Úrsula - Maria Firmina dos Reis -Brazil 🇧🇷

Úrsula is a typical Romantic love story with pure love and pompous declarations. But there were innovative points for that time: enslaved black people were shown as humans again and had a voice to tell their story.

The book takes place in Maranhão, a state in the northeast region of Brazil, and tells the love story of Úrsula and Tancredo, starting with an unhappy and injured Tancredo in a field near the sea. He is found by Túlio, a black man, enslaved, who helps him.

Tancredo and Túlio have the nobility of spirit usual of a Romantic man. And the rich white guy treats the poor slave as he is: a good man. This creates a bond of friendship between them.

Túlio takes the injured guy to his Ladies, where Úrsula takes care of Tancredo, and their love story begins. But when everything seems to go well, someone is about to end the couple's happiness.

The book shows the condition of the slaves at the mercy of the slave owners and the women at the mercy of their husbands and family member.

The First Black Brazilian Female Writer Published

To understand the importance of the book, it is necessary to know that it was published in 1859. Despite Brazil being independent of Portugal in 1822, slavery was still legal and was only abolished almost 30 years after the book was published.

​Note: before Brazilian independence, Portugal had decreed the end of slavery in 1761, but only in its European territory. In the colonies, everything remained the same. Out of sight, out of mind.

It is possible to notice that the book's subject is delicate, not only in the descriptions of the lives of enslaved people but also because the surnames and names of cities are hidden. The courage to portray these scenes is impressive.

Maria Firmina dos Reis reappears in the current black empowerment movement after having her history hidden from the public. There are no images of her, and some information about her personal life remains unconfirmed. A black woman, the daughter of an enslaved woman and a white freeman, she had the chance to be educated and became a teacher in the city of Guimarães, on the north coast of the state of Maranhão.

SPOILER ALERT

The exaggerated descriptions of romanticism never pleased me. And not even the book's importance helped me to get through them immune. Tancredo and Úrsula are boring. The moment Susana talks about her story, how she was uprooted from her homeland, is touching, to say the least. The best part of the book. I was torn with the ending. Practically everyone dies, which is pretty realistic considering the context. The religious tone is clear. Uncle Fernando P., the classic representation of the slave owner, tries to redeem himself through the church. However, his only remorse is because Úrsula, his obsession, also dies. He does not want forgiveness for his murders and tortures, and he dies without the divine forgiveness of the priests. The message is repent now for your mistreatment of all human beings, of any skin color, or you will go to hell. And I would not be surprised how this message would make many people angry at that period.

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About the Writer

Maria Firmina dos Reis (1822-1917) was a writer and teacher from Maranhão and is considered the first Brazilian writer by the Brazilian National Library. Her story was erased from the general public with misinformation and no images other than descriptions of her daughter. She was the first woman to be approved in a public contest in Maranhão and to create a classroom where boys and girls could study together.

Other Books: Gupeva - Romance Brasiliense (1861-1862), Cantos a Beira-Mar (1871),The slave (1887).