num_pages: 200
description: Representing the height of Brazilian Naturalism, O Cortiço is Aluísio Azevedo's critique of unchecked ambition in Brazilian society of his day. João Romão, an imigrant Portuguese man, builds a tenement (Cortiço) on the money and work of his mulatto lover, Bertoleza. The tenement's residents fight with those of another tenement, leading to a fire that destroys much of the building. But Romão rebuilds and is soon wealthy and looks to marry an educated woman, leaving Bertoleza, who kills herself.
language: Portuguese
title: O Cortiço
titlecomplete: O Cortiço
characters: Estela, Jerônimo, Firmo, Alexandre, Pombinha, Libório, Rita Baiana, João Romão, Botelho, Léonie, Isabel, Zulmira, Piedade, Comendador Miranda, Bertoleza
genres: Fiction, Brazil, School, Literature, Romance, Classics, Novels, 19th Century, Read For School, Portuguese Literature
ratings_count: 13466
places: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro
publisher: Luso-Brazilian Books