Women's Writing in 18th-Century Spain: the Current State of Research

The article provides an overview of research carried out in the last ten years on eighteenth-century Spanish women writers (listings of authors, editions of texts, overall surveys of the literary output of women, and individual studies of specific figures), drawing attention to the variety of methodologies used and underlining the progress made in enriching our knowledge of women as authors. Having surveyed the critical work of other scholars, the present essay offers a series of reflections on the creative activities of these writers, their attitudes and achievements, highlighting some of the areas where new aspects, interpretations and assessments remain to be explored in the fields of literary and social history.