“A Woman’s Points of View”

Giacomo Leopardi "Translated" by Bruna Becherucci in O Estado de São Paulo

Abstract

Abstract: Italian writer Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) has been regularly mentioned in the Brazilian press since the mid-nineteenth century. A vast amount of material produced by writers, intellectuals and journalists has been “hidden” in newspapers, libraries, and digital and physical collections. In an effort to contribute to the history of Leopardi’s reception in Brazil, this article analyzes a series of essays on Leopardi published in the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo between 1949 and 1967 in a column called “Pontos de vista de uma mulher” (A woman’s points of view), which was attributed to Bruna Becherucci. Based on concepts of “cultural translation” and literary polysystems, the analysis concludes that Becherucci served as cultural mediator in the dissemination of Leopardi in Brazil, addressing more or less known themes in Leopardi’s work and making unusual connections between him and other writers. Becherucci’s articles on “cultural translation” indicate that the Brazilian and Italian literary systems not only communicate with one another, but their exchange of cultural goods forms a rich repository for constructing the history of Leopardi’s reception in Brazil.

Keywords: Leopardi; reception; the press; literary system; cultural translation.