From tale to novel: Interrelations in the works of Graciliano Ramos about the theory of resentment

Abstract

Graciliano Ramos’ Angústia (1936) and Insônia (1947) can be associated to the subject of resentment, by presenting it through negative emotions such as hate, anger and jealousy, present in superiority and inferiority relationships that are established between some characters. The novel Angústia presents the character Luís da Silva that, in order to understand his own story, tells about his childhood and youth; the involvement with the neighbor's daughter, Marina; and the murder of his tormentor, Julião Tavares. Written around the same time as the novel, the narratives "Dois dedos” (1935) and "Um pobre diabo" (1937), belonging to the short story collection Insônia, reveal characters who feel inferior to one another, establishing a rivalry. The objective of this research is to investigate how the relationships observed in these narratives could be seen as a kind of fictional laboratory, in which Graciliano Ramos reworks the theme of resentment, being based on Nietzsche studies and in his moral theory.