Crime e arquivo: um estudo comparado sobre Coivara da Memória, de FranciscoDantas, e Angústia, de Graciliano

Abstract

This research conducts a comparative study of the works Angústia (1936) by Graciliano Ramos and Coivara da memória (1991) by Francisco Dantas. The aim is to examine the strategies employed to configure fictional the crime operating under the hypothesis that the transgressions depicted in these works are construed as "archival evil”. This is translated as “remembering” intrinsically intertwined with a “impulse” to “forget” or “destroy”. In both narratives, rumors and threats assume varied contexts, and violence manifests in diverse forms. The stories are recalled and are therefore told from the point of view of the narrators and their relationship with brutality. Consequently, this thesis delves into crime across multiple dimensions, ranging from acts of murder to symbolize a drama that transcends the personal realm and becomes collective, to the linguistic nuances inherent in the process of materializing memory through writing. To this end, the research process will be guided by Jacques Derrida's concept of the “archival evil”. This concept takes shape in Archive fever: a freudian impression, in which the philosopher criticizes the classical archive concept. Here, the archive is no longer viewed ontologically, as merely recording a beginning and delineating a history; rather, it is propelled by an “archivolitical” impulse, an inherent self-destructive force. The investigation also centers on the figure of the narrator protagonist, who oscillates between being the subject and object of their memories, navigating a tenuous temporal boundary between past and present. This dialog is guided by the theories of Barthes (2011), D'Onófrio (2007), Friedman (2002), Genette (1995), Mieke Bal (1990), among others. In short, this research aligns with critical interpretive literary traditions and some psychoanalytic, sociological and philosophical aspects.