Memória e identidade no romance "A memória de nossas memórias", de Nicole Krauss

Abstract

In this research, I intendtoanalyzethe novel Great House, by Nicole Krauss (2012) in ordertoverify the intertwining of the theme of memory andidentity. In this book, Krauss begets the diferentcharacterswhodwell in the interstices of the narrative by means of mnemonic scheme, what leads to the hypothesisthat the memory representation, in the novel Great House, has a preponderante role in the conception of theidentityof the narrators. The concept of memory andidentitymanifestsitself in the tissue of this novel, in a certainwaythattotalkaboutdiferent memories of the narratorandthe creation of the characters' identities, the aspectsconcerning the Totalitarian Regimes implantedduring the 20th Century (Nazi State – ChileanMilitaryDictatorship) are necessarytounderstand this dimension, speciallybecausethey are broughtback by memory. This research is alsosupported by themesrelatedtomelancholyandloneliness, which are recurrent feelings in the lives of the charactersand narrators, especiallywhenthey go throughtraumaticexperiences, usuallyrelatedto the amazingconsequences of Totalitarian Regimes, to the forgetfulnesscaused by Alzheimer'sdiseaseand death. Thus, these feelings mark the existentialcharacter of eachstorynarrated in the novel. In this book, there is a mysterious presence of a movableobject, the “desk”, whichawakensstrangenessandat the same time fascination in thosewhohavehad the opportunity tohave it for a period of time. Symbol of the memory of ancestors, the object is responsible for carrying memories andexperiences of the variousownersthat it hashad. In Nicole Krauss' novel, a conflicting relationship between the pastand the present is evident in the conjuncture of charactersand narrators; betweenfamilyandlovingrelationships; between memory andforgetfulness. All these components are evidentthrough the mnemonic andidentitycomposition, central themes of this thesis.