Seis Hermanas (RTVE series)
Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part series on why “Seis Hermanas” should be considered one of the best feminist shows to ever grace our homes.
For centuries, women around the world have struggled to find where they fit in. Less than a century ago, they were told that their worth was dependent on their ability to bear children, nothing more and nothing less. The line delineating the roles of male and female have always been clear cut and going against the grain was unthinkable. While we have made great strides to battle for equality and parity in a male-dominated society, it’s been an uphill battle for much of the last century.
Here’s the thing about us women, we have a mind of our own and, sometimes, we believe society needs a little help in seeing what is actually right. Throughout history there have been many who have proven the contrary to this paradigm: Olympe De Gouges, Frida Kahlo, Joan of Arcadia, Catherine the Great to name a few. With those, there have been millions of others who have lived and gone under the radar, the historians unaware that they had lived contrary to what society had set out for them.
In present time, we take for granted the struggles that those before us have had to overcome. We have a mountain to climb in terms of getting true equality, but we don’t fully understand how far we have actually come in the last century. Seis hermanas gives us an ingenious take of how women could have fought and changed things during a pivotal time in history without actually making the history books. It brings to light the battles women faced and how they got around them, it showed how being a feminist didn’t necessarily mean you needed to hold a sign and break down doors to say you wanted equality.
Many would ask what makes this show so special. The fact that the story revolves around six women should already be a hint. Six strong female leads, each different, yet all sharing one common goal, set in a time when women were considered chattel, a piece of property to be owned by the highest male bidder. Their goal was simple, to live and protect what was theirs.
Their father laid upstairs, lifeless, and the six of them hovered over his body, tears pouring down their faces because their world had just come crashing down. They were going through the motions, but it hadn’t quite sunk in what his death truly meant. Moments later, Adela, the eldest, sat, frozen in time, her mind racing from the events of the evening. It slowly dawned on her that without their father, they had no one to claim what was theirs. They would soon be penniless if she didn’t think of a way to safeguard their futures.
While everyone grieved, she knew what needed to be done. In a time when women were not even allowed to conduct business or make decisions for themselves, Adela had made the ultimate feminist choice – she was making a decision for herself. She chose to step into her father’s shoes and take over what was rightfully theirs. Not having a head for business or knowing how she would pull it off, she knew that it would take the six of them to unite and figure things out.
Now let’s think about this, this show is set in 1913 Spain where women didn’t even walk alone at night, yet here we have a show daring to say these women can somehow skirt society and be able to live a life of their choosing. The show gave modern viewers a glimpse of the injustices women faced, the punishments they endured for daring to think or live independently. They cast a spotlight on the definite biasness that society had towards men and women in this era and gave us characters who could manuever through all that, and in a way, beat the system.
People would look at this story and think it is just for entertainment, but … take a closer look. For those who are on the fence on what women are truly fighting for, the battle for independence is on full display. We aren’t fighting to take anyone’s place, we aren’t fighting to show we are better than the person next to us. We are fighting for a fair shake. Fighting to be seen as true equals, human beings with minds and dreams of our own, ambitions and desires that fuel us. We don’t want to say we are better, we want to be given a chance to live our best lives and if we happen to be better, well, that’s just a bonus.
“Seis Hermanas” is an eye-opening foray into the battles women have faced since the dawn of time. It’s not anger or rage against males or the unwritten rules that dictate societal expectations, it’s a demand to be treated as equals and given the free right to choose “whatever” for themselves.
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