"The project of 'Açorianidade' or Azorean identity was first conceived by Vitorino Nemésio (1932). It consists of affirming the worldview of a region both set apart by and connected to other places and cultures by virtue of its position as a cultural and geographical crossroads in the middle of the North Atlantic. The question of Azorean identity has often challenged many of the conventional conceptions of a unitary Portuguese literary canon precisely because it posits itself as a 'minor' activity, following Deleuze and Guattari's definition (1975). The emergence/emergency of female personae in Azorean fiction can indeed be understood as part of a project to affirm regional identity, but can also be interpreted as a call to reflect upon the individual: i.e., a focus on women as part of a broader discussion of identity and minority, one that implicitly calls forth the questioning of men as well. While literary texts in which women appear can serve to underscore the uniqueness of Azorean identity, they can also work towards a greater recognition of the universal dimension of the Azorean culture, especially if it is understood as a statement of diversity for the fulfillment of humankind -- that is, of both men and women. This research project aims to understand how the literary discourses of Azorean male and female writers have intervened within the progressive liberation of woman's voice in relation to her own female body and destiny. This dissertation initiates an analysis of this critical intervention by discussing the traditionally phallocentric, or male centered, perspectives concerning the Azorean woman as a key factor in Azorean culture: whether as an ideal collective or simply corporeal representation, always serving either pleasurable or demeaning purposes. The research also focuses on the destiny of female characters both in Nemésio's writing and in other Azorean writers such as Urbano de Mendonça Dias, João de Melo, Madalena Férin or José de Almeida Pavão, especially those texts dealing specifically with the Azores. Over time, these literary figures and/or characters claim more freedom, as it seems that their configuration originates from a visionary notion of a disguised violence upon women as part of the traditionally accepted marginalization of them in the Azorean worldview. The final chapter argues in favor of Nemésio's poetic vision as a cultural strategy that reinforces the enduring possibility to affirm Azorean womanhood, both through her corporality and authorial voice emanating from a specific geographical and cultural context. Finally, through Vitorino Nemésio's relationship and literary dialogue with the Azorean cultural figure Margarida Victória Jácome Correia was created a space for a women's voice to emerge, toward the questioning of the secondary status of Woman in Azorean society" --