Redefining the Woman: Sexual Dissidence and Identity at the Onset of Spanish Modernity in the Works of Ángeles Vicente, Carmen de Burgos, and Elena Fortún

Abstract

This dissertation examines a selection of works written in the first half of the 20th century by three Spanish authors - Ángeles Vicente (1878-c. 1918-1932), Carmen de Burgos (1867-1932), and Elena Fortún (1886-1952) - who pursued a literary career despite the many obstacles women faced in society. Indeed, while Spain was undergoing a contested process of modernization, these authors wrote short stories and novels in an attempt to cement themselves within the fabric of public and cultural life. Unfortunately, the fall of the Second Spanish Republic and the nation's turn to fascism would largely erase their contributions and even force Fortún into exile.

Although distinct in style and background, these authors address many of the same themes and, most notably, they frame their narratives through (pseudo)scientific, medical, and religious discourses on bodies and minds, gender roles, and sexual conducts. This dissertation first considers a selection of texts by Vicente: her novellas Teresilla (1907) and Zezé (1909) and the feminist and supernatural short stories "Alma loca," "El huerto encantado," "La derrota de don Juan," "La última aventura de don Juan," and "Sombras." Publishing in the first two decades of the 1900s, Vicente, still relatively unknown, serves as a precursor to the others, offering an early feminist perspective on issues like marriage, education, (in)sanity, and same-sex desire that continued to develop over the years. Next, we examine how Burgos's novelette Ellas y ellos ó ellos y ellas (1916) and her novel Quiero vivir mi vida (1931) respond to growing anxieties around gender, sexuality, and Spain's national identity, demonstrating both the author's feminist beliefs and her ambivalence toward "deviant" sexuality. The dissertation concludes with the analysis of Fortún's posthumous sapphic novels Oculto sendero (2016) and El pensionado de Santa Casilda (2022) which, like Zezé, give a voice to same-sex desire while simultaneously defending women's rights to artistic and intellectual vocations.

Drawing on key concepts from Gender Studies, Queer Theory, and Cultural Studies to explore representations of female and/or queer identities, experiences, behaviours, and spaces, this dissertation ultimately seeks to highlight these authors' contributions to early 20th-century debates on gender, sexuality, and modernity.