MARÍA GOYRI: BIOGRAPHY AND COMPLETE WORK - LITERATURE - 2025

María Amalia Goyri y Goyri (1873-1954) was a well-known Spanish writer, teacher, philologist and researcher who lived between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

In addition, she was an important activist for women's rights. Her courage went further, and she became the second formal female student at the University of Spain, in the career of letters and philosophy.

Maria Goyri. Source: Unknown retouched by Ezarate, via Wikimedia Commons

Goyri was a woman dedicated to studying, learning and helping others to grow. She inspired others to be better, she served as constant support to the youth that was being formed, both in the well-known Residencia de Señoritas and in the Instituto Escuela.

The work of this writer was focused on the pedagogical part, and also on the investigation of issues related to literature. She was also a woman concerned about the social problems that Spain of her time experienced. Children were her weakness and greatest sensitivity.

Biography

Birth and family

María Goyri was born on August 29, 1873 in the city of Madrid. No information is known about the father of the writer. However, it is precisely known that her mother was Amalia Goyri, who sowed in the author a love for studies and learning.

Goyri's training and studies

The time in which María grew up, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, was difficult for women, due to the conservative belief that females should be destined for housework and consecrated to marriage. Goyri's mother wanted a different future for her daughter.

At the age of twelve, the adolescent began studying at the Business School of the Association for Women's Education. At the same time she attended sports classes in a gym. After the first studies she managed to obtain the degrees of Governess and professor of commerce.

Goyri's academic interest increased, so he attended the Spanish University as a listener to classes in philosophy and letters, from 1891 until the following year. He then asked for an entry for women to be opened, and the request was granted, but under certain conditions.

In 1893 she began to go to the university as a regular student, but she had to always sit next to the professor and also enter classes with him. At the same time she was forbidden to be in the corridors. Three years later she obtained a bachelor's degree, and in 1909 a doctorate.

María Goyri and Ramón Menéndez Pidal

Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Goyri's husband. Source: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), via Wikimedia Commons

Love surprised the writer at the Ateneo's School of Higher Studies, where she met the historian and philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal, who was her teacher, and whom she married in 1900. The couple had three children: Ramón, Jimena and Gonzalo. The girl followed in her mother's footsteps.

Teaching and research

María Goyri taught literature in what was the first university instruction center for women, known as the Residencia de Señoritas. In the same way, she participated in the writing of teaching schemes for children, and in the Spanish literature projects at the Instituto Escuela.

In the area of ​​research, one of his most famous works was a study on the Spanish ballads, defined as a lyrical writing composed mostly of eight-syllable verses. Her husband participated in the scans, and in a way she has had her credit taken away.

On the other hand, in her efforts to equalize women with the advantages and rights that men had, she dedicated herself to writing articles called Crónicas Femeninas in the Popular Magazine. The purpose of the texts was to get women to study and work, and their work to be recognized.

It is important to note that María Goyri was sincerely interested in children. The issue of education and equality among the little ones moved their fibers. She materialized her ideas with the creation of the “Delinquent Child Protectorate”, to give education and the opportunity to be better.

Consequences of the Civil War for Goyri

The Civil War of 1936 surprised Goyri and his family in Segovia. The militarization forced them to go to a nearby municipality. The family became the object of observation of the dictator Franco, and María was classified as influencing her relatives, and as dangerous.

Goyri and her husband were forced into silence, and forced to withdraw from teaching. However, the writer continued to dedicate herself to the family library, and to expand her research on romances and their types, for the Romancero Archive.

Goyri's death

María Goyri died on November 28, 1824, when she was eighty-one years old. Her legacy was one of bravery and courage, she did not let social conventions limit her abilities. Her struggle, intelligence, attitude and aptitude left the mark of being a pioneer in the areas she developed.

María Goyri inherited her ideals from her daughter, in the same way that her mother did with her. Her work in the social area allowed Spanish society to advance towards a path of equality and opportunities. Her work was ahead of its time.

Complete work

The work of the writer focused on her reliable research on romance verse. Many others were directed towards the defense of women as an important component of society. Here are the most relevant titles:

- Romance of the death of D. Juan (1902).

- Romances to be found in oral tradition (1907).

- Series of articles on El Conde Lucanor (1899).

- Romania (1900).

- The deceased pleiteada in Spanish literature: study of comparative literature (1909).

- The deceased sued, essay (1909).

- Fables and stories in verse (1933).

- Don Juan Manuel and medieval tales (1936).

- From Lope de Vega and Ballads (1953).

- Traditional ballads of Hispanic languages ​​(1957).

- What women think of their education. An information (1893).

- Female Chronicles (1898).

"The Next Feminist Congress" (a series of newsletters published in 1899).

- Women in the world of work and The education of women (a series of the so-called “Feminine Chronicles” published in the Popular Magazine in 1898).

- The centers of feminine culture (1905).

- First essay of school romancero (1896).

Many of Goyri's works were developed within the essay genre.

References

1. Torres, M. (2013). Maria Goyri. (N / a): look for me in the cycle of life. Recovered from: Buscameenelciclodelavida.com.
2. Maria Goyri. (2019). Spain: Wikipedia. Recovered from: wikipedia.org.
3. Maria Goyri. (Sf). Spain: The school of the Republic. Recovered from: laescueladelarepublica.es.
4. Valverde, S. (2017). The incredible feats of María Goyri. Spain: Women to watch. Recovered from: mujeresaseguir.com.
5. Maria Goyri. (2017). Spain: Art History. Recovered from: artehistoria.com.