Gabriela Mistral
1889–1957
Mistral was born in Vicuña, Chile, but was raised in the
small Andean village of Montegrande. Her name at birth was Lucila Godoy
Alcayaga. Later she adapted her pen name as Gabriela Mistral. She was a poet,
diplomat, educationist and a feminist who won the Nobel prize for English
Literature in 1946.
Mistral's work is characterized by including gray tones in her
literature; sadness and bitterness are recurrent feelings on it. These are
evoked in her writings as the reflection of a hard childhood, plagued by
deprivation coupled with a lack of affection in her home. However, since her
youth as a teacher in a rural school, Gabriela Mistral had a great affection
for children that shows throughout her writing. Religion was also reflected in
her literature as Catholicism had great influence in her life. Nevertheless,
she always reflected a more neutral stance regarding the concept of religion.
Thus we can find the religious combined with feelings of love and piety.
She died of pancreatic cancer in Hempstead Hospital in New
York City on 10 January 1957, at the age of 67. She is considered as one of the
worthiest representatives of Latin American literature of twentieth century.
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