La persistance du désir chez Diadorim
This study aims to analyze how the body is represented in João Guimarães Rosa’s novel Grande sertão: veredas, by looking into each of the most important encounters between Diadorim and Riobaldo, the two main characters of this story. The first time they meet on the banks of the river de Janeiro, when they are still youngsters, Diadorim’s body cannot be fully represented by the narrator’s speech.  Their second encounter, when adults and members of a gang of jagunços, confirms such limitations. Each name Riobaldo uses to address Diadorim and the suspense he generates contribute to enhance the enigmatic effect caused by his companion’s body. The ambiguity surrounding Diadorim’s sexuality becomes a constant aspect throughout the novel. The last encounter happens when Diadorim is found dead. Only then his feminine nature is revealed. However, Riobaldo is not able to fully acknowledge this finding and needs to repeat in words the moments he shared with Diadorim by telling their story to an interlocutor in an attempt to decode the mysteries surrounding his companion. This analysis explore these three key moments and examines how the mystery is structured around Diadorim’s body.
João Guimarães Rosa Psychanalyse Brazilian literature Brazilian modernism Psychoanalysis