This collection of essays discloses the different ways in which Spanish women writers have described and resisted socially imposed limitations on their gender. The contributions provide a balance between writers well known in Spain and those who have only recently received critical attention, from Santa Teresa de Jesús and Maria de Zayas to Emilia Pardo Bazán and Montserrat Roig. The last three essays in the volume focus on Spain's 'double minorities' : Catalan women writers.