Women of the Word: The Legacy of the Female Voice

The word is one of the most powerful manifestations of human thought, it is the bridge between what we imagine and what we can share. Despite its universal significance, history reminds us that the domain of the word, both written and spoken, has been controlled mostly by men. And yet, it is from the mother, from the primal female voice, from where we learn the language that allows us to understand and interpret the world. At the Frederic Marès Museum , the exhibition 'Women of words' opens a reflection on this contradiction, tracing a route that claims the role of women in the construction of meanings, in the creation of discourses and in the struggle to conquer their own space within the historical narrative.

Curated by Maria Garganté , this exhibition is an immersion in how women have used language – written, spoken or silenced – to leave a mark on a world that has often tried to erase them. Based on references ranging from biblical tradition and Greek mythology to modernity and contemporary art, the exhibition builds a deep and vindictive story. It not only talks about women who "took the floor", but also looks at how these words have been marginalized, reinterpreted and finally rescued.

The exhibition is divided into three main areas that explore the role of women in the intellectual sphere, beginning the journey to the modern era (16th-18th centuries) and establishing specific dialogues with contemporaneity.

First, the exhibition moves to the 16th to 18th centuries, a period when reading or writing was, for women, an almost subversive act. At this time, figures such as Teresa de Jesús or Hipòlita de Rocabertí emerged, who made the convent a space for female intellectuals, or literary salons that combined culture and politics. His works are evidence of a creativity that did not ask for permission. Writing, then, was not only an artistic gesture, but a challenge to the established order.

'Dama de l’ermini', segon quart del segle XVI. Museu Frederic Marès. © Foto: ArtWorkPhoto.eu

The second exhibition space focuses on Saint Anne, who, according to the apocryphal gospels, was not only Mary's mother but also her teacher. It is a powerful metaphor for the transmission of knowledge: the word as cultural and spiritual heritage. Mary, with the symbolism of the Immaculate Conception, becomes an emblem of wisdom that crosses religious borders to become an icon of education and leadership. Here, the role of women as transmitters of culture and spirituality is intertwined with their role as generators of ideas, freeing them from a purely passive or decorative view.

The final section explores the silencing and marginalization of women's voices. Figures like Cassandra , the Greek prophetess who was never listened to, or Mary Magdalene , subjected to continuous reinterpretations, embody this contempt for the feminine word. This problem is echoed in the classic sibyls, who were given an oracular voice that could only be legitimized by male mediation. These stories connect with the experiences of contemporary women such as Josefa Tolrà or Eulàlia Valldosera , who, from the field of art, have reconquered the space of the word as a channel of connection, healing and creation.

In short, 'Women of speech', which can be visited until the end of May, is a powerful reflection on the mechanisms that have limited women's speech and, at the same time, on the strategies that women have deployed to make it their own. It is a gesture of symbolic reparation, a call to reconstruct forgotten genealogies and to recognize the centrality of this voice.

'La túnica Cassandra', Kima Guitart (2020-2021)

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