Virile women in the 18th century: the construction of femininity by the regionalist discourse of Manuel de Larramendi

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Published 12-04-2016
Bakarne Altonaga Begoña

Abstract

This article analyzes the construction of sexual difference by the regionalist discourse of Manuel de Larramendi. I will focus on the relation between the categories of community, gender, class and religion in his chronicle about Gipuzkoa through the study of three issues: his view on work, costumes and traditional dances. The author created an ideal of virile perfection, physical and moral, that every member of the community, as representatives of their exceptional traditions and customs, had to incorporate. Despite the fact that his ecclesiastical and hierarchical beliefs, distinctive of the Ancient Regime, were strongly misogynistic, the women of Gipuzkoa were also considered to embody the virile values that characterized the essence of the province. His ideals of femininity coexisted and discussed with the proposals of the Enlightenment that were beginning to substantiate and strengthen by the middle of the century, both in Spain and in Europe. 

 
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Keywords

Femininity, regionalism, women, Ancient Regime, Enlightenment

Section
Miscellany