Da cidade ao Engenho Novo : análise da formação de subjetividade em Dom Casmurro, de Machado de Assis

Abstract

This Master's dissertation addresses the figuration of subjectivity of the fictional characters Bento Santiago and Capitu in the novel Dom Casmurro, by Machado de Assis. The aim is to analyze how the narrator-character’s formation of the subjectivity impacts the characterization of himself and the female protagonist under the aspect that is called in this study as splitting of the self. The discussion focuses on Bento Santiago’s personal development, emphasizing the rupture between his personality during his youth on Rua de Matacavalos and during his old age in the Engenho Novo neighborhood, as well as the pursuit for the reconstruction of his own identity. The methodology articulates Theory of the Novel and Literary Criticism with the critical analysis of selected excerpts from the novel, focusing on the emergence of the concept of self from a modern and Western perspective and on the discussions about nineteenth-century Brazilian paternalism. It analyses specially the chapters II and XXXII of the novel, entitled, respectively, Do livro, and Olhos de ressaca. The conclusions of the research highlight failure as a central element of Dom Casmurro, shaping plot, fictional characters and narrative structure.