Eça de Queirós na Era do Capital: o poder do dinheiro em O Primo Basílio

Abstract

Eric Hobsbawm divided the long 19th century into The Age of Revolution (1789- 1848), The Age of Capital (1848-1875) and The Age of Empire (1875-1914). Published by Eça de Queirós in 1878, shortly after the second period postulated by the British historian, O Primo Basílio shows how money came to determine all human relations. Being a periphery of Europe, Portugal has distinct aspects from the centers of capitalism, where concepts such as social mobility through merit, for example, were established. The objective of this work is to discuss how Eça dealt with these themes in this novel, which is much more complex than a mere story of adultery.