Echoes of the Elegiac Novel in Brazilian Literature

Abstract

This article will examine the (meta)narrative elements of Dom Casmurro (Machado de Assis, 1899), São Bernardo (Graciliano Ramos, 1934), A hora da estrela (Clarice Lispector, 1977) and Um beijo de colombina (Adriana Lisboa, 2003) which draw on the elegiac novel. Starting with a brief introduction of the main features of the elegiac novel, focusing on a reading of Lord Jim (Joseph Conrad, 1900), it will investigate how the relation between narrator and heroine, unique in each novel, challenges the hegemonic masculine narrative discourse, making use of subtle strategies to give voice to the heroine.