Carolina Coronado
Encyclopedia
Carolina Coronado Romero de Tejada (December 20, 1820 – January 15, 1911) was a Spanish
author considered the equivalent of contemporary romantic
authors like Rosalía de Castro
. She became so popular as to merit the title "the female Bécquer
."
, Badajoz
in the province of Extremadura
on 21 August 1821. Her family was well-to-do, but they adhered to a progressive ideology that caused her father and grandfather to be persecuted. After moving to the provincial
capital of Badajoz, Carolina received the formal education for girls of her time: fashion and housework. Despite this, she demonstrated at an early age an interest in literature
, and she began to read works from widely varying genres. Thanks to this activity she gained a natural ability to compose verses. Though she employed somewhat sloppy language and committed grammatical errors, her lines were spontaneous and charged with feeling. Many of her poems were based on impossible loves. Her most notable subject was Alberto - who may not even have existed. Her earliest poems were written when she was 10 years old.
Her romantic temperament could also have been influenced by the chronic catalepsy
from which she suffered. She even appeared to "die" on several occasions, leading her to become obsessed with death. She would eventually embalm
her deceased husband, refusing to bury him, and she even had several "premonitions" in which she predicted the deaths of her children.
in 1852. Perry was the secretary of the American
embassy.
Coronado had a revolutionary spirit, and she became famous while living in Madrid for the literary salons she held. Her gatherings served as a meeting-point for progressive writers and a refuge for the persecuted, including many of the most well-known authors of the time. Unfortunately for her, her clandestine refuge and affinity for revolution brought about the disapproval of her contemporaries.
Despite this, she succeeded in publishing several works in newspapers and magazines and thus gained a certain measure of fame. Her physical beauty undoubtedly contributed to her success, and it caused infamous admiration in other romantic writers. In fact, José de Espronceda
dedicated the following verses to her:
Coronado died in Lisbon
, Portugal
on 15 January 1911.
. Her poems adopted diverse themes, including patriotic sentiment in ¡Oh, mi España!; religion in El amor de los amores and ¿Cómo, Señor, no he de tenerte miedo?; and especially romanticism
in poems such as A una gota de rocío, A la rosa blanca, Nada resta de tí, ¡Oh! cuál te adoro, A una estrella, and A las nubes. Her prolific works were compiled in a single volume entitled Poesías, published in 1843 and re-edited in 1852, that includes a prologue by Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch
.
In prose, she wrote a total of fifteen novels including Luz, El bonete de San Ramón, La Siega, Jarrilla, La rueda de la desgracia (1873), and Paquita (1850). Many critics consider the last to be the best. She also authored several plays like El cuadro de la esperanza (1846), Alfonso IV de León, Un alcalde de monterilla, and El divino Figueroa, but these endeavors are considered minor in comparison to her non-theatrical works.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
author considered the equivalent of contemporary romantic
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
authors like Rosalía de Castro
Rosalía de Castro
María Rosalía Rita de Castro , was a Galician romanticist writer and poet.Writing in the Galician language, after the Séculos Escuros , she became an important figure of the Galician romantic movement, known today as the Rexurdimento , along with Manuel Curros Enríquez and Eduardo Pondal...
. She became so popular as to merit the title "the female Bécquer
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
Gustavo Adolfo Domínguez Bastida, better known as Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, was a Spanish post-romanticist writer of poetry and short stories, now considered one of the most important figures in Spanish literature. He adopted the alias of Bécquer as his brother Valeriano Bécquer, a painter, had...
."
Youth
Carolina Coronado was born in AlmendralejoAlmendralejo
Almendralejo is a town in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. It is situated 59 km south-east of Badajoz, on the main road and rail route between Mérida and Seville. , it has a population of 33,975. There was a battle and massacre here in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.Sights...
, Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
in the province of Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
on 21 August 1821. Her family was well-to-do, but they adhered to a progressive ideology that caused her father and grandfather to be persecuted. After moving to the provincial
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
capital of Badajoz, Carolina received the formal education for girls of her time: fashion and housework. Despite this, she demonstrated at an early age an interest in literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, and she began to read works from widely varying genres. Thanks to this activity she gained a natural ability to compose verses. Though she employed somewhat sloppy language and committed grammatical errors, her lines were spontaneous and charged with feeling. Many of her poems were based on impossible loves. Her most notable subject was Alberto - who may not even have existed. Her earliest poems were written when she was 10 years old.
Her romantic temperament could also have been influenced by the chronic catalepsy
Catalepsy
Catalepsy is also a term used by hypnotists to refer to the state of making a hypnotised subject's arm, leg or back rigid. "Arm catalepsy" is often a pre-hypnotic test performed prior to an induction into a full trance.-Causes:...
from which she suffered. She even appeared to "die" on several occasions, leading her to become obsessed with death. She would eventually embalm
Embalming
Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for public display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a corpse to achieve this...
her deceased husband, refusing to bury him, and she even had several "premonitions" in which she predicted the deaths of her children.
Life in Madrid
After taking a vow of abstinence after the death of Alberto at sea (whether he was real or imaginary), she revoked the vow when she married Horacio Justo Perry in MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1852. Perry was the secretary of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
embassy.
Coronado had a revolutionary spirit, and she became famous while living in Madrid for the literary salons she held. Her gatherings served as a meeting-point for progressive writers and a refuge for the persecuted, including many of the most well-known authors of the time. Unfortunately for her, her clandestine refuge and affinity for revolution brought about the disapproval of her contemporaries.
Despite this, she succeeded in publishing several works in newspapers and magazines and thus gained a certain measure of fame. Her physical beauty undoubtedly contributed to her success, and it caused infamous admiration in other romantic writers. In fact, José de Espronceda
José de Espronceda
José Ignacio Javier Oriol Encarnación de Espronceda y Delgado was a famous Romantic Spanish poet.-Life:Espronceda was born in Almendralejo, at the Province of Badajoz. As a youth, he studied at the Colegio San Mateo at Madrid, having as teacher Alberto Lista...
dedicated the following verses to her:
- Dicen que tienes trece primaveras (They say that you have thirteen springs)
- y eres portento de hermosura ya, (and you are a vision of beauty)
- y que en tus grandes ojos reverberas (and that in your great eyes reverberates)
- la lumbre de los astros inmortal. (the glow of the immortal stars.)
Coronado died in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
on 15 January 1911.
Work
The main body of Coronado's work was lyric poetryLyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
. Her poems adopted diverse themes, including patriotic sentiment in ¡Oh, mi España!; religion in El amor de los amores and ¿Cómo, Señor, no he de tenerte miedo?; and especially romanticism
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
in poems such as A una gota de rocío, A la rosa blanca, Nada resta de tí, ¡Oh! cuál te adoro, A una estrella, and A las nubes. Her prolific works were compiled in a single volume entitled Poesías, published in 1843 and re-edited in 1852, that includes a prologue by Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch
Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch
Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch , was a Spanish dramatist. He was the Director of the National Library of Spain until he retired in 1875.-Biography:...
.
In prose, she wrote a total of fifteen novels including Luz, El bonete de San Ramón, La Siega, Jarrilla, La rueda de la desgracia (1873), and Paquita (1850). Many critics consider the last to be the best. She also authored several plays like El cuadro de la esperanza (1846), Alfonso IV de León, Un alcalde de monterilla, and El divino Figueroa, but these endeavors are considered minor in comparison to her non-theatrical works.