«a mi morada oscura, desmantelada y fría». Poslugares, estado y literatura:La casa de rosalía castro

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reflect upon what we propose to term as literary ‘postplace’. A representative case is laid out: that of the house in A Matanza (Padrón, Spain), where Rosalía Castro died in 1885, and which has been serving as a museum and Foundation dedicated to the author’s life since 1972. Literary post-places are here defined as figures of public memory –commemorative sites that served as a backdrop for fictional or biographical events (very frequently related with an author’s life) that have had important literary implications. In this light, post-place can be quite revealing of the connections linking the State and the institutionalisation of literary works and authors. To elucidate these processes, the controversial relationship between A Matanza and Castro’s last book Beside the River Sar (En las orillas del Sar, 1884) will be analysed.