“Recordar? Esquecer? Indiferente!…
Prender ou desprender? É mal? É bem?
Quem disser que se pode amar alguém
Durante a vida inteira é porque mente!
Remember? Forget? Nonetheless!…
Retain or release? Is it wrong? Is it right?
Whoever says one can hold on tight
To love all through one’s life is telling lies!”
Daughter of João Maria Espanca, a photographer in the provincial town of Vila Viçosa, near Évora, Florbela d’Alma da Conceição was born in 1894 within a love triangle (three-person relationship). Her birth mother was a beautiful 15-year-old housemaid, while her father’s wife was not able to conceive children and agreed to the newborn being brought up by both herself and the baby’s biological mother. There is no doubt that her out-of-the-ordinary childhood influenced her outlook on life, love, children and loss, graciously expressed in her evocative poetry.
She began rhyming – mainly sonnets – at an early age; the poem ‘A Vida e A Morte’ (The Life and The Death) was written when she was only eight years old. After graduating high school, she was accepted by the University of Lisbon, where she was one of seven women, out of a total of 313 students, enrolled in the School of Law. During her short but intense life, the unfortunate poetess was married three times and suffered a series of miscarriages, quite severe pulmonary health problems, and major depressive disorder – all contributing to her three suicide attempts. Unfortunately, the third (and last) one was successful, and Florbela died on 8 December 1930, her 36th birthday, from an overdose of Barbital.
It was not just her sad, deeply personal history that made Florbela Espanca interesting. She had quite revolutionary ideas for that conservative time. But her passionate and melancholic personality led to a dark style of poetry, rich in imagery and symbolism. Florbela contributed weekly prose pieces to a few Portuguese periodicals. She was a contemporary of Fernando Pessoa and Manuel da Fonseca, and her readers were impressed mainly by the unusual raw honesty, and by the intensity of feelings and passion her writing expressed. Even though she was not a declared feminist, Florbela demanded and expected to be taken as seriously as any man, challenging societal old-fashioned norms at a time when female voices were often brutally silenced.
There have always been many fans of her powerful and poignant poetry, but for many years it was not given due recognition by critics (they dismissed her work as overly feminine and narcissistic) and the literature departments of European universities (who failed to recognise the depth of emotion and the innovative use of language that characterised her poetry). Nowadays, Florbela Espanca is one of Portugal’s most cherished poets. She stands as an undeniable towering figure of 20th-century Portuguese literature, whose work is the object of serious critical study.
Despite all the challenges, Florbela’s voice remains a powerful and timeless legacy of both sorrow and strength. Her ability to capture the essence of the universal topics continues to resonate today, almost one century later, with readers seeking to connect with themes of loneliness, melancholy, loss, abandonment and an unfulfilled longing for love, but also female strength and the power of desire, transcending geographical and cultural boundaries. Though her life was tragically cut short at the young age of 36, this only adds to the aura of mystery and romanticism that surrounds her cry for love and freedom and stands as a testament to the enduring power of human emotions.
Florbela did not see herself as a victim. Instead, she challenged the unjust structures of society and paved the way for future generations of female writers. As we read her verses, we are reminded that even in the depths of sorrow, there is beauty, and the human spirit continues to yearn for connection and love.
Portuguese fado singer Mariza performs the poem Desejos Vãos (Vain Wishes) by Florbela Espanca
Vain Wishes
I wanted to be the proud Sea
That laughs and sings, the immense vastness!
I wanted to be the Stone that doesn’t think,
The stone of the path, rough and strong!
I wanted to be the Sun, the immense light,
The good of what is humble and unlucky!
I wanted to be the rough and dense tree
Who laughs at the vain world and even to death!
But the Sea also cries with sadness…
The trees too, like someone praying,
Open their arms to the Heavens, like a believer!
And the proud and strong Sun, at the end of a day,
There are tears of blood in agony!
And the Stones… those… everyone steps on them! …
Florbela Espanca, in “Book of Sorrows”
