Caterina Albert

Caterina Albert i Paradís
Born	11 September 1869
Died	27 January 1966
Pen name	Víctor Català
Language	Spanish, Catalan
Nationality	Spanish
Literary movement	Modernisme
Notable works	Solitud (Solitude) (1905)

Caterina Albert i Paradís (L'Escala, Spain, 11 September 1869 — 27 January 1966), better known by her penname Víctor Català, was a Spanish writer in Catalan and Spanish who participated in the Modernisme movement and was the author of one of the signature works of the genre, Solitud (Solitude) (1905). Her literary skill was first recognized in 1898, when she received the Jocs Florals (floral games) prize; soon thereafter, she began using the pseudonym Victor Català, taking it from the protagonist of a novel she never finished. Despite her success as a dramatist and her forays into poetry, she is best known for her work in narrative literature, with the force of her style and the richness of her diction being especially noted. She died in her hometown of l’Escala, Catalonia, in 1966 and is interred in the Cementiri Vell de l’Escala.

She began her literary career very young, collaborating with l’Almanach de L'Esquella de la Torratxa. This satirical publication featured her first writings—romantic poems under the pen name Virigili d’Alacseal—between 1897 and 1900.

Around this time she received the Jocs Florals d’Olot prize (a prize given during the Catalan St George’s Day) for her poems “Lo llibre nou” (the new book) and the monologue “La infanticida” (infanticide). A small scandal erupted when the jury learned that the author of the latter, an especially poignant work of theater, was a young girl from l’Escala, and so from that point forward Albert used the pseudonym Victor Català for all her writings.

Her first published book was the collection of poems Lo cant dels mesos (The Song of the Months) (1901). Albert had other vocations as well: she was a drawer, a painter and a sculptor. Unfortunately, this aspect of her talent never became part of her professional career: she was only featured in one exposition in her life, at the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc in December 1955.

It seems that as her literary career began to take off, she left her artistic aspirations behind. In 1901 she published her only collection of monologues, 4 Monòlegs, and began collaborating with the modernist magazine Joventut (1900–1906). This publication would serve as a platform to launch her into the public consciousness and advance her literary ambitions; in it, she wrote her first “rural dramas”, her darkest and most poignant narratives. In 1902 her book entitled Drames rurals (rural dramas) was published and the mystery of her pseudonym began to bring her fame. It was also during this time that she began her relationships with Narcís Oller and Joan Maragall. Using her pen name as a shield, she could write whatever pleased her, without any moral limits. Without “Víctor Català”, the criticism could return, as society still did not look favorably upon female authors. In 1902 her fixation on the darker aspects of the human condition began to attract criticism. Soon thereafter, she published a collection of tales, Ombrívoles (1904) and a second collection of poems, Llibre Blanc (White Book) (1905). She also published several less dramatic narratives, as well as a few poems, in the magazine La Ilustració Catalana (The Catalan Enlightenment).

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