Este estudo busca oferecer uma leitura da obra Lamica geniale (A amiga genial, 2011- 2014), de Elena Ferrante, a partir da ambivalência que se destaca em sua composição, quer seja do ponto de vista formal, quer seja do ponto de vista temático. Para isso, procura seguir os preceitos que orientam a relação entre crítica literária e psicanálise. / This study seeks to offer an interpretation of Elena Ferrantes Lamica geniale (My brilliant friend, 2011-2014), starting from the idea of ambivalence that arises in its composition from both a formal and a thematic point of view. To do so, this work aims to follow the precepts that guide the relationship between literary criticism and psychoanalysis.

The dissertation deals with two different subjects: on the one hand the interrelations of narrative prose fiction and narrative fiction film, on the other hand fictional narration and intermediality as such. The first part discusses the concepts of medium and intermediality, and presents some general theoretical models. Of special importance is the three level structure of fictional representations: sign vehicle, meaning and fictional content. The second part focuses on the qualities of the sign vehicle, and on different kinds of meaning and fictional content. The sign vehicle of language and literature is digital, and consists of replicas of types. The film medium is analogue, the cinematic sign is a copy. The conventionality of literary fictions is primary, i. e. literary meaning depends on the conventions of language. The conventionality of film narratives is secondary, mediated by non-conventional meaning. The second part also deals with specific, general, generic, concrete and abstract meaning, and discusses the concepts of metaphor, symbol and expression. Part three focuses on iconic and index relations, i. e. relations of similarity and contiguity, of the fictional representation. Cinematic narratives are characterized by primary iconicity, i. e. all meaning and fictional content are dependent on the iconic relation between the poles of the representation. The iconicity of prose fiction is, by contrast, secondary, mediated by conventional sign relations. Also abductive and performative, fictional and non-fictional indexical signs, and different kinds of implications and lacunas are discussed. Part four deals with the concepts of fictionality and narrative perspective, such as the fictional stance, the narrator and focalization. Four different notions of fictionality are scrutinized and brought together, and narrative perspective is described and analyzed in terms of two different game fictions: epic games and perceptual games. Depending on the semiotic resources, the possibilities and limits of prose fiction and fiction film described in the first three parts of the dissertation, fictional games are shown to be more or less rich and realistic.

This thesis deploys Homi Bhabha's perspective of postcolonial literary theory as a critical procedure to examine particular instances of fiction, as well as reportage on Botswana. Its unifying interest is to pinpoint the shifting nature or reality of Botswana and, by extension, of African identities. To that end, I use Bhabha's concept of liminality to inform the work of writers such as Unity Dow, Alexander McCall Smith, and instances of reportage (by Rupert Isaacson and Caitlin Davies), from the 1990s to date. The aims of the thesis are, among other things, to establish the extent to which Homi Bhabha's appropriation of the term liminality (which derives from Victor Turner's notion of limen for inbetweenness), and its application in the postcolonial context inflects the reading of the above works whose main motifs include the following: a contestation of any views which privilege one culture above another, challenging a jingoistic rootedness in one culture, and promoting an awareness of the existence of several, interlocking or even clashing realities which finally produce multiple meanings, values and identities. In short, it is proposed that identity is not a given but rather a product of a lived reality and therefore a social construct, something always in process. The thesis begins by theorizing liminality in Chapter 1 within the context of Homi Bhabha's understanding and interrogation of the colonial discourse. This is followed by the contextualization of liminality through the reading of, firstly, the fiction of Unity Dow in Chapters 2 and 3, and then the "detective" fiction of Alexander McCall Smith in Chapters 4 and 5. In the discussion of these works, I also touch on instances of reportage which relate to the lives of the authors. In the case of Smith's "detective" fiction, for example, reportage refers to his incorporation of actual historical events and personages whose impact, I argue, suggests the liminality of culture. In Chapter 6, the idea of reportage varies slightly to denote works of fiction in which there is a great deal of historical fact. Thus Rupert Isaacson's The Healing Land: A Kalahari Journey and Caitlin Davies' Place of Reeds are treated as works of reportage in line with Truman Capote's application of that term. What comes out most evidently in this study is the shifting idea of (Botswana/African) identity. It should be noted that rather than present an all-embracing account of the fiction on Botswana, the study only looks at the selected examples of writing and reportage. / University of South Africa National Research Foundation / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

This thesis examines the nature and value of metafictional practices in the careers of postwar novelists. Discussions of metafiction have been central to accounts of postwar literature. Where debates in the 1980s and 1990s about metafiction tended to make claims about its distinctive political and theoretical power, recent work in the study of institutions has folded metafiction into the routine operation of the literary field, and attacked previous claims to distinctive value. In this thesis I both historicize self-reflexive literary practices in the literary field, an element largely absent from the earlier scholarship, and present historically determinate claims about the value of these practices, an element I suggest is missing from the more recent work. To do so, I turn to the study of autobiography, specifically Philippe Lejeune's concept of 'autobiographical space.' In the first chapter, I explore how J. M. Coetzee develops academic literary criticism in his fiction. In the second chapter, I examine how Janet Frame responds to both the demands of a national literature and biographical inquiry into her life. In the third chapter, I address how Philip Roth handles the relationship between the politics of identity and the postwar novel. Self-reflexive practices, I show throughout, are ways of writing that were encouraged by particular formations in the literary field and were handled by writers through more or less explicit treatments of autobiographical space. I argue, though, that while these practices can be remarkably inventive, they carry no guarantees for political, theoretical, or aesthetic value.

ix, 203 p. : ill. / As critic Jonathan Gottschall notes, "The literary scholar's subject is ultimately the human mind - the mind that is the creator, subject, and auditor of literary works." The primary aim of this dissertation is to use modern cognitive science to better understand the early modern mind. I apply a framework rooted in cognitive science--the interdisciplinary study of how the human brain generates first-person consciousness and relates to external objects through that conscious framework--to reveal the role of consciousness and memory in subject formation and creative interpretation, as represented in period drama. Cognitive science enables us as scholars and critics to read literature of the period through a lens that reveals subjects in the process of being formed prior to the "self-fashioning" processes of enculturation and social discipline that have been so thoroughly diagnosed in criticism in recent decades. I begin with an overview of the field of cognitive literary theory, demonstrating that cognitive science has already begun to offer scholars of the period a vital framework for understanding literature as the result of unique minds grappling with uniquely historical problems, both biologically and socially. From there, I proceed to detailed explications of neuroscience-based theories of the relationship between the embodied brain, memory, and subject identity, via detailed close reading case studies. In the primary chapters, I focus on what I consider to be three primary elements of embodied subjectivity in drama of the period: basic identity reification through unique first-person memory (the Tudor interlude Jake Juggler ), more complex subject-object relationships leading to alterations in behavioral modes (Hamlet ), and finally, the blending of literary structures and social context in the interpretation of subject behavior (Middleton's A Trick to Catch the Old One ). / Committee in charge: Lisa Freinkel, Chairperson; George Rowe, Member; Ben Saunders, Member; Lara Bovilsky, Member; Ted Toadvine, Outside Member

This dissertation offers an examination of Delany's critical trajectory from structuralism to poststructuralism and postmodernism across a gamut of genres from SF to sword-and-sorcery, pornography, autobiography and literary criticism. Delany's engagement with semiotics, Foucault and deconstruction form the theoretical focus, together with his own theories of how SF functions as a literary genre, and its standing and reception within the greater realm of literature. The impact of Delany as a gay, black SF writer is also examined against the backdrop of his varied output. I have used the term 'dislocation' to describe Delany's tackling of traditional subjects and genres, and opening them up to further possibilities through critical engagement. Lastly, Delany is also examined as a postmodern icon. A frequent participant in his own texts, as well using pseudonyms that have developed into fully-fledged characters, Delany has become a critical signifier in his own work. / English Studies / M. A. (English)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2007-02-09Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:39:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 nunes_ng_me_sjrp.pdf: 380470 bytes, checksum: b95abc75569df8684dba14956c2bee40 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho tem como objetivo realizar um percurso reflexivo sobre o papel do leitor na literatura estabelecendo um diálogo entre a teoria do escritor italiano Umberto Eco (1932-) e alguns textos do escritor argentino Jorge Luis Borges (1889-1986). Em um primeiro momento, investigamos como o papel do leitor é tratado pela teoria de Eco, detendo-nos na leitura de alguns capítulos de suas obras intituladas Obra aberta, Lector in fabula e Os limites da interpretação, publicadas respectivamente em 1962, 1978 e 1990. Do contato com essas obras, pudemos depreender que a concepção teórica de Eco a respeito do papel do leitor se baseia no reconhecimento do leitor-modelo como uma categoria textual que norteia o caminho de leitura do leitor empírico. Para complementar essa perspectiva teórica, abordamos a visão Borges sobre o papel do leitor desenvolvida no interior da própria ficção. Antes disso, foi importante que passássemos pelos ensaios A flor de Coleridge [La flor de Coleridge] e Magias parciais do Quixote [Magias parciales del Quijote], publicados pela primeira vez em 1952 na obra Outras inquisições [Otras inquisiciones], e pelo conto O Livro de Areia [El Libro de Arena], publicado pela primeira vez em 1975 na obra de mesmo título, para que pudéssemos primeiramente conhecer a concepção de literatura do autor, baseada no conceito de panteísmo. Em nosso corpus principal, constituído pelo conto Pierre Menard, autor do Quixote [Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote], publicado pela primeira vez em 1942 na obra O jardim dos caminhos que se bifurcam [El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan], identificamos a atuação da personagem Pierre Menard... / The aim of this study is to outline a reflection on the role of the reader in literature by setting a dialogue between the theory produced by Italian writer Umberto Eco (1932-) and a collection of writings by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges (1889-1986). We begin by looking into the approach of Eco s theory to the role of the reader, sparing a moment to read selected chapters spanning his works Obra aberta (The Open Work), Lector in fabula (The Role of the Reader) and Os limites da interpretação (Limits of Interpretation), published in 1962, 1978, and 1990 respectively. From the contact with these works we learn that Eco s theoretic conception of the role of the reader is based on a recognition of the model reader as a textual category which ushers the empirical reader through the reading path to follow. In order to complement this theoretical position, we make an approach to Borges s views on the role of the reader as developing within fiction itself. But before that we deem it important to go about the essays The Flower of Coleridge [La flor de Coleridge] and Partial Magic in the Quixote [Magias parciales del Quijote], first published in 1952 in Other Inquisitions [Otras inquisiciones], and the short story The Book of Sand [El Libro de Arena], first published in 1975 in the work with the same title, so that we could first become familiar with the writer's concept of literature, based on the concept of pantheism. Looking at our main corpus, consisting of the short story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote [Pierre Menard, autor del Quijote], first published in 1942 in The Garden of Forking Paths [El jardín de los senderos que se bifurcan], we find that the active role of character Pierre Menard impersonates the role of the reader of a piece of literature. We go on to trace this metaphorisation within the short story to a depiction of the transformation...(Complete abstract clik electronic access below)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2000-02-22Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T21:00:14Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 rodrigues_dg_me_sjrp.pdf: 573333 bytes, checksum: b3956487ffb60612a71538fd3939246b (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Poli(etilenoglicol) (PEG) é um polímero neutro hidrossolúvel, e brometo de dioctadecildimetilamônio (DODAB) e diododecildimetilamônio (DDAB) são surfactantes catiônicos dialquilados, C18 e C12, respectivamente, derivados da amônia quaternária, formadores de vesículas. As suas propriedades físicas, em solução aquosa, são bem conhecidas. No entanto, as propriedades de misturas desse polímero com esses surfactantes não o são. Investigamos a interação de PEG com DODAB e DDAB em solução aquosa, numa faixa de concentração total dos componentes até 1% em peso, e construímos diagramas de fases, com especial destaque para a fase vesicular. Utilizamos PEG com massa molecular entre 200 Da e 2 MDa e os diagramas de fases foram construídos a 25oC, isto é, acima da temperatura de transição gel-líquido cristal (Tm) de DDAB (Tm = 16oC) e abaixo da Tm de DODAB (Tm = 45oC). DODAB e DDAB têm a característica comum de formar vesículas unilamelares em baixas concentrações do surfactante e vesículas multilamelares em concentrações mais elevadas; em regiões intermediárias, vesículas uni e multilamelares coexistem em equilíbrio na solução. A fronteira entre essas regiões de vesículas não é muito bem definida e observamos, neste estudo, que o efeito de PEG na estrutura de agregados de DODAB e DDAB em água depende da massa molecular do polímero. Além disso, PEG favorece a formação de vesículas unilamelares em concentrações mais elevadas de DODAB e DDAB, quando predominam as vesículas multilamelares de DODAB puro (sem o polímero), possibilitando a formação de vesículas mistas de DODAB/PEG e DDAB/PEG em água e concentrações relativamente grandes desses surfactantes. Dentre os métodos experimentais empregados nesse estudo, destacamos, turbidimetria, fluorescência de estado estacionário, calorimetria diferencial de varredura (DSC) e por titulação isotérmica... / Poly (ethyleneglycol) (PEG) is a water soluble neutral polymer, and dioctadecyldimethylammonium (DODAB) and diododecyldimethylammonium (DDAB) bromide are double chain cationic surfactants derived from the quaternary ammonium that have been widely investigated due to their high application potential in different areas of the science and technology. The physical properties of PEG, DODAB and DDAB in aqueous solution are well-known. However, the properties of mixtures of the polymer with those surfactants are not. We investigated the interaction of PEG with DODAB and DDAB in aqueous solution, within a range of total concentration of the components of 0-1 wt%, and the phase diagrams built up, with special interest for the vesicular phases. We used PEG with molecular mass between 200 Da and 2 MDa and the phase diagrams were built up at 25°C, that is, above the melting temperature (Tm) of DDAB (Tm = 16°C) and below Tm of DODAB (Tm = 45°C). DODAB and DDAB have the common characteristic of forming unilamellar vesicles at low surfactant concentrations and umultilamellar vesicles at higher concentrations; at intermediate concentrations, uni- and multilamellar vesicles coexist in solution. The borders of these different vesicle phases are not well defined. We observed in this Thesis that the effect of PEG on the structures of DODAB and DDAB aggregates in water depends on the molecular mass of the polymer. Besides, PEG stabilizes the unilamellar vesicles at high concentrations of DODAB, where the multilamellar vesicles are the dominant structures present in solution, thus allowing the formation of mixed DODAB/PEG and DDAB/PEG vesicles in water at relatively high concentrations of these surfactants. The experimental methods used in this investigation include turbidimetry, steady-state fluorescence, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), isothermal titration calorimetry... (Complete abstract, click electronic address below)

Estuda-se aqui a escrita do marquês de Sade, sobretudo as três versões de sua personagem virtuosa: Os infortúnios da virtude [Les infortunes de la vertu] (1787), Justine ou as infelicidades da virtude [Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu] (1791) e A Nova Justine ou as infelicidades da virtude [La Nouvelle Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu] (1799). Nelas, investiga-se o modo pelo qual a escrita produz equívocos, campos de ressonância e compossibilidades entre os pares conceituais com os quais trabalha (a saber, virtude/vício; infelicidade/prosperidade; etc). A dramatização dos conceitos e das normas simbólicas que os orientam configura, assim, uma cenografia equívoca, cujo funcionamento consiste em sabotar a univocidade de sentido dos termos que aciona. Essa equivocidade constitutiva da escrita sadiana deixa então em suspenso o próprio posicionamento enunciativo, não se subsumindo à particularização das intenções do Autor e, tampouco a uma determinação unívoca do contexto. Propõe-se, entretanto, singularizar sua indeterminação, ou melhor, a sobredeterminação das torções perspectivas que efetua e os seus equívocos, bem como os reenvios que fabrica e encena em uma rede de enunciações. Para tanto, dramatizam-se aqui dois eixos de análise, nos quais a virtude se faz fundamental: a discussão setecentista sobre a função moralizadora das artes e a política jacobina de Robespierre. Na passagem de uma a outra, é a equivocidade enunciativa de Sade que entrelaça a performatividade do texto literário e a instituição da lei. / This thesis aims to study the writing of Marquis de Sade, especially the three versions of his virtuous character: Les infortunes de la vertu (1787), Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu (1791) and La Nouvelle Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu (1799). In them, the object of inquiry is the way that writing produces equivoques, fields of resonance and compossibilities between conceptual pairs in which it works upon (namely, virtue/vice; infelicity/prosperity, etc). The dramatization of the concepts and symbolic norms that guide them sets an equivocal cenography, whose operation consists in sabotage the univocity of the terms\' meanings that it triggers. This constitutive equivocity of the sadian writing leaves suspended the whole enunciative positioning, not subsuming itself to the particularizations of the author\'s intentions, neither to a univocal determination of the context. However, it is proposed to singularize its indetermination, or better put, the overdetermination of the perspective torsions that it performs and its equivoques, as well as the resends that it fabricates and stages in a network of enunciations. Therefore, this thesis dramatizes two axes of analysis, in which the virtue is fundamental: the discussion in the Eighteenth century about the moralizing function of the arts and Robespierre\'s jacobin politics. In the passage from one to another, it is Sade\'s enunciative equivocity that tangles the literary texts\'s performativity and the institution of the law.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta pesquisa propõe-se a estudar os tópoi imagéticos na obra de Manoel de Barros. No primeiro momento, aborda os seres ínfimos, destacando neles suas grandezas, postas a dialogar com alguns conceitos de Bachelard, como ressonância e repercussão, topofilia e a imaginação criadora. Em seguida, reflete sobre os entulhos poéticos na obra barreana, refugos da sociedade, como crítica à sociedade consumista-capitalista. Dentre esses seres, analisa a organização do topos ―lata‖ e os sentidos estabelecidos com outras imagens, o que possibilitaria que o sentido da palavra se renove e haja uma transformação de algo sem importância para algo grandioso. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa aborda ainda a imagem do louco, representado pelos anti-heróis barreanos designados por ―bocós‖, ―bestas‖, ―bobos‖, demonstrando um olhar renovado sobre tais seres também excluídos da sociedade atual; seres que dialogam com outros personagens da ficção e do mundo cotidiano diagnosticados como loucos. E, por fim, analisa os tópoi eróticos, destacando o topos ―lesma‖. Nesse caso, a palavra é erotizada, quando possível estabelecer comparação com o corpo sensual feminino. E, dessa forma, o poeta metaforizaria também a sua escrita poética.