Gender violence in the literature classroom. A project to raise awareness of gender-based violence through the tales of Emilia Pardo Bazán

Abstract

Gender-based violence is one of the most important social issues in contemporary society. Legal responses to the phenomenon have gradually evolved to safeguard the physical and psychological wellbeing of women that are victims of such acts of aggression but instances of violence (including murder) continue to rise. Recent legislature has prioritised education as the vehicle through which core values such as equality and greater consciousness surrounding the issue can be constructed. In order for such values to become the norm we consider that the teaching of literature should be employed as a key tool in the move towards social change. Engaging not only with literary criticism but also broader social themes, this investigation presents a didactic project in which two of Emilia Pardo Bazán’s short stories are approached as important documents in the building of this new consciousness surrounding gender-based aggression and violence.