Camilo Castelo Branco | |
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| Born | Camilo Ferreira Botelho Castelo Branco 16 March 1825 |
| Died | 1 June 1890(1890-06-01) (aged 65) |
| Occupation | novelist, playwright, essayist |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Genre | Romance novel |
| Literary movement | Romanticism |
Camilo Castelo Branco,1st Viscount of Correia Botelho (Portuguese pronunciation:[kɐˈmilukɐʃˈtɛluˈbɾɐ̃ku]; 16 March 1825 – 1 June 1890), was a prolific Portuguese writer of the 19th century, having produced over 260 books (mainly novels, plays and essays). His writing is considered original in that it combines the dramatic and sentimental spirit ofRomanticism with a highly personal combination ofsarcasm, bitterness anddark humour. He is also celebrated for his peculiarwit and anecdotal character, as well as for his turbulent (and ultimately tragic) life.
His writing, which is centred in the local and the picturesque and is in a general sense affiliated with the Romantic tradition, is often regarded in contrast to that ofEça de Queiroz – a cosmopolitandandy and a fervorous proponent ofRealism, who was Camilo's literary contemporary in spite of being 20 years younger. Thistension between Camilo and Eça – often dubbed by criticsthe literary guerrilla – has been interpreted as a synthesis of the two great tendencies present in the Portuguese literature of the 19th century.
Allegations that he was initiated inFreemasonry in 1846,[1] are somewhat contradictory as there are indications that, around the same time, during theRevolution of Maria da Fonte, he fought in favor of theMiguelists as "helper to the orders of the Scottish General Ranald MacDonell",[2][3] who was active in the revivedOrder of Saint Michael of the Wing precisely to combat Masonry. Similarly, much of his literature demonstrates his ideals oflegitimism and as a conservative and Catholic traditionalist.
Camilo was born out of wedlock and orphaned in infancy,[4] although his origins lay ultimately in Northern Portugal's provincial aristocracy (his father, Manuel Joaquim Botelho Castelo Branco, was the son of an illustrious household in the environs ofVila Real, but lived in near-poverty due to the strictlaw of primogeniture which then largely excluded younger sons from inheritance).[citation needed] Camilo was a descendant ofmarranos in Castelo Branco.[5] Camilo spent his early years in a village inTrás-os-Montes, where he was educated at home by three unmarried aunts. At the age of 13, he enrolled at the Catholic seminary of nearby Vila Real, where he was educated by Catholic priests. During his teenage years, he fell in love with the poetry ofLuís de Camões andManuel Maria Barbosa de Bocage, whileFernão Mendes Pinto gave him a lust for adventure. In spite of this interest in literature, and of his remarkable abilities inGreek andLatin, Camilo was a distracted student and grew up to be undisciplined and proud.[4]
From the age of 17 to his early 20s, he intermittently studied medicine and theology inPorto andCoimbra and eventually chose to become a writer. After a spell of journalistic work in Porto andLisbon he proceeded to theepiscopal seminary in Porto in order to study for the priesthood. During this period Camilo wrote a number of religious works and translated the work ofFrançois-René de Chateaubriand. Camilo actually took minor holy orders, but his restless nature drew him away from the priesthood and he devoted himself to literature for the rest of his life.[4] He was arrested twice; the first time for having unearthed[why?] the remains of his first wife (whom he had married at the age of 16, and who had died at 24) and the second due to his adulterous affair withAna Plácido, who was married at the time.
His first period of incarceration was short, apparently thanks to the intervention of Teixeira de Queiroz, an influential judge and, coincidentally, father of the renownedJosé Maria de Eça de Queiroz. During his second and longer incarceration he wrote what most consider to be his best and most characteristic workAmor de Perdição. Later this phase of his life would also inspire him to write hisMemórias do Cárcere (literally "Memories of Prison"), in which he describes the meanders of the then miserable and overcrowded prison of Relação, at the centre of Porto, intertwined with intimate ramblings of the imagination and biographical fragments.
Camilo was made a viscount (Visconde de Correia Botelho) in 1885 in recognition of his contributions to literature, and when his health deteriorated and he could no longer write, parliament gave him a pension for life.[4] In 1886, he wrote "Esboço de crítica: Otelo, o Mouro de Veneza".[6][7] Going blind (because ofsyphilis) and suffering from chronic nervous disease, Castelo Branco committed suicide[8] with a revolver in 1890, while sitting in his now-famous woodenrocking chair.[citation needed]
Camilo Castelo Branco is probably the most prolific of all Portuguese writers, his work including novels, plays, verse, and essays. In addition, Camilo was the first Portuguese writer able to support himself financially from his writing alone. In all, his publications number about five hundred and sixty, but he is best known for his novels. Even though Camilo churned out a lot of work to pay the bills, he never lost his individuality. His familiarity with personalities allowed him to enliven his writing with a succession of memorable characters and Portuguese types, such as the "brasileiro" (a returned Portuguese emigrant who had made his fortune in Brazil), the old "Fidalgo" (nobleman) of the north of Portugal, and theMinho priest.
Camilo's novels may be divided into three periods. The first period comprises his romances of the imagination, of whichOs Mistérios de Lisboa, in the style ofEugène Sue, is a fair example.[4]
The second period includes hisnovels of manners, a style he developed and remained the chief exponent of until the appearance ofO Crime de Padre Amaro byEça de Queiroz. In these novels he combines realism and idealism, and perfectly captures the domestic and social life of Portugal in the early part of the 19th century.[4]
The third period embraces his writings in the realms of history, biography and literary criticism. Among these may be citedNoites de Lamego,Cousas leves e pesadas,Cavar em ruínas,Memórias do Bispo do Grão Pará andBoémia do Espírito.[4]
Among the most notable of his romances areO Romance de um Homem Rico, his favorite,Retrato de Ricardina,Amor de Perdição, the collection of novellasNovelas do Minho andA Brasileira de Prazins. Many of his novels are autobiographical, likeOnde está a felicidade?,Memórias do Cárcere andVingança. Castelo Branco is an admirable story-teller, largely because he was a brilliantimprovisatore, but he does not attempt character study. He has a richness of vocabulary probably unmatched in all Portuguese literature, often using obscure words. At the same time, few Portuguese authors have demonstrated so profound a knowledge of the vernacular tongue. Though nature had endowed Camilo with a poetic temperament, his verses are considered to be mediocre, while his best plays are cast in bold lines and contain powerfully dramatic situations, and his comedies are a triumph of the grotesque, with a mordant tone reminiscent of the work ofGil Vicente.[4]
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Prestage, Edgar (1911). "Castello Branco, Camillo". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 472.
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