Portrayals of masculinity in Antônio José da Silva’s 18th-Century comedy “Guerras do Alecrim e Manjerona"

Abstract

This paper presents a reading of the 18th century comedy Guerras do Alecrim e Manjerona (1735), from the luso-brazilian playwright Antônio José da Silva (1705-1739), the Jew, based on the analysis of the male characters of the play. The analysis introduces a social and historical reflection on the social roles attributed to the male gender. The reflection of the issues addressed in this reading of Antônio José da Silva’s play and in the analysis of its male characters are guided by Raewyn Connell’s (2005) contributions, specifically her concept of hegemonic masculinity, to the masculinities field of study, combined with Judith Butler’s (2003) work on gender and performance. The present study established a reflection on the actions and motivations of the characters of the play as a reflex of male motivations and masculinity models in force in 18th century Portugal.