Hermandad femenina en el exilio: escritura terapéutica en cartas inéditas de Zenobia Camprubí

Abstract

259

This article analyzes the unpublished letters that from 1938 to 1954 Zenobia Camprubí sent from USA, Cuba, and Puerto Rico to intellectual Pilar de Zubiaurre in Mexico. The main argument is that, unlike many critics have pointed out, Camprubí experienced a suffering and nostalgic exile and used her epistolary correspondence to counteract it. Camprubí’s letters served three main functions during her life in exile: informative, auxiliary and therapeutic. Thus, Camprubí and Zubiaurre conveyed to each other the situation of numerous mutual friends and the news they received from Spain. Furthermore, letters allowed Camprubí to offer help, for instance, to the refugee children during the war and to her exiled friends, inviting them to speak at conferences. The informative and auxiliary functions had, at the same time, a therapeutic effect for Camprubí. The therapeutic function also appears in the comfort found in the difficult moments and in the references to the importance of their friendship over others. In conclusion, her letters show the signifi cant and silent role women played during the Republican exile.

Keywords

Zenobia Camprubí, Pilar de Zubiaurre, Letters, Exile, Transatlantic connections