The runaway damsel: an exercise on comparative morphology

Abstract

This paper intends to be an exercise in comparative morphology. Studying an important element of three Brazilian plays of the 19th century – the get-away scene –, it aims to demonstrate how its variations are able to make visible the symbolic solutions found by the literary form in order to deal with real social contradictions. So, it can be said that its more liberal use in Martins Pena’s play, when it can be read as a sign of individual autonomy against a despotic authority, is progressively downgraded in Joaquim Manuel de Macedo’s and José de Alencar’s works, in the process of what was known as 1850’s conservative reaction.