Sep 16, 2017
Emilia Pardo Bazán’s 166th Birthday
This Doodle’s Key Themes
A 19th-century novelist, professor, and women’s rights activist, Emilia Pardo Bazán was a trailblazer in more ways than one. Born in A Coruña, Spain to a family who believed in the power of education, she took an early interest in literature – and her academic pursuits didn’t stop there. Despite women being forbidden to study science and philosophy, Pardo Bazán became well versed in both by seeking out information on her own.
She went on to write a number of novels, short stories, and essays, winning her first literary prize in 1876. Her affinity for science also came through in her writing, where her reality-driven descriptions introduced the naturalist movement to Spain. Her signature style was on full display in her two most famous novels, Los pazos de Ulloa (1886) and La madre naturaleza (1887). In her published works and beyond, Pardo Bazán endlessly championed women’s rights. She also taught at the University of Madrid, where she became the first woman to occupy a chair of literature.
Inspired by the statue of Pardo Bazán that stands in her hometown, today’s Doodle pays tribute to the prolific author on what would’ve been her 166th birthday.
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