. Now, in a matter of rights I also ask for equality before the law. Or what is the same to go from quality of thing to quality of person, which is the least that can be asked for in these times. (Iturralde, 1928, as cited in Abdelazim, 2018, p. 2)

At first, these women did not have their own premises for meeting. The initial meetings led by Maria de Maeztu were held at the Student Residence and were used to establish the Lyceum Club's Constitution. In May, the club decided to rent the House of Seven Chimneys. On November 4 of 1926, the club opened its doors and began independent activities while still collaborating with the Student Residence.

In addition to the Student Residence, other organizations under the Board for Expansion of Studies played a vital role in the formation of this group of women writers and women's education as a whole, such as el Instituto Internacional dependiente del Comité de Boston [The International Institute dependent on the Boston Committee], el Instituto-Escuela [The Institute-School], and el Centro de Estudios Históricos [The Center for Historical Studies]. In 1930, there were already "around sixty members who are registered in both institutions" (Fagoaga, 2015, p. 322). The relationship between the residence and the club fostered closer communication between the two groups of women and between different organizations and increased the inflow of members. Moreover, the Lyceum Club was open to women from all socio-economic backgrounds, ages, religious beliefs, marital status (single or married), or sexual orientation (Mangini González, 2006). The birth and development of the club was warmly embraced by numerous prominent women writers of that era, including notable figures such as Isabel Oyarzábal, Pilar Bolivar, Maria Rodrigo, Herminia Peñaranda, and Aurora Lanzarote. They unanimously recognized the club's significance in advancing women's rights, catering to latent spiritual needs of women, and providing a space for women to work and connect. It allowed women to escape the confines of home and the traditional gender roles expected by a patriarchal society, enabling them to enter the public sphere as citizens to exercise their abilities, rights, and responsibilities as individuals (Aguilera Sastre, 2011).

But the struggle for women's emancipation and their entry into traditionally mendominated domains faced persistent resistance and criticism. The development and modernization of women's education proceeded slowly and was fraught with difficulties. This challenge can be likened to the opposition encountered during the Second Republic period. For example, the 1931 constitution stipulated the establishment of a "single, public, secular, and free school" and also "recognized gender equality in both education and the workplace" (Sánchez Blanco & Hernández Huerta, 2012, p. 260). These progressive measures and any organization which had the aim of improving women's conditions faced opposition from conservative factions and religious groups. Thus, the newspapers and periodicals of the time not only provided a platform for women to engage in the literary field but also became places for opponents to vent their biases and hostility towards women. Media outlets such as literary magazines and fictional works included critical commentary and satires against women's emancipation. Shirley Mangini González summarized the opposition to women's emancipation:

Their associates were labeled as "criminals," "lyceum addicts," "atheists," "eccentrics," and "unbalanced." The club was considered a "female casino" full of "female gamblers" because there was a card-playing room. It was suspected to be a place of leisure, which, of course, was where the devil worked. As we will see, the attacks came from various sectors, especially from conservative intellectuals and the ecclesiastical sector. Later, during the Republic, the aggressions would come from those who militated in the Falangist ranks, denouncing the "feminization" of the country due to the increasing participation of women in the public sector. (2006, p. 126)

Later, when the Lyceum Club was inaugurated, its members were still considered "foolish and crazy." According to the memoirs of Concha Méndez, "Among the lectures we organized, we once invited Benavente, who refused to attend, using as an excuse a famous phrase from everyday language: 'How do they expect me to give a lecture to foolish and crazy women?' He couldn't understand that women were interested in culture" (as cited in Ulacia Altolaguirre, 2018, p. 50). Both the residence and Lyceum Club played pivotal roles in advancing women's education and cultural development in early 20th-century Spain. The residence, as an official university institution, provided women with opportunities for higher education, overturning previous restrictions on women's education at this level. Meanwhile, the Lyceum Club emerged as a social hub for women writers, artists, and intellectuals, offering them a platform to showcase their talents and express their ideas. Together, these two organizations provided crucial support for the growth and dissemination of thought among the women writers of the Generation of '27.

However, during the Spanish Civil War which lasted from 1936 to 1939, women's education experienced significant setbacks and disruptions. The war plunged the entire education system into chaos, leading to the temporary or permanent closure of many educational institutions, including girls' schools. Additionally, numerous men and women writers were forced into exile or sought refuge abroad, further undermining the stability and development of women's culture and literature in Spain. Some of the writers in this study also addressed exile in their later work.

Women Writers of the Generation of '27

In addition to being referred to as the women writers of the Generation of '27, they are also known as Las Sinsombrero (the hatless), a term whose origin can be traced to the memories of Maruja Mallo: "One day, Federico, Dali, Margarita Manso, and I decided to remove our hats because we felt that they were stifling our minds. As we strolled through Puerta del Sol, people threw stones at us and hurled insults" (Bailó, 2016, p. 17). This act of rebellion created a sensation at the time, as evidenced by Concha Méndez's recollections, which reveal its significant impact:

The night I discovered the Crystal Palace, I met the painter Maruja Mallo, and we began to explore Madrid together. We roamed both the lower and upper neighborhoods, and it was during this time that we inaugurated the simple act of removing our hats [...]. We were impeccably dressed but without hats, walking along the Paseo de la Castellana. Maruja used to say that wearing a hat was like having a gas balloon tied to your wrist with the hat on it. When we encountered someone we knew, we'd take the hat off the balloon to greet them. This act of going hatless created quite a stir in the city, (as cited in Ulacia Altolaguirre, 2018, p. 49)

This seemingly simple and silent gesture became a symbol of the women writers of the Generation of '27. Through this act, they shared a collective memory and voiced their resistance and demands. The Televisión Española (TVE) documentary Imprescindibles: Las Sinsombrero ^Essential: The Hatless} (Bailó, 2015) and Sofía Pérez Mendoza's (2016) report in El Diario expanded interest in these women. The appellation and concept gradually gained popularity and recognition. Initially, the term Las Sinsombrero referred only to a select list of women, including Ernestina de Champourcin, Maria Teresa León, Concha Méndez, Maruja Mallo, Maria Zambrano, Rosa Chacel, Josefina de la Torre, and Marga Gil Roesset, but in recent literature, it has been extended to encompass all women writers of the Generation of '27.

One attribute shared among these Spanish women writers is their birth dates, as the majority of them were born in the late 19th or early 20th century. Like their men counterparts in the Generation of '27, they were influenced by the modernist literary movement and consequently tend to adopt modernist writing styles and techniques. These women frequently delved into themes associated with femininity, such as gender roles, family life, marriage, motherhood, and the freedom and independence of women. They explored the societal and cultural status of women from unique perspectives, often challenging traditional gender stereotypes. However, despite these resemblances, substantial differences emerge in terms of the subjects and content of their literary works.

To further explore these commonalities and distinctions, this study selects Concha Méndez, Carmen Conde, and Luisa Carnés for comparison. These three writers represent diverse literary orientations and personal background, and their works and life experiences provide valuable insights into the diversity and intricacies of women's literature in this period.

Concha Mendez

Concha Méndez can be considered a representative figure of the women writers of the Generation of '27, particularly the members of the Madrid cultural scene. She resisted the pressures of traditional family roles, received a comprehensive education, and actively championed women's education. As one of the founding members of both the Student Residence and the Lyceum Club, her close connections and deep friendships with other women writers solidified her position and reputation in the literary world, enabling the exchange of literary ideas and creations:

The relationships that developed among them allowed for the sharing of reflections and experiences that made significant contributions to the creation of works that left a lasting impact on Spanish art and intellectual thought during that era. An outstanding demonstration of the unity and friendship among these women can be found in Concha Méndez's ode to friendship in Canciones de Mary Tierra [Songs of Sea and Earth] (1930), which contains poems dedicated to Maruja Mallo, Rosa Chacel, Carmen Conde, among others. Similarly, in A la Orilla de un Pozo [At the Edge of a Well] (1936), Rosal Chacel composed sonnets dedicated to Maria Teresa and Maria Zambrano. (Bianco, 2018, p. 29)

She is also seen as playing a vital role in the women's rights movement and "poetically portrayed the dynamic movement of the female subject in the public sphere" (Everly, 2019, p. 73).

When she was in Madrid, along with other intellectuals, Concha Méndez participated in activities traditionally reserved for men, such as attending university, going to conferences, taking walks with her men friends, rejecting the tradition of wearing hats, and traveling unaccompanied. Like her fellow members of Las Sinsombrero in Madrid, her foray into all aspects that were previously exclusive to men reflects her alignment with the avant-garde:

Similarly, alongside the private sphere assigned to them, the members of the Lyceum aspired to participate in the avant-garde movements, attending cafe gatherings, thereby venturing into territory hitherto attributed to masculinity: culture, the public sphere, and politics. They transcended the confined space of the tea salon that had been assigned to them based on their gender and social class. (Broullón-Acuña, 2019, p. 29)

Her rebellion did not wane but continued to grow during her many travels prior to her exile, which eventually led her to Argentina. During her stay in Argentina, her challenge to traditional views was a daily experience:

I remember that some amusing things happened to us in this bar; one afternoon, the waiter brought us a card with a printed notice: "Ladies are kindly requested not to smoke." It was sent by a man from the table across. So, to defy them, I lit the card with the same match I used to light a cigarette. What was the idea of men prohibiting us from smoking? (as cited in Ulacia Altolaguirre, 2018, p. 78)

The author presents a new, distinctive, and avant-garde image of women that did not conform to the expectations of patriarchal society. She followed the style of the "New Woman" model in her appearance, clothing, and behavior. As Calles Moreno notes, she "embodied the role of the emancipated woman, with short hair and an air of virile appearance, an athlete and swimmer, driving a French Citroen in the Madrid of the twenties. She symbolized sexual and economic freedom" (2014, p. 155).

Her literary contributions were primarily in poetry and autobiography, especially her initial three poetry collections. These publications also serve as the criteria for categorizing her within the Generation of '27, beginning with avant-garde characteristics and progressively advancing towards the humanization of art and the exploration of the exile experience (Abdelazim, 2018). The avant-garde characteristics in her early poetry found ample expression, blending with her personal experiences to give rise to a personal poetic voice. Through the publication of her first poetry collections, Inquietudes [Anxieties} (1926) and Surtidor [Fountain} (1928), she made her initial appearance in the literary scene of Madrid as a modern woman.

Her modernist work marked a rebellion against traditional notions of women's poetry, which often adhered to sentimental, domestic, and passive themes that confined women to a limited, idealized role in poetry. These traditional paradigms often portrayed women as the muses of male poets, existing primarily in relation to men's desires or as symbols of purity, fragility, and domesticity. In contrast, Mendez's poetry introduced a new, more assertive voice that emphasized individual freedom and engagement with modernity. For instance, in her poem "Alas Quisiera Tener [I Wish I Had Wings]," she expresses a desire for physical freedom and transcendence, defying the limitations imposed on women by both society and traditional poetry. She writes, "¡Alas quisiera tener / Y recorrer los espacios / Viviendo la libertad / Deliciosa de los pájaros! [Alas, I would like to have / Space to explore / Living in freedom/ Deliciously like birds!" (Méndez, 1995, p. 164). This desire to "live the freedom" of birds, and to soar above the world, symbolizes a break from the passive role often assigned to women in traditional poetry. Instead, Mendez's work presents women as active, self-determined figures who assert their own autonomy and engage with the world beyond domestic confines.

Instead of providing the audience with characteristics that neatly fit into the avant-garde trend, she initiated a transitional phase characterized by an alternation between the classical and the new. As Piña Laynes points out, her poetry represented a rupture from men's discourse:

...in her work, a clear affinity with the new poetry is evident; not all the poems, however, exhibit avant-garde imagery in the sense of the iconoclastic tendencies of the time. Nevertheless, we can assert that all the poems are innovative, as what is traditional, that is, the poetry reminiscent of the old Spanish popular lyrics, is brought up to date in the Spanish literary scene of the 1920s. Furthermore, the primary characteristic of Concha Méndez's poetry is that amid a landscape of renewal, the female voice also emerges with its proposal for rupture against the traditionally male-dominated poetic discourse. (Piña Laynes, 2012, p. 133)

In her subsequent work, her poetic expression becomes bolder and more intense, especially in the third poetry collection Canciones de Mary Tierra, where her courageous expression of her desires highlights women's sexual freedom. This goes against the patriarchal system and the Roman Catholic church's promotion of women's chastity: "Celebrating carnal love as a natural act and a positive step for a single woman who openly expresses her sexual desires underscores the innovative, some would say revolutionary, character of Concha Mendez's poetic vision" (Everly, 2019, p. 85).

Her poetic work is closely tied to her worldview and life experiences, and its development hinges on significant changes in the author's life and the societal context in which she lived. Concha Méndez endured family tragedies: losing her first child and being abandoned by her husband. She employed various metaphors to convey emotions and sensibilities, as she was accustomed to drawing poetic inspiration from everyday life. Therefore, one of the defining characteristics of her poetry is its autobiographical nature.

This autobiographical element is particularly evident in poems like "Niño y Sombras [Child and Shadows]," where Méndez explores the emotional weight of loss and the struggle to reconcile her identity as a woman and a mother in the face of immense grief. She writes: "If here I feel strange, tell me, mother, / will I find myself where you are, / and with you and the child I lost, / will I return to a permanent new life?" (Méndez, 2008, p. 265). In this poem, Méndez grapples with the loss of her child, asking whether the afterlife offers the possibility of reunion with both her mother and her lost son. The poet's questioning tone and the interplay between absence and eternal life reveal her search for meaning in the face of tragedy. The unresolved nature of these questions reflects the poet's emotional turmoil and highlights the autobiographical aspect of her poetry, as she channels her personal suffering into a broader commentary on motherhood, death, and spiritual longing.

Carmen Conde

Carmen Conde, on the other hand, was not part of the Madrid literary circle. She spent her early literary career away from Madrid. She was born on August 15, 1907, in the Mediterranean port city of Cartagena, and she spent the first seven years of her life there until her return in 1920. In Carmen Conde's recollections, her childhood in Cartagena was rather unremarkable. It was marked by her mother's aspirations for her to embrace a traditional role as a married homemaker (Conde, 2007a).

Carmen Conde's formative years in Cartagena were characterized by her close association with her cousin, Antonio Abelian, who played a pivotal role in nurturing her nascent writing abilities, which commenced at the tender age of thirteen. Although her early literary output remains unpublished, her commitment to writing began in adolescence:

At the age of fifteen, I've just celebrated my birthday. I am slender, they say, and my breasts are small; my eyes, dark but not quite black; I have a mouth larger than small, with beautiful lips. My head is crowned with fiery hair that dances in the wind. I'm of medium height, and my body is proportionate and light, very agile. My legs are lovely, and my hands are small, just like my feet. I have a voice... What is my voice like? I only notice it when I'm speaking to someone who enjoys listening to me, and that tells me that my voice is deep and profound, like a lament. I'm in love. I'm always in love. I admit it. (Conde, 2007a, p. 17)

At just fifteen years old, she describes herself as having a "deep and profound" voice, likening it to a lament. This metaphor links her literary voice with emotional depth, highlighting her early recognition of language's power to challenge societal norms. This self-awareness of her voice is emblematic of feminist values, emphasizing female empowerment and the reclamation of space within both the literary world and society. Her description captures not just a personal expression but an act of defiance against conventional expectations.

In defiance of her mother's objections, Carmen secured employment within the Department of Drafting at the Civil Arsenal, receiving a monthly stipend of eighty pesetas. This financial independence empowered her to satiate her ardor for reading and scholarship, to acquire books and stationery, and even to install electric lighting in her domicile. At nineteen, Carmen embarked upon her pedagogical pursuits, enrolling in the Normal School for Female Teachers in Murcia. However, her literary journey truly began in 1924, at the age of seventeen, when she published her first article in La Voz de Cartagena. This article, an impassioned defense of a cultured, sensitive, honest, and energetic model of womanhood, marked her first public appearance as a writer. It was a critique of the superficiality and ignorance prevalent among many young women, and it appeared in the section titled "De Ellas y para Ellas [For Them and by Them]," a column dedicated to women's issues.

Later, her literary footprint resonated across the pages of various newspapers, including El Porvenir, El Liberal, Cartagena Ilustrada, and Cartagena Nueva, among others. Her influence emanated from the formidable tenacity and indomitable spirit that enabled her to subvert societal expectations, thereby rejecting the conventional women's roles entrenched in 19th-century Spain. Instead, she drew inspiration from the pioneering endeavors of emancipated women such as Clara de Campoamor, Emilia Pardo Bazan, Blanca de Los Ríos, and Concepción Arenal, among a myriad of others who charted new frontiers for women in Spanish society at the time (Conde, 2007a).

Her legacy includes nearly thirty thousand letters, which demonstrate her untapped potential as a researcher and offer valuable insight into her literary activities. During this time, she maintained friendships with notable figures like Ernestina de Champourcin, Juana de Ibarbourou, Clemencia Miró, and her father, Gabriel Miró, primarily through correspondence. Letters were the primary means by which Carmen Conde exchanged ideas and literary materials, including magazines, books, and journals, among other items. These letters served as an open space and workshop for Carmen Conde to develop her poetic aesthetics. For instance, her correspondence with Ernestina de Champourcin often involved discussions about poetry, where she expressed her intentions to "limit the poem, moving it away from personality. The personal is concrete. The abstract, however, is the boundary of the subjective. Objectifying is easy: intellectual balance when Art is involved" (as cited in Fernández Urtasun, 2007, p. 119). Despite the fact that Cartagena was not the capital city of the country, in the early 20th century it was teeming with cultural activities, particularly in the print media. Carmen Conde actively participated in various literary and pedagogical events, radio broadcasts, and newspapers. Her friends and mentors played a crucial role in ensuring her involvement, but it was ultimately Conde's intelligence and ambition that drove her to excel in this vibrant cultural environment.

In contrast to Concha Méndez, Carmen Conde may not have fully redefined and embodied the new woman in her personal image and experiences. However, her works are brimming with resistance on behalf of women, notably in Mujer sin Edén [Woman without EdenY Although it is a collection of poems with religious themes, it serves as a feminist manifesto. Through the voice of Eve, she promotes women's issues, challenging patriarchal authority and religious oppression with creative and poetic eloquence: "She is notable for creating female poetic voices that challenge the traditional roles expected of women by the patriarchal social codes of 1920s to 1940s Spain. In the case of the poetic voices in Mujer sin Edén, they critique and resist the patriarchal discourse within the same Judeo-Christian text that has traditionally been used to justify male dominance over women" (Clark, 2020, p. 17).

Amid the unique circumstances that followed the war, literary publications came under heightened scrutiny and stricter censorship. This was especially true for a book with a feminist agenda that incorporated religious themes, leading to substantial hurdles in its publication process. The collection draws inspiration from the book of Genesis; however, it goes beyond a simple religious allegory to become a compilation of poems resounding with the impassioned cries of women. It serves as a poignant protest and testimony to the discrimination and biases women have borne for centuries, offering a narrative counterpoint to the silent voices within biblical stories. The author artfully weaves elements from the Genesis account, portraying the human expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden as a consequence of their fall from grace. Through the voice of Eve, the poet delivers two profound truths that challenge conventional Christian doctrine, as De Luis argues:

This assertion rests upon two fundamental premises: a) Eve was never held in divine favor, and b) Eve's creation was not a direct act but one of dependence, a creation intertwined with the flesh of man. Such a proclamation stands in clear defiance of orthodoxy, rendering this book an audacious act of literary defiance, particularly within the confines of an era marked by strict religious censorship, (de Luis, 1985, as cited in Conde, 2007b, p. 11)

Further illustration of the feminist reinterpretation of the Genesis story can be found in the poem "Arrojada del Jardin [Expelled from the Garden]," in which Eve speaks out, challenging the traditional religious view of her fall. She expresses her frustration with her creation and her fate: "Who among us was the guilty one: the beast that led my innocence astray; The one who took me, without being anyone, / from the body I sought, my only homeland?" (Conde, 2007b, p. 27). In this passage, Eve begins to question the divine authority that created her and cast her out, rejecting the notion that she is the sole bearer of guilt. Instead, she expresses a desire to understand why she was created in this way, laying blame not on herself but on the external forces that imposed this fate upon her. Furthermore, in the same poem, Eve reflects on the nature of her existence, presenting herself as an autonomous figure with her own desires and grievances, and rejecting the idea that she was created merely to complement man: "He made me from man with his flesh / and there I wanted to return: to kneel inside..." (Conde, 2007b, p. 27).

In other poems, Eve not only symbolizes the Eve from the Book of Genesis but also embodies other biblical women who have faced similar struggles. In the poem "Voz de la Vieja Eva al Sentirse en Maria [Voice of the Old Eve Feeling Herself in Mary]," Eve's voice becomes a metaphor for the collective experience of women throughout history: "Ave, Eve. Names of women in two Ages. / Presences of your Being. But, Mary / Never sinned, Lord. Why do you choose her / to suffer the inhuman drama? / There is no tree of knowledge, / There is no tree of life for her" (Conde, 2007b, p. 79). Through her questioning of divine justice and the expression of her own suffering, she not only represents herself but also embodies the struggles of other women in the Bible, such as Sarah, Agar, and the women of Lot, who have long been oppressed by patriarchal authority: "Tell me now, Lord: why did you turn me / into a pillar of salt when I turned my eyes? / You never admit, oh God, that I want to know" (Conde, 2007b, p. 73).

By shifting the narrative and using Eve's voice as a tool of resistance, Carmen Conde highlights the ways in which women have historically resisted subjugation, just as Eve begins to challenge the traditional portrayal of her in the Bible. This transformation allows Eve to become not only an individual figure but a collective symbol of women's fight against patriarchal oppression. Eve emerges as a religious protagonist who grasps the significance of rejecting subservience to men and the irrationality of complying to patriarchal authority. Through the character of Eve, Carmen Conde amplifies the voices of protest against sexism, the Spanish Civil War, and the era of Francoist rule (Clark, 2020). The Garden of Eden, from which Adam and Eve are cast out, serves as a symbol for a homeland ravaged by the bombs of the Civil War, no longer recognizable as the poet's own. Beyond being a reimagining of the life story of a woman burdened with original sin from birth, this work also stands as a testament to the painful experiences of both the war and the post-war period. It offers a metaphorical narrative that encapsulates the poet's personal memories.

While her work aligns with the feminist themes of other authors like Maria Teresa León and Concha Méndez, Conde distinguishes herself through her critical and rebellious engagement with religious narratives. She uses these narratives as a platform to challenge patriarchal structures. Her reinterpretation of Eve is not merely a rejection of the traditional roles imposed on women by religion; it also serves as a broader critique of the societal norms that have historically oppressed women. Through this lens, Conde's poetry challenges not only the political regime of her time but also the cultural conventions that have subordinated women, making her work a powerful expression of feminist resistance.

Luisa Carnés

Luisa Carnés did not belong to the Madrid cultural circle and did not come from the educated bourgeoisie. Compared to other female writers of the Generation of '27, there are very few studies focused on her life trajectory or her work. Many of her works have remained unpublished, particularly those written during her exile in Mexico. She also did not write an autobiography that truly recorded her life like the other writers, but created several novels and fragments based on her personal experiences. This led to a dearth of information about her life. One also needs to add that her lack of literary success was due to her lack of connections with other intellectuals of the time.

While other would-be women writers studied at the Residence or the Lyceum Club or participated in cultural events, Luisa Carnés worked hard to earn a living and lighten the financial burden of her parents. As the eldest of seven children, she had to drop out of school to start working at the age of eleven in a hat workshop located run by her aunt until 1927. That experience became one of the sources of her first novels Peregrinos de Calvarios [Pilgrims of Calvaries^ (1928) and Natacha (1930). Unlike most of the women who are known as Las Sinsombreros, she was not from the bourgeoisie. Carnés differs ideologically from the other so-called Las Sinsombrero writers because she is the one "who sews the hats, not who takes them off' (Martínez Fernández & Olmedo, 2019, p. 539).

While other members of the Generation of '27 attended courses and conferences, Luisa Carnés relied on self-study of pamphlets found in the streets to educate herself. In her works, working-class women take center stage, and her personal experiences serve as a source of inspiration:

Luisa Carnés is very conscious of social determinism, how her background marks her, and that's why the theme of her pre-war novels is to depict the situation of working-class women, who were ignored, silenced, and unable to assert their rights. Ultimately, Luisa Carnés' battle in her pre-war texts is to expose the plight of women from her social class. (Martínez Fernández & Olmedo, 2019, p. 547)

Her novels depict poverty and social inequality, and consistently portrays marginalized women, highlighting their struggles:

If workers have limited opportunities, these are even more constrained in the case of women. Moreover, they constantly face the threat of specific forms of violence. Society expects women, whether they are workers or from the bourgeoisie, to dedicate themselves to marriage and motherhood. This holds true even when living in conditions of extreme precariousness in one case or giving up their intellectual potential in the other. (IglesiasAparicio, 2019, p. 2)

Although she never wrote a formal autobiography to record the trajectory of her life, in works like De Barcelona a la Bretaña Francesa [From Barcelona to Brittany, France], Luisa Carnés provides an account of the hardships endured by Republican exiles, particularly Republican women. Rather than using the first-person singular, she often merges her personal voice with the collective experience, narrating not only her own suffering but also the collective pain of the exiled community:

Spain!... Was Spain over there? She remembered the first night of her flight, already in French land. Some bonfires marked in the darkness the groups of Spaniards huddled under the stars of Le Boulou... Their doors, their windows seemed closed... Outside, the wounded soldiers groaned weakly. The women cried: They leave us abandoned like dogs. (Carnés, 2017, p. 257)

Though not a traditional autobiography, this memoir-like text acts as a journalistic account, preserving a historically verifiable record that brings the memories of Republican witnesses from the past into the present:

...aiming to keep the memory of the Republicans who were forced to leave Spain alive. Thus, it presents itself as an authentic text, whose correspondence with historical reality is endorsed by the firsthand witness character of its author - aided by her interaction with intra-historical figures and her sensory recollection of experiences and events. Its indictment focuses on the systematic mistreatment suffered by those who were compelled to leave Spain at the beginning of 1939. (Sanchez Zapatero, 2022, p. 69)

What she says sheds light on a long-neglected history of exiled Republicans and the plight of exiled women. They were not only rejected by their own country due to their differing political stance as Republicans, but also faced rejection because of their gender. As defined by Javier Mateo Hidalgo, they endured a "double forgetting":

Characterizing women of the Spanish avant-garde entails defining them as sufferers of a double stigma: that of exile and that of having been rejected or marginalized because of their status as women before and after the outbreak of the Civil War [...]. The double sense of "exile" for women of the Spanish avant-garde becomes evident, as they first had to struggle to prove their worth equal to their male counterparts, seeking acceptance in cultural circles, and later, they were challenged by the established regime, not only because of their gender but also because of their ideology or beliefs. Thus, they were condemned to double oblivion by a misogynistic society, dominated by an imposed ideology and inclined towards homogenizing thought. (Hidalgo, 2021, p. 543)

She operated on the periphery of the Madrid cultural scene, particularly after her exile, and most of her post-exile works were preserved outside of Spain. Consequently, her works and reputation were forgotten and overlooked until recent years, with the reediting of her works by Antonio Plaza Plaza and their re-publication by Renacimiento publishing house. These at least helped bring her work back into the public eye.

A comprehensive examination of her most significant three novels reveals a remarkably clear thematic focus: the condemnation of the exploitation of women's labor. Even in her early works, one can discern the tentative exploration of female independence and awakening. In La Ciudad Dormida [The Sleeping City], a part of the 1930 reissue of Peregrinos de Calvario [Calvary Pilgrims], the protagonist, Candelas, reflects aspects of the author's own experience. Growing up in poverty, she commenced working from a tender age. Beyond enduring the anguish of labor exploitation, the harsh circumstances of her life did not easily allow her to break free from her predetermined destiny. After being raped by her sister's boyfriend, she did not follow her sister, who "lets herself be carried away by her circumstances and is driven towards an inevitable fatalism" (Calvino Tur, 2019, p. 14). Ultimately, she managed to take control of her destiny by marrying the man she loved and choosing her own path.

However, this intention to use marriage as a means to attain freedom and exercise autonomy received refinement in her next novel, Natalia (1930). Natalia also inherits ontological poverty like the author herself, but Carnés' central character has evolved. While Candelas only recently grasped the freedom of choosing a husband, Natalia begins reflecting in a feminist way upon her position as a woman laborer within a patriarchal society. As she contemplates her circumstances, she realizes: "The world is a great misery. Life is a giant worm that nurtures the misery of the world. Natalia hated the penury, which atrophies the heart, exacerbates the bad passions of the human heart, and makes martyrs and criminals" (Carnés, 2018, p. 112).

It is only in Carnés' third novel, Tea Rooms: Mujeres Obreras [Tea Rooms: Working Women] (1934/1991), that she completes the transformation from self-reflection to seeking societal change. Like the two previous heroines mentioned, Matilde of Tea Rooms also shares some of the author's life experiences. The poverty of her proletarian family forces her to seek employment to alleviate her mother and siblings' dire circumstances. However, unlike Natalia, Matilde makes entirely different decisions when confronted with moral questions. When she receives a letter requesting a portrait to determine if she is worthy of a typist position, she demonstrates her refusal to submit to patriarchal authority:

It's possible you haven't understood what this Mr. M. F. wants? Pay close attention: to type, one needs to have a certain age and a beautiful body; do you think an independent woman is more capable of solving an arithmetic problem than a daughter of a family? Don't you realize that this international M. F. wants a girl for everything? [...] Today's girls know very well what that M. F. is about. M. F. gives up his seat for us on the Metro, extends our salary from the height of his desk every month, and looks obliquely at our cleavage every time he dictates a letter to us. (Carnés, 2016, p. 18)

While Natalia grapples with moral questions, Matilde ponders the corruption of society and the oppression of women by men. Natalia, unlike Matilde, faces a moral dilemma regarding her relationship with Don César. She is aware of the exploitation inherent in the relationship but is torn between the practical advantages it offers and her desire for independence. When reflecting on her situation with Don César, she recalls, "Natalia went towards the child and picked her up. -'But what a bad person you are!' -'Why, little one?' -'Because your father was there.' -'But he's not my father!' -'Why did he kiss you?' Natalia remembered that before getting into the car, Don César had kissed her in the garden" (Carnés, 2018, p. 222). This moral ambiguity is central to Natalia's character in Natacha, where her internal conflict becomes a manifestation of the broader societal expectations placed on women. She is caught between the need for economic stability and her disdain for the moral compromises demanded by patriarchal structures.

Matilde, however, does not hesitate in rejecting such compromises and instead chooses to act against the patriarchal system that exploits women. The heroine in this novel becomes a representative figure of resistance against men's exploitation of women and the bourgeoisie's exploitation of the lower class. She not only questions marriage and patriarchal authority but promotes social change and international affairs, realizing that social movements and reforms are necessary to address women's plight. From Natalia to Tea Rooms: Mujeres Obreras, Luisa Carnés transforms moral questions into social protests. Matilde, as an exploited worker, represents countless workers and readers like her. By understanding the hardships and suffering of the working class, she undergoes character development and ultimately finds a new path for all women:

That new path, amidst the current hunger and chaos, is the conscious struggle for global proletarian emancipation. The new woman, without hesitation, has spoken and little Matilde has responded. But the new woman has also spoken for all the countless Matildes in the universe. (Carnés, 2016, p. 204)

Luisa Carnés was chosen for this study because of her critical portrayal of societal structures, particularly in relation to the exploitation of women and the working class. Her works, such as Tea Rooms: Mujeres Obreras, move beyond individual moral reflections to question the broader, systemic issues of gender and class oppression. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Carnés uniquely blends the personal with the collective, using her characters to represent the struggles of entire social groups. Her emphasis on the global struggle for proletarian emancipation and the transformation of the "New Woman" offers a progressive, politically active alternative to traditional gender roles. In contrast to other writers of her time, such as Carmen Conde, who focused more on individual psychological and personal development, Carnés' works focus on collective social movements and their transformative potential for women's liberation.

Conclusion

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of the works of women writers of the Generation of '27, namely Concha Méndez, Carmen Conde, and Luisa Carnés, revealing the evolution of Spanish women's literature in the early 20th century and its connection to the feminist movement. Despite their varying social backgrounds, geographical locations, and political stances, all three women writers' literary creations reflect a profound concern for the conditions and freedoms of women by challenging traditional gender stereotypes, albeit from different perspectives. Each, in their unique way, has significantly advanced the discourse on women's rights and autonomy by intertwining their literary careers with the broader feminist movement, and thus deeply influencing literature, politics, and social norms.

Concha Méndez demonstrated the new image of bourgeois women in the public sphere through her active participation in avant-garde movements and women's organizations and her offering of a modernist rebuke to entrenched patriarchal norms. Carmen Conde, through her poetic works, notably in Mujer sin Edén, boldly reimagines women's roles by intertwining feminist concerns with religious motifs to critique patriarchal and ecclesiastical constraints. Luisa Carnés highlighted the exploitation and inequality faced by working-class women with her unique proletarian perspective, thus adding a dimension of social realism to Spanish women's literature. These individuals embody a multifaceted struggle against gender oppression, showing that the fight for gender equality transcends personal experiences to encompass a universal quest for freedom and equality.

While the contextual part occupies a relatively larger portion of this paper, the analysis of these three women writers unveils their significant positions in the history of literature and feminism. Their literary creations not only reflect their artistic pursuits but also mirror the broader societal transformations, especially concerning gender roles and women's rights. By delving into the lives and works of these women writers, this paper underscores the necessity of reevaluating their place in Spanish literary history and feminist histories and showcases literature's vital role as an instrument of social change.

Acknowledgement

The author used AI tools for grammar and translation corrections and to ensure clarity in English. However, all the analysis, findings, and conclusions are the author's own.

Footnote

1 Feixiang Liu is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Humanities at the Charles III University of Madrid in Spain. Liu s research focuses on women s literature and comparative literature,

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