Inés y la Alegría: Women in the Resistance against Franco

Abstract

This paper examines the normalization of violence during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and immediate postwar era through the lens of historical memory, focusing more specifically on anti-Francoist guerrilla women: one of the more silenced social realities until the end of the 20th century. I argue that the novel Inés y la Alegría, by Almudena Grandes (2010) denounces Francoism´s repercussion to present-day democracy and silenced society. Using an intersectional analytical framework constituted by concepts by Cynthia Enloe, Zillah Eisenstein, Walter Benjamin and Johan Galtung, I analyze Grandes´ novel considering a variety of issues: the militarization of women, women´s power and empowerment, connections between the state and violence in the Spanish case, and stereotypes, myths and realities implied on the role of anti-Francoist militiawomen. I argue that the author´s goal is to spread the story in an attempt to recover the voices of the defeated who couldn´t tell their story due to the Francoist repression; considering as well the repercussions of such repression still visible today in Spanish society.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n9p262