Automobile Trip: Towards a new Hospitality? The Countess de la Morinière’s Journey through Spain (1909)
Abstract
This study revisits the account of Countess de la Morinière’s journey through Spain, published in 1909 under the title Du 30 à l’heure. D’Irun à Algésiras. Although it constitutes the first recorded automobile journey across Spain undertaken by a French woman, this narrative remains largely overlooked. The analysis first examines the formal characteristics of the text and its reception. It then situates the work within its broader context by exploring the rise of sport, outdoor life, and the increasing independence of women—phenomena closely tied to the hedonistic society of the Belle Époque. Finally, the notion of hospitality serves as a guiding thread, as this study seeks to determine whether the use of a modern means of transport—the automobile—contributed to shaping new forms of hospitality and hostility between foreigners and local populations.
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