A desigualdade de gênero no romance Úrsula: a construção identitária das personagens femininas

Abstract

Ursula (2017), the first Brazilian abolitionist romance, was written by Maria Firmina dos Reis and remained forgotten along decades, until a sample was discovered in a library located in Maranhão by the mid-70’s. It portrays the story of the main character, whose name gives title to the work, and her encounter with Tancredo, with whom she is a romantic partner. At first, this literary work can be perceived as a love story between these two characters, however, Reis develops a series of social criticisms on patriarchy and slavery during the first half of the XIX century, giving voice to characters that were commonly restrained on other works from the romantic period. The present study sought to analyze the identity construction of the female characters, with emphasis on the social standards, to which these characters are strongly opposed through their personalities, as well as studies that highlight the condition of women in the nineteenth century, that can be considered fruits of a feminist line about themes addressed by authors such as (DUARTE, 2003) (ALVES AND PITANGUY, 1985), (FOREST, 2010), besides authors who research about black woman as Carneiro (2011), Davis (2016), and Ribeiro (2018). Moreover, it is crucial to analyze the narrative elements due to the fact that, as long as the characters express their feelings, manifestations of their psychological aspects occur. In order to accomplish this, we will study the narrative theory with regard to narrative focus (FRIEDMAN, 2002), space and ambiance (LINS, 1976). The characters elaborated by Reis disturb, annoy and transform the notions of social standards that narrowed the existence of both black and white women in the midst of Brazilian society in the nineteenth century. Through the arrangement of the actions throughout the novel, we seek to emphasize the fierce criticisms established by Reis, that turned her into a precursor in literature, abolitionism, and an icon of resistance against patriarchy, whose fight still echoes in the present days