The Franco dictatorship in Spain exalted normative gender roles as part of its propaganda machine and thereby deepened women’s exclusive role as wife and mother. The poetess Gloria Fuertes (1918-1998), mystified as a sort of “national mother”, is well known for her children’s literature in Spain, whereas her poetic work for adults – full of rebellion against the lack of freedom and restrictive gender roles – has been fairly discussed. By means of parody, irony and language games, she demystifies and deconstructs the social imperative of motherhood, creates alternative spaces for different models of womanhood and claims her literary agency by appropriation and reinterpretation of stereotypical images.
