Mercedes Cabello Llosa de Carbonera (Moquegua, February 7, 1845 – Lima, October 12, 1909) was a Peruvian writer. Influenced by positivism and naturalism, she was one of the main the initiators of literary realism in Peruvian novels. She wrote six novels of social content and critical intent, the most successful Blanca Sol (1888), Las consecuencias (1890) and El conspirador (1892). She also wrote numerous articles and essays published in Peruvian newspapers on literary and social topics. She especially advocated the emancipation of women, and was one of the first Peruvian feminists. She was a contemporary of Manuel González Prada, who, like Cabello, was a sui generis positivist; and an attendee of Juana Manuela Gorriti's tertulias, which provided her an opportunity to meet other female writers and discuss literature and feminist ideologies. Her literary works Sacrificio y recompensa, Blanca Sol, Las consequencias and El conspirador contain a repeating theme of women portrayed as " helpless, suffering creatures or as fallen heroines."[1] This is another one of her most prominent themes in her writings. Another common topic is her criticism of the pervivan bourgeoisie, Lima's social elites, between 1860 and 1880.
Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera was born in Moquegua to a wealthy family that provided her with an education. The region(departamento) Moquegua where she lived during her childhood, was one of the areas affected by the Chilean troops, of which would later be present in her novel El Conspirador.[1] During her developmental years Ramón Castilla was the president of Perú and his liberal politics led to the advancement of the subjects women could be taught in school, including French, English geography, and arithmetic.[2] She thus learned French in her early years, which later allowed her to read contemporary European writers fluently, without having to depend on translations. But Cabello de Carbonera's own education was not due to a consistent schooling. Due to the lack of education for women her parents hired private tutors to keep her somewhat educated in subjects approved for young ladies of the bourgeoise, but she mostly taught herself and was very fond of reading.[2] This provided the author with insight into literary works that her fellow Peruvians were not reading. European literary movements such as Romanticism and Naturalism have a great influence over her work. These literary movement are especially important because in literary works of the 19th century like Cabello de Carbonera's it was highly recognized when an author could include romantic and naturalistic elements in their work.[3]
At the age of twenty two, Cabello de Carbonera moved to Lima where she would marry a doctor and develop her career as a writer. Cabello de Carbonera was widowed at a very young age, which may have had something to do with the fact that she had enough liberty to escape from any patriarchal control as well as not having children.[2] She knew that she was in a position many women in her community would never understand, so she wrote in order to get women to fight against patriarchal oppression. And despite her marital status, Cabello de Carbonera became an active member of the literary scene. She was published and read during her lifetime, becoming one of the first best-selling Peruvian writers. Her work was highly controversial in the 19th century due to its critical content on the Peruvian aristocracy.
In regard to religion, Cabello de Carbonera was not against Catholicism, but she did criticize when women from the burgeoise used religious holidays to flaunt their high fashion. Her criticism was of how religion was manipulated by high class society, not religion itself. She also didn't believe that religion should have a predominant role in women's education as was typical during that time.[2]
In the literary works of Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera she emphasizes a personal and professional compromise with the problems of the social norms during her lifetime and her goal to present the problems of the bourgeosie was clearly present in the antagonism of many of her novels.[3] One of the problems she wanted to address was the lack of importance given to women's education.[1] Therefore, Cabello de Carbonera used “the language of positivism to court the liberals who were flexible regarding fixing higher standards for women’s education.”[2] We can see a small glimpse of the limited education Peruvian women were exposed to in Cabello de Carbonera's novel Blanca Sol where the protagonist has an inadequate education and no strong female role models to guide them away from antiquated social norms.[2] Each one of Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera's novels all cultivate an analogy of Perú's history.[4]
^ abcGonzales Ascorra, Martha Irene (1997). La evolución de la conciencia femenina a través de las novelas de Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda, Soledad Acosta de Zampar y Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN0820430498.
^ abcdefLaGreca, Nancy (2009). Rewriting Womanhood: Feminism, Subjectivity, and the Angel of the House in the Latin American Novel, 1887-1903. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press. ISBN9780271034386.
^ abJimenez, Luis (1999). La voz de la mujer en la literatura hispanoamericana fin-de-siglo. Costa Rica: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica. ISBN9977675724.
^Andre, María C. (2005). Entre mujeres. Chile: RIL editores. ISBN9562844145.
Basadre, Jorge: Historia de la República del Perú. 1822 - 1933, Octava Edición, corregida y aumentada. Tomo 9, pp. 2192–2194. Editada por el Diario『La República』de Lima y la Universidad "Ricardo Palma". Impreso en Santiago de Chile, 1998. (in Spanish)
Sánchez, Luis Alberto: La literatura peruana, tomo III. Lima, Ediciones de Ediventas S. A., 1965. (in Spanish)
Tamayo Vargas, Augusto: Perú en trance de novela, Ediciones Baluarte, Lima, 1940. (in Spanish)
Tamayo Vargas, Augusto: Manual de Literatura Peruana e Hispano Americana. Librería Studium S. A., Lima, Perú. (in Spanish)
Tauro del Pino, Alberto: Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Perú. Tercera Edición. Tomo 3. BEL/CAN. Lima, PEISA, 2001. OCLC253649546ISBN978-9972-40-149-7(in Spanish)
Varios autores: Grandes Forjadores del Perú. Lima, Lexus Editores, 2000. ISBN9972-625-50-8(in Spanish)
