Grotesque and Excessiveness in My Fate is to Sin, by Nelson Rodrigues

Abstract

Nelson Rodrigues is famous for his exploration of psychological, mythical and social aspects of his characters. They are usually unable to control their affections and their drives. This often results in attitudes, speeches, behaviors and even physical appearances marked by grotesque and excessiveness. These aspects, which are at the heart of his aesthetic, made him famous as a playwright, novelist, and short story writer. In his serial narratives, however, Rodrigues takes grotesque and excessiveness to a paroxysm, keeping the tension of his narrative at the utmost until the appeasing outcome, typical of that genre. This article focuses on Rodrigues’s first serial narrative, showing its peculiarities and its coherence with the author’s literary conceptions.