Espaço literário feminino: a obra de Maria de Mesquita Pimentel

Abstract

The literary feminine production is scarce in the modern period. In a speech fitted by the Counter-reform, the conventual’s writing was allowing, specially printed, the contact with the secular world. Between the Portuguese nuns, writers, we intend to let know the work of Maria de Mesquita Pimentel, nun born in the last quarter of the XVI century in the South of the Tagus, and what saw part of his work published in 1639, entitled Memorial da Infancia de Christo eTriumpho do divino Amor. However, they remained handwritten and unpublished two parts. These Parts, 2nd and 3rd, manuscripts, are structured along 13 Cantos (1125 octaves) and 11 Cantos (965 octaves), respectively, both in octaves with ten syllables and rhyme scheme ABABABCC. All the Cantos have an introductory octave, revealing the Author, along the speech, not only a notable verbal power and a clear influence of the coeval ideas, but also the knowledge of episodes and characters of the classic world, witch she elects and evokes to illustrate the speech and that weren’t commons in the formation/education of her contemporaries’ nuns.