Sob a máscara da (in)sensatez: loucura e poder em crônicas e contos machadianos

Abstract

This study intends to consider the way the subject of madness is dealt with in Machado de Assis chronicles and short stories, in order to analyze the way the author sees social masks even the ones of sanity, even those of insanity and their respective implications. Thus, it is analyzed the way that, on expounding on the space given to madness in human relationships, Machado de Assis raises the problem of the boundaries between reason and madness and proposes, under the guise of masks, larger discussions on the issue of power relations in society. The analysis will focus on the chronicles of the series called ―A Semana‖ [―The Week‖], published from April, 1892 to February, 1897 in the Gazeta de Notícias newspaper, as well as the following short stories: ―O alienista‖ (―The Psychiatrist‖ - 1881), belonging to the collection entitled Papéis avulsos (―Odd Papers‖ - 1882); ―O lapso‖ (―The Oversight‖ - 1883) and ―A segunda vida‖ (―The Second Life‖ - 1884) from Histórias sem data (―Undated Stories‖ - 1884); and ―Entre santos‖ (―Among Saints‖ - 1886), from the collection entitled Várias histórias (―Several Stories‖ - 1895). In spite of each of the selected works having their own physiognomy, with specific focuses and characteristics that single them out, one can notice at a first glance the bonds that bring them together and allow for an approach to madness on several levels and perspectives. In an attempt to understand the relationships created between the representation of madness and power relations, this study contains an analysis of the critical background on Machado de Assis, together with notes on the history of madness from the point of view of scholars such as Michel Foucault and Erasmo de Rotterdam.