Special Issues

 

THE SILENCE OF THE SEALED FLESH: MOTHERHOOD IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY SPANISH POETRY WRITTEN BY WOMEN

07/04/2025
Monographic dossier (n.º 40, July 2026)
Coordination:
María Isabel López Martínez (University of Extremadura / PoGESp Group, Spanish Poetry and Gender)
Helena Establier Pérez (University of Alicante / PoGESp Group, Spanish Poetry and Gender)
What manifestations, variants and developments has the theme of motherhood had in the work of Spanish poets of the twentieth century?
For centuries, women have been identified with their reproductive capacity, an essential manifestation of the corporeality that has defined their existence and has condemned them to remain linked to specific spaces and tasks, outside the circles in which the great questions of thought, art and politics were settled. In this way, their primary role in biological reproduction has been decisive in defining, by extension and assimilation, their roles in other fields, such as literature, culture and thought, where they were only legitimized those functions that did not involve the intervention of creative aptitudes or the formulation of original thought. Their authority in the intellectual sphere and their status as creators were historically questioned, subjected to the arbitrariness of the different agents of the cultural field, critical instances, circles of influence, publishing sector, etc., which, at each moment and according to various criteria, were determining the possibilities of participation of women, always considering that, due to their gender condition, they were in charge, first and foremost, of a socio-family task, motherhood, fundamental for the maintenance of civilization and the established order. For all these reasons, the interrelation between literary authorship and biological reproduction has historically been a source of tensions and concerns for women interested in participating in the sphere of literary creation and inevitably conditioned, at the same time, by a social distribution of sexual roles focused on the reproductive dimension of female biological existence. Numerous questions underlie this question and thread the literary work of women: is textual creation compatible with human procreation? Is motherhood a theme that pigeonholes women's literature and excludes it from artistic centrality? What images of motherhood are considered acceptable and legitimate? What impact can transgressions in this field have on the valuation of women's writing?; What space is left for the literary expression of maternal emptiness and where does this socioculturally locate non-mothers?, etc.
This monographic issue aims to explore the impact of all these issues on the production of twentieth-century Spanish women poets. It is based on the consideration that, as historical and political circumstances evolved in our country, the normative model of women, with its gender roles and conditionings, also underwent notable modifications, adapting to the socio-family expectations of each moment, which was reflected in the lyrical creation of the authors and in the treatment of the topics addressed in it. From this perspective, although motherhood is a cross-cutting issue in Spanish poetry written by women throughout the last century, its approaches and nuances diverge considerably, depending on the personal and family situation of the authors, their aesthetic interests and the impact on their work of the prevailing ideology at any given time. To explore these issues, we make this call for contributions, open to all those works focused on exploring the different manifestations and developments of the theme of motherhood in the verses of twentieth-century Spanish poets. The articles, in accordance with the editorial standards of the journal Ogigia. Electronic Journal of Hispanic Studies, will be evaluated by blind peers and must be submitted through the journal's platform no later than September 30, 2025.

 

NETWORKS AS RESPONSE: THE ROLE OF RESPONSIBILITY IN NETWORKS OF SPANISH WOMEN EXILES IN LATIN AMERICA

24/09/2024

Responsibility:

A fundamental driving Force

in the Creation of Networks by Spanish Women Exiles in Latin America?

 

This call for papers invites contributions to a dossier aimed at enhancing the still incomplete academic understanding of ‘responsibility’ as a driving force in the formation of intellectual communities of Spanish exiles in Latin America between 1939 and 1975. These communities, or ‘networks’, establish connections that facilitate the interaction of exiled women with a wide range of individuals: other exiles and refugees in Latin America fleeing violence or persecution in their countries of origin, compatriots who maintain resistance within Spain, as well as residents of the Latin American host country where the exiles found refuge. To achieve this objective, the dossier proposes adopting an ethical perspective on these networks, and is situated at the intersection of literary studies, gender studies, and history.

The analysis of these networks finds a fundamental axis in the notion of ‘responsibility’, a concept that gained relevance in European philosophical discourse as a response to the post-war crisis, during which Spanish women writers, intellectuals, and artists experienced their exile. In this context, thinkers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Hannah Arendt become particularly significant. Sartre (1943, 1946) explored the idea of responsibility within the framework of individual freedom and the necessity of being fully accountable for our choices and actions, avoiding the attribution of responsibility to external factors. For Sartre, assuming one's own responsibility is essential for achieving an authentic existence. On the other hand, Albert Camus (1942, 1947) highlighted the concept of the absurd and its connection to the paradox of the human desire to find meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. According to Camus, individuals have the responsibility to rebel against the absurd; therefore, they must act ethically in times of crisis and create their own values in a reality that apparently lacks them. Lastly, Hannah Arendt (1951) discussed the idea of the ‘banality of evil’, focusing on how ordinary people can participate in horrific acts under extreme circumstances, driven by the impositions of, for example, a totalitarian regime. Similarly, Arendt (1958) raised questions about the transcendence of individual behavior in the public sphere and emphasized the importance of political and moral action and responsibility as essential resources for building a common world, a society in which peaceful coexistence is possible.

In dialogue with what has already been noted, this dossier proposes, however, to adopt the concept of ‘responsibility’ theorized by Emmanuel Levinas, supplemented by reflections in the contemporary Spanish context by Manuel Cruz. For Levinas, responsibility is situated in the realm of the individual rather than the public sphere. This approach prioritizes intersubjectivity and interpersonal relationships over considerations such as those discussed in previous paragraphs. In Totality and Infinity (1961) and Otherwise than Being, or Beyond Essence (1974), Levinas argues that responsibility arises from the encounter with the other, where we recognize the other’s humanity and feel compelled to respond to the other’s needs. The author uses the metaphor of the ‘face’ to represent the other and contends that this face uniquely and irreplaceably addresses us, generating an immediate and particular ethical demand. Through this perspective, the ‘self’ becomes responsible due to its relationship with the other.

Following this line, Manuel Cruz, in his essays collected in Escritos sobre memoria, responsabilidad y pasado (2004) and Las malas pasadas del pasado (2005), also defines responsibility from an intersubjective perspective. In this perspective, responsibility cannot exist without someone demanding a response. While guilt “is a matter in which the subject deals alone with the norm”, responsibility is “structurally intersubjective”. According to Cruz: “Without someone to answer to, who challenges us with their claim, there can be no possible responsibility.” (Cruz 2004: 82, our translation, see also Cruz 2005: 39). For Cruz, being responsible means understanding that, regardless of identifying those at fault, wrongs must be corrected and, therefore, responsibility means acting with a sense of community (Cruz 2015: 39, our translation).

Does this interpersonal component, so fundamental in the conceptualization of Levinas and Cruz, also play an essential role in the networks that Spanish women exiles wove in Latin America throughout their years of exile? We propose that it is worth highlighting the dynamics of this interpersonal dimension in their experiences, which were uncertain in nature, always temporary, and never definitive. In fact, many of these Spanish women resided successively in different Latin American host countries, a situation always influenced by the unstable political and economic circumstances that led them to undergo what could be defined as multiple exiles. Each change of residence involved new connections and often meant leaving behind previous contacts. Nevertheless, many exiles attempted to maintain those initial ties, leading to an enriching multiplicity of relationships.

In this regard, it is crucial to remember that the Republican exodus of 1939 coincided with a period of profound turmoil in Europe due to World War II, Nazism, and post-war totalitarian regimes. All of this resulted in significant migratory movements of refugees and exiles from various European backgrounds to the same host countries in Latin America. It is within this context that many Spanish women will forge new personal connections and networks through interactions with individuals of diverse European origins in the host countries of Latin America, without implying neglect of the relationships they maintained with compatriots who remained inside Spain.

In conclusion, considering that networks “are established, negotiated, terminated, and reformulated” (Besserer 1999: 220), this monograph invites contributions that highlight how, within the dynamics of the life journeys of Spanish women exiled in Latin America, a series of diverse encounters give rise to a variety of networks. The transatlantic perspective, interdisciplinary methodology, and ethical focus position this dossier in a privileged position to shed new light on the construction and significance of networks among Spanish exiles in Latin America.

Thus, we invite participation through studies that align with our ethical proposal and address the following questions, which are fundamental both then and now:

  • What characterizes the intersubjective responsibility of and towards Spanish women exiles in Latin America?
  • Why and towards whom do Spanish women exiles feel responsible, and who feels responsible towards them?
  • How do literary texts and archival materials express and bear witness to this responsibility?

The articles, in accordance with the editorial guidelines of Ogigia. Revista electrónica de estudios hispánicos, will be peer-reviewed and must be submitted through the journal's platform no later than March 30, 2025.

Cited Works

 

Arendt, Hannah. [1951] 2006. Los orígenes del totalitarismo. Madrid: Alianza.

Arendt, Hannah. [1958] 2005. La condición humana. Barcelona: Paidós.

Besserer, Federico. 1999. “Estudios trasnacionales y ciudadanía transnacional”. Fronteras fragmentadas.

  1. Gail (ed.). Colegio de Michoacán-CIDEM. pp. 215-238.

Camus, Albert. [1942] 1953. El mito de Sísifo. Buenos Aires: Losada.

Camus, Albert. [1947] 1983. La Peste. Barcelona: Seix Barral.

Cruz, Manuel. 2004. Escritos sobre memoria, responsabilidad y pasado. Universidad del Valle.

Cruz, Manuel. 2005. Las malas pasadas del pasado. Identidad, responsabilidad, historia, Madrid: Anagrama.

Cruz, Manuel. 2015. Purificar la mirada. La dimensión ética del saber en Platón. Madrid: Dykinson.

Levinas, Emmanuel. [1961] 1999. Totalidad e infinito: Ensayo sobre la exterioridad. Salamanca: Sígueme.

Levinas, Emmanuel. [1974] 2021. De otro modo que ser, o más allá de la esencia. Salamanca: Sígueme.

Levinas, Emmanuel. 1997. Fuera del sujeto. Madrid: Caparrós.

Sarte, Jean-Paul. [1943] 1998. El ser y la nada. Buenos Aires: Losada.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. [1946] 1973. Existencialismo es un humanismo. Buenos Aires: Sur.