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In this study we shall attempt to show how public education for females functioned in its beginnings as a mold that encapsulated women in the traditional social role assigned to them: mothers, spouses, and housewives. At the same time, such education attempted to ensure that women remained subject to a situation of inferiority, by conceiving of them permanently as girls in contrast with the men of the male sex. This situation is shown even by the terminology used officially and produced by the Ministry of Public Instruction. On the other hand, and in spite of these structural differences by gender, many female teachers and students were able to break out of the mold and create escapes that allowed females to prove and demonstrate that girls grow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reconstructs the process that culminated in the "Decreto Amunátegui", which allowed Chilean women the application to university studies. It analyzes the polemics which took place in the country's public opinion, starting with the initiative by Antonia Tarragó and Isabel Le Brun (1872 and 1876 respectively) for the recognition of high school exams as valid to apply to the Universidad de Chile. Press commentaries on their unsuccessful efforts contributed to building up the political environment for the signature, in February, 1877, by Miguel Luis Amunátegui, Minister of Education, of the decree facilitating the admittance of women to higher education. This article reflects on the significance of this decree in the context of the underlying secularization process, by paying special attention to the conflict expressed in the positions adopted by the Catholic and liberal presses. The conclusion is that these discussions express the tension between tradition and modernity taking place in Chilean culture during the second half of the 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]