Translation as a strategy of female legitimation in Early Modern Spain

<div> <div> <div> <div> <p>This paper explores the act of translation as a deliberate and strategic method of intellectual legitimation employed by women in Early Modern Spain. While the prestige associated with translation diminished following the Romantic period, it held considerable cultural and scholarly value during the Renaissance. At that time, translation served as an esteemed literary endeavor that enabled female intellectuals to circumvent prevailing socio- cultural constraints and access public discourse. Focusing on figures such as Beatriz Galindo, Francisca de los Ríos, and Isabel Rebeca Correa, this paper analyzes some of the strategies these women used to assert authorship and authority within male- dominated intellectual spheres. Drawing on feminist translation theory, it conceptualizes translation as both a site of cultural negotiation and an early form of protofeminist expression. Ultimately, this study contributes to the historiography of women’s intellectual labor by highlighting the pivotal, yet frequently marginalized, role of female translators in the cultural and literary landscape of early modern Hispanic society.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div>