iracema is a work by the romantic writer from Ceará José de Alencar.
Published in 1865, it is a indianist romance, with the presence of indigenous, mythological and historical elements.
Remember that Indianism was a movement that was associated with the first phase of romanticism in Brazil.
In order to pursue a national theme, the Indian was elected. Therefore, it is called the “Nationalist-Indianist” generation.
Summary and Excerpts of the Work
Representation of Iracema by José Maria de Medeiros (1884)
Composed of 33 chapters, Iracema has great aesthetic and historical value. It is part of the trilogy written by writer José de Alencar: O Guarani, Ubirajara e Iracema.
This work tells the love story between the Indian Iracema and the European Martin Soares Moreno.
The novel begins because Martin was in charge of colonizing the region, what is now Ceará. It was there that he met "Iracema, the virgin of honey lips".
O first chapter portrays the end of the story, when Martim and his son Moacir leave the lands of Ceará.
“A young warrior whose white complexion does not blush with American blood; a child and a mutt who see the light in the cradle of the forests, and play brothers, both children of the same wild land.
The intermittent gust brings a vibrant echo from the beach, which resounds among the waves:
— Iracema...
The young warrior, leaning against the mast, has his eyes fixed on the fugitive shadow of the earth; space by space, the gaze, muffled by a faint tear, falls on the platform, where the two innocent creatures, companions of their misfortune, rejoice..”
At the second chapter of the work, the author introduces the protagonist:
“Beyond, far beyond that mountain range, which is still blue on the horizon, Iracema was born. Iracema, the virgin with the honey lips, whose hair was blacker than the wing of the raven, and longer than her carved palm.
The jati's honeycomb was not as sweet as her smile; nor did vanilla reek in the woods like her fragrant breath.
Faster than the wild deer, the virgin brunette ran through the sertão and the forests of the Ipu, where her warrior tribe, from the great Tabajara nation, reigned. Her graceful, bare foot, barely grazing, only smoothed the plush green that covered the earth with the first waters..”
At that moment, the encounter with the colonizer takes place. Iracema is bathing in the river's waters and is startled by an image she has never seen before. Her reaction was to shoot him an arrow:
“Before her and all beholding her is a strange warrior, if he is a warrior and not some evil spirit of the forest. She has on her face the white of the sands that border the sea; in the eyes the sad blue of the deep waters. Unknown weapons and unknown fabrics cover his body.”
After wounding the white warrior, Iracema repents and decides to help him, taking Martim to his tribe.
When she arrived at the tribe, he told her he was lost after going on a hunt with the Potiguara Indians (an enemy tribe of the Tabajaras).
From that moment on, the interest between the two began to be revealed. Faced with an idealized and forbidden love, Iracema decides to have a relationship with Portuguese. She takes Martim to a forest and offers him a hallucinogenic drink.
Even though he kept Jurema's secret, Iracema falls in love with the Portuguese. In other words, she is a virgin warrior and her virginity belongs to the God Tupã.
One of the adventures revealed by the novel is the presence of Irapuã, the chief of the Tabajaras warriors, in love with Iracema.
During the plot, Martim and Irapuã become enemies. There are several attempts by Irapuã to try to eliminate Martim, however, without success.
The work points out the rivalry between the Potiguara and Tabajara tribes. For the Tabajaras, the enemy tribe was allowing the settlers in.
Although Martim tried to return to the tribe that first welcomed him (potiguaras), at Iracema's request, he decided to stay with the tabajaras.
In one of the clashes between enemy tribes, Iracema and Martim decide to live in a hut. So India abandons her family, tribe and traditions.
Poti, Martim's Tabajara friend, is still with them. That's when Iracema's pregnancy was revealed, giving birth to a son they called Moacir.
Moacir came into the world when Poti and Martim left to fight. When they return, Iracema is very weak and ends up dying.
“The Christian moved his unsteady step. Suddenly, among the branches of the trees, her eyes saw, sitting at the door of the hut, Iracema with her son in her lap and the dog playing. His heart dragged him with a rush, and every soul snapped on his lips:
— Iracema...
The sad wife and mother opened her eyes, listening to her beloved voice. With great effort, she was able to lift her son in her arms and introduce him to his father, who looked at him ecstatic in his love.
"Receive the son of your blood." You arrived in time; my ungrateful breasts had no more food to give you!”
In the end, Martim, who missed his land a lot, returns to the old continent with his dog and his son, the first Portuguese-Brazilian.
He can check out the work in full by downloading the PDF here: iracema.
Characters
- iracema: protagonist of the history and Indian of the tribe of tabajaras.
- Cowboy: Tabajara Indian and brother of Iracema.
- Araquém: shaman from the Tabajara tribe and father of Iracema and Caubi.
- Andira: Brother of Araquém and old warrior of the Tabajara tribe.
- Moacir: son of Iracema and Martim, the first Brazilian of mixed race.
- Irapuã: in love with Iracema, he is the chief of the tabajara warriors.
- martim: Portuguese in charge of colonizing the region. He became friends with the Potiguara Indians and after being baptized he received the indigenous name “Coatibo”.
- japi: Martim's dog.
- poti: friend of Martim, hero of the Potiguara Indians.
- jacauna: chief of potiguara warriors, brother of Poti.
- Batuirité: grandfather of Poti and Jacaúna. He had a vision about the destruction of his people by the Portuguese.
Read too:
- Romantic Prose in Brazil
- Brazilian Romantic Poetry
- The Language of Romanticism
Did you know?
The name of the novel Iracema is an anagram of the word America.
Film
Directed by Carlos Coimbra, in 1979 a film was released based on the work Iracema, the virgin of honey lips.
See too:
- José de Alencar
- Indianism
- Indianist Novel
- First Generation Romantic
- The Guarani
- Sad end of Policarpo Lent
