Travessias literárias e filosóficas pelo subsolo de Lúcio Cardoso

Abstract

This master s thesis is focused on Lúcio Cardoso s literary universe, part of a group of writers known for their existentialist tendencies in the Brazilian Modernism of the 1930s. The present research, that took place during two whole years, intends to unveil, problematize and deepen some of the basic elements in the work of the author- who, unfortunately, is still little know to the general public or even to university members themselves. In order to do this, we shall use two of his most notorious works: Crônica da Casa Assassinada, that is best know for its innovative narrative structure, Dias Perdidos, considered by many critics one the writer s most personal and autobiographical piece, and A Luz no Subsolo, his first novel openly moved by existentialist patterns. Deeply influenced by the modernism atmosphere, he reinvents the art of storytelling and, through letters, diary entries and excerpts from confessions, shows a whole new world to the readers and creates a project that is mostly valuable to Brazilian Literature- specially, when it comes to establishing connections between national art and vanguards. Therefore, it comes up one of the most essentials premises we will defend throughout this work: Lúcio Cardoso was a writer extremely influenced by Expressionism, a vanguard originated in Germany in the beginning of the 20th century. This main argument allows us to formulate other fundamentals debates to our times, especially on religiosity and on gender issues, because of its obvious intent to question the patriarchy structures. Alongside this topic, we shall also study the importance of space, as a narrative element, to these books. In that sense, the theories developed by Roger Cardinal, Beatriz Damasceno and Michel Foucault will be of most importance to the development of this research