Aesthetics of Childhood Sensibility in Contos de cães e maus lobos
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-2096.2026.58734Keywords:
Portuguese literature, Valter Hugo Mãe, childhood studies, representation of children-animal interactionsAbstract
This article reflects on children’s affection and acts of care towards non-human animals in Valter Hugo Mãe’s Contos de cães e maus lobos (2019). Drawing theoretical support from interdisciplinary studies on children and childhood, I suggest that in this collection of short stories, the author develops an aesthetic of child sensitivity that reveals distinctive aspects of his literary project. On the one hand, these narratives destabilize traditional conceptions about children, which suggests a particularly auspicious vision the author has regarding childhood; on the other hand, these stories insert Mãe’s work into emerging more-than-human textualities, as they question the anthropocentric thought.
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