A representação da maldade na literatura: a perspectiva nietzschiana sobre o conceito dos monstros morais de Michel Foucault

Abstract

This dissertation aims to analyze the representations of literary narratives in light of Foucault's concept of moral monster, according to a Nietzschean perspective. The first chapter of the dissertation is dedicated to exploring the concept of moral monster from the perspective of Michel Foucault. It explores how the notion of monster, originally associated with the physical figure, undergoes a shift to the moral sphere. The invisibility of the moral monster also stands out, showing that it does not present itself visibly, but manifests itself through human actions and behaviors. A relevant aspect addressed is evil in literature as a representation of the human. Through the analysis of literary works, we seek to understand how evil is portrayed in the narrative as an expression of the complexities and contradictions of human nature. The second chapter of the dissertation focuses on analyzing the presence of moral monsters and monstrosity in literature. To do this, we examine the expression of monstrosity in the dystopian fictional narrative A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, in the short stories Passeio Noturno I and II by Rubem Fonseca and in the novel O Cheiro do Ralo by Lourenço Mutarelli. We intend to address the attributes that integrate the configuration of monstrosity within a section of literary discourse. In the final part of this dissertation, taking as a referential concept the displacement of the physical (morphological) monster to the moral (behavioral) monster, presented by Foucault in the work The Abnormals (2010), we seek to present a Nietzschean reading of moral monsters in literature, as a representation of the human, too human and as an expression of the tragic conflict for the construction of a possible ethicalaesthetic proposal for life according to Nietzsche's thoughts.