Europe: Dream and Reality in the Life and Works of Rosa Chacel

Abstract

This paper traces a journey through the life and works of Rosa Chacel. Its focus is on her experiences in Europe, on the different circumstances in which they took place, and on the repercussions, they had on the writer's life and work.

I will begin with Rosa Chacel's early reading of authors such as Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and Jules Verne, then I will deal with her reception of the European avant-garde movement and on the influence of Proust and Joyce in the beginning of her career as a novel writer.

The period from 1922-1927, when Chacel lived in Italy, includes her first trip to Paris in 1924, just when the first surrealist manifesto was being published. In 1933 she travelled in Berlin, in 1937 she was in Greece and finally, in 1962, on her return from exile to Europe for the first time, she stayed in Paris for a longer period of time.

In dealing with all these experiences, I weave together the links between the writer's work and some of the outstanding landmarks of European culture.