The Brazil of Marianne North: Memories of an English Traveler

Abstract

Starting from reflections about woman and femininity in the Victorian era, the explosion of literary market in the 19th century, and the access of women to education, literature, and journalism, this text introduces the work of Marianne North, English painter who used to travel aiming to paint the flora of other countries, particularly the exotic tropical flora. Marianne became one of the most famous globetrotter travelers of her time, visiting several countries such as Canada, USA, Jamaica, Brazil, Tenerife, Japan, Borneo, Java, Ceylon, Singapore, India, Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, South Africa, Seychelles Islands, and Chile. In total, she left registers of about 272 genres (almost 1000 species) of plants, some of them little known by the experts. Hence, the text deals with the dual condition of Marianne North as a painter and author of reports about the visited countries. In Brazil, for instance, she lived between 1972 and 1873. Her professionalism and objectivity distinguish her from the other travelers of 19th century.