The play with writing in the Grande sertão: veredas: derridian readings

leituras derridianas

Abstract

This article studies the narrative structure of the novel Grande sertão: veredas, by João Guimarães Rosa, based on the concept of writing (écriture) thought by Jacques Derrida, as well as the philosopher's considerations about the literary institution. Our working hypothesis focuses on the idea that in the Grande sertão: veredas the phenomenon of writing is a central issue. We will start from a passage of the work, which deals with a letter sent by the character Nhorinhá and that only reaches its recipient, Riobaldo, when it is too late, to discuss the question of the event and the experience, according to a question posed by Riobaldo about the effects of the letter, in case it had arrived in time. We will call it the “scriptural metaphor” which regulates an understanding about the writing, in general, and about literary writing, in particular. With this, Rosa discusses issues such as trait, event, becoming, besides, problematizing the “as if” of literature, by organizing elements of the literary knowledge. Finally, we propose to approach these provocations led by Guimarães Rosa in his only novel as some of the possibilities of entering the novel.