Senhora: uma articulação cultural da representação feminina no século XIX

Abstract

Established and fruitful author of the romantic aesthetic in Brazil, José Martiniano de Alencar is known for creating the so called "Women profiles", which has novels like Lucíola (1862), Diva (1864) and Senhora (1875), that portrays the ascension of the bourgeoisie class from Rio de Janeiro, that, little by little, changes several habits from the elites, especially the look on women and her social role. The investigation proposed here is destined to discuss how this bourgeois woman is represented in the novel published in 1875; and how this portrayal reflects the habits and dictates XIX Century Rio de Janeiro, along the three axis chosen for this study: the domain of men over the feminine; the female portrayal and education; the relationship between marriage and the bourgeoise. In face of this, the changes that occurred in the habits of the Brazilian society which passes from rural aristocracy to urban bourgeoise will be observed, through the chosen narrative for the present investigation.