VANITY AND RESENTMENT IN OLD BRAGA

Abstract

It is well known that one may find in Rubem Braga’s literary writings the manifestation of some moods and passions, as defined by Greimas. In this paper we will firstly analyze the theme of vanity and pride, aiming to visualize how the relations between the characters of “Minha glória literária”, written in 1960, are structured. It is of common understanding that there frequently occurs in this literary genre a syncretism between narrator and main character due to the preference of utilizing a first person perspective. Nevertheless, in the analyzed chronicle one may notice that it is also possible to separate these two stances by means of shifting in which takes place in the text through a distinction between the time the work was written and the time period it narrates. Afterwards, we will attempt to demonstrate how the theme of vanity is related to that of resentment in the present chronicle. And, to provide a wider range of analysis, we will consider another chronicle, “Ao respeitável público” so as to show how the must-make (in this case, must-write) is related to the subject’s resentment and to his belief in being a writer, illustrating once more the configuration of the subjects believing and making.