Atonia e degradação em personagens de Dalcídio Jurandir

Abstract

The present work proposes a study about the following fictional characters in Dalcídio Jurandir’s literary work: Eutanázio in Chove nos campos de Cachoeira (1941); Edmundo Meneses, in Três casas e um rio (1958); and Virgílio Alcântara, in Belém do Grão Pará (1960). It discusses the three characters based on two themes that, according to what this research proposes, are present in the composition of each one: atony and degradation. It is herein argued that these two themes are related to one of the main lines of interpretation of Dalcídio Jurandir’s literary work according to which most of the author’s fictional universe comprises negative and disillusioned heroes who travel through a discouraging and decadent scenario. In this context, they manifest negative traits such as atony and degradation. These traits can be understood as passions that rule the characters’ mental lives. Among the main works that theoretically support this research, we highlight the following ones: Berman (1982), Candido (1964), Candido (1968), Descartes (1649), Furtado (2002), Lebrun (2009), Lukács (1920) and Marx & Engels (1848).