Rosalía de Castro: who she was and her life story

We explain who Rosalía de Castro was, what her main literary works were and what her relationship was with the renaissance of Galician culture.

Rosalía de Castro wrote in Galician, her native language, and in Spanish.

Who was Rosalia de Castro?

Rosalia de Castro She was a Spanish poet and novelist. She is considered one of the great exponents of Spanish poetry of the 19th century and especially of the Resurrectionthe literary revitalization movement of the Galician language, together with the authors Eduardo Pondal (1835-1917) and Manuel Curros Enríquez (1851-1908).

In her literary work, Rosalía de Castro cultivated prose and poetry, but it was in this last genre that she reached her highest points. Her main collections of poems, published in the 1880s, formed part of a particularly fertile and powerful period of literature in the Galician language.

De Castro’s life was relatively short (48 years), as she always enjoyed poor health. This did not prevent her from having seven children with her husband, the historian Manuel Murguía (1833-1923), another important promoter of the Galician “Renaissance”.

Birth and youth of Rosalía de Castro

Rosalía de Castro was born on February 23, 1837 in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostelathe current capital of the autonomous community of Galicia. She was the natural daughter of María Teresa de la Cruz de Castro y Abadía, descendant of a failed aristocratic family, and the priest José Martínez Viojo.

The girl’s illegitimate origins prevented her parents from recognizing her, and so she was baptized as “of unknown parents” shortly after birth, and later entrusted to the care of María Francisca Martínez, a servant of her mother, in Ortoño, near La Coruña.

However, Maria Theresa’s noble status allowed her to spend time with the girl and to assume her motherhood more or less openly.In fact, from 1850, Rosalía moved with her mother to the city of Santiago de Compostela.

In this city, Rosalía received the artistic instruction that at the time was reserved for young girls and consisted of music and drawing. She also attended the activities of the Liceo de la Juventud (Youth Lyceum), created in 1847 by various artists and intellectuals of the Galician provincial movement, such as Antonio Neira de Mosquera (1823-1854) and Alberto Camino (1821-1861).

From then on, the literary and cultural interests of the young Rosalía became evident, as did her political interests.In this context he became friends with other young Galician writers, such as Aurelio Aguirre (1833-1858) and Eduardo Pondal (1835-1917), and it is likely that he participated in the Banquet of Conxo, a political event in 1856 in which students, workers and artisans fraternized and challenged the ruling conservative elite.

Arrival in Madrid and marriage to Manuel Murguía

Rosalía married Manuel Murguía in 1858 and they had a large family.

In 1856, Rosalía was sent by her family to Madrid, where she was received by her relative María Josefa Carmen García-Lugín y Castro. There, Rosalía wrote her first poems in the Spanish language and composed a small pamphlet that she titled The flower.

This first publication received a very favorable review from the Galician writer and historian Manuel Murguía in the newspaper The Iberia. From then on, poet and reviewer became closer, and although It is not known exactly how and when they met, but it is known that they were married on October 10, 1858..

There are different versions of the relationship between De Castro and her husband. Some suggest that the marriage was more or less happy, while others suggest that Rosalía was unhappy all her life. The truth is that Murguía encouraged his wife to publish her literary works.as The daughter of the sea (1959), the first of his novels, or his next collection of poems, written in Galician: Galician songs (1863). Murguía also introduced De Castro to the literary and intellectual circles, and even published some of his works without his consent.

Rosalía and her husband had seven children: Alejandra in 1859, Aura in 1868, Gala and Ovidio in 1871, Amara in 1873, Adriano Honorato in 1875 (who died a few months after birth) and Valentina in 1877 (stillborn). This, added to the poet’s health problems and Murguía’s job instability, condemned the couple to face a complicated economic panorama. and, therefore, to move continuously between La Coruña, Madrid, Lugo and Santiago de Compostela.

When Murguía was appointed director of the General Archive of Simancas in 1868, the couple finally settled in Valladolid for two years. There the poet dedicated herself to writing the bulk of her literary work, which already included two more novels written in the Castilian language: Flavio (1861) and The knight in the blue boots (1867).

The literary work of Rosalía de Castro

Rosalía de Castro’s first major work was Galician songs and was published in 1863.

The work of Rosalía de Castro, strongly linked to the Galician popular tradition, took its first big step with the Galician songsIts success was so great that it started a trend among Galician creators.

The publication of Galician songs It was an important event in local literary culture, as it marked the beginning of the Resurrection Galician. This work, strongly influenced by the popular Galician songs, was accompanied by a prologue by the author where she explained her intentions to rescue and dignify Galician culture. The first edition of Galician songs It appeared in the city of Vigo on May 17, 1863, and this date is currently considered the Day of Galician Letters.

From then on, Rosalía’s name began to appear in Spanish literary circles, and she was even invited to the floral games in Barcelona, ​​an offer that the poet refused. A second book of poems written in Galician appeared in 1880: Fuck new girls (“New leaves” in Galician).

This second book by Rosalía was published in Madrid, although most of its texts were composed during the poet’s stay in Simancas. Many others had already been published in literary magazines and in the press during the 1870s. Fuck new girls It was the author’s greatest work, after which she did not publish again in Galician.as announced in the preface.

This collection of poems is considered a transition from the Galician collective imagination towards a more subjective and intimate poetry, like the one he developed in his later works. It is a sad, melancholic work, in which the longing (something like longing).

Throughout these years, Rosalía also continued to publish novels in Spanish and some articles in Galician.However, his poetry never again reflected his geographical roots and exalted the Galician legacy in comparison to the rest of Spain. In fact, his third and last collection of poems, On the banks of the Sar (1884), was written in Spanish and showed a novel metric, different from the traditional one, as well as an intimate and introspective theme.

Death and legacy of Rosalía de Castro

Rosalía de Castro died on July 15, 1885. Portrait of her son Ovidio.

Between 1879 and 1882, Rosalía lived in Padrón, in her native Galicia, while her husband temporarily resided in Madrid. Her health worsened during this period: she suffered from uterine cancer which, from 1883 onwards, began to weaken her and cause her intense pain. Finally, after days of agony, Rosalía de Castro died on July 15, 1885, in her home in the village of Ilia Flavia, in Padrón.She was buried in that same town the day after she died.

In 1891, however, her body was exhumed and transferred to the newly created Pantheon of Illustrious Galicians in the chapel of the Visitation of the Convent of Santo Domingo de Bonaval, in Santiago de Compostela. There, the artist Jesús Landeira Iglesias created a tomb especially for her.

Rosalía de Castro’s work was not only important for the formation and revaluation of the literary and cultural identity of Galicia, but was also appreciated by the rest of Spain..

Her personal universe and her pure lyricism, as well as her pessimistic and sorrowful perspective, give her poetry a unique and universal seal. Rosalía de Castro’s work also denounces the arduous living conditions of the Galician peasantry and the sexist and patriarchal culture that governs its villages. The identification of the Galician people with her verses was such that many have been adopted as popular sayings.

Follow with:

References

• Duplaá, C. (1993). A brief feminist history of Spanish literature (in Spanish). Anthropos.
• Lama, MX (2017). Rosalia de Castro. Songs of independence and freedom (1837-1863). Galaxia Publishing House.
• Mayoral, M. (n.d.). “Biography of Rosalía de Castro”. Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library. https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/
• The Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2023). Rosalía de Castro (Spanish writer). https://www.britannica.com/