O cortiço by Aluísio Azevedo and O retorno by Dulce Maria Cardoso: the spaces of migrants

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyse the novels O cortiço (1890), by Aluísio Azevedo and O retorno (2012-2019), by Dulce Maria Cardoso, within the framework of the theories of space, place, and the ideas of centre and periphery, namely Itamar Even-Zohar’s Polysystem Theory (1990). The aim is to show how both texts constitute literary representations of the way migratory movements are associated with the creation of peripheral spaces, in a urban setting. Temporary and dynamic spaces that function as shelters, as acculturation platforms and, simultaneously and paradoxically, as links and boundaries between emigrants and host communities. We will, therefore, make a thematic, comparative analysis, starting by referring to the motives, origins and expectations of the migrants represented in both works. Then we will characterize the places of reception and, finally, we will illustrate how both the ‘cortiço’ and the hotel are, in these works, spaces that are ephemeral, characterized by mobility and the inherent tension between centres and peripheries.