Etapa desmolítica: el epitelio reducido del esmalte prolifera e induce la atrofia del tejido conectivo que lo separa del epitelio bucal, de este modo pueden

With the fall of the Republic (1939), Zambrano enters France starting a long displacement which takes her to several different countries through Europe and Latin America (see Abellán, 1998: 24, 282; for more details on the Republican emigration to Latin America see Soldevilla Oria, 2001: 35, 36, 46, 55, 72). From France, she travels to Mexico, where, in 1939, she holds a series of lectures in La Casa de España and she teaches at the Universidad de Morelia (see Faber, 2002: 45; see also Abellán, 2001: 21). In 1941, she moves to Cuba, teaching at the Universidad de la Habana and in the Instituto de Altos Estudios e Investigaciones. In 1943, she teaches at the Universidad de San Juan, Puerto Rico. This initial period of exile is particularly influenced by the situation of Spain and her physical distance from it:

muchos de los libros importantes del exilio aparecen también en esos años. La “circunstancia vital” era para todos ellos el recuerdo, la añoranza de España, la esperanza de la vuelta, la zozobra de la situación política internacional. Son libros que derivan todavía, en su mayor parte, de lecturas, influencias y estudios de la preguerra española. Deberán recordarse, entre otros muchos, los siguientes: de 1939, Filosofía y poesía, de María Zambrano (Díaz, 1983: 38; see also Abellán, 1998: 39).

Spain, as a cultural entity, becomes for the exiled intellectuals one of the central topics of reflection (Abellán, 1998: 38). Zambrano shares with her compatriots this concern for Spain. As Zambrano says through the voice of Antigone, which is equally applicable to the circumstances of the Spanish exiles, “gracias al destierro conocimos la tierra” (Zambrano, 1986c: 256)94_{. Reflecting Machado’s and Unamuno’s influence, Zambrano, like}

many other Republicans − most notably Francisco Ayala (see Faber, 2002: 46, 171) − perceives Spain as a spiritual community, whose singularity, in contrast with the rest of Europe, lies in that, from their point of view, the Spanish form of knowledge is asystematic and oblivious to the form of reason of modernity (Faber, 2002: 44-47, 49; see Zambrano, 1988a; see also the section below). As Francisco Caudet explains, exile is for Zambrano,

94 _{According to Sophocles’s play, Antigone is the daughter – and half-sister – of the unwitting} incestuous marriage of King Oedipus of Thebes with his mother Jocasta (see Sophocles, 2003). Her name is remembered because, when as a result of his struggle for power her brother Polynices is killed, she strives to provide him a traditional burial, even though she knows it is forbidden by pain of death. Consequently, her act of defiance earns her a death sentence. This story captures Zambrano’s imagination. In fact, she produces two works which focus on this figure; an article, “Delirio de Antígona” (1948), part of which she narrates in the first person, thus poetically appropriating Antogone’s fate at the same time that she empowers her with a voice; and a play, La tumba de Antígona (1967), which is re-edited in Senderos (1986c). The latter commences with a reflection on the figure of Antigone and the revelation that Zambrano identifies her sister Araceli with Antigone, for Zambrano perceives both women as sharing a similar disposition and fate (see Laurenzi, 2004: 55). Moreover, Zambrano alters Sophocles ending by keeping Antigone alive in her grave, so that she can become aware and reflect on the meaning of her sacrifice (see Laurenzi, 2004: 57). By conferring the protagonist this awareness, as Laurenzi observes, “su hazaña se coloca en el ámbito de lo ‘político’, pues se inspira en la búsqueda de la ley nueva, redentora, que parece dominar toda la historia occidental” (2004: 62; see also footnote eleven).

and many like her, almost a process of initiation into the human condition (2005: 21-24): exile challenges individuals to such an extent that it encourages them to look into their inner selves and develop their own personal project. Abellán also reiterates this point. According to him, “Zambrano vive el exilio y lo considera también para otros como un rito iniciático al conocimiento humano en sí” (Abellán, 2006: 72).

From 1946 − the year of her mother’s death − to 1948 Zambrano resides in Paris, where she is reunited with her sister. They both remain there until 1949 when they go to Mexico, where Zambrano is offered the chair of metaphysics previously held by García Bacca (see Ortega Muñoz, 1992: 33). This time (1946-1953) is marked by writings that make reference to the situation in Spain as well as to the political panorama in Europe (see Ortega Muñoz, 1992: 33; see also Faber, 2002: 44). This is also a period in which she is greatly concerned with the relationship between philosophy and poetry.

Zambrano returns to Europe in 1953; she stays in Rome until 1964, when she moves to La Pièce, near Geneva (1964-1972), and, after her sister’s death, to Geneva itself. Juan Fernando Ortega Muñoz describes this period as the most fruitful (1992: 35). Although she does not abandon her interest in socio-political issues, as can be observed in Persona y Democracia (1958), this can be considered a period of a more metaphysical nature, mirroring to some extent the complexities and direction of the journey of her own life. She explores the concept of God and the differences between lo sagrado and lo divino. During this period, her thought takes her through less accessible paths, which require from the reader immersion and active co-operation in the interpretation of the chains of symbols that fill her pages. Personal experience comes to the fore in her work while it aims to unravel the intricacies of being; biography and intellectual production become, then, inextricably linked as observed in El hombre y lo divino (1955). Zambrano employs her experience of exile as a path which leads her on a journey into her inner self, subsequently reaching dimensions of herself, such as her descent to the ‘ínferos’, the underworld, which she may not have reached otherwise. It is during this European period (1953-1984), after having come to terms with the implications of exile, that she integrates her experiences shaping a more spiritual philosophy. In fact, Zambrano is aware of this internal process early on (1989a: 17). Using the third person to refer to herself, Zambrano already confirms in Delirio y destino − originally written in La Habana in the early fifties − this path to inner discovery opened by the pain she experienced: “y ahora, al no haber podido morir sentía que tenía que nacer por sí misma” (1989a: 11). The use of the third person in autobiography is a frequent occurrence with relevant connotations. The third person may be used to refer to a younger version of oneself which no longer exists. This, however, is unlikely to be the explanation for Zambrano’s use of it, for she is very aware of a sense of progression, that is, she is the person she is at the time of writing partly as a consequence of the person she was.

A more plausible explanation can be found in Bretz’s analysis of the modernist conceptualization of selfhood, according to which

[it] emphasizes the presence of multiple I’s and in other theorizations takes the form of a subject that contains within itself one or multiple ‘others’. The two modes often coexist and although their difference appears slight, the shift in emphasis from an I constituted by multiple selves to an I which contains multiple others proves immensely productive in reimagining the self and its relations with other individuals and groups (2001: 77).

Although Zambrano is not a modernist, her use of the third person in reference to herself – which, in fact, is not constant, but shifts between ella and yo – is part of her deliberate attempt to blur the differentiation between the self and the other as described by Bretz, which is of great significance in understanding her overall thought, as we shall see in the course of this chapter95_.

Zambrano insists on further exploring the concept of “exiliado”, not only from a theoretical perspective, but also by taking a very conscious attitude towards her own position. As she explains in relation to herself and others who suffered a similar fate, “eran ya diferentes. Tuvieron esa revelación: no eran iguales a los demás, ya no eran cuidadanos de ningún país, eran exiliados, desterrados, refugiados…” (Zambrano, 1989a: 237). Although it cannot be said that Zambrano welcomes her first hand experience of exile, because this would imply some degree of desire for it, despite the strain of exile, she does embrace this experience. As Armando López Castro puts it,

María Zambrano supo aceptar la realidad desconocida sin renunciar a la historia que le tocó vivir, antes padeciéndola en su desnudez, por eso el exilio no fue para ella […] sino una forma de liberación y transformación constantes, el nacimiento de una vida más íntegra y completa (2001: 125; see also 120).

She embraces exile intellectually by exploring the concept of exile and its implications, but also at a personal level. Rather than settling down in any of the countries she emigrates to, creating a new ‘homeland’ for herself as many others in her situation do – an experience conveyed by José Gaos’s concept of being transterrado (see Abellán, 2001: 23) – Zambrano does not settle down until she is nearing the end of her life, when she finally returns to her motherland.

It is not until November 1984 that Zambrano returns to Spain and settles in Madrid, where she passes away in 1991. Ortega Muñoz, describing this period (1984-1991) of Zambrano’s thought, says: “el pensamiento de María Zambrano se torna más poético, se estiliza y se depura hasta alcanzar cierto aire místico” (1992: 37). This certain mystical flare, however, does not mean that her writings are strictly speaking mystical, as I shall argue in section 4.4.6.2. Instead, it refers to a turn to self, to being; for in an effort to

95 _{As indicated in the introduction, modernism in Spain constitutes the attempt to reach and embody} modernity (see Abellán, 1989a: 17-18; see also 1.2). In contrast with this, Zambrano criticizes modernity and its consequences, as we shall see in the course of this chapter.

express the ineffable, her writings become more intimate and her style more cryptic (see 4.4.5 and 4.4.6).