Mulheres professoras na literatura de folhetim no Brasil Oitocentista: destino de prêmio ou castigo?

Abstract

The study aims to recompose aspects of female education considered adequate in Brazil, in the second half of the 19th century, taking the literature of the time as a research source, that is, novels written in that period. On a more specific level, based on the literary narrative, the descriptions related to two characters inserted in the context of nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro, both belonging to the popular strata of the current social structure, are examined. It is historical-bibliographic research, in which literature is approached as the main source, proving to be quite significant for the understanding of the space occupied by the education and training of women as teachers, in the period covered. It is concluded that the teaching of skills considered essential for a good female education was a constant demand for a good marriage, as well as the acquisition of the teacher’s trade, it was intended, notably, for women who, not having parental support, had to provide their own sustenance.