Reclaiming the Body

In a time when few women in Europe were educated and even fewer spoke out against the status quo, Maria de Zayas (1590-?) published novellas filled with criticism about gender relations. Her best-selling "Novelas amorosas" (1637) and "Desenganos amorosos" (1647) explore the pleasures - and the perils - of sex and marriage. Through graphic images of violence against women and poignant examples of women's exclusion from social justice, Zayas addressed issue that continue to resonate today. Using contemporary feminist theory to decipher the nuances of Zayas's complex ideologies, Lisa Vollendorf illuminates this compelling author and reveals her as a critical figure in European women's literary history.