At the end of the 1950s, the already well-known poet Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919–2004) began a highly successful production of children’s literature in the extremely conservative context of the regime under António de Oliveira Salazar. The stories in the first stage of her interest in this genre marked a significant break with previous tradition, which had been characterised by the prevalence of the moralistic objectives that were typical of the conservative and patriarchal ideology supported by the regime. In particular in the years between 1958 and 1968 Sophia was driven by the needs of an educated woman who wanted to involve her own children in the experience of narration and by her deep dissatisfaction with the repertory available in Portugal in those years. As a result, the stories that she wrote (A menina do mar, A fada Oriana, A noite de Natal, O cavaleiro da Dinamarca, O rapaz de bronze, A floresta) all place the child at the centre of the narration, transmitting profound values that go beyond traditional rhetoric and constructing narrative universes that were characterised by fascination and beauty. Instead of constructing behavioural models, Sophia’s stories promote the magic of discovering what is different and extraneous to one’s own world, and the profound value of empathy.

Ethical and aesthetic experience in Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen’s children’s literature

Castagna Vanessa
2021-01-01

Abstract

At the end of the 1950s, the already well-known poet Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (1919–2004) began a highly successful production of children’s literature in the extremely conservative context of the regime under António de Oliveira Salazar. The stories in the first stage of her interest in this genre marked a significant break with previous tradition, which had been characterised by the prevalence of the moralistic objectives that were typical of the conservative and patriarchal ideology supported by the regime. In particular in the years between 1958 and 1968 Sophia was driven by the needs of an educated woman who wanted to involve her own children in the experience of narration and by her deep dissatisfaction with the repertory available in Portugal in those years. As a result, the stories that she wrote (A menina do mar, A fada Oriana, A noite de Natal, O cavaleiro da Dinamarca, O rapaz de bronze, A floresta) all place the child at the centre of the narration, transmitting profound values that go beyond traditional rhetoric and constructing narrative universes that were characterised by fascination and beauty. Instead of constructing behavioural models, Sophia’s stories promote the magic of discovering what is different and extraneous to one’s own world, and the profound value of empathy.
2021
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/3736045
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