https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ERUDITE LITERATURE AND POPULAR CULTURE IN THE NORTH EAST OF BRAZIL: ARIANO SUASSUNA AND THE MOVIMENTO ARMORIAL. by Mark Dinneen A thesis presented to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Glasgow in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. April 1987. © M. Dinneen, 1987. ProQuest Number: 10970795 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10970795 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 TO MY PARENTS, ALAN AND NANCY DINNEEN ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my joint supervisors at Glasgow University, Mr. Mike Gonzalez and Mr. Simon Mitchell. I am particularly indebted to Mr. Gonzalez, who willingly stepped in as supervisor at short notice, and without whose commitment, support and encouragement this study would not have been possible. Mr. Mitchell gave much valuable advice and assistance, especially in the early stages of the work, and I am also grateful to other members, staff and students, of the Institute of Latin American Studies in Glasgow for their encouragement during my period of study there. Professor Gerald Martin of Portsmouth Polytechnic made comments and suggestions concerning various aspects of the work which were much appreciated. Finally, thanks are also due to the institutions in Brazil which provided me with assistance during my field work, namely the Casa de Rui Barbosa in Rio de Janeiro and the Instituto Joaquim Nabuco in Recife, and to Brazilian collegues and friends too numerous to mention. c o m a i s SUMMARY ................. i- INTRQDUCTIQN. - The debate around the ideology of national culture................................................ 1 - The debate in Brazil..................................9 - Notes for the Introduction.......................... 24 CHAPTER I: THE DEVELOPMENT OF ERUDITE LITERATURE IN THE NORTH EAST QF BRAZIL UNTIL THE END OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. - Regionalism and cultural nationalism................ 26 - The colonial period.................................. 38 - The early nineteenth century:.Romanticism. ......... 54 - The late nineteenth century: .. realism and naturalism.............................................71 - Notes for chapter 1. ............................... 89 CHAPTER ..111 THE DEVELOPMENT QF. ERUDITE LITERATURE IN THE NORTH EAST OF.. BRAZIL.. .IN.,..THE_iy.EN.TIE.TH CENTURY - The early decades.....................................94 - The Modernist Movement.............. Ill - Gilberto Freyre and the Movimento Regionalista of 1926........................................... 128 - Literature of the North East, 1930s-1970s............138 - Conclusions.......................................... 170 - Notes for chapter 2 ................................ 175 CHAPTER III: POPULAR LITERATURE QF NORTH EAST BRAZIL: THE FQLHETQ - Origins: the romanceiro traditon and the emergence of the folheto....................................... 183 - The development of the folheto tradition and the traditional folheto..................................193 - The folheto as a field ofideological debate........ 219 - The development of the folheto in recent decades..248 - Conclusions......................................... 254 - Notes for chapter 3 ................................. 258 CHAPTER IV; ARIANQ SUASSUNA; ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE MQVIMENTQ ARMORIAL............................................. - The early years of Ariano Suassuna and his vision of sertSo culture....................................... 265 - The development of a dramatist..................... 278 - The Movimento Armorial.............................. 309 - Armorial literature..................................336 - Notes for chapter 4 ....... 356 CHAPTER V; ARIANQ SUASSUNA AND THE ARMORIAL NOVEL... - The emergence of a novelist......................... 363 - The structure of Suassuna's novels................. 369 - The popular poet in Suassuna's novels...............378 -Quaderna's vision of the world..................... 398 - Quaderna's search for harmony...................... 412 - Suassuna's abandonment of public life and of literature.................. 420 - Notes for chapter 5 ......... 423 CONCLUSIONS...................................... 426 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 438 SUMHARX THE RELATIONSHIP. BETWEEN ERUDITE LITERATURE AND PQPULftR CULTURE. IN THE NORTH EAST QF BRAZIL; ARIANO SUASSUNA mum, m ittENTtLftfmiftL The basic objectives of this study may be summarized as follows, Firstly, the work aims to highlight the crucial differences between the erudite literary tradition of North East Brazil and the popular cultural expressions of the region, especially the popular poetic or romanceiro tradition, showing how those differences are rooted in the contrasting objective conditions within which the respective literatures are produced, Secondly, the study follows the attempts made through the years by erudite writers of the North East to overcome the problem of those cultural divisions and incorporate elements of popular culture into their work in an effort to affirm a distinctly regional identity, This leads on to a third objective of the study, that of tracing the broad historical development of North East regionalist literature, indicating the principal transitions it has undergone in response to changing perceptions of national culture, regional identity and popular culture, Finally, the study presents an analysis of the work of Ariano Suassuna, seen as the major contribution to this regionalist artistic tradition in recent decades, Chapter 1 reviews the historical development of erudite literature in the North East of Brazil from the colonial era to the end of the nineteenth century, Chapter 2 continues to trace that development through the twentieth century, up to the present, Chapter 3 examines the origins and evolution of the romanceiro tradition and its development into a written form, the folheto, and then studies the role of the folheto within poor rural and urban communities of the North East, the themes it deals with, and the profound changes it has experienced in the last few decades, Chapter 4 traces the development of the cultural and aesthetic theories of Ariano Suassuna, culminating in the launching of the (iovimento Armorial in 1970, Chapter 5 assesses Suassuna’s main contribution to the movement, his novels Q.Romanse_dL.ft„Efidia.dfl.Mna (1971), and Ao Sol da Qnga Caetana (1976), The conclusions emphasise: (1) That the assimilation of popular culture into erudite literature of the North East has produced work of outstanding quality and originality, but which has also frequently embodied the contradictions inherent in the schemes of cultural nationalism and regional affirmation which have provided inspiration for so many of the writers concerned, (2) That the distinctive qualities of the popular poetry of the North East can only be understood within its social context, and that the tendency of certain writers and critics to separate it from that context necessarily transforms those qualities in fundamental ways, (3) That the work of Suassuna offers an original contribution in terms of its direct employment of popular poetry, but that his theories on culture, which must be understood as a crystallization of many ideas elaborated in previous eras, are still unable to deal adequately with the deep divisions and contradictions within North East society, Unlike previous studies of Suassuna's work, this research considers it within a broad historical context in an attempt to find new perspectives for understanding and interpreting it, Also for the first time, this study places the development of his work within the context of the significant transitions undergone by the whole debate on national culture and popular culture between the 1950*s and the early 1980's; transitions which were directly linked to broader political and cultural changes in Brazil. INTRODUCTION The debate around the ideology of national culture, The origins of the present day concept of national culture -based on the notion of a state unified by fundamental common characteristics, such as race, language, shared beliefs or perceptions -are generally traced