Raul d'Ávila Pompeia (April 12, 1863 – December 25, 1895) was a Brazilian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer and

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

. He is famous for the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

romance ''

O Ateneu ''O Ateneu'' (English: ''The Athenaeum'') is a novel written by the Brazilian author Raul Pompeia in 1888, which is considered one of the most prominent examples of Brazilian Naturalism, Impressionism and Realism. The book narrates, in the first ...

''. He is patron of the 33rd chair of the

Brazilian Academy of Letters The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literature, literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its found ...

Biography

Pompeia was born in 1863 to Antônio d'Ávila Pompeia and Rosa Teixeira Pompeia. As a young man, he entered the Colégio Abílio, run by Abílio César Borges, the Baron of Macaúbas, where he was a good student, and the editor of the school journal ''O Archote''. In 1879, he was transferred to

Colégio Pedro II Colégio Pedro II is a traditional federal public school, located in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the third oldest active college in the country, after Ginásio Pernambucano and Atheneu Norte-Riograndense. The school was created ...

, where he wrote his first book, ''Uma Tragédia no Amazonas''. In 1881 he moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

in order to graduate in law. There he was influenced by

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ideals, and befriended abolitionist

Luís Gama Luís Gonzaga Pinto da Gama (Salvador, June 21, 1830 – São Paulo, August 24, 1882) was a Brazilian (self-taught lawyer), abolitionist, orator, journalist and writer, and the Patron of the . Born to a free black mother and a white father, he ...

. He wrote for many journals of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, frequently under

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Rapp, but he had many others, such as Pompeu Stell, Um moço do povo, Lauro, Fabricius, Raul D., Raulino Palma. He published his book ''Canções Sem Metro'' and the

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

'' As Joias da Coroa'' in the ''Jornal do Commercio''. After being reproved in 1883, he moved to

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

and there he concluded his Law course. Returning once more to Rio de Janeiro, he wrote his masterpiece ''O Ateneu'' in 1888. After the

Lei Áurea The (; from Portuguese: Golden Law), adopted on May 13, 1888, was the law that abolished slavery in Brazil. It was signed by Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), an opponent of slavery, who acted as regent to Emperor Pedro ...

() − which ended slavery in Brazil − was approved, Pompeia dedicated himself exclusively to the republican movement. After the republic was proclaimed in Brazil, he became a

Mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

teacher in the

Escola Nacional de Belas Artes Escola de Belas Artes (School of Fine Arts) is one of the centers of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and dates back to colonial times. A royal letter of Nov 20 1800 by John VI of Portugal established the ''Aula Prática de Desenho e Figu ...

and director of the

National Library of Brazil The Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil (English: ''National Library of Brazil'') is the depository of the bibliographic and documentary heritage of Brazil. It is located in Rio de Janeiro, the capital city of Brazil from 1822 to 1960, more specificall ...

, being named for both positions by

Brazilian president The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

Floriano Peixoto Floriano Vieira Peixoto ( 30 April 1839 – 29 June 1895), born in Ipioca (today a district of the city of Maceió in the State of Alagoas), nicknamed the "Iron Marshal", was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the Paraguay ...

. However, as a die-hard supporter of Peixoto, he was subsequently fired from his post by president

Prudente de Morais Prudente José de Morais e Barros (; 4 October 1841 – 3 December 1902) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who was the third president of Brazil. He is notable as the first civilian president of the country, the first to be elected by direc ...

, towards whom he was charged with disrespect in a speech he made at the burial of Floriano Peixoto, who had died suddenly shortly after the end of his presidential term. Pompeia had already been personally slandered for his allegedly closet

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

— something which led him to challenge his former friend, the poet

Olavo Bilac Olavo Brás Martins dos Guimarães Bilac (16 December 1865 – 28 December 1918), known simply as Olavo Bilac (), was a Brazilian Parnassianism, Parnassian poet, journalist and translator. Alongside Alberto de Oliveira and Raimundo Correia, he w ...

, to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

in 1892; he had also broken other friendships in the same dramatic fashion. Eventually, he suffered a breakdown: after being slandered for his Floriano speech in a piece by journalist

Luís Murat Luís Morton Barreto Murat was a Brazilian journalist, poet, philosopher and politician. He was born in Itaguaí on 4 May 1861 and died in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of ...

entitled "A Madman in the Cemetery", feeling himself scorned everywhere, he committed suicide by shooting himself on the chest with a pistol on Christmas, 1895.Alfredo Bosi, ''História concisa da literatura brasileira''. São Paulo: Cultrix, 2006, , 183. Available a

See, als

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Works

* '' Uma Tragédia no Amazonas'' (

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

) * '' As Joias da Coroa'' (

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...

) * '' Canções Sem Metro'' (

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

) * ''

'' (

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

)

Translations

* '' The Athaeneum''. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 2015.

References

External links

Raul Pompeia's biography at the official site of the Brazilian Academy of Letters
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pompeia, Raul 1863 births 1895 deaths Gay novelists Suicides in Brazil University of São Paulo alumni People from Angra dos Reis Patrons of the Brazilian Academy of Letters 19th-century Brazilian male writers 19th-century LGBT people Brazilian LGBT novelists Suicides by firearm in Brazil 1890s suicides

Biography

Works

Translations

References

Further reading

External links