Emília Freitas

Emília Freitas (born 11 January 1855 in Aracati, Brazil; died 18 October 1908 in Manaus, Brazil) was a teacher and a Portuguese-language writer. Quotes A Rainha do Ignoto (1899 novel) translated from the original Portuguese into English with the title Queen of the Unknown You, who shine like stars of the first magnitude in the lofty firmament of Science, Literature, and the Arts, may perhaps find my offering strange, and call it boldness, unless you reflect that the most powerful monarch may, without humiliation, accept a bouquet of wildflowers from the rough hands of a peasant woman, who bends the knee and bows her head in token of respect, esteem, and admiration. My offering does you no dishonor. Here it is: rough-hewn, like a diamond torn from the bosom of the earth and offered by a wild hand. from "To the Geniuses of All Countries, and in Particular to Brazilian Writers" the Queen of the Unknown is not, in truth, an impossible genius. She is simply a thwarted genius who, passing into the realm of fiction, found the means of realizing the caprices of her singular imagination and the kindly impulse of her extraordinary heart. The feat of Joan of Arc belongs to the domain of history. Yet does it not strike us as legend? Today, with still greater reason, we may lay hold of the improbable, for we live in the age of Spiritualism and hypnotic suggestion, on which I have founded my novel. from "To the Reader" I do not fear the sincere criticism of those who, without malicious prejudice and guided by justice, may make me see real defects that my ignorance - or my carelessness - could not perceive. Though I may fear the improper rivalry of great souls, of true talent, I shall not draw back. With my ears closed, I shall go on undaunted along the difficult path of our national literature. from "To the Reader" The inhabitants of villages and hamlets go early to bed; thus, in Passagem das Pedras, a little after ten o'clock at night, only one light could be seen shining, its glow issuing from the side window of the house at the end of the street. All else was darkness and silence beneath the immensity of the starry sky. (beginning of Chapter I) She wished to be alone; she feared that her parents might read, in her face, the name that had begun to appear on the horizon of her heart like a flash of sunlight. She was waking from her childlike heedlessness as from a lonely sleep full of dreams. (Chapter VII) Blessed tears, those shed in the greenness of one's years, when a trifle seems a great misfortune. Ah, how later one laughs at them, and almost feels longing for the hour in which they were shed. And just as the dew of morning trembling in the cup of a rose is dried within a few hours by the sun's heat, so the tears of youth are swiftly dried by the exuberance of life, belief, and hope. (Chapter XII) She ... wept in bitter sobs, bitter as disillusion, which is the gall of life. (Chapter XXVII) To feign love is a capital crime (Chapter XXXI) Quotes about External links Goodreads page Category:1855 births Category:1908 deaths