Reading Rio De Janeiro : Literature and Society in the Nineteenth Century

__Reading Rio de Janeiro__ blazes a new trail for understanding the cultural history of 19th-century Brazil. To bring the social fabric of Rio de Janeiro alive, Zephyr Frank flips the historian's usual interest in literature as a source of evidence and, instead, uses the historical context to understand literature. By focusing on the theme of social integration through the novels of José de Alencar, Machado de Assis, and Aluisio Azevedo, the author draws the reader's attention to the way characters are caught between conflicting moral imperatives as they encounter the newly mobile, capitalist, urban society, so different from the slave-based plantations of the past. Some characters grow and triumph in this setting; others are defeated by it. Though literature infuses this social history of 19th-century Rio, it is replete with maps, graphs, non-fiction sources, and statistical data and analysis that are the historian's stock-in-trade. By connecting a literary understanding of the social problems with the quantitative data traditional historical methods provide, Frank creates a richer and deeper understanding of society in 19th-century Rio. 'reading Rio De Janeiro' Blazes A New Trail For Understanding The Cultural History Of 19th-century Brazil. To Bring The Social Fabric Of Rio De Janeiro Alive, Zephyr Frank Flips The Historian's Usual Interest In Literature As A Source Of Evidence And, Instead, Uses The Historical Context To Understand Literature. By Focusing On The Theme Of Social Integration Through The Novels Of Jose De Alencar, Machado De Assis, And Aluisio Azevedo, The Author Draws The Reader's Attention To The Way Characters Are Caught Between Conflicting Moral Imperatives. Introduction : The Brazilian Bildungsroman -- Sonhos D'ouro -- Memórias Póstumas De Brás Cubas -- O Coruja -- Sentimental Educations -- Marriage And Money -- Problems Of Spatial Practice. Zephyr L. Frank. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 207-213) And Index. Reading Rio de Janeiro is an experiment in literary and social history, which combines literary analysis and the tools of close and distant reading with quantitative evidence from archival sources in order to reveal new insights regarding the integration of individuals into a complex and changing society.