Cartografia da prostituta na literatura brasileira: análise de romances dos anos de 1900 a 1910

This paper analyzes the representation of prostitutes in Brazilian literature between the 1900s and the 1910s, investigating how novels of this period portrayed this female individual. It reveals that prostitutes were often disadvantaged. and associated with moral and social decline, reflecting the medical and moral discourses of that time. However, at the same time as early as 20th century literature reproduced the usuals prejudices, as it was also a space for questioning the position of women. The representations of prostitutes in novels show a time where Brazil is in in tension between modernity and the remaining of a rigid moralism, which are aspects that continue to vibrate in the construction of female identities in Brazilian culture. This study is a cross-section of a broader study, that covers the period from 1900 to 1920 and has mapped Brazilian novels from this period in a qualitative and quantitative way. For this first stage, the focus was on the first decade of the 20th century, with the collaboration of a group of researchers who are responsible for cataloging and analyzing the works according to the theme that was proposed. The results include a set of novels categorized and made available to the public as a part of the was of this initial phase of the research.