Novas Cartas Portuguesas de Maria Isabel Barreno, MariaTeresa Horta e Maria Velho da Costa, em contraponto a Cartas Portuguesas, de Mariana Alcoforado: uma reflexão sobre a condição da mulher portuguesa

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on Portuguese women through the works Novas Cartas Portuguesas by Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa, published in 1972, in contrast to Portuguese Letters, by Mariana Alcoforado, published in 1669. This study brings the historical and social contextualization of both works, making a rescue of the struggle of Portuguese women in the final period of the Salazar dictatorship. In the analysis of the literary works cited, situations experienced by women who fought for rights that are enjoyed today are recovered. In the first work mentioned, the writers show the indignation for the reality experienced by Portuguese women and seek improvements to such inequalities. The second work deals with an exacerbated love, where, in the course of writing, one perceives a loving suffering experienced by a nun named 'Mariana' in the 17th century. The study points to the intertextuality between both works and contemplates aspects of feminist struggles, as well as their constant importance in the lives of women who seek freedom of expression and equal rights. New Portuguese Letters is presented as a great literary work, because the text was of paramount importance in the 1970s, which enabled some achievements for Portuguese women, in particular. Some authors who support this research are: Ligia Tavares Amâncio, Maria de Lourdes Pintassilgo and Rita T. Scmidt.