the guarani is a work by the writer José de Alencar from Ceará. Ideally, this novel tells the love story between Ceci (daughter of a colonizer) and Peri (Brazilian indigenous). With this interracial relationship, the narrator creates the idea that the Brazilian people are the result of love and harmony between Portuguese and indigenous people.
This narrative is one of the main works of Brazilian romanticism, period style marked by idealization and nationalism. Its author, José de Alencar, was born in Fortaleza, but was well known in Rio de Janeiro, where he lived. In addition to being a writer, Alencar was also a lawyer and deputy.
Read too:Iracema — summary and analysis of another important novel by José de Alencar
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary about Guarani
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2 - Analysis of the work O Guarani
- → Characters from the work O Guarani
- → Time of the work Guarani
- → Space of the work Guarani
- → Narrator of the work The Guarani
- → Plot of the work O guarani
- 3 - Characteristics of the work The Guarani
- 4 - Historical context of the work O guarani
- 5 - José de Alencar — the author of O guarani
Summary about the guarani
Brazilian writer José de Alencar was born in 1829 and died in 1877.
The book the guarani tells the love story between Ceci and the indigenous Peri.
This Indianist novel is part of Brazilian Romanticism.
It features amorous idealization and elements of a nationalist character.
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
Analysis of the work the guarani
→ Characters of the work the guarani
d. Antônio de Mariz: Ceci's father.
d. Lauriana: wife of D. Antonio.
d. Diogo de Mariz: son of D. Antonio.
Cecília or Ceci: protagonist.
d. Isabel: niece of D. Antonio.
Álvaro de Sá: Bandeirante and Ceci's suitor.
Loredano: bandeirante and villain of the story.
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Other Girl Scouts:
Bento Simões;
Martin Vaz;
Rui Soeiro;
Vasco Afonso;
Aires Gomes.
→ Work time the guarani
the action of narrative takes place in 1603 and 1604, beginning of the 17th century, therefore. Moreover, the work has a chronological time, in order to show a chronological sequence of events.
→ work space the guarani
The action takes place in Rio de Janeiro, when the city “had been founded less than half a century ago, and civilization had not had time to penetrate the interior”. In that space, “on the right bank of the river, a large and spacious house was seen, built on an eminence, and protected on all sides by a wall of rock cut into a sheer depth”.
That house was owned by D. Antonio de Mariz, “a Portuguese nobleman with a coat of arms and one of the founders of the city of Rio de Janeiro”. He is the father of the protagonist of the narrative, the idealized Cecília or Ceci. So this is the main story space of love between the noblewoman Ceci and the indigenous Peri.
→ narrator of the work the guarani
The work has one third-person narrator, omniscient. Therefore, he knows every detail about the characters' lives, including their innermost desires and thoughts.
→ Plot of the work the guarani
The romancethe guarani, first published in 1857, begins with a description of the Paquequer River. On the bank of this river, “a large and spacious house” is built, protected “on all sides by a wall of rock cut into a sheer depth”. And the D's house Antônio de Mariz, Portuguese nobleman, one of the founders of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
He is father of the heroine Ceci. And, some suspect, he is also the father of his niece Isabel, perhaps “the fruit of the old nobleman’s love for an Indian woman he had captivated on one of his explorations”. another character is O bandeiranteÁlvaro, Ceci's suitor. He is part of the same caravan as Loredano, an Italian villain.
On the way to D. Antony, the knights witness a peculiar scene. An indigenous person who confronts “an enormous jaguar; with claws resting on a thick branch of a tree, and feet suspended on the upper branch, it shrank its body, preparing the gigantic leap”.
After wounding the jaguar with his arrows, the native, that is, the hero Peri, fights the animal:
This fight lasted for minutes; the Indian, with his feet resting heavily on the jaguar's legs, and his body leaning over the pitchfork, thus kept the beast immobile, which had just been running through the woods, finding no obstacles to its passage.
When the animal, almost asphyxiated by strangulation, could only make a weak resistance, the savage, holding always the pitchfork, he reached under his tunic and pulled out a rope of ticum that he had wrapped around his waist in many turns.
At the ends of this rope there were two loops which he opened with his teeth and passed through the front paws, binding them tightly to each other; then he did the same to the legs, and ended up tying the two jaws together, so that the jaguar could not open its mouth.
Álvaro wants to marry Ceci, but it is Isabel who is in love with Álvaro. Already Peri has a servile love for Ceci, is capable of anything for her. The native's love for the noblewoman Cecília is configured, thus, in the process of amorous vassalage, that is, a submissive servant to his mistress:
For him, this girl, this blonde angel with blue eyes, represented divinity on earth; admiring her, making her smile, seeing her happy, was her cult; holy and respectful cult in which her heart poured out the treasures of feelings and poetry that overflowed from her virgin nature.
But to complicate matters, Loredano desires the heroine:
Loredano wanted; Álvaro loved; Pery loved it. The adventurer would give his life to enjoy; the gentleman would brave death to deserve a look; the savage would kill himself, if necessary, just to make Cecília smile.
Peri is close to the family of D. Antônio, since, on one occasion, he saved Ceci. Thus, “the nobleman, with his loyalty and chivalry, appreciated Peri's character, and saw in him, although wild, a man of noble feelings and a great soul”. However, D. Lauriana, Ceci's mother, did not like this interaction.
Peri overhears a conversation between Loredano, Bento Simões and Rui Soeiro. So he discovers that the Italian intends to assassinate D. Antônio and his wife, in addition to stealing the couple's daughter to make her his mistress. Isabel, on the other hand, would be under the control of Bento and Rui. All this takes place in 1604.
Álvaro is at odds with Loredano, and the Italian almost kills him, if Peri had not saved the boy. Álvaro, however, instead of killing the villain, makes Loredano “swear that tomorrow you will leave the house of D. Antônio de Mariz, and you will never set foot in this sertão again; for such a price your life is saved.” Obviously, the devious Loredano takes the oath.
Peri warns D. Antônio that the Aimorés are going to attack the nobleman's house, for revenge. After all, D. Diogo killed an indigenous woman from that tribe, but unintentionally. Isabel then confesses to Álvaro that she loves him. But the boy says that he can only be hers “a brother” and that “I feel I deserve this title because of the esteem and affection you inspire in me”.
Loredano and his cronies plan an attack on the nobleman's house. Peri warns Álvaro, but the boy thinks the native is exaggerating. After all, Peri does not inform him of the names of the “men against whom he had to defend Cecília”. Already D. Antônio, worried about the attack by the Aimorés, sends his son to São Sebastião.
To keep Loredano away, who still hasn't left, Álvaro charges him with being one of the companions of Diogo, the son of D. Antonio. Accompanying the boy are three other men, in addition to the Italian. When they leave, Peri reveals the names of the traitors to Álvaro, as he understands that Bento and Rui also need to leave.
But Loredano tricks Diogo and goes back in secret to put his plan into action. And he directs his cronies to kill Ceci if he, Loredano, is killed. That way, she can't be anyone else's. Loredano invades Ceci's room while she sleeps. But Peri, who protects his “lady”, hits an arrow in the hand that intended to touch the virgin.
The villain runs away, looking for his cronies, and discovers that Bento Simões was killed by Peri. The villain then takes the opportunity to play the other men against the indigenous man: “Loredano realized what was going on in the spirit of the adventurers”. Faced with a possible revolt, D. Antônio de Mariz tries to impose his authority. One group, however, is still willing to attack.
But the Aimorés attack first. The house is surrounded by warriors, and Loredano looks for ways to capture Ceci. In this point, the love between Ceci and Peri is a fact, and Álvaro is now in love with Isabel. Thus, the Guarani Peri overcomes all his pride and kneels before the chief of the Aimorés to beg for the lives of his “lords”.
The native becomes a prisoner of the Aimorés. However, a young Aimoré girl falls in love with the hero and sets him free. Afterwards, he is captured again. And when Peri is going to be killed by the cacique, Álvaro shoots the enemy native, who falls lifeless. Peri then proposes to take Cecília away, but d. Antonio allows it only if the native becomes a Christian. In a symbolic act, the nobleman baptizes the native and gives him permission.
Now Peri has the task of, once again, saving his beloved: “Arriving at the riverside, the Indian laid his lady down in the bottom of the canoe, like a little girl. in her cradle, he wrapped her in a silk blanket to shelter her from the night dew, and taking the oar, he made the canoe jump like a fish over the waters”. Meanwhile, the house is set on fire by the Aimorés, and everyone dies, including the villain.
See too: The exaggeration, idealization and pessimism of ultra-romantic literature
Characteristics of the work the guarani
The book the guarani has four parts. The first part has 15 chapters. The second and third, 14 chapters each. And finally, the fourth has 11 chapters, including the epilogue. This classic of Brazilian literature is one of the main works of our romanticism, a period style marked by subjectivity and idealization.
the guaraniit's an indian noveland therefore has the following characteristics:
formation of a Brazilian identity;
the native is considered a national hero;
reconstruction of the historical past;
nature as a national symbol;
exaltation of bourgeois values;
idealization of love and women;
loving vassalage.
Know more: Historical novel — narrative that mixes fiction and historical facts
Historical context of the work the guarani
the guaranitakes place in Brazilian colonial period, in which the so-called “bandeirantes” acted. As Guilherme Grandi (PhD in Economic History) tells us, these individuals were one of the “historical agents par excellence of this movement of exploration, occupation, settlement and founding of camps, villages and cities”.
According to the same author:
Once established, the settlements formed along the land paths and river routes served as a supply base and as a landing, arrival, or departure point for adventurers and explorers who were looking for metals, gentile for preying and earthly goods with some appreciable commercial value and that, therefore, could be inserted in the mercantile circuit colonial.|1|
Brazil was under the regency of King Spain, who was also king of Portugal, in a period that became known as the Iberian Union, which lasted from 1580 to 1640. On that occasion, therefore, there was Unification between the Portuguese and Spanish Crowns. In such a context, the action of the novel takes place the guarani.
José de Alencar — the author of the guarani
José de Alencar born on day 1º May 1829, in the city of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará. Ten years later, the boy and his family moved to Rio de Janeiro. In 1843, the young writer went to live in São Paulo, where attended the college of Dright. Back in Rio, in 1850, he worked as a lawyer.
He was also editor-in-chief of the Diary of Rio de Janeiro. AND his first novel was published in 1856 — Five minutes. Thus, alongside his career as a writer, he also held the position of deputy and Minister of Justice. The author died December 12, 1877, in Rio de Janeiro. To learn more about this author, click here.
→ Video lesson about José de Alencar
image credits
[1] L&PM Editores (reproduction)
[2] Wikimedia Commons
Note
|1| GRANDI, William. System and means of transport in São Paulo based on the work of Sérgio Buarque de Holanda. History, Sao Paulo, vol. 39, 2020.
Sources
ABAURRE, Maria Luiza M.; PONTARA, Marcela. Brazilian literature: times, readers and readings. 3. ed. São Paulo: Editora Moderna, 2015.
GLA José de Alencar: biography. Available in: https://www.academia.org.br/academicos/jose-de-alencar/biografia.
ALENCAR, Jose de. the guarani. São Paulo: Paulus, 2002.
CARDOSO, Alirio. The conquest of Maranhão and the Atlantic disputes in the geopolitics of the Iberian Union (1596-1626). Brazilian Journal of History, Sao Paulo, vol. 31, no. 61, p. 317-338, 2011.
GRANDI, William. System and means of transport in São Paulo based on the work of Sérgio Buarque de Holanda. History, Sao Paulo, vol. 39, 2020.
By Warley Souza
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