María de Zayas
María de Zayas y Sotomayor
1590 — ?
Espagne
A Spanish writer of the Golden Age (1590–1661), María de Zayas is one of the few women of letters of her era to have published under her own name. Her story collections, Novelas amorosas y exemplares (1637) and Desengaños amorosos (1647), boldly denounce male domination and champion women's education.
Famous Quotes
« Las mujeres tienen las mismas almas que los hombres y el mismo entendimiento. »
Key Facts
- Born around 1590 in Madrid, into a family of the Spanish lesser nobility
- Published Novelas amorosas y exemplares in 1637, a collection of ten stories that met with immediate success
- Published Desengaños amorosos in 1647, a darker sequel denouncing violence against women
- A contemporary of Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca, recognized by her male peers
- Disappears from the historical record after 1647; the date and place of her death remain unknown
Works & Achievements
A first collection of ten novellas published in Zaragoza, framed as a gathering of men and women exchanging stories. The work blends romantic intrigue with social critique, openly championing women's education and dignity.
A second collection of ten novellas, published ten years after the first, in a markedly darker and more disillusioned tone. The stories more forcefully condemn male abuse and often end with female protagonists entering a convent as their last refuge.
The only play attributed to María de Zayas, this comedy of manners depicts romantic rivalry between women and the betrayal of female friendship by love. It reflects the breadth of her talents and her participation in the dramatic tradition of the Spanish Golden Age.
María de Zayas contributed commendatory poems to the collections of several contemporary authors, most notably Lope de Vega. These contributions attest to her integration into Madrid's literary circles and to the recognition of her talent by her peers.
Anecdotes
María de Zayas was one of the very few women of her time to publish literary works under her own name, without a male pseudonym. At a time when women were largely excluded from the world of letters, this boldness was in itself a remarkable act of resistance.
In the prologue to her Novelas amorosas y exemplares (1637), María de Zayas addresses her readers directly to defend women's intelligence, arguing that if women appear less learned than men, it is solely because they are denied access to books and education — not for any lack of natural ability.
Her novellas depict women as victims of male violence with a rawness unusual for the time. Some contemporary critics were shocked by the darkness of her stories, while others compared her favorably to Lope de Vega and Cervantes — an exceptional compliment for a woman of the seventeenth century.
The date of María de Zayas's death remains unknown: she disappears from historical records after 1647, the year her second collection was published. Some historians believe she may have ended her life in a convent, a common choice among learned women of the era who wished to preserve their intellectual independence.
Her works were reprinted several times during the seventeenth century, testament to their popularity, yet they fell into obscurity for more than two centuries. It was not until the twentieth century that feminist scholars rediscovered her, recognizing her as a major forerunner of Hispanic feminist literature.
Primary Sources
Who can doubt, dear reader, that it will astonish you that a woman should have the boldness not only to write a book, but to send it to the press?
Women have souls equal to those of men; the reason they fall short is that they are not allowed to exercise their faculties, with books and schools closed to them.
There is nothing more ungrateful than a man who has been loved, nor more forgetful than a woman who has loved without being loved in return.
If men practiced the same faithfulness they demand of women, there would not be so many wretched souls.
Key Places
The kingdom's capital and intellectual center of Golden Age Spain, Madrid is the city where María de Zayas spent most of her life. She frequented literary academies and the cultured circles of Philip IV's court.
It was in Zaragoza that María de Zayas's first collection was published in 1637, by the printer Pedro Escuer. The city was an important center of printing and literary distribution in 17th-century Spain.
Her father, Pedro de Zayas, served as a soldier and administrator for the Spanish Crown in Italy. María de Zayas likely spent time in Naples during her childhood, which explains her familiarity with Italian culture and literature evident throughout her works.
A former capital of Spain where the royal family resided in the early 17th century, Valladolid was an important cultural hub that María de Zayas may have frequented in her youth.
Gallery
Benito Pérez Galdós School Mural 03
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Daniel Capilla
Benito Pérez Galdós School Mural 04
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Daniel Capilla
Benito Pérez Galdós School Mural 02
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Daniel Capilla
Benito Pérez Galdós School Mural 01
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Daniel Capilla
MariadeZayas
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Wikisource
Tesoro de novelistas españoles antiguos y modernos; con una introduccion y noticias
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Juan Perez de Montalban / Jerónimo de Alcalá / Alonso Jerónimo de Salas Barbadillo / María de Zayas / Alonso de Cas
Novelistas posteriores a Cervantes, II
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Eustaquio Fernández de Navarrete / Luis Vélez de Guevara / María de Zayas / Juan Perez de Montalban / Diego de Agre
MARÍA DE ZAYAS Y SOTOMAYOR
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — El liriazo
Edicola Laica di Maria De Zayas
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Vlnt83
El Comendador Mendoza
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Juan Valera