Absolute Equality: An Early Feminist Perspective/ Influencias De Las Ideas Modernas (Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage)

by Luisa Capetillo

In Luisa Capetillo's three-act play written in 1907, "Influences of Modern Ideas," Angelina, the daughter of a rich Puerto Rican businessman and landowner, educates herself by reading the works of European writers, philosophers, and anarchists. After reading Tolstoy's The Slavery of Our Times , she is convinced that "the slavery of our times is the inflexible wage law." As the workers go on strike in her home town of Arecibo, Angelina tries to convince her father to give his property--home, factories, land--to the working class. And so the stage is set for Capetillo, a militant feminist, anarchist, and labor leader, to inform the public about her the fight for workers' rights; the struggle for justice and equality, for women as well as workers; and the education of all classes and sexes. The themes in this social protest play appear throughout Capetillo's writings. This volume combines long and short plays, fiction, essays, propaganda, letters, poems, philosophical reflections, and journal entries in a never-before-available English translation by Lara Walker. Also included is a facsimile of the original Spanish-language text, Influencias de las ideas modernas , which was first published in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1916. Most of the pieces in this collection were written between 1912 and 1916 while Capetillo was living and working as a labor leader in Tampa and Ybor City, Florida; New York City; and Havana, Cuba. Editor Lara Walker's comprehensive introduction surveys Luisa Capetillo's life and work, placing her ideologies in the appropriate social and historical context. At once a sharp critique and a celebration of the gathering fervor of world politics, Capetillo's work examines both her native Puerto Rico and the world outside, providing a sense of the workers' movement and the condition of women at the turn of the century. Capetillo embraces the humanistic thinking of the early twentieth century and envisions a world in which economic and social structures can be broken down, allowing both the worker and the woman to be free.

Genres: Feminism

360 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2008

About the author

Luisa Capetillo was one of Puerto Rico's most famous labor organizers. She was also a writer and an anarchist who fought for workers and women's rights.

Reviews

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luisa Capetillo is one remarkable woman. Her writings about anarchism and women's rights are unique and engrossing, several decades ahead of their time. Capetillo contemplated free love and the abolition of marriage, the importance of preserving and living as one with the natural world, and adopting spiritual beliefs that praised Jesus Christ as well as Buddha and other eastern philosophers. All the while firmly believing in the working people and their ability to one day overthrow the capitalistic and oppressive society of the modern world. Despite being surrounded by growing nationalism at the time in Puerto Rico she firmly stood behind her anarchist ideas and was active in workers movements not only in Puerto Rico but in Cuba, Florida, and New York as well. She never failed to live out the principles she writes about, and truly believed that her beliefs have the potential to change the world.