Between Past and Present: a study of Orientalism in late 19th Century Portuguese Literature

Abstract

This project intends to analyze the representations of the Orient in important works of Portuguese writers of the second half of the nineteenth century. In particular, Camilo Castelo Branco (1825-1890), Manuel Pinheiro Chagas (1842-1895), Antero de Quental (1842-1891) and Eça de Queiros (1845-1900). We aim to understand how the East is represented in the metropolitan Portuguese literature produced in this period. For this, we rely on orientalist theories - especially Raymond Schwab's "La Renaissance Orientale" (1950) and Edward Said's "Orientalim" (1978) -; in Portugal and its colonies History and culture; and critical works on these writers. We will carry out a comparative analysis of the works of these names. Specifically, we will study Camilo Castelo Branco's novel "O Senhor do Paço de Ninães" (1867); Pinheiro Chagas' novels "A Marquesa da Índia" (1890) and "A descoberta da Índia contada por um marinheiro" (1891); Antero de Quental's poetry and some of his prose texts, such as "As Causas da Decadência dos Povos Peninsulares nos últimos Três Séculos" (1871). Since a previous study on Eça de Queirós' Far East representations has been done for us in the Masters, we intend to resume it and deepen it. The previous study on Eça de Queirós will also be our analysis paradigm to understand the works of other writers.