Malice at the crossroads of the nineteenth century: Franklin Tavora and O Cabeleira

Abstract

The novel O Cabeleira, by Franklin Távora, is considered a landmark of the Brazilian literary regionalism. Of diffi cult defi nition, it is placed in a crossroads of periods, styles, traditions and ideologies, from which emerges a perspective incompatible with the ancient regime, although still linked to romantic ideas. The question of malice, very conspicuous in the narrative, points to such confl uences and problems, clarifying the limits of the author’s worldview.