A novidade realista-naturalista e a solução para o impasse camiliano: estudo de uma Novela do Minho

This paper is the result of an analysis of the impact realistic-naturalistic literature had in the professional trajectory of Camilo Castelo Branco, icon of the Portuguese Romanticism. We understand that Portugal underwent a series of socioeconomic transformations after 1850. Such transformations emphasized the shortage of professional occupation for the less favored population, boosting the immigration of a contingent of Lusitanians to foreign countries, mainly to Brazil. Moreover, the seductive imagery that there was a good chance that the foreign adventurers could quickly and easily make a fortune was cultivated. The immigrants who were successful in the plan of prospering in the former South-American colony and returned to Europe were called Brazilians on a return trip. This character even became subject for literature, particularly in Camilo Castelo Branco's production. Realism-Naturalism emerged along with the political and economic changes of the second half of the 19th century. It was an innovative literary doctrine. Those who followed this novelty were contrary to the predecessor movement - Romanticism - and defended that literature should have a social, moralizing role, which would be closely linked to the way of representing reality. In this context, Camilo Castelo Branco felt that his centrality in the literary field was threatened and had to change his writing style, in order to adapt to market demands.The series Novelas do Minho [Novellas of the Minho] is considered the apex of the transition crisis in Camilo Castelo Branco's work. From this series, the narrative O cego de Landim FThe blind man of Landim] stood out for investigation, since we understand that it illustrates the writer's solution to the professional destabilization caused by Realism, in addition to featuring several connections between the historical ground and fiction in its plot.Este trabalho resulta de análise do impacto que a literatura realista-naturalista causou na trajetória de Camilo Castelo Branco, ícone do Romantismo. Compreende-se que após 1850 Portugal passou por transformações socioeconômicas, que acentuaram a escassez de trabalho para a população pobre, impulsionando a imigração lusa ao exterior, principalmente para o Brasil. Além disso, havia o imaginário sedutor de que, nesse país, existiam boas chances de enriquecimento fácil aos aventureiros estrangeiros, que, no retorno a Portugal, eram chamados “brasileiros” de torna-viagem. Paralelamente às mudanças político-econômicas da segunda metade do século XIX, emergiu o Realismo-Naturalismo, como doutrina literária inovadora. Os adeptos dessa novidade eram contrários ao Romantismo, defendendo o papel social e moralizador da literatura, o que estaria intimamente ligado à representação da realidade, em detrimento da imaginação. Em meio a esse contexto, Camilo Castelo Branco sentiu sua centralidade no campo literário ameaçada, necessitando mudar o seu estilo de escrita, para se adaptar às novas exigências de mercado. Considera-se a série de Novelas do Minho como o ápice da crise de transição na obra camiliana, e foi dessa série que se destacou a narrativa O cego de Landim para investigação, pois se entende que ela, entre outras coisas, ilustra a inter-relação Brasil-Portugal