Dora, Doralina

The novel is a memoir-style account that chronicles the life of the protagonist, Maria das Dores, who renames herself Doralina. Set in the first half of the 20th century, the story begins with Doralina's escape from a painful and confined girlhood on her family's traditional fazenda (farm) in Ceará, where she was married against her will to a cruel man named Laurindo. After her escape, she joins a traveling repertory theater company, providing her with the opportunity for reinvention and a professional career. Her journey for self-affirmation continues as she later falls in love with and joins a charismatic but violent contrabandist, a choice that represents an act of her own will. The story explores her fierce resistance to societal and familial constraints and is an intimate, vivid portrait of a woman's struggle for independence, reflecting on the major influences in her life: her mother, her career in the theatre, and her true love.

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