Scenas Contemporaneas

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

23203

Title

Scenas Contemporaneas

Language

pt

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Camilo Castelo Branco's *Scenas Contemporâneas* offers a biting critique of 19th-century Portuguese society through a collection of novellas and a farcical drama. Blending romantic tragedy with cynical realism, the work explores themes of hypocrisy, social class, and the destructive power of capricious passion, inviting readers to question the very foundations of virtue and honor.

Summary up to 500 words

Camilo Castelo Branco's *Scenas Contemporâneas* is a collection of novellas and a play that exposes the hypocrisy, cruelty, and performative nature of 19th-century Portuguese society. The volume opens with the novella "Morrer por Capricho" (To Die of Caprice), framed by a narrator recounting a harrowing winter hunt in the Serra do Marão. Lost in the snow, he seeks refuge at the home of Father Joaquim in Alpedrinha, where he meets the ailing D. Amelia and her fiancé, the student Valladares. The narrative reveals a tragic romance between Amelia and the liberal Corté-Real, violently interrupted by her conservative uncle. Forced into a convent in Lisbon, Amelia succumbs to tuberculosis, dying with the declaration that she died "por capricho," highlighting the fatal cruelty of rigid social constraints. The second novella, "Uma Paixão Bem Empregada" (A Passion Well Employed), follows the narrator's youthful infatuation with Miquelina. After an idyllic recovery following an accident, the couple part ways. Miquelina is subsequently betrayed by her lover, the General, who is caught in an affair. Humiliated and driven to the streets, she is nearly arrested for vagrancy before being taken to a hospital. There, she is treated not out of charity but because her beauty attracts the doctor's attention. She eventually escapes, changing her name to Rosa, symbolizing her fall from grace and the harsh reality awaiting women who defy societal norms. The volume concludes with a dramatic play, likely titled "Uma Paixão Bem Empregada," featuring characters like Eduardo, Leocadia, and Alvaro. The plot centers on a group of friends who have secretly agreed to maintain a facade of virtue while engaging in immoral behavior. When the truth threatens to surface, they stage a public scene of accusation and defense, only to reveal that everyone is complicit in the hypocrisy. The play satirizes the performative nature of morality in society, suggesting that true wisdom lies in understanding human nature rather than adhering to rigid social codes. Throughout the text, Branco's prose oscillates between lyrical descriptions of nature and sharp, often cynical, social commentary.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Fiction