by Rosario Ferré

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1942 to a sugar industrialist family, Rosario Ferré grew up in a politically charged household. Her father, Luis, an engineer by trade, was one of the framers of the Puerto Rican Constitution (1950) and served as governor of the island from 1968 to 1972. After earning a Master’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico and a doctorate from the University of Maryland, Ferré herself became politically active. She founded the Puerto Rican literary journal Zona de carga y descarga (Loading and Unloading Zone), which from 1970 to 1976 served as a forum for young Puerto Rican authors. Published in 1976, her first collection of short stories, Papeles de Pandora, included “The Youngest Doll.” Ferré’s fiction focuses on the inferior status of women in Puerto Rico and their dual role as nurturer (wife and mother) and...