Reading between the (front) lines

This article examines Maria Isabel Barreno, Maria Teresa Horta, and Maria Velho da Costa’s Novas Cartas Portuguesas (1972) [ New Portuguese Letters (1975)] and the deconstruction of a masculine military ideal through experienced trauma. Although much scholarly importance has been given to the text’s exploration of the female voice, little critical analysis has been undertaken on its discussion of the military male experience and fierce condemnation of the Colonial War (1961–74) – a gap that this article seeks to fill. Through close textual analysis, this article engages with the trauma experienced by male protagonists on active service, such as physical disability and PTSD, and argues that these traumatic encounters disrupt the hegemonic masculine ideal promoted by the Estado Novo regime. This article stresses that the critique of the Colonial War, published whilst fighting was still ongoing, was highly provocative and, when coupled with the authors’ exposure of male trauma, highlights the progressive nature of the text.