ABSTRACT
The presence of an important female writer shaped Spanish mysticism in ways that would influence both the prose and poetry of Spanish writers in centuries to come. While the Age of Enlightenment is a key period in the development of literary voices expressing a well-developed feminine subjectivity, some discussion on what preceded this discourse in specific literary traditions is helpful toward understanding the larger picture. The humanist advances linked to the Renaissance had a particular mode of expression in Spain. Indeed, more rational, secular thought made its way across the Pyrenees, and the influence of Erasmus, for example, was notable in the centers of learning of the Iberian Peninsula. Avellaneda was born in Puerto Príncipe, Cuba, in 1814. Her father was a Spaniard and her mother was Cuban born. At the time of her birth, all of Hispanic America was still under Spanish domination, although the decade following her infancy would evidence the independence of most of Hispanic America.
