Charnon-Deutsch, Lou. "Concepción Arenal and the Nineteenth-Century Spanish Debates about Women’s Sphere and Education." Recovering Spain's Feminist Tradition, New York, Modern Language Association, p. 198-216.

Concepción Arenal was a prolific nineteenth-century feminist writer that spoke out against the popular notions at the time about separate spheres for men and women. She encouraged the adoption of new metaphors to describe gender roles, working to dismantle the symbolism of women as the “angel of the house.” She held that advancements in science and education would help overcome the social issues of her day, but her strong support of education was also reflected in the idea that Spanish women were not yet ready for the vote because of their limited access to education and the public sphere. She is frequently cited as the mother of the women's rights movement in Spain, not because of her focus on suffrage but because she advocated for recognizing a woman’s potential for education and participation in social issues outside the home.  (Annotation by Bailey Willden)

Posted

1 February 2022

Last Updated

16 February 2024