ABSTRACT

Carmen de Burgos is a refreshing antidote to the prevailing pattern in that she married, had children, began a career and then, around 1908 began to reinvent herself as her relationship with Ramón Gómez de la Serna developed. Few women rewrote their life stories as dramatically as Burgos, and few enjoyed her opportunity to invent a new chronology for herself by eliminating twelve years from her personal history. Two decisions adopted by Burgos in the early decades of the twentieth century set her apart from most other women in her Catholic country, indeed doubtless from the majority of men as well: her affiliation with the Freemasons and her express desire for burial in Madrid's Civil Cemetery. Both practices define her alienation from the core Spanish institution, the Catholic Church, and not just its inviolable sacrament of marriage. Despite how much we have learned about Carmen de Burgos, important facets of her life remain an enigma.