Revisiting the history of Catalan feminism
A new book explores women in Catalan literature
History can be explored through many different mediums, and a new book by author M. Àngels Cabré focuses on the relationship between literature and feminism in the development of Catalan culture.
El llarg viatge de les dones. Feminisme a Catalunya ('The Long Journey of Women: Feminism in Catalonia'), published by Edicions 62, contains 50 individual texts written by 33 different female authors ranging between the 19th and 20th centuries.
The book's timeline commences in 1841 with a poem by Maria Josepa Massanés titled 'Preliminary discourse'. Cabré shares that Massanés dedicated herself to writing poetry without regard for her gender, describing it as "a foundational moment" for Catalan feminism.
Authors with work featured in the book also include Dolors Monserdà, Teresa Claramunt, Frederica Montseny, Aurora Bertrana and many more. The works featured span many years and highlight important eras, like the “explosion” of social change in the 1970s.
Cabré says that she was inspired to write the novel to, "explain that feminism was not born yesterday" and show young people the long history of its involvement in Catalan culture.