The European Utopia in Zweig’s Brazil. A Land of the Future

Resum

The publication in 1941 of Stefan Zweig’s Brazil. A Land of the Future (Brasilien. Ein Land der Zukunft) was met both with great enthusiasm and harsh criticisms. Many reviewers thought that Zweig’s view of the country was too exotic, naive, idealistic, utopian, and even the result of the propaganda efforts carried out by the Vargas administration. In an attempt to understand and bridge the gap between Zweig’s idea of Brazil and the country’s «reality», this article analyzes the text hand in hand with Zweig’s memoirs and other of his non-fiction works from the perspective of his utopian thinking and ethical commitment to the notions of freedom, peace, cosmopolitanism, tolerance, and common understanding.