The Influence of Elena Fortún's Celia in Carmen Laforet, Carmen Martín
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From Rebel Girls to Chicas Raras: The Influence of Elena Fortún’s Celia in Carmen Laforet, Carmen Martín Gaite and Ana María Matute Ana Puchau de Lecea orcid.org/0000-0001-6268-4952 Doctor of Philosophy July 2020 Faculty of Arts School of Languages and Linguistics Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies University of Melbourne Submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2 Abstract In late 1920s’ Spain, Elena Fortún (pseudonym of Encarnación Aragoneses, 1886-1952) started publishing “Celia y su mundo”, considered the best children's books series of the time. Her innovative character, Celia, tries to make sense of a world dictated by grown-ups and continually attempts to escape their impositions. Through the voice of a character belonging to two traditionally marginalized groups, children and women, Fortún found a way to transmit progressive messages to her readers. However, as she gets older, the character who broke the mould with her transgressive behaviour and convincing speech, gradually adapts to what is expected of her. The historical events reflected in the books range from the final years of Miguel Primo de Rivera's dictatorship, to the historical advances of feminism during the Republic and their loss during Franco's dictatorship after the Civil War (1936-1939). This thesis contends that the Celia series planted the seed of postwar bildungsroman for Carmen Laforet (1921-2004), Carmen Martín Gaite (1925-2000) and Ana María Matute (1925-2014), who read Celia in their childhood and whose novels featured teenage girls fleeing their oppressive households. The trace of Fortún’s Celia is analysed in the works: Nada (1944) and La isla y los demonios (1952), by Laforet; Entre visillos (1952) and El cuarto de atrás (1978), by Martín Gaite; and Los Abel (1948) and Primera memoria (1959), by Matute. By breaking the rules of children’s literature, usually didactic and moralistic, Fortún created a character that paved the way to arguably the first generation of Spanish women writers. Celia was considered a rebel just because she could not make sense of her status quo, which continually limited her existence to that of a silent secondary character. Frustrated, Celia spoke to her girl readers who considered themselves raras for pretty much the same reasons and who created brave, nonconformist female characters years later. 3 Declaration This is to certify that: I. This thesis comprises only my original work towards the Doctor of Philosophy degree; II. Due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other material used; and III. The thesis is fewer than 100,000 words in length exclusive of tables, maps, figures, foreign language examples, bibliographies and appendices. Ana Puchau de Lecea 2nd July 2020 4 Acknowledgments Infinite gratitude to my partner, César, who has supported me in every way during this journey. Thank you to my supervisors, Professor Alfredo Martínez-Expósito and Professor Vicente Pérez de León, for their guidance and feedback on this thesis. I am forever indebted to Professor Vicente Pérez de León and his family, Alicia Martínez-Marco and their son Marco. Thank you for your trust and generosity over the years. I also want to thank the Chair of my Committee, Dr. Tess Do, for her support and continuous encouragement during my candidature. Professor Lesley Stirling, Professor Clara Tuite, Associate Professor Birgit Lang, Dr. Mara Favoretto and Dr. Bruce Hurst also contributed time and feedback to this project at different stages –thank you. In addition to my research, during my years at the University of Melbourne I have had the privilege to teach Spanish literature. It has been as challenging as it has been rewarding and I want to thank my students for sharing their insight on complex matters with me. Thank you also for your interest in my research and for your support. This project would not have existed without my family's sobremesas in front of the TV, watching episodes of Celia. Thanks to my parents and siblings, la abuela Mari Cruz and la Tía. Together we enjoyed the adventures of a little madrileña who would accompany me forever. I am also indebted to Cristina and Anna, my second family. Thank you for being my refuge since I started feeling like a bit of a chica rara myself and for not letting go of my hand from then on. Thanks to my friend Katia and her six brave girls (Sofía, Blanca, Inés, Paula, Estela and Ángela), for being in my life. So many friends have contributed to the development of this project through genuine interest and support. I would like to thank my colleagues Associate Professor Adriano Duque and Dr. Felipe Muñoz for taking this journey with me even before it started. I am grateful to Sara Tomás for her help and support throughout this project –and beyond. A special thank you goes to Angela Schuster and Lucas Castillo, who have kindly and enthusiastically proofread articles, conferences and chapters since this project began. I also want to express my gratitude to my Australian family, Bea, Natasha, Riccardo, Melanie and Nadia (and Jordi and Margot), for being by my side during the highs and lows of this project. A big thank you to Alice Brush at the Abbotsford Convent, for welcoming me 5 into the Kids Program. I also want to thank Margaret Robson Kett and Anna Dollard, for allowing me into their wonderful Kids’ Own Publishing universe. Finally, I would like to thank my sister, María del Mar, who one day went from being a “niña” to a “chica” in the same sentence, suddenly making me the younger sister to have someone to look up to forever. 6 Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Declaration ................................................................................................................................ 4 Acknowledgments...................................................................................................................... 5 Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 Aim of the thesis and Research Questions ....................................................................... 10 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 10 Summary of Chapters........................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 1. Children and Fools Tell the Truth. ...................................................................... 14 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 14 1.1 The Construction of Childhood ................................................................................. 15 1.2 Marginal characters .................................................................................................... 18 1.3 (Lack of) Women Writers .......................................................................................... 20 2. Children in Spanish Literature..................................................................................... 21 2.1 Thirteenth Century. El Cantar de Mío Cid. ............................................................... 21 2.2 Fourteenth Century. El Conde Lucanor. .................................................................... 24 2.3 Sixteenth Century. Erasmus and the pícaros. ............................................................ 27 2.4 Seventeenth Century. Don Quixote as the truth seeker fool archetype. .................... 29 2.5 Eighteenth Century. Innocent, enlightened children. ................................................. 33 2.6 Nineteenth Century. Arenal and Pardo Bazán´s Women Rights Fight. ..................... 37 3. Twentieth Century. Elena Fortún’s Celia and the origins of the Chicas Raras ....... 40 3.1 Celia’s reception and the ILE .................................................................................... 41 3.2 The Child as Reader: Modelling Ideology ................................................................. 46 3.3 Celia in the 1940-1950s ............................................................................................. 47 4. Concluding remarks .................................................................................................. 49 Chapter 2. Elena Fortún and Celia ........................................................................................ 51 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 51 1.1 Celia is born. .............................................................................................................. 54 7 1.2 Children's literature until 1929. ................................................................................. 55 1.3 Celia’s style and originality ....................................................................................... 57 I. Celia, the Rebel Girl .................................................................................................. 60 2.1 Celia, lo que dice (1929) ............................................................................................ 61 2.2 Celia en el colegio (1932)