José Ortega y Gasset y María Zambrano, una relación intelectual bidireccional

It is widely known that José Ortega y Gasset was an influential figure for María Zambrano, who always considered herself her disciple, despite the fact that her path would soon diverge from the one outlined by her mentor. It should be highlighted that, despite her deep admiration for Ortega, theirs was not a unidirectional relationship.

Despite her age and her gender, the young thinker was fully integrated into Madrid’s intellectual circles during the 1920s and 30s. She taught at the Universidad Central, she participated in social gatherings (tertulias) and in the Pegadogical Missions. She also published several articles and a book, while she also campaigned for the Second Republic before its proclamation and in the face of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. It was particularly during the decade of the 1930s that Zambrano tried to influence Ortega’s political ideas and actions, as already indicated by Jesús Moreno Sanz in his introduction to Horizonte del liberalismo (1996). The aim of this paper is to explore the nature and reach of this influence during the years 1930-36, by paying particular attention to their epistolary exchange.