FEMALE PRESENCE IN THE ORIGINS OF THE EUROPEAN CONSTRUCTION PROCESS. MARiA ZAMBRANO AS A PIONEER OF SPANISH EUROPEANISM

We are reminded by the European institutions that many women have contributed to the European construction process and continue to work on behalf of the community of Europe. In an effort to recognize their contribution and to include both the men and the women who pioneered this process, the term "Fathers of Europe" is no longer used. Yet there are very few studies that give visibility to the role of these women pioneers, especially where Spain is concerned. In fact, there was no shortage of female writers among Spanish intellectuals of the interwar period who reflected on Europe and saw in it a model to modernize Spain, understanding that both shared the same destiny. This article pays tribute to the figure of Maria Zambrano as a Europeanist and a pioneer who looked from Spain towards Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Using discourse analysis and applying a gender perspective, we draw on works by some of the most outstanding thinkers of the day who focused on Europe, in particular Jose Ortega y Gasset, Salvador de Madariaga and Maria Zambrano herself.