A construção da melancolia em O continente, de Erico Verissimo : a dor renitente do povo gaúcho

Abstract

In this study, the melancholy is examined together with its manifestations as presented in the work O continente, written by Erico Verissimo (2004). The objective is to analyse the construction of perceptions such as fatalism and resignation as consequences of melancholy. This research also aims to understand how the narrative elaborates the melancholy and the way characters may represent it individually. The focus of the analysis lies mainly on the feminine figures, considering their central role, not only on the plot, but also on the construction of melancholy as a whole. To do this, some theorists who discussed widely about the subject will be studied, names such as Jean Starobinski (2016), Sigmund Freud (2010a), Julia Kristeva (1989), Marie-Claude Lambotte (2000) and Arthur Schopenhauer (2005). Not only psychoanalyses, but also philosophy will be the two main theoretical frameworks used to elucidate melancholic elements present in Verissimo’s narrative