Ingênua e frouxa substância humana

A Moreninha na encruzilhada entre Miroel Silveira e João Apolinário (1969)

Abstract

In this work we aim to analyze the program of the play A Moreninha, based on the novel by Joaquim Manuel de Macedo (1844) and staged in 1969. Through the program we can capture how A Moreninha was read in the 1960s and 70s. To complete this picture, we visit a theatrical critique by João Apolinário, as he presents a different reading of the novel. The play's program and theatrical criticism converge by pointing out that the novel represents “national psychology”, however they disagree on the relevance of the characters as faithful representatives of the “Brazilian social types”. In our hypothesis, both productions expressed cultural tensions that crossed the cognitive context of the period, denoting different attitudes towards art. In this way, while the play was in tune with the affirmation of nationality, the criticism was based on the left wing imaginary.