Queiroz, Rachel De

Austin. 1963. University Of Texas Press. 1st American Edition. Very Good in Slightly Worn Dustjacket . Translated from the Portuguese by Fred P. Ellison. Illustrated by Aldemir Martins. 178 pages. hardcover. Cover: Aldemir Martins. keywords: Literature Translated Brazil Latin America Women. FROM THE PUBLISHER - Since the 1930's Rachel de Queiroz has been an important public figure in Brazil, noted for the emphatic expression of her humanitarian philosophy, her liberal political opinions, and her forthright views on the status of women in society. As the three Marias - Maria Augusta and her two friends, Maria Jose and Maria Gloria - approach womanhood, they are forced into an unfamiliar world. The narrator, Maria Augusta, struggles with her innocence, challenges society, succumbs to her rebellious desire for freedom, and is disillusioned by her experiences. As she and her two friends become acquainted with aspects of life which were hidden from them at home arid only partially revealed at school, they are confronted with the complexities that accompany experience. The wish to satisfy a ‘virgin's curiosity' is coupled with fear and hesitancy. The smallest compromise results in conflict and tension. Introspection and judgment, however, supplant the child's naive spontaneity, and the girls slowly gain insight into the nature of their womanliness. The story of Maria Augusta and her friends is warm and personal, a story with universal implications. inventory #15406