El Amor Es Una Tara: Cuadernos De Todo, De Carmen Martín Gaite

Abstract

The day the Spanish writer Carmen Martín Gaite (1925–2000) turned 36, her daughter Marta gave her a notebook, which she called Cuaderno de todo – notebook for everything. It was the first notebook of many, and in them Martín Gaite wrote of personal events, her thoughts and reflections, literary notes, observations and drafts for her novels, and other intellectual works. Maria Vittoria Calvi prepared an extensive selection which was published in October, 2002.

The following analysis focuses on the concepts of love and sexuality as they appear in Cuadernos de todo, and more in particularly, upon the concept of an erotic or sexual relationship. The study establishes relevant connections between her notebook writing and her essays, articles, and novels. I argue that, without being aware, Martín Gaite perceives a heterosexual relationship which never allows the active expression of a female subject. She frequently describes love relationships as traps and deceits for both men and women, as egos selfishly fight to reflect themselves upon a partner. However, she also concedes the dominant role to men in these relationships both explicitly and implicitly. How does she try to resolve this contradiction? Writing does allow Martín Gaite to communicate with others, not love relationships; therefore, heterosexual love is distant, unsuccessful, or absent in her work. Sex and sexual practices do not appear but tangentially because her authority as a writer – indeed, her voice as a woman – would otherwise disappear.