“No recuerdo cuándo comencé a ser yo misma”. Riti di passaggio e meccanismi di difesa in “Luciérnagas” (1993) di Ana María Matute

Abstract

In 1955 Ana María Matute published En esta tierra, an expurgated version of Las luciérnagas, banned by the censorship due to references to the Spanish religious and moral sphere. In 1993, the author retrieved the initial text and published Luciérnagas. The novel, set in Barcelona, describes the experiences of three families during the Civil War. The essay analyzes the initiation process carried out by the younger characters, focusing on the rites of passage and the defense mechanisms implemented in the passage from childhood and adolescence to adulthood.