José Martiniano de Alencar (May 1, 1829 – December 12, 1877) was a Brazilian lawyer,

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. He is considered to be one of the most famous and influential Brazilian Romantic novelists of the 19th century, and a major exponent of the literary tradition known as " Indianism". Sometimes he signed his works with the pen name Erasmo. He was patron of the 23rd chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

Biography

José Martiniano de Alencar was born in Messejana, Fortaleza, Ceará, on May 1, 1829, to politician

José Martiniano Pereira de Alencar José Martiniano Pereira de Alencar (October 16, 1794 – March 15, 1860) was a Brazilian politician, journalist and priest, father of famous Brazilian novelist José de Alencar and diplomat Leonel Martiniano de Alencar, the Baron of Alencar. A ...

and his cousin Ana Josefina de Alencar. His family was a rich and influential clan in Northeastern Brazil, his grandmother being famous landowner Barbara Pereira de Alencar, heroine of the Pernambucan Revolution. Moving to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

in 1844, he graduated in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo in 1850 and started his career in law in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. Invited by his friend Francisco Otaviano, he became a collaborator for the journal ''Correio Mercantil''. He also wrote many chronicles for the ''Diário do Rio de Janeiro'' and the ''Jornal do Commercio''. Alencar would compile all the chronicles he wrote for these newspapers in 1874, under the name ''Ao Correr da Pena''. It was in the ''Diário do Rio de Janeiro'', during the year of 1856, that Alencar gained notoriety, writing the ''Cartas sobre A Confederação dos Tamoios'', under the pseudonym Ig. In them, he bitterly criticized the homonymous poem by Gonçalves de Magalhães. Even the Brazilian Emperor Pedro II, who esteemed Magalhães very much, participated in this polemic, albeit under a pseudonym. Also in 1856, he wrote and published under ''

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art critici ...

'' form his first romance, '' Cinco Minutos'', that received critical acclaim. In the following year, his breakthrough novel, '' O Guarani'', was released; it would be adapted into a famous opera by Brazilian composer

Antônio Carlos Gomes Antônio Carlos Gomes (; July 11, 1836 in Campinas – September 16, 1896 in Belém) was the first New World composer whose work was accepted by Europe. He was the only non-European who was successful as an opera composer in Italy, during the "go ...

13 years later. ''O Guarani'' would be first novel of what is informally called Alencar's " Indianist Trilogy" – a series of three novels by Alencar that focused on the foundations of the Brazilian nation, and on its indigenous peoples and culture. The other two novels, '' Iracema'' and '' Ubirajara'', would be published on 1865 and 1874, respectively. Although called a trilogy, the three books are unrelated in their plots. Alencar was affiliated with the Conservative Party of Brazil, being elected as a general deputy for Ceará. He was the Brazilian Minister of Justice from 1868 to 1870, having famously opposed the abolition of slavery. He also planned to be a senator, but Pedro II never appointed him, under the pretext of Alencar being too young; with his feelings hurt, he would abandon politics later. He was very close friends with the also famous writer

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short sto ...

, who wrote an article in 1866 praising his novel '' Iracema'', that was published the year before, comparing his Indianist works to

Gonçalves Dias Antônio Gonçalves Dias (; August 10, 1823November 3, 1864) was a Brazilian Romantic poet, playwright, ethnographer, lawyer and linguist. A major exponent of Brazilian Romanticism and of the literary tradition known as " Indianism", he is f ...

, saying that "Alencar was in prose what Dias was in poetry". When Assis founded the

in 1897, he chose Alencar as the patron of his chair. In 1864 he married Georgina Augusta Cochrane, daughter of an eccentric British aristocrat. They would have six children – Augusto (who would be the Brazilian Minister of External Relations in 1919, and also the Brazilian ambassador on the United States from 1920 to 1924), Clarisse, Ceci, Elisa, Mário (who would be a journalist and writer, and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters) and Adélia. (It is implied that Mário de Alencar was actually an illegitimate son of Machado de Assis, a fact that inspired Assis to write his famous novel '' Dom Casmurro''.) Alencar died in

in 1877, a victim of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. A theatre in Fortaleza, the

Theatro José de Alencar The Theatro José de Alencar is a Brazilian theater located in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará. History It was officially opened on June 17, 1910, and features eclectic architecture of the theater in the Art Nouveau style, 120-seat auditorium, foye ...

, was named after him. His works were marked by the influence of his Roman Catholic faith.

Works

Novels

* '' Cinco Minutos'' (

1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...

) * '' A Viuvinha'' ( 1857) * '' O Guarani'' ( 1857) * '' Lucíola'' ( 1862) * ''

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

'' ( 1864) * '' Iracema'' ( 1865) * '' As Minas de Prata'' ( 1865 —

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman t ...

) * '' O Gaúcho'' (

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the ...

) * '' A Pata da Gazela'' (

) * ''

O Tronco do Ipê O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), plu ...

'' ( 1871) * ''

A Guerra dos Mascates ''A guerra dos mascates'' is a novel written by the Brazilian writer José de Alencar. It is a historical novel set during the war of the same name which occurred in Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast r ...

'' ( 1871 —

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defe ...

) * '' Til'' ( 1871) * '' Sonhos d'Ouro'' (

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

) * '' Alfarrábios'' (

) * '' Ubirajara'' ( 1874) * ''

O Sertanejo ''O sertanejo'' (English: The backcountry) is a novel written by the Brazilian writer José de Alencar José Martiniano de Alencar (May 1, 1829 – December 12, 1877) was a Brazilian lawyer, politician, orator, novelist and dramatist. He i ...

'' (

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

) * '' Senhora'' (

) * '' Encarnação'' (

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

— posthumous)

Theatre plays

* '' O Crédito'' ( 1857) * '' Verso e Reverso'' ( 1857) * '' O Demônio Familiar'' ( 1857) * '' As Asas de um Anjo'' (

1858 Events January–March * January – ** Benito Juárez (1806–1872) becomes Liberal President of Mexico. At the same time, conservatives install Félix María Zuloaga (1813–1898) as president. ** William I of Prussia becomes regen ...

) * '' Mãe'' (

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

) * '' A Expiação'' (

1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...

) * '' O Jesuíta'' (

)

Chronicles

* '' Ao Correr da Pena'' ( 1874)

Autobiography

* '' Como e Por Que sou Romancista'' (

)

Critics and polemics

* ''Cartas sobre A Confederação dos Tamoios'' (

) * ''Cartas Políticas de Erasmo'' ( 1865 —

) * ''O Sistema Representativo'' (

)

References

External links

* * * *
José de Alencar's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

A biography of Alencar at the official site of Messejana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alencar, Jose De 1829 births 1877 deaths Brazilian Roman Catholics Brazilian male novelists 19th-century Brazilian lawyers Brazilian monarchists Critics of Freemasonry Conservative Party (Brazil) politicians Brazilian autobiographers Brazilian male dramatists and playwrights People from Fortaleza People from Ceará Portuguese-language writers University of São Paulo alumni Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 19th-century Brazilian dramatists and playwrights Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Brazilian essayists 19th-century Brazilian novelists 19th-century Brazilian male writers Tuberculosis deaths in Rio de Janeiro (state) Ministers of Justice of Brazil