Abstract
This article examines the increased presence and relevance of the Bildungsroman in late-1940s Brazil and the role of Lygia Fagundes Telles in that process. In order to describe some of the characteristics of the subgenre that prevailed during that period, and given the relevance of Telles’s work in the history of the subgenre in Brazil, her work will be taken on as the article’s main reference. Just as the narration of the subgenre’s history illuminates the specificities of her individual work, the analysis of her work will be used to illuminate the history of the subgenre in Brazil. The initial section offers a working definition of the Bildungsroman, describing its main features and motivations since its appearance in 18th-century Europe. A following section discusses its presence in the history of the Brazilian novel before the late 1940s, with a comparative focus on the “romance de 30” (“1930s novel”). The following two sections characterize the 1950s Brazilian Bildungsroman through comparisons between works by Telles, Clarice Lispector and Carlos Heitor Cony. At the end, the importance of the subgenre for the Brazilian novel is briefly discussed.
Keywords:
Bildungsroman; history of the Brazilian novel; Lygia Fagundes Telles