Semana Mariana Juvenal de Carvalho: myth and rite in for female socio-cultural values preservation

Abstract

The article is inserted in the field of the History of Education, more specifically in the history of school institutions. The objective was to understand how the virtuous woman myth, from the Mary example, becomes a rite in the Semana Mariana at Colégio Juvenal de Carvalho to promote female education. This education aimed the moral values preservation that kept women in the private sphere to the family and home service. The research methodology included a theoretical base on cultural history from a thematic oral history. Oral histories were collected through interviews. Interviews were conducted with a teacher, a salesian nun and the Semana Mariana coordinator. Results showed that Semana Mariana rite performed every May, exalting the Mary figure such as female example to be followed. The results revels that Semana Mariana rite educated the girls to: chastity, marriage and motherhood. This formation endorsed a social role woman: subservience to the man – father and husband –, disciplines woman's behavior for an unquestioned obedience, and a life dedicated to the religion or the marital union, the domestic tasks and the care for the child and husband.