The Changing Spanish Family

Despite centuries of Catholic conservatism, Spain stands among the Western countries that have recently embraced non-traditional families. A decline in the dominance of extended families, the upswing in single-parent households, and an increase in the number of working mothers have all transformed what it means to be a “Spanish family.” Many factors have prompted this change, including the end of Franco’s dictatorship, the liberalization of society, economic reforms, Spanish feminism, and recent Socialist constitutional reforms recognizing the rights of same-sex partners. This collection of essays examines how authors, filmmakers and playwrights are engaging with changes to Spanish culture, exploring the very redefining of Spanish society.

Tiffany Trotman is a senior lecturer in Spanish at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Tiffany Trotman
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 226
Bibliographic Info: 7 photos, notes, bibliographies, index
Copyright Date: 2011
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6404-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8753-0
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction

TIFFANY TROTMAN      1

1. Why We Are All in the Club: El club de las malas madres

CATHERINE BOURLAND ROSS      9

2. Hypermodern Families in Ángela Vallvey’s Los estados carenciales

TIFFANY TROTMAN      24

3. All Turbulent on the Home Front: Unfulfilled Working Mothers in Almudena Grandes’ Atlas de geografía humana

LORRAINE RYAN      40

4. New Conceptions of Family in Contemporary Galician Narrative: Visions of Maternity in the Works of María Xosé Queizán and Teresa Moure

MARISOL RODRI ´GUEZ RODRI ´GUEZ      59

5. Feminism and Motherhood in the Police Novels of Alicia Giménez Bartlett

RENÉE CRAIG-ODDERS      75

6. Charting the New Nuclear Family in Pedro Almodóvar’s Los abrazos rotos

SAMUEL AMAGO      93

7. Recovering Gender: Motherhood and Female Identity in El pájaro de la felicidad and Gary Cooper que estás en los cielos

DIANA M. BARNES      109

8. Picking a Fight with Domestic Violence: New Perspectives on Patriarchy in Contemporary Spanish Cinema

PAUL BEGIN      126

9. Meet the Nihilists: The Disintegration of the Contemporary Spanish Family in Pedro Aguilera’s La influencia

AMY L. TIBBITTS      141

10. Parents on Stage in Contemporary Spanish Theater

CANDYCE LEONARD      159

11. Basque Identity on Stage: History, Family Constructs, and the Troubled Mother in Maite Agirre’s Bilbao: Lauaxeta, tiros y besos and Teresa Calo Fontán’s El día en que inventé tu nombre

TRACIE AMEND      180

12. Mother-Daughter Relationships in Contemporary Spanish Theater

CRISTINA CASADO PRESA      198

About the Contributors      215

Index      217