Entre o erótico, o pornográfico e o obsceno: uma leitura de A Carne, de Júlio Ribeiro

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes eroticism in Júlio Ribeiro’s novel A Carne (1888), examining the relationships between eroticism, pornography, obscenity, prohibition, and transgression within the context of Brazilian Naturalism. Published during a period marked by scientism, determinism, and the social transformations of the late nineteenth century, the novel became the subject of intense controversy due to the way it depicts desire and the female body. This study is based on the understanding that the erotic elements present in the narrative go beyond a simple depiction of the sexual act, as they are also linked to the moral, social, and cultural tensions that permeate the work and its critical reception. Drawing on the theoretical contributions of Georges Bataille (1988), Alexandrian (1989), Lúcia Castelo Branco (1983), Lynn Hunt (1999), and other authors, this study discusses the similarities and distinctions between eroticism, pornography, and obscenity, as well as the historically constructed nature of these categories. Furthermore, the analysis examines the notions of prohibition and transgression proposed by Bataille (1988), observing how such manifestations appear in the experiences of the characters Lenita and Barbosa throughout the narrative. The research is bibliographic and qualitative in nature and is conducted through an analytical reading of the novel, linking the historical-literary context of Naturalism, the work’s critical reception, and the representations of desire and sexuality present in the literary text. Finally, this study examines the construction of Lenita’s transgressive identity—a character who breaks with feminine norms related to the repression of desire, submission, and the social role traditionally assigned to women in the 19th century—by expressing her sexuality and exercising relative autonomy over her own body and her choices.