A Leap of Faith

"She saw the beautiful fields of Ipu, the slopes of the sierra where she was born, Araquém's hut, and felt longing; but even at that instant she did not regret having abandoned them" (Alencar, Iracema, 93).

The Brazilian novel Iracema tells the story of the relationship between the beautiful indigenous woman Iracema and the Portuguese soldier Martim. After a while, Martim began to long for his homeland of Portugal. He searched the seas for white sails and thought constantly on the land of his "brothers." Iracema also looked back sometimes and missed her tribe and homeland, but she never regretted having left. She never hoped to return, even through all her suffering. Why this difference between Martim's and Iracema's desires?

In considering this, I thought of other situations where people have missed distant homelands. In 19th century China, many women had to leave their families to join their husbands' households. In this society, "a marriage [was] not made by choice and [had] only one purpose — to have sons" (Lisa See, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan).

(Clip from Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, film)

Unlike such women, Iracema did make the choice to be with Martim because she loved him and she did not want to become the wife of the warrior Irapuã. But in going with Martim, she chose to separate from her tribe forever, similar to the way Chinese women had to separate from their families.

"Iracema", painting by Antônio Parreiras

In different ways, marriage has always required a leap of faith. Throughout history, this leap has been especially great for women, who have often cut ties with their families to follow love or to marry. I think Iracema knew that she was taking the risk of suffering or being left alone. To her, that risk was worth it for the happiness she could possibly have with Martim. That is why she never regretted her decision.



Martim, on the other hand, never took this same risk. He could still return to European society and be accepted. He was also accepted by Poti and the Pitiguaras. Since he had all those other sources of belonging, he did not rely on Iracema as completely as she did him. He put less out on the line from the start, so he turned more readily back to the homeland he had known before.