Mujer en traje de batalla

by Antonio Benítez Rojo

The story of Henriette Faber, a woman who fought against many challenges and cultural biases during the 1800s to defense her beliefs and ideals in New York, Paris and Cuba. She even disguised herself as a man to attend medical school.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Drama, Literature, France, Spanish Literature

704 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Antonio Benítez-Rojo fue un novelista, ensayista y escritor de historias cortas cubano. Generalmente es indicado como el más significativo autor cubano de su generación.​ Su obra ha sido traducida en nueve idiomas y recopilada en más de cincuenta antologías.

Reviews

[Maxine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woman in Battle Dress by Cuban author Antonio Benitez Rojo is based on the true story of Henriette Faber. Henriette was born in Switzerland in 1791. In 1809, at the age of 18 and at a time when women were prohibited from studying medicine, she enrolled in medical school disguised as a man. She was drafted into the Napoleonic army and took part in the 1812 retreat in Russia. She eventually emigrated to Cuba where she continued to practice medicine. She eventually married a woman. Three years later, the woman turned her into the authorities and she became the subject of one of Cuba’s most sensational trials.

Henriette was a woman who refused to accept the limitations of her time and was willing to suffer the same hardships that would have been considered heroic in a man. Instead, she was humiliated, stripped of her license, imprisoned, forced to dress in women’s clothes, and eventually exiled. Yet little has ever been heard of her outside of Cuba. In Woman in Battle Dress, Rojo has taken the bare outlines of her life and written a truly sweeping and engrossing historical novel.

The story is admittedly slow but slow doesn’t always mean bad or boring and certainly not in this case. I found myself rereading passages and pages not because I missed something but because I wanted to experience it again. Rojo does an impeccable job of recreating not only Henriette’s life but her voice. This was especially true when writing about her experience as she takes part in the army’s retreat in the dead of a cold Russian winter – Henriette speaks with the clarity and objectivity of a scientist but despite or perhaps because of this, this section of the novel is truly as chilling as the landscape and experiences she is describing.

Woman in Battle Dress is written in the style of a memoir supposedly as she is on her way to exile in Louisiana and in the dense prose of the era, a style that may be off-putting to some readers. However, for any who are fans of historical novels or the classics, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

4.5

[City Lights Booksellers & Publishers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Very few novels dare to explore the historical representation of women to the extent that Woman in Battle Dress does, with impeccable veracity and bravado. The idea that a woman must pretend to be a man in order to become a physician, and is then punished by being forced back into a woman's identity, only to escape to New Orleans as a fictional character, works as a Stendhal novel in reverse. Napoleonic France and the colonial Caribbean are chartered by men; New Orleans is extraterritorial, ready for a new saga. A true Doña Quijota, Henriette Faber takes on these roles to gain her freedom in a novel, the only modern space larger than life."––Julio Ortega, Professor at Brown University, author of Transatlantic Translations

"Reviving the Renaissance and Baroque figure of the virago, in Spanish Golden Age theater the mujer varonil, Antonio Benítez Rojo creates a fascinating woman protagonist who dresses and acts like a man, mostly as a qualified medical doctor, while participating in major historical events in Europe and the Caribbean. The reader's attention is captivated by the suspense generated by the fear that her true sex will be discovered, and entertained by her wiles in trying to prevent it. Woman in Battle Dress is a rich and engaging historical novel."––Roberto González Echevarría, Sterilng Professor of Hispanic and Comparitve Literature, Yale University, author of Modern Latin American Literature: A Very Short Introduction

[nxc · Rating 1 out of 5]

fun fact i didn't finish it im a little more than halfway thru i cannot continue on this book is so lame af. i thought it'd have some crazy cool intellectual discussions abt gender n presentation or whatever whatever but no it's just. this fucking horny ass french girl. props to maryse though she deserved better id much rather it be narrated from maryses pov she went thru Shit fr. there also was a golden opportunity for a cutesy ass romance between the two med school girls but nope nope nothing at all. disappointing af. also what's up with her falling in love with guys solely because of their patriotism girl it's not normal to love a guy cus he loves his country more than u esp if that country's france. the french are crazy man. napoleon?? insane . two stars cus the actual writing wasn't bad at all except for the paragraphs upon paragraphs describing some guys dick. author def projecting.

[Dina Klarisse]

Lingering somewhere between historical and fiction, Woman in Battle Dress follows the journey of real-life Henrietta Faber, a doctor who practiced surgery during the Napoleonic Wars and was later persecuted in Cuba for having lived as a man. An exhausted Henrietta writes to her reader at the dusk of her life, reflecting on love won and lost, wars won and lost, and the effects of these triumphs and tragedies on her identity and capability to live on.

As a soldier who sees some of the most grotesque scenes of war as well as the revolving politics of nationalism and imperialism, Henrietta laments on colonial greed and its impact on all sides. I appreciated the nuances detailed in her and her friends’ brand of liberalism that acknowledged the injustices of their society but made transparent their complacency in the name of individual comfort and conveniences.

What stood out in Benítez-Rojo’s writing was a balance of action and adventure with careful, compassionate contemplation. Weaving together her life as a physician, soldier, and lover, Henrietta also meditates on what this meant as a woman under the guise of a man, tasting freedoms and respect that had been out of her reach from birth. She craves and pines out of love and lust, bound to silence by her secret, betrayed by her trust. Despite -- or maybe because of -- the pains and tribulations of her life, she finds deep and perpetual love in her friendships, coming back to them in the different stages of her life, carrying them inside of her as the people she loved inevitably leave her.

This was a great blend of odyssean adventure, history, and liberal lamenting to start off my reading year. I read this for an upcoming discussion with @sabayabookclub, and am again super happy to have been introduced to a book I would’ve otherwise never crossed paths with!

Recommend this to fans of The Odyssey, Twelfth Night/She’s the Man, and anyone who wants to shit on Napoleon for marching to Moscow right before winter.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed the novel's ability to immerse the reader in women's struggles during this time period. Henriette's story, especially because it is based partially in fact, truly resonates with me as a powerful narrative about a young woman trying to make her way in a world that doesn't see her fit enough to make a difference. I only wish the ending had been more satisfying. In the context of the fact that we don't know what happens to the real Henriette in the end, the story's conclusion makes sense. However, I would have appreciated the author creating a satisfying ending for her of his own.

[Susrutha Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sprawling tale set in the early 1800s in two continents, follows through the tumultuous reign of Napolean and tells the resilience of a woman in an age she was not allowed to pursue her passions. The blurb is slightly misleading as this book is not just about Henrietta's adventures as a man during war time but her life as a whole since she was fifteen and first fallen in love. We follow her life as she perseveres through struggles, falls in love, makes beautiful friendships, holds onto family. It's a tale of love, friendship, loss and above all, resilience. Certainly worth reading.

[Waheed Rabbani · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1827, Henriette (Enriqueta), a convict, and Madeline, a prostitute, are on a ship bound for New Orleans from Havana. Henriette is being deported and sent to a convent. Bribing the captain, Madeline exchanges her passport and clothes with Henriette’s, which lets Henriette escape. Later, while ensconced in a New York hotel, she pens her memoir.

Henriette Faber was born in 1791 in Switzerland. Orphaned at a young age, she is brought up by her uncle. After her husband, a dashing Hussar, is killed, she poses as a man called Henri and enrolls at the medical school at the Université de Paris at the age of 18. We learn of her service – forbidden to women at that time – as a surgeon in Napoleon’s Army and her participation in various campaigns, including the disastrous retreat from Russia in 1812. Henri is captured by Wellington in Spain and then finds her way to Cuba, getting in trouble with another woman and the law there. This captivating account keeps us turning the pages.

This is the last novel by the late Antonio Benitez-Rojo, an acclaimed Cuban author. Using the sparse historical records, he has skillfully reconstructed Henriette/Enriqueta’s not-widely-known life story. The exquisitely detailed chronicle, written in the first person and seamlessly translated by Jessica Powell, is a fascinating read. We are taken along with Henriette on her epic journey, hear her thoughts, and observe the joys and pains she experiences while growing up, attending grand balls, having adventures on the battlefield, dealing with slaves, and practicing medicine in the demanding disguise of a man. Although the “telling” format Benítez-Rojo uses for her story can be tiring to read at times, he keeps the novel to a manageable length. This is a valuable addition to existing stories about courageous gender-bending women, and as such it is highly recommended.

This review first appeared in the Historical Novels Review Magazine Issue 75 (February 2016)

[Cristina Contilli]

Il libro è la biografia romanzata di Henriette Faber, donna medico nell'esercito francese durante la campagna militare in Russia (si era arruolata per amore di un ussaro), finita prigioneria degli inglesi... un libro avvincente ed avventuroso che mi è stato utile per costruire la figura di Therese Duplessis Hulin in "Amore e rivoluzione"

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story!

Woman in Battle Dress is certainly a story not to be missed. It is compelling, intriguing, and you will be captured from the start. I highly recommend Woman in Battle Dress.

This review is my own and I give it freely.

[World Literature Today]

This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the November/December 2015 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.

http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[Maria A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is a good book for those who like detailed history novels. I found it confusing and boring. Not my type of book.

[Mills College Library]

Fiction B467w 2015