The writers Adèle Toussaint-Samson and Nísia Floresta exposed in their literary works their lives of movement in many parts of the Atlantic. They also reflected about their social condition as female authors and travelers. Toussaint-Samson's memoirs of her experience in Brazil and Floresta's treatise on women's education are rich sources for comprehending their worldviews and the transnational circulation of ideas. Their writings are at the core of this article in which I investigate how their experiences as well as their accounts of gender roles and slavery were shaped by comparisons among different societies. They show how they move from Brazil to other parts of the globe to constitute their arguments about Brazilian society. Through their experiences, they articulate a global history. As they viewed Brazil, they engaged in discussions that crossed oceans and circulated in different continents.
female writers; Brazil; 19th century