“But after all, what do women want?" Women's place in the work Em Surdina

Abstract

Em Surdina (1933) is the second novel published by Lúcia Miguel Pereira. As Luís Bueno (2006) explains, this work has a strong documental tendency which is common in the social novels of the 1930s. Thus, it highlights the contradictions of time, from the breakdown of values, turning into habits, to the mediating role of work in the construction of identities, the economy and international relations. However, the most evident dialogue with the context can be seen in the characters' posture, especially in some women’s fear of living life. In the narrative, there are characters that experience different types of sensations; however, the narrative is led by Cecília whose existence has been questioned since the marriage proposal. If in the traditional discourse, marriage is the man’s form of control over the woman, conversely, in this narrative, marriage is considered in a critical way as the only way for women to enjoy life. This invitation to seize the day provokes in Cecília a certain questioning about herself and about the traditional context that conditions the practices, especially of women. Therefore, the narrative presents us with mechanisms for reflecting on the woman's way of life and the place they occupy in that society, both fictional and real.