Representações da modernidade na obra O Retrato, de Erico Verissimo

Abstract

The manifestations of modernity in Brazil in the early 20th century had a broad impact on society and the arts in general. Some of the phenomena observed in this historical experience served as themes and motifs for Brazilian literature. Thus, this study addresses representations of modernity in Erico Verissimo's work O Retrato, particularly in the episodes "Chantecler" and "A Sombra do Anjo," set in 1910 and 1915, respectively. The second part of the trilogy O tempo e o vento (Time and the Wind), the narrative presents the fictional city of Santa Fé and the Sobrado, residence of the Terra Cambará family, as spaces for the manifestation of modernity in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. The objective of this research is to analyze the representations of this modernity in Erico Verissimo's work, observing the conflicts and tensions that emerge from new patterns of social behavior, directly influenced by the ideas of the French Belle Époque. The young character Rodrigo Cambará, the protagonist of the narrative, takes on the role of the modern subject who seeks to transform his surroundings according to the modern expectations and aspirations of the time, placing himself in opposition to the customs and traditions of Santa Fé. Marshall Berman (1986), Walter Benjamin (1989), David Harvey (1992), and Charles Baudelaire (2006), among others, are used as theoretical contributions. It is concluded that the expressions of modernity in O Retrato reveal a clash of forces between the modern and the traditional. Furthermore, what happens in Santa Fé can be seen as an allegory of the conflicts that have occurred in the state and in the country, which are witnessing the expansion of new forms of behavior, new aesthetic standards, and new positions regarding life in society, considering its economic, artistic, and cultural dimensions. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]