Mexican women writers 1900-1950

Abstract

The early decades of the twentieth century were a crucial period in the consolidation of Mexican identity, and the literature produced at this time has been widely researched, although mostly the work by male canonical authors. It has only been in the last few decades that notable scholars have unearthed and studied the work of Mexican women writers. Such studies have mainly focused on the late nineteenth century or the second half of the twentieth century. This dissertation aims to bridge these two periods to understand how women emerged as professional authors from the 1960s.

Chapter One, after establishing the theoretical framework, presents women writers in their context by discussing the impact of the socio-political events of these five decades, particularly the Revolution, on their status, roles and rights. It also explores the emergence of women writers in this period, highlighting their differences from previous generations, and considers their reception and relation to literary trends. The following four chapters focus on one case study each: Rosa de Castaño (1910-?) for novels, María Enriqueta Camarillo (1872-1968) for children’s literature, María Luisa Ocampo (1899-1974) for drama and Margarita Urueta (1915-2004) for short stories. The chapters carefully consider each of these authors’ individual circumstances and analyse their work, with a focus on how they approached the question of Mexican identity and the political events of the time, and how they represented gender and other issues pertaining to feminism.

To conclude, the thesis discusses the legacy of these writers and the importance of the study of their long-forgotten works to our understanding of literary and cultural history. The appendix, which will potentially be used for further research, is a list of authors, works (by genre) and, when possible, an indication as to in what library or archive they can be found.