Rosinha Lituana, Parque industrial

Rosinha Lituana is the main character of Patrícia Galvão’s first novel, Parque Industrial (1933) (Industrial Park) which she published under the pseudonym Mara Lobo in a very limited and almost clandestine edition.

The name of the protagonist embodies the novel’s political commitment to her feminist and communist ideas. Her first name, Rosinha (little Rosa) pays homage to Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919), a German revolutionist considered a martyr of Communism who fought and died for her ideals of an egalitarian society. As Rosa of Luxemburg, Rosinha Lituana leads, directs and organizes groups for social protests in São Paulo, Brazil. Her last name also has a clear communist symbol, the country of Lithuania. In obvious reference to their ideology, Lithuania is emblematic of Communism since it was declared independent after the Russian Revolution. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk in February, 1918 bestowed Lithuania its emancipation from the Zarist regime, after a number of conflicts originated between the government, the reactionaries and the populace.

For Thelma Guedes, Parque industrial can be seen from three axes: “perception of reality, political positionment, and aesthetic experimentation.” (74) Considered the first proletarian Brazilian novel, Parque industrial, describes the feminine urban proletariat Paulista whose leader is Rosinha Lituana. This young Paulista criticizes the Bourgeois society from her communist perspective and gives a voice to the proletariat woman, a social class that was never heard before in a novel.

Rosinha’s commitment involves two spheres that are intertwined: communist and feminist political militancy. In showing her solidarity, social and political allegiance with two oppressed groups (proletarians and women), she is the leader of a revolutionary group which fights against economic exploitation, extremely low-wages and women’s sexual abuse.

Rosinha recruits women in the textile factory where she works and meets many others who struggle to survive in a very hostile environment. She tries to convince her co-workers and acquaintances to fight for a better quality of life which has been denied to them: “O dono da fabrica rouba de cada operario o maior pedaço do dia do trabalho. E assim que enriquece á nossa custa” (The owner of the factory steals from every worker the greatest part of their daily salary. This is how he becomes wealthy at our expense) (Parque 9).

The novel describes how Rosinha is involved immensely in helping women in economic and emotional distress while she encourages them to join the revolutionary group and fight for their rights. She faces dramatic situations in her quest, bringing her into the reality of women’s social condition. For instance, one of her friends, Otavia is fired in the textile factory and decides to join the revolutionary group, but she is captured during a revolt and imprisoned where she contracts tuberculosis. On the other hand, Corina, one of Rosinha’s friends, becomes a prostitute while pregnant so she can survive economically. She undergoes her pregnancy in conditions of extreme moral and economical indigency: “Gente pobre não pode ser mãe.” (Poor people cannot even be a mother.)” She supports Rosinha’s cause and animates the other women to overcome the fear and commit to the grounds: “Que importa morrer de bala em vez de morrer de fome.” (Parque 21) (What does it matter to die by means of a gun instead of by means of hunger).

Rosinha finally plans a strike to protest against the extremely low-wage salary that those as workers earn. At one point most of the women who have joined the revolt decide to go back up, fearing that they will be fired and their children will starve to death. She encourages them to not retreat: “Camaradas! Não podemos ficar quietas no meio desta luta! Devemos estar ao lado dos nossos companheiros na rua, como estamos quando trabalhamos na fabrica. Temos que lutar juntos contra a burguezia que tira a nossa saude e nos transforma em trapos humanos!” (Parque 103) (Comrades! We cannot stay still in this fight. We should be by the side of our comrades on the streets like we are at the factory. We should fight together against the bourgeois that destroys our health and turns us into human rags!). Rosinha Lituana portrays the individual in search of her ideal. Her conviction on the necessity of societal changes reflects her total dedication to the communist cause which she firmly believes is the path to obtain freedom and equality.

Patrícia Galvão’s protagonist in her second novel, A Famosa revista (1945) (The Famous Magazine) shares the same name and beliefs with the main character of Parque industrial. Technically, the novel is “constructed melodically like a piece for an orchestra, in three phases” states Sérgio Milliet. According to him the three phases are three protagonists: a young couple and the Revista (magazine) that they edit. The novel’s thematic axis is the militancy and romanticism of Rosa and Mosci, two young intellectuals whose common political ideals mark the intense compromise of their love and to the Revista, which is the emblem of their beliefs. They fight the hostile, hypocritical, political environment that surrounds them and find relief in their love and political commitment. Rosa differs from Rosinha in various ways. The twelve years that separate one novel from the other mark a difference in their communist conception and a change of view from the little Rosa (Rosinha) to Rosa. In the former novel, Parque industrial, Rosinha portrays her intense enthusiasm, adherence and support to the communist cause. On the other hand, in the latter novel, Rosa depicts her rupture and deception with Moscow and its leader Stalin. In this novel, she criticizes the unjust, impartial and authoritarian actions of Stalin’s regime. Rosa even changes the traditional way to address the Stalinist militants from “camarada” (comrade) – a word used in Parque industrial - to “funcionário” (employee). Both protagonists share the same name and initially the same beliefs. However, Rosa in, A famosa revista develops into a more politically mature Rosa – who is not little anymore – and who has been faced with the flaws of an ideology that she very intensively supported.

Rosinha Lituana and Rosa are two facets of the same political commitment. Both are dedicated to their battle against injustice and inequality, share the same name and ideals but have come to understand the same ideology within two different perspectives. They are two rebels who critique Brazilian culture and society and denounce their social problems, but become victims of their dedication to their political idealism. Rosinha Lituana and Rosa, Patrícia Galvão’s characters, end up facing their failure without either political or personal hope and seeing the horizon as a dark and sordid tunnel where they are obliged to enter, as Galvão’s herself did, with no hope

María Fernández-Babineaux, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University-Commerce

Bibliography

De Campos, Augusto. Pagu, vida e obra. São Paulo: Editora Brasiliense, 1982.

Galvão, Patrícia, Parque industrial. Porto Alegre: Mercado Aberto, 1933.

---A autobiografia precoce de Patrícia Galvão. Rio de Janeiro: Agir Editora, 1940.

Guedes, Thelma. Pagu: Literatura e Revolução: um estudo sobre o romance parque industrial. São Paulo: Ateliê Editorial, 2003.

Ferraz, Geraldo and Galvão Patrícia. A famosa revista. São Paulo: Indústria Gráfica Cruzeiro do Sul Ltda, 1945.

Laschitza, Annelies. Rosa Luxemburgo y el movimiento obrero alemán. La Habana: Editorial Ciencias Sociales, 1977.

Milliet, Sérgio. “Comentário crítico sobre o romance A famosa revista” Diário Crítico 3 (1945): 189-195.

Teixeira Furlani, Lúcia Maria. Patrícia Galvão: livre na imaginação, no espaço e no tempo. São Paulo: Editora da Uniceb, 1989.