A dominação masculina em Iracema de José de Alencar

Abstract

This study analyzes Iracema, by José de Alencar, from the perspective of male domination, with the general objective of understanding how the Brazilian Romantic novel of the nineteenth century contributes to the naturalization of unequal gender relations. The research problem consists of investigating how the idealization of the character Iracema reinforces feminine stereotypes of submission and legitimizes the male hegemony represented by Martim. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu (1999), Heleieth Saffioti (2004), and Jordana Fontana (2019), the study demonstrates that, although Iracema occupies a central position in the narrative, her representation is subordinated to male desires and authority, reflecting a patriarchal logic of symbolic domination. Methodologically, this is a qualitative, exploratory, and bibliographic study, based on an interpretative analysis of the literary text. The results indicate that the romantic idealization of the female character operates as a symbolic mechanism of control, contributing to the erasure of female autonomy and to the reproduction of gender hierarchies. It is concluded that Romantic literature, while constructing national identity, also functions as an instrument for legitimizing patriarchal norms, highlighting the importance of a critical reading of classical works