Representations of violence in Isabela Figueiredo and Judite Canha Fernandes

Abstract

Over the centuries, violence has been minimized and accepted by society, and this was no different in Portugal’s recent history. After the April 25th Revolution, the country experienced a period of economic, social, and political instability and had to face the processes of independence of its former African colonies, which, after years of struggle and conflict, finally achieved freedom. This article aims to show how some violent practices in these former colonies, specifically in Mozambique and the Cape Verde archipelago, were tolerated and naturalized by Portuguese society, and to challenge the myth of the non-racist and cordial Portuguese, which still persists today. In this way, we propose to analyze two contemporary Portuguese literary works that portray this period: Caderno de Memórias Coloniais (2009) by Isabela Figueiredo, and the novel Um Passo para Sul (2018) by Judite Canha Fernandes.