EDUCATION AND REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN IN THE NOVEL DOM CASMURRO, BY MACHADO DE ASSIS

Abstract

This article proposes to highlight the education and representation of women in the novel Dom Casmurro, based on the trajectory of the character Capitu, inserted in the social context of the 19th century. The problem lies in the analysis of the limitations imposed on women's education and the mechanisms of female silencing in the nineteenth century. The study aims to investigate how the character is represented by Machado de Assis from the perspective of a male and unreliable narrator. In this way, the rupture with traditional models of femininity is highlighted through Capitu's traits of autonomy, cleverness, and ambiguity. Nevertheless, when investigating how the character's education is established, we are faced with restrictions that reinforce the traditional model of education to which women of the time were subjected. The methodology adopts a qualitative and interpretative approach, centered on the textual analysis of the novel and based on authors such as Nísia Floresta (2016), Vera Andrade (1999), Linda Gualda (2007), among others. Based on the analysis of the work, the results show that Capitu, although inserted in a patriarchal context that restricts women's access to formal knowledge, manages to move through social norms without fully submitting to them. It is concluded that the author of the novel, although not directly addressing issues of gender and education, especially in the female context, provides, through his narrative, interpretations that favor a greater understanding of these issues.