Entre o sagrado e o profano: as representações de Padre Cícero nos cordéis de autoria feminina

Abstract

This research analyses representations of Father Cícero Romão Batista in cordel literature written by women. Throughout history, women have been systematically excluded from the literary field and confined to the domestic sphere, their presence erased by dominant narratives. This exclusion also manifested within cordel literature, yet did not prevent women cordel writers from gradually asserting themselves as authors and protagonists of their own stories. The primary aim of this study is to examine how these women writers constructed and disseminated representations of Father Cícero in their booklets, exploring religious, political, and social aspects of his trajectory. The research is grounded in Cultural History and adopts a qualitative approach, with textual analysis of selected works. Based on the Roger Chartier's theory, it assumes that social representations are historically constructed and interpreted by different groups. The analysis reveals that these female writers not only reinterpret the figure of the priest, but also broaden the thematic scope of cordel, introducing female perspectives that were previously marginalised. The findings point to a diversity of approaches that reaffirm the relevance of female contributions to cordel literature and highlight a process of symbolic appropriation of the figure of Father Cícero by women, associating him with values of faith, resistance, and regional identity. It is concluded that this literary production contributes to the preservation of social memory and the recognition of female protagonism in the construction of narratives within contemporary Brazilian popular literature.