Tieta, the Goat Girl: Or, The Return of the Prodigal Daughter: Analysis of Major Characters
"Tieta, the Goat Girl: Or, The Return of the Prodigal Daughter" is a complex narrative that explores the lives of various characters in the town of Sant'Ana do Agreste, particularly focusing on Tieta, a middle-aged bordello owner in São Paulo. Tieta, characterized by her vibrant personality and unapologetic desires, returns to her impoverished hometown, initiating a series of transformative events. As she interacts with her relatives and townsfolk, her actions—ranging from benevolence to seduction—spark both admiration and scandal.
The major characters include Ascânio, the ambitious county clerk whose dreams of progress become tainted by corruption; Ricardo, a conflicted seminarian torn between his spiritual obligations and his passionate feelings for Tieta; and Perpétua, Tieta's domineering sister whose piety masks her greed. Other significant figures include Leonora, a young prostitute with a yearning for love, and Skipper Dário, a retired seaman advocating for environmental issues. The interplay of these characters against the backdrop of societal change and personal conflict illustrates themes of desire, morality, and the impact of industrialization on small communities. This narrative invites readers to reflect on the complexities of human relationships and the often-blurred lines between virtue and vice.
Tieta, the Goat Girl: Or, The Return of the Prodigal Daughter: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jorge Amado
First published: Tiêta do Agreste, 1977 (English translation, 1979)
Genre: Novel
Locale: The fictitious town of Sant'Ana do Agreste, Salvador, and São Paulo, Brazil
Plot: Melodrama
Time: The mid-1960's
Antonieta Esteves Cantarelli (ahn-tohn-ee-EH-tah ehsTEH-vehs kahn-tah-REH-lee), also called Tieta (tee-EHtah), the wealthy owner of the Lord's Retreat, a sophisticated bordello in São Paulo. A middle-aged, curly haired brunette who covers her tall, voluptuous, dark-skinned body in red turbans, blonde wigs, and skin-tight jeans, the sexy Tieta un-ashamedly lusts for good men, fine food, and unbridled laughter. Her goatlike stubbornness, pragmatism, and flinty hardness sometimes conflict with her genuine loving and kindness but just as often translate her generosity into action. Tieta's arrival in backward Sant'Ana do Agreste to visit her impoverished relatives and birthplace catalyzes changes in the town and crises in many characters. She uses her bordello-related influence to obtain electricity for the town, which attracts the interest of the deadly titanium dioxide industry. Her many acts of goodness earn for her the title of saint, until the town discovers her true profession and her seduction of her nephew.
Ascânio Trindade (ahs-KAYN-yoh treen-DAH-deh), Agreste's county clerk. A good-looking, serious-faced official, twenty-eight years old, Ascânio is frank, friendly, honest, kind, and sometimes excitable in his dreams about a possible bright future for Agreste. He suffers a cruel betrayal by his betrothed, from which he does not recover until he falls in love with Leonora. In his sincere dreams for progress, the innocent Ascânio becomes the pawn of the titanium dioxide industry as the industry's candidate for mayor. This influence gradually corrupts him. His last vestiges of goodness are shattered when he discovers that Leonora is a prostitute.
Ricardo Batista (rree-KAHR-doh bah-TEES-tah), a seminarian and Perpétua's older son. A tall, dark, muscular, good-looking, husky, and somewhat gangling youth of seventeen with the hint of a mustache, Ricardo exudes innocence and good health in his black cassock. He is tortured by his lust for Tieta, which finally triumphs over his devotion to God. Through a talk with a wise old holy man, however, he finally realizes that he can be both priest and lover. He consequently pursues both paths with such dedication that Tieta throws him naked into the street when she learns of his other lovers. Ricardo matures into a radical champion against the titanium dioxide industry.
Perpétua Esteves Batista (pehr-PEH-tew-ah), Tieta's widowed older sister. A stern-faced, bony-chested, domineering sourpuss with a perpetually constipated face, Perpétua masks her greed and meanness in exaggerated piety. Her covetous wish to have Ricardo become Tieta's heir provides Tieta the chance to seduce him. Perpétua's wrath abates when Tieta compensates her in cash for the seminarian's lost virginity.
Elisa Esteves Simas (eh-LEE-sah ehs-TEH-vehs SEEmahs), Tieta's younger half sister. Elisa is a slender, graceful, and sensitive brunette whose luxurious hair frames a pretty pale face with full lips and melancholy eyes. She lives in constant sexual frustration because her husband insists on treating her high-haunched, firm-breasted body with delicate respect. Elisa longs to move to exciting São Paulo, even if she must become a prostitute, until Tieta persuades Asterio to make love to Elisa with more force and abandon.
Leonora Cantarelli (leh-oh-NOHR-ah), a prostitute at the Lord's Retreat, a slim, blonde, and youthful sylph who is charming and sweet, with a crystalline laugh. Leonora masquerades as Tieta's stepdaughter. Her impoverished and brutal past has not destroyed a core of innocence and a longing for true love, which she thinks she has found with Ascânio. When she tearfully confesses her true identity, Ascânio rejects her, and she attempts suicide.
Donna Carmosina Sluizer da Consolação (kahr-mohSEE-nah slo-ZIHR dah kon-soo-lah-SOW), Agreste's post-mistress. Light-skinned, with a freckled, broad face, keen eyes, and a keener wit, Carmosina loves life and laughter but grieves that she is still a virgin at the age of fifty. She freely reads everyone's mail and controls local gossip, but she does so with benevolent intentions.
Skipper Dário Queluz (DAH-ree-oh kay-LOOSH), a retired seaman. Athletic but philosophic, Skipper Dário commands love and respect with his integrity and kindly smile. His love for the natural beauty of Agreste makes him sacrifice his reclusive lifestyle to become an antipollution candidate for mayor.
Doctor Mirko Stefano (MEER-koh steh-FAHN-oh), a São Paulo industrialist. With his matinee-idol looks, avant-garde clothes, and prissy, affected voice, the unscrupulous Mirko contrives to establish a deadly titanium dioxide factory in Agreste.
Peto Batista (PEH-toh), Perpétua's youngest son. Peto, a lewd, precocious thirteen-year-old, cannot understand Ricardo's resistance to Tieta's attractions.
Asterio Simas (ahs-TEH-ree-oh), Elisa's husband. Weak-willed and unambitious since giving up the unorthodox sexual practices of his bachelorhood, Asterio finally heeds Tieta's advice to express his deepest desires with his wife.