From Ruins to Ruin is a family saga told as a collection of linked short stories, not in chronological order. When Gonçalo and Beatrice meet near their respective hometowns in Portugal, they are driven by impulse and romanticism. The collision of these characters proves to be less than romantic. Beatrice feels trapped by her overprotective parents and is looking for an opportunity to leave, but Gonçalo is not the ticket she’d hoped for. Hardened by an early life of loss, loneliness, and poverty, Gonçalo is cruel and abusive. From Ruins to Ruin is an exploration of the way pain and suffering, when left to fester, are inherited by our children. Beatrice and Gonçalo’s three children each absorb the hostility their parents displayed towards each other and themselves: Raquel struggles to love her body, Olivia struggles in abusive relationships, and CJ struggles handling relationships with women in his life. Their individual conflicts are, of course, informed by their experience as first-generation children growing up in America, the same way their parents’ conflicts were influenced by their own respective upbringings. From Ruins to Ruin is still missing several perspectives that I have begun working on. I plan to include stories exploring Beatrice’s parents, siblings, and extended family, which further inform Beatrice’s character as well as her children’s. The environment that shaped each character—time period, location, political climate—informs each character’s story, which led to my decision to format this narrative as a collection of short stories. The inspiration for this collection began in 2016, when I noticed that our country’s increasing embrasure of the far-right had not only removed the inhibitions of the most bigoted people in the United States, but also begun to inform the way the students I tutored at my undergraduate university’s writing center understood and reacted to the world around them. Those in positions of power embraced this normalization, and often times used the fascist rhetoric of “family values” to defend their hatred. It reminded me, horrifyingly, of the rhetoric shared by people half a decade older than me (my sister’s classmates), who were old enough to have their worldviews informed by the toxic post-9/11 atmosphere. Both sides of my family immigrated to the United States from Portugal, but at different moments. My own parents were only young children by the time António de Oliveira Salazar was no longer Prime Minister, but those who raised them early in their lives were influenced by his motto: “Deus, Pátria, e Família,” or “God, Fatherland, and Family.” While my mother’s parents believed primarily in supporting their community, and therefore felt supported in return by their neighbors during hard times, my father’s experience in his early life was not as fortunate. His family was as isolated and insular as they were unkind, and without a warm support system to turn to, he became bitter and resentful. Much of this translated into his treatment of the women in his life—his mother, his grandmother, and ultimately his wife. When we lack social safety nets and a larger community to rely on, we internalize any potential hatred, hostility, and mistreatment as normal, and often that translates to inherited trauma. From Ruins to Ruin is not necessarily based on true events, but it is inspired by this small trend in inherited familial traits. Tracing the roots of what makes a person (their inability to forgive, their quickness to anger, their tendency to accept mistreatment) has always fascinated me. I purposely wanted to write a collection of linked short stories rather than a novel to allow individual focus on each character when I felt it was needed. While this collection is currently incomplete, and mainly includes one half of the family tree, I felt that giving these characters their own space and own story was important. My hope is that each of these stories can stand alone, but that reading them as a collection further informs the reader’s understanding of the characters. My decision to write this family saga in short stories stems, too, from my belief that most people experience their own lives as a series of vignettes. As I worked on this collection and interviewed family members to gather details that would texturize it, I found myself drawn to create characters that both frustrated me and demanded sympathy—or at least understanding. In his essay “On Defamiliarization,” Charles Baxter writes about the importance of recognizing ourselves in character who are ultimately different from us: Defamiliarization is finally more about the way in which we recognize ourselves in an action and simultaneously see someone we don’t recognize… Recognition is re-cognitions: not finding ourselves when we expected to be but where we did not expect to be found, and at a moment when our defenses are down. (38) While the characters in this collection are deeply flawed, I hoped readers could see themselves in the mistakes they make. My desire to explore these characters was, ultimately, an investigation into understanding not only myself, but the self in general. I believe fiction is a great tool to understand people we otherwise thought different from ourselves. I don’t think this necessarily requires us to forgive or like these sorts of people, but knowing them feels more conducive to crafting a better world that we hope to live in.

Tato práce se zabývá primárními rytířskými ságami, staroseverskými pře- klady evropské rytířské epiky, a jejich vlivem na další žánry ság, sekundární rytířské ságy a pozdní fantastické ságy. Naším cílem bylo zkoumat změny v prezentaci vybraných postav (hrdina, vládce a hrdinova žena) v závislosti na přechodu společnosti od rodové k systému s feudálními rysy. P·vodní staroseverská tradice je v práci zastoupena ságami rodovými. První kapitola popisuje hlavní problémy rozdělení zkoumaných žánr·. Druhá kapitola před- stavuje detailní analýzu formy a obsahu popis· postav v každém z žánr·. Poslední část přidává aspekt změn struktury společnosti, především ve spo- jitosti se snahou Hákona Hákonarsona zavést užší feudální vazby. Tento pře- chod skutečně ovlivnil očekávání publika. Zjistili jsme, že hlavní změna, kte- rou primární rytířské ságy znamenaly v rámci ságové literatury, bylo, že se cíleně pokoušely změnit společenské konvence a praxi. Pozdější žánry si už nenárokovaly morální závaznost. Přejaly sice kvality zavedené překlady ry- tířské epiky, ovšem dodržovaly také tradiční formu popisu postav. Klíčová slova: rytířské ságy, lživé ságy, rodové ságy, staroseverský, dvorský

This thesis takes a fresh, character-based approach to the Íslendingasögur. It is inspired by a narratological study that unites the functional and structural role of characters with their human, individualistic portrayal. My major objective is to demonstrate the important connection between characterisation and structure in the sagas. By drawing attention to characters that I term narrative triggers, I offer a way of reading the sagas that relies both on the narrative conventions of tradition and on the less predictable, personal interactions between the cast of any given saga. In the case of both major and minor figures in the Íslendingasögur a certain type of character is often present to perform necessary motivational functions, allowing the plot to develop. In Part I I emphasise the functional aspect of these characters, before exploring unusual examples that emphasise their individuality in Part II.The motivation of the plot is linked throughout to the figure of the ójafnaðarmaðr. A secondary objective is to provide a clearer understanding of the nature and function of this commonly occurring character type. The ójafnaðarmaðr is frequently alluded to in scholarship,but this thesis provides the first in-depth study of the portrayal of these characters. The quality that informs them (ójafnaðr,‘inequity’, lit. ‘unevenness’) is a threat to one of the core values of saga society and hints at an ‘unbalancing’ of social interactions and of the narrative equilibrium itself. That this unbalance leads to changes in the social structure of the setting is a key factor in driving the plots of the sagas along. For this reason, a detailed examination of the figure of the ójafnaðarmaðr is long overdue: they can be observed to perform a specific narrative function but are always fitted to suit their particular context. Focussing on the structural conventions of character introduction, Part I establishes my methodology and catalogues the examples of characters introduced as ójafnaðarmenn. The scope is limited to those introduced as such because it allows me to establish for the first time the full corpus and conventions of these characters and their introductions. Following developments in our understanding of the oral background to the sagas, my approach to these narratives is built upon the evidence of their shared origins in pre-literate storytelling [...]. The intersection between functionality and individuality in character brings certain aspects of the Íslendingasögur to the fore. Part II of this thesis shows that in combination with the structural markers explored in Part I, the sagas employ the collective perspective of the general public, other characters and ‘irrational’ motivators such as fate to contribute to their techniques of characterisation. Because disruptive qualities speak inherently of a difference in the way an individual sees themselves and in the way the public sees them, or we as an audience are meant to see them, figures termed ójafnaðarmaðr are an ideal focal point for the development of this study.

Esta tese apresenta um estudo comparativo entre a trilogia O tempo e o vento, formada pelos romances O continente (1995), O retrato (1995) e O arquipélago (1995), do escritor brasileiro Erico Verissimo; e o romance Yaka (1998), do escritor angolano Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, conhecido como Pepetela, pelo fato dos dois escritores se utilizarem de estratégias narrativas comuns, tais como a saga familiar, a metaficção, a técnica narrativa do contraponto e a polifonia na escrita de seus romances históricos ou narrativas de fundação. A utilização de recursos narrativos comuns torna semelhantes as estruturas narrativas das duas obras que formam o corpus da pesquisa. Ao final da tese, esperamos comprovar que a obra do escritor brasileiro serviu de modelo para o escritor angolano, que incorporou algumas de suas estratégias narrativas e as adaptou ao contexto da literatura angolana, segundo o conceito de intertextualidade de Julia Kristeva (1974) que concebe a escrita de um texto literário como a leitura do corpus anterior, noção que implica ver o texto como absorção e transformação de um outro texto, de modo que o romancista ao escrever a sua obra sempre parte de um modelo pré-existente, seja para legitimá-lo ou questioná-lo, sem que isto signifique que ele tenha feito uma mera cópia do modelo apropriado. / This thesis presents a comparative study of the trilogy O tempo e o vento,formed by the novels O Continente (1995), O retrato (1995) and O Arquipélago(1995), by the Brazilian writer ÉricoVerissimo, and the novelYaka (1998), by the Angolan writer Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, known as Pepetela, by the fact of the two writers use common narrative strategies, such as family saga, a metafiction, the counterpoint narrative technique and polyphony in their historical novels writing and founding narratives. The use of narrative resources makessimilar the narrative structures of the two works that compose the corpus of this research. At the end of the thesis, we hope to prove that the work of Brazilian writer served as a model for the Angolan writer, which incorporated some of his narrative strategies and adapted them to the context of the Angolan literature, according to the concept of intertextuality of Julia Kristeva (1974) that conceives writing a literary text as the reading of previous corpus notion that implies seeing the text as absorption and transformation of another text, so that the novelist, at the time he writes his work, always parts of a pre-existing model, in order to legitimize it or question it, without this implying that he has made a mere copy of the appropriate model.

This dissertation considers the literary treatment of revenge in medieval England and Iceland. Vengeance and feud were an essential part of these cultures; far from the reckless, impulsive action that the word conjures up in modern minds, revenge was considered both a right and a duty and was legislated and regulated by social norms. It was an important tool for obtaining justice and protecting property, family, and reputation. Accordingly, many medieval literary works seem to accept revenge without question. Many, however, evince a great sensitivity to the ambiguities and paradoxes inherent in an act of revenge. In my study, I consider three works that are emblematic of this responsiveness to and indeed, anxiety about revenge. Chapter one focuses on the Old English poem Beowulf; chapter two moves on to discuss Chaucer’s Reeve’s Tale and Tale of Melibee from the Canterbury Tales; and chapter three examines the Old Icelandic family saga, Ljósvetninga saga. I focus in particular on the treatment of the avenger in each work. The poet or author of each work acknowledges the perspective of the avenger by allowing him to express his motivations, desires, and justifications for revenge in direct speech. Alongside this acknowledgement, however, is the author’s own reflection on the risks, rewards, and repercussions of the avenger’s intentions and actions. The resulting parallel but divergent narratives highlight the multiplicity of viewpoints found in any act of revenge or feud and reveal a fundamental ambivalence about the value, morality, and necessity of revenge. Each of the works I consider resists easy conclusions about revenge in its own context and remains incredibly current in the way it poses challenging questions about what constitutes injury, punishment, justice, and revenge in our own time.

This dissertation considers the literary treatment of revenge in medieval England and Iceland. Vengeance and feud were an essential part of these cultures; far from the reckless, impulsive action that the word conjures up in modern minds, revenge was considered both a right and a duty and was legislated and regulated by social norms. It was an important tool for obtaining justice and protecting property, family, and reputation. Accordingly, many medieval literary works seem to accept revenge without question. Many, however, evince a great sensitivity to the ambiguities and paradoxes inherent in an act of revenge. In my study, I consider three works that are emblematic of this responsiveness to and indeed, anxiety about revenge. Chapter one focuses on the Old English poem Beowulf; chapter two moves on to discuss Chaucer’s Reeve’s Tale and Tale of Melibee from the Canterbury Tales; and chapter three examines the Old Icelandic family saga, Ljósvetninga saga. I focus in particular on the treatment of the avenger in each work. The poet or author of each work acknowledges the perspective of the avenger by allowing him to express his motivations, desires, and justifications for revenge in direct speech. Alongside this acknowledgement, however, is the author’s own reflection on the risks, rewards, and repercussions of the avenger’s intentions and actions. The resulting parallel but divergent narratives highlight the multiplicity of viewpoints found in any act of revenge or feud and reveal a fundamental ambivalence about the value, morality, and necessity of revenge. Each of the works I consider resists easy conclusions about revenge in its own context and remains incredibly current in the way it poses challenging questions about what constitutes injury, punishment, justice, and revenge in our own time.

The Íslendingasögur, written in Iceland in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, primarily describe the lives of Icelanders during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Many of these lives involve encounters with foreign peoples, both abroad and in Iceland, who are portrayed according to stereotypes which vary depending on the origins of those people. Notably, inhabitants of the places identified in the sagas as Írland, Skotland and Vínland are portrayed as being less civilized than the Icelanders themselves. This thesis explores the ways in which the Íslendingasögur emphasize this relative barbarity through descriptions of diet, material culture, style of warfare, and character. These characteristics are discussed in relation to parallel descriptions of Icelandic characters and lifestyle within the Íslendingasögur, and also in the context of a tradition in contemporary European literature which portrayed the Icelanders themselves as barbaric. Innovatively, comparisons are made with descriptions of barbarians in classical Roman texts, primarily Sallust, but also Caesar and Tacitus. Taking into account the availability and significance of classical learning in medieval Iceland, the comparison with Roman texts yields striking similarities between Roman and Icelandic ideas about barbarians. It is argued that the depiction of foreigners in the Íslendingasögur is almost identical to that of ancient Roman authors, and that the medieval Icelanders had both means and motive to use Roman ideas for inspiration in their own portrayal of the world. Ultimately it is argued that when the medieval Icelanders contemplated the peoples their Viking Age ancestors encountered around the world, they drew on classical ideas of the barbarian to complement the mix of oral tradition, literary inspiration and contemporary circumstance that otherwise form the Íslendingasögur.

Esta tese apresenta um estudo comparativo entre a trilogia O tempo e o vento, formada pelos romances O continente (1995), O retrato (1995) e O arquipélago (1995), do escritor brasileiro Erico Verissimo; e o romance Yaka (1998), do escritor angolano Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, conhecido como Pepetela, pelo fato dos dois escritores se utilizarem de estratégias narrativas comuns, tais como a saga familiar, a metaficção, a técnica narrativa do contraponto e a polifonia na escrita de seus romances históricos ou narrativas de fundação. A utilização de recursos narrativos comuns torna semelhantes as estruturas narrativas das duas obras que formam o corpus da pesquisa. Ao final da tese, esperamos comprovar que a obra do escritor brasileiro serviu de modelo para o escritor angolano, que incorporou algumas de suas estratégias narrativas e as adaptou ao contexto da literatura angolana, segundo o conceito de intertextualidade de Julia Kristeva (1974) que concebe a escrita de um texto literário como a leitura do corpus anterior, noção que implica ver o texto como absorção e transformação de um outro texto, de modo que o romancista ao escrever a sua obra sempre parte de um modelo pré-existente, seja para legitimá-lo ou questioná-lo, sem que isto signifique que ele tenha feito uma mera cópia do modelo apropriado. / This thesis presents a comparative study of the trilogy O tempo e o vento,formed by the novels O Continente (1995), O retrato (1995) and O Arquipélago(1995), by the Brazilian writer ÉricoVerissimo, and the novelYaka (1998), by the Angolan writer Artur Carlos Maurício Pestana dos Santos, known as Pepetela, by the fact of the two writers use common narrative strategies, such as family saga, a metafiction, the counterpoint narrative technique and polyphony in their historical novels writing and founding narratives. The use of narrative resources makessimilar the narrative structures of the two works that compose the corpus of this research. At the end of the thesis, we hope to prove that the work of Brazilian writer served as a model for the Angolan writer, which incorporated some of his narrative strategies and adapted them to the context of the Angolan literature, according to the concept of intertextuality of Julia Kristeva (1974) that conceives writing a literary text as the reading of previous corpus notion that implies seeing the text as absorption and transformation of another text, so that the novelist, at the time he writes his work, always parts of a pre-existing model, in order to legitimize it or question it, without this implying that he has made a mere copy of the appropriate model.