Marriage, Manumission, and Morality in Turn- of-the-Century Rio de Janeiro
Marriage, Manumission, and Morality in Turn- of-the-Century Rio de Janeiro
This chapter examines how and why Brazilian political and cultural elites on the eve of the twentieth century expressed deep concerns about the value that their fellow citizens placed on marriage and morality. These anxieties played a pivotal role in their assessment of the country’s domestic and international status during a time of unprecedented growth and change. The chapter explores the ways in which government officials, social science experts, journalists, and novelists (most notably Aluiso Azevedo in his novel The Slum) championed certain marital and familial norms in Brazil, following the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the establishment of republican governance one year later. Aware that low marriage rates and a high occurrence of illegitimacy made Brazil look “uncivilized” to the outside world, the state sought to correct these problems. The marital choices and familial practices of everyday Brazilians became a significant factor in their country’s path of modernization.
Keywords: modernization, abolition, morality, Aluiso Azevedo, The Slum, illegitimacy, Brazil
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
