Liberal, Libertario, Libertino

Esse ano, ganhei uma bolsa de pesquisa para estudar o teatro brasileiro do século XIX. Entre os meses de maio e agosto de 2009, estarei enfiado na Biblioteca Nacional e no Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, devorando peças e pareceres teatrais.

Além disso, em junho, na PUC-RJ, vou falar sobre o mesmo assunto na Conferência da LASA (Latin American Studies Association, maior associação de estudos latino-americanos do mundo): "Ausente dos Romances e Presente no Teatro: O Escravo na Literatura Brasileira do Século XIX."

Abaixo, para quem quiser acompanhar os meus últimos interesses intelectuais, o texto da proposta da bolsa:

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Slavery in Nineteenth Century Brazilian Theater

The Ph. D. Dissertation

Brazil was the last independent Western nation to abolish slavery, in 1888. For its entire national and colonial history, Brazil was defined by and dependent on slavery. Throughout the nineteenth century, as Brazil tried to assert and create its own national identity, slavery and abolition were among the most passionately contested intellectual, moral and economical issues. The morality and/or economic necessity of slavery were discussed in editorials, in Congress, in the streets. Surprisingly enough, while other slave-owning societies involved in the same debate produced at least some memorable narratives of slavery, such as Uncle Tom's Cabin, Huckleberry Finn and Benito Cereno, in the United States, and Cecilia Valdes and Sab, in Cuba, no major, canonical Brazilian novel explored the human dramas intrinsic to slavery. Even though slavery was literally everywhere, slaves are almost invisible from canonical nineteenth century Brazilian literature, visible only as shadows in the background, never as fully human characters capable of love and hate.

However, the conspicuous absence of Brazilian nineteenth century fictional narratives of slavery is more a product of a set of canonization processes fueled by turn-of-the-century scientific racism rather than nineteenth century disinterest in the subject. Original archival research in Rio de Janeiro has allowed me to uncover a veritable underground corpus of forgotten novels dealing with the intrinsic dramas of a slave-owning society. Most were serialized in newspapers between the years 1850 and 1880, a few of the most successful ones were published in book form immediately after the release of their final chapters and almost none have been republished or even studied in the twentieth century. Contrary to what a cursory look at the Brazilian literary canon might suggest, slavery did constitute one of the major themes of nineteenth century literature. It is my assertion that a close reading of Brazilian essayist production on the period immediately after Abolition (contemporary with the rise of scientific racist theories such as craniometry and phrenology) indicates a conscious, purposeful national project to forget the shameful institution of slavery and eradicate its memory.

My Ph. D. dissertation contemplates three chapters. On the first one, analysis of non-canonical unpublished nineteenth century novels on slavery will attempt to demonstrate the importance of this issue to contemporary authors and reading audience. The original archival research for this chapter was funded by a XXXXX travel grant on the Summer of 2006. The second chapter will show how slavery was perhaps the major theme of the vibrant Brazilian nineteenth century theater. If granted, the 2009 XXX Summer Research Award would fund archival research for this chapter in Rio de Janeiro. Thirdly, the writings of turn-of-the-century thinkers and essayists will be used to investigate the process through which these literary works on slavery were gradually excluded from the established canon.

Slavery in Brazilian Nineteenth Century Theater

Most of the Brazilian nineteenth century dramatic production has been forgotten: a handful of plays is mentioned on literary history manuals, even fewer are still in print and none (save the rarest occasional exception) is regularly performed. In spite of this, it is impossible to overstate the importance of theater, then the only existing mass medium, for mid-nineteenth century Brazilian culture. By 1850, Brazilian authors had begun rejecting the previous Romantic rebellious, bohemian ideals (including "art for art's sake") and fully embraced the ideals of so-called Realism: more subdued performances, less convoluted plots, more focus on the ensemble rather than on any one star and, most importantly, a conscious effort to depict reality as it was - or at least as it was for the bourgeois theater audience. Theater should offer society a "moral daguerreotype" of itself; both moralist and utilitarian, its goal should be the regeneration of society according to the ethical values of the recently-rising urban bourgeois. Instead of the passionate, doomed love affairs of misfits and kings, the plays now focused on proper courtships between well-behaved young adults, leading to happy, well-adjusted marriages. Ironically enough, given the conservative nature of these plays, one of the main themes was also a severe denouncing of slavery. The focus, however, was always a staunch defense of the sacred institution of the bourgeois family: slavery was a social problem not because of its structural failings but rather because it subjected the white masters to the temptations of in-house fornication and adultery.

Under the benign 49-year rule of constitutional emperor D. Pedro II (1840-89), Brazil enjoyed remarkable freedom of expression and freedom of the press. It is a testament to the perceived importance of theater that it was one of the only (albeit limited) exception: for a play to be performed, it first had to be approved by the censors of the Conservatório Dramático Brasileiro (National Theater Institute), among whom were some of the best contemporary writers, such as Machado de Assis and Joaquim Manuel de Macedo. According to its statutes, the Conservatório could censor plays for offenses against the Catholic religion, the Royal Family or the all-encompassing "morality and public standards" ("bons costumes"). Even if censored, plays could still be freely published or even performed on private, non-government funded theaters.

My research will focus on plays about slavery, the Institute rulings ("pareceres") approving or disapproving of their performance, their reception at the time of their initial performance and/or publication, and their subsequent staging and republication career. How did these plays mirror the contemporary debates on the morality and expediency of slavery? Why were some plays about slavery censored ("O Escravocrata", 1884) and not others? Why were some plays about slavery immensely successful ("O Demônio Familiar", 1857) and not others ("Sangue Limpo", 1861)? Was their approach to slavery seen (by the press or by the Conservatório) as a significant factor in their success/failure? What were the limits of the audience's tolerance for such an uncomfortable topic? How was the subsequent staging and republication careers of these plays influenced by their choice subject?