Food as an element in the construction of society’s identity as represented in the novel O Tempo e o Vento (The Time and the Wind) by Érico Veríssimo

Abstract

The Time and the Wind, written by Érico Veríssimo (Brazil, 1905-1975), is a trilogy formed by The Continent, The Portrait and The Archipelago, published between 1949 and 1962 and tells the Terra Cambará family trajectory during 150 years of the history of Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil. Our analysis focuses on two books in the trilogy: The Continent (volumes 1 and 2) and The Portrait (volume 1). In this study, the question is what contribution the dietary practices make to the construction of the society portrayed in the novels. The aims are identifying the dietary practices and analyzing how they influenced the identity construction of the society portrayed in the novels. This research work is structured into four parts. The first corresponds to the introduction of the study proposal and the second to a brief novel literary presentation. In the third and fourth parts, we discuss the importance of meat consumption as an identity mark of this society and establish a counterpoint to the introduction of new eating practices, and conclude with final considerations. The methodology used a bibliographic survey available about the topic. It was concluded that the eating practices described contributed to the identity construction of the society portrayed, with animal husbandry and meat consumption being strong identity marks. Also, the attempt to introduce elite foods showed that they were not recognized as food, a counterpoint that reinforced the local food culture affirmation as an identity mark.