Mercedes Cabello de Carbonera
Mercedes Cabello Llosa de Carbonera (
Moquegua, February 7, 1845 –
Lima, October 12, 1909) was a Peruvian writer. Influenced by
positivism and
naturalism, she was one of the main initiators of
literary realism in Peruvian novels. She wrote six novels of social content and critical importance, the most successful being ''Blanca Sol'' (1888), ''Las consecuencias'' (1890) and ''El conspirador'' (1892). She also wrote numerous articles and essays published in Peruvian newspapers on literary and social topics. She especially advocated the emancipation of women, and was one of the first Peruvian feminists. She was a contemporary of
Manuel González Prada, who, like Cabello, was a ''
sui generis'' positivist; and an attendee of
Juana Manuela Gorriti's
tertulias, which provided her an opportunity to meet other female writers and discuss literature and feminist ideologies. Her literary works ''Sacrificio y recompensa, Blanca Sol, Las consequencias'' and ''El conspirador'' contain a recurrent theme of women portrayed as "helpless, suffering creatures or as fallen heroines." This is another one of the most prominent themes in her writings. Another common topic is her criticism of the Peruvian bourgeoisie, Lima's social elites, between 1860 and 1880.
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