The Woman and the Spinning Wheel: Study on Dona Henriqueta

Abstract

This article analyzes Dona Henriqueta, one of the characters of the soap opera Ana Terra (Érico Veríssimo, 1971), making discussions and reflections on female representation within the patriarchal context. In this sense, the work seeks to analyze how the character, circumscribed to household chores, deals with the difficulties of rural life and with the oppressions suffered due to male domination. In summary, this work problematizes the reality of female oppression and devaluation that occurs with Dona Henriqueta. Moreover, the narrative demonstrates how some values of the patriarchal order end up affecting the existence of many women, sometimes unconsciously, due to the fact that the hierarchy that occurs in relations between men and women takes root in the form of beliefs, practices and conditioning of generations. The analysis of the female figure, therefore, shows precisely a social structure founded only on the appreciation of the male sphere.