Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda was a 19th century Cuban writer born in 1814 who came from a wealthy Spanish background. She wrote poems and plays from a young age. Her most famous work was the novel Sab, published in 1841, which criticized slavery in Cuba and addressed issues of race and gender. Sab told the story of a slave named Sab who falls in love with his master's daughter and examined the moral differences between black and white characters regarding slavery. The book was controversial for its time due to its anti-slavery message and portrayal of interracial relationships.

2. Avellaneda’s Life
 Born in Cuba on March 23, 1814, Died February 1,
1873
 Came from a noble background of wealthy Spaniards
 Was an avid reader and learner from early childhood
 Wrote poems and plays from a young age

3. Avellaneda’s Life
 Left for Spain at 22
 Found fame in Spain for her writing
 Began writing Sab in Spain
 Tried to enroll in the Royal Academy in Spain but was
not given admission because she was a woman
 Moved back to Cuba in her late 40s where she
continued writing until her death in 1873

4. Sab
 Avellaneda’s most controversial book and her first
novel
 Published in 1841
 Considered to be the Cuban version of Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 A literary protest against the practice of slavery

5. Sab
 The story of an Afro-Cuban (Cuban of African
descent) slave named Sab, who is in love with Carlotta,
his master’s daughter
 Addresses questions of moral superiority between
black and white characters around the issue of slavery
 Exemplifies the Cuban literary movement “Negrismo,”
in which white authors represented black characters in
positive ways and white characters in negative ways

6. Sab
 Was banned in Cuba for its criticism of slavery
 Was also considered scandalous because it addresses
miscegenation, or interracial relationships
 Contains parallels between inequalities experienced by
black people and those experienced by women