Entre linhas e palavras : homofobia e (re)existência em “A palavra que resta”, de Stênio Gardel

Abstract

This dissertation consists of an analysis of a fictional narrative that recognizes literature as a tool of resistance and problematization of social contexts and emphasizes reflection on “violence”, a forceful element that permeates life in society. As a reference of approach, we started from the work The word that remain, by Stênio Gardel, starring Raimundo Gaudêncio, a northeastern man, illiterate, poor and gay, whose existence is marked by oppression, repression and fear. The character is the victim of a social dynamic of exclusion, loneliness and prejudice, a reflection of a ferocious structural machismo that hurts and tries to silence voices that are not socially accepted. The work brings to the discussion, from this, the aspects of violence as a literary element, emphasizing the violence that stems from homophobia and issues of body, identity, sexuality and gender in the current reality, presenting new possibilities of thinking about such themes in the novel under study. The analysis of the construction of dissidents characters pointed to the rupture of stereotypes about socially abject bodies, as well as indicated a process of humanization, confrontation, legitimation and other demands related to the configurations of characters that flee from heteronormativity in the Brazilian literary scene. In this sense, it was intended to develop a broad prism of discussions, having at the forefront theories that relate literature, gender and society. The research points out conceptions of several scholars regarding the subject under study, relates theoretical-critical texts on the subject and develops an analytical-interpretative reading of the work in question. For such discussions, we used studies by Dalcastagnè (2012), Sedgwick (2007), Pellegrini (2008), Butler (2000, 2003), Foucault (2010, 2011), Louro (2001, 2018), Miskolci (2007, 2012), Trevisan (2018), Salih (2018), Schulman (2009, 2010), Kulick (2008) and other authors who dialogue with the topic under debate. Furthermore, this dissertation discusses other analyzes referring to the theoretical possibilities for understanding reality and contributing to its transformation, consolidating literature as one of the main instruments in this scenario.