Emília Freitas (1855–1908) was a Brazilian novelist, poet and teacher. She wrote what is considered the first Brazilian fantasy novel, A Rainha do Ignoto (1899; The queen of the unknown), about a utopian society inhabited by women.[1]
Emília Freitas | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 11, 1855 Aracati, Brazil |
| Died | October 18, 1908 (aged 53) Manaus, Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Citizenship | Brazil |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Notable work | A Rainha do Ignoto (1899) |
| Spouse | Antonio Vieira (1900-) |
Life
editFreitas was born in 1855, in Aracati, in the then province of Ceará. She was the daughter of the lieutenant colonel Antonio José de Freitas and Maria de Jesus Freitas. After her father's death, the family moved to Fortaleza, where Freitas studied French, English, geography and arithmetic in a private school.[2]
Later she moved to the Normal School, becoming a teacher. In 1873 she began to write poems for several literary newspapers of Ceará and Pará like O Libertador, O Cearense and O lyrio e a brisa. Most of these poems were later compiled in the volume titled Canções do lar (1891). A year later, after her mother's death, she moved to Manaus with his brother, teaching at the Instituto Benjamin Constant for boys.[2]
In 1900, she married and returned to her home state with her husband, the journalist Antonio Vieira, editor of Jornal de Fortaleza. de Freitas participated actively in the Sociedade das Cearenses Libertadoras, an abolitionist society, having even spoken in 1893 in the gallery, a fact that was much applauded and reported in the newspapers.
In 1899, she published her main work, A Rainha do Ignoto, which was called a "psychological novel". The book, about an utopian island ruled by a society of women, is considered by some experts as one of the pioneering works of the fantasy genre in Brazil. Out of print since its first release, the book got its second edition in 1980, becoming rediscovered and subject of feminist literary criticism studies.[3]
On October 18, 1908, Emília Freitas died in Manaus, where she had returned after the death of her husband.[4]
Works
edit- 1891- Canções do lar, poems;
- 1899 - A Rainha do Ignoto, novel
- unknown- O Renegado, novel
References
edit- ^ Valek, Aline. "Emília Freitas, pioneira na literatura fantástica brasileira". CartaCapital (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-10-02.
- ^ a b "O fantástico e o feminino: A Rainha do Ignoto - Caderno 3 - Diário do Nordeste". Diário do Nordeste. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
- ^ Walter, Quinhones, Elenara (2015-12-17). "ENTRE O REAL E O IMAGINÁRIO: CONFIGURAÇÕES DE UMA UTOPIA FEMININA EM A RAINHA DO IGNOTO, DE EMÍLIA FREITAS".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Balanço 2009: Primeiros romances de ficção científica - Terra - Roberto Sousa Causo". Archived from the original on 2016-10-09. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
External links
edit- Emília Freitas at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Works by Emília Freitas at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
