Klara Characters: “Las Invisibles”
Laboratorio Foster, Residencia de Señoritas, Madrid. Photo from https://dialogoatlantico.com/2016/05/las-chicas-de-maeztu/residencia-senoritas-laboratorio/
Dr. Herminia Adrados , center, with nurses and young patient, from http://pares.mcu.es/ParesBusquedas20/catalogo/show/12922218
In my novel, Home So Far Away, Klara, recently hired at the Medical School in Madrid, becomes friendly with and ends up facilitating a group of the very few female students of medicine. They dub themselves "Las Invisibles", for reasons you'll read about and can imagine. Here you'll meet some of the historic women who inspired this section of my book:
Herminia Adrados Vicente was born in Madrid in 1913, to a progressive family that promoted education in girls. She studied at the Madrid School of Medicine from 1927-1934, living at the Residencia de Señoritas, one of the forward-looking institutions of the Spanish Republic. (see a robotic translation for information here: https://second.wiki/wiki/residencia_de_sec3b1oritas). The Spanish Civil War forced the closure of educational institutions and the Residencia reopened as a fascist entity after the war. Herminia became a well-known pediatrician in Madrid and married neurologist Manuel Peraita. Manuel became ill with tuberculosis, which prevented him from fleeing fascist Spain with Herminia and their three young children. He died at age 41 and Herminia continued to work and bring up the children. For much of this information I owe many thanks to Herminia's daughter, Dr. María Rosa Peraita, whom I met in the 1970's at Stanford University, not knowing that she had a mother who would appear in a book of mine!
Herminia Adrados (L) and Pilar Bonet Rosado, tennis match. Pilar is dressed in mourning for a recently deceased relative. Madrid, Residencia de Señoritas, ca. 1931. Photo courtesy of Ma. Rosa Peraita Adrados.
Herminia Adrados and Pilar Bonet, Madrid, Residencia de Señoritas, 1930
Rosa Peraita and Pilar Bonet with poster of their mothers, commemorating the centennial of the Residencia, Madrid, 2015.
Oversized snowball rolled at the Residencia de Señoritas, 1930-31. Photo courtesy of Rosa Peraita.
Herminia’s daughter, Dr. Rosa Peraita, Madrid, 2020.