María de Zayas y Sotomayor

Benjamin Griffiths (University of Birmingham)

Ed. by Duncan Wheeler, University of Leeds
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.2.01: Spanish Literature and Culture from the Beginning to the Golden Age.
Vol. editors: Andrew M. Beresford (University of Durham), Stuart Green (University of Leeds), Juan Pablo Rodriguez (Yale University), Duncan Wheeler (University of Leeds)

Dates

Born 12 Sep 1590
Died c. 1647
Activity c. 1632-c. 1647

Places

Born in Spain
Active in Spain

Activities

Primary

Prose writer

Resources

Zayas y Sotomayor's Works

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In both the Anglophone and Spanish-speaking academy, María de Zayas y Sotomayor ranks amongst the best-known female writers of the Spanish Golden Age. She is particularly noted for her collections of short stories, which have as their overriding theme a critique of men’s negative behaviour towards women, including physical and sexual abuse. In a book-length review of the literature, Enrique García Santo-Tomás has identified over six hundred academic studies (Santo-Tomás, 2022). This critical notoriety contrasts with her minor standing in the non-academic collective consciousness even in the Hispanic World.

We have very few biographical details about her life, and indeed only a little additional information has come to light since the early-twentieth-century work of Spanish historian

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2501 words

Citation: Griffiths, Benjamin. "María de Zayas y Sotomayor". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15171, accessed 24 November 2024.]