Um olhar pelo buraco da fechadura: as personagens femininas oitocentistas no diário Minha Vida de Menina, de Helena Morley

Abstract

This study intends to make an analysis of the work Minha vida de menina, of Helena Morley, pseudonym of Alice Dayrell Caldeira Brant, in view of the representation of the role of women in the nineteenth century Brazilian period. Published in 1942, this book is the reunion of the manuscripts of a diary that Helena wrote from 1893 to 1895, when she was between 13 and 15 years old, in the city of Diamantina, Minas Gerais. In this work, there are several female characters, especially the mother, the grandmother and the sister of Helena, who have behavior consistent with the patriarchalism in force at a time when power was predominantly concentrated in the male figure. This aspect is confirmed when we analyze the figures of Helena’s father and older brother, whose roles are pertinent to the culturally imposed characteristics of the period in question. On the other hand, despite this condition, one can see that the protagonist is able to break, to a certain extent, some of the stereotypical precepts imposed on nineteenth-century Brazilian women. The protagonist reflects and questions the role of the nineteenth-century woman, highlighting, at times, the differences between men and women in the society of this period.