Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda as Literary Precursor and Transatlantic Intellectual

doi:10.1017/9781009168359.008

7 - Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda as Literary Precursor and Transatlantic Intellectual

from Part II - Cuban Literature’s Long Nineteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 August 2024

Adriana Méndez Rodenas

Edited by

Vicky Unruh and

Jacqueline Loss

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Vicky Unruh: Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Jacqueline Loss: Affiliation:
University of Connecticut

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Summary

This chapter examines the pioneering role of Getrudis Gómez de Avellaneda as a transatlantic intellectual; as the initiator of what became the long-lasting trope among Cuban writers of lejanía [distance] or imagining Cuba from afar; and as a precursor of modern feminism whose persistent interweaving of race and gender, the chapter argues, constitutes the writer’s signature contribution to Cuban literature. Devoting much of the essay to Gómez de Avellaneda’s fiction, including Sab, Dos mujeres, Guatimozín, and El artista barquero o los cuatro cinco de junio, the chapter teases out this body of work’s exemplification of both early abolitionism and a feminist consciousness, tracing the latter to Gómez de Avellaneda’s essay on Mercedes Merlin, which established the first female genealogy of Cuban literature.

Keywords

Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (1814–1873)precursor of modern Cuban feminism transatlantic intellectual Cuban theme of lejanía intersection of race and gender Gómez de Avellaneda’s fiction Sab (1841)Dos mujeres (1842)Guatimozín (1846)El artista barquero o los cuatro cinco de junio (1861)

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Cuban Literature , pp. 126 - 141

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009168359.008 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2024

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References

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