Eulàlia Ferrer, viuda de Brusi (1780-1841): La capacidad de obrar de las mujeres.

Abstract

In past times, women (most of them uneducated or untrained, except in tasks "belonging to their nature") working in jobs related to books were de iure simple transitional characters among male business owners. Their professional role was defined and established in different regulatory frameworks determining the construction of their identity: familial, educational, societal and legal frameworks. There were, however, some exceptions, and some women were active in their business or in the shop’s specialized tasks. The case of the publisher and bookseller Eulalia Ferrer Montserrat (1780-1841; married to Antoni Brusi and also known as Eulalia Brusi, her married name) exemplifies the professional practice and authority of these women in Barcelona in the first half of the 19th century; Eulalia Ferrer’s work will be analyzed on the basis of her legal capacity to act; that is, of the juridical recognition and validity of her work.