Social and moral models in Portuguese novel of the 19th century: "As Pupilas do Senhor Reitor", by Júlio Dinis

Abstract

In this paper, we try to approach the cultural, social, religious and moral values contained in As Pupilas do Senhor Reitor, a novel by Portuguese writer Júlio Dinis (Porto, 1839-1871). In order of that, we have selected some fields and issues whose presence in the text becomes specially prominent, because of their decisive importance in the tale as well as because they are representative of the 19th century society, immersed in deep changes: we are referring to the impact of urban culture in rural world, the treatment of the woman, the experience of the religious fact and the question of the social mobility. In this way, we try to detect the more or less explicit positionings which can be observed in the novel, and to put them into the context of those discourses which are turning gradually into hegemonic in the Portuguese society at that time, stablishing – provided that it is possible– connections with other works and authors of the same period.