This book is written from the premise that the Roman Catholic Church was “the dominant cultural institution of the Portuguese empire” (p. 147) and that it was thus overwhelmingly determinative for women's lives. In the sources, created by men, women's voices are mostly lacking. Myscofski is not arguing that the images in these chapters are representative of the lives and responses of women, but rather of the ideals of the Catholic Church and the desire to control women through religion. Thus, the first two chapters discuss Jesuit views of indigenous women and ways to address their faults as envisioned by the Church, and Catholic ideals for Brazilian women as discussed by religious scholars of the period. Questions of obedience to father, husband, and God, as well as humility, a modest appearance, and religious devotion are emphasized.
The question of what education was desirable for Catholic women in the colonial period is addressed in the third chapter. Here Myscofski speaks of the pervasive long-term illiteracy of Brazilian women and its social assumptions, which permitted only reluctant admission that some knowledge of household management or even numbers might be necessary to women's position as wife. Marital relationships, including consensual unions and other sexual unions, are the topic of chapter 4. While Myscofski correctly observes that legal marriage was not common for the majority of women in colonial Brazil, she does not explain why that was true, given (as she believes) that the Catholic Church dominated Brazilian life. She does discuss the demographic imbalance of men and women of different races and how it led to sexual relationships that appeared unsuited to formal marriages.
Chapter 5, “Freiras and Recolhidas: The Reclusive Life for Brazilian Women” is perhaps the most deeply researched chapter. Here Myscofski looks at efforts to establish convents and recolhimentos (retreats or retirement homes) and women's experiences with these institutions. Efforts often failed because the Portuguese government was very resistant to the establishment of these institutions, citing the ongoing “shortage” of white women to marry Portuguese settlers in Brazil. Also, for its first two centuries Brazil lacked the finances and labor to construct the buildings required. Of course, these institutions made “whiteness” a necessary criteria for entrance, thus effectively keeping out the majority of Brazilian women and girls throughout the colonial period. Motives for women entering religious institutions varied from the desire to preserve status, honor, and family prestige while fathers or husbands traveled, or because families could provide a dowry for only one daughter, or for an education, or as a refuge or shelter. One interesting detail was that the chastity required of residents was not confined to prohibitions on sexual activity, but also included the adoption of modest dress and lifestyle, as well as the avoidance of friendships with other women. (p. 165). Myscofski concludes that the introduction of cloistered institutions “intended to marginalize excess women” resulting eventually in a changed discourse “that emphasized the importance of women's education” (p. 182).
Chapter 6, on women and magic, provides an interesting comparison between magical practices revealed in the Inquisition's visits to Bahia in 1591–92, those found in Pernambuco in 1593–95, and those identified in 1763–69 in Grão Pará. Myscofski argues that the practices of the earlier period are consistent with characteristics of European magical practices in which magic was generally practiced by women in a very local and personal manner and focused on lost objects or persons, love magic, and healing. She finds that the records for the eighteenth century show that magic then was no longer so much controlled by women. She also finds that magic had diverse sources, including indigenous languages, artifacts, and indigenous people, and some Africans as well. She concludes the Catholic Church in the eighteenth century was more centralized and had “demonized” magical practices, based on the Council of Trent. She finds that magical practices were widely accepted in everyday life throughout the colonial period and that the Catholic Church did not view this as alarming.
This book provides an overview of how the Catholic Church influenced the lives of colonial Brazilian women. Most of the scholarship reveals little that is not already known through other publications. Myscofski does not consider the implications, commonly recognized in other scholarship, of the fact that priests in colonial Brazil were very few, and colonial Brazilians often had to wait years to have a child baptized or a marriage performed. However, the insights related to women in convents and changes in magic as an aspect of religious practice and everyday life will be interesting to scholars.
