Twentieth-century Ecuadorian women poets : a thematic analysis

Despite the many published volumes of Ecuadorian female poetry, through the years Ecuador's women poets have received little serious critical attention. In an attempt to begin to fill this void in Ecuadorian literary criticism, this dissertation examines the works of the country's most representative women poets from the seventeenth century until the present.

The dissertation is divided into five chapters followed by a conclusion. Chapter I presents an historical overview of Ecuadorian female poetry in order to create a context which demonstrates the poetic legacy of the four critically acclaimed and innovative women poets whose works are analyzed in Chapters II-V. This first chapter, along with the remaining four, is thematic and focuses upon the salient themes in Ecuadorian female poetry. Because literary texts reflect the sociohistoric contexts from which they spring forth, our thematic analysis offers new insights into both the evolution of Ecuador's female poetry (the literary texts) and the woman's role in that country (the sociohistoric context).

Chapters II-V specifically treat the works of Aurora Estrada (1902-1967), Ileana Espinel (1933), Violeta Luna (1943), and Sonia Manzano (1947). Each has expanded upon the traditional themes of Ecuadorian female poetry such as romantic love, motherhood, and religion. In regard to love, Luna and Estrada have presented its eroticism by openly expressing female sexuality. In addition, Espinel and Luna speak of the myths surrounding love and their destructive effects upon women. As for religion, Luna, Manzano, and Espinel question Catholicism by embracing existentialism. Furthermore, these four women poets have looked beyond personal themes to make a commitment to addressing broader social issues in their poetry.

The dissertation concludes with a number of suggestions for future research on Ecuador's women poets. In addition, we provide both an extensive bibliography of the works written by the majority of Ecuador's women poets and pertinent critical studies about Ecuadorian letters and feminism.