Women at war: the drama of the Asia-Pacific war in Rodrigo Leal de Carvalho’s novels

Abstract

It has been observed that the Macanese literature in Portuguese has dwindled in recent decades. However, important fictional accounts have appeared since the 1990s. Such books present a deep and detailed view of autochthonous way of life - especially during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. By contextualizing the character’s experiences in a very specific temporal frame, the narrator displays ethnographic qualities throughout the novels – allowing the reader to understand and to know these experiences. While Macao’s aesthetic and literary production are featured with high literary quality and relevance, their academic attention remains somewhat peripheral within current academic studies. Furthermore, a deficit in the analysis of female figures remains largely unaddressed in the Orient, thereby worsening the situation. Within this framework, a critical review of Macanese literature and, specifically, Rodrigo Leal de Carvalho is particularly relevant. As a matter of fact, the author places special emphasis on female characters in the selected novels, who reside in a similar chronotope: Macau during the Asia-Pacific War. Through Carvalho’s literary works, “A mãe” and “Requiem por Irina Ostrokoff”, this article aims to explain and contextualize female representations under warlike environments. It is necessary to undertake this exercise because (i) it contributes to the building of knowledge about Portuguese literature and regional areas; (ii) it provides insight into some peripheral writers of the latter academic landscape; (iii) it explains historical, social and culturally situated female stereotypes; (iv) it expands gender studies on Orient literature.