In Place of Splendor

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In Place of Splendor
1st edition page cover of In Place of Splendor (1939).
AuthorConstancia de la Mora
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreAutobiography
PublisherHarcourt, Brace and Company
Publication date
1939
Pages433

In Place of Splendor is an autobiographical account by the Spanish republican Constancia de la Mora in which she describes her life from her birth into an aristocratic Spanish family to her exile in the United States. It was published in 1939 in English as In Place of Splendor: The Autobiography of a Spanish Woman and in 1944 in Spanish in Mexico as Doble esplendor: Autobiografía de una mujer española.

Context[edit]

These memoirs form part of the women's autobiographies written in exile which have been called ‘Memoirs of combat’ as they reflect the experiences of the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War. In this case, there is also El único camino. Memorias de la Pasionaria (1979) by Dolores Ibárruri, Mis primeros años (1987) by Federica Montseny and Cuatro años en París (1947) by Victoria Kent.[1]

Also in this context are Isabel Oyarzábal's memoirs, Rescoldos de la libertad, first published in English under the title Smouldering Freedom. The Story of the Spanish Republicans in Exile (1945)[2] and later translated into Spanish. However, Oyarzábal's account is presented in an objective and scholarly tone, as she makes numerous references to foreign texts. Moreover, most of the events she recounts are not the author's own experiences, but are taken from numerous oral or written accounts.[3] Chronologically, Oyarzábal's work completes Constancia de la Mora's account of the life of the Spanish republicans, since In Place of Splendor ends in the early days of exile in the United States and Rescoldos de libertad begins with the arrival of the exiles in Mexico.[3]

Overview[edit]

In Place of Splendor shows the personal and political evolution of the author who defied the social gender model to which she was destined by birth. She managed to free herself from a failed conventional marriage, obtained one of the first legal divorces in Spain and gained gainful employment. During the civil war, both she and her second husband, Ignacio Hidalgo de Cisneros, head of the Republican Air Force, joined the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). Constancia worked in the office of government propaganda and censorship, which later became an under-secretariat under the Ministry of State when the government moved from Valencia to Barcelona.[4]

The author divided her autobiography into chapters relating her life to political events. Thus, under the title Childhood in Old Spain and Marriage: The Life of the Spanish Woman, she talks about the monarchy of Alfonso XIII and the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Dámaso Berenguer.[1] Spanish Awakening corresponds to the Second Republic and Widows of Heroes Rather than Wives of Cowards and Viva la República! constitute the fourth chapter and the epilogue.[1]

His vision is conditioned by his militancy in the PCE, as can be seen in his harsh criticism of Largo Caballero, the entry into government in 1936 of the anarchist ministers and the May Days of 1937.[4]

Purpose[edit]

De la Mora arrived in New York City in March 1939 with the purpose of requesting aid for the almost defeated Spanish Republic. Convinced that the neutrality of the Western powers, which Germany and Italy had not complied with, had allowed the rebel side to win, he wanted to move American public opinion and make it change its neutral position in favour of humanitarian action. However, while he was working on his book, he received the news of Colonel Casado's capitulation and Franco's entry into Madrid. From that moment on, De la Mora focused on denouncing the inhumane treatment of refugees in France and the political reprisals suffered by the defeated who remained inside Spain.[5]

Editions[edit]

The first edition of the book (1939) was published in the United States in English under the title In Place of Splendor: The Autobiography of a Spanish Woman.[6] Constancia de la Mora's education in England meant that she spoke good English, having spent a long period at Cambridge. However, several researchers claim that she was assisted in writing the book by an American journalist, Ruth McKenney.[7][8]

When De la Mora settled in Mexico, he wrote the Spanish version of the book (Doble esplendor), which was published in 1944 in Mexico. He removed anecdotes and explanations and added context.[8] Translations were also made into French, German, Italian, Czech, Romanian and Russian, but the work had minimal circulation in Spain. It was not until 1977 that the first Spanish edition was published[9]. In 2004, a new edition was published in Spain, with a prologue by Jorge Semprún Maura.[5]

There are differences in the wording and information presented between the English and Spanish editions. By translating into Spanish, his mother tongue, he had the opportunity to refine the initial text, which had been rushed and collective, although he still identified with it to a large extent. Although the story was already written and he could not change what had been told, he did present it in a different way.[5]

Referencias[edit]

  1. ^ a b c García Saiz, Laura (2023). "Metamorfosis de España y la mujer o el 'Doble Esplendor' de Constancia de la Mora" [Metamorphosis of Spain and the woman or the ‘Double Splendor’ of Constancia de la Mora]. Diablotexto Digital (in Spanish) (13): 175–190. doi:10.7203/diablotexto.13.25795. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  2. ^ ""Rescoldos de libertad" de Isabel Oyarzábal Smith" ["Rescoldos de libertad" by Isabel Oyarzábal Smith]. Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Quiles Faz, Amparo (2014). "Dos mujeres modernas: Isabel Oyarzábal Smith (1878–1974) y Constancia de la Mora Maura (1906–1950)" [Two Modern Women: Isabel Oyarzábal Smith (1878–1974) and Constancia de la Mora Maura (1906–1950)]. Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  4. ^ a b Tavera, Susanna (2005). "La memoria de las vencidas: política, género y exilio en la experiencia republicana" [The memory of the vanquished: politics, gender and exile in the republican experience] (PDF). Ayer (in Spanish) (60:4): 197–224. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Fuente, Inmaculada de (16 July 2009). "Constancia de la Mora. Una vida, ¿dos autobiografías?" [Constancia de la Mora. One life, two autobiographies?]. Revista Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  6. ^ Mora, Constancia de la (1939). In Place of Splendor: The Autobiography of a Spanish Woman. New York City: Harcourt, Brace and Company. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  7. ^ Wilson, Caroline (2023). "Constancia de la Mora: La autobiografía como testimonio de exilio. El final del mito de la objetividad narrativa" [Constancia de la Mora: Autobiography as a testimony of exile. The end of the myth of narrative objectivity] (PDF). In Gil Fombellida, Carmen; Zabala Agirre, José Ramón (eds.). Los mitos del exilio 1936–1939 [The myths of exile 1936-1939] (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). San Sebastián: Hamaika Bide Elkartea. p. 335-347. ISBN 9788409562312. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  8. ^ a b Fuente, Inmaculada de la (2015). Las republicanas "burguesas" [The “bourgeois” republicans] (in Spanish). Madrid: Sílex. ISBN 9788477379454.
  9. ^ Tortela, Gabriel (27 April 2005). "La forja de una rebelde. Nieta de Antonio Maura y educada en la alta sociedad, Constancia de la Mora (1906–1950) abrazó la causa republicana" [The forging of a rebel.Granddaughter of Antonio Maura and educated in high society, Constancia de la Mora (1906–1950) embraced the republican cause]. Foro por la Memoria. Retrieved 14 February 2024.


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