''Tieta'' (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: ''Tieta do Agreste'', lit. "''Tieta from Agreste''") is a novel written by the Brazilian author

Jorge Amado Jorge Leal Amado de Faria (10 August 1912 – 6 August 2001) was a Brazilian writer of the modernist school. He remains the best known of modern Brazilian writers, with his work having been translated into some 49 languages and popularized in ...

, published on August 17, 1977. Set in the 1970s, it narrates the return of Tieta to the remote village of Santana do Agreste, 26 years after being beaten and expelled by her father in front of all the town's people.

Background

Written mainly in Buraquinho Beach,

Lauro de Freitas Lauro de Freitas is a municipality in Bahia, Brazil. It covers and a population of 201,635 (2020 est.). Lauro de Freitas has a population density of 3,376 inhabitants per square kilometer. It is located from the state capital of Bahia, Salvador ...

, close to Salvador,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and concluded in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in mid-1977, Tieta lives up to its full title: "''Tieta the Goat Girl or The Return of The Prodigal Daughter, A Melodramatic Serial Novel in Five Sensational Episodes with a Touching Epilogue: Thrills and Suspense!''" The book is one of the author's longest narratives and follows the story's protagonist through three decades. In the work of Jorge Amado, the novel falls between those books that, in novelistic tone, chronicle the times and customs, without losing sight of social and political criticism. Published during the period of Brazil's military regime, the plot anticipates issues that would become central in the life of the country, such as concern for the environment and criticism of power relations guided by favoritism and corruption. With her impetuosity and questioning spirit, Tieta joined the gallery of the author's great female characters, alongside

Gabriela Gabriela may refer to: * Gabriela (given name), a Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian feminine given name * ''Gabriela'' (1942 film), a Czech film * ''Gabriela'' (1950 film), a German film * ''Gabriela'' (1983 film), a Brazilian film * ''Gabriela' ...

, Dona Flor and Tereza Batista.

Plot introduction

Banished for promiscuity at the age of 17, Antonieta (Tieta) returns from

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 Ga ...

to her native village in the Agreste in

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

twenty-six years later. Thinking she is now a rich, respectable widow, her family and the village welcome her with open arms. But she is forced to reveal her true identity, as the Madam of São Paulo's best brothel, in order to save Agreste's beaches from an ugly and polluting factory development by calling on assistance from her well-connected clients.

In the media

*In 1989, a television version was made with

Betty Faria Elisabeth Maria Silva de Faria known professionally as Betty Faria (born May 8, 1941 in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian actress. She is best known for her interpretation of the title character in the 1989 telenovela '' Tieta''. She (co-won wi ...

in the main role. *In 1996, a

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

was made with

Sônia Braga Sônia Maria Campos Braga (; born 8 June 1950) is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'' (1985) and ''Moon over Parador'' (1988). She ...

in the role of Tieta.

References

External links

* 1977 novels Novels by Jorge Amado 1996 films Brazilian drama films Brazilian novels Portuguese-language novels Brazilian novels adapted into films Novels set in São Paulo Novels set in Bahia {{Brazil-arts-stub