Marks of heterogeneity in “freedom’s lawsuits” in nineteenth-century district of Rio das Mortes – analysis of reported speech

Abstract

Within the theoretical framework of Discourse Analysis this article aims to investigate the meanings expressed in reported speech in “freedom’s lawsuits” in nineteenth-century district of Rio das Mortes. We analyzed three cases: Jacinto Africano (1856), Cypriana Escrava (1887) e Fructuosa (1887). In these analyses we observe that the presence of several speakers in the discourse does not mean the presence of different points of view, since the discourse to defend to the liberation is crossed by the restrictions of slavery discursive formation. The slave was a property, including having a material value, which should be negotiated and paid at the time of its release.