An Active Exile: Work, Old Age and Feminism in María Martínez Sierra

Abstract

In this article I focus on how the Spanish feminist writer María Martínez Sierra (1874-1974) brings to the surface one of the themes on which the author will reflect most intensely during her exile in Argentina: the old age of women and the significance of work at that stage of life. For Martínez Sierra, work in old age is not only a means of subsistence, but also a way of actively participating in society and one of the focal points of her feminist thinking through her cultural productions. I argue that, despite the scant attention paid by critics to her contributions to radio and women's magazines, a careful reading of some of these materials shows that Martínez Sierra's feminist militancy continues in exile and is resituated in these media, paying special attention to the issue of old age in women.