Desvendando o simbólico: uma leitura de A casa da madrinha sob a ótica da Ditadura Militar

Abstract

This research presents an exploratory approach with the aim of analyze, decode and discuss symbolic representations, that triggers the dictatorial politics conceived in Brazil since Military Coup of 1964, on the book The Godmother’s House (1976) from Lygia Bojunga Nunes, which has the children as market audience. The piece of work from this author was choose as literary and historical corpora based on its metaphorical discourse where the rigid control upon the thinking process as well as the tortures and its physical and psychological consequences, the delation politics and the institutional acts legislated in the country are emphasized and criticized. The powerful influence of the historical context lived by the artists at that time, which had many of them silent by censorship, induced an explosion of charges concerning the dictatorial government by using symbolic elements. In comparison to other literature genres, children’s literature was always considered as a lower genre or, even worse, as a non-literary work only because it has on its origin pedagogical and instructional contents. Nevertheless, this specific literature has evolve and the works, especially from the seventies, confirm this development as their language and their plotlines, apparently simple and shallow, express a profound critic in relation to the social and political moment of the military period. Consequently, young readers were leaded to comprehend the reality that paramilitary groups tried to veil through culture and judgment veto. At last, besides the significant role of sociological analysis, the present study has a political character with focus on future Brazilian electorate, while embraces the juvenile literature as a critical source for promoting discussion and thoughtfulness about the rough years of Brazilian military dictatorship.