Ana María Matute (born July 26, 1925, Barcelona, Spain—died June 25, 2014,
Barcelona) was a Spanish novelist known for her sympathetic treatment of the
lives of children and adolescents, their feelings of betrayal and isolation, and their
rites of passage. She often interjected such elements as myth, fairy tale, the
supernatural, and fantasy into her works.
Matute’s education suffered because of childhood illnesses, the family’s frequent
moves between Barcelona and Madrid, and the disruptions of the Spanish Civil
War (1936–39), which left her family largely housebound in Barcelona. She broke
the monotony of the war years by editing a magazine for her siblings. While in her
teens, she published short stories and became a professional musician.
In her works Matute frequently used biblical allusions, notably the story
of Cain and Abel, to symbolize the familial division caused by the Spanish Civil
War. In 1948 she published her first novel, Los Abel (“The Abel Family”). She
followed up with Fiesta al noroeste (1953; Celebration in the Northwest), the
Planeta Prize-winning Pequeño teatro (1954; “Little Theatre”), and Los hijos
muertos (1958; The Lost Children). Matute then wrote a trilogy consisting
of Primera memoria (1959; U.K. title, Awakening; U.S. title, School of the Sun),
about children thrust into an adult world by the Spanish Civil War; a war
novel, Los soldados lloran de noche (1964; Soldiers Cry by Night); and La
trampa (1969; “The Trap”), in which the children of Primera memoria are
presented as adults. Matute set La torre vigía (1971; “The Watchtower”) in 10th-
century Europe to examine the themes of chivalry, idealism, poverty,
and prejudice. Her novel Olvidado Rey Gudú, a massive allegorical folk epic that
spans four generations in the story of rulers, gnomes, witches, and other
creatures in the mythical medieval kingdom of Olar, was published in 1996.
Among her later works are Aranmanoth (2000) and Paraíso inhabitado (2008;
“Uninhabited Paradise”).
(Read Sir Walter Scott’s 1824 Britannica essay on chivalry.)
In addition to the novels for which she is best known, Matute wrote several
collections of short stories, including Los niños tontos (1956; “The Foolish
Children”), Algunos muchachos (1968; The Heliotrope Wall), and La puerta de la
luna: cuentos completos (2010; “The Door of the Moon: Complete Stories”). She
also wrote several works for children and young adults. In 2010 she was named
the recipient of the Cervantes Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the
Spanish-speaking world.
Ana María Matute | Spanish Novelist, Short Story Writer | Britannica
