“Y vivieron infelices para siempre”: ilusiones románticas y desengaños realistas en Dos mujeres de Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda

The analysis in this article displays how Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda’s novel Dos mujeres (Two Women) undermines its own narrative structures and models. The format of serialized fiction, which appears to influence the character development and narrated events, is deconstructed through the author’s critique of marriage as an ideal destiny for women. In the novel, she challenges models such as “the angel in the house” and the monstrous woman, and advocates for stronger alliances between women. The ethics and aesthetics of literary romanticism allow Gómez de Avellaneda to explore the passions, desires, fears, and fantasies of the novel’s female protagonists, who are thus portrayed with complexity and ambiguity. Despite the importance placed on love as a path to fulfillment, the novel displays how women are condemned to a sterile existence by being prohibited from entering other spaces where they might seek development and fulfillment.