The family of María Zambrano donates manuscripts that could include an unpublished novel of hers

The family of the philosopher María Zambrano (1904-1991) has donated to the foundation that bears her name manuscripts of the thinker that could include an unpublished novel by her, along with documents such as letters, photographs, furniture, paintings, and personal items, such as a suitcase or glasses.

The María Zambrano Foundation, located in the philosopher’s hometown of Vélez-Málaga, has received this legacy from the author's family, who is recognized, among other distinctions, with the 'Miguel de Cervantes' Literature Prize.

The donation was made by Leonor Araceli Paloma Tomero, Zambrano's niece and daughter of Rafael Tomero Alarcón, the philosopher’s first cousin, and includes texts and various materials related to the thinker that comprise 45 archive boxes.

A notebook from Max Aub

There are negatives and newspaper clippings, correspondence, manuscripts, family documentation, books by Blas Zambrano and class notes from Araceli Alarcón, the author’s parents; the family tree, a notebook from writer Max Aub, the book Notes on a Method by Zambrano corrected by Rafael Tomero, and artistic works by Pérez Carrión, Souto, or Ramón Gaya, among others.

The transfer, made during a visit to the foundation in 2023 but finally materialized now, adds to the heritage about Zambrano that this entity already possessed and that now increases with the incorporation of this contribution.

This foundation, which works on valuing the trajectory of the philosopher, sees this donation as a further step, of great historical value, to preserve and disseminate the memory and legacy of María Zambrano, as highlighted by the president of the entity and mayor of Vélez-Málaga, Jesús Lupiáñez.

Meanwhile, the managing director of the foundation, Luis Ortega, has expressed to EFE his caution regarding the possibility that the legacy contains an unpublished novel by Zambrano, as it still lacks guarantees and is pending review and confirmation with experts, given the recent delivery of the material.

"Manuscript resembling a novel with Zambrano's handwriting"

At the same time, he admitted that in a preliminary classification of the legacy they saw "a manuscript that looked like a novel and with the handwriting of Zambrano" and that lacks a title, but he has chosen to "not get ahead of himself" for now.

He explained that for years it was suspected that the philosopher wrote a novel in her youth that was going to be called Desde entonces, although at the moment he cannot guarantee that it corresponds to what was found.

Ortega specified that Zambrano mentioned in private circles at the time that she had written a novel and that apparently, she even mentioned it in some interviews. The content of the legacy, with manuscripts attributed to her although unsigned, has "interest for the Zambranian community," but still needs to be analyzed.

'Delirium and Destiny'

The director recalled that the philosopher wrote, among her various books, Delirium and Destiny, about the Second Spanish Republic, which moves away from her usual essay or philosophical style and has "more of a novelistic vocation, in which she recounts in the first and third person the journey through Spain in the 1930s."

Leonor Araceli Paloma Tomero was appointed a lifetime trustee of the María Zambrano Foundation in 2024 and her father maintained a close relationship with the thinker and her family, supported her during her exile, and actively collaborated in the creation and development of the foundation.

Luis Ortega has thanked the family for the donation "for its incalculable historical and artistic value." The significance of this contribution exceeds the merely patrimonial, as it will provide more data on María Zambrano's family origins and will allow experts the opportunity to delve into documentation of the philosopher previously unknown.