These stories explore contemporary people who find their lives taking a shape they fear. These people often try to cling to their old life, control a loved one who is changing, or seek an escape. Their aspirations are often higher than where they land. Their situation resembles the writer’s situation in attempting to shape the lives of characters: they attempt to control what often cannot be controlled.

Stanislas de Boufflers (1738-1815), más conocido en su época como el caballero de Boufflers, es un escritor lorenés algo olvidado, perdido entre esa gran masa de autores que recorrieron el siglo XVIII francés. En estas páginas pretendemos presentar a este gran desconocido de la literatura francesa de finales del siglo XVIII y principios del XIX, al igual que analizar sus cuentos y sus nouvelles, ya que éstos constituyen un elemento imprescindible para comprender la personalidad de nuestro autor: por un lado tenemos La Reine de Golconde (1761), cuento libertino que refleja la mentalidad del joven Boufflers y que podríamos considerar como su obra maestra; y por otro lado, La Mode, conte (1807), L’Heureux accident, conte (1807), L’Œuvre de charité, nouvelle espagnole (1808), Tamara, ou Le lac des pénitents, nouvelle indienne (1810), Le Derviche, conte oriental (1810) y Ah! si..., nouvelle allemande (1810), cuentos morales escritos durante la primera década del siglo XIX, que exponen e ilustran claramente las convicciones conservadoras de Boufflers en los últimos años de su vida. / Stanislas de Boufflers (1738-1815), best known in his time as the chevalier de Boufflers, is a writer from Lorraine who has been, somehow, a little forgotten, lost among the huge mass of writers who belonged to the French eighteenth century. Along these pages, we try to present this great unknown of French literature of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Besides, his tales and short stories will be analysed, as they are an essential element to understand the personality of our author. On one hand, we have La Reine de Golconde (1761), licentious tale that reflects the mentality of the young Boufflers. It can be considered his masterpiece. On the other hand, La Mode, conte (1807), L’Heureux accident, conte (1807), L’Œuvre de charité, nouvelle espagnole (1808), Tamara, ou Le lac des pénitents, nouvelle indienne (1810), Le Derviche, conte oriental (1810) and Ah! si..., nouvelle allemande (1810). These moral tales, which were written during the first decade of the 19th century, show Boufflers’ conservative principles in his last years.

Saad Yahya, born in Zanzibar in 1939, studied architecture and town planning in Great Britain and in Canada; since 1968 he has lectured at the University of Nairobi. He portrays everyday life of typical inhabitants of Zanzibar and Nairobi, displaying a penetrating understanding of their problems and of their state of mind, linked with a remarkable stylistic ability. He is an acute observer who presents his characters with humour and irony, but also with a profound insight. Furthermore, in his stories, under the surface of everyday activities there is always some hidden antagonism or passion, never spelled out, but only alluded to. Several years ago Yahya sent me the manuscript of two other stories which I hoped to translate and publish in Italy, but ultimately it was not possible. I have included one of them, called Nyoko-nyoko and consisting in five typewritten pages, in the syllabus of my literary courses in Naples and in Paris. It is a rare - if not unique - Swahili story in which the main character is a Mzungu, a white man: the British governor of an imaginary East-Aftican country called Nyalia, who has to abandon his post suddenly for unspecified reasons. He regrets to must leave the country he has learned to know and to like; however, behind the mask of liberality and tolerance is hidden a self-conceited racist. The story describes his last day in Africa after a long stay.

This thesis investigates the connection between the spiritualist movement and the literary ghost story, both of which came to prominence and mass popularity during the second half of the nineteenth century. While existing critical literature has viewed both phenomena as symptomatic of a wider Victorian fascination with the supernatural and the nature and possibility of an afterlife, little attention has been paid to the relationship between the two movements. By examining spiritualist literature alongside the work of both canonical and lesser-known writers, I attempt to address this area. My thesis argues for an understanding of the post-1850 ghost story as a dramatic representation of a new conception of the dead largely created by spiritualism, and reads the appearance, actions, behaviour and narratives of literary ghosts as an ongoing reflection and discussion of this idea.

Notre mémoire prend pour objet d’étude les dix-sept textes brefs rassemblés dans le recueil Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre, écrits durant la période symboliste et dans lesquels on constate un phénomène d’hybridation entre les genres narratif et dramatique ainsi qu’entre thèmes symbolistes et décadents. Le premier chapitre s’attache à l’étude de Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre dans la perspective des poétiques du recueil afin de constituer les éléments qui en font une « anthologie de l’entre-deux » du corpus rachildien de textes brefs. En adoptant la perspective de la poétique des genres, il sera question dans le deuxième chapitre d’étudier l’hybridation des genres littéraires, plus précisément entre la prose narrative et le texte dramatique, donnant lieu à des textes en « prose dramatique » qui se situent entre texte à lire et à mettre en scène. Enfin, dans le troisième chapitre nous examinerons les thèmes et les motifs récurrents de l’imaginaire rachildien où s’entremêlent symbolisme et décadentisme, après nous être intéressée à « l’écriture artiste » sous la plume de Rachilde, qui permet de rendre « visibles » les différentes formes de spectres, d’illusions et d’ombres qui parsèment les textes de Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre. / Since Rachilde is generally associated with the french Decadent mouvement, few people are informed that the author also contributed to the symbolist movement of the 1890’s by helping in the set-up of the Théâtre de l’Art and Théâtre de l’Œuvre and especially by composing plays, tales and short-stories which take part in the symbolist spirit of the late nineteenth century. Gathered in the collection Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre published in 1900 by the Mercure de France, these seventeen texts written between 1890 and 1900 establish an anthology of what we call Rachilde’s "symbolist period" of short-story, tale and play writing. Our dissertation is interested in the phenomenon of hybridisation between narrative and dramatic genres as well as between decadent and symbolist themes in this collection little known amongst scholars and the general public. The first chapter of our dissertation becomes attached to the study of Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre in the perspective of the poetics of the collection and examines how the combination of Rachilde’s texts leads to an "anthologie de l’entre-deux". In our second chapter, we adopt the viewpoint of the poetics of genre to discuss the hybridisation of literary genres in Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre, more precisely the narrative and the dramatic genres, that result in "dramatic prose". Finally, in the third chapter, we shall examine the recurring themes of Rachilde’s writing, that entangles decadent and symbolist themes, after being interested in "le style artiste", which allows her to sketch "in a visible way" the various forms of spectres, illusions and shadows that strew the texts of Contes et nouvelles suivis du Théâtre.

Diploma The Potencial of Railway Stations in Trade and Tourism examines the potential of the selected railway station. It is primary focused on increasing the attractiveness of these areas, using new technologies and innovations. For this work was chosen a station building in Kutná Hora. The resulting proposals will be applied to respond to the current needs of local passengers regarding the possibilities of the station.

Este trabalho aborda a produção contística de Caio Fernando Abreu, centralizando a análise de suas narrativas curtas sob o enfoque das suas formas de composição. Nesse sentido, foram priorizadas reflexões sobre a fragmentação formal dos textos, os diálogos entre literatura e história presentes em contos do escritor e as relações intertextuais que caracterizam grande parte de sua obra. Todos esses elementos são examinados com o objetivo de investigar a construção dos contos do escritor com base na análise da forma de seus textos, considerando traços do gênero conto, a fragmentação formal das narrativas curtas do escritor e os diálogos que sua literatura estabelece com a história e com outros textos, como as letras de canções. Contos das obras O ovo apunhalado, Morangos mofados e Ovelhas negras constituem objeto de estudo. As análises dos contos são amparadas em autores como Edgar Allan Poe, Julio Cortazar, Luis Barrerra Linares, Gustavo Luis Carrera e Ricardo Piglia, entre outros, que tecem considerações teórico-críticas acerca do conto enquanto gênero literário; a fragmentação da forma narrativa do conto é abordada com base nas proposições de Walter Benjamin e Theodor Adorno; e Julia Kristeva, Laurent Jenny, Antoine Compagnon e Gérard Genette são autores referenciados para identificação e análise dos processos de intertextualidade. O olhar crítico construído através da leitura de contos de Caio Fernando Abreu indica que o escritor se serve de uma forma fragmentada como estratégia para elaborar literariamente episódios de repressão e violência vivenciados no contexto sócio-histórico, e essa fragmentação formal introduz um traço singular no seu conto, considerando o gênero literário. Os diálogos com outros textos na obra do autor são recursos intertextuais que caracterizam as personagens dos contos, apresentam pistas de leitura e também são sinalizadores de uma fragmentação da forma narrativa. / This study is focused on Caio Fernando Abreu’s short story production, emphasizing the analysis of his short narratives in his ways of composition. Accordingly, priority was given to reflections on the formal fragmentation of the texts, dialogues between literature and history in the author’s short stories and the intertextual relations that characterize much of his work. All these elements are examined in order to investigate the construction of the writer’s short stories based on the analysis of his texts structures, considering the characteristics of the short story genre, the formal fragmentation of the writer’s short narratives and the dialogues that his literature establishes to history as well as other texts such as lyrics of songs. Short stories of the works O ovo apunhalado, Morangos mofados and Ovelhas negras are the aim of this study. The analysis of the short stories are based on Edgar Allan Poe, Julio Cortazar, Luis Barrerra Linares, Gustavo Luis Carrera and Ricardo Piglia, among others, who make critical-theoretical reflections about the short story as a literary genre; the fragmentation of the short story narrative is approached having as a base proposals of Walter Benjamin and Theodor Adorno, Julia Kristeva, Laurent Jenny, Antoine Compagnon and Gérard Genette, referenced authors for identification and analysis of intertextuality processes. The critical eye built through reading Caio Fernando Abreu’s short stories indicates that the writer makes use of a piecemeal form as strategy to develop literary episodes of repression and violence experienced in the socio-historical context and this formal fragmentation introduces a singular trace in his short story, considering the literary genre. The dialogues with other texts in the author’s work are intertextual resources that feature the characters of short stories, present reading tracks and also indicate a fragmentation of the narrative form.

Este trabalho propõe uma análise de oito contos de Mia Couto pertencentes a obras publicadas entre 1994 e 2001. Fazem parte do nosso corpus as seguintes narrativas: “Nas águas do tempo”, “Lenda de Namarói”, “A viagem da cozinheira lagrimosa”, “As lágrimas de Diamantinha”, “Chuva: a abensonhada”, “A última chuva do prisioneiro”, “Rosita” e “A morte, o tempo e o velho”. Nossa proposta consiste em verificar os significados que a água e o tempo adquirem, exemplarmente, em cada uma das estórias selecionadas por percebermos a presença desses elementos como símbolos recorrentes ao longo de sua contística. Observamos ainda a singularidade de seu fazer literário no que concerne ao imbricamento de oralidade e escrita, priorizando a identificação de características de resgate e inovação. Utilizamos como fundamentação teórica sobre símbolos e mitos basicamente os estudos desenvolvidos por Gilbert Durand, Gaston Bachelard e Mircea Eliade. Por acreditarmos ser de suma importância situar o autor e sua obra dentro da literatura a que pertence, no caso, a moçambicana, bem como seu envolvimento na constituição da cultura de seu país, recorremos a críticos literários e estudiosos da literatura africana de língua portuguesa, dentre os quais destacamos: Patrick Chabal, Maria Fernanda Afonso, Maria Nazareth Fonseca, Maria Zilda Cury, Terezinha Taborda Moreira e Ana Mafalda Leite, além do próprio autor. / The present work proposes an analysis of eight short stories of Mia Couto belonging to works published between 1994 and 2001. The following narratives are part of our corpus: “Nas águas do tempo”, “Lenda de Namarói”, “A viagem da cozinheira lagrimosa”, “As lágrimas de Diamantinha”, “Chuva: a abensonhada”, “A última chuva do prisioneiro”, “Rosita” and “A morte, o tempo e o velho”. Our proposal consists of verifying the meanings that water and time acquire, exemplarily, in each of the selected stories because we have noticed the presence of those elements as recurrent symbols along his storytelling. We also observe the singularity of his literary elaboration in what concerns the intertwining of orality and writing, prioritising the identification of characteristics of rescue and innovation. We use as theoretical foundation about symbols and myths basically the studies developed by Gilbert Durand, Gaston Bachelard and Mircea Eliade. Because we believe it is very important to contextualise the author and his work in the literature he belongs to, in the case the Mozambican one, as well as his involvement in the constitution of the culture of his country, we have looked to literary critics and African Literature in Portuguese scholars, among which we highlight: Patrick Chabal, Maria Fernanda Afonso, Maria Nazareth Fonseca, Maria Zilda Cury, Terezinha Taborda Moreira and Ana Mafalda Leite as well as the author himself.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Seguindo a ideia exposta por Caio Fernando Abreu em nota introdutória presente em todas as edições de Os dragões não conhecem o paraíso de que o livro pode ser lido não apenas como um exemplar de contos, mas também como um romance-móbile (ou espatifado) e considerando que, por meio do conhecimento de dados biográficos de um escritor, é possível construir a biografia de um escritor através de sua obra, a presente dissertação busca analisar Os dragões não conhecem o paraíso sob a ótica de uma nova perspectiva de leitura, entendendo o livro como um romance de ficção autobiográfica e formação / Following Caio Fernando Abreus statement about Os dragões não conhecem o paraíso [in english, Dragons] in which the author declares that the aforementioned work may be read not only as a short stories book, but also as a mobile-novel (or crashed) and considering its possible, by the knowledge about a writers biographical data, to build an authors biography through his works, this dissertation intends to analyze Os dragões não conhecem o paraíso from a new reading perspective, which comprehends the book as an autobiographical fiction and formation novel

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-03-04Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:13:44Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 patrezi_tb_me_arafcl.pdf: 472968 bytes, checksum: e74fb5bbe45a1a444fb1700d245cee8d (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho propõe um estudo sobre contos policiais de dois autores brasileiros: Luiz Lopes Coelho (1911-1975) e Rubem Fonseca (nasc. 1925). A presente dissertação destina-se a entender um pouco melhor a história e importância do gênero policial no Brasil. Para isso, busca-se inicialmente subsídios na produção de Luiz Lopes Coelho, um autor atualmente em processo de reedição (A idéia de matar Belina, Ed. DBA, 2004). Coelho amparou-se na “fórmula” do gênero policial como estímulo para sua criatividade, mas sua obra vai além: longe de meramente repetir padrões, o autor construiu narrativas repletas de humor e sensibilidade, nas quais o crime é apenas mais um dentre os vários elementos que compõem um quadro rico e sutil das relações humanas. Rubem Fonseca, por seu turno, é um dos mais expressivos nomes do romance e conto policial brasileiro, caracterizando-se pela representação da violência dos centros urbanos. A análise dos dois autores permitiu ressaltar algumas especificidades de suas produções, assim como trazer à tona elementos que apontam para as possibilidades e transformações da narrativa policial no Brasil. / The current work proposes a study on the police short stories of two Brazilian writers: Luiz Lopes Coelho (1911-1975) and Rubem Fonseca (born in 1925). In this text, we try to understand a bit better the history and importance of the crime story in Brazil. To reach this goal, on one hand, we primarily search important traces on Luiz Lopes Coelho’s work, an author whose production is in stage of reedition (A idéia de matar Belina, Ed. DBA, 2004). Coelho has based his plots on the classic recipe for the crime story as an impulse for his creativity, but his work goes further: far from merely repeating patterns, this author has built stories full of humor and sensibility, in which the crime is one element among many others that compose a rich and fine frame about human relationships. On the other hand, Rubem Fonseca is one of Brazil’s most significant novel and detective short stories writer, who deals with the representation of violence throughout the cities. The analysis of both authors has allowed us to point out some of their characteristics, as well as to expose elements which demonstrate possibilities and transformations in the history of Brazilian crime story.