The Cultural Elevation of Women in the Thought and Reception of Josefa Amar Y Borbón

Abstract The advent of the Enlightenment and the cultural shift from the France of the Bourbons resulted in significant changes for Spanish women. The changes in their ways of life turned Enlightenment women into subjects who were conscious of the new ideas and of their own capacities, which they asserted in various spaces. This study centres on Josefa Amar y Borbón, a highly educated woman and a pioneer in joining cultural societies, who created a body of work related to the education and worth of women. Based on the historical-educational method, we analyse its impact and reception in the Spanish press from the end of the 18th century to the first third of the 20th century. We point to Josefa Amar y Borbón’s qualities as a translator and to the vindication of her figure as a feminist in Spain, starting in the mid-19th century.