Blessed are Those Who Can Do Evil Without Being Punished: “A Causa Secreta” by Machado de Assis

Authors

  • André Luis Rodrigues Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17851/2317-2096.27.1.271-286

Keywords:

short story, cruelty, A causa secreta, Machado de Assis

Abstract

This article aims at reading ‘A causa secreta’, by Machado de Assis, pursuing the apprehension of some ‘levels of reality’ (Italo Calvino) that can be found in the story. Cruelty, aggressiveness and evil are ‘decanted’ by the writer in Fortunato’s character, who can be cruel and wicked under the disguise of altruism and, due to his social position, unworried about punishment. However, they can also be seen, changed beyond recognition and with different consequences, in several aspects of life and human acts formalized by the writer in the narrative. Based on Freud’s concept of the death instinct, they can also be seen in the origin of Garcia’s curiosity and in the aesthetical creation and enjoyment, with which writer and reader are involved.

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Author Biography

André Luis Rodrigues, Universidade de São Paulo

Professor de Literatura Brasileira do Departamento de Letras Clássicas e Vernáculas da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da USP. Publicou Ritos da paixão em Lavoura arcaica, em 2006.

References

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CALVINO, Italo. Les niveaux de la réalité em littérature. In: CALVINO, Italo. La machine littérature. Trad. Michel Orcel; François Wahl. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1984. p. 85-100.

FREUD, Sigmund. O mal-estar na civilização, novas conferências introdutórias à psicanálise e outros textos (1930-1936). Trad. Paulo César de Souza. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2010.

GARCIA-ROZA, Luiz Alfredo. O mal radical em Freud. 4. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar, 1999.

GOMES, Eugênio. O microrrealismo de Machado de Assis. In: GOMES, Eugênio. Machado de Assis. Rio de Janeiro: Liv. São José, 1958. p. 52-62.

VILLAÇA, Alcides. Machado de Assis, tradutor de si mesmo. Novos Estudos CEBRAP, São Paulo, n. 51, p. 3-14, jul. 1998.

ZOLA, Émile. Thérèse Raquin. 2. ed. Trad. Joaquim Pereira Neto. São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, 2001.

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Published

2017-07-03

How to Cite

Rodrigues, A. L. (2017). Blessed are Those Who Can Do Evil Without Being Punished: “A Causa Secreta” by Machado de Assis. Aletria: Revista De Estudos De Literatura, 27(1), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.17851/2317-2096.27.1.271-286

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2017): Literatura e Mal

Section

Dossiê - Literatura e Mal

License

Copyright (c) 2017 André Luis Rodrigues (Autor)

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