Abstract
One of Portugal’s most popular fados, ‘A Casa da Mariquinhas’, has long been interpreted in popular culture (and more recently in academic circles) as an anthem to the fado houses of Lisbon and to the prostitutes that frequented them prior to the inception of the Estado Novo. I argue for an alternative interpretation: the fado serves as an archive to a short but crucial period of profound economic change in the lives of Portuguese women at the turn of the twentieth century. I support my close reading of the lyrics with economic data that highlight the seismic changes in women’s working and social lives, as well as their subsequent reversal after 1933.
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