During a pivotal period in Spanish history, aristocrat Maria de Guevara (?-1683) produced two extraordinary essays that appealed for strong leadership, protested political corruption, and demanded the inclusion of women in the court's decision making. "Treaty" gave Philip IV practical suggestions for fighting the war against Portugal and "Disenchantments" counseled the king-to-be, Charles II, on strategies to raise the country's status in Europe. This annotated bilingual edition, featuring Nieves Romero-Diaz's adroit translations, reproduces Guevara's polemics for the first time. Guevara's provocative writings call on Spanish women to bear the responsibility equally with men for restoring Spain's power in Europe and elsewhere. The collection also includes examples of Guevara's shorter writings that exemplify her ability to speak on matters of state, network with dignitaries, and govern family affairs. Witty, ironic, and rhetorically sophisticated, Guevara's essays provide a fresh perspective on the possibilities for women in the public sphere in seventeenth-century Spain.
Acknowledgments
Series Editors' Introduction
Abbreviations.
Volume Editor's Introduction 1
Volume Editor's Bibliography 46
I Treatise and Warnings by a Woman, Concerned for the Good of Her King, and Affronted by Part of Spain (1663) 50
II Disenchantments at the Court and Valorous Women (1654) 164
App. A Memorial of the House of Escalante (1654) 112
App. B Report on the Day's Journey That the Countess of Escalante Made to the City of Vitoria to Kiss Her Majesty's Hand 118
Notes 125
Series Editor's Bibliography 139
Index 159
