A READING GUIDE IN THE 19TH CENTURY: THE CONDEMNED ROMANCE IN FAMILY READINGS

During the rise of the periodical press in 19th century Belem, which occurred as a result of political, cultural and economic changes in the city, there was a great proliferation of ideas in Para society. Conflicts of political and religious interests were present in the province, leading to the emergence of different positions on various subjects, including the reading of the novel. The novel genre rose as a reading practice belonging to both literate and non-literate society, the latter through reading aloud, causing the popularization of the new genre, mainly through the publication of narratives in the pamphlet format, progressively reaching more readers and consumers of periodicals. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to analyze the writing entitled Leituras em Familias: antes da oracao da noite, by R. P. Huguet, published in the periodical A Boa Nova (1871-1883), a religious newspaper run by the Bishop of Para, Dom Macedo Costa (1830-1891). The publication will be analyzed in an attempt to retrieve the criticism related to the novel genre, which aspects were judged and which determined the recommendation or censorship of the narratives to the readers of the religious sheet; which intended, through its publications, to guide its readership towards the path of virtue and Christian morality.