Of clawless lions and learned men: visions of the masculine in Lésbia (1890), by Maria Benedita Câmara Bormann (Délia)

Abstract

This article aims at analyzing the construction of masculinities in Lésbia (1890), a novel by Délia, literary pseudonym of Maria Benedita Câmara Bormann (1853- 1895). The plot narrates the background and the fictional trajectory of a Brazilian novelist, through which the author denounces social stigmata carried by women, especially middle-class, who wish to have a professional life in fin-de-siècle Brazil. Multiple male profiles presented in this narrative make it possible to reflect on how Bormann problematizes the construction of virility models that prevailed in the beginning of the republican period in 19th century Brazil, as well as their impact on gender hierarchies and contrasts. On the one hand, these profiles signal critical appropriations of naturalistic elements in the analysis of masculinity profiles, understood by the novelist as vain and petty, violent and irresponsible. On the other hand, they suggest the possibility of other experiences of the masculine, marked by erudition and sensitivity, capable of cultivating less vertical relationships with women, based on passion and valorization of the intellect.

keywords: History and Literature; Maria Benedita Câmara Bormann; Lésbia.