"Às intelectuais femininas da terra!": mulheres, imprensa e escrita no Rio Grande do Norte (1914-1929)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the formation of a female intellectual field in Rio Grande do Norte between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. I understand the concept of women's writing (écriture féminine) not simply as speeches enunciated by women, but writings that have been marginalized, dissident, transgressive. During the late 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, the intellectual movement in Rio Grande do Norte intensified, mainly due to the emergence of newspapers and magazines that published literature in their pages. More than books, the periodical press was the first vehicle for women's literary production. In it, women wrote poetry, riddles, essays, articles, literary criticism, among other literary genres. In newspapers and magazines, women writers from Rio Grande do Norte also published their writings on issues related to women's emancipation, i.e., topics that addressed women's rights to access to education, female professionalization and, finally, political participation. Situating this study in the field of women's social and cultural history, this research aims to answer the following questions: Who were these women writers? Why did they write? How did gender permeate their writing practice in Rio Grande do Norte? What kind of articulations were these women able to build? What were their mechanisms for transgressive insertion into the intellectual field of Rio Grande do Norte? And finally, what kind of actions did these intellectuals develop in the public spaces of the cities?