Abolitionism in Maria Firmina dos Reis’ Úrsula and A escrava

Abstract

This work aims to study the thought of Maria Firmina dos Reis, through her literary prose, regarding the Brazilian slave system. For this reason, the works Úrsula [1859] and A escrava [1887] were chosen, of which only the characters — Túlio and Susana, from the first text; the protagonists, Joana and Gabriel, from the second — and narrators are object of analysis. It seeks to observe in these two texts, the positions in relation to slavery, which can be linked to the thought of the writer, provided that writing reveals intentions and trends. As a result, it is observed that the narrators make value judgments about slavery; as well as the characters, who, especially through the dialogues, expose how this practice worked. The findings indicate an abolitionist action by Firmina in denouncing violence against enslaved people, their animalization and objectification, and by questioning the slave system and re-signifying who the barbarians were. It is thus understood that slavery was indefensible to the writer. Still, the issue of freedom, one thinks, is an indispensable factor to understand Firmina’s thought, which visualized this condition beyond manumission.