Diabolic laughter in Machado de Assis and Goethe: some reflections on the fight of evil against good

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop a refection about the function of the evil character (Mefistofeles) in Machado de Assis´ as well as in Goethe´s Faust through the perspective of Bakhtin´s theory of the laughter and irony. We intend to demonstrate how the dynamics inherent to the text redimensions the reading act thorugh the use of ironical games, changing it into an act of knowledge of man himself and the world. By discussing some passages from these two authors’ texts, we will be able to see that the choice of dramatic-narrative tecniques that reproduce the changeability of concepts is responsible for the maintenance of the contemporaneity of their texts. Keywords: Goethe. Machado de Assis. Bakhtin. Laughter. Irony.