O Tempo e o Vento
Encyclopedia
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Erico Verissimo
Erico Verissimo
Erico Verissimo was an important Brazilian writer, born in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. His father, Sebastião Veríssimo da Fonseca, heir of a rich family in Cruz Alta, Rio Grande do Sul, met financial ruin during his son's youth...
. Confusingly, the first part of the series, O Continente, was translated as Time and the Wind, giving the impression that it is the whole work.
Plot introduction
The series tells the story of two families - Terra and Cambará -, and how they evolve through 200 years of history, from 1745 to 1945. Living in the state of Rio Grande do SulRio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, in southern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, both families experience the transformations of the country.
The books
The saga is composed of three books, divided in total by seven volumes:- O Continente (2 volumes)
- O Retrato (2 volumes)
- O Arquipélago (3 volumes)
Major themes
The trilogy tells the story of a traditional family that lives through transformations of the society, so not only the history of that particular family is explored, but also the historical process that took place in that part of BrazilHistory of Brazil
The history of Brazil begins with the arrival of the first indigenous peoples, thousands of years ago by crossing the Bering land bridge into Alaska and then moving south....
, as in the whole country. Throughout the narrative, historical wars, revolutions, political crises and events are depicted and the characters are part or affected by them.
It's also noticeable that the families depicted to the book (ultimately family, since at a point they are joined by marriage) also go through transformations, departing from poverty in the beginning of the saga, until the economical and political prosperity, thus, ultimately, the Terra-Cambará family is part of an elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
.
O Continente
The first book, entitled O Continente (The Continent), progresses in non-linnear chapters. There are seven chapters entitled "O Sobrado", that tell the story of a siege to the Terra-Cambará mansion, during the Federalist RevolutionFederalist Riograndense Revolution (Brazil)
The Federalist Riograndense Revolution was a revolution in the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil against the Republic proclaimed in 1889.Inspired by the monarchist Gaspar Silveira Martins, it had as military head Gumercindo Saraiva...
.
Between these chapters, the history of the family is told chronologically, since its beginnings.
Chapters
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O Retrato
O Retrato (The Portrait) is a portrait in flashback of Rodrigo Terra Cambará, a fictional member of the real government of Getulio VargasGetúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
, as a young man. Dr. Rodrigo arrives to his home town of Santa Fé after studying Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, takes his first steps in politics and exhibits many of the personality traits and vices that will follow him for life.
O Arquipélago
In O Arquipélago (The Archipelago), after the fall of the Vargas dictatorship, terminally ill, Dr. Rodrigo Terra Cambará returns to Santa Fé with his fractured family. In flashbacks and conversations, his days as a revolutionary and as a politician in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
are remembered, just as the remaining members of the decadent family - particularly his son Floriano, a key part of this metafiction
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
al novel - try to rebuild their lives free from the influence of the dying patriarch.
Main characters
O Tempo e o Vento features a huge cast of characters. Most of the notable characters belong to Terra and Cambará families. Some of the most notable are:- Ana Terra, a strong woman rejected by her family after having a son out of wedlock with a mestizo. One of the founders of the fictional city of Santa Fé.
- Captain Rodrigo Cambará, a happy, picaresque man of arms, eventually settles in Santa Fé when he marries Bibiana Terra, thus forming the Terra Cambará family. Died while trying to take over the very Santa Fé where he lived in during the War of TattersWar of TattersThe War of the Ragamuffins was a Republican uprising that began in southern Brazil, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina in 1835...
. - Licurgo Terra Cambará, long-living patriarch of the family and political leader of his city and grandson to Captain Rodrigo Cambará. Married his cousin Alice Terra. Killed in action during the revolution of 1923.
- Dr. Rodrigo Terra Cambará, son of Licurgo and grand-grandson to Captain Rodrigo, takes over his father's role as political leader. Fights in the successful revolution that took Getulio VargasGetúlio VargasGetúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
to power, thus granting him a high position in the federal government. By nature a bon vivant and a liberal, he abandons his political convictions for the conveniences granted to him by his continued support of the Vargas government as it develops into a violent, long populist dictatorship. - Floriano Terra Cambará, one of the sons of Dr. Rodrigo, an introspective writer who, we learn at the end of the novels, is the writer of O Tempo e o Vento.
Allusions and references to history
O Tempo e o Vento is a historical novel. As such, many of its supporting characters and most of the historical events actually existed. This included, most notably, the War of TattersWar of Tatters
The War of the Ragamuffins was a Republican uprising that began in southern Brazil, in the states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina in 1835...
and the Vargas dictatorship
Getúlio Vargas
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas served as President of Brazil, first as dictator, from 1930 to 1945, and in a democratically elected term from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Vargas led Brazil for 18 years, the most for any President, and second in Brazilian history to Emperor Pedro II...
, and the political leaders Borges de Medeiros
Borges de Medeiros
Antônio Augusto Borges de Medeiros was a Brazilian lawyer and politician, and the President of Rio Grande do Sul for 25 years, during the period of Brazilian history known as the República Velha....
, Pinheiro Machado, Flores da Cunha
Flores da Cunha
Flores da Cunha is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...
, Júlio de Castilhos
Júlio Prates de Castilhos
Júlio Prates de Castilhos was a Brazilian journalist and politician.He was twice the govenor of Rio Grande do Sul and was the principal author of the State Constitution of 1891 and a model for many future politicians of the region. He disseminated positivist ideas in Brazil.The town of Júlio de...
, Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes
Luís Carlos Prestes was a leader of the 1920s tenente rebellion and the Communist opposition to the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas in Brazil....
and many others. All of the revolutions are real, as are the wars of colonial Brazil against Spanish Argentina and the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
(called the Paraguay War in Brazil).
The city of Santa Fé and the Terra Cambará family are entirely fictional. While the history of Santa Fé is typical of many other cities and towns in Southern Brazil, the Terra Cambará family is not based on any historical family in particular.