Under the sign of disharmony: family conflicts in Agustina Bessa-Luís fiction

Abstract

In Agustina Bessa-Luís’ novels, family stories are often shaped by episodes of exposed or veiled violence expressed in marital conflicts and blood relations.
This paper has two main purposes: 1) To show that Agustina’s novels fully accomplish the writer’s assertion in Caderno de Significados: “Family in my books has a very significant place. Not so much as an institution, but as a support of loneliness; 2) To identify the most significant family disputes in the author’s novels, namely those found in As Grandes Mudanças, Eugénia e Silvina, and Vale Abraão.