From the theatre to the comet: contributions of the magazine L’Illustration to the ethics and aesthetics of O Retrato

Abstract

The article examines the insertion of content from the French magazine L’Illustration in the fictional narrative of O Retrato, the second part of the novel O tempo e o vento, by Erico Verissimo. In the process of creation of his work, the author uses this magazine as a source of consultation for the early twentieth-century historical representation. The transposition of news about the play Chantecler, by Edmond Rostand, as well as the passage of Halley’s comet, legitimizes the realistic aspects of the period, causing reflections on the ethics of the characters and on the aesthetics of the fiction.