O Brasil de Ulrich Becher no Romanceiro Brasileiro: a harmonia em questão

Abstract

Brazil – a country of the future (Brasilien – ein Land der Zukunft), written by Stefan Zweig in the 40s, is one of the few books to portray Brazil as a harmonious country.  However, although the book is widely acknowledged as a fine piece of work, one cannot afford to ignore that some other German authors from the same period presented other entirely different views of Brazil. This paper focuses on the novel Romanceiro Brasileiro by Ulrich Becher, an author relatively neglected in the Germanic studies. The  primary aim is to examine some aspects of the image of Brazil. Unlike Zweig, who shows a  tendency to conceal potential conflicts which could threaten his idea of a harmonious Brazil, Becher points out the contradictions and disparities of the country, focusing on aspects wh ich contradict the idyllic image suggested by Zweig, such as Brazil’s serious social problems and injustice. By doing so, Becher may have created a more plausible image of Brazil.