Women Warriors in Early Modern Spain: A Tribute to Bárbara Mujica ed. by Susan L. Fischer and Frederick A. de Armas (review)

Bárbara Mujica has been a leading scholar in the area of women’s studies in the Early Modern Iberian era. Her opus includes innovative work on women writers, such as Teresa of Ávila, and on female characters of various works of Golden Age Spain. Mujica is also a critically acclaimed novelist who bases her works on historical women. As a tribute to Mujica, Susan L. Fischer and Frederick A. de Armas bring together in this edited volume various studies and perspectives on notable women of Early Modern Spanish society and literature. With a comprehensive introduction on approaches to women’s studies of the era, fourteen academic papers, and a bilingual creative work, the editors present to the reader the many paths scholarship on gender studies can take. Women Warriors in Early Modern Spain: A Tribute to Bárbara Mujica emerged as a part of the new directions in women’s studies to depict active female engagement in pre-1800 Spanish society (1).

As the editors note, “Women Warriors illustrates the spiritual and psychological power of early modern women” (21). The essays focus on a range of women: not only female activists who were involved in communities outside of their domestic confines, but also women who engaged in the intellectual sphere of society. The volume comprises academic and biographic essays, as well as a poem.

This compilation of wide-ranging works contributes to a rich discussion of zealous female figures. That said, while the powerful title and cogent Introduction may lead readers to expect that all the subsequent essays will portray victorious, rebellious, and successful female figures, that is not the case. Some are canonical discussions of women acting in the shadow of their male counterparts. For example, the claim in one of the essays in section I, “Women as Dramatic Subjects,” that women can thrive in a society “only in the realm of comedy, of make-believe” because “women in the comedia nueva are ruled by fathers, brothers, other family members, guardians, or husbands” (36) places women in the role of a victim—an approach that the editors of the volume claim to avert. One can hardly fault Fischer and de Armas for this, however, given how common it is for scholars to focus on limiting factors, repeating the obvious point that honor and patriarchy are problematic. This section contains essay by Edward H. Friedman, Frederick A. de Armas, Emilie L. Bergmann, and Teresa Scott Soufas.

The sections titled “Women in the Theater” and “Women in Literature and Culture” reveal fascinating life and career stories of women who were mystic writers or autoras of theater. Two essays—Elizabeth Cruz Petersen’s on María Álvarez, Bárbara Coronel, and Fabiana Laura, as well as Susan Paun de García’s thorough study of women autoras and actresses—provide detailed insights into the work life of a number of women who played prominent roles in the theater. These strong women acted, managed theater companies, and directed plays, and some did all of this without a male [co-]leader. Other essays included in these sections are written by Isaac Benabu, Emily C. Francomano, Charles Victor Ganelin, Gillian T. W. Ahlgren, and Sharon D. Voros. In the section “Teresa of Ávila Refashioned on the Stage and on the Page,” Sherry Velasco contributed an entrancing essay in which she discusses the textual, cultural, and performative meaning of dar higas as seen in Teresa of Ávila’s own writing and as depicted in Lope de Vega’s play about her, Santa Teresa de Jesús. This section of the volume also contains essays by Susan L. Fischer and Alison Weber. The last section, “Call to Battle,” contains a poem (in English and Spanish versions) dedicated to Bárbara Mujica by Marjorie Agosín.

This volume is a preeminent resource for scholars...