Ser-tão Riobaldo: paisagem e consciência em GSV

Abstract

This dissertation offers an in-depth exploration of João Guimarães Rosa's masterpiece, Grande sertão: veredas [The Devil to Pay in the Backlands], by delving into the poetic and existential narrative of its central character and narrator, Riobaldo. At the heart of our investigation lies Riobaldo's profound and continuous interaction with the rugged sertão (or the backlands in northeastern Brazil). We contend that the sertão serves as a fundamental architect of thought, consciousness, and language, as the environment guides and frames the character's delicate experiences, emerging as a wellspring of both significance and encounters. Our inquiry is guided by the lens of landscape philosophy, drawing inspiration from Michel Collot's enlightening work, "The ars poetica and philosophy of the landscape". Our purpose is to unravel the role of the environment as a catalyst for generating subjectivities, thereby unveiling Riobaldo's introspective ruminations. Through this exploration, we aim to reveal the cosmic consciousness that Collot vividly describes. By considering the perspective of Rosa's narrator in Grande sertão: veredas, we embark on a quest to decipher the evocative "voice" of the sertão. Tracing the contours of this conceptual framework, our underlying premise ventures into the juncture where Riobaldo and the sertão converge, giving rise to the genesis of language and poetic creation