CAROLINA CORONADO: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Carolina Coronado (1820-1911) was a Spanish writer, essayist, playwright and poet of the Romantic period. She was the author of an extensive literary work and a marked feeling of the time in which she lived. Although she came from a wealthy family, she had to make her way into the world of literature by herself, as it was an exclusively male activity.

He was always self-taught, he read practically all the books he had at his fingertips. In this way, she learned French and Italian, since as a woman she had to dedicate herself to tasks typical of her sex (such as sewing, among others), and thus translated the classical authors for her own reading.

Carolina Coronado. Source: Federico de Madrazo and Kuntz

She suffered from chronic catalepsy (a disease that prevented her from moving her muscles at will), to the point that she was considered dead on one occasion. Because of that ailment she lived in fear of being buried alive.

Biography

Birth and family

Victoria Carolina Coronado Romero de Tejada was born in Almendralejo, Spain, on December 12, 1820. Her parents were Don Nicolás Coronado y Gallardo and Mrs. María Antonia Eleuteria Romero de Tejada y Falcón. They were a wealthy and liberal family of which Carolina was the third daughter, out of a total of nine siblings.

Childhood

Little Carolina showed interest in reading very early, so she took, secretly from her parents (who educated her in the feminine customs of embroidery and home care), the books that were in her home library. This brought her the advantage of the ease of verse that she had in her work.

An early development of his poetic work

In the same way, thanks to his passion for reading, he began to write poems when he was only 10 years old. Although he had errors in vocabulary, and even in spelling, the lyrics of his poetry were fluid and of spontaneous and genuine feelings.

Entrance to the Artistic and Literary Lyceum of Madrid

In 1838 he opened the Artistic and Literary Lyceum of Madrid, founded by José Fernández de la Vega. This institution advocated cultivating the fine arts and letters, besides, curiously, it did not prevent the entry of women to the classes and events that would be organized there. With 18 years, Carolina Coronado attended this institution.

It is important to clarify that the rise of women dedicated to letters was what made cultural institutions (such as high schools, social gatherings, athenaeums and salons) open to female entry into their spaces. But not so the academies (like the Royal Spanish Academy, for example).

It was at the high school where Carolina Coronado decided to look for a mentor to guide her in her writing steps. Juan Hartzenbuch had to do this work, who supported, taught and corrected her at all times.

Fake death

In the year 1844 a curious event occurred in his life. Her death was announced and she was mourned at the Lyceum, where several contemporaries also dedicated poems to her memory.

Poems that she ended up answering because she had not died: it was an episode of catalepsis. These she had on various occasions throughout her life.

Facial paralysis

Carolina was a superstitious woman. She lived surrounded by objects and amulets. In 1848 she again had an episode of paralysis that affected half of her face and body.

Monument to Carolina Coronado, Castelar Park, Badajos. Source: Adolfobrigido, from Wikimedia Commons

As a result of these nervous breakdowns, Carolina moved, on medical advice, to Madrid in 1850. Economic difficulties forced her to write all kinds of texts (articles, serialized novels, essays, among others).

marriage and family

In 1852 she married the American diplomat Sir Justo Horacio Perry, who was a Protestant. For this reason they had to celebrate a mixed wedding: the Protestant in Gibraltar, while the Catholic was celebrated in Paris.

Carolina Coronado had 3 children, two females (Carolina and Matilde) and a male (Carlos Horacio). Of these only Matilde survived. Carolina passed away at age 16, while little Carlos, the first to be born, died a year later. Carolina had the girl's body embalmed, which is explained by her fear of being buried alive herself, as she suffered from catalepsy.

Transfer to Lisbon

After the death of their second daughter (who was buried in a convent after embalming), in 1873, the family moved to Lisbon. The revolution broke out in Spain and that was also partly the reason for the family's move.

Once in Lisbon, the fame of the writer was not long in being noticed: events, talks, gatherings, concerts, took place in the house and the city, and where she used to be the center of attention.

Death of her husband

In 1891 her husband died and Carolina decided to embalm him as well, although she kept the body without burying it until the end of her days. It was then that her financial situation declined again.

Matilde married in 1899 with the son of a marquis, and that, although it was not to the liking of the mother, meant a relief for the financial situation of the family.

Death of the writer

The writer finally died at her residence in the Mitra Palace, in Lisbon, on January 15, 1911. A few months later her daughter, Matilde, passed away, leaving no offspring.

Work

Carolina Coronado's work stood out for being expressive and naturalistic, in its literary maturity it even touched realism.

Innumerable poetry

The poems are countless and were published in compilations throughout his life. Blessed are you, Alberto, Spain and Napoleon, Two deaths in one life and To the abolition of slavery in Cuba stand out.

essays

Among the essays, Los Genios Gemelos stands out: Safo and Santa Teresa, controversial due to the comparison of the characters.

Theater plays

The plays were few. They are to mention: The divine Figueroa, Petrarca, A Mayor of Monterilla and Alfonso IV of León.

Narrative

Carolina's narrative production addressed various themes. In fact, in them she used to deal with current affairs through the same plot in which her characters unfold. She dealt with feminism, the historical novel, comedy, cruelty and the conventions of the time in which she lived.

His novels include: The picture of hope (1846), Paquita, La luz del tajo, Adoración (1850), La sigea (1854), The wheel of misfortune: Manuscript of a count (1873), Vanity of vanities (1875), Annals of the Tagus. Lisbon. Description in prose (1875).

References

1. Carolina Coronado (2018). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
2. Carolina Coronado (S. f.). (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com
3. Carolina Coronado (S. f.). (N / a): Carolina Coronado on the centenary of her death. Recovered from: sites.google.com
4. Carolina Coronado (S. f.). Spain: Writers in the National Library of Spain. Recovered from: writers.bne.es
5. Carolina Coronado (S. f.). (N / a): Sonferrer. Recovered from: sonferrer.com.