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A Search For Identity: Frances Calderon De La Barca And Life In Mexico, Molly Marie Wood

Master's Theses

Scottish-born Frances Calderon de la Barca, wife of the first Spanish minister to Mexico, recorded her observations and interpretations of mid-nineteenth century Mexico in a series of letters and journals. In 1843, she published Life in Mexico, an edited version of her letters. Acclaimed for its style and descriptive qualities, Life in Mexico also reveals the author's personal struggle to define herself and her role in Mexican society. Life in Mexico provides historians with a unique perspective into Mexico's cultural and ideological relationship with the European and American world.