Elisabeth Moutzan - Martinegou

Elisabeth Moutzan – Martinegou was born in Zakynthos in 1801. She was a writer; in fact she was the first Greek female novelist. From the total of her voluminous works that included theatrical plays written in Italian and Greek, only surviving work is her Autobiography, which was published in 1831, and was later on expurgated by her son in 1881. Martinegou’s work is particularly important, as it constitutes a sensitive protest against the exclusion of women of the time from social life and education. She grew up pent in her home, according to the habit of the time, and passionately devoted herself to letters. She was a forerunner of feminist views in Greece. She passed away in 1831, while giving birth to her son, the child of a marriage that she was forced to consent to.