Raul Pompeia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Raul d'Ávila Pompeia (1863-05-12)12 May 1863 |
| Died | 25 December 1895(1895-12-25) (aged 32) |
| Pen name | Rapp |
| Occupation | Novelist,short story writer,chronicler |
| Literary movement | Realism;Naturalism;Impressionism |
| Notable works | O Ateneu |
Raul d'Ávila Pompeia (April 12, 1863 – December 25, 1895) was a Braziliannovelist,short story writer andchronicler. He is famous for theImpressionist romanceO Ateneu. He was the original patron of the 33rd chair of theBrazilian Academy of Letters.
Towards the end of his life, Pompeia had severed ties with a number of former friends. Feeling himself scorned everywhere, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a pistol on Christmas Day 1895.[1]
Pompeia was born in 1863 to Antônio d'Ávila Pompeia and Rosa Teixeira Pompeia. As a young man, he entered the Colégio Abílio, run byAbílio César Borges, the Baron of Macaúbas, where he was a good student, and the editor of the school journalO Archote. In 1879, he was transferred toColégio Pedro II, where he wrote his first book,Uma Tragédia no Amazonas.
In 1881 he moved toSão Paulo in order to graduate in law. There he was influenced byabolitionist andrepublican ideals, and befriended abolitionistLuís Gama. He wrote for many journals of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, frequently using thepen name Rapp, although he had many others, including Pompeu Stell, Um moço do povo, Lauro, Fabricius, Raul D. and Raulino Palma. He published his bookCanções Sem Metro and thenovelAs Joias da Coroa in theJornal do Commercio. After being reproved in 1883, he moved toRecife and there he concluded his Law course. Returning once more to Rio de Janeiro, he wrote his masterpieceO Ateneu in 1888.
After theLei Áurea (transl. Golden Law) − which ended slavery in Brazil − was approved, Pompeia dedicated himself exclusively to the republican movement. After the republic wasproclaimed in Brazil, he became aMythology teacher in theEscola Nacional de Belas Artes and director of theNational Library of Brazil, being named for both positions byBrazilian presidentFloriano Peixoto. However, as a die-hard supporter of Peixoto, he was subsequently fired from his post by presidentPrudente de Morais, towards whom he was charged with disrespect in a speech he made at the burial of Floriano Peixoto, who had died suddenly shortly after the end of his presidential term.
Pompeia had already been personally slandered for his allegedly closethomosexuality — something which led him to challenge his former friend, the poetOlavo Bilac, to aduel in 1892; he had also broken other friendships in the same dramatic fashion. Eventually, he suffered a breakdown: after being slandered for his Floriano speech in a piece by journalistLuís Murat entitled "A Madman in the Cemetery", feeling himself scorned everywhere, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest with a pistol on Christmas Day 1895.[2]
