Problematização da condição da mulher no início do Século XX em Sozinha e um divórcio, de Sarah Beirão

Abstract

This research is a study of two novels by Sarah Beirão, Alone (1940) and Um Divorce (1950), and aims to elucidate issues related to the female condition on the themes of education and divorce in Portuguese society in the first half of the 20th century, specifically in the 40s and 50s. This is a bibliographical research, which applies the methodology of theoretical and critical texts to the literary texts under study. We will discuss, therefore, that the search for gender equality, initiated in the first and second waves of feminism, results in a thematization, albeit in somewhat romanticized plots, in Sarah Beirão's narratives. To support this study, the theoretical contribution is anchored in several studies on the themes in question, among which we highlight Maria Regina Tavares da Silva (1983), Irene Vaquinhas (1999), Isabel Lousada (2009) and João Esteves (2001), regarding the condition of Portuguese women and their struggle for rights and equality; Cecil Zinani (2012), Lucia Ozana Zolin (2009), that presentquestions about women's literature and literary criticism; Mirele Carolina Werneque Jacome and Cristian Pagoto (2009), regarding patriarchal culture and the representation of women in literature; Andradina de Oliveira (2007), who presents a reflection on the rejection of uneducated and divorced women; Joaquim Pintassilgo and Maria João Magarro (2013), who lecture on women's education; Claudete Carvalho Canezin (2004) and Anália Cardoso Torres (2002), who expose issues about women, marriage and divorce. We will also use other names that deal with gender discussions, as they bring light to understand issues and consequences on the topic studied. the final considerations, we note that Sarah Beirão makes a significant contribution, although her novels do not contain a pamphletary tone about women's rights with regard to gender equality.