María Luisa Bombal Anthes (;

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

, 8 June 1910 – 6 May 1980) was a Chilean novelist and poet. Her work incorporates

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

themes. She was a recipient of the

Santiago Municipal Literature Award The Santiago Municipal Literature Award ( es, Premio Municipal de Literatura de Santiago) is one of the oldest and most important literary awards in Chile Created in 1934 by the municipality of Santiago, its first edition awarded the categories of ...

Biography

María Luisa was born in 1910 to Martín Bombal Videla and Blanca Anthes Precht. As a child Bombal attended the Catholic girls school Sagrados Corazones. After her father's death in 1919, Bombal went with her mother and sisters to live in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where she finished her studies at the lycée Sainte Geneviève. Bombal enrolled at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, where she studied literature and philosophy. She also attended the Lycée La Bruyère and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, where she began to write. After Bombal completed her university studies, she returned to Chile, where she reunited with her family. Bombal also studied violin with

Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won the ...

and drama with Charles Dolan. In 1938 Bombal published ''La amortajada'', which earned her the ''Premio de la Novela de la Municipalidad de Santiago'' (City of Santiago Novel Prize). While living in the United States, she wrote a novel in English, ''The House of Mist'', which was a translation and extensive readaptation of her Spanish-language novel ''La última niebla''. ''The House of Mist'' was later translated into Spanish by Lucía Guerra.

Personal life

Upon her return to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

she married a pioneer in civil aviation, Eulogio Sánchez, who did not share her interest in literature. During their marriage, Bombal began to suffer from depression, and attempted suicide. In 1933 she married the homosexual painter Jorge Larco, forming with him a

lavender marriage A lavender marriage is a male–female mixed-orientation marriage, undertaken as a marriage of convenience to conceal the socially stigmatised sexual orientation of one or both partners. The term dates from the early 20th century and is used al ...

. With the help of friends, Bombal fled the country to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, where in 1933 she met

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

and

Pablo Neruda Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto (12 July 1904 – 23 September 1973), better known by his pen name and, later, legal name Pablo Neruda (; ), was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Nerud ...

in Buenos Aires. In 1937 she returned to Chile due to the beginning of a divorce trial. In 1941 she acquired a revolver, went to the Hotel Crillón and waited for Eulogio, her lover. When he came out, she shot him three times in the arm. She went to trial; however, Eulogio exempted her from all guilt, for which the judge acquitted her. Years later, on María Luisa's own words, she said that he ruined her life, however, she never forgot him. Later on, she moved to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where she married the French count, Rafael de Saint Phall, whom she had a daughter with, called Brigitte. She lived there until 1971. She then returned to South America; living first in Argentina (helped by Pablo Neruda, who was also living there), where she met important men of letters, and then in

, Chile. There, on 18 September 1976, Bombal again met Jorge Luis Borges.

Death

Bombal lived her final years in Chile. She became an alcoholic, which led to

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

. Bombal died on May 6, 1980, in Santiago, as a result of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Distinction between femininity and masculinity in her works

Bombal wrote distinctly for her male and female characters. Bombal viewed femininity as a symbol of uniqueness; more related to nature, emotions and intuition; very different from how she depicts masculinity, where men are described as stronger and wiser, at the moment of facing problems.

Selected works

Novels * ''La última niebla'' (1934) * ''La amortajada'' (1938) * ''The House of Mist'' (1947, English readaptation of ''La última niebla'') * ''The Shrouded Woman'' (1947, English readaptation of ''La amortajada'') Stories * ''Las islas nuevas'' (1939) * ''El árbol'' (1939) * ''Trenzas'' (1940) * ''Lo secreto'' (1944) * ''La historia de María Griselda'' (1946) Chronicles * ''Mar, cielo y tierra'' (1940) * ''Washington, ciudad de las ardillas'' (1940) * ''La maja y el ruiseñor'' (1960) Other writings * ''Reseña cinematográfica de'' Puerta cerrada ''(1939)'' * ''En Nueva York con Sherwood Anderson'' (entrevista) (1939) * ''Inauguración del sello Pauta'' (1973) * ''Discurso en la Academia Chilena de la Lengua'' (1977)

Biography

Personal life

Death

Distinction between femininity and masculinity in her works

Selected works

References

Further reading