A obra de José de Alencar: expressão conservadora diante dos problemas do segundo reinado

Abstract

National ideological production is a relatively late object compared to the history of humanity's production of thought. Officially independent in 1822, the first steps of Brazilian thinkers were taken in the mid-19th century. This is the scenario of our object of study. José de Alencar was one of the main names in this first moment of Brazilian ideological production, based on his contribution to literature. Through his novels, the author reaches posterity as one of the pioneers of national literature, and perhaps for this reason, he is still widely read today. Framed by literary critics and commentators within conservative thought, we look at his work with the aim of highlighting the specificity of José de Alencar's thought. We analyze his production as a novelist – where the author stands out most and for which he is recognized –, and more specifically Lucíola and Senhora, two urban novels in which the author proposes to construct works capable of highlighting the general picture of life in the court of Rio de Janeiro during the period of the Segundo Reinado. Through an immanent analysis of the works, it was possible to conclude that Alencar uses his literary work to express his personal opinions on the world, demonstrating in his texts a conservative position marked by a limited worldview, incapable of understanding the advances that humanity was making rising during the modern era. Locating Alencar within the framework of social life in Brazil in the 19th century, it is possible to find a correspondence between the author's thoughts and the defense of the slave regime of labor exploitation for the export of goods. From the understanding of Alencar's thought, we also debate the widespread characterization of the author as romantic, drawing parallels between the author's production and european romanticism. We believe that this work can contribute to thinking about the first steps of Brazilian conservative thought, which even today - evidently in other ways - continues to be predominant in the national ideological framework.