ABSTRACT
This chapter considers female spies who acted independently from the organised groups and the spaces in which they operated. Disadvantaged female groups often bore the brunt of the new Republican justice because they had little recourse to financial or social networks of support. Negative gender stereotypes of the female spy largely fell under two main categories: the dangerous seductress and the vacuous and indiscrete right-wing chatter-box. According to Josep Bertran i Musitu “attractive and immoral women made the most effective spies, although female agents were generally less intelligent or reliable and needed to be carefully handled.” Intimate extra-marital relationships with military personnel flouted prevailing patriarchal gender norms surrounding female chastity and modest comportment. Intimate relations between soldiers and female civilians constituted a potential security threat. Written communications between soldiers and civilians were subject to censorship. In April 1938 the conscript Cervero Bosch was posted to an observation position with the 108th Mixed Brigade.
