SHORT STORIES BY MACHADO DE ASSIS IN FASHION MAGAZINES: SURVEY, SOME HYPOTHESES AND CONCLUSIONS

Abstract

Fashion magazines are among the most important means for the dissemination of fiction in the nineteenth century. This segment of the press developed in Brazil to meet the growing demand for articles on sewing and reading material in general. First, this article discusses the importance of visual and textual content to the consolidation of the fashion magazine as one of the main journalistic means for diffusing fiction in the nineteenth century. Second, it examines whether the collaboration of Machado de Assis as a short-story writer was a determinant factor for the survival of Jornal das Famílias and of A Estação for more than a decade. Finally, this article bases itself on a survey of all of Machado de Assis’s short stories in order to determine whether the medium played a role in dividing the short stories into installments.

short story; fashion magazine; newspaper; serial literature