As examples of female 'Bildungsromane,' the novels by Lucia Miguel Pereira, Raquel de Queiroz, Clarice Lispector and Lygia Fagundes Telles studied here present elements that characterize the classical male model. Nevertheless, these four Brazilian novels depart from the classical definition of the genre in some important respects, in ways similar to those observed in female 'Bildungsromane' from other cultures. One such difference concerns the purpose of the protagonist's 'Bildung': while the male character searches for a vocation and a philosophy of life, the female hero struggles for self-realization. The denouement also shows disparities: the sense of social and self-integration the male protagonist accomplishes at the end of the narrative is seemingly not possible in the female 'Bildungsroman.' In Miguel Pereira's Amanhecer (1938) and Queiroz's As Tres Marias (1939) both forms of integration--social and personal--are frustrated and the narratives end with the characters' defeat. However, in Lispector's Perto do Coracao Selvagem (1944) and Fagundes Telles' Ciranda de Pedra (1954) the protagonists renounce any possibility of social integration in order to pursue their self-realization. These could be called 'successful female Bildungsromane,' for the end of the narrative signals the promise of new perspectives and accomplishments for the characters These 'Bildungsromane' raise questions of relevance for Brazilian women, such as women's right to education, work as a means of self-realization and independence, the affirmation of female sexuality and the institution of marriage. Read within the context of the Brazilian feminist movement and of the socio-political events that took place in Brazil in the first half of this century, these four novels constitute valuable documents for the understanding of women's situation in Brazil in the 30's, 40's and 50's / acase@tulane.edu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_23949 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Contributors | Ferreira-Pinto, Ana Cristina Caldas (Author), Balderston, Daniel (Thesis advisor) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Access requires a license to the Dissertations and Theses (ProQuest) database., Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law |
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