Concepción Arenal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Concepción Arenal
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| Born |
María de la Concepción Jesusa Luisa Petra Vicenta del Arenal y Ponte
31 January 1820 |
| Died | 4 February 1893 (aged 73) Vigo (Pontevedra), Spain
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| Spouse(s) | Fernando García Carrasco (m. 1848) |
| Children | 3 |
Concepción Arenal Ponte (born in Ferrol, Spain, on January 31, 1820 – died in Vigo, Spain, on February 4, 1893) was an amazing Spanish thinker, writer, and a pioneer in the fight for women's rights. She was one of the first women to study at a university in Spain and helped start the feminist movement there.
Her Life Story
Concepción's father, Ángel del Arenal y de la Cuesta, was a military officer who believed in liberal ideas. Because of his beliefs, he was often put in prison. He became sick in prison and passed away in 1829, when Concepción was only 8 years old.
After her father's death, Concepción moved with her mother to Armaño, and then to Madrid in 1834. In 1841, even though her mother didn't want her to, Concepción decided to study law at the Central University (now called the Complutense University of Madrid). This was a huge step, as she became the first woman in Spain to attend university! To do this, she had to wear men's clothes. She also bravely attended political and literary discussions, which was unheard of for women at that time.
In 1848, she married Fernando García Carrasco, who was also a lawyer and writer. They had three children together, though their daughter died very young. Their sons were named Fernando and Ramón.
Concepción and her husband worked closely on a liberal newspaper called Iberia. Sadly, Fernando passed away in 1859. After his death, Concepción had very little money. She moved to Potes, where in 1859 she started a group called the Conference of Saint Vincent de Paul. This group was created to help people who were poor.
Two years later, a special group called the Academy of Moral Sciences and Politics gave her an award for her work titled La beneficencia, la filantropía y la caridad (which means Beneficence, philanthropy, and charity). It was the first time this Academy had ever given an award to a woman!
In the years that followed, she wrote many books and essays. Some of her works included Cartas á los Delincuentes (Letters to Delinquents) in 1865, and a poem called “Ode against slavery” in 1866. She also wrote El reo, el pueblo y el verdugo (Convicts, the people and the executioner) in 1867, which discussed the death penalty.
In 1868, she was given an important job as the Inspector of Women's Correctional Houses. From 1871, she also wrote for a magazine in Madrid called The Voice of Charity for fourteen years.
In 1872, she started a group called the Construction Beneficiary. This group helped build affordable homes for workers. She also worked with the Red Cross, helping injured people during the Carlist War. She even became the Secretary General of the Red Cross for a time. In 1877, she published Penitentiary Studies, which was about prisons and how they should be run.
Concepción Arenal passed away on February 4, 1893, in Vigo. She was buried there, and her tombstone has her personal motto: "To virtue, to life, to science."
Fighting for Women's Rights
Concepción Arenal is known as one of the first people to fight for feminism in Spain. Her first important work about women's rights was La Mujer del Porvenir (The Woman of the Future), published in 1869. In this book, she argued against ideas that said women were not as good as men because of biology.
She strongly believed that women should be able to get any level of education. However, at first, she thought women might not be suited for every job, especially those in authority. She also didn't support women being involved in politics at first, fearing they might face problems or neglect their families.
But later, she wrote something very powerful:
“a serious mistake, and one of the most harmful, to impress upon women that her sole mission is to be wife and mother; it amounts to tell her that she can be nothing by herself and to annihilate her moral and intellectual self”
This means she believed it was wrong to tell women their only purpose was to be a wife and mother, as it stopped them from growing as individuals.
She worked closely with other smart thinkers of her time. She admired Fernando de Castro's ideas about women's education and was part of the board of directors for the Ateneo Artístico y Literairo de Señoras. She also wrote articles about legal and feminist topics for the Boletín de la Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Journal of the Institution of Free Teaching).
In 1882, Concepción Arenal took part in a big meeting called the Congreso Pedagógico Hispano-Portugués-Americano (Congress of Hispanic-Portuguese-American Pedagogy) in Madrid. She sent a paper about “La educación de la mujer” (Women's education). This section of the congress discussed how women's education was similar or different from men's, what was needed for a good education system for women, and what jobs women were good at. Emilia Pardo Bazán, another important Spanish writer, was the vice-president of this discussion. Concepción Arenal believed that women's education should have no limits.
Her Lasting Impact
Concepción Arenal achieved amazing things in a Spain that was still very traditional. She focused her work on helping those who were often ignored in society. She wrote a lot about the conditions in prisons for both men and women. She also wrote many important works about the role of women in society, such as The education of women, The current state of women in Spain, and The work of women. Her writings on these topics made her known as the founder of the feminist movement in Spain.
In 1934, a monument to Concepción Arenal was built in Madrid to honor her. Also, the Library of Law, Political Sciences and Labour Relations at the University of Santiago de Compostela is named after her. Concepción Arenal was a reformer who believed deeply in Christian values, and her work continues to inspire people today.
See also
In Spanish: Concepción Arenal para niños
