Summary and Conclusions: The Legacy of Carmen Martín Gaite in the Twenty-First Century

This special session spanned many facets of the literary legacy of Carmen Martín Gaite. Papers explored her contributions to historiography, autobiography, the essay, eighteenth-century studies, the female epistolary novel, current techniques such as the remix, and the contemporary novel canon. Audience discussion allowed other experts to weigh in on different aspects of her work. A major strand of discussion addressed the question of Martín Gaite’s literary affinities, which have been insufficiently explored. It was agreed that two figures in particular—Cervantes and Unamuno—were crucial influences on her writing. The author’s leaps into new territory were also discussed, with one audience member asking how she came to write the textbook Conversaciones creadoras. The answer was that she was studying English and was sympathetic to learners’ struggles with conversational speech—and also she was horrified at the deficiencies of existing Spanish conversation texts. Reminiscences of Martín Gaite’s many visits to the United States capped the discussion. Fond details were shared by her hosts, including recollections of days spent welcoming her to our cities, our campuses and our homes. After viewing David T. Gies’s color handout featuring letters, photographs, and a collage, a final question from a member of the audience was: Do any of the scholars who knew Martín Gaite plan to share more memorabilia?

Beyond personal artifacts, important non-literary legacies also exist. There are Carmen Martín Gaite primary and secondary schools in different parts of Spain, including the Community of Madrid, Salamanca, and Málaga. There is a Carmen Martín Gaite statue in Salamanca, in the Plaza de los Bandos where she was born, and there is a Carmen Martín Gaite street in a neighborhood of Madrid. There soon will be an academic study center devoted to the Generation of the 1950s that will include the country home of the Martín Gaite family in El Boalo outside Madrid. In the non-physical realm, there are Spanish women writers whom she mentored who have gone on to great success, including Soledad Puértolas and Belén Gopegui. Finally, there are friends and admirers around the world. These are the men and women who will carry Martín Gaite’s work, and her name, forward in time.