Trayectorias disidentes. Soltería laica y agencia femenina en las élites de Canarias (siglos XVIII-XIX)

Abstract

This paper explores female lay singleness as an increasingly less anomalous condition among elites in the aftermath of the Ancien Régime; and also as a possibility for the agency of these women. Through a qualitative approach based on the case studies of Doña Leonor Chirino (¿?-1787), Doña María de la Trinidad Soler y Castilla (1723-1806) and Doña María Salazar y Porlier (1767-1843), this proposal offers empirical evidence on the agency of single women belonging to the nobility of the Canary Islands, in terms of intrafamilial relations and individual autonomy. In addition, an intersectional approach allows us to problematise the different possibilities of being a single woman within the family. Issues such as priority at birth, the status of landowner, the possession of ties, their place in the nobiliary narrative, the urban/rural context and other cultural criteria such as their self-perception or public image are also considered.