O que diziam as crianças quando escreviam cartas: as construções de gênero na escrita dos irmãos Bertaso (1914 a 1929)

Abstract

The present study uses the letters of two siblings: Elza and Serafim Bertaso sent to their parents in the period from 1914 to 1930, in order to identify the differences in the children's writing in relation to the feminine and masculine gender. During this period, Elza and Serafim, who were still children, are sent to boarding schools, and being away from home they correspond with their parents as a way of maintaining the family bond and, for a time, as a way of demonstrating their school learning. In order to analyze the Bertaso siblings' letters, three essential questions were examined to identify the formation of these individuals: family formation, because they belonged to an elite family in formation, this family sought certain patterns of education and followed certain social patterns that influenced the formation of each family member. From a historical context, together with the information about the epistolary pact and family relations, it was possible to think about the constitution of the Bertaso family, the family ties and the possible influences left on the children Elza and Serafim. It was also analyzed the school and the education for elite individuals, differentiated and contrasting the education for the girl Elza and for the boy Serafim, using the school’s daily comments contained in the letters and school reports, realizing that the education for Elza was based on he feminine standards at the time, influencing her to become a mother and housewife, while Serafim was educated to become a politician, with a militarized education that the continued education possible for the boy. Finally, the writing itself was analyzed as a practice, realizing the transformations that Serafim and Elza had been thought over the years, and how the influences and choices of learning were presented in the writing of the letters. We have also observed how the school and family interferences were presented and used in the written production of the letters by the siblings, noticing the leaks in the writing patterns and the social interactions placed for Elza and Serafim, and how, from the writing itself, they were constructing and realizing their individual subjectivities and formations.