A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis

Madness and humor are prominent themes in the works of Machado de Assis. Drawing on the master’s research conducted by Mendes Junior (2022), this article contributes to scholarship on the short novel The Alienist (1882) by examining how humor is structured through the comic d...

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Main Authors: Jerson Oliveira Mendes Junior, Wilberth Claython Ferreira Salgueiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte 2025-06-01
Series:Revista Odisséia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://periodicos.ufrn.br/odisseia/article/view/37623
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author Jerson Oliveira Mendes Junior
Wilberth Claython Ferreira Salgueiro
author_facet Jerson Oliveira Mendes Junior
Wilberth Claython Ferreira Salgueiro
author_sort Jerson Oliveira Mendes Junior
collection DOAJ
description Madness and humor are prominent themes in the works of Machado de Assis. Drawing on the master’s research conducted by Mendes Junior (2022), this article contributes to scholarship on the short novel The Alienist (1882) by examining how humor is structured through the comic devices of parody, caricature, and satire. To this end, it engages with the studies of Propp (1992), Sá Rego (1989), Foucault (1978), Teixeira (2010), among others. The analysis suggests that the novella’s original publication sought to cultivate a female readership and involve it in philosophical and political debates, employing the figure of the “mad” characters to denounce the excesses of positivist doctrine, the nascent field of psychiatry, moralism, and the illusory pursuit of status in nineteenth-century Brazilian society.
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series Revista Odisséia
spelling doaj-art-f3301742e0174e1096ecdb51fcf0989a2025-08-20T03:31:42ZengUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do NorteRevista Odisséia1983-24352025-06-01101139157https://doi.org/10.21680/1983-2435.2025v10n1ID37623A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de AssisJerson Oliveira Mendes Junior0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4972-8644Wilberth Claython Ferreira Salgueiro1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3817-4738Universidade Federal do Espírito SantoUniversidade Federal do Espírito SantoMadness and humor are prominent themes in the works of Machado de Assis. Drawing on the master’s research conducted by Mendes Junior (2022), this article contributes to scholarship on the short novel The Alienist (1882) by examining how humor is structured through the comic devices of parody, caricature, and satire. To this end, it engages with the studies of Propp (1992), Sá Rego (1989), Foucault (1978), Teixeira (2010), among others. The analysis suggests that the novella’s original publication sought to cultivate a female readership and involve it in philosophical and political debates, employing the figure of the “mad” characters to denounce the excesses of positivist doctrine, the nascent field of psychiatry, moralism, and the illusory pursuit of status in nineteenth-century Brazilian society.https://periodicos.ufrn.br/odisseia/article/view/37623machado de assisthe alienistmadnesshumor
spellingShingle Jerson Oliveira Mendes Junior
Wilberth Claython Ferreira Salgueiro
A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis
Revista Odisséia
machado de assis
the alienist
madness
humor
title A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis
title_full A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis
title_fullStr A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis
title_full_unstemmed A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis
title_short A loucura, os loucos e o risível em O Alienista, de Machado de Assis
title_sort loucura os loucos e o risivel em o alienista de machado de assis
topic machado de assis
the alienist
madness
humor
url https://periodicos.ufrn.br/odisseia/article/view/37623
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