“Turma da Mônica em:” um olhar historiográfico sobre a imagem da “menina” a partir da construção da personagem Mônica, de Mauricio de Sousa (1963-1970)

Abstract

Comic book characters such as Mônica, created by Mauricio de Sousa, have managed to endure across generations due to their strong representational capacity. In this sense, it becomes relevant to investigate the process of construction of the character during the seven years that separate her appearance in newspaper comic strips (1963) from the publication of her own magazine, Mônica e a Sua Turma (1970). The aim is to understand why this girl, who challenged the aesthetic and behavioral standards of her time, became consolidated as a central protagonist of Brazilian culture. This qualitative research conducts a detailed study of sources, ranging from the strips originally published in Folha de São Paulo (1963–1970) to the first story starring her released in comic book format in the following decade (1970). Engaging with authors from different areas of the Humanities, such as Philippe Ariès (1981), Joan Scott (1995), Márcio Antônio Gatti (2013), and Lajolo & Zilberman (2017), the study proposes to structure a historiographical perspective on the construction of the female child character, seeking to understand how her representation reverberated in the ways childhood was viewed and portrayed in comics. By connecting Brazilian children’s literature, comics, childhood, and gender, the research seeks to answer questions about the origin of the character Mônica, her consolidation as the protagonist of Mauricio de Sousa Produções’ publications, and her impact on the conception of childhood in Brazil. Finally, the study also analyzes how Mônica was incorporated into Brazilian education, investigating her presence in the school environment and exploring the possibilities of using comics as a pedagogical resource in History teaching.