The Evolution of Feminism (1923-1945): epistolarity, sociabilities, and feminist education in Mariana Coelho

Abstract

This article analyzes the intellectual construction processes that culminated in A Evolução do Feminismo (1933), by Mariana Coelho, considered one of the main expressions of first-wave feminist thought in Brazil. Based on the analysis of letters exchanged between the author and feminist Bertha Lutz, we investigate how the writing of this work constituted a unique path of self-education, developed outside the bounds of formal education. Anchored in Cultural History, the study approaches writing as a social practice and letters as formative and political instruments. Methodologically, it is a qualitative historical research that draws on epistolary and journalistic sources consulted in digital repositories. The analysis highlights writing as an ethical and political act, tied to feminist militancy and networks of intellectual sociability. Mariana Coelho’s trajectory reveals alternative forms of female intellectual production in early twentieth-century Brazil, offering relevant insights into the history of women and education.