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Abstract
This article examines Jose Maria de Eca de Queiros’s novel A ilustre casa de Ramires (1900) through a focus on the writing process of the main protagonist, Goncalo Mendes Ramires, who attempts to produce a historical novella of his ancestry. Drawing on Helene Cixous’s concept of ecriture feminine and the visceral experience of writing through the body, I analyze the protagonist’s quest for political advancement and social acceptance. If Ramires yearns for enhanced virility in male-dominated political and literary circles, Eca’s ironic textual subtleties, humor, and multifaceted narrative all serve to question established norms of gender, power, and sexuality. In the end, both historiography and political glory emerge as ambivalent phenomena.
Highlights
This article examines José Maria de Eça de Queirós’s novel A ilustre casa de Ramires (1900) through a focus on the writing process of the main protagonist, Gonçalo Mendes Ramires, who attempts to produce a historical novella of his ancestry
In one of the most brilliant, humorous, and politically charged scenes of Os Maias (1888), João da Ega organizes an ostentatious dinner at the Hotel Central where, in animated conversation, the guests discuss the future of Portugal and the prospects of national bankruptcy, revolution, political and economic reform, a Spanish invasion, and the loss of the colonies
When an acquaintance asks the protagonist, Artur Corvelo, if he lives in Lisbon, the narrator relates Corvelo’s heartfelt response: “Infelizmente não” (273); what brought him to Lisbon was “a publicação dum livro de versos, a representação dum drama, o desejo dum meio inteligente, literário, o horror à província” (273)
Summary
A ilustre casa de Ramires depicts Gonçalo’s writing process as he struggles to produce a four-chapter novella about his ancestors. After Gonçalo writes pompously about Tructesindo’s courageous resolve to honor his word avowed in a heroic declaration “de mal com o Reino e com o Rei, mas de bem com a honra e comigo!” (Ilustre 132), Gonçalo impersonates his honorable ancestor: with his vest unbuttoned he stands at the open window and, in a grave hoarse tone, gives out the “brado genial [...] como o lançaria Tructesindo” (Ilustre 132) Performing this expression of ultimate loyalty, the narrator emphasizes Gonçalo’s proximity to his ancestors, “sentia nele realmente toda a alma dum Ramires, como eles eram no século XII, de sublime lealdade, mais presos à sua palavra que um santo ao seu voto, e alegremente desbaratando, para a manter, bens, contentamento e vida!” (Ilustre 132). Cavaleiro establishes the upper hand, with Gonçalo at his mercy and in his debt
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