“ENERVADAS”, BY MME. CHRYSANTHÈME: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SIMULACRUM

Abstract

Mme. Chrysanthème (1870-1948) was a recurring presence in periodicals of the first decades of the 20th century, publishing numerous reviews, chronicles and some novels. However, she fell into complete oblivion, which is the usual fate of women writers who, to some extent, contradicted the expectations of the male audience. Driven by the recent reissue of Enervadas (2019), we aim to unravel some of the innovative features of her work, like the split structure that leads us to an autobiographical simulacrum followed by a fictional diary. It is a book in which the protagonist, Lúcia, becomes a work of art, performing an artificial existence that will subvert the diary genre. We are, therefore, facing a double movement: a novel, fictional by its own nature, is also fictionalized by its narrator. Lúcia's body is a frame and her attitudes are always calculated to achieve a certain effect. This equally bipartite study, thinking of the genres that Lúcia intends to simulate, also seeks to understand the motivations of such a bored character who acts according to the postulates by the bourgeoisie to make fun of it. We intend to demonstrate the modernity in her subversions, perfectly consistent with the character's unnerved temperament.