Literatura e imprensa no Maranhão: um estudo de A Pacotilha (1880-1900)

Abstract

This work analyzes the newspaper A Pacotilha from 1881 to 1900, investigating its role in the circulation of literature and literary criticism in 19th-century Maranhão. Situated within a context of intense social, political, and cultural transformations, the periodical established itself as an important cultural mediator, contributing to the formation of the reading public and the dissemination of literary ideas in Maranhão. The research is based on a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the newspaper's editions, with special attention to the Folhetim and Variedades sections, where fictional texts were concentrated. The results point to the predominance of foreign authors, especially French ones, whose extensive narratives published in serial format occupied a central position in the newspaper's pages. National production, although present, appears mainly in shorter texts and in less prominent spaces, revealing an editorial hierarchy marked by the valorization of international literature. Even so, Brazilian writers such as Machado de Assis and Aluísio Azevedo found in the newspaper a relevant space for dissemination and recognition. Beyond publishing literary works, A Pacotilha served as a significant space for literary criticism, where aesthetic judgment was linked to social, political, and moral debates. The reception of O Mulato, by Aluísio Azevedo, demonstrates how journalistic criticism went beyond literary commentary, functioning as an instrument of social intervention and symbolic dispute. It can be concluded that A Pacotilha played a fundamental role in the cultural life of Maranhão at the end of the 19th century, connecting literature, criticism, and the press, and contributing to the consolidation of a developing literate culture