The gloomy narrative of old Eulálio in Leite Derramado

Abstract

The article reflects upon the assumptions that make up the melancholic ideology of the narrator in Leite Derramado (2009), whose decadence guides his perception of the past and leads to an articulation of his point of view between sarcasm and the impossibility of changing his existence. The narrative is constructed through ambivalent discursive layers that highlight a depletion of the sense of tradition for the narrator, the loss of identity with the advent of modernity in which he does not recognize himself, and the loss of control he exerts over the woman, Matilde, an irretrievable object of the aristocrat. To accomplish this, the reading conducted here is mediated by theoretical topics on melancholy, such as Freud's studies and the concepts and assumptions of Giorgio Agamben. Through an uninterrupted and dizzying discourse, Eulálio attempts to bring his past, this irretrievable object, into the present through the device of narration.