The fantastic in Erico Verissimo: analysis of the short story “Sonata”

Based on the fantastic narrative, this paper aims to present an analysis of the short story “Sonata”, from Erico Verissimo, which is part of his work Fantoches e outros contos, originally published in 1932. This is the first book published by this author, the only one of his own composed just by short stories. For the purpose of this paper, first of all, it is clarified the concept of fantastic narrative, according to the understanding of some authors – as Todorov (1979), Rodrigues (1988) and Calvino (2004) –, and, furthermore, it is briefly discussed the concepts of strange and marvelous, which contributes to the definition of fantastic. It is also mentioned aspects related to the emergence of fantastic and the reasons of its existence. To verify this element in the narrative, it is required a strange or supernatural event and, also, the hesitation of the reader and of a character. Besides, this kind of narrative involves a certain way of interpretation – the way that the reader faces the events presented by the story contributes to support the fantastic. After these considerations, it is presented a thorough analysis of the short story “Sonata”, which has music as a guide and presents the point of view of its main character, who is not named. That is the story of a young piano teacher that, in the context of World War II, moved by the desire of escaping from reality, gets immerse in old newspapers. In his reading, he finds out an ad from 1912, the year he was born, which requests the services of a piano teacher. From that moment on, a journey to the past starts, and, then, it is possible to verify the presence of several elements that point to the fantastic and allow the reader to experience the hesitation, such as the theory here in use indicates.

Inventory of revelations and mysteries

This short story collection situates itself like possibility of interpretation and understanding of aspects of the Brazilian contemporary literature and the situations of perplexity that originate from it. The improbable relations in an unequal universe compete for the signification of verisimilitude confounds itself with the concept of reality. These short stories perceive the limit of the human conflicts without suggest to them whatever solution.

Two Clara dos Anjos and one Rosa: identity and representation of black woman in Brazilian Literature

This article presents an analysis of identity and representations of black women in the tales Keep Secret Esmeralda Ribeiro, Rosa and Fusilier and Voices d'Rachel de Queiroz Africa. The story of Esmeralda Ribeiro black author, published in Cadernos Negros: the best short stories (1998) reexamines Clara dos Anjos, Lima Barreto's novel character written between 1904 and 1922. In this work, the author lays bare, in a confessional tone, the daily life of Rio suburbs, from the perspective of racial prejudice, and is the protagonist as a passive woman, submissive, an object. Emerald, black writer, gives Clara a condition of the subject, building an identity as a woman and as a black. It is the chronicle of belonging. Rosa and the Marine and Voices of Africa Rose protagonist appointing chronic-tale first is the outcome of its history in the second text, both published in the first Rachel de Queiroz of chronic compilation entitled The Maiden and Moura Pie (1948 ). Rachel is the text representation of black women because they can not as white women have the lived experience as black to build identity and can do it in generalizing way considering his wife condition and his experience in the feminine universe. There are relations between the texts that go beyond the theme, Space Rio suburb and similarities between Rosa and Clara, Cassi and the Marines. You can see the works a dialogue between sex and race interests, identities and stereotypes, relationships that materialize in Literature.

Echoes of the Gothic and meaning in Lygia Fagundes Telles´s “A presença”

Lygia Fagundes Telles´s short story “A presença” has been almost forgotten in literary studies. The short story was first published in the 1977 collection Seminário dos Ratos, and is part and parcel of other important collections of the author, namely, Mistérios and Os melhores contos de Lygia Fagundes Telles. Even though it has been published together with other well-known short stories such as “As formigas”, “A caçada” and “A mão no ombro”, it has never been much focused in literary studies. Current essay focuses on three specific points to put this narrative in the limelight: (i) the use of the narrative with Gothic characteristics referring to the theme of persecution; (ii) a parallel on the manner gothic items inserted within the narrative maintain a dialogue with the issues involving Ricardo Piglia´s short story; (iii) the two previous items function so that the cross-section selected by the author is not limiting to meaning.

THE GROPING ESSAY OF SAMUEL RAWET

Samuel Rawet has intended, by his essays, to bring questions about somepreocupations – and its ethical consequences, principally, according to my point of view on thispaper– which is imbricated to his fictional works. On his essays, as a matter of fact, the authorproposes questions and searchs for possible answers, despite these answers seem to be temporariesand anguishing answers to some concerns the author brings us as well as on his fictional works; or,we should say, mainly fictional, as in Rawet’ works the genre (form) we use to call a essay isdeeply influenced by the genre chronics. Thus, his essays are parallels to the short stories andnovels, in terms of development of latent questions which are commom to all his writings, toward apersonal and special perception of the world that reminds, inside out, Martin Buber’s philosophy.Regarding to this, we may say that his essay and fiction are complementary to each other – in spiteof being also independent to each other. These questions and its relation to the ethical concernsexpressed all over Rawet’s literature lead to important questions regarding the studies of his oeuvreas meaningful part of jewish-brazilian literature.

A FICÇÃO DA FICÇÃO: DERRAMAMENTOS DE UM “EU” EM ROBERTO BOLAÑO

Part of the work of the Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño, who died in 2003, seemsto be articulated from certain aspects of his self. In other words, the way he writes his ownname on the text, or, how do we answer the question: “who is “I” in this text?”. Many of hisshort-stories and novels, not to mention the poems, operate strategies of hide and exposure ofthat “I” that speaks. Those strategies point to an uneven reading of his works, according to theinscription of the given name. Using the short-stories “Detectives” (1997) and “Muerte deUlises” (2007), the novel Los Detectives Salvajes (1998) and the compendium EntreParéntesis (2004), this article articulates an analysis that compares Bolaño’s aestheticsstrategies regarding his own personal history. We’ll investigate the consequences of choosingthe signature Roberto Bolaño, or Arturo Belano, his alter-ego, to the essays, the interviews orthe fiction work. The question is not the verification of the truth within the fiction, but, moreprofoundly, pose the exam in the effect of reality that comes from the subject-effect. Writing,as it is, is considered as a vehicle to the construction of the “self”, that leads to the unstableoverflow of a identity that ultimately can never be Roberto Bolaño.