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This complex account by a German governess examines households, families, and slavery in Brazil, and bears witness to how “the world the slaveholders made” would soon collapse.
Ina von Binzer’s letters, published in German in 1887 and translated into English for this book, offer a rare view of three very different elite family households during the twilight years of Brazil’s Second Empire. Her woman’s gaze contrasts markedly with other contributions to the contemporary travel literature on Brazil that were nearly entirely written by men. Although von Binzer covers a multitude of topics—ranging from the management of households and plantations, the behavior of slaves and slaveowners, and the agricultural production of coffee and sugar to examinations of family relations, childrearing, culinary repertoires, and life on the street—the common theme running through her letters is the dawning perception that the world the slaveholders made could not long endure. She delves into the inevitable arrival of abolition as a national issue and a nascent movement—a destiny that her employers could no longer ignore. In recounting her conversations with them, she offers her own insights into their opinions and behaviors that make for a fascinating insider’s view of a world about to disappear. Von Binzer’s letters are prefaced by a valuable historical introduction that surveys the contexts of slavery’s slow demise after 1850 and offers new biographical research on von Binzer and the prominent families who employed her. A map of her travels together with dozens of photographs contemporary with her residence in Brazil provide visual documentation complementary to her letters.
"One cannot finish reading The Joys and Disappointments of a German Governess in Imperial Brazil without gaining insight into the economy, society, and beauty that was Brazil in the 1880s, as well as developing some admiration for this intrepid governess, despite her flaws and prejudices. The translation flows nicely, and Linda Lewin’s excellent introduction sets the stage." —Francie R. Chassen-López, author of From Liberal to Revolutionary Oaxaca
Ina von Binzer (1855–1929) was a German writer who worked as a governess in Brazil from 1881 to 1883. She was the author of several novels, a children’s book, and a number of articles and essays. Her letters have been translated into Brazilian Portuguese as Os meus romanos.
Linda Lewin is professor emerita of history at UC Berkeley and author of the two-volume Surprise Heirs.
Gabriel Trop is associate professor of German in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Illustrations List
Acknowledgments
Note on the Monetary Unit of the Brazilian Empire
Introduction by Linda Lewin
Ina von Binzer's Letters:
1. 27 May 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
2. June 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
3. 20 June 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
4. 11 July 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
5. 25 July 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
6. 14 August 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
7. 1 September 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
8. 17 September 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
9. 5 October 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
10. 22 October 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
11. 3 December 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
12. 24 December 1881 Fazenda São Francisco
13. 15 January 1882 Petrópolis
14. 8 February 1882 Petrópolis
15. 12 February 1882 Rio de Janeiro
16. 17 February 1882 Rio de Janeiro
17. 21 February 1882 Rio de Janeiro
18. 2 March 1882 Rio de Janeiro
19. 20 March 1882 São Paulo
20. 5 April 1882 São Paulo
21. 21 April 1882 São Paulo
22. 5 May 1882 São Paulo
23. 29 May 1882 São Paulo
24. 25 June 1882 São Paulo
25. 28 June 1882 São Paulo
26. 1 July 1882 São Paulo
27. 11 July 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
28. 19 July 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
29. 28 July 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
30. 5 August 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
31. 20 August 1882Santos
32. 22 September 1882 Santos
33. 4 October 1881 Fazenda São Sebastião
34. 27 October 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
35. 17 November 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
36. 5 December 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
37. 18 December 1882 Fazenda São Sebastião
38. 28 December 1882 São Paulo
39. 2 January 1883 Santos
40. 9 January 1883 Fazenda São Sebastião
41. January 1883 São Paulo
Suggestions for Further Reading
Index