Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán facts for kids

Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán (born in 1569, died around 1644) was a Spanish writer who lived during a very exciting time for theatre in Spain, known as the Spanish Golden Age. She was one of the first women to write a play in Spanish. She is famous for her two-part play Los jardines y campos sabeos. This play also included funny short acts called interludes. In a later edition of her play, she added important writings where she explained her place in the world of theatre.

Her Life Story

We don't know a lot about Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán's life. She was born in Seville, a city in Spain. Experts believe she was born in 1569. Her exact death year is also not certain, but it was likely around 1643 or 1644.

Feliciana was married two times. Her first marriage was to Cristóbal Ponce de Solís, who was much older and had been married before. This was a "marriage of convenience," meaning it was for practical reasons, not necessarily for love. After he passed away, she quickly married Francisco de León Garavito, probably because they cared for each other. After her second husband died, she lived her final years without much money. This was similar to another woman writer, Mariana de Carvajal y Saavedra, who also faced hard times.

Her Amazing Career

Many people believe Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán was the very first woman to write a play in Spanish. She was a true pioneer for women's rights in writing. She chose her own path in literature. Instead of following popular trends, she focused on ideas from ancient classics.

She wrote a play in two parts called Los jardines y campos sabeos. This means "The Sabean Gardens and Countryside." She finished it in October 1619. Each part of the play could be watched on its own. They both retold stories from old myths. The play was first shown in 1623 in Seville. It's possible that King Philip IV of Spain was in the audience. The play was printed in 1624 and again in 1627. These printed versions also included four short, funny interludes.

The second, bigger edition of Los jardines y campos sabeos had two important writings. These were called Carta ejecutoria and A los lectores. In these texts, she defended her work from critics. These critics might have dismissed her play just because she was a woman. She also wrote about how hard it was for women playwrights to get their plays performed. Like Miguel de Cervantes, who wrote that he was the first to write a novel in Spanish, Feliciana said she was the first Spanish playwright to follow the rules of theatre from Aristotle.

Many experts think Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán was the inspiration for a character named Feliciana in a play by Lope de Vega. This character was a very smart woman who went to the University of Salamanca dressed as a man. This might have been a way to show how wise and knowledgeable Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán was.

Her Lasting Legacy

In 2016, Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán's funny interludes were translated into English for the first time. They were part of a book called Women Playwrights of Early Modern Spain. A scholar named Alexander Samson said her comic interludes are "comic masterpieces." He also said they are "crying out for contemporary stagings," meaning they should be performed today. This book also included plays by other women writers like Ana Caro de Mallén and Marcela de San Félix.

Her comic interludes were even used as the basis for a theatre play in 1997. This play, called Las gracias mohosas, was performed at the Corral de comedias de Almagro.

See also

In Spanish: Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán para niños