Form in "Novas Cartas Portuguesas"

Abstract

Few works in the history of Portuguese letters have captured the widespread attention and critical acclaim generated by the 1972 publication of Novas Cartas Portuguesas by Maria Teresa Horta, Maria Isabel Barreno, and Maria Velho da Costa. Banned by the Portuguese right-wing government shortly after publication, it was finally released in 1974, and within a year was translated into nearly every modern European language. In January 1975, upon publication of Helen R. Lane's English version, the book received notices in major literary reviews throughout the United States. And yet, even though more than a decade has passed since then, the significance of Novas Cartas Portuguesas as a pioneer work by three women writers on women remains largely unexplored. The purpose of the present study is to begin this process of exploration-discussing the international best-seller within a broader context of Portuguese reality, and examining its importance as a socio-political document. But I shall also address a more theoretical issue related to the form of the