Signs of the Anthropocene and the Climate of Douro Margins in the Two “Dourian” Novels of Eça de Queirós

Abstract

This article proposes an ecocritical approach to two semi-posthumous novels by Eça de Queirós, geographically set in the margins of the Douro River - The Illustrious House of Ramires (1900) and The City and the Mountains (1901). Our purpose is to highlight in those narratives the most disturbing environmental topic nowadays - the climate and its anthropogenic changes. We explore the representation of the succession of the seasons in the rural environment of the Douro as narrative elements that motivate and/or frame the storylines. We argue that both realistic texts are capable of aligning in the European-styled work Seasons literature. Simultaneously, we call into question the concept of “Anthropocene” (Crutzen; Stoermer, 2000) in order to demonstrate how some of its signs are a motive to the main action of The City and the Mountains. We conclude that the factor of Climate plays a relevant role in the development of the plots and characters, and that the two novels can arouse in current readers a consciousness about the challenges of the Anthropocene and the significance of climate to mankind.

Keywords:
Climate Criticism/Ecocriticism; Portuguese Novel; The Illustrious House of Ramires; The City and the Mountains; Seasons Literature