Lavagante: encontro desabitado

Abstract

Set in Lisbon in the 1960s, Lavagante centers on the brief romance between Daniel and Cecília. Daniel is a doctor who makes regular visits to a hospital in the city and Cecília is a student and informant to the International and State Defense Police (PIDE). The story is told in the first person by a narrator who is Daniel’s friend, relaying the story as the doctor had told him. The narrative portrays Daniel’s first meeting with Cecília and their conversations up until the moment of his arrest by PIDE. Though the dialogues between the two focus on the nature of men and women, there are some relevant references to science and progress, as when Daniel comments that it’s the Middle Ages in Portugal though there are astronauts flying over them, a reflection on how the political regime in the country is slowing scientific progress. When Cecília points that men want to have intercourse with virgin women, claiming they want blood, Daniel mentions that a surgery called hymenorrhaphy can reconstruct a woman’s hymen to falsely indicate virginity. Prior to Daniel’s arrest, it is mentioned that he spent time treating patients in the aftermath of a student revolt. His sympathy towards the students and opposition to the regime led to his arrest, which was aided by Cecília.