Social themes in the novels of Aluisio Azevedo
Description
Little investigative criticism has been devoted exclusively to the novels of Aluisio Azevedo. Social themes in two of his important novels, O mulato and O cortico, have been specifically considered in Josue Montelo's book Aluisio Azevedo e a Polemica d' O Mulato, (1975), Rui Mourao's Um mundo de galegos e cabras (on O Cortico) 1974, Murray MacNicholl's O Mulato and Maranhao: The Socio-Historical Context (1975), Antonio Candido's A passagem do dois ao tres (on O Cortico, written as a reaction to Affonso Romano de Sant'Anna's analysis), 1977, and Sonia Brayner's A metafora de corpo no romance naturalista, estudo sobre O Cortico, 1973. An excellent study of O cortico has been done by Affonso Romano de Sant'Anna in his Analise estrutural de romances brasileiros (1977) Perhaps the most complete study of Aluisio's works is Jean-Yves Merian's Aluisio Azevedo: Vida e obra (1988). This work examines most aspects of Aluisio's novels, and he does include some of the less well studied books. The need for a comprehensive study of social themes in his works is evident, and the purpose of this investigation is to study selected social themes in his twelve novels. Uma lagrima de mulher, 1879, O mulato, 1881, A mortalha de Alzira, 1893, A Condessa Vesper, 1882, Girandola de amores, 1882, Filomena Borges, 1884, Casa de penao, 1884, O homem, 1887, O Coruja, 1889, O cortico, 1890, Livro de uma sogra, 1895, and Mattos, Malta, ou Matta? (Published in serial form in 1885 and published as a novel in 1985). The novel O esqueleto, once considered to be Aluisio's, is no longer thought to be of his authorship. Chapter One will deal with Aluisio's early serialized novels; Chapter Two will investigate the theme of anticlericalism in O mulato and A mortalha de Alzira. The themes of race and tenement will occupy Chapter Three, and the study of socio-cultural types (Rita Baiana, etc.) will constitute Chapter Four. Chapter Five will deal with his views of the city and other related themes Aluisio will be shown to be the master portrayer, in vivid and dynamic prose, of a society that struggles with its racial identity, seeks economic well-being, and deals with its overpowering emotional proclivities