The dog of tears in Saramago’s Blindness

a way of thinking about man and the world

Abstract

Using a qualitative, documentary-based methodology, the active bibliography is analyzed, namely, the novel Ensaio sobre a cegueira by José Saramago. We also focus on other genological modalities of the author, texts of different types, especially interviews, to revisit the authorial opinion on the figure of the dog of tears. This dog is a character of human feelings and values. The analysis of the work Ensaio sobre a cegueira according to this prism leads to a reflection on the function of writing and the writer José Saramago. The author thinks that literary creation as a part or an instrument of moral philosophy. Based on the above, this article aims to contribute to systematize the concept of man and the world for José Saramago, through the figure of the dog wipes tears. This dog is a projection of the textual and empirical author’s thinking, with regard to humanist values: fraternity and equality, in the defense of lucidity and freedom.