1- NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE - By narrative technique is understood the set of resources used by the author to bring the plot (the action) to the reader.
LUCÍOLA is a first-person novel, meaning the narrator is not Alencar directly. He does so through a character who lived the episodes. In this case, this narrator character is Paulo, who, in letters addressed to a lady (through whom the author pretends to be), tells a love story that happened six years ago between him and Lúcia. The lady collected the letters and made the book from them. "Here is the destiny I give them; as for the title, it was not difficult for me to find. The name of the girl, whose profile you drew for me with such care, reminded me of the name of an insect. 'Lucíola' is the nocturnal firefly that shines so brightly in the heart of darkness and at the edge of marshes. Will it not be the true image of the woman who, in the abyss of perdition, preserves the purity of her soul?"
In chapter I, the narrator explains the reason for the letters: "The lady found strange, the last time we were together, my excessive indulgence towards unhappy creatures, who scandalize society with the ostentation of their luxury and extravagances." (p.11).
In the narrative structure of LUCÍOLA, therefore, one can observe the following:
a) there is a real author, José de Alencar;
b) a fictional author, the lady G. M., recipient of Paulo's letters.
c) A narrator, Paulo, with the task and privilege of ordering the facts, commenting on them, and drawing conclusions from them.
As he conveys the facts, he provides the reader with elements for the analysis of Lúcia and himself.
In the novel analyzed, the facts are presented from two points of view, two different angles: that of Paulo/character who conveys to the reader the sensations experienced with Lúcia, and that of Paulo/narrator who, at times, interrupts the narrative to make reflections or address the recipient of his letters.
The plot spans a period of approximately six months. That is how long the romantic couple's courtship lasted. Sometimes, the author advances the narrative with very simple solutions: "This calm and tranquil life, the haven of such a agitated existence, lasted about a month." (p.1116). At other times, he slows it down: he dedicated three chapters to the dinner party at Sá's house (chapters VI, VII, and VIII).
2- COMPOSITION TECHNIQUE - In studying a novel, it is customary to observe, besides the author's narrative technique, the action, time, place, and characters.
A - ACTION. It has already been said that the action of LUCÍOLA (= plot) revolves around a story between Paulo and Lúcia, with all the ingredients of a romantic novel: heroes and villains, misunderstood heroines, pale and gentle virgins, and depraved courtesans, death as the only way out for a true but impossible love, etc.
The action in a novel, like a film, is characterized by "dramatic simultaneity."
Explained: various episodes are collected by the author from a social or personal reality and interconnected in the novel. These episodes occur simultaneously, as in real life. But this simultaneity, the author gives greater emphasis to one of the "cases" that functions as the central core of the narrative. There is, therefore, in the novel, a central episode around which others revolve secondarily.
In LUCÍOLA, the central core of the narrative is concentrated on Paulo and Lúcia, sometimes as two individuals with their own past and present, sometimes as the "romantic couple." And it is concentrated with such intensity (after all, the narrator is precisely Paulo - the hero, the good guy - who loves Lúcia - the heroine) that the episodes involving the other characters are completely overshadowed.
In the central core - the love story between Paulo and Lúcia - the positions of Mr. Couto and Ana will mainly influence: the former negatively, hindering this love; the latter, positively, as a symbol of an almost perfect perpetuation of their love on earth.
B - TIME - Meaning "period depicted," it is the last century: 1855 - "The first time I came to Rio de Janeiro was in 1855". Upon careful reading, the reader notices in the book the Rio de Janeiro of D. Pedro II's era, with its salons, its bourgeoisie, its chic shop windows on Rua do Ouvidor with elegant merchandise from Paris or London, its tilburis, its clothing, etc.
As narrative time, it is eminently "chronological." That is, in LUCÍOLA, events follow each other in an almost normal order, with a natural sequence of hours, days, months, years. There is only one moment when the narrative flow goes back: when Lúcia narrates her past to Paulo. (Chapters XVIII and XIX). And at two moments it advances: chapter I and the very end of the last chapter reveal Paulo's state of mind six years after the death of his beloved Lúcia:
"I finished this manuscript yesterday, which I send you still wet with my tears. (...) Six years have passed since she left me; but I received her soul, which will accompany me eternally." (p. 127)
C - PLACE - The setting where the action unfolds is Rio de Janeiro. There are references to its neighborhoods (Santa Teresa), streets (das Mangueiras), population, festivals (that of Glory), theaters, elegant shops, etc.
The relationship between the locations and the amorous-sexual behavior of Paulo and Lúcia is curious, with the former acting in a way to bring them closer or further apart, and to achieve greater or lesser realization as a couple. Lúcia's bedroom is a place of lust: "... and with a brusque movement drawing the silk curtain, he suddenly unveiled an elegant and exquisitely decorated alcove." (p. 23) Of the several times they united sexually in this luxurious room, none, it seems, truly satisfied the couple. The first one ended like this: "Delirium had been succeeded by absolute prostration, orgasm of the violently shaken constitution. Seeing this inert and stunned body, with glassy eyes and clenched hands, I felt pity." (p.25)
The second encounter was completely different, in location and outcome. It was in the gardens of Dr. Sá's house, where Lúcia had paraded naked before the guests. The setting is very much in the romantic taste: nature. The bed is bucolic: "We went through the trees to a grass bed covered by a thick canopy of flowering jasmine. Lúcia is vibrating: "- Yes! Forget everything, and don't even remember having seen me before! Let it be the first time now!... The kisses I saved for you, no one has ever had them! Believe me, these are pure!" (p.47). And the climax was what only a loving couple can derive from sex: "It was not I who possessed this woman; it was she who possessed me entirely, and so much so that I have nothing left from that night but a long sensation of immense delight, in which I felt myself drowning in a sea of lust." (p.47)
When Lúcia moved into a small, poor house in Santa Teresa, with her sister Ana, an innocent girl, there was no more carnal union between them. This is because the two were already united by a spiritual love. A very pure affection united those two souls. And both the simplicity of the place, which "recalls the happy space of her childhood in São Domingos," and the
innocence of the girl no longer permitted the depravity of sex." Her almost sisterly kiss only occasionally caressed my forehead." (p.120)
D- CHARACTERS - Criticisms have been made and continue to be made about the falsity of his heroes and the uncontrolled fantasy with which Alencar handles destiny. For example, this one by Olívio Montenegro, his staunch critic: "A novelist with José de Alencar's imagination can paint an extraordinary nature, like the virgin nature of Brazil, and give an impression of grandeur, of invariable grandeur. The human element, however, no one truly represents it with the caprice of his fantasy. One must observe, discover the man. And this discovery is that, in truth, no one recognizes the men in Alencar's novels. He sought to create man not in his own image, as was God's own humility, but in the image of his landscape, and as shapeless as it." (in Romance Brasileiro, 2nd ed., Rio de Janeiro, José Olympio, 1953, p.54). They lack psychological depth, according to the cited critic. But it must be remembered that Romanticism is given to exploring characters' feelings without concern for inquiring into their ultimate and profound causes. This is what M. Cavalcanti Proença explains: "One should not seek in his work (Alencar's) psychological depths, abysses of passions and instincts, chasms of philosophical doubts swallowing feelings. Although 'physiologists,' these were not his themes. He was a visual artist, passionate about vivid colors, illuminated surfaces, harmonious forms. As Augusto Meyer emphasizes, 'no one comes to mind to seek anything else in his pages but the charm of that very surface. The spectacle is beautiful and, as such,
it satisfies'." (p.75).
In Lucíola, one character presents great psychological complexity, alongside the romantic idealism with which she was conceived:
a) LÚCIA - Her main characteristic is contradiction. As a courtesan, she was the most depraved. Just remember the Roman orgy at Sá's house. However, prostitution was a constant torment for her, as she did not fully surrender to it. And libidinal acts constituted for her a true self-punishment combined with an agonizing sense of guilt.
Two people coexist in her: Maria da Glória, the innocent and simple girl, and Lúcia, the seductive and capricious courtesan. In the book, Lúcia, Lucifer, stands out, appearing 348 times against 10 times as Maria da Glória, an angel. This disparity highlights the novel's theme: as Lúcia increasingly loves and is loved by Paulo, she increasingly assumes Maria da Glória, her true personality. And thus, through him, she rediscovers her lost dignity and innocence.
This duality can be expressed as follows:
LÚCIA
woman
depravity, lust
guilt
prostitution
capricious, eccentric
rejects love
demon
MARIA DA GRAÇA
girl
purity, innocence
dignity
innocence
simple, gentle
tends towards love
angel
Having lost her physical virginity, Lúcia, through Paulo's understanding and love, tends towards spiritual virginity. "They don't know, like you, that I have another virginity, the virginity of the heart!" (p.119). For this, she renounces any sensual love. Even Paulo's, of whom she had been a lover and to whom she began to deny a simple kiss. After she met him, she did not give herself to
any other man. That is why she does not believe in the love of Margarida, in "The Lady of the Camellias," because she did not deny her beloved Armando the body that so many had already bought.
And Lúcia, at 19 years old, regains the Maria da Glória she lost at 14. "Nothing disturbed Lúcia's serenity. It seemed indeed that her innocent soul, long dormant in the chrysalis, had finally awakened and continued the youth interrupted by a long and profound lethargy. (...) No one would say that this young lady had lived for some time in free society." (P.116). But this complete transformation cost her painful sacrifices and, above all, much initial misunderstanding on Paulo's part. "Incomprehensible woman! (...) I understand today the rapid transitions that took place in that woman; but at that time, how could I guess the unknown cause that suddenly transformed the depraved courtesan into the innocent girl, or the passionate lover!" (p. 51).
Her physical features: black hair and eyes, pale skin. Her expression, however, reminds the reader of her character duality: her gaze is sometimes "eloquent, voluptuous ray," and sometimes clear, a ray of light from her soul." She is indeed the ideal of romantic beauty, "with her soul's virginity so pure and absolute, that the sins of the body did not tarnish it. Therefore, even in the hours when her glory as a courtesan shines brightest, the novelist symbolically dresses her in white."
If any reader does not fully understand the complexity of the character Lúcia, as Paulo did at the beginning of the novel, it is not surprising, because after all, she herself defined herself: "It is difficult to know me; more difficult than you think. Do I myself know what is going on within me? Don't pay attention to these oddities!" (p. 51).
b) PAULO - He is a provincial from Pernambuco, 25 years old, who came to try to establish himself in Rio de Janeiro. The novel does not clarify whether he has a degree or not. It only suggests it. He is the narrator of the story and, as such, diverts the reader's attention to Lúcia and other aspects, without revealing certain information about himself. Physical details, for example. Something, by the way, rare in José de Alencar, when it comes to a central character.
While sketching Lúcia's profile, he also reveals himself: observant and sensitive spirit, he was the only one to understand Lúcia's strange character. His temperament is reserved without being timid: "... it is my habit, since I entered the world, not to admit strangers to the intimacy of my life, even when it concerns inconsequential matters. I only bare my soul among friends." And since he has no real friends in Rio, nuances of his personality are known by deduction.
His psychological reactions are expressed in his reflections: "What miserable animality was in me that night! When that poor woman reached the sublime of heroism and self-denial, I descended to stupidity and brutality!" (p.74). Or this one: "I know no more stupid animal than the bipedal, social creature they call civilized man." (p.76)
His journey towards love for the heroine was slow. In the beginning, what drove him towards her was sexual attraction. Paulo then doesn't understand her and conveys his uncertainties and suspicions to the reader. "If I loved this woman... but I was only thirsty for pleasure; I had an idea of this girl, perhaps false... " (p.118). Such suspicions were sometimes inoculated in him by society through some representatives - Dr. Sá, Mr. Couto, Cunha. "Cunha was right, I thought; greed and avarice are the hidden springs that move this beautiful automaton of flesh." (p.50). He even becomes violent and sadistic towards her. This can be deduced from several passages, such as: "Tonight, madam, you do not belong to yourself: you are an object, the property of the man who dressed you, adorned you, and covered you with jewels, to show the public his wealth and generosity." (p.74). Other times, he felt pity: "I felt deep compassion for this woman. Her tears softened me; I cried with her." (p.101). There was a period when their affection cooled. Paulo now admires her and dedicates great respect and friendship to her: "We then entered a new phase of our mutual existence, an original and curious phase that would have made me laugh fifteen days earlier. Indeed, who could judge a fraternal and pure friendship possible between two creatures who months earlier exchanged the most ardent expressions of sensuality?" (p.103). And finally, he devoted sincere love to her, to the point of vibrating with the possibility of a child from them: " - A child! But it is a new and stronger bond that ties us together. Will you be a mother, my dear Maria?" (p.125).
He is an innocent romantic character. Despite declaring himself poor and even being ashamed of it, he lives byronically, on dreams, on love. The other characters are secondary compared to the two protagonists.
c) Dr. SÁ and CUNHA - Paulo's friends, the former since childhood. They embody bourgeois morality and its masks: austere with others, lenient with themselves. They do not have well-defined personalities in the book. Both see in Lúcia only the prostitute.
d) COUTO and ROCHINHA - The first is an old man fond of young women. He embodies sexual obsession and old age. He represents society that exploits and corrupts. He was the one who took advantage of Lúcia's need and innocence. The second is a 17-year-old young man, with a wrinkled complexion, deep dark circles, a prematurely old man. A precocious libertine. They appear thus in the novel: "The contrast of vice presented by those two individuals: the old gallant, pretending to be a child for fear of being thought senile; and the debauched youth, striving to appear decrepit, so as not to be treated as a child; this living antithesis must have offered the spectator grotesque scenes." (p.33).
e) LAURA and NINA - They are prostitutes, like Lúcia, but without her character duality. They are not capable of "descending so low," however, they lack the "nobility and haughtiness" of the protagonist.
f) JESUÍNA and JACINTO - The former is a 50-year-old woman, dry and wrinkled. She was the one who took Lúcia in when her father expelled her from home and initiated her into prostitution. The latter is a 45-year-old man, and "lives from the prostitution of poor women and the debauchery of rich men." (p.111). Through him, Lúcia sold the rich jewels she received and sent the money to her poor family. He is the one who maintains the mysterious connection in the book between Lúcia and Ana. In short, he handles her business.
g) ANA - She is Lúcia's sister, whom Lúcia had educated in a boarding school until the age of twelve as if she were her own daughter. "She was Lúcia's portrait, with the only difference of having long, ash-blond hair in her curly locks. Ana already knew her sister and loved her, unaware of the blood ties between them." (p.114). Lúcia tries to marry her off to Paulo to be a kind of perpetuation and
realization of her love for him: "Ana would give you the chaste pleasures that I cannot give you; and by receiving them from her, you would still receive them from me. What more could I wish for in this world?" (p.124).
PROBLEM PRESENTED
Vicente Ataíde, in an interesting study he made of LUCÍOLA in the Literary Supplement of 2/28/1976 of "Minas Gerais," presents the axis of the novel's narrative structure as follows: Paulo wants Lúcia, but he has impediments to getting closer; Lúcia wants Paulo, but she also has impediments. It is easy, now, to understand how the novel's conflict is structured: PAULO X LÚCIA
