Eça de Queiroz by Maria Filomena Mónica

Abstract

872 Reviews understanding. For instance, inher discussion ofCuadernos de infanciaLopez-Luaces mentions thatLange 'turnsher back on national alliances, such as themasculine "we" used fromSarmiento on' (p. I8). There isno contextualization provided whatsoever here explaining what is meant by 'national alliances' orwho Sarmiento was and what the significance of these is inLange's texts. While the individual chapters can be seen as furtheringour understanding of the central role played by childhood in the texts, theweaknesses outlined here mean that this study does not do its chosen topic the justice itdeserves. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON JANE ELIZABETH LAVERY Era de Queiroz. By MARIA FILOMENA MONICA. Trans. by ALISON AIKEN, with a Foreword by SIR RAYMOND CARR. Woodbridge: Tamesis. 2005. 544 PP. ?45. ISBN 978-I-85566-I I 5-8. In contrast to theUK, biography isnot a popular genre inPortugal; thismay be one of the reasons why Maria Filomena Monica decided towrite a biography of Eca de Queiros. She tellsus in thepreface that the ideawas originally suggested byRaymond Carr when she was writing her doctoral thesis inOxford. Quite apart from the pro ject's allegedly being a dream thatcame true, the authormust have had other reasons forundertaking such a task.On theone hand, thePortuguese version of thisbook was published in 2000, to coincide with the firstcentenary of Eca's death. On the other, shemust have been aware that JoaoGaspar Sim6es's much-criticized biography, first published in I945 to commemorate the centenary ofEca's birth, has never been fully replaced. That is surelywhyM6nica wanted to do something different: ifone com pares the two, it is easy tounderstand thather aim is toprovide social and historical contexts forEca's work, not surprising in view of her academic background as a sociologist. Another distinctive feature of her book, likewise unsurprisingly, is the focus on Eca's journalism; a journalist herself, it isonly natural thatMonica became interested in thispart of her subject's output. Why, then,did thisbook arouse somuch controversy inPortugal? Several reasons can be pointed out. Some did not like themanner of its references toEca's private life, either tohis relationships with disreputable women or tohismarriage. Traditionally, Eca has been seen as amisogynist, and hismarriage toEmilia de Resende considered one of convenience (the view ofGaspar Sim6es). This has enraged both Eca's relatives and close family friends.More recent interpretations,mainly based on thenovelist's letters tohis bride, point to amarriage for love.Monica's (re)reading of these letters is interesting; inher opinion, hiswords toEmilia (whom she portrays as fatand ugly) should be readwith care, as he knew how tomanipulate language. He did notmarry, she concludes, either for love or forsocial promotion. Having reached the age of forty and enjoyed all the adventures he wished, he simply longed forcompanionship; he looked forsomeone who could provide him with a comfortable home and who would not be likely to betray him in theway that thewives of his fictional characters cheat on theirhusbands. There are other perceived 'irreverences': for instance,M6nica states thatEca would not have liked to be buried, as he was, in the serras, and that he never wished to re turn toPortugal and live there. If she intended towrite an unconventional book, she succeeded-but only to a limited extent. Despite attacking Gaspar Simoes forhis psychoanalytical approach toEca's work, M6nica does not resist the temptation to identify the novelist with some of his characters (Fradique, Joao da Ega, Carlos da Maia), and she follows Simoes in explaining theway Eca made use of irony or the prominence he accorded toTime in thenarrative structure ofOs Maias. MLR, 102.3, 2007 873 This is an interesting book, none the less.Although some of the abstracts ofEva's writings are too long and unnecessary (they could and should have been replaced by literarycriticism), and despite themany repetitions and inconsistencies (she says at one point, for instance, thatBatalha Reis was Epa's best friend before awarding this position toRamalho), the approach isdaring and refreshing.Once and forallM6nica shows thatEva's novels should not be taken as historical sources, thus contradicting those from both Right and Left who have appropriated Eva forpolitical purposes. This isone of thebest tributes she could have paid tohis artistic genius. Another was topublish the...