Josefa Amar y Borbón

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Josefa Amar y Borbón (1749–1833) was a Spanish feminist writer of the Enlightenment period.[1] She was part of the first generation of European feminists.[2]

Life

Amar was

Saragossa.[1] She was the fifth child of Jose Amar and Ignacia Borbon, a distinguished Aragonese couple.[3] When she was five years old, her father became a court physician and family moved to Madrid, where she was educated.[3] In Madrid, she was tutored by royal preceptors and had direct access to the king's libraries.[4] This allowed her to acquire self-taught education with proficiency in the sciences, as well as in classical and modern European languages and literatures.[4] In 1764, Amar married Joaquin Fuertes Piquer (d. 1798), and they had at least one child, a son.[1] They returned to Saragossa in 1772 when her husband, a judge, was appointed to the royal court.[3] There, Amar was the first female member of the Aragonese Economic Society, which provided work for prison inmates and help for the poor, (1782), as well as a member of Ladies' Group, Madrid Economic Society (1787) and the Medical Society of Barcelona (1790).[1] She was exclusively active from this period of 1782-1790.[5]

Translations

Amar was well versed in Greek, Latin, French, English and Italian.[1] She was celebrated for her critical translations. Following her translation of Llampillas, she was admitted to the Aragonese Economic Society.[3][5] She translated the multivolumes of Historical and Apologetic Essay of Spanish Literature by exiled Catalan Jesuit Javier Lampillas.[3] She also translated discourse on whether parish priests should teach agricultural economy to local farmers, published in Zaragoza in 1783.[3] In addition, her translation of Mme de Lambert was praised by Mme de Genlis.[6]

Writing

In the 1780s, she began publishing essays and treatises in three broad categories: science and medicine, study of letters and humanities, and combatting superstition.[1] Amar published 8 essays between 1783 and 1787, and a book Discurso sobre la education fisica y moral de las mugeres (Discourse of the physical and moral education of women) in 1790.[1] In addition, in 1786 she wrote a vindication of women’s rights, “Discourse in Defense of the Talent of Women, and of Their Aptitude for Governing and Other Positions in Which Men Are Employed”.[7] Her writing also appeared in Memorial Literario.[7] She is known for being witty and sarcastic in her writing.[1]

Legacy

Amar laid the groundwork for Enlightenment feminism, especially in her representation of feminine happiness.

Siglo de Oro (Golden Age) writing with 18th century themes to begin defining a literary style that was later recognized as the modern essay.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 1884964303
    .
  2. ISBN 9780754639954
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780313293467
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  4. ^
    ISBN 9780313345814
    .
  5. ^ a b Pérez Sarrión, Guillermo (Fall 2003). "Casual Poverty in the Spanish Enlightenment: Josefa Amar y Borbon and the Real Sociedad Económica de Amigos de País". Dieciocho. Hispanic Enlightenment: 265.
  6. ISBN 9781855662247
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 0754639959
    .
  8. ISBN 9781315123394.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
  9. ISBN 031321302X
    .
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