María de Zayas

María de Zayas (1590-1648?) was a successful novelist and playwright in 17th-century Spain. Her Novelas amorosas y ejemplares [Exemplary Love Novels] (1637) and Desengaños amorosos [Love Disappointments] (1647), written following the model of Cervantes’ exemplary novels but with a gender twist, were extraordinarily popular. This third lecture will analyse some of Zayas’ (proto)feminist fictions, as well as her prefaces, where the author explicitly expresses her intention to give voice to women who do not have a voice in literature written by men. We will focus mainly on the short novel El prevenido engañado [Forewarned but Fooled] (1637), a satire against “ignorant men who condemn women’s intelligence”, in the author’s own words. We will also pay attention to her portrayal of minorities, particularly black characters.