PRINTED INTERSECTIONS: LITERATE WOMEN AND SLAVERY IN THE COURT OF RIO DE JANEIRO IN THE MID-19TH CENTURY

Abstract

In the middle of the 1850s, the Empire of Brazil sought ways to adapt to the ideals of progress and civilization based, above all, on the European model. It was a period of insertion of new habits and social representations. In this context, some literate women from the Empire of Brazil sought to cooperate with the civilizational ideal through the publication of texts in the press, which was the case of the editors and collaborators of Jornal das Senhoras (Rio de Janeiro; 1852-1855). Unlike other newspapers, this periodical featured only female writers and, because of that, presented a trajectory of criticism, but also of trickery, editorial tactics to gain credibility and ll its, on average, eight pages of content. One of the activities was performed by a person who answered by the name of Santos, a captive gatekeeper, who became one of the contributors’
informants who wrote the texts published under the title “Crônica da Semana” for O Jornal das Senhoras. Thus, the present work seeks to understand the tensions and interactions of the enthusiastic women of Jornal das Senhoras and the slavery context that surrounded them. Furthermore, it is intended to emphasize the importance of Santos for the perpetuation of this periodical. For this, the History of Books and Prints is used, the perspective of gender and intersectional studies as a theoretical-methodological framework for understanding this print.