Matches and mismatches in “O menino”, by Lygia Fagundes Telles, and “Oval com pontas”, by Adriana Lisboa

Abstract

Abstract: The tale “O menino”, by Lygia Fagundes Telles, initially published in O cacto vermelho, in 1949, narrates the story of a boy who faces a coming-of-age process when he takes a trip to the movie theater with his mother. The tale “Oval com pontas”, by Adriana Lisboa, originally published in Contos que contam, in 2005, resembles the tale written by Telles in the sense that it also narrates a mother’s trip with her son, both unnamed. Despite the similarities between the plot of both narratives, the prose of both writers presents divergences on the configuration of familiar relationships and on the social role of art. As argued by José Paulo Paes (1998), Telles’ work is marked by mismatches in several affective relationships presented in the plots, which, according to the critic, signals a certain disillusionment of the writers who lived the traumas of the Second World War. On the other hand, Lisboa’s work frequently bets on the overcoming of the traumas of the portrayed characters, in addition to counterpointing the emptying of the role of art in contemporaneity. With this in mind, this article aims to analyze how art and human relationships are configured in these tales. In order to critically ground this discussion, we elected the contributions of Coelho (1971), Lopes (2007), Paes (1998), and others.

Keywords: Brazilian short story; matches; mismatches; Lygia Fagundes Telles; Adriana Lisboa.