The retirantes (1879), by José do Patrocínio: founding text of the dry literature

Abstract

The aim of the study of the novel The Retirantes, published in 1879, is to demonstrate that he was the introducer of Realism-Naturalism in Brazil and the literature of the drought, that caused great impact in the contemporary writers and in those of the Generation of 1930. For this Will be addressed two aspects: 1- Drought as a climatic and social phenomenon in Ceará: depleted nature; Family breakdown; Squalid, sick, or dead people; Withdrawals to trains and warehouses with food supplies; Bandit attacks; prostitution; Sexual harassment of poor women; Human animalization and cannibalism; Pet sacrifice for food; Epidemics, emigration to other states, among other aspects, and 2- Power relations in times of water scarcity and food. The work of José do Patrocínio (1853-1909), based on research on the drought, which he did in Ceará, founded a type of literature with regional elements and influenced literary, cultural and social environments, will be studied from the perspective of "landscapes of the Fear "by Yi-Fu Tuan.