Erased memories

abolicionism and the voice-freedom of Maria Firmina dos Reisin the 19th century

Abstract

The 19th century was a period of search for the formation of a national canon. In a period in which the rise of the novel was taking place, Maria Firmina dos Reis emerged with narratives that dealt with the representation of structural prejudice and behavioral delimitations, arising from current slavery and patriarchal domination, which especially affected women and blacks. A teacher and Afro-Brazilian woman, Firmina wrote throughout the 19th century establishing theconstruction of a social space that reflected racism and dominant patriarchalism, directly altering the constitution of space inside and outside her narrative.