Parody and denounciation in Natália Correia’s O Encoberto

Abstract

The play O Encoberto, by Natália Correia, was written under the yoke of the fascist regime established by the Estado Novo. Published in 1969, it was soon banned by censorship, which viewed it as an affront to morals and good customs, but the censors failed to recognize the playwright’s true objective: to challenge democracy through denunciation and parody. This article will seek to demonstrate the impact that the play had – and continues to have – in the Portuguese historical and cultural context of the 20th century. To this end we will analyse, on one hand, the way in which Natália Correia resorts to the parody of a legendary version about the appearance of D. Sebastião in order to denounce the repression to which her contemporary society is subjected, and on the other hand, we intend to clarify the parodic processes that the author uses to challenge democracy, not only in a restricted scope, the national, but also in a universal dimension.