The Feminine Mystery as Seen by Three Machado de Assis' Narrators: The Enigmatic Women in Dom Casmurro, "Singular Ocorrência" and "Missa do Galo"

• Grant number: 21/01149-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Literature - Brazilian Literature
• Principal Investigator: Thiago Mio Salla
• Grantee: Luiza Helena Damiani Aguilar
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research aims to investigate how three narrators, with three different perspectives, react when faced with the mystery presented by the female lead characters of their texts. The purpose is to analyse Machado de Assis' intentions when writing those female characters within the society of the nineteenth century: Marocas, from the short story "Singular Ocorrência" (Histórias Sem Data, 1884); Conceição, from the short story "Missa do Galo" (Páginas Recolhidas, 1899); and Capitu, from the novel Dom Casmurro (1899). That being said, my objective is to investigate how these male narrators, comprehend the enigmatic behaviours of the women they interact with, whether they have committed adultery or not. In order to do so, I intend to evaluate the other texts that surround these three, and also look into how they were received by the critics back when they were first published.