El artículo 438 (1921) o el desamparo legal de la mujer casada

In the article we present the short novel "El artículo 438", published in 1921 in La Novela Semanal. The text represents a harsh criticism of the Penal Code of 1870 (article 438), regarding murder of wife or of husband due to adultery and the difference between the treatment of men and women before the law. Emphasis is placed on the author's concern for an unjust law, made by men, which severely limits women's rights. The short novel is one of the occasions used by the author to give narrative form to her interests – expressed also and above all in her essay and journalistic production - for social justice and for women's education, the only way to acquire autonomy and true freedom.