Entre a neve

by Eça de Queirós

"A neve caía". Como um mantra que ecoa ao longo de todo esse extraordinário conto de Eça de Queiroz, a repetição da frase possibilita ao leitor mais sensível solidariza-se com o lenhador que enfrenta sozinho o frio dos montes do norte de Portugal, em busca de lenha para aquecer sua família.

23 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2022

About the author

José Maria Eça de Queirós was a novelist committed to social reform who introduced naturalism and realism to Portugal. He is often considered to be the greatest Portuguese novelist, certainly the leading 19th-century Portuguese novelist whose fame was international. The son of a prominent magistrate, Eça de Queiroz spent his early years with relatives and was sent to boarding school at the age of five. After receiving his degree in law in 1866 from the University of Coimbra, where he read widely French, he settled in Lisbon. There his father, who had since married Eça de Queiroz' mother, made up for past neglect by helping the young man make a start in the legal profession. Eça de Queiroz' real interest lay in literature, however, and soon his short stories - ironic, fantastic, macabre, and often gratuitously shocking - and essays on a wide variety of subjects began to appear in the "Gazeta de Portugal". By 1871 he had become closely associated with a group of rebellious Portuguese intellectuals committed to social and artistic reform and known as the Generation of '70. Eça de Queiroz gave one of a series of lectures sponsored by the group in which he denounced contemporary Portuguese literature as unoriginal and hypocritical. He served as consul, first in Havana (1872-74), then in England, UK - in Newcastle upon Tyne (1874-79) and in Bristol (1879-88). During this time he wrote the novels for which he is best remembered, attempting to bring about social reform in Portugal through literature by exposing what he held to be the evils and the absurdities of the traditional order. His first novel, "O crime do Padre Amaro" (1875; "The Sin of Father Amaro", 1962), describes the destructive effects of celibacy on a priest of weak character and the dangers of fanaticism in a provincial Portuguese town. A biting satire on the romantic ideal of passion and its tragic consequences appears in his next novel, "O Primo Basílio" (1878; "Cousin Bazilio", 1953). Caustic satire characterizes the novel that is generally considered Eça de Queiroz' masterpiece, "Os Maias (1888; "The Maias", 1965), a detailed depiction of upper middle-class and aristocratic Portuguese society. His last novels are sentimental, unlike his earlier work. "A Cidade e as Serras" (1901; "The City and the Mountains", 1955) extols the beauty of the Portuguese countryside and the joys of rural life. Eça de Queiroz was appointed consul in Paris in 1888, where he served until his death. Of his posthumously published works, "Contos" (1902) is a collection of short stories, and "Últimas Páginas" (1912) includes saints' legends. Translations of his works persisted into the second half of the 20th century.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0211055/bio

Reviews

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nada como escolher os dias mais frios do ano – 4ºC de temperatura, -1ºC de sensação térmica em Lisboa - para ler Entre a Neve, de Eça de Queirós. Nem mesmo a lareira conseguiu afastar o frio que senti ao longo destas poucas páginas do conto.

(...) o bom Deus lá em cima parece que está tão bem agasalhado ao calor dos seus paraísos e das suas estrelas que não se lembra da pobre gente dos campos e dos montes que se arrepia de frio.

(…) e às vezes um corvo passando silencioso e noturno vinha bater o ar em redor dele com a selvagem palpitação de asas.

E o lenhador, com o peito erguido, os cabelos desmanchados, vermelho, trespassado de chuvas, feroz, com o machado erguido nas mãos, com justos e trágicos encarniçamentos, lutava contra os troncos, contra os ramos, contra a inchação das raízes, contra as duras cortiças e os filamentos tenazes; e enchia o chão de ramagens negras, de braços mortos de árvores, caídos e inertes como armaduras vencidas.

Estava só. Só. Nem pastores, nem vaqueiros, nem caminheiros perdidos. Só. E iam-se os pássaros, iam-se as folhas, ia-se a luz. Ele ficava só.

A neve riscava a noite de branco. Ao longe uivavam os lobos.
E a neve descia. As sombras dos corvos sumiram-se para além das ramas negras. Os cabelos desapareceram. Só ficou a neve!