Helena (novel)
Encyclopedia
Helena is a novel
written by the Brazil
ian writer Machado de Assis. It was first published in 1876.
Life proceeds harmoniously in their household. Meanwhile Estácio, implicitly due to affections for Helena, defers an engagement with the beautiful, but less adroit Eugênia. Well into the novel it is revealed that Helena has been guarding a secret, one which seems to be related to a house nearby which Estácio and Helena frequently pass near while horseback riding. It is later revealed that the biological father of Helena, who is not Conselheiro Vale, lives in the house but in misery.
At this point, Helena is being courted by Estácio's friend, Mendonça even though the attraction that Estácio feels for Helena is very apparent to the reader. This affection is never truly recognized by Estácio until the preacher Melchior warns Estácio that he feels romantic love for his new sister. As this is being revealed, the reader learns that Helena is indeed not the daughter of Conselheiro Vale and consequently not a blood relation to Estácio.
However, Helena's neglect to admit that she is not truly related to the family and thus should never have been recognized proves to much for her conscience and she falls ill. Helena does not recover and by her death bed Estácio is horrified and distraught.
Yet, for Éstacio, the issue of Helena’s class beginnings is of little consequence and he is instead endured to Helena for the virtues and skills she possesses. This is the new female dexterity which the growing middle class lauds in women. Opposed to the aristocratic values which tended towards idle beauty and adornment, the new ethic prized industry and domestic utility in the female figure. Helena was this model.
Helena is seen as a light of the future; however, the pressures of the extant social structure allow her no place in society. Trapped in despair, Helena falls ill and dies, thus taking the only escape that would be allowed at that time. She is presented as a model of and martyr for the generation of women to come.
saw the foundations of the national literature centered around the incorporation of the novel as a suitable genre. Domestic novels were highly scrutinzed in question of their impact on society and in particular the nation’s youth. Until the last quarter of the nineteenth century the predominant literary school in Brazil
was Romanticism
, of which José de Alencar
was the foremost novelist. In his first novels, characterized to some extent by sentimentality, Machado de Assis maintained affinities with the Romantic school. However, by the 1880s, he was an advocate of Brazilian Realism. Realism
, along with Naturalism
which Machado de Assis disdained, supplanted Romanticism as the pre-eminent novelistic form of the final two decades of the nineteenth century.
Helena (1876) was followed by Iaiá Garcia (1878). These two works represented the end of what is usually termed Machado de Assis' first, Romantic, phase. With The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
(1881) his Realist style would be firmly in place. This is usually considered to be the beginning of his mature work. His romantic novels: Ressurreição
, A Mão e Luva, Helena and Iaiá Garcia have seen some growth in critical interest but are generally considered inferior.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian writer Machado de Assis. It was first published in 1876.
Plot summary
The novel opens with the family of Éstacio, whose father, Conselheiro Vale, has just died. In his will, the Conselheiro has recognized a natural daughter, previously unknown to both Éstacio and his aunt Dona Úrsula, with whom he shares the family home. The daughter, Helena, arrives to a mixed reception. Estácio welcomes her warmly while his aunt shows marked hestitation over this unknown person. While Éstacio grows increasingly more fond of his half-sister, Helena in a series of events succeeds in also winning the affection of the stern Dona Úrsula.Life proceeds harmoniously in their household. Meanwhile Estácio, implicitly due to affections for Helena, defers an engagement with the beautiful, but less adroit Eugênia. Well into the novel it is revealed that Helena has been guarding a secret, one which seems to be related to a house nearby which Estácio and Helena frequently pass near while horseback riding. It is later revealed that the biological father of Helena, who is not Conselheiro Vale, lives in the house but in misery.
At this point, Helena is being courted by Estácio's friend, Mendonça even though the attraction that Estácio feels for Helena is very apparent to the reader. This affection is never truly recognized by Estácio until the preacher Melchior warns Estácio that he feels romantic love for his new sister. As this is being revealed, the reader learns that Helena is indeed not the daughter of Conselheiro Vale and consequently not a blood relation to Estácio.
However, Helena's neglect to admit that she is not truly related to the family and thus should never have been recognized proves to much for her conscience and she falls ill. Helena does not recover and by her death bed Estácio is horrified and distraught.
Major themes
In Machado de Assis’ earlier, romanticist, works the role of the female figure is an important and persistent theme. When Helena arrives there is an air of suspicion regarding her background, especially from Dona Úrsula. Helena is, in many ways, a transitional character between the fading aristocratic values of the landed oligarchy and the emergent urban middle class. The importance of caste is evident among the novel’s representatives of the older generation: Dona Úrsula and Camargo. Prior to the social transitions of the period, feminine selection for marriage was a source of maintenance of the social hierarchy.Yet, for Éstacio, the issue of Helena’s class beginnings is of little consequence and he is instead endured to Helena for the virtues and skills she possesses. This is the new female dexterity which the growing middle class lauds in women. Opposed to the aristocratic values which tended towards idle beauty and adornment, the new ethic prized industry and domestic utility in the female figure. Helena was this model.
Helena is seen as a light of the future; however, the pressures of the extant social structure allow her no place in society. Trapped in despair, Helena falls ill and dies, thus taking the only escape that would be allowed at that time. She is presented as a model of and martyr for the generation of women to come.
Literary schools of nineteenth century Brazil
Nineteenth century BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
saw the foundations of the national literature centered around the incorporation of the novel as a suitable genre. Domestic novels were highly scrutinzed in question of their impact on society and in particular the nation’s youth. Until the last quarter of the nineteenth century the predominant literary school in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
was Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, of which José de Alencar
José de Alencar
José Martiniano de Alencar was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He is one of the most famous writers of the first generation of Brazilian Romanticism, writing historical, regionalist and Indianist romances — being the most famous The Guarani...
was the foremost novelist. In his first novels, characterized to some extent by sentimentality, Machado de Assis maintained affinities with the Romantic school. However, by the 1880s, he was an advocate of Brazilian Realism. Realism
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
, along with Naturalism
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
which Machado de Assis disdained, supplanted Romanticism as the pre-eminent novelistic form of the final two decades of the nineteenth century.
Helena (1876) was followed by Iaiá Garcia (1878). These two works represented the end of what is usually termed Machado de Assis' first, Romantic, phase. With The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas , often subtitled as the Epitaph of a Small Winner, is a novel by the Brazilian writer Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis....
(1881) his Realist style would be firmly in place. This is usually considered to be the beginning of his mature work. His romantic novels: Ressurreição
Ressurreição
Ressurreição is a novel written by the Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. It was first published in 1872. The author explained in this book that his idea when he wrote the book was put on action this thinking of Shakespeare:...
, A Mão e Luva, Helena and Iaiá Garcia have seen some growth in critical interest but are generally considered inferior.
External links
- MachadodeAssis.org
- Brazilian Academy of Letters (Portuguese
- Library of Congress Portal for Brazilian Literature
- Literature of Brazil at wikipedia.orgLiterature of BrazilBrazilian literature is written in the Portuguese language by Brazilians or in Brazil, even if prior to Brazil's independence from Portugal, in 1822...