Biography

by Bailey Willden

Leonor de la Cueva y Silva was a seventeenth-century Spanish dramatist and poet. She was born in Medina del Campo, in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon in the northwest of Spain. She was baptized in the Catholic Church on November 6, 1511. Her parents were Agustín de la Rúa and Leonor de la Cueva. Leonor de la Cueva y Silva’s family was part of the aristocracy and was well connected to several military orders. Her will contains a military position granted to the family by royalty, which could have been held by her husband or passed on to another relative. As her husband never took the position, it was granted to the man who married her great-niece upon Leonor’s death. Also, two of her brothers were military men, Antonio de la Cueva and Juan de la Rúa. She had another brother, Jerónimo de la Rua, who was a cleric, and a sister Teresa, who mentioned Leonor in her will. 

Most of the information we have about Leonor de la Cueva’s life comes from archival research done by Sharon D. Voros, during which she discovered the author's baptismal and death certificates as well as her last will and testament. Thanks to these documents, we know that Leonor de la Cueva was married to Baltasar Blasquez de Frias, but we have no other information about their marriage. Also included in her will is an extensive inventory of her possessions, most notably the contents of her personal library. According to Voros, it is likely that she drew inspiration for some of her works from the dramatic and mythological texts found there. She also drew inspiration as a writer from her uncle, the famous poet and dramatist Francisco de la Cueva. Many of the themes found in her play La firmeza en el ausencia can also be found in Francisco’s works (Voros 502). Francisco and Leonor corresponded throughout her life, and she dedicated a poem to him upon his death in 1628. In fact, many scholars use this date as the start of Leonor’s literary career. 

She published only two sonnets during her lifetime, one dedicated to Queen Isabel de Borbón in 1645 and one dedicated to Queen Maria Luisa de Borbón in 1689. She wrote one play in manuscript form, La firmeza en el ausencia, that was probably never performed on stage, as well as a collection of poetry written by Leonor herself as well as some other influential authors of the time, including Luis de Góngora and Lope de Vega. These poems explored themes of nature and love, and some were written for or about people she knew, giving scholars a few more clues about her personal life. Finally, in her will, Leonor de la Cueva mentioned another book she wrote entitled Silba de Apolo, but it has since been lost. 

Her most well known work is her play, La firmeza en el ausencia. It is a comedia, or a three-act play, that follows the misadventures of the protagonist Armensinda. Armesinda has been courted by a nobleman Don Juan for six years and they are deeply in love and faithful to each other. However, the king also falls in love with Armesinda and sends Don Juan away to war so he can court her. She stays true to Don Juan through many trials of her faithfulness, which undermines the stereotypes of the time about female fickleness. 

Leonor de la Cueva y Silva died in the same town she was born, Medina del Campo, on March 23, 1705 at the age of 93 and was buried in the convent of the Carmelitas Calzados. Her will, written in her own steady hand despite her advanced age, suggests that although she outlived many of her closest relatives, she remained active in her community until her death.