Madrid Choice Woman

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For my choice woman post, I chose Emilia Pardo Bazan! I learned that she was a feminist, and a writer, and an early adopter of technology. She came from a wealthy family and was the first woman to become a professor at the university in Madrid. She faced some challenges because of her gender and many of the other professors at the university didn’t like that there was a woman professor. They would boycott her lectures and it caused many students to not attend out of fear. Some professors wouldn’t work with the students who attended her lectures or wouldn’t sign their thesis. Her writings gave vivid descriptions of what it was like to live in poverty and she wrote over 600 stories covering many topics and genres. 


Her contribution is important because she was a trailblazer for women professors here in Madrid. It was probably very scary to go into a university with no other professors like you, and have many professors against you, so it is impressive that she was brave enough to do it. Now there are definitely more female professors around the world! She also is important because of her depictions of living in poverty in her stories. They became important social documents because no one else was really writing about that at the time and it gave people a glimpse into what the lower class was dealing with. 


I think she was commemorated well, her statue is very beautiful and in a pretty good spot. There weren’t a ton of people around, but I think that enough people do see it. The only thing is I’m curious to know if the statue looks like her or not. During the lecture, it was mentioned that she weighed more than other writers at the time so some people didn’t take her as seriously, but the statue doesn’t look like she would have weighed that much so is it even accurate? It would be disappointing if her body was made to look different because of beauty standards instead of accurately representing her! 

Comments

  1. Theresa BellMay 19, 2024 at 7:25 AM

    This is lovely Betsy! I loved learning about Bazan -- she was such a trailblazer. I think it says something positive about Madrid that they brought her onto staff at the University of Madrid at a time when women were so uncommon in academia. I think that kind of forward thinking is an important part of being a cultural capital.

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  2. Caroline CaineMay 19, 2024 at 9:36 AM

    Amazing post Betsy! I totally agree with all you said, and I also think hearing about her story helps deepen my understanding of Madrid as a cultural capital. The university here opened their doors to a female professor, and she was the first one. I hope that they are still doing this in schools all over Spain, supporting women and their educational goals!

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  3. Marie PetersonMay 22, 2024 at 3:15 PM

    I love reading your posts, Betsy! I love that you chose to talk about Emilia Pardo Bazan because I think her story is so interesting. She went through a ton which makes me admire her. She was often dismissed, belittled, and criticized for her intellectual contributions. She was also extremely confined to societal expectations of women. It saddens me that while gender discrimination in literature has decreased in degree, it is not entirely gone. Women still face challenges in achieving equal recognition and opportunities in many parts of the world.

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