Madness and the Illusion of Happiness in Quincas Borbas

“Ao vencedor, as batatas” era o lema de Humanitas, princípio filosófico concebido por Quincas Borba, um rico e excêntrico filósofo que se apresentava como o maior homem da terra. Usando ironia, paródia, recursos satíricos e tendo uma aguçada visão da existência humana, Machado de Assis retrata um quadro impressionante das condições políticas e sociais não apenas da decadência do império brasileiro, mas também do gênero humano. O ensaio analisa o romance machadiano - narrado em terceira pessoa e publicado em livro em 1891 - utilizando os recursos fornecidos pelos estudos de literatura comparada. As ressonâncias das leituras de Erasmo (Elogio à loucura), Cervantes (Dom Quixote), Voltaire (Cândido) e Darwin, no tocante à teoria da seleção natural das espécies, demonstram o impacto da presença da cultura europeia no pensamento do escritor brasileiro e sua aclimatação aos costumes do Rio de Janeiro num curto e turbulento período histórico em que a nação experimentava profundas mudanças políticas: a abolição da escravatura (1888) e proclamação da República no ano seguinte.

Women from the point of view of the Bukowskian narrator: the representation of the feminine universe in Erections, Ejaculations, Exhibitions and General Tales of Ordinary Madness

Pós-graduação em Letras - IBILCE

Hamlet's Ophelia: The Changing Perceptions of Suicide, Death, and Madness in the Elizabethan and Victorian Periods

William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has been the source of question, debate, and research since its theatrical debut. In the midst of readings performances and one particular question has remained open and unresolved: was Ophelia's death an accident or a suicide? Some see Ophelia's death as an accident; others see it as a suicide resulting from the accumulation of a series of unfortunate events: her rejection by her boyfriend, her father’s murder, and her possible pregnancy. This paper will explore that age-old question from the perspectives of two historically different audiences: those of sixteenth-century and nineteenth-century England. I will argue that, despite the 300-year expanse between these two audiences, both emerged with the same conclusion: Ophelia's death was accidental. However, cultural and scientific changes affected the reasons why each came to that conclusion.

Cutting out the Stone of Madness

Pieter Bruegel the Elder; oil on panel

Our gallant madness.

Mode of access: Internet.

Observations on the nature, kinds, causes and prevention of insanity, lunacy or madness /

Contiene : Vol. I, containing observations on the nature and various kinds of insanity ; Vol. II, containing observations on the causes and prevention of insanity.

A treatise on canine madness /

Mode of access: Internet.

A treatise on female, nervous, hysterical, hypochondriacal, bilious, convulsive diseases, apoplexy and palsy : which thoughts on madness, suicide ... /

Mode of access: Internet.

Remarks on Dr. Battie's Treatise on madness /

Mode of access: Internet.

The bibliomania : or, Book-madness; containing some account of the history, symptoms and cure of this fatal disease, in an epistle addressed to Richard Heber, esq. /

Mode of access: Internet.

Moon-madness, and other fantasies,

Mode of access: Internet.